Aesthetic and cosmetic medical practices have attracted considerable consumer attention globally. However, possible complications vary and range from mild, self-resolving ecchymoses or edema to more persistent complications. The aim of... more
Aesthetic and cosmetic medical practices have attracted considerable consumer attention globally. However, possible complications vary and range from mild, self-resolving ecchymoses or edema to more persistent complications. The aim of this review is to identify the nutritional deficits or excesses associated with the major complications of reconstructive surgery, aesthetic surgery, and mini-invasive aesthetic procedures. An additional goal is to provide a bundle of actions for professionals working in the industry in order to reduce the risks of aesthetic procedures and improve the clinical outcomes. Granulomas, hypertrophic scars and keloids, seromas, infections and xerosis, hyperpigmentation, petechiae, livedo reticularis, slower wound healing, and other poor outcomes are frequently associated with nutritional deficiencies. Nutritional status can markedly affect wound healing and tissue repair following surgical interventions, as well as the outcomes of aesthetic and cosmetic med...
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It is well known that malnutrition is a frequent co-morbidity in cancer patients, especially in those with head and neck neoplasms. This may be due both to the presence of dysphagia symptoms and to the appearance of adverse effects on... more
It is well known that malnutrition is a frequent co-morbidity in cancer patients, especially in those with head and neck neoplasms. This may be due both to the presence of dysphagia symptoms and to the appearance of adverse effects on Chemotherapy and / or Radiotherapy. The aim of this retrospective observational multicentric study is to evaluate the nutritional status between dysphagia cancer patients and non-dysphagia cancer patients. Data from 60 patients were analysed, 31 of which without dysphagia and 29 with dysphagia. Results highlight that patients with dysphagia had higher involuntary body weight loss than non-dysphagia ones (p < 0.001). By analysing the entire population, it stands out a weight loss rate of 12 ± 9% compared to the usual weight was observed and a prevalence of moderate / severe malnutrition diagnosis of 53%. Furthermore, 76% of the population who manifested the symptom of dysphagia presented severe malnutrition already at the first visit, compared to 32%...
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Osteoarthritis is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from the breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone. Due to their antioxidants and anti-inflammatory action, the phytochemical constituents of many vegetable... more
Osteoarthritis is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from the breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone. Due to their antioxidants and anti-inflammatory action, the phytochemical constituents of many vegetable varieties could represent a new frontier for the treatment of patients with Osteoarthritis and are still being explored. The aim of this pilot human study was to investigate the effects of pasta enriched with hemp seed flour on osteoarticular pain and bone formation markers in patients in post-arthroplasty rehabilitation. Another purpose was to evaluate the effect of hemp seed extract on bone metabolism, in vitro. A pilot, controlled, clinical study was conducted to verify the feasibility of pain symptom reduction in patients with Osteoarthritis undergoing arthroplasty surgery. We also investigated the effect of hemp seed extract on the Wnt/β-catenin and ERK1/2 pathways, alkaline phosphatase, RANKL, RUNX-2, osteocalcin, and COL1A on Saos-2. After 6 weeks,...
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BackgroundMost studies focused on the benefits of lycopene on serum lipids but no studies have been specifically designed to assess the role of a tomato sauce from vine-ripened tomatoes on patients affected by polygenic... more
BackgroundMost studies focused on the benefits of lycopene on serum lipids but no studies have been specifically designed to assess the role of a tomato sauce from vine-ripened tomatoes on patients affected by polygenic hypercholesterolemia. The aim of this study was to compare the lipid-lowering effect of a novel functional tomato sauce with a well-known functional food with a lipid-lowering effect, i.e. a sterol-enriched yogurt.MethodsIn this cross-over study, we evaluated a population of 108 ambulatory patients affected by polygenic hypercholesterolemia of both gender, who were allocated to a tomato sauce (namely OsteoCol) 150 ml/day or a sterol-enriched yogurt (containing sterols 1.6 g/die) treatment, for 6 weeks. Carotenoids content was 3.5 mg per gram of product. We measured serum lipids and creatinine and transaminases at basal and follow-up visit.ResultsA total of 91 subjects completed the protocol. A significant difference in LDL-cholesterol change was found between partici...
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Background The Respiratory Quotient is a parameter reflecting the utilization of the nutrients by a subject. It is associated with an high rate of subsequent weight gain and with the atherosclerosis. Subjects tending to burn less fat have... more
Background The Respiratory Quotient is a parameter reflecting the utilization of the nutrients by a subject. It is associated with an high rate of subsequent weight gain and with the atherosclerosis. Subjects tending to burn less fat have an increased Respiratory Quotient. Aim of this study was to investigate on the relationship between the Respiratory Quotient and the cardiovascular risk factors. Methods In this cross-sectional study we enrolled 223 individuals of both sexes aged 45–75 ys that were weight stable, receiving a balanced diet, and not affected by debilitating disease or cardiovascular disease. The Respiratory Quotient was measured by Indirect Calorimetry. The measurement of the Blood Pressure was obtained by a mercury sphygmomanometer. Results We enrolled 133 female and 90 male. Systolic blood pressure only was positively correlated to the Respiratory Quotient in univariate and multivariate regression analysis (p=0,017). The prevalence of hypertension was significative...
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Risk of bone fractures in patients with HIV infection is greater than in the general population, particularly in those co-infected with hepatitis viruses. We compared bone mineral density (BMD) and muscular strength, measured by hand grip... more
Risk of bone fractures in patients with HIV infection is greater than in the general population, particularly in those co-infected with hepatitis viruses. We compared bone mineral density (BMD) and muscular strength, measured by hand grip test (HG), in HIV mono-infected and co-infected patients. T-score values were lower in HIV patients co-infected with hepatitis viruses vs. mono-infected individuals. Since no significant correlations between HG and T-scores were found, we hypothesize that these factors belong, at least in part, to independent pathways, so both should be taken into account as risks for fragility fractures. Larger prospective studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis.
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Anthropometry, Consciousness, Medicine, Logistic Regression, Malnutrition, and 15 moreProspective studies, Humans, Internal Medicine, Albumin, Female, Body Composition, Male, Nutritional Status, Aged, Middle Aged, Pressure Ulcer, Logistic Models, Hemoglobins, Brain injuries, and Medical and Health Sciences
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Nutrition and Dietetics, Food Science, Cytokines, Medicine, Energy Metabolism, and 14 moreMultivariate Analysis, Humans, Female, Male, Energy Expenditure, Nutrients, Body Mass Index, Vegetables, Adult, Vegetarians, Resting Energy Expenditure, Gene Expression Regulation, Case Control Studies, and Dietary fats
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Gastroenterology, Membrane Proteins, Medicine, Hepatology, Biopsy, and 15 moreHumans, Internal Medicine, Liver Cirrhosis, Liver, Female, Male, Clinical Sciences, Middle Aged, Adult, Hepatocytes, Cross Sectional Studies, Cohort Studies, Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, non alcoholic fatty liver disease, and Medical biochemistry and metabolomics
Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) may be a source of new biomarkers of periodontitis/gingivitis. However, the minute volumes of GCF harvested in healthy sites are a serious drawback. We evaluated how pre-analytical and analytical variables... more
Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) may be a source of new biomarkers of periodontitis/gingivitis. However, the minute volumes of GCF harvested in healthy sites are a serious drawback. We evaluated how pre-analytical and analytical variables concerning GCF collection and processing, could significantly influence quality and reproducibility of MALDI-TOF profiles. GCF was collected from healthy sites. The use of paper strips vs paper points was compared. Peptides and proteins were extracted by centrifugal elution in different solutions, at different accelerations, with and without protease inhibitor cocktail (PIC). Finally, we evaluated how matrix composition and matrix/sample volume ratio affect the reproducibility of MALDI-TOF profiles. Trifluoroacetic acid elution generated richer gingival fingerprints compared to acetic acid, independently of the collection device. Centrifugation speed and PIC supplementation did not change GCF profiles. A fine modulation of matrix composition and matrix/sample volume ratio resulted in a satisfactory reproducibility (CV less than 10% for peak area and signal-to-noise ratio). An optimized procedure, enabling generation of reproducible MALDI-TOF profiles from limited volume of GCF, is proposed. These fingerprints may serve as reference for future studies oriented to the maintenance and preservation of good gingival status and to discovery biomarkers of periodontitis/gingivitis.
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Gastroenterology, Anthropometry, Medicine, Malnutrition, Humans, and 15 moreInternal Medicine, Female, Male, Nutritional Status, Aged, Middle Aged, Hypokalemia, Analysis of Variance, Nutrition therapy, Clinics, Energy Intake, Calorie, Hypophosphatemia, Nutritional Support, and Head and neck neoplasms
The mechanisms of vascular remodeling have attracted great interest since it is a phenomenon related to cardiovascular diseases. We would like to examine studies that contributed to clarify the remodeling mechanisms, to explore the... more
The mechanisms of vascular remodeling have attracted great interest since it is a phenomenon related to cardiovascular diseases. We would like to examine studies that contributed to clarify the remodeling mechanisms, to explore the different faces of atherosclerosis process. A number of invasive and non-invasive vascular assessment methods were developed, to detect the early sign of atherosclerosis. It became clear that the invasive tests were not applicable to large-scale studies. Consequently, a non-invasive test was developed. Studies showed that the endothelial function evaluation is a predictor of future cardiac events in individuals at cardiovascular risk and in those with established disease. However, analyzing several works, an interesting concept emerged, i.e., the inverse relation between endothelium-dependent dilation and vessel size, since large vessel tend not to dilate significantly. This notion emphasized the role of basal diameter on vascular response. In particular, as brachial artery diameter is the measure on which FMD is based, it could add more information in clinical evaluation, simplifying the assessment. Several studies showed that morphological change of brachial artery is a better indicator of the extent of coronary disease rather than FMD. Other studies showed that brachial diameter has predictive significance in the stratification of cardiovascular risk. Brachial diameter is a useful and simple tool. It should be incorporated into the overall assessment of cardiovascular risk but further studies are warranted to determine the final place of brachial diameter assessment in routine clinical setting.
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Cardiology, Atherosclerosis, Cardiovascular disease, Medicine, Humans, and 12 moreInternal Medicine, Animals, Vascular endothelium, Risk factors, Behavioral Animal Models, Vascular Remodeling, Endothelial Function, Coronary heart disease, Risk Factors, Coronary Artery Disease, Brachial artery, and Medical and Health Sciences
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Medicine, Linear models, Energy Metabolism, Multivariate Analysis, Humans, and 15 moreInternal Medicine, Female, Male, Nutrients, Body Mass Index, Middle Aged, Adult, Cardiovascular Diseases, Chi Square Distribution, Calorimetry, Caloric Restriction, Electric Impedance, Area Under Curve, Adiposity, and Antihypertensive agents
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Menopause, Medicine, Metabolic syndrome, Humans, Internal Medicine, and 15 moreBlood Glucose, Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Female, Disease, Juvenile nutrition and metabolism, Risk factors, Triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, Aged, Middle Aged, Odds ratio, Risk Factors, Metabolic Syndrome X, and Medical and Health Sciences
To verify if the carotid plaque development is concomitant to brachial artery diameter enlargement, in healthy postmenopausal women. This is a retrospective, recall study. We enrolled 40 postmenopausal women, selected from a database for... more
To verify if the carotid plaque development is concomitant to brachial artery diameter enlargement, in healthy postmenopausal women. This is a retrospective, recall study. We enrolled 40 postmenopausal women, selected from a database for the period 2000-2008, not affected by subclinical carotid atherosclerosis and without risk factors for cardiovascular disease. At the recall visit, carotid and brachial duplex scan was again obtained. The incidence of plaque was 30% after a mean follow-up period of 60 months. There were no differences in baseline characteristics between subjects developing carotid atherosclerosis and subjects who did not, except for the brachial diameter change, follow-up and heart rate. The logistic-regression analysis confirmed that only brachial diameter change resulted to be correlated with the development of carotid atherosclerosis. Brachial artery diameter increase is concomitant to carotid plaque development. Vascular enlargement could not be a focal change but a systemic process associated with atherosclerotic plaque development. Brachial diameter could be a tool with a predictive significance.
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Cardiology, Medicine, Humans, Internal Medicine, Female, and 15 moreHeart rate, Follow-up studies, Incidence, Risk factors, Hypertrophy, Aged, Middle Aged, Retrospective Studies, European Continental Ancestry Group, Risk Factors, Logistic Models, Brachial artery, Carotid Arteries, Medical and Health Sciences, and postmenopause
The aim of this study was to investigate the association between extracoronary artery diameter (brachial and carotid arteries) and obesity. This was a cross-sectional study conducted among women referred to the Menopause Clinic of the... more
The aim of this study was to investigate the association between extracoronary artery diameter (brachial and carotid arteries) and obesity. This was a cross-sectional study conducted among women referred to the Menopause Clinic of the University of Catanzaro. The study included 102 obese and 102 nonobese (controls) postmenopausal women. Medical histories were reviewed, and participants underwent clinical and biochemical evaluations to assess risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Common carotid artery and brachial artery diameters and atherosclerotic lesions were evaluated by ultrasonography. Associations between brachial artery and common carotid artery diameters with age, body mass index, waist circumference, and cardiovascular risk factors were analyzed by stepwise multivariate analysis. Brachial and common carotid artery diameters were significantly greater in obese women than in nonobese women. After adjustment for confounding variables, brachial artery diameter but not common carotid artery diameter correlated with obesity (beta = 0.229, P = 0.002) and with waist circumference (beta = 0.013, P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.001) independently of systolic blood pressure and other risk factors. Extracoronary artery diameter measurement, if confirmed by other studies, may be considered a useful tool to assess vascular remodeling in obese postmenopausal women.
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Cardiology, Obesity, Menopause, Medicine, Multivariate Analysis, and 15 moreItaly, Postmenopausal Women, Humans, Internal Medicine, Female, Body Mass Index, Risk factors, Middle Aged, Risk Factors, Cross Sectional Studies, Brachial artery, confounding, Medical and Health Sciences, Waist, and postmenopause
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Bariatric Surgery, Cancer, Medicine, Insulin Resistance, Humans, and 15 moreInternal Medicine, Clinical Medicine, Female, Male, Incidence, Body Mass Index, Clinical Sciences, Aged, Middle Aged, Genotype, Neoplasms, Prognosis, Genetic variation, Cohort Studies, and Paediatrics and reproductive medicine
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Endocrinology, Biology, Oxidative Stress, Medicine, Signal Transduction, and 13 moreInsulin Resistance, Cellular, Brain, Humans, Internal Medicine, Glucose, Insulin, Hyperinsulinemia, Clinical Sciences, Insulin Receptor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Alzheimer Disease, and Biochemistry and cell biology
The utilization of different macronutrients is relevant for the risk of obesity, diabetes, or the appearing of vascular complications. The Respiratory Quotient (RQ) is a parameter measuring the fuel utilizations; in fact, it can indicate... more
The utilization of different macronutrients is relevant for the risk of obesity, diabetes, or the appearing of vascular complications. The Respiratory Quotient (RQ) is a parameter measuring the fuel utilizations; in fact, it can indicate the fat stores utilization or lipogenesis activation. Aim of this study was to investigate the link between the RQ and the subclinical carotid atherosclerosis presence in overweight/obese subjects. 132 subjects with body mass index at least 25, at conventional diet, underwent an Indirect Calorimetry for the measurement of the Resting Metabolic Rate as well as the RQ and an evaluation of carotid arteries with ultrasound. Biochemical analyses were also performed. The mean age was 48 ± 12 years. There was a positive relation between carotid intima-media thickness and RQ (p = 0.010), with the high value in the subgroup with high RQ (p = 0.045 vs. group with low RQ). The RQ, an index of fuel utilization, is positively associated to subclinical carotid atherosclerosis in overweight/obese individuals.
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Obesity, Medicine, Energy Metabolism, Overweight, Humans, and 15 moreInternal Medicine, Diabetes mellitus, Female, Male, Endocrine, Body Mass Index, Clinical Sciences, Middle Aged, Respiratory Quotient, Adult, The Carotid Artery Intima Media Thickness, Subclinical Infection, Asymptomatic Diseases., Paediatrics and reproductive medicine, and Basal Metabolism
The handgrip strength is considered an excellent predictor of morbidity and mortality for acute and long term outcomes. In fact, several studies showed that the reduced handgrip strength is correlated to all-cause mortality in both middle... more
The handgrip strength is considered an excellent predictor of morbidity and mortality for acute and long term outcomes. In fact, several studies showed that the reduced handgrip strength is correlated to all-cause mortality in both middle aged and elderly subjects. Nevertheless, defined reference values of handgrip strength are not available, especially from young and healthy populations. The aim of this study was to determine the reference values for handgrip strength from a healthy population of young volunteers. A secondary objective was to derivate a muscle function T score useful for adults and elderly individuals. We enrolled 335 healthy university students (157 men and 178 females) aged 19-25 years. The handgrip strength was measured using a hydraulic hand dynamometer by trained dietitians. The mean handgrip strength value was 27.70 ± 4.3 kg for female and 44.77 ± 6.6 kg for male. We showed statistical difference between sexes. We also found the lower T score in community-dwelling elderly individuals in comparison to the young people. The muscle strength loss is a multi-factorial process influenced by age and hormonal factors. The availability of the reference values in both sexes might open the way to the diffusion of the handgrip strength assessment for more clinical use, and it might be useful to identify people who could benefit from early nutritional or pharmacological programs.
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About 40% of diabetic patients with asymptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD) are missed on the basis of the current screening guidelines. Erectile Dysfunction (ED) is a powerful marker of asymptomatic CAD. Aim of the study is to... more
About 40% of diabetic patients with asymptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD) are missed on the basis of the current screening guidelines. Erectile Dysfunction (ED) is a powerful marker of asymptomatic CAD. Aim of the study is to evaluate whether ED can improve the effectiveness of the current guidelines for the screening of CAD in diabetes. From among 299 consecutive men with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes without any apparent vascular complication, 293 (mean age 56.6±5.9 years) were enrolled. Among them, 219 did not have myocardial ischemia (NO CAD group) and 74 men had a coronary stenosis angiographically proven (CAD group). Five risk factors (RFs) of the current screening guidelines (hypertension, dyslipidemia, family history for CAD, smoking e micro/macroalbuminuria) and ED were assessed. ED was significantly more prevalent in the CAD than in the NO CAD group (37.8 versus 15.1%; P&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;0.001) and was a predictor of asymptomatic CAD (OR: 4.4; 95%CI: 2.1-9.0; P&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;0.001). If ED is added to the list of RFs, it can increase the sensitivity of the current guidelines from 62 to 89%, without a significant variation in specificity (from 60 to 57%). The negative predictive value can increase from 82 to 94%. ED can reduce from 37.84 to 10.81% the percentage of patients with silent CAD missed at the screening. This study first shows that ED can improve the effectiveness in discriminating diabetic men to screen for asymptomatic CAD, when it is added to the list of RFs of the current screening guidelines.
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Medicine, Family history, Erectile dysfunction, Multivariate Analysis, Italy, and 15 moreHumans, Internal Medicine, Diabetes mellitus, Male, Endocrine, Clinical Sciences, Middle Aged, Coronary Angiography, Dyslipidemia, Biological markers, Coronary Artery Disease, Asymptomatic, Early Diagnosis, Myocardial Ischemia, and mass Screening
Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disorder affecting million of people worldwide. Increased understanding of bone disease has led to a greater recognition of factors affecting bones, and consequently many secondary causes of osteoporosis... more
Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disorder affecting million of people worldwide. Increased understanding of bone disease has led to a greater recognition of factors affecting bones, and consequently many secondary causes of osteoporosis were demonstrated. In this study, we aim to explore possible causes of bone loss and fractures in subjects affected by chronic inflammatory disease and to suggest new targets for intervention. In fact several studies, evaluated to perform this study, suggest that the patients with chronic inflammatory disease could be at high risk for fractures due to bone loss as consequence of malnutrition, caused by inflammation and hormonal change. Consequently, some actions could derive from the considerations of these mechanisms: a change in actual approach of chronic patients, that may include the investigation on the possible presence of osteoporosis, as well as further research on this topic to find a better therapy to prevent osteoporosis considering all the mechanisms described.
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OBJECTIVE Transcutaneous oxygen tension (TcPO2) measures tissue perfusion and is important in the management of peripheral artery disease (PAD). Ankle brachial index (ABI) is used for the diagnosis of PAD and represents a predictor of... more
OBJECTIVE Transcutaneous oxygen tension (TcPO2) measures tissue perfusion and is important in the management of peripheral artery disease (PAD). Ankle brachial index (ABI) is used for the diagnosis of PAD and represents a predictor of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), even if in diabetes its diagnostic and predictive value seems to be reduced. No study has evaluated TcPO2 as a predictor of cardiovascular events. Aim of this longitudinal study was to assess whether TcPO2 is better than ABI at predicting MACE in type 2 diabetic patients. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Among 361 consecutive patients with apparently uncomplicated diabetes, 67 MACE occurred during a follow-up period of 45.8 ± 23.2 months. RESULTS The percentage of both subjects with low ABI (≤0.9) and subjects with low TcPO2 (≤46 mmHg as measured by a receiver operating characteristic curve) was significantly (<0.001) greater among patients with than among those without MACEs (ABI 64.2 vs. 40.8; TcPO2 58.2 vs. ...
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Cardiology, Medicine, Humans, Internal Medicine, Diabetes mellitus, and 15 moreFemale, Male, Young Adult, Mace, Aged, Middle Aged, Longitudinal Studies, Oxygen, Adult, Proportional hazards model, Peripheral Arterial Disease, Receiver Operating Characteristic, Diabetes Care, Ankle brachial index, and Medical and Health Sciences
The G-allele in position rs738409 of patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 (PNPLA3) is associated with an increased hepatic concentration of triglyceride and is a risk factor for advanced liver disease. We investigated... more
The G-allele in position rs738409 of patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 (PNPLA3) is associated with an increased hepatic concentration of triglyceride and is a risk factor for advanced liver disease. We investigated the association of donor and recipient risk alleles with the development of graft steatosis after liver transplantation. PNPLA3 genotypes were determined in 237 transplant recipients and in 255 organ donors. Macrovesicular steatosis was assessed by unenhanced computed tomography 5 years after liver transplantation in 95 patients and correlated with donor and recipient PNPLA3 genotype. The risk allele was significantly more frequent in transplant recipients than in donors (42% vs 28%; P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; .001). A prevalence of graft steatosis of 30% or greater significantly increased from 11.6% at 1 year after liver transplantation to 32.6% at 5 years after transplantation. Five years after liver transplantation, steatosis was present in 63.2% of patients homozygous for the rs738409-G allele, in 31.4% of heterozygous recipients, and in 12.0% of rs738409-CC recipients (P = .002). Donor genotypes were not associated with the development of graft steatosis. In multivariate regression analysis, recipients who carried rs738409-GG had a 13.7-fold higher risk of graft steatosis than recipients who carried rs738409-CC (P = .022), independent of recipient age, weight gain after liver transplantation, or the underlying disease. Liver transplant recipients who carry rs738409-G in PNPLA3 are at increased risk for hepatic triglyceride accumulation, independent of the graft PNPLA3 genotype.
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Pulse pressure, the difference between systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure, is associated with cardiovascular diseases. Several studies showed that a large pulse pressure is an independent predictor of cardiovascular... more
Pulse pressure, the difference between systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure, is associated with cardiovascular diseases. Several studies showed that a large pulse pressure is an independent predictor of cardiovascular mortality since the increased stiffness augment ascending aortic pulse pressure that, in turn, produce wall stress and development of atherosclerosis. A sample of 252 post-menopausal women underwent a clinical evaluation and carotid artery ultrasound examinations. We measured carotid intimal media thickness--a well-known atherosclerosis marker. For statistical analysis an unpaired student-test and a one-way ANOVA to compare means between the groups and a chi-square test to compare the prevalence of variables among the groups were used. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to adjust for confounding variables. The carotid intimal media thickness (IMT) was significantly associated to pulse pressure in post-menopausal women. The statistically significant association was confirmed after adjustment for age, blood pressure, cholesterol, and trygliceride levels. Indeed, after subdivision in tertiles of pulse pressure, the IMT in the third pulse pressure tertile was significantly higher than in the first tertile. A large pulse pressure is an independent risk factor for carotid atherosclerosis in post-menopausal women. The pulse pressure could predispose to atherosclerosis influencing the nitrix oxide (NO) release or representing an injury to the arterial wall. Clinical trials are requested to assess whether a treatment aimed at reducing the pulse pressure could better prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease in these subjects.