Search results for "TEST"
showing 10 items of 19001 documents
The clinical relevance of adiposity when assessing muscle health in men treated with androgen deprivation for prostate cancer
2019
Background: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer (PCa) may prospectively decrease absolute lean mass (LM) and increase absolute fat mass (FM). Given that estimates of LM by dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry may be overestimated in obese people, this study examined the influence of adiposity on muscle health in men treated with ADT for PCa. Methods: This cross‐sectional study examined the influence of adiposity on total and appendicular LM (ALM), muscle cross‐sectional (CSA), and muscle strength in 70 men treated with ADT [mean (standard deviation) age, 71 (6) years] for PCa compared with age‐matched PCa (n = 52) and healthy controls (n = 70). Total body LM, FM and ALM, and …
Mast cells are associated with the onset and progression of celiac disease
2017
Background Celiac disease (CD) is an immune-mediated disorder characterized by an accumulation of immune cells in the duodenal mucosa as a consequence of both adaptive and innate immune responses to undigested gliadin peptides. Mast cells (MCs) are innate immune cells that are a major source of costimulatory signals and inflammatory mediators in the intestinal mucosa. Although MCs have previously been associated with CD, functional studies have never been performed. Objective We aimed at evaluating the role of MCs in the pathogenesis of CD. Methods Intestinal biopsy specimens of patients with CD were scored according to the Marsh classification and characterized for leukocyte infiltration a…
GLRB allelic variation associated with agoraphobic cognitions, increased startle response and fear network activation: a potential neurogenetic pathw…
2017
Contains fulltext : 177350.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) The molecular genetics of panic disorder (PD) with and without agoraphobia (AG) are still largely unknown and progress is hampered by small sample sizes. We therefore performed a genome-wide association study with a dimensional, PD/AG-related anxiety phenotype based on the Agoraphobia Cognition Questionnaire (ACQ) in a sample of 1370 healthy German volunteers of the CRC TRR58 MEGA study wave 1. A genome-wide significant association was found between ACQ and single non-coding nucleotide variants of the GLRB gene (rs78726293, P=3.3 x 10-8; rs191260602, P=3.9 x 10-8). We followed up on this finding in a larger dimensional AC…
Genetic justification of severe COVID-19 using a rigorous algorithm
2021
Recent studies suggest excessive complement activation in severe coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). The latter shares common characteristics with complement-mediated thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA). We hypothesized that genetic susceptibility would be evident in patients with severe COVID-19 (similar to TMA) and associated with disease severity. We analyzed genetic and clinical data from 97 patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Through targeted next-generation-sequencing we found an ADAMTS13 variant in 49 patients, along with two risk factor variants (C3, 21 patients; CFH,34 patients). 31 (32%) patients had a combination of these, which was independently associated with ICU hospitalization (…
Homocysteine concentration in coronary artery disease: Influence of three common single nucleotide polymorphisms.
2017
Whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of homocysteine metabolism enzymes influence the rate of cardiovascular (CV) events in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients remains controversial.In this analysis, 1126 subjects from the AtheroGene study with CAD and 332 control subjects without known CAD were included. The following SNPs were investigated: methylentetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR-C667T), methionin synthetase (MS-D919G), and cystathionin beta synthetase (CBS-I278T). The endpoint was the combination of cardiovascular death, stroke, and non-fatal myocardial infarction (N = 286). The median follow-up time was 6.4 years. Kaplan-Meier curve analysis showed an increasing event rat…
Impact of Pre-Analytical Time on the Recovery of Pathogens from Blood Cultures: Results from a Large Retrospective Survey.
2017
Background Prompt identification of bloodstream pathogens is essential for optimal management of patients. Significant changes in analytical methods have improved the turnaround time for laboratory diagnosis. Less attention has been paid to the time elapsing from blood collection to incubation and to its potential effect on recovery of pathogens. We evaluated the performance of blood cultures collected under typical hospital conditions in relation to the length of their pre-analytical time. Methods We carried out a large retrospective study including 50,955 blood cultures collected, over a 30-month period, from 7,035 adult septic patients. Cultures were accepted by the laboratory only durin…
Impact of the BioFire FilmArray gastrointestinal panel on patient care and infection control.
2020
Contains fulltext : 218876.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) OBJECTIVES: Conventional routine PCR testing for gastrointestinal infections is generally based on pathogen related panels specifically requested by clinicians and can be erroneous and time consuming. The BioFire FilmArray gastrointestinal (GI) panel combines 22 pathogens into a single cartridge-based test on a random-access system, thereby reducing the turnaround time to less than 2 hours. We described the clinical impact of implementing the BioFire FilmArray on patients with gastroenteritis in our hospital. METHODS: Patients attending a Dutch tertiary care center (Radboud University Medical Center), from whom stool sample…
Clinical Determinants of Thrombin Generation Measured in Presence and Absence of Platelets-Results from the Gutenberg Health Study.
2018
AbstractThe tendency of a plasma sample to generate thrombin, a central enzyme in blood coagulation, might be an important indicator of prothrombotic risk linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the presence of platelets may be a critical determinant. Clinical data, laboratory markers and thrombin generation (TG), investigated in both platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet-free plasma (PFP) at 1 pM TF, were available in 407 individuals from the Gutenberg Health Study. Given the well-known effect of anticoagulants on TG, subjects taking anticoagulants (n = 15) have been excluded resulting in 392 subjects for further analysis. Lag time, endogenous thrombin potential (ETP) and peak height…
An in-depth analysis shows a hidden atherogenic lipoprotein profile in non-diabetic chronic kidney disease patients
2019
Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an independent risk factor for atherosclerotic disease. We hypothesized that CKD promotes a proatherogenic lipid profile modifying lipoprotein composition and particle number. Methods: Cross-sectional study in 395 non-diabetic individuals (209 CKD patients and 186 controls) without statin therapy. Conventional lipid determinations were combined with advanced lipoprotein profiling by nuclear magnetic resonance, and their discrimination ability was assessed by machine learning. Results: CKD patients showed an increase of very-low-density (VLDL) particles and a reduction of LDL particle size. Cholesterol and triglyceride content of VLDLs and intermed…
Evaluation of a rapid immunochromatographic test for the detection of low burden Dirofilaria immitis (heartworm) in dogs and cats
2017
The performance of a rapid immunochromatographic test for the detection of Dirofilaria immitis antigens (Speed Diro™; BVT-Virbac, France) was assessed in 49 experimentally infected dogs and in 244 naturally infected animals; 142 dogs and 102 cats. In experimentally infected dogs, Speed Diro™ showed a sensitivity of 90.9% in dogs infected with one adult female worm and 100% in dogs infected with more than one female worm. Specificity was 100%. For naturally infected dogs, the Knott test and PetChek® HTWM PF served as reference methods for microfilaremia and antigenemia, respectively. All microfilaemic dogs (55/142) were positive with Speed Diro™. Importantly, none of the 21 dogs infected wit…