Biomedical subjects

Andrea Rinaldi

Publications and source records attributed to Andrea Rinaldi.

40 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

Sexual activity and plasma testosterone levels in hypertensive males.

The aim of this study was to compare sexual activity and plasma testosterone levels of hypertensive men with those of healthy normotensive controls. We investigated 110 newly diagnosed, never treated hypertensive (blood pressure [BP] > or = 140/95 mm Hg) men and 110 healthy normotensive (diastolic BP <90 mm Hg) men. All of them were aged 40 to 49 years, married, without any previous sexual dysfunction, nondiabetic, nonobese (body mass index <28 kg/m2), nonsmoking, and not taking any drug. All subjects were evaluated in the morning after an overnight fast. Clinical evaluation included BP, body weight, and height measurements, determination of testosterone, and an interview about sexual activity, assessed as number of sexual intercourse episodes per month. Hypertensive men presented a 25% reduction in sexual activity as compared to normotensive men (5.9 +/- 2.6 v 7.9 +/- 2.5 sexual intercourse episodes per month, respectively, P < .01) and a 12% reduction in testosterone levels (510.6 +/- 151.9 ng/dL v 578.6 +/- 146.8 ng/dL, P < .01). In both normotensive and hypertensive men Pearson's correlation analysis showed a significant positive correlation between testosterone levels and sexual activity and a significant negative correlation between testosterone and age and between testosterone and BP values. Multiple regression analysis confirmed a significant inverse relationship between testosterone and age in normotensive men, whereas only a nonsignificant trend was found in the hypertensive ones. In addition, a significant inverse correlation between testosterone and BP levels was confirmed in hypertensive men limited to systolic BP, whereas a nonsignificant trend was observed in the normotensive controls. In conclusion, these findings suggest a relationship between essential hypertension and impaired testosterone levels in men. The elucidation of the nature of such a relationship and its physiologic and clinical significance needs further investigation.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Effects of amlodipine fosinopril combination on microalbuminuria in hypertensive type 2 diabetic patients.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to compare the long-term effect of amlodipine and fosinopril in monotherapy or in combination on urinary albumin excretion (UAE) in hypertensive diabetic patients. METHODS: We selected 453 hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes and microalbuminuria and randomized them to amlodipine (5 to 15 mg/day), fosinopril (10 to 30 mg/day), or amlodipine plus fosinopril (5/10 to 15/30 mg/day) for a 3-month titration period. The nonresponder patients or those complaining of side effects during the titration period were discontinued (n = 144); the remaining 309 patients were enrolled in the trial and treated with the same therapy for 4 years. Every 6 months, blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), UAE, creatinine clearance, and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were evaluated. RESULTS: The combination therapy was more effective in reducing BP than either drug alone at any time of the study without affecting glucose homeostasis. All three treatments provided a significant decrease in UAE during the 48-month study period. However, this effect was more pronounced and became evident earlier with fosinopril than with amlodipine monotherapy (after 3 v 18 months of therapy). In addition, the combination therapy provided a greater antialbuminuric effect than the single drugs. This could be due to the greater antihypertensive effects, although other drug-specific effects cannot be excluded. The cardiovascular outcomes were similar in the amlodipine and in the fosinopril group, but they were lower in the combination group. CONCLUSIONS: These results strengthen the rationale to use a calcium-antagonist/angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor combination in the treatment of hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

Relationship between neonatal leukemoid reaction and bronchopulmonary dysplasia in low-birth-weight infants: a cross-sectional study.

Leukemoid reaction in low-birth-weight (LBW) infants is a rare, recently documented phenomenon, implicated in the sequence of multiorgan inflammatory diseases of preterm infants. The aim of the present paper is to establish whether a neonatal leukemoid reaction is related to bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) development in LBW infants. The design was a case-controlled, retrospective study of all premature infants (born </=31 weeks' gestation) admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) over a period of 3 years, from January 1998 to December 2000. The infants who developed BPD formed the study group, while the remainder without pulmonary sequelae, matched for gestational age formed the control group. Leukemoid reaction was considered a white blood cell (WBC) count >40,000/mm 3. The relation between BPD occurrence and WBC counts was studied by Bayesian analysis, dividing WBC counts in 5 progressive bands of 10,000 WBC/mm 3, starting from <10,000 to >40,000/mm 3. Five of 50 BPD infants studied demonstrated WBC counts >40,000/mm 3, with an incidence of 10%, while no control preterm infants presented neonatal leukemoid reaction; the estimated number difference is statistically significant ( p <0.001). There was no other significant association demonstrated between maternal or neonatal variables and leukemoid reaction, including chorioamnionitis, sepsis, and the use of antenatal steroids. Our findings provide further data for the identification of prematures exposed to pro-inflammatory cytokines in utero; the injury responsible for BPD in a subset of prematures may begin with a transient leukemoid reaction.

Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia↗

PubMed2002

Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia and Gilbert's syndrome.

The role of Gilbert's syndrome (GS) in neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, characterized by bilirubin levels higher than 223 microMol/L during the first seven days of life, has been investigated, evaluating the frequency of GS genotype (A(TA)7TAA polymorphism in the promoter of the gene encoding UGT1). The frequency of GS was significantly higher in the hyperbilirubinemic group, even though neither the peak of bilirubin, nor the day on which the highest value was found, differed according to genotype. The normalization of bilirubin levels was slower in neonates with GS. These results confirm the idea that GS is one of the factors contributing to neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, but that other factors play a role in determining neonatal jaundice. The slower decrease of bilirubin levels in A(TA)7TAA homozygous neonates confirms that GS is an important factor in determining a prolonged neonatal jaundice.

Bilirubin↗