Search results for "rct"
showing 10 items of 1934 documents
Obesity, hypertension and atherosclerosis
1993
Hypertension and obesity are associated with an increased risk of clinical cardiovascular complications due to atherosclerosis. Moreover has been reported that hypertension may predispose to atheroma development. In the present review some common aspects to hypertension and atherosclerosis including smooth muscle cell proliferation, endothelial damage and intervention of growth factors have been analyzed. Additional data have to be provided to explain if the connections between hypertension and atherosclerosis could be considered two effects with one unknown cause. In addition some aspects related to obesity and atherosclerosis have been dissected. In particular we have reported our results…
Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) for the preventive treatment of episodic migraine: The multicentre, double-blind, randomised, sham-contro…
2019
Introduction Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS; gammaCore®) has the potential to prevent migraine days in patients with migraine on the basis of mechanistic rationale and pilot clinical data. Methods This multicentre study included a 4-week run-in period, a 12-week double-blind period of randomised treatment with nVNS or sham, and a 24-week open-label period of nVNS. Patients were to administer two 120-second stimulations bilaterally to the neck three times daily (6–8 hours apart). Results Of 477 enrolled patients, 332 comprised the intent-to-treat (ITT) population. Mean reductions in migraine days per month (primary outcome) were 2.26 for nVNS (n = 165; baseline, 7.9 days) and 1.8…
Mobilization of endothelial progenitor cells in acute cardiovascular events in the PROCELL study: Time-course after acute myocardial infarction and s…
2015
The mobilization pattern and functionality of endothelial progenitor cells after an acute ischemic event remain largely unknown. The aim of our study was to characterize and compare the short- and long-term mobilization of endothelial progenitor cells and circulating endothelial cells after acute myocardial infarction or atherothrombotic stroke, and to determine the relationship between these cell counts and plasma concentrations of vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1) and Von Willebrand factor (VWF) as surrogate markers of endothelial damage and inflammation. In addition, we assessed whether endothelial progenitor cells behave like functional endothelial cells. We included 150 patients…
High Serum Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Rates and Small High-Density Lipoproteins Are Associated With Young Age in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infar…
2007
Objectives Our aim was to characterize cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) activity in the early phase of acute myocardial infarction (MI). Background Cholesteryl ester transfer protein catalyzes the transfer of cholesteryl esters from high-density lipoprotein (HDL) donors to apolipoprotein B-containing lipoprotein acceptors. Methods The CETP concentration, lipid profiles, and the rate of cholesteryl ester transfer (CET) from a tracer dose of radiolabeled HDL toward endogenous lipoproteins were determined within 24 h after symptom onset. Results Among 347 patients with first MI, CETP concentration, triglycerides, and non–HDL-cholesterol increased across tertiles of the CET rate, where…
Nitric oxide metabolites (nitrite and nitrate) in young patients with recent acute myocardial infarction
2008
Nitric oxide (NO) has a role in the pathophysiology of acute and chronic cardiovascular events. We studied the plasma concentration of NO stable end products (nitrite and nitrate - NO x ) in 43 patients aged <46 years, with recent acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The evaluation was effected at the initial stage, after 3 and 12 months. We subdivided the patients into subgroups according to the number of the main cardiovascular risk factors and to the extent of coronary disease. In the whole group the NO x concentration was initially increased and progressively decreased after 3 and 12 months, remaining at both times significantly higher than in control subjects. The patients with more risk…
Anatomical correlate of positive spontaneous visual phenomena: a voxelwise lesion study.
2010
Objectives: Visual phenomena such as phosphenes, photopsias, or complex visual hallucinations occur in patients with lesions affecting the occipital, parietal, or temporal lobe. Whether these phenomena are provoked by lesions in specific anatomical regions is still uncertain. To determine which brain regions might be involved in such visual phenomena, we used new brain imaging and lesion analysis tools that allow a direct comparison with control patients. Methods: Visual phenomena were investigated in a total of 23 patients with acute infarctions along the visual pathways (6 patients with left-sided and 17 patients with right-sided lesions). Results: Ten of these 23 patients (43%) reported …
Role of proinflammatory alleles in longevity and atherosclerosis: results of studies performed on -1562C/T MMP-9 in centenarians and myocardial infar…
2007
Centenarians are characterized by marked delay or escape from age-associated diseases that cause mortality at earlier ages. Jointly, atherosclerosis and its complications, such as myocardial infarction (AMI), significantly contribute to mortality in the elderly. Inflammation is a key component of atherosclerosis and inflammatory genes are good candidates for the risk of the development of atherosclerosis. Genetic traits contribute to the risk of AMI and allelic variations in inflammatory genes should boost the risk of disease. If proinflammatory genotypes significantly contribute to the risk of AMI, alleles associated with disease susceptibility should not be included in the genetic backgro…
An Internet-Based Intervention for Depression in Primary Care in Spain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
2016
Background: Depression is the most prevalent cause of illness-induced disability worldwide. Face-to-face psychotherapeutic interventions for depression can be challenging, so there is a need for other alternatives that allow these interventions to be offered. One feasible alternative is Internet-based psychological interventions. This is the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) on the effectiveness of an Internet-based intervention on depression in primary health care in Spain. Objective: Our aim was to compare the effectiveness of a low-intensity therapist-guided (LITG) Internet-based program and a completely self-guided (CSG) Internet-based program with improved treatment as usual (iTA…
Analysis of the Blood Viscosity Behavior in the Sicilian Study on Juvenile Myocardial Infarction
2018
Considering the role of hemorheology in coronary circulation, we studied blood viscosity in patients with juvenile myocardial infarction. We examined whole blood viscosity at high shear rate using the cone-on-plate viscosimeter Wells-Brookfield ½ LVT and at low shear rate employing a viscometer Contraves LS30 in 120 patients (aged <46 years) with myocardial infarction, at the initial stage and subsequently 3 and 12 months after. At the initial stage, patients had an increased whole blood viscosity in comparison to normal controls. This hemorheological profile was not influenced by the cardiovascular risk factors, nor by the extent of coronary lesions, even if some differences were evide…
Diagnostic and prognostic performance of myeloperoxidase plasma levels compared with sensitive troponins in patients admitted with acute onset chest …
2012
Background— Activation of leukocytes with release of myeloperoxidase (MPO) has been linked to acute coronary disease. To date, studies investigating the diagnostic and prognostic performance of circulating MPO in patients with chest pain (CP) are mainly retrospective, of low size, and lack a cut-off value for MPO. Herein, we prospectively assess the diagnostic and prognostic properties of MPO compared with sensitive troponin I (sTNI) in patients admitted to the emergency room with CP. Methods and Results— One thousand, eight hundred and eighteen consecutive patients (mean age, 61.4±13.5 years; 33.6% female) admitted for CP underwent determination of MPO, sTnI, and B-natriuretic peptide pla…