Search results for "actors"
showing 10 items of 11323 documents
The progression rate of aortic stenosis: key to tailoring the management and potential target for treatment
2021
: Aortic stenosis is the most frequent valvular disease to require intervention in the western world and has always been featured as a progressive disease. The rate of progression can be assessed by carefully performed Doppler echocardiography and can vary greatly between individuals with a profound impact on prognosis. Unfortunately, the determinants of disease progression had been insufficiently studied and remain challenging to define, particularly in the outpatient setting. Multiple factors have been proposed and tested, but at present, there are no proven therapies to slow the course of the stenotic process. Heart valve clinics may be particularly important to define the progression ra…
Are biological drugs effective and safe in older severe asthmatics?
2019
Introduction: The treatment of asthma in older ages follows the recommendations of international guidelines for the management of asthma in younger ages, although older age has always represented an exclusion criterion for eligibility to pharmacological trials. This poses a clinical challenge when deciding whether elderly severe asthmatics are candidates for biological drugs. Areas covered: The current article has a narrative structure to review the current literature on efficacy and safety of novel pharmacological drugs against immunoglobulins and interleukins that mediate and orchestrate the main inflammatory pathways in severe asthma, in order to explore whether older subjects (i.e. >…
Maximum Dynamic Lower-Limb Strength Was Maintained During 24-Week Reduced Training Frequency in Previously Sedentary Older Women.
2018
Walker, S, Serrano, J, and Van Roie, E. Maximum dynamic lower-limb strength was maintained during 24-week reduced training frequency in previously sedentary older women. J Strength Cond Res 32(4): 1063-1071, 2018-There is little study into the effects of reducing strength training below the recommended twice weekly frequency, particularly in older women, despite the possibility that individuals will encounter periods of reduced training frequency. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of a period of reduced training frequency on maximum strength and muscle mass of the lower limbs in comparison with the recommended training frequency of twice per week. After an initia…
Respiratory Syncytial Virus: New Challenges for Molecular Epidemiology Surveillance and Vaccination Strategy in Patients with ILI/SARI.
2021
Several respiratory pathogens are responsible for influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe respiratory infections (SARI), among which human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) represents one of the most common aetiologies. We analysed the hRSV prevalence among subjects with ILI or SARI during the five influenza seasons before the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Sicily (Italy). Respiratory specimens from ILI outpatients and SARI inpatients were collected in the framework of the Italian Network for the Influenza Surveillance and molecularly tested for hRSV-A and hRSV-B. Overall, 8.1% of patients resulted positive for hRSV. Prevalence peaked in the age-groups <
Sex Differences in Severity of Stroke in the INSTRUCT Study: a Meta‐Analysis of Individual Participant Data
2018
Background Women have worse outcomes after stroke than men, and this may be partly explained by stroke severity. We examined factors contributing to sex differences in severity of acute stroke assessed by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale. Methods and Results We pooled individual participant data with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale assessment (N=6343) from 8 population‐based stroke incidence studies (1996–2014), forming part of INSTRUCT (International Stroke Outcomes Study). Information on sociodemographics, stroke‐related clinical factors, comorbidities, and pre‐stroke function were obtained. Within each study, relative risk regression using log‐binominal modeling…
Gene expression centroids that link with low intrinsic aerobic exercise capacity and complex disease risk
2010
A strong link exists between low aerobic exercise capacity and complex metabolic diseases. To probe this linkage, we utilized rat models of low and high intrinsic aerobic endurance running capacity that differ also in the risk for metabolic syndrome. We investigated in skeletal muscle gene-phenotype relationships that connect aerobic endurance capacity with metabolic disease risk factors. The study compared 12 high capacity runners (HCRs) and 12 low capacity runners (LCRs) from generation 18 of selection that differed by 615% for maximal treadmill endurance running capacity. On average, LCRs were heavier and had increased blood glucose, insulin, and triglycerides compared with HCRs. HCRs we…
Transcription factors controlling development and function of innate lymphoid cells.
2014
Abstract Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are a heterogeneous group of lymphocytes, which play an important role in tissue homeostasis at epithelial surfaces. They are scarce in spleen and lymph nodes, but substantial numbers can be found in the intestinal mucosa even at steady state. There, they represent the first line of defence against invading pathogens and contribute to lymphorganogenesis, tissue repair and, when inappropriately activated, immune pathology. Lineage-specific development, function and maintenance of these cells depend on a restricted set of transcription factors that partially emerged as a result of diversification and selection during vertebrate evolution. The differential…
Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (CSF) and multilineage CSF recruit human monocytes to express granulocyte CSF
1989
Abstract We assessed the capacity of recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and multilineage (Multi)-CSF to induce release of granulocyte-CSF (G-CSF) by highly purified peripheral blood monocyte (Mo) preparations. Our results reveal that GM-CSF and Multi-CSF, either alone or in a synergistic concert, activate Mo to transcribe G-CSF messenger (m) RNA and release biologically active G- CSF protein into their culture supernatants. G-CSF had no regulatory effect on Mo expression of cytoplasmic G-CSF mRNA levels and G-CSF protein secretion by itself. These differential actions of CSFs provide further insight into self-regulatory mechanisms within the growth f…
Cytokine components and mucosal immunity in the oviduct of Xenopus laevis (amphibia, pipidae)
2011
Abstract Most studies on the mucosal immunity in female reproductive tissues have been performed in mammals. In all species, apart from their reproductive strategies, immunity in the genital mucosa is required to defend the host against luminal pathogens. In this study we investigated the role of the innate immunity of the oviductal mucosa of Xenopus laevis , an amphibian characterized by external fertilization. In particular we examined the expression and localization of Interleukin-1β (IL1B), Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and Interleukin-1 receptor type 1 (IL1R1) in different oviductal portions including an upper glandular region, an intermediate and a lower aglandular regi…
IL-27 controls the development of inducible regulatory T cells and Th17 cells via differential effects on STAT1
2007
IL-27 is an IL-12-related cytokine frequently present at sites of inflammation that can promote both anti- and pro-inflammatory immune responses. Here, we have analyzed the mechanisms how IL-27 may drive such divergent immune responses. While IL-27 suppressed the development of proinflammatory Th17 cells, a novel role for this cytokine in inhibiting the development of anti-inflammatory, inducible regulatory T cells (iTreg) was identified. In fact, IL-27 suppressed the development of adaptive, TGF-beta-induced Forkhead box transcription factor p3-positive (Foxp3(+)) Treg. Whereas the blockade of Th17 development was dependent on the transcription factor STAT1, the suppression of iTreg develo…