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Biomedical subjects

E Taioli

Publications and source records attributed to E Taioli.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Long-term efficacy of screening for hypertension in a community.

Screening for hypertension in the community leads to the identification of hypertensive people not previously detected, and those detected but inadequately treated or not treated at all. The aim of the present study was to assess the long-term efficacy of screening for blood pressure control in a general population. During 1981, 2139 parents of high school students were invited to our institute for a blood pressure measurement; 1533 persons (71.7%) attended the screening; 239 of them (15.6%) were found to be hypertensive (diastolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 95 mmHg or already receiving antihypertensive treatment). Among the hypertensives, 42.3% did not know that they had high blood pressure, and only 7.5% had their blood pressure controlled by treatment. After being informed about the importance of lowering their blood pressure levels, all hypertensives were invited again to the institute for a further evaluation. Two hundred and two persons (84.5%) attended the re-examination. Of these, 154 (76.2%) were still hypertensive. Of the 202, 151 (74.7%) had contacted their physicians. The most common advice was to make further measurements of blood pressure over a period of time, followed by laboratory tests. The proportion of treated hypertensives rose from the initial 33.1% to 53.9%, but in about half the patients normalization of blood pressure was not achieved. Physicians tended to treat only people with moderate to severe hypertension.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1985

[Index of left ventricular hypertrophy in adolescents genetically predisposed to the development of arterial hypertension].

Experimental studies on strains of normotensive rats genetically prone to hypertension and investigations on humans with borderline hypertension have shown an early involvement of the heart, mainly consisting in a trend to ventricular hypertrophy. To assess whether such alterations may preceed or follow the elevation of blood pressure, subjects who will develop hypertension, but whose blood pressure is currently normal must be studied. For this reason, we studied by means of M-mode echocardiography 51 normotensive males aged 14-19 years with family history for hypertension (at least one hypertensive parent; SHT). Fifty-five normotensive subjects with both normotensive parents (SNT), matched for sex and age, were the controls. Average values of the following parameters were significantly higher in SHT than in SNT subjects: interventricular septum (5.4 +/- 0.8 versus 4.9 +/- 0.9 mm/m2; p less than 0.01) and posterior wall (5.4 +/- 1.1 versus 5.0 +/- 0.8 mm/m2; p less than 0.05) thickness, left ventricular mass (125.0 +/- 29.1 versus 109.2 +/- 25.4 g/m2; p less than 0.005) and cross sectional area (10.0 +/- 1.8 versus 8.9 +/- 1.6 cm2/m2; p less than 0.005). No significant difference between the two groups was observed in the indexes of left ventricular function. The existence of alterations of cardiac morphology in normotensive adolescents with genetic risk of hypertension shows that the cardiac involvement may preceed the development of high blood pressure.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

[Echocardiographic evaluation of the left ventricular morphology and function in adolescents with mild arterial hypertension].

A few studies have been carried out in humans on the morphology and function of the cardiovascular system in the early phases of hypertension. Furthermore, the data which have been provided are controversal and, in particular, a hyperkinetic status has been found only by some authors. For this reason, we planned to study the type and degree of cardiac involvement in 25 male adolescents with mild hypertension, by means of M-mode echocardiography. The control group consisted of 100 normotensive males matched for age and sex. The following indices of left ventricular hypertrophy were significantly higher in cases than in controls: posterior wall thickness (10.4 +/- 1.0 vs 9.1 +/- 1.7 mm; p less than 0.001), cross sectional area (18.3 +/- 2.7 vs 16.6 +/- 3.2 cm2; p less than 0.02) and left ventricular mass (230.9 +/- 46.7 vs 206.2 +/- 54.0 g; p less than 0.05). After normalizing for body surface area, only posterior wall thickness was still significantly greater in cases (5.7 +/- 0.6 vs 5.2 +/- 1.0 mm/m2; p less than 0.01). Among the indices of left ventricular function, only the posterior wall excursion was significantly greater in mild hypertensives than in controls. Our data do not confirm the existence of a hyperkinetic status in subjects with mild hypertension. The type of morphological alterations we found and their modest correlation to blood pressure suggest that factors besides an increased afterload are involved in the development of left ventricular hypertrophy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

[Association between arterial pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors in adolescence].

A screening for hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors was carried out during 1981 in a population of 1142 subjects (675 males and 467 females) aged 14-18 years. Aim of the study was to analyze the distribution of blood pressure values and of variables possibly associated with hypertension in a population of adolescents. The mean value of systolic blood pressure was higher in males than in females, slightly increasing with age in males and decreasing in females. The diastolic blood pressure was similar, and increased with age in both sexes. The prevalence of individuals with systolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 140 mmHg resulted of 16.1% in males and of 5.6% in females; the prevalence of adolescents with diastolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 90 mmHg was much lower, being of 2.5% and 1.5% respectively. The average value of heart rate was higher in females and decreased with age in both sexes. Males showed significantly greater height and weight, but the body mass index was nearly equal in the two sexes; females had thicker skinfolds. All these variables only in males were clearly associated with age. Among anamnestic variables, only smoking habits, alcohol consumption and physical activity were significantly different in the two sexes. A positive family history for hypertension was present in 31.4% of the adolescents in whom an objective assessment was possible. In both sexes the systolic blood pressure appeared significantly related to heart rate, body weight, body mass index and skinfold thickness.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Applying management strategies in molecular epidemiology field studies.

In conducting field studies of human exposure, we have encountered significant methodological challenges. The management strategy our group developed to conduct two recent studies of environmental health utilizes a collaborative study design process and innovative protocol management tools, and emphasizes community outreach. We present here the phases of planning, development and realization of two studies--one conducted in an environmentally contaminated area, and another in an occupational setting. We show how the use of this management strategy increases the efficiency of field operations and improves variability assessment.

Bulgaria↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Iron status and HFE genotype in erythrocyte pyruvate kinase deficiency: study of Italian cases.

We evaluated the iron status and searched for mutations C282Y and H63D in the hereditary hemochromatosis gene (HFE) in 34 pyruvate kinase (PK)-deficient patients from 29 unrelated families. Nine had received multiple transfusions. Thirteen of the 25 nontransfused patients displayed increased serum ferritin concentration, in the absence of conditions known to raise this parameter. HFE genotype was abnormal in 9 of 34 patients. The allele frequency was 1.8% for mutation 845G--> (C282Y) and 16.1% for mutation 187C-->G (H63D). Nontransfused subjects with abnormal genotype had serum ferritin and transferrin saturation values significantly higher than those with wild-type genotype. Of the 12 adult nontransfused patients with increased iron status parameters, 1 was C282Y homozygous, 1 compound heterozygous for C282Y and H63D, 3 H63D heterozygous, and 7 had a normal HFE genotype. Serum ferritin and transferrin saturation were not related to hemoglobin, reticulocytes, and bilirubin concentration. At multivariate analysis serum ferritin was independently associated with age and gender, but not with splenectomy and HFE genotypes. The retrospective evaluation of the iron status profile of 10 patients (3 with abnormal and 7 with wild-type HFE genotype) with at least 10 years follow-up showed that overt iron accumulation requiring iron chelation had occurred only in the 3 patients (2 of whom were splenectomized) with the mutated HFE gene.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Reduced IL-6 levels among individuals in Hudson County, New Jersey, an area contaminated with chromium.

Hudson County, New Jersey, was a major center for the processing of chromium ore. After processing, some of the ore residue that contained low concentrations of chromium became distributed in population centers throughout the county. There now exists concern in the county about possible health effects from chromium exposure. Our previous research suggested that immune-function assays would make useful biomarkers for chromate exposure in humans. Blood samples were drawn from 46 individuals who lived and/or worked in Hudson County and from 47 controls. Only one of the immune-associated assays performed on these samples showed any statistically significant differences between the Hudson County and control groups. The mean level of IL-6 produced by pokeweed mitogen-stimulated mononuclear cells isolated from the Hudson County group was 64% of the control value--a highly significant decrease (p<.001). There was also a significant correlation between the proliferative responses of the mononuclear cells to pokeweed mitogen and the levels of IL-6 produced by these cells. No differences were detected in the IL-6 responses that resulted from age, gender, or smoking status. The reliability of the IL-6 assay was found to be 90%. To our knowledge, there have been no reports, until now, that describe reduced production of any cytokine in individuals who are exposed to chromate.

Cell Division↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Interaction between smoking, GSTM1 deletion and colorectal cancer: results from the GSEC study.

Cigarette smoking has inconsistently been associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. One of the enzymes responsible for the detoxification of the carcinogenic compounds present in tobacco smoke is glutathione S-transferase-mu (GST-mu). The gene that codes for this enzyme is GSTM1. In this study, we evaluated the associations and interaction between GSTM1 deletion, smoking behaviour and the development of colorectal cancer. We performed a pooled analysis within the International Collaborative Study on Genetic Susceptibility to Environmental Carcinogens (GSEC). We selected six studies on colorectal cancer, including 1130 cases and 2519 controls, and restricted our analyses to Caucasians because the number of patients from other races was too limited. In addition we performed a meta-analysis including the studies from the GSEC database and other studies identified on MEDLINE on the same subject. The prevalence of the GSTM1 null genotype was within the range reported in other studies: 51.8% of the cases had the GSTM1 null genotype versus 56.6% of the controls. No significant association between the GSTM1 null genotype and colorectal cancer was found (odds ratio 0.92, 95% confidence interval 0.73-1.14). Our results suggest a possible positive association between lack of the GST-mu enzyme and colorectal cancer for non-smoking women (odds ratio 1.47, 95% confidence interval 0.80-2.70). There was no interaction between the effects of smoking and GSTM1 genotype on colorectal cancer risk in men and women (chi2=0.007, p=0.97). Our findings do not support an association between the GSTM1 null genotype and colorectal cancer. In addition, we did not find any modification of the smoking-induced colorectal cancer risk by GSTM1 genotype

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Metabolic gene polymorphisms and p53 mutations in healthy centenarians and younger controls.

To obtain insights into the genetic mechanisms of ageing, we studied the frequency of the simultaneous presence of polymorphisms in phase I and phase II genes and of several p53 germline mutations in a group of 66 nonagenarians and centenarians in good health, selected from a larger sample of a multicentre Italian study in Northern Italy, and in a sample of 150 young healthy volunteers of the same ethnic group. We found a statistically significant difference in the frequency of 1the GSTT1 deletion and the p53 genotypes: the absence of any p53 polymorphisms and of GSTT1 deletion, and the simultaneous presence of the three p53 polymorphisms and of GSTT1 deletion, were much more frequent in young subjects than in centenarians (41.5% versus 26.9% and 8.8% versus 3.8%, respectively). One hypothesis to explain this difference is that subjects with both GSTT1 deletion and p53 polymorphisms may accumulate carcinogens and may have reduced DNA repair ability, and thus are more at risk for cancer. Another possible explanation is that both metabolic genes and p53 act on pathways related to cell ageing and death, and therefore certain composite genetic patterns could represent a generic mechanism of protection against ageing, not just against the development of chronic diseases. It is likely that longevity is related to a complex genetic trait as well as to certain environmental exposures.

Adult↗