Search results for "value"
showing 10 items of 5321 documents
Airway inflammation in nonasthmatic amateur runners
2001
Elite athletes show a high prevalence of symptoms and signs of asthma, but no study has assessed the acute effects of endurance exercise on airway cells in nonasthmatic athletes. We measured exhaled nitric oxide (NO) and collected samples of induced sputum after 3% NaCl aerosol administration for 20 min in nonasthmatic middle-aged amateur runners after the Fourth Palermo International Marathon and 6–9 wk later (habitual training period) at baseline. After the marathon, exhaled NO ( n = 9 subjects) was higher [27 ± 9 parts/billion (ppb)] than at baseline (12 ± 4 ppb; P < 0.0005). Polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) counts in induced sputum were much higher in runners (91.2 ± 3.6% of total…
Prospective evaluation of current asthma control using ACQ and ACT compared with GINA criteria
2011
Background The goal of asthma treatment is to achieve and maintain current best control and reduce future risk of exacerbations and long-term morbidity. Objective To prospectively compare current asthma control as defined by ACQ (asthma control questionnaire) and ACT (asthma control test) criteria with the GINA (Global Initiative for Asthma) classification in treated patients in a real-life setting. Methods In 150 adult patients (48% male, age 46.3 ± 14.4 years., forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV 1 ], 2.3 ± 0.9 L or 78.5 ± 21.8% pred.), asthma control was evaluated using the GINA classification as the "true" and ACQ-7, ACQ-5, and ACT as "predictor" criteria. The relationship between…
TC perfusionale nell'ischemia cerebrale acuta: Valore predittivo dei parametri di perfusione cerebrale nel discriminare il tessuto vitale da quello i…
2007
Purpose. The aim of this study was to assess the value of computed tomography (CT) perfusion parameters in differentiating tissue viability in acute stoke patients. Materials and methods. Thirteen patients (mean age 63.3 years) with nonhaemorrhagic stroke underwent multidetector perfusion CT within 3 h of symptom onset. Images were continuously acquired at the basal ganglia over 40 s during injection of 90 ml of iodinated contrast medium injected at a rate of 9 ml/s with a 9-s delay. Z-axis coverage was 20 mm. All patients underwent diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) within 12 h of perfusion CT to define the extent of the infarct. Perfusion CT data were analysed in regions …
Cerebral potentials elicited by mechanical stimuli to the human leg: influence of artifacts
1992
Mechanical stimulation with a reflex hammer was applied to the quadriceps muscle tendon of healthy volunteers and patients. The time-locked electrical signals were recorded from the scalp. In all cases, reproducible potentials could be recorded, with latencies in a range of 20 ms to 100 ms. The potentials recorded in patients under complete spinal anesthesia were similar to those derived before the anesthesia. In brain dead patients who showed absence of median nerve or posterior tibial nerve SEP, reproducible potentials after mechanical stimuli could be recorded as well. The results suggest that the hammer taps lead to mechanical shock waves which are propagated along the body producing ti…
Neural and mechanical responses of the triceps surae muscle group after 1 h of repeated fast passive stretches
2004
Experiments were carried out to examine interaction between mechanical changes of the muscletendon unit and reduced reflex sensitivity after repeated and prolonged passive muscle stretching (RPS). There is some evidence that this interaction might be relevant also during active stretch-shortening cycle type of fatigue tasks. The results demonstrated a clear deterioration of voluntarily and electrically induced muscle contractions after RPS. Maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), average electromyographic activities of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, and maximal twitch contraction decreased on average by 13.8, 10.4, 7.6, and 16.8%, respectively. In addition, there was a 14% lengthening …
The pterygoid reflex in man and its clinical application
1992
A technique for eliciting and recording the stretch reflex (R) of the medial pterygoid muscle (Pter) is described. The latency was 6.9 ± 0.43 ms in 23 healthy volunteers (mean age 23.7 years) showing a side-to-side difference of 0.29 ± 0.21 ms. The PterR latencies were little shorter and side-to-side difference little greater than of the masseter reflex. Observations in 5 selected patients with small brainstem lesions suggest that the neurons of the PterR afferents form a cluster within the caudal portion of the trigeminal mesencephalic nucleus. Testing the masseter and pterygoid reflexes provides a more precise localization of small ponto-mesencephalic lesions. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, In…
Peripapillary Choroidal Thickness and Choroidal Area in Glaucoma, Ocular Hypertension and Healthy Subjects by SD-OCT.
2015
Background: The exact pathogenesis of open angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension remains unclear. Hemodynamic influences are discussed as potential risk factors and the choroid may play an important role in the pathogenesis of open angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The current study investigates peripapillary choroidal thickness and choroidal area in patients with open angle glaucoma, subjects with ocular hypertension and healthy subjects using spectral-domain OCT. It furthermore assesses the association between peripapillary choroidal thickness and age, central corneal thickness, refractive error and intraocular pressure. Patients and Methods: Prospectively recorded data of 213 eyes …
Five-year follow-up after catheter ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation using the stepwise approach and prognostic factors for success.
2015
Background— In the meantime, catheter ablation is widely used for the treatment of persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). There is a paucity of data about long-term outcomes. This study evaluates (1) 5-year single and multiple procedure success and (2) prognostic factors for arrhythmia recurrences after catheter ablation of persistent AF using the stepwise approach aiming at AF termination. Methods and Results— A total of 549 patients with persistent AF underwent de novo catheter ablation using the stepwise approach (2007–2009). A total of 493 patients were included (Holter ECGs ≥every 6 months). Mean follow-up was 59±16 months with 2.1±1.1 procedures per patient. Single and multiple procedu…
Thirty-one novel biomarkers as predictors for clinically incident diabetes.
2010
Background The prevalence of diabetes is increasing in all industrialized countries and its prevention has become a public health priority. However, the predictors of diabetes risk are insufficiently understood. We evaluated, whether 31 novel biomarkers could help to predict the risk of incident diabetes. Methods and Findings The biomarkers were evaluated primarily in the FINRISK97 cohort (n = 7,827; 417 cases of clinically incident diabetes during the follow-up). The findings were replicated in the Health 2000 cohort (n = 4,977; 179 cases of clinically incident diabetes during the follow-up). We used Cox proportional hazards models to calculate the relative risk of diabetes, after adjustin…
Riskard 2005. New tools for prediction of cardiovascular disease risk derived from Italian population studies.
2005
Abstract Background and aim The need to update tools for the estimate of cardiovascular risk prompted the “Gruppo di Ricerca per la Stima del Rischio Cardiovascolare in Italia” to produce a new chart and new software called Riskard 2005. Methods and results Data from 9 population studies in 8 Italian regions, for a grand total of 17,153 subjects (12,045 men and 5,108 women) aged 35–74 and for a total exposure of about 194,000 person/years were available. A chart for the estimate of cardiovascular risk (major coronary, cerebrovascular and peripheral artery disease events) in 10 years was produced for men and women aged 45–74 free from cardiovascular diseases. Risk factors employed in the est…