Search results for "illne"
showing 10 items of 1535 documents
Focal airtrapping at expiratory high-resolution CT: comparison with pulmonary function tests
2000
This study was undertaken to determine prevalence, extent, and severity of focal airtrapping at expiratory high-resolution CT, and to compare focal airtrapping with age, gender, pulmonary function tests, and blood gas analysis. Two-hundred seventeen patients with and without pulmonary disease underwent paired inspiratory/expiratory high-resolution CT. Six scan pairs with corresponding scan levels were visually assessed for focal – not diffuse – airtrapping using a four-point scale. Pulmonary function tests and blood gas analysis were available for correlation in all patients (mean interval 5 days). Focal airtrapping with lower lung predominance was observed in 80 % of patients. Twenty-six o…
HRCT and scleroderma: semiquantitative evaluation of lung damage and functional abnormalities.
2007
This study sought to validate the Warrick score in the assessment of lung involvement in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and correlate the results with functional abnormalities. In addition, we propose the use of high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) indices of alveolitis and fibrosis to discriminate between different stages of the disease.Thirty-one patients with SSc (16 with the diffuse form and 15 with the limited form) underwent functional and HRCT evaluations of the lung. The semiquantitative evaluation of radiological involvement, as proposed by Warrick, provides a score for each lesion based on the severity and the extent of the pulmonary damage. In addition to the total score, indices…
B-Lines for the assessment of extravascular lung water: Just focused or semi-quantitative?
2020
BACKGROUND B-lines as typical artefacts of lung ultrasound are considered as surrogate measurement for extravascular lung water. However, B-lines develop in the sub-pleural space and do not allow assessment of the whole lung. Here, we present data from the first observational multi-centre study focusing on the correlation between a B-lines score and extravascular lung water in critically ill patients suffering from a variety of diseases. PATIENTS AND METHODS In 184 adult patients, 443 measurements were obtained. B-lines were counted and expressed in a score which was compared to extravascular lung water, measured by single-indicator transpulmonary thermodilution. Appropriate correlation coe…
Association of CYP2R1 rs10766197 with MS risk and disease progression
2017
Background MS is a neurodegenerative autoimmune disease resulting from a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Among these, vitamin D and genetic variants associated with vitamin D-metabolism gain great attention. The aim of our study was to assess five SNPs in NADSYN1 and CYP2R1 genes in relation to serum 25-OH-vitamin D3 levels in MS patients and controls. Methods 25-OH-vitamin D3 levels and genotyping of CYP2R1- and NADSYN1-SNPs were investigated both in MS patients and in healthy controls. Results The analysis revealed lower 25-OH-vitamin D3 concentrations in MS patients than in controls and an association of rs10766197 CYP2R1 SNP with MS risk. After stratifying MS p…
Switching from omalizumab to mepolizumab: real-life experience from Southern Italy.
2020
Background: Current availability of several biologic treatments for severe asthma makes it possible to choose the most appropriate for each patient. Sometimes a good percentage of patients with severe asthma may be eligible for biologics that target either the allergic phenotype or the eosinophilic one, but not all respond to that selected as first choice. The aim of our real-life study was to assess whether, for patients with severe eosinophilic allergic asthma, not previously controlled by the anti-IgE omalizumab, the shift to another biologic targeting interleukin-5, such as mepolizumab, may represent a good therapeutic choice. Methods: A total of 41 consecutive patients with severe, per…
Application of tRNS to improve multiple sclerosis fatigue: a pilot, single-blind, sham-controlled study
2019
We evaluated the effects of transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) on fatigue in 17 subjects with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis with low physical disability. Two different patient groups underwent real or sham stimulation for 10 days, targeting the primary motor cortex of the dominant side or contralateral to the most compromised limb. In the ‘real group’, beneficial effects were observed using the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (p = 0.04; physical subscale: p = 0.03), the subscales ‘change in health’ (p = 0.006) and ‘role limitations due to physical problems’ (p = 0.001) of the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54, and by assessing the patient impression of perceived fatigue…
Hepatic and circulating levels of PCSK9 in morbidly obese patients: Relation with severity of liver steatosis
2020
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is becoming the main cause of liver disease in Western countries, especially in morbidly obese patients (MOPs). The proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) has been recently studied because of its possible involvement in the pathogenesis of NAFLD, but its role, at least in MOPs, is still controversial. The aim of this study was to clarify the correlation between the circulating levels of the PCSK9 protein (cPCSK9) and its hepatic expression with the severity of liver damage in a population of MOPs with NAFLD undergoing bariatric surgery. PCSK9 mRNA was positively correlated with FASN, PPARγ and PPARα mRNAs, while no significant differe…
Interleukin (IL)-9/IL-9R axis drives γδ T cells activation in psoriatic arthritis patients
2016
Summary Cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-12, interferon (IFN)-γ, IL-23 and, more recently, IL-9, have been implicated in the initiation/maintenance of inflammation in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). In the present study we aimed to characterize the role of γδ T cells in peripheral blood and synovial fluid of PsA patients and to investigate their response to in-vitro stimulation with antigen or cytokines (IL-9 and IL-23). γδ T cells isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and synovial fluid were analysed by flow cytometry to evaluate the phenotype and cytokine production. IL-23R and IL-9R gene expression were also evaluated by reverse trans…
Development and Psychometric Properties of the Detection of Sexual Abuse Risk Screening Scale (DSARss).
2019
People with intellectual disability (ID) are more vulnerable to being victims of sexual abuse (SA) because, in most cases, they are not able to detect the warning signs that abuse could occur. However, there is a lack of appropriate assessment tools to determine their vulnerability. To address this limitation, the current study tests the psychometric properties of the Detection of Sexual Abuse Risk Screening Scale (DSARss), a new scale developed to assess the ability of individuals with mild or moderate ID to detect the risk of SA. In all, 246 individuals with mild or moderate ID (55.3% males) completed the DSARss, along with other scales assessing related dimensions (e.g., psychopathologi…
Intra and inter-raters reliability and agreement of stimulus electrodiagnostic tests with two different electrodes in sedated critically-ill patients
2019
Objective: The aim of the present study was to verify the intra- and inter-rater reliability and agreement of the stimulus electrodiagnostic test (SET) measurements obtained by pen and square elect...