1,720,967 research outputs found
Cortisol circadian rhytm and 24-hour Holter arterial pressure in OSAS patients
No full textObstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a syndrome in which the principal symptom is apnea during sleep. Hypoxia in OSAS is a stress condition, which when prolonged in time, could alter hypothalamo-hypophysial-suprarenal control and the cortisol cicadian rhythm. We studied 28 patients with OSAS (30-60 years old), 20 female and 8 male. We calculated the OSAS class according to the Simmons classification. Twenty of the 28 patients maintained unmodified cortisol circadian rhythms, while 8 had cortisol levels more elevated in late and nocturnal hours. Holter monitoring showed arterial hypertension in 8 of the 28 patients (the same patients with cortisol circadian rhythm alteration). Our data seem to indicate that when the OSAS patients lack cortisol circadian rhythm they are having arterial hypertension
Early detection of the catecholamine-induced sodium, potassium pump-dependent genesis of arrhythmias in acute myocardial infarction
No full textEffects of carbamazepine on heart conduction in young patients: a serial study using ambulatory ECG
No full textAre elevated levels of soluble ICAM-1 a marker of chronic graft disease in heart transplant recipients?
No full text
Increased thrombin generation and circulating levels of tumour necrosis factor-α in patients with chronic Helicobacter pylori-positive gastritis
No full textBACKGROUND: Conflicting data have been reported concerning the relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and coronary heart disease. AIM: To evaluate clotting system activation and plasma levels of tumour necrosis factor-alpha, a procoagulant cytokine, in patients with H. pylori-positive and -negative gastritis. METHODS: Three groups of patients were identified: 38 with H. pylori-positive gastritis, 18 with H. pylori-negative gastritis, and 40 H. pylori-negative controls with normal gastric mucosa. Plasma levels of prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 (F1 + 2) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha were assayed. Patients were also controlled after 2 and 6 months following standard H. pylori eradication treatment. RESULTS: At baseline, fragment 1 + 2 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha levels in H. pylori-positive patients were significantly higher than those in H. pylori-negative patients with gastritis (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). After H. pylori eradication, fragment 1 + 2 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha levels showed a significant decrease at 2 months (P = 0.03 and P = 0.02, respectively) and a further reduction at 6 months, reaching levels observed in H. pylori-negative patients and controls. CONCLUSIONS: The increase thrombin generation rate and the correlation of plasma fragment 1 + 2 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha levels in H. pylori-positive patients suggest a role for inflammation in mediating the relationship between H. pylori infection and activation of the clotting syste
HIV-related pulmonary hypertension. From pathogenesis to clinical aspects
No full textHIV-related pulmonary hypertension (HIV-PH) is a cardiovascular complication of HIV infection that has been recognized in the last years with increasing frequency. HIV-related pulmonary hypertension is a clinical disorder which carries a bad prognosis. While a direct HIV infection of the pulmonary vessels in the pathogenesis of this disorder was not demonstrated, currently a multi-factorial pathogenesis of this disease could be hypothesized. Echocardiography has been found to be the most useful screening imaging modality for the diagnosis of HIV-PH, with a high predictive negative value and a low positive predictive value. For this reason Doppler echocardiography is not the gold standard in the diagnosis of HIV-PH. The treatment of HIV-PH is complex and controversial. To date, no study determining the agent of choice for the treatment of this disease exists. Different studies have shown variable results in patiens with HIV-PH treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) but only HAART seems not to be effective in lowering pulmonary hypertension in these patients, and in some patients, HIV-PH develops in spite of a previous HAART. It seems reasonable in HIV-PH patients that a treatment with oral vasodilator drugs can improve the adherence of a long-lasting and complex antiretroviral therapy
- …
