Several metabolic (HbA1, HDL-C, triglycerides) and hemostatic (VIIIR: Ag, VIII:C, B-TG variables were investigated in 35 non-obese, insulin-dependent diabetics without clinically evident vascular complications. B-TG was high but did not correlate with other metabolic and hemostatic parameters, suggesting that elevated B-TG in diabetes might be an expression of in vitro platelet activation. VIIIR: Ag and the ratio of VIIIR: Ag to VIII: C were markedly increased. There was a significant correlation of the HbA1 and HDL-C levels with VIIIR: Ag, indicating that VIIIR:Ag is another reflection of metabolic control in diabetes. Additional pathogenic mechanisms, however, appear to be involved in causing the changes in VIIIR: Ag in diabetes.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Chronic continuous intraperitoneal insulin infusion (CIPII) in type I diabetic patients non-satisfactorily responsive to continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII).

Six unstable C-peptide negative type I diabetic patients who had been previously treated with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) for at least one year without achieving satisfactory metabolic control, were admitted to this study and switched to continuous intraperitoneal insulin infusion (CIPII). The results obtained with the two treatments have been compared from the metabolic and clinical points of view. CIPII produced a decrease in HbA1c (p less than 0.05), in MAGE value (p less than 0.005), in the percentage of blood glucose determinations above 14 mmol/l (p less than 0.05) and below 3.9 mmol/l (p less than 0.05); an increase in serum cholesterol, and a decrease in HDL-cholesterol (p less than 0.05) due to a reduction of the HDL2 fraction (p less than 0.01). A mean body weight reduction of 3 kg was observed during CIPII (p less than 0.01), not related to dietary changes or to a reduction of the daily insulin dose. Twenty-four hour metabolic profiles during CIPII showed lower mean plasma glucose (p less than 0.001), serum free insulin (p less than 0.001), blood beta-OH-butyrate (p less than 0.001), and higher serum glycerol (p less than 0.001) as compared to CSII. It is concluded that CIPII may be of clinical value in the out-patient management of unstable type I diabetic patients, and that metabolic modifications induced by CIPII are not limited to changes in glucose utilization and production, but include changes in triglyceride, cholesterol and lipid metabolism which may have clinical relevance.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Lipid disorders in acute viral hepatitis.

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Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Determination of Lp(a) and APO(a) in an Italian population.

Plasma lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] levels were determined in an Italian population subdivided according to age and sex. The distribution of plasma Lp(a) levels was highly skewed, with 75% of the subjects having less than 10 mg/dl. No significant differences were found in the plasma Lp(a) levels of the two age groups, but women had significantly higher levels than men. There was no significant correlation between Lp(a) levels and the other lipid and lipoprotein parameters studied, with the exception of a weak correlation between Lp(a) levels and both total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol in younger women. Apoprotein(a) phenotyping was performed in about one-third of the population; an inverse relationship between the molecular weight of the different isoforms and plasma concentrations of Lp(a) was observed.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The hemochromatosis gene affects the age of onset of sporadic Alzheimer's disease.

In the present study we analysed the genotype of HFE, the gene involved in hemochromatosis, in 107 patients with sporadic late-onset AD and in 99 age-matched non-demented controls. We observed that patients carrying the mutant HFE-H63D allele had a mean age at onset of 71.7 +/- 6.0 years versus 76.6 +/- 5.8 years of those who were homozygous for the wild-type allele (p = 0.001). The frequency of the HFE-H63D mutation was highest (0.22) in the patients aged <70 years at the time of disease onset, whereas it was 0.12 in those with disease onset at an age of 70-80 years, and 0.04 in those aged more than 80 years. The APOE genotype did not significantly modify the effect of HFE on age at onset. We conclude that mild disturbances of iron homeostasis associated with a common genetic determinant may interact with other pathogenic mechanisms involved in AD. HFE mutations may anticipate AD clinical presentation in susceptible individuals.

Age of Onset↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Mast cell density, hepatic stellate cell activation and TGF-beta1 transcripts in the aging Sprague-Dawley rat during early acute liver injury.

Mast cells (MCs) have been indicated as a source of various inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and growth factors. This study evaluates liver tissue MC density as a quantitative marker of acute liver inflammation in 2- and 19-month old rats treated with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) toassess the relationships between MC density, hepatocellular damage, mRNA encoding TGF-beta1, hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation and collagen levels. Consecutive histological sections from each age group were stained with toluidine blue to identify granulated MCs, Direct Red 80 to recognize collagen matrix, and by immunohistochemistry to identify activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), which were subsequently counted by means of a computer-aided image analysis. Histology showed hepatocellular necrosis with inflammatory cell infiltration and collagen matrix deposition. Two and 24 hours after intoxication, MC density had considerably increased in the younger rats, but less in those aged 19 months. Although the untreated older rats had a larger area occupied by activated HSCs than the untreated younger rats, the increase in the number of HSCs was greater in the younger rats both two and 24 hours after intoxication. The greater MC density in younger rats suggests that older rats have a reduced immune response or recruit fewer MCs. The activated HSCs and TGF-beta1 transcripts did not increase significantly during the study period, thus indicating that these are later events in chemically induced hepatic toxicity. In conclusion. MC density may be an index of acute liver inflammation after CCl4 intoxication.

Aging↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Biology and needs of the aged].

The elderly age group is growing rapidly as a proportion of the total population of Italy. By the year 2020 the population aged 65 and over is expected to increase from 17% to 23%. The biological process of aging leads to a loss of functional reserves, and so elderly people are frail and affected by multiple diseases. However, health in the elderly is synonymous with self-sufficiency, which may be preserved even in the presence of a disabling disease. According to the new WHO International Classification of Functioning and Disability (ICIDH-2) the important elements in defining health status include personal activity and social participation, as well as body functions. As people age in different ways, the response to the needs of the elderly must be flexible and multidimensional. One of the priority objectives of modern medicine is to push disability to the end of life as much as possible.

Activities of Daily Living↗