Search results for "PPAR"
showing 10 items of 1686 documents
Serum uric acid is not independently associated with plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone in hypertensive adults
2017
Background and Aims In experimental investigations conducted in rats, raising serum uric acid (SUA) levels resulted in the stimulation of intrarenal renin expression. Studies in humans exploring the association of SUA with plasma renin activity (PRA) yielded conflicting results. Moreover, little is known about the relationship of SUA with plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC). The study aimed to assess the relationship between SUA levels, PRA, and PAC and the influence of age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and hyperuricemia on these relationships in subjects with essential hypertension (EH). Methods and Results We enrolled 372 hypertensive patients (mean age 45 ± 12 years, men 67%) with u…
Plasma aldosterone and its relationship with left ventricular mass in hypertensive patients with early-stage chronic kidney disease
2014
Plasma aldosterone concentrations (PACs) are often increased in the advanced stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, PAC has not been fully investigated in early CKD. Moreover, little is known about the relationship between aldosteronemia and left ventricular (LV) mass in subjects with mild-to-moderate CKD. The study objectives were to analyze PAC, LV mass (LVM), LV geometry and their relationships, in a group of hypertensive patients with stage I-III CKD. One hundred ninety-five hypertensive patients with stage I-III CKD were enrolled and compared with a control group of 82 hypertensive patients without renal dysfunction. LVM was higher in subjects with CKD than in the control gro…
Subclinical atherosclerosis and fetuin-A plasma levels in essential hypertensive patients
2012
The intima-media thickness (IMT) is considered as a surrogate marker for atherosclerotic disease. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship of carotid IMT with fetuin-A in patients with essential hypertension (EH) and normal renal function. The plasma levels of fetuin-A, interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and the biomarker of oxidative stress 8-iso-PGF2alpha were assayed in samples from 105 untreated EH patients. Carotid IMT measurements were also performed. EH was studied overall and after dividing in EH with IMT ≥ and 0.9 mm (AUC (area under the curve) 0.738, P<0.0001). Our results suggest that in EH, fetuin-A is associated with the IMT independently of oxid…
Nerve ablation after bronchial thermoplasty and sustained improvement in severe asthma
2017
Abstract Background Bronchial thermoplasty (BT) is a non-pharmacological intervention for severe asthma whose mechanism of action is not completely explained by a reduction of airway smooth muscle (ASM). In this study we analyzed the effect of BT on nerve fibers and inflammatory components in the bronchial mucosa at 1 year. Methods Endobronchial biopsies were obtained from 12 subjects (mean age 47 ± 11.3 years, 50% male) with severe asthma. Biopsies were performed at baseline (T0) and after 1 (T1), 2 (T2) and 12 (T12) months post-BT, and studied with immunocytochemistry and microscopy methods. Clinical data including Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) and Asthma Control Questionnai…
Factors reducing omalizumab response in severe asthma
2018
Background: Despite adding Omalizumab to conventional therapy, several severe asthmatics still show poor disease control. We investigated the factors that may affect a reduced Omalizumab response in a large population of severe asthmatics. Methods: 340 patients were retrospectively evaluated. FEV1%, FVC%, Asthma Control Test (ACT), fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO), possible step-downs/step-ups of concomitant therapies, exacerbations, disease control levels, ICS doses and SABA use, observed at the end of treatment, were considered as a response to Omalizumab. Results: Age was an independent risk factor for a reduced response concerning FEV1%, FVC%, ACT and for a lower asthma control. O…
Effects of omalizumab in severe asthmatics across ages: A real life Italian experience
2016
Background This retrospective study aimed at evaluating long-term effects of Omalizumab in elderly asthmatics in a real-life setting. Methods 105 consecutive severe asthmatics (GINA step 4–5; mean FEV1% predicted:66 ± 15.7) treated with Omalizumab for at least 1 year (treatment mean duration 35.1 ± 21.7 months) were divided into 3 groups according to their age at Omalizumab treatment onset: 18–39, 40–64 and ≥ 65 years. Results Comorbidities, number of overweight/obese subjects and patients with late-onset asthma were more frequent among older people. A similar reduction of inhaled corticosteroids dosage and SABA on-demand therapy was observed in all groups during Omalizumab treatment; a sim…
The site of fertilisation determines dorsoventral polarity but not chirality in the zebra mussel embryo
1998
The dorsoventral polarity of unequally cleaving spiralian embryos becomes established at an early stage. The factors determining the position of the dorsoventral axis are still unknown. We present data showing that the sperm entry point (SEP) in both normal development and under experimental conditions determines the position of the first cleavage furrow in Dreissena embryos. The position of the spindles at second cleavage is directed by the site of fertilisation also, and the large, dorsal D quadrant of the 4-cell stage always forms opposite the SEP. The spiral chirality at third cleavage seems to be independent of both the fertilisation point and the arrangement of the quadrants. Dextral …
Authors’ response
2012
Claudio Sorino,1,2 Salvatore Battaglia,1 Nicola Scichilone,1 Claudio Pedone,3 Raffaele Antonelli-Incalzi,3 Duane Sherrill,4 Vincenzo Bellia11Biomedical Department of Internal and Specialist Medicine, Section of Pulmonology, University of Palermo, Italy; 2Division of Pulmonology, S Anna Hospital, Como, Italy; 3Chair of Geriatrics, University Campus Bio-Medico, Roma, Italy; 4Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USABackground: The choice between lower limit of normal or fixed value of forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity ratio (FEV1/FVC) &lt; 0.70 as the criterion for confirming airway obstruction is an open issue. In t…
Pharmacologic pupil dilation as a predictive test for the risk for intraoperative floppy-iris syndrome.
2011
PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of α1-adrenergic receptor antagonists (α1-ARAs) on pupil diameter and determine whether the diameter predicts intraoperative floppy-iris syndrome (IFIS). SETTING: Ophthalmology Section, Palermo University, Palermo, Italy. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. METHODS: Male outpatients taking tamsulosin, α(1)-ARAs, or no α(1)-ARAs having phacoemulsification were recruited. Pupils were measured 1 month preoperatively, immediately preoperatively, and postoperatively under mesopic low (0.4 lux) and high (4.0 lux) illumination after pharmacologic dilation. The IFIS severity was graded. RESULTS: Each group comprised 50 patients. Pharmacologic dilation in both α(1)-ARA …
Obesity causes PGC‐1α deficiency in the pancreas leading to marked IL‐6 upregulation via NF‐κB in acute pancreatitis
2019
Obesity is associated with local and systemic complications in acute pancreatitis. PPARγ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) is a transcriptional coactivator and master regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis that exhibits dysregulation in obese subjects. Our aims were: (1) to study PGC-1α levels in pancreas from lean or obese rats and mice with acute pancreatitis; and (2) to determine the role of PGC-1α in the inflammatory response during acute pancreatitis elucidating the signaling pathways regulated by PGC-1α. Lean and obese Zucker rats and lean and obese C57BL6 mice were used first; subsequently, wild-type and PGC-1α knockout (KO) mice with cerulein-induced pancreatitis were used to assess the inflam…