Biomedical subjects

G Egger

Publications and source records attributed to G Egger.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1997

Changes in the polymorphonuclear leukocyte function of blood samples induced by storage time, temperature and agitation.

We have investigated changes in polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) functions of blood samples caused by such typical elements of laboratory handling as storage time, temperature and agitation. The blood of five healthy subjects was stored upright in test tubes at 4, 22 and 37 degrees C over periods of 20 min, one, two, six and 24 h. Controlled agitation was performed on a shaker. The following PMN functional parameters were measured: the white blood cell count (WBC), migration, elastase (EL) release, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and lipid peroxidation. Migration was determined in a whole-blood membrane filter assay; ROS production by latex-stimulated, luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence (CL) in a whole-blood assay; EL as EL alpha 1-antitrypsin complex; and lipid peroxidation by malondialdehyde (MDA) generation. The reactions after handling were compared with the values measured immediately after blood withdrawal which served as reference values of 'genuine' PMN reactivity. The outstanding result was the marked scatter between the individual reactions. Overall, the proportion of migrating PMNs in the blood total decreased, while CL, correlating positively with MDA, increased with the time of storage. EL increased considerably in some of the samples. Agitation raised CL and MDA. The effect of temperature was apparent only after 24 h at 37 degrees C. There was evidence that inhomogeneities in the blood samples were another interfering factor, since resuspension of sedimented blood after storage can be incomplete. In order to obtain reliable results from PMN functional tests, whole-blood assays and processing of blood samples within 20 min after blood withdrawal are recommended.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Effect of steroid treatment on the migration behaviour of neutrophils in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis.

The influence of methylprednisolone on the migratory characteristics of neutrophil granulocytes was investigated in 10 patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and compared to 12 controls. The migration of neutrophils was measured with a whole-blood membrane filter assay with and without stimulation by the chemoattractant N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP). Total migration index (TMI), distribution characteristics (DC) and the product of TMI and DC (neutrophil migratory activity; NMA) served to characterize the migratory behaviour of neutrophils. The data demonstrated an increased polymorphonuclear leucocyte (PMN) migration in patients with early RA, indicating a bystander role of PMNs in inflammatory joint injury. Treatment with methylprednisolone reduced significantly the penetration depth (DC) of neutrophils, but did not influence the number of migrating cells (TMI). The unstimulated NMA was significantly reduced due to the marked DC reduction, whereas steroids did not influence the stimulated NMA of neutrophils. A significant reduction in PMN penetration depth was demonstrated only after a steroid therapy of at least 10 days, suggesting that a longer period of steroid therapy is necessary to provide effective inflammatory control.

Aged↗

PubMed1997

The role of insulin in age-related sex differences of cardiovascular risk profile and morbidity.

Metabolic changes and shifts in vascular risk profiles during and after menopause may partly explain the loss of premenopausal protection against cardiovascular disease (CVD). The current population-based survey addresses changes in risk factors and insulin levels across an age range of 40-79 years in men and women. Population recruitment was performed as part of the Bruneck Study from July to November 1990. In brief, of 1000 subjects randomly selected for inclusion 936 participated, with insulin measurements available in a random subgroup of 880 men and women, 60 of whom were excluded due to manifest diabetes mellitus. Insulin concentrations were assessed according to Hales and Randle and by a human insulin-specific radioimmunoassay. A rise in insulin concentrations with advancing age in women (5th-8th decade, 10.5-14.4 mU/l or +1.2%/year) contrasts with a marked gradual decline in insulin levels in men (5th-8th decade, 12.5-5.9 mU/l or -2.4%/year). Age trends of insulin concentrations in sexes emerged as independent of age-related changes in body weight, type of fat distribution, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, social status, fasting glucose, and physical activity (P < 0.001 for sex-specific difference in the regression slopes). Insulin levels in pre- and postmenopausal women of equal age differed significantly (10.1 vs. 13.9 mU/l, P = 0.003), thus advocating that variations of insulin observed may in part be related to shifts in sex hormone status. Levels of virtually all vascular risk attributes were lower in premenopausal women than in men of equal age, but the opposite was true for the elderly. The switch in the sex preponderance of vascular risk factors may be crucially involved in closing the CVD incidence gap between genders after menopause. The analysis suggests that variations in insulin levels are a common metabolic basis for sex/age trends in fasting glucose, apolipoprotein B, total cholesterol, total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio, LDL density (LDL cholesterol/apolipoprotein B), triglycerides and systolic blood pressure.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Influence of age on the release of reactive oxygen species by phagocytes as measured by a whole blood chemiluminescence assay.

Polymorphonuclear and mononuclear phagocytes play an important role in host defense, but may also cause tissue injury through excessive inflammation. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are not only directly ore indirectly involved in a wide variety of clinical disorders, such as atherosclerosis, reperfusion injury, pulmonary toxicity and cancer, but they are also important in the aging process. This process is associated with increasing susceptibility to infection. In this study we investigated the influence of age and sex on phagocyte activation by means of a whole blood chemiluminescence (CL) assay. Circulating phagocyte activity was measured in 55 healthy volunteers (24 females, 31 males) aged from 6 to 92 years. Using an automated luminescence system, phagocytes were stimulated by polystyrene beads and Luminol-enhanced CL was determined in terms of peak height and peak time in freshly withdrawn, peripheral venous whole blood. An extremely significant positive correlation (p < 0.0001) between the maximum of light emission after stimulation and increasing age was found. This finding is true for the total population of blood phagocytes as well as for a single cell. In contrast the time of the appearance of the maximum of light emission showed an extremely significant inverse correlation (p < 0.0003) with increasing age. The influence of sex on the CL-parameters showed no significant difference between women and men. It is concluded that the increased susceptibility of circulating phagocytes to oxidative burst in elderly subjects may be the consequence of several biological events. Senescent cells express more and also have new antigens on their surfaces that trigger an autoimmune response. Cellular senescence appears earlier in old organisms. Therefore phagocytes in aging individuals may be increasingly involved in their scavenger tasks that grow with the catabolic bias in cell turnover. Moreover, atherosclerotic alterations in the intima and endothelial lesions are physiologic concomitants of age and may lead to a stimulation of circulating phagocytes.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Relationship between insulin and carotid atherosclerosis in the general population. The Bruneck Study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although several studies have investigated the association between insulin and coronary heart disease, the relationship between this hormone and carotid atherosclerosis is not well established. METHODS: As a part of a population-based survey on atherosclerosis and its risk factors, serum insulin was measured at fasting (n = 888) and at 2 hours after an oral glucose load (n = 811; known diabetic subjects were excluded). The study population comprised an age- and sex-stratified random sample of men and women aged 40 to 79 years. Atherosclerosis in the common and internal carotid arteries was assessed twice (in 1990 and 1995) by duplex sonography. Progression during the 5-years follow-up was defined by an increase in the atherosclerosis score of more than the doubled measurement error (> 27%) or by the occurrence of new plaques. Subjects were stratified in quintiles according to baseline serum insulin at fasting or 2 hours after glucose loading. RESULTS: Logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association of carotid atherosclerosis with both low and high insulin (U-shaped relation). This finding was found before and after adjustment for several covariates (sex, age, body mass index, glucose tolerance, triglycerides, apolipoproteins Al and B, fibrinogen, blood pressure status, behavioral variables, and socioeconomic status). This relation applied equally to fasting and postglucose insulin and was more pronounced in the prospective analysis than in the cross-sectional analysis. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that both "hypoinsulinemia" and hyperinsulinemia are independent risk indicators of carotid atherosclerosis.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Insulin sensitivity and regular alcohol consumption: large, prospective, cross sectional population study (Bruneck study)

OBJECTIVES: To assess the relation between regular alcohol consumption and insulin sensitivity, and to estimate the importance of insulin in the association of alcohol with multiple vascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease. DESIGN: Prospective and cross sectional study of a large randomly selected population sample. SETTING: Part of the Bruneck study 1990-5 (Bolzano province, Italy). SUBJECTS: 820 health, non-diabetic women and men aged 40-79 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Concentrations of fasting and post-glucose insulin, cholesterol, apolipoproteins, triglycerides, Lp(a) lipoprotein glucose, fibrinogen, and antithrombin III; blood pressure; insulin resistance estimated by the homeostasis model assessment. RESULTS: Fasting insulin concentrations in those who did not drink alcohol and subjects reporting low (1-50 g/day), moderate (51-99 g/day), and heavy (> or = 100 g/day) alcohol intake were 12.4, 10.0, 8.7, and 7.1 mU/l (P < 0.001). Likewise, post-glucose insulin concentrations and estimates for insulin resistance assessed by the homeostasis model assessment decreased significantly with increasing amounts of regular alcohol consumption. These trends were independent of sex, body mass index, physical activity, cigarette smoking, medication, and diet (P < 0.001). Regular alcohol intake predicted multiple changes in vascular risk factors over a five year period including increased concentrations of high density lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein A I; higher blood pressure; and decreased concentration of antithrombin III. These associations were in part attributable to the decrease in insulin concentrations observed among alcohol consumers. CONCLUSIONS: Low to moderate amounts of alcohol, when taken on a regular basis, improve insulin sensitivity. Insulin is a potential intermediate component in the association between alcohol consumption and vascular risk factors (metabolic syndrome).

Adult↗

PubMed1996

The influence of trauma on changes in neutrophil granulocyte function assessed by an analysis of granulocyte migration.

We examined the effects of trauma on polymorphonuclear leucocyte (PMN) migratory parameters and PMN elastase release, with the aim of tracing an acute inflammatory reaction from its very beginning to the phase of recovery. Fifteen patients who underwent monotrauma surgery, followed by uneventful healing, served as inflammation model. PMN activation was studied by measuring their readiness to migrate (TMI) and their penetration potency (DC) in a whole blood membrane filter device, in which a chemoattractant depot (FMLP) was integrated. Control chambers lacking FMLP provided parameters of the spontaneous migration. In healthy controls (n = 64), the numbers of invading PMNs decreased continuously from the outermost layer towards the interior of the filter device. FMLP did not influence the mobilization rate of PMNs immigrant from the blood into the filter, but those cells that did migrate penetrated deeper (P < 0.05). After trauma, the spontaneous and FMLP-stimulated DC was increased (P < 0.05). Trauma also tended to inhibit PMN migratory activity episodically; depression of the unspecific immune function (low TMI values) was found on the 3rd (P < 0.0001) and 12th (P < 0.01) postsurgical days. There was no correlation between the migratory parameters and the inflammation parameter, PMN elastase release. Preliminary results indicate that analyses of PMN migratory parameters by a whole blood membrane filter assay could provide a valuable adjunct in monitoring trauma-associated immunologic changes.

Acute-Phase Reaction↗

PubMed1996

Effectiveness of an abdominal obesity reduction programme in men: the GutBuster "waist loss' programme.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the long term (1-2 year), as well as immediate effectiveness of a "waist loss' programme for men. DESIGN: Two preliminary studies are reported; one following a small group of 42 men over two years after a 6 week "GutBuster' course, the second following men for 1 year after having completed the initial 6 week programme (n = 83), or the initial course plus an additional six fortnightly "advanced' course (n = 37). MEASUREMENTS: Waist, hip and weight measures were reported for the 2 year group; waist and hip only in study 2. Dietary fat, exercise and alcohol intake were also recorded in study 2 through the use of questionnaires. The goal for the initial course was a 1% waist loss per week. RESULTS: All groups achieved an average waist loss > 1%/week during the initial programme. Waist sizes reported in study 1 were significantly less after 2 years (t = 8.28, p < 0.001) averaging a 6% loss in the group. This equated with an average weight loss of 5.5 kg. A repeated measures ANOVA also showed a significant main effect (F = 85.35; p < 0.0001) for waist losses and an interaction effect (F = 16.53; p < 0.0001) between initial and advanced groups after 1 year in study 2. Average waist losses were 4% and 10% respectively. There were also significant changes in dietary fat intake, exercise and alcohol consumption. CONCLUSION: Reductions in waist size in men appear to be more feasible than weight losses in women. "Waist loss' may also be a more valid measure of fat loss in men that body mass measures.

Abdomen↗

PubMed1996

[Hypertrophic callus formation and craniocerebral trauma: early diagnosis and behavior of basic fibroblast growth factor].

Hypertrophic callus formation in patients with severe head injury leads to an early fracture consolidation, whereas in joint fractures the enhanced ossification can even end in ankylosis of the injured joint. It is already known that these ossifications can be at least partly prevented by non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs. Therefore, serum parameters have been determined that could predict this phenomenon. The mean values for alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and its bone isoenzyme were significantly increased in patients with severe head injury and bone fractures as soon as the 2nd week (reaching peak values in the 3rd week after injury) compared with patients with isolated fractures or head injury only and with normal healthy subjects. Procollagen I (PICP) was significantly increased even in the 1st week, reaching its peak during the 2nd week after injury. Compared with the callus volume at the time of fracture consolidation the size was determined from the X-rays--it was even possible to predict the volume of callus with the aid of these serum parameters as early as in the first few weeks after injury. A possible link between head injury and the increased bone formation could be the basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). In our study, bFGF was determined in serum by an immunoassay (ELISA), and an unusual pattern of dynamic change was observed in the patients with head injury and bone fractures. Compared with patients with isolated bone fractures bFGF immunoreactivity was significantly increased in patients with brain and bone lesions even in the 1st week after injury, with further peaks in the 2nd, 4th and 7th-8th weeks, with sudden decreases in between. In patients with isolated bone fractures a transient increase of bFGF was observed only during the 2nd week after injury. A similar increase was also determined in the sera of patients with head injury only, but it lasted longer. Thus, a posttraumatic increase of the serum bFGF was induced by bone as well as by brain injury, but was not causally related with the growth-promoting effects of the sera, as was proven by an in vitro analysis of the effects of the patients sera on L929 fibroblast growth.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Blood polymorphonuclear leukocyte migratory activities during rheumatoid arthritis.

Blood polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) migratory activity was investigated in adult rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and in healthy control subjects using fresh whole blood in a novel membrane filter assay. The PMNs migrated under FMLP stimulation and under blank control conditions (spontaneous migration). Essential evaluation criteria were the percentage of PMNs that migrated from the entire blood sample into the filters (TMI) and the penetration depth of the migrating cell bulk into the filters (DC). PMNs from healthy subjects penetrate deeper under FMLP stimulation than under blank control conditions. Migration depends on age and sex: the TMI decreases, while the DC and the reactivity towards FMLP increase with age. FMLP triggers a stronger DC reaction in females than in males. Compared with healthy subjects, patients with RA develop an increased PMN reaction, whereas FMLP inhibits migration in comparison with the blank controls. There is no correlation between disease activity estimated by joint functions and PMN migratory activity, while there are strong correlations between disease activity and the classical RA laboratory parameters WBC, platelets, BSR, CRP, hemoglobin and rheumatoid factor. PMNs therefore probably do not play a major role in joint injury. Gold therapy inhibits DC reactivity. PMN migration in RA differs markedly from the reactions in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, where high disease activity is associated with high PMN migratory activity, and the correlations between classical laboratory parameters and disease activity follow other patterns than in RA.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

Lipoprotein(a) and asymptomatic carotid artery disease. Evidence of a prominent role in the evolution of advanced carotid plaques: the Bruneck Study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Elevated levels of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] have been reported in association with symptomatic coronary and carotid artery disease. Relevancy of Lp(a) as a risk predictor of presymptomatic atherosclerosis in general populations is not well established. METHODS: Serum Lp(a) distribution and its relation to sonographically assessed carotid atherosclerosis were examined in a random sample of 885 men and women aged 40 to 79 years (Bruneck Study). RESULTS: Logistic regression analysis revealed a binary-type association between Lp(a) and carotid artery disease, with the threshold level of Lp(a) for an enhanced atherosclerosis risk defined at 32 mg/dL. The strength of relation increased with advancing severity of carotid atherosclerosis (odds ratios for Lp(a), 1.8 for nonstenotic and 4.7 for stenotic carotid artery disease; P < .001). Lp(a) was unaffected by environmental factors except for a significant decrease in women taking hormone replacement therapy (P < .05). In a multivariate approach, Lp(a) turned out to be an independently significant predictor of carotid atherosclerosis (P < .001). No differential effect of Lp(a) on atherosclerosis (effect modification) was observed for sex, age, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-I and B, fasting glucose, diabetes, or hypertension. However, the Lp(a)-atherosclerosis relation was significantly modified by fibrinogen (P < .01) and antithrombin III (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates a strong and independent association between elevated Lp(a) levels and carotid atherosclerosis in a large randomized population and provides evidence of a potential role of Lp(a) in the evolution of carotid stenosis. Apart from atherogenicity of Lp(a) cholesterol, interference with fibrinolysis of atheroma-associated clots and fibrin deposits in the arterial wall may achieve pathophysiological significance.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Comparison of the values of basic fibroblast growth factor determined by an immunoassay in the sera of patients with traumatic brain injury and enhanced osteogenesis and the effects of the same sera on the fibroblast growth in vitro.

In patients with severe traumatic brain injury, the early healing of fractures is accompanied by hypertrophic callus formation or heterotopic ossifications, which might even result in ankylosis of the affected joints. Analysis of the sera of patients with traumatic brain injury revealed post-traumatic dynamic changes of basic fibroblast growth factor immunoreactivity, similar to those observed during fracture healing associated with enhanced osteogenesis. The aim of this study was to determine whether such changes in basic fibroblast growth factor concentrations could be related to the phenomenon of enhanced osteogenesis. Basic fibroblast growth factor immunoreactivity was determined (using an IEMA kit) in the sera of patients with traumatic brain injury and bone fractures (n = 8) and in the sera of patients with either traumatic brain injury alone (n = 10) or bone fractures alone (n = 7), and the effects of these sera on L929 fibroblast growth were analysed in vitro. The results did not prove a causative relationship between the changes of basic fibroblast growth factor immunoreactivity and in vitro growth promoting effects of the sera. However, it is apparent that, in addition to changes in the growth-promoting activity and basic fibroblast growth factor concentration of serum, other as yet unknown post-traumatic changes can cause enhanced osteogenesis.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Polymorphonuclear leucocyte migration response in uneventful wound healing following trauma surgery. A contribution to the search for objectifiable criteria in wound healing monitoring.

In a study of the clinical importance of polymorphonuclear granulocytes (PMN) for the monitoring of wound healing we investigated the postsurgical course of nine patients all of whom had undergone trauma surgery and had no wound complications. The "stimulated random PMN locomotion" was evaluated by a new migration filter device which preserves the cells in their genuine priming state, simulating in vivo conditions. The percentage of all activated PMN, expressed by the total migration index (TMI) reflected the highest median immediately after surgery (Zmax = 30.1%) and dropped to the lowest value on day 13 (Zmin = 13.9%). The mean invasion depth (T/2) of the cells along the migration distance into the filter showed only slight variations over time. The neutrophil migration activity (NMA), described by T/2 and TMI, behaved in a similar way to TMI. In studying physiological healing, preliminary results indicate that TMI, which expresses PMN activation, is an efficient tool in the postoperative monitoring of patients, and might in the future serve as a basis for an early warning system for wound healing complications.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Migratory activity of blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes during juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, demonstrated with a new whole-blood membrane filter assay.

Polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) migration is measured in whole blood in a migration chamber consisting of a membrane filter (3-microns pores, 140 microns thick) with an integrated chemoattractant depot (FMLP in solid form) attached to a plastic container. Control chambers lack FMLP (blanks). One test unit requires 300 microliters blood. Numbers and distribution of the PMN immigrants into the filters are determined microscopically. Altogether 26 measurements of PMN migration in five juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) patients with varying disease activity were compared with the reactions of a healthy control group (N = 32). Correlations were calculated with conventional laboratory parameters (WBC, PLT, BSR, CRP, Hgb, serum Fe) and disease activity. In comparison with healthy controls, PMNs of JRA patients generally show a markedly increased penetration depth into the filters irrespective the presence of the chemoattractant or the disease activity. Increased migratory reactions to FMLP in comparison to blanks were found during high disease activity only. The PMN penetration depth correlates positively with the CRP, and reciprocally with the Hgb blood levels. The migration assay combines fast and simple processing with good preservation of the genuine PMN activation state.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Basic fibroblast growth factor (BFGF) immunoreactivity as a possible link between head injury and impaired bone fracture healing.

Healing of fractures of long bones or large joints is often accelerated in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, in these patients an early fracture healing is accompanied by hypertrophic callus formation or heterotopic ossifications which might even result in an ankylosis of the affected joints. It seems that enhanced osteogenesis in patients suffering from TBI could be caused by some humoral factors, since the sera of these patients strongly promote the growth of osteoblast cells in vitro. However, humoral growth promoting factors which could perhaps induce enhanced osteogenesis are not yet identified. Hence, the aim of this study was to analyse if basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) could be related to the phenomenon of enhanced osteogenesis, since bFGF stimulates the growth of osteoblasts in vitro and could be found both in the brain and the bone tissue. For that purpose the values of bFGF immunoreactivity were determined in the sera of patients with TBI and bone fractures (n = 8) as well as in the sera of patients with either TBI alone (n = 10) or bone fractures alone (n = 7), during a period of three months after injury. Quantification of the bFGF immunoreactivity was done using the ELISA based on monoclonal antibodies raised against the recombinant human bFGF. The bFGF immunoreactivity values obtained were also compared with the values determined in the sera of normal, healthy persons (n = 9). In the group of patients with bone fractures alone only a transient increase of bFGF immunoreactivity (threefold above the normal values) was observed in the second week after injury. A similar increase of the values of bFGF immunoreactivity was also determined in the sera of patients with TBI only, but it lasted longer (from the 1st until the 7th to 8th week after injury). In the case of patients with TBI and bone fractures a specific pattern of post-traumatic dynamic change of the values of serum bFGF immunoreactivity was observed. Namely, the increase of bFGF immunoreactivity (up to seven-fold above the normal values) was determined even during the first week after injury. Afterwards, periods of high values of bFGF immunoreactivity observed during the 2nd, 4th and the 7-10th weeks after injury were interrupted by sudden decreases even to the normal values (during the 3rd and the 5-6th week after injury).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Quantitative assessment of carotid atherosclerosis in a healthy population.

To evaluate the prevalence and extent of carotid atherosclerosis in a general healthy population, duplex ultrasound imaging was performed in 909 men and women aged 40-79 years as part of the prospective Bruneck Ischemic Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Study. Atherosclerotic lesions were found in 47.8% of men and 36.3% of women. Sex differences in the prevalence rates were most pronounced from age 40 to 60 years with a convergence occurring in the 7th decade. The age range of 60-69 years was found to be the crucial period for the development of advanced carotid artery disease. The frequency of internal carotid artery stenosis (> 50%) in elderly men and women (60-79 years) was 10.5 and 5.5%. In nonstenotic carotid artery disease the lumen diameter turned out to be a useful indirect measure of the vascular status.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Body iron stores and presence of carotid atherosclerosis. Results from the Bruneck Study.

We hypothesized that the formation of foam cells and fatty streaks requires a postsecretory oxidative modification of lipoproteins that targets them for rapid uptake by macrophages. Lipid peroxidation may in part depend on the concentration of tissue iron, one of the major oxidants in vivo. We analyzed the relation between sonographically assessed carotid atherosclerosis and body iron stores in a population sample of 847 men and women aged 40 to 79 years. In a logistic regression analysis adjusting for age, sex, and all major vascular risk markers, ferritin emerged as one of the strongest indicators of carotid artery disease in both sexes (40 to 59 years; odds ratio, 1.54 per 100 micrograms/L; P < .001). The predictive significance of ferritin was found to be synergistic with that of hypercholesterolemia. Variations in body iron stores between sexes may partly explain evident sex differences in the expression of carotid atherosclerosis. In the elderly (> or = 60 years) the predictive significance of ferritin was found to decrease parallel to that of apolipoprotein B. The current study suggests a possible role of body iron in early atherogenesis.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Alcohol consumption and carotid atherosclerosis: evidence of dose-dependent atherogenic and antiatherogenic effects. Results from the Bruneck Study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although a variety of epidemiological studies have suggested a U-shaped association between alcohol and cardiovascular disease, controversy still surrounds the role of atherogenesis in the mediation of alcohol effects. METHODS: Carotid atherosclerosis was measured with a sensitive and reproducible B-mode score in a random sample of 460 men drawn from the Bruneck Study (baseline examination in 1990). RESULTS: The age-adjusted relation between alcohol and carotid artery disease was U shaped, with light drinkers facing a lower atherosclerosis risk (odds ratio, 0.44; 95% confidence interval, 0.23 to 0.85; P = .01) than either abstainers (odds ratio, 1.00) or heavy drinkers (odds ratio, 2.78; 95% confidence interval, 1.32 to 5.84; P < .01). The association was not explained by the lifestyle of alcohol consumers (smoking) or inclusion of former (heavy) drinkers in the reference group. The effect of alcohol was modified by drinking behavior (type of beverage). Approximately a quarter of the atherosclerosis risk caused by severe alcohol consumption was mediated by the risk profile associated with drinking, whereas the apparent beneficial effect of low alcohol intake emerged independent of conventional risk attributes. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the hypothesis that adverse and beneficial effects of alcohol on cerebrovascular disease are mediated in part by analogous atherogenic and antiatherogenic properties.

Adult↗