Search results for "illness"
showing 10 items of 1529 documents
Noroviral P-Particles as an In Vitro Model to Assess the Interactions of Noroviruses with Probiotics
2014
Noroviruses (NoVs) are the main etiologic agents of acute epidemic gastroenteritis and probiotic bacteria have been reported to exert a positive effect on viral diarrhea. The protruding (P) domain from NoVs VP1 capsid protein has the ability to assemble into the so-called P-particles, which retain the binding ability to host receptors. We purified the P-domains from NoVs genotypes GI.1 and GII.4 as 6X(His)-tagged proteins and determined that, similar to native domains, they were structured into P-particles that were functional in the recognition of the specific glycoconjugated receptors, as established by surface plasmon resonance experiments. We showed that several lactic acid bacteria (pr…
The size of juxtaluminal hypoechoic area in ultrasound images of asymptomatic carotid plaques predicts the occurrence of stroke
2013
Abstract OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that the size of a juxtaluminal black (hypoechoic) area (JBA) in ultrasound images of asymptomatic carotid artery plaques predicts future ipsilateral ischemic stroke. METHODS: A JBA was defined as an area of pixels with a grayscale value 10 mm(2) (P 8 mm(2)) was still significant after adjusting for other plaque features known to be associated with increased risk, including stenosis, grayscale median, presence of discrete white areas without acoustic shadowing indicating neovascularization, plaque area, and history of contralateral TIA or stroke. Plaque area and grayscale median were not significant. Using the significant variables (stenosis, discr…
Safety and feasibility of atropine added in patients with sub-maximal heart rate during exercise myocardial perfusion SPECT.
2006
Failure to reach 80% of maximal predicted heart rate (HR) during exercise may render a myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) study non-diagnostic for ischemia detection. We sought to investigate the injection of atropine in patients who fail to achieve 80% of age-predicted HR during exercise performed for myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS), defining its safety and efficacy to raise HR to adequate levels as well as its effect on MPS interpretation.Between January 2002 and December 2004, we studied 3,150 consecutive patients (2,253 men and 897 women, mean age 55 +/- 6 years) who were referred to a single office-based nuclear cardiology laboratory for MPS using …
Heart rate variability changes at 2400 m altitude predicts acute mountain sickness on further ascent at 3000-4300 m altitudes
2012
Objective: If the body fails to acclimatize at high altitude, acute mountain sickness (AMS) may result. For the early detection of AMS, changes in cardiac autonomic function measured by heart rate variability (HRV) may be more sensitive than clinical symptoms alone. The purpose of this study was to ascertain if the changes in HRV during ascent are related to AMS. Methods: We followed Lake Louise Score (LLS), arterial oxygen saturation at rest (R-SpO2) and exercise (Ex-SpO2) and HRV parameters daily in 36 different healthy climbers ascending from 2400 m to 6300 m altitudes during five different expeditions. Results: After an ascent to 2400 m, root mean square successive differences, high-fre…
The sanitation service of seagrasses – Dependencies and implications for the estimation of avoided costs
2022
Seagrasses are capable of sanitizing coastal seawaters polluted by fecal bacteria. In this work, the reduction of Enterococci concentration in the presence of a seagrasses’ assemblage (Pacific Ocean) was related to the decrease in the probability of gastroenteritis. A linear model fitted to data extracted from the literature showed a 20% reduction of this probability in the presence of these plants. Seagrass sanitation effect was estimated to allow avoiding ca. 24 million gastroenteritis cases/year, globally. Considering a global cost of gastroenteritis of ca. US$ 372 million/year, the global avoided cost, assuming that the sanitation service was always effective, was estimated to be ca. US…
Persistence of C-reactive protein increased levels and high disease activity are predictors of cardiovascular disease in patients with axial spondylo…
2022
AbstractAn accurate prediction of cardiovascular (CV) risk in patients with Axial Spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a strong unmet need, as CV risk algorithms poorly perform in these subjects. The aim of this study was to establish whether the persistence of high C-reactive protein (CRP) and high disease activity may be considered predictive factors of CVD in axSpA. 295 patients without personal history of CVD, were consecutively enrolled in this study. To evaluate the relationship between CV events occurrence (fatal and non-fatal) and the persistence of increased CRP levels, ASDAS (Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score) > 2.1, and BASDAI (Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity)…
Culture and Real-time Polymerase Chain reaction sensitivity in the diagnosis of invasive meningococcal disease: Does culture miss less severe cases?
2019
BackgroundInvasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is a highly lethal disease. Diagnosis is commonly performed by culture or Realtime-PCR (qPCR).AimsOur aim was to evaluate, retrospectively, whether culture positivity correlates with higher bacterial load and fatal outcome. Our secondary aim was to compare culture and qPCR sensitivity.MethodsThe National Register for Molecular Surveillance was used as data source. Cycle threshold (CT), known to be inversely correlated with bacterial load, was used to compare bacterial load in different samples.ResultsThree-hundred-thirteen patients were found positive for Neisseria meningitidis by qPCR, or culture, or both; 41 died (case fatality rate 13.1%); 1…
Primary endpoint results of the OMEGA Study: One-year clinical outcomes after implantation of a novel platinum chromium bare metal stent.
2014
Bare metal stents (BMS) have similar rates of death and myocardial infarction (MI) compared to drug-eluting stents (DES). DES lower repeat revascularization rates compared to BMS, but may have higher rates of late stent thrombosis (ST) potentially due to impaired endothelialization requiring longer dual anti-platelet therapy (DAPT). OMEGA evaluated a novel BMS designed to have improved deliverability and radiopacity, in comparison to currently available platforms.OMEGA was a prospective, multicenter, single-arm study enrolling 328 patients at 37 sites (US and Europe). Patients received the OMEGA stent (bare platinum chromium element stent) for the treatment of de novo native coronary artery…
Anti-C1q Autoantibodies in Lupus Nephritis: Prevalence and Clinical Significance
2005
Recently, anti-C1q autoantibodies have been proposed as a useful marker in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) since their occurrence correlates with renal involvement and, possibly, with nephritic activity. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of anti-C1q antibodies in patients with SLE, with and without renal involvement, and to correlate these markers' presence and levels with the activity of the disease and nephropathy. We studied 61 patients with SLE, 40 of whom had biopsy-proven lupus nephritis; 35 patients with other connective tissue diseases; and 54 healthy controls. In addition, 18 lupus nephritis patients were followed up during the disease time course. Anti-C1q antibodies were mea…
Impact biopsychosocial de la charge des aidants : pourquoi faut-il porter une attention spécifique envers la santé des aidants ?
2018
There are 11 million family caregivers in France and some estimates indicate that there will be 17 million in 2020. Caregiving is a source of chronic stress that requires adaptation and coping strategies. Caregiving may benefit the health of a caregiver with a positive coping style and altruistic goals. However, the caregiver's burden is frequently associated with negative effects in terms of biopsychosocial imbalance and medical conditions, with frequent anxiety and depression. The management of the caregiving burden starts with the recognition of health professionals - caregivers may benefit from consultation-liaison psychiatry and multidisciplinary medico-social strategies, in addition t…