Search results for "dysfunction"
showing 10 items of 1129 documents
Validation of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide cut-off values for risk stratification of pulmonary embolism
2014
The optimal N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) cut-off value for risk stratification of pulmonary embolism remains controversial. In this study we validated and compared different proposed NT-proBNP cut-off values in 688 normotensive patients with pulmonary embolism. During the first 30 days, 28 (4.1%) patients reached the primary outcome (pulmonary embolism-related death or complications) and 29 (4.2%) patients died. Receiver operating characteristic analysis yielded an area under the curve of 0.70 (0.60-0.80) for NT-proBNP. A cut-off value of 600 pg·mL(-1) was associated with the best prognostic performance (sensitivity 86% and specificity 50%) and the highest odds ratio…
Socioemotional Wealth and Networking in the Internationalisation of Family SMEs
2021
In internationalisation processes, international expansion exposes family SMEs to external networking and the risks such expansion entails, and perceived threats to their socioemotional wealth (SEW) might restrain their willingness to take these actions. However, very few studies measure SEW and associate it with internationalisation. Considering SEW preservation’s prominence in family SMEs and SMEs’ heavy dependence on networking during internationalisation, we hypothesise that SEW preservation has a negative association and networking has a positive association with the family SMEs’ degree of internationalisation (DOI). We reconstruct four SEW constructs that carry significance for family…
Somatoforma veģetatīva disfunkcija farmaceita praksē
2020
Ar terminu “somatoforma veģetatīva disfunkcija” (SVD) tiek apzīmēti ķermeņa funkciju un sajūtu traucējumi, gadījumos, kad objektīvs un medicīniski izskaidrojams šo traucējumu iemesls netiek atrasts. Cilvēki ar SVD izjūt dažādus simptomus, piemēram, trauksmi, nemieru, paaugstinātu uzbudināmību, sāpes, kuņģa-zarnu trakta darbības traucējumus, sirds un asinsvadu sistēmas traucējumus, kas izraisa pastāvīgu uztraukumu un diskomfortu. Šie pacienti pārmērīgi meklē medicīnisko palīdzību un mierinājumu, bet viņiem ir grūti pieņemt ne patoloģiskus rezultātus medicīniskajā izmeklēšanā. SVD ir grūti diagnosticējama un prasa vairāku speciālistu palīdzību, ka arī paša cilvēka izturību un līdzestību. SVD …
TLR4 elimination prevents synaptic and myelin alterations and long-term cognitive dysfunctions in adolescent mice with intermittent ethanol treatment.
2015
The adolescent brain undergoes important dynamic and plastic cell changes, including overproduction of axons and synapses, followed by rapid pruning along with ongoing axon myelination. These developmental changes make the adolescent brain particularly vulnerable to neurotoxic and behavioral effects of alcohol. Although the mechanisms of these effects are largely unknown, we demonstrated that ethanol by activating innate immune receptors toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), induces neuroinflammation and brain damage in adult mice. The present study aims to evaluate whether intermittent ethanol treatment in adolescence promotes TLR4-dependent pro-inflammatory processes, leading to myelin and synapti…
The association between objective vision impairment and mild cognitive impairment among older adults in low- and middle-income countries
2021
Aim: The association between visual impairment and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has not been investigated to date. Thus, we assessed this association among older adults from six low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) (China, India, Ghana, Mexico, Russia, and South Africa) using nationally representative datasets. Methods: Cross-sectional, community-based data from the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) were analyzed. Visual acuity was measured using the tumbling ElogMAR chart, and vision impairment (at distance and near) was defined as visual acuity worse than 6/18 (0.48 logMAR) in the better-seeing eye. The definition of MCI was based on the National Institute on Aging…
INVERSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHOROIDAL THICKNESS AND SUBCLINICAL RENAL DAMAGE IN ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION
2018
The introduction in last years of advanced techniques of optical coherence tomography (OCT) has greatly increased our understanding of the choroid, that is the most important vascular layer of the eye. Our study was aimed to assess choroidal thickness by using Swept-Source OCT (SS-OCT) in essential hypertensive patients (EHs) with and without subclinical renal damage (SRD). We enrolled 100 EHs of which 65 without kidney damage and 35 with SRD. In all the participants SS-OCT and a routine biochemical workup were performed. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was estimated by the CKD-EPI equation (eGFR). SRD was defined, by the presence of microalbuminuria or eGFR between 30 and 60 mL/min/1.73 m…
Safety of agalsidase alfa in patients with Fabry disease under 7 years
2011
Aim: To evaluate the safety and explore the efficacy of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for Fabry disease with agalsidase alfa in young children enrolled in the Fabry Outcome Survey (FOS). Methods: This retrospective chart review identified eight children (mean age = 5.0 ± 1.6 [mean ± SD]) in FOS who began treatment with agalsidase alfa (0.2 mg/kg, i.v., every other week) when <7 years old. Vital signs and adverse events were monitored throughout the study period. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was estimated, and left ventricular mass indexed to height2.7 (LVMi) was assessed with echocardiography. Patients received 1.2–6.7 years of treatment (mean = 4.2 years). Results: Infusion react…
Burden of Recurrent Hospitalizations Following an Admission for Acute Heart Failure: Preserved Versus Reduced Ejection Fraction.
2017
Abstract Introduction and objectives Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and reduced ejection fraction share a high mortality risk. However, differences in the rehospitalization burden over time between these 2 entities remains unclear. Methods We prospectively included 2013 consecutive patients discharged for acute heart failure. Of these, 1082 (53.7%) had heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and 931 (46.2%) had heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Cox and negative binomial regression methods were used to evaluate the risks of death and repeat hospitalizations, respectively. Results At a median follow-up of 2.36 years (interquartile range: 0.96-4.65), 1018 pat…
Relationship Between Short-Term Blood Pressure Variability and Subclinical Renal Damage in Essential Hypertensive Patients
2015
The authors aimed to analyze the relationship between subclinical renal damage, defined as the presence of microalbuminuria or an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) between 30 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and short-term blood pressure (BP) variability, assessed as average real variability (ARV), weighted standard deviation (SD) of 24-hour BP, and SD of daytime and nighttime BP. A total of 328 hypertensive patients underwent 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring, 24-hour albumin excretion rate determination, and eGFR calculation using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation. ARV of 24-hour systolic BP (SBP) was significantly higher in patients with subc…
Pentamidine rescues contractility and rhythmicity in a Drosophila model of myotonic dystrophy heart dysfunction
2015
Up to 80% of individuals with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) will develop cardiac abnormalities at some point during the progression of their disease, the most common of which is heart blockage of varying degrees. Such blockage is characterized by conduction defects and supraventricular and ventricular tachycardia, and carries a high risk of sudden cardiac death. Despite its importance, very few animal model studies have focused on the heart dysfunction in DM1. Here, we describe the characterization of the heart phenotype in a Drosophila model expressing pure expanded CUG repeats under the control of the cardiomyocyte-specific driver GMH5-Gal4. Morphologically, expression of 250 CUG repeat…