Search results for "REGION"
showing 10 items of 4910 documents
Phase-specific modulation of cortical motor output during movement observation.
2001
The effects of different phases of an observed movement on the modulation of cortical motor output were studied by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). A video-clip of a reaching-grasping action was shown and single TMS pulses were delivered during its passive observation, Times of cortical stimulation were related to the phases of the shown movement, locking them to the appearance of specific kinematic landmarks. The amplitude of the motor evoked potentials (MEPs) induced by TMS in the first dorsal interosseus (FDI) muscle was modulated by the amount of the observed finger aperture. The presence of such an effect is consistent with the notion of a mirror neuron system in premo…
A polymorphism of the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist plays a prominent role within the interleukin-1 gene cluster in vulvar carcinogenesis
2003
Abstract Objective . The interleukin-1 (IL-1) family, that is, IL-1α and β and the IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), is known to modulate various tumorgenic and tumorcidal effects in humans. Its biological function in squamous cell carcinogenesis of various anatomical sites has been stressed. Although various studies showed a certain association between genes encoding the IL-1 family and human malignancies, no data with respect to vulvar cancer have been published to date. Methods . We ascertained four polymorphisms of the IL-1α gene ( IL1A C[−889]T), the IL-1β gene ( IL1B promoter C[-511]T and IL1B exon 5 position +3953), and the IL-1RA gene ( IL1RN intron 2) in 68 patients with surgicall…
Polymorphisms in TRAIL receptor genes and risk of breast cancer in Spanish women
2007
TRAIL is a potent inducer of apoptosis in malignant but not in normal cells. TRAIL binds to the proapoptotic death receptor DR4 and DR5 as well as to the decoy receptors DcR1 and DcR2. To evaluate the involvement of TRAIL receptor genes in breast cancer, we carried out a case-control study of eight selected polymorphisms in a large sample of Spanish women. Three of the eight selected SNPs (626G/C and 1322G/A in DR4 and 2699A/G in DcR2) showed some evidence of different genotype distributions in a random selection of 535 cases and 480 controls and were therefore studied in our entire sample (1008 cases and 768 controls). For the two DR4 polymorphisms, no differences in genotype or haplotype …
Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography in the assessment of cerebral circulation arrest: improving sensitivity by trancervical and transorbital carotid…
2009
INTRODUCTION: Transcranial Doppler (TCD) can detect the cerebral circulation arrest (CCA) in brain death. TCD is highly specific, but less sensitive because of false-negatives accounting for up to 10%. The aim of the study was to explore the diagnostic accuracy of TCD and to determine whether it can be augmented by strategies such as the insonation of the extracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) and sequential examinations. METHODS: Data of 184 patients, who met clinical criteria of brain death, observed from 1998 through 2006, were retrospectively reviewed. The study of cerebral arteries was performed through the transtemporal approach, suboccipital insonation of the vertebro-basilar sys…
Impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions 6 and 12 months after breast cancer operation.
2005
OBJECTIVE: To describe the impairments of upper body and limbs, activity limitations and participation restrictions 6 and 12 months after operation for breast cancer and to examine the impact of impairments on activity limitations.\ud \ud DESIGN: A prospective survey 6 and 12 months after operation.\ud \ud PATIENTS: Ninety-six breast cancer patients.\ud \ud METHODS: A questionnaire for assessing the impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions was developed.\ud \ud RESULTS: The most common impairments 6 months after operation were breast and axilla scar tightness, axilla oedema and neck-shoulder pain. At 12-month follow-up the breast scar tightness (p=0.008) and axilla o…
A new PCSK9 gene promoter variant affects gene expression and causes autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia.
2008
Autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia (ADH) is a genetic disorder characterized by increased low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels, leading to high risk of premature cardiovascular disease. More than 900 mutations in LDL receptor, six in APOB and 10 in PCSK9 have been identified as a cause of the disease in different populations. All known mutations in PCSK9 causing hypercholesterolemia produce an increase in the enzymatic activity of this protease. Up to now, there are data about the implication of PCSK9 in ADH in a low number of populations, not including a Spanish population.The objective of the study was to study the prevalence of PCSK9 mutations in ADH Spanish population.W…
Effects of hypocaloric very-low-carbohydrate diet vs. Mediterranean diet on endothelial function in obese women
2009
Obesity is a cardiovascular risk factor associated with endothelial dysfunction, but the effect of different weight loss strategies on endothelial function is not known. The effect of diet on endothelial function in two hypocaloric diets, a very-low-carbohydrate diet (A) and a Mediterranean diet (M), was measured by brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD). Design Using a longitudinal, randomized, open study design, subjects were engaged in a 2-month weight loss diet. FMD, inflammatory cytokines [interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha] and a marker of oxidative stress [8-iso-prostaglandin F2alpha (8-iso-PGF2alpha)] were measured in subjects on three occasions: before init…
Semaphorin and plexin gene expression is altered in the prefrontal cortex of schizophrenia patients with and without auditory hallucinations
2015
Auditory hallucinations (AH) are clinical hallmarks of schizophrenia, however little is known about molecular genetics of these symptoms. In this study, gene expression profiling of postmortem brain samples from prefrontal cortex of schizophrenic patients without AH (SNA), patients with AH (SA) and control subjects were compared. Genome-wide expression analysis was conducted using samples of three individuals of each group and the Affymetrix GeneChip Human-Gene 1.0 ST-Array. This analysis identified the Axon Guidance pathway as one of the most differentially expressed network among SNA, SA and CNT. To confirm the transcriptome results, mRNA level quantification of seventeen genes involved i…
Heterogeneity of muscle activity during sedentary behavior
2016
Replacing sitting by standing has been hypothesized to reduce the health risks of sitting, based on the assumption that muscles are passive during sitting and active during standing. Interventions have been more effective in overweight (OW) than in normal weight (NW) individuals, but subjects’ muscle activities have not been quantified. This study compared quadriceps and hamstring muscle electromyographic (EMG) activity between 57 NW (body mass index (BMI) 22.5 ± 1.5 kg/m2, female n = 36) and 27 OW (BMI 28.4 ± 2.9 kg/m2, female n = 8) subjects during non-fatiguing standing (15 s, EMGstanding) and sitting (30 min). EMG amplitude was normalized to EMG measured during maximal isometric knee e…
A ballistometer for the study of the plasto-elastic properties of skin.
1977
The ballistrometer is based on the "drop impact" of a body onto a stationary surface. A collision in one dimension is provoked by allowing a bard body to drop from a given height onto the skin surface to be tested. After the collision, the impacting body undergoes a variable number of rebounds decreasing in amplitude. By measuring the height of the rebounds, the amount of energy returned by the tissue is calculated in terms of coefficient of restitution e. The equipment, consisting of a hammer unit, a feeder-amplifier, and a plotter, is described. Ballistometry has been carried out on skin areas of 46 normal subjects ranging in age from 8 to 80 years, as well as on pathologic and cadaveric …