169,748 research outputs found
Lipoprotein profile in older patients with vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease
No full textBACKGROUND:
Some alterations of the lipoprotein profile have been associated with cerebrovascular disease. Recently, it has been suggested that cerebrovascular disease might play a role in the pathogenesis of both vascular dementia (VD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Nevertheless, the possible association of dyslipidemias with VD or AD is still a controversial issue.
METHODS:
We investigated the lipoprotein profile in 100 older patients with vascular dementia (VD; no degrees: 60) or Late Onset Alzheimer's Disease (LOAD; no degrees: 40). The patients were compared with 54 community dwelling non-demented older controls.
RESULTS:
After adjustment for functional status, blood sedimentation rate, and serum albumin levels, no differences in lipoprotein profile emerged between the three groups, with the exception of HDL-C that was lower in VD compared with controls. Low HDL-C (< 45 mg/dL) was associated with VD (O.R.: 6.52, C.I. 95%: 1.42-30.70 vs controls, and 4.31, C.I. 95%: 0.93-19.82 vs LOAD), after multivariate adjustment. No differences in plasma lipid levels emerged between the three groups after stratification for apo E4 genotype.
CONCLUSIONS:
In this cross-sectional study low HDL-C levels are associated with VD, but not with LOAD, in a sample of older subjects.Background: Some alterations of the lipoprotein profile have been associated with cerebrovascular disease. Recently, it has been suggested that cerebrovascular disease might play a role in the pathogenesis of both vascular dementia (VD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Nevertheless, the possible association of dyslipidemias with VD or AD is still a controversial issue. Methods: We investigated the lipoprotein profile in 100 older patients with vascular dementia (VD; n°: 60) or Late Onset Alzheimer's Disease (LOAD; n°: 40). The patients were compared with 54 community dwelling non-demented older controls. Results: After adjustment for functional status, blood sedimentation rate, and serum albumin levels, no differences in lipoprotein profile emerged between the three groups, with the exception of HDL-C that was lower in VD compared with controls. Low HDL-C (< 45 mg/dL) was associated with VD (O.R.: 6.52, C.I. 95%: 1.42-30.70 vs controls, and 4.31, C.I. 95%: 0.93-19.82 vs LOAD), after multivariate adjustment. No differences in plasma lipid levels emerged between the three groups after stratification for apo E4 genotype. Conclusions: In this cross-sectional study low HDL-C levels are associated with VD, but not with LOAD, in a sample of older subjects
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Factors associated with dementia in subjects with cerebrovascular disease
No full textThe pathogenesis of vascular dementia (VD) is still uncompletely understood. In the present study, we investigated a number of risk factors, including four common DNA polymorphisms that have been associated with cardiovascular disease and dementia, in a sample of 88 older subjects affected by cerebrovascular disease, with (VD: n = 68) or without (WD: n = 20) vascular dementia. The diagnosis of VD was based on the NINDS-AIREN criteria. All subjects with VD had a Hachinski ischemic score over 7. The functional status was measured by the Barthel index. Subjects with VD were characterized by older ages (82.5 ± 0.8, SEM and 75.6 ± 1.4, SEM), lower Barthel score (8.1 ± 0.8 and 13.7 ± 1.5), and fewer years of education (4.6 ± 0.4 and 6.6 ± 0.7) as compared to WD, respectively. The prevalence of cerebral atrophy (72 vs 53%), lacunar infarctions (75 vs 53%), and leukoaraiosis (50 vs 26%) was higher in VD, as compared to WD. On the contrary, the prevalence of cortical-subcortical ischemic lesion..
Mitomycin C in highly myopic eyes - Author reply
No full textOphthalmology. 2005 Feb;112(2):208-18; discussion 219.
Mitomycin C modulation of corneal wound healing after photorefractive keratectomy in highly myopic eyes.
Gambato C, Ghirlando A, Moretto E, Busato F, Midena E.
SourceRefractive Surgery Service and Antimetabolite Therapy Research Unit, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of topical mitomycin C in corneal wound healing (CWH) after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) in highly myopic eyes.
DESIGN: Prospective, double-masked, randomized clinical trial.
PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-two eyes of 36 patients affected by high (>7 diopters) myopia.
METHODS: In each patient, one eye was randomly assigned to PRK with intraoperative topical 0.02% mitomycin C application, and the fellow eye was treated with a placebo. Postoperatively, mitomycin C-treated eyes received artificial tears (3 times daily, tapered in 3 months), whereas the fellow eye was treated with fluorometholone sodium 2% and artificial tears (3 times daily, tapered in 3 months).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), contrast sensitivity, manifest refraction, and biomicroscopy. Contrast sensitivity was determined using the Pelli-Robson chart. Corneal confocal microscopy documented CWH.
RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 18 months (range, 12-36). No side effects or toxic effects were documented. At 12-month follow-up examination, UCVAs (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution) were 0.4+/-0.48 and 0.5+/-0.53 (P = .03) in mitomycin C-treated eyes and corticosteroid-treated eyes, respectively. At 1 year, corneal haze developed in 20% of corticosteroid-treated eyes, versus 0% of mitomycin C-treated eyes. At 12, 24, and 36 months, corneal confocal microscopy showed activated keratocytes and extracellular matrix significantly more evident in untreated eyes (Ps = 0.004, 0.024, and 0.046, respectively).
CONCLUSION: Topical intraoperative application of 0.02% mitomycin C can reduce haze formation in highly myopic eyes undergoing PRK.
Comment in
Ophthalmology. 2006 Feb;113(2):357; author reply 357-8
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Genetic polymorphisms in older subjects with vascular or Alzheimer's dementia
No full textObjectives - Paraoxonase, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), and apo E gene polymorphisms were evaluated in older patients with vascular dementia (VD) or late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD). Material and methods - Sixty patients with VD, 45 patients with LOAD, and 54 non-demented controls were compared. Results - No differences in the distribution of paraoxonase, ACE, and MTHFR polymorphisms were found. The overall frequency of apo E ε4 allele was "low"; ε4 allele was more frequent in LOAD (17.5%) and VD (13.3%) compared with controls (9.2%), but the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion - Paraoxonase, ACE, and MTHFR polymorphisms were not associated with VD or LOAD; these common polymorphisms might have a marginal role in the pathogenesis of dementia in older subjects. In spite of a "low" frequency of the apo E ε4 allele in our sample, the frequency of ε4 allele was about double in LOAD compared with controls
- …
