Search results for "variance"
showing 10 items of 2030 documents
Pentaerithrityl tetranitrate improves angiotensin II induced vascular dysfunction via induction of heme oxygenase-1
2010
The organic nitrate pentaerythritol tetranitrate is devoid of nitrate tolerance, which has been attributed to the induction of the antioxidant enzyme heme oxygenase (HO)-1. With the present study, we tested whether chronic treatment with pentaerythritol tetranitrate can improve angiotensin II–induced vascular oxidative stress and dysfunction. In contrast to isosorbide-5 mononitrate (75 mg/kg per day for 7 days), treatment with pentaerythritol tetranitrate (15 mg/kg per day for 7 days) improved the impaired endothelial and smooth muscle function and normalized vascular and cardiac reactive oxygen species production (mitochondria, NADPH oxidase activity, and uncoupled endothelial NO synthase)…
Prenatal Brain Damage in Preeclamptic Animal Model Induced by Gestational Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibition
2010
Cerebral palsy is a major neonatal handicap with unknown aetiology. There is evidence that prenatal brain injury is the leading cause of CP. Severe placental pathology accounts for a high percentage of cases. Several factors predispose to prenatal brain damage but when and how they act is unclear. The aim of this paper was to determine if hypoxia during pregnancy leads to damage in fetal brain and to evaluate the localization of this injury. An animal model of chronic hypoxia produced by chronic administration of a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor (L-NAME) was used to evaluate apoptotic activity in fetal brains and to localize the most sensitive areas. L-NAME reproduces a preeclamptic-like c…
Differences in visual information processing style between Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsy with and without photosensitivity.
2021
Purpose: Recently, altered visual cortical processes i.e., lack of habituation to visual evoked potentials (VEP), has been highlighted in both photosensitive epilepsy and in a specific i.e., analytic mode of processing visual inputs. In this study we aimed at evaluating the relationship between photosensitivity (PS) and analytic style of processing visual information, in a sample of 30 patients with Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsy (IGE) and matched healthy controls. Methods: At our Epilepsy unit of the Sapienza University of Rome, we consecutively enrolled 15 patients with IGE with PSand matched them with 15 patients with IGE without PS and 15 Healthy Volunteers. All patients underwent EEG …
Intermittent ethanol exposure induces inflammatory brain damage and causes long-term behavioural alterations in adolescent rats
2007
Adolescent brain development seems to be important for the maturation of brain structures and behaviour. Intermittent binge ethanol drinking is common among adolescents, and this type of drinking can induce brain damage. Because we have demonstrated that chronic ethanol treatment induces inflammatory processes in the brain, we investigate whether intermittent ethanol intoxication enhances cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in adolescent rats, and whether these mediators induce brain damage and cause permanent cognitive dysfunctions. Adolescent rats were exposed to ethanol (3.0 g/kg) for two consecutive days at 48-h intervals over 14 days. Levels of COX-2, iN…
Experts' opinions on the role of liver biopsy in HCV infection: A Delphi survey by the Italian Association of Hospital Gastroenterologists (A.I.G.O.)
2005
Background/Aims: Liver biopsy represents the gold standard to establish a diagnosis in all liver patients, but its current position in chronic viral hepatitis is questioned. We aimed to create a consensus on best practice of use of liver biopsy in the management of chronic HCV infection. Methods: We applied the Delphi method to 12 clinical scenarios of chronic HCV infection, to assess the extent of agreement (consensus measurement) and to resolve disagreement (consensus development) on the appropriateness of liver biopsy. Results: Among 108 chosen hepatologists, 61 (56.5%) accepted to participate to the first-round survey. In four patients the majority of experts (from 61.4 to 86.2%) agreed…
Time perception in depression: a meta-analysis.
2014
Background Depressive patients frequently report to perceive time as going by very slowly. Potential effects of depression on duration judgments have been investigated mostly by means of four different time perception tasks: verbal time estimation, time production, time reproduction, and duration discrimination. Ratings of the subjective flow of time have also been obtained. Methods By means of a classical random-effects meta-regression model and a robust variance estimation model, this meta-analysis aims at evaluating the inconsistent results from 16 previous studies on time perception in depression, representing data of 433 depressive patients and 485 healthy control subjects. Results Dep…
Chronic oral haloperidol and clozapine in rats: A behavioral evaluation.
1999
The present study evaluated chronic oral treatment of rats with haloperidol or clozapine. Drugs were given in the drinking water for a 23-day period . Rat behavior was analyzed once a week in an open field. Rats ingested either 1.7 mg/kg haloperidol or 40 mg/kg clozapine daily. Blood serum analysis revealed concentrations of 6 ng/ml for haloperidol and 22 ng/ml for clozapine at the end of the treatment. Haloperidol decreased overall activity from the onset of treatment. Clozapine showed similar effects only on the last test day. Control animals showed a slight habituation in exploration-related parameters. In conclusion, these results indicate that oral drug administration through the drink…
Electromyographic Activity Evolution of Local Twitch Responses During Dry Needling of Latent Trigger Points in the Gastrocnemius Muscle: A Cross-Sect…
2019
Abstract Objective Trigger points (TrPs) are hypersensitive spots within taut bands of skeletal muscles that elicit referred pain and motor changes. Among the variety of techniques used for treating TrPs, dry needling is one of the most commonly applied interventions. The question of eliciting local twitch responses (LTRs) during TrP dry needling is unclear. Our main aim was to investigate the evolution of the electromyographic (EMG) peak activity of each LTR elicited during dry needling into latent TrPs of the gastrocnemius medialis muscle. Methods Twenty asymptomatic subjects with latent TrPs in the gastrocnemius medialis muscle participated in this cross-sectional study. Changes in EMG s…
Similar efficacy of low and standard doses of transdermal estradiol in controlling bone turnover in postmenopausal women
2006
To investigate the effects of a low transdermal estradiol dose on bone metabolism and to compare it with both the standard dose and absence of treatment.In this study performed in a third-level academic center, 66 healthy postmenopausal women underwent hormone therapy (HT) with patches containing estradiol at standard (0.050 mg/day, HT50, 33 women) or low dosage (0.025 mg/day, HT25, 33 women) and 70 women were without treatment (NT). The values (mean of three samples) of several bone biochemical parameters were compared between groups after adjusting for confounding factors. Bone mineral density (BMD) was assessed (by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) in the spine and hip in all cases, and …
Effects of Square-Stepping Exercise inducing activation of the brain's cognitive function in community-dwelling older Japanese females -Focu…
2015
Aim The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the degree of improvement in cognitive function achieved with an exercise intervention in community-dwelling older Japanese women is affected by the participant's baseline cognitive function and age. Methods Eighty-eight women (mean age: 70.5±4.2 years) participated in a prevention program for long-term care. They completed the Square-Stepping Exercise (SSE) program once a week, 120 minutes/session, for 11 weeks. We assessed participants' cognitive function using 5 cognitive tests (5-Cog) before and after the intervention. We defined cognitive function as the 5-Cog total score and defined the change in cognitive function as the 5-cog …