Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

I Olivieri

Publications and source records attributed to I Olivieri.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Efficacy of celecoxib, a cyclooxygenase 2-specific inhibitor, in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis: a six-week controlled study with comparison against placebo and against a conventional nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the short-term efficacy of celecoxib, a cyclooxygenase 2-specific inhibitor, in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). METHODS: The study was a 6-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with 3 treatment arms: placebo, ketoprofen 100 mg twice daily, and celecoxib 100 mg twice daily. Patients who had AS according to the modified New York criteria, without peripheral synovitis and with active disease (pain > or =40 mm on a 100-mm visual analog scale [VAS] and an increase in pain of at least 30% after nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug withdrawal) were eligible for study. Primary outcome measures were change in pain intensity (VAS) and change in functional impairment (Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index [BASFI]). RESULTS: Of the 246 randomized patients, 76 were allocated to receive placebo, 90 ketoprofen, and 80 celecoxib. There were no statistically significant differences between treatment groups at study entry. During the 6 weeks of the study, the decrease in pain and functional impairment was greater in the active treatment groups than in the placebo group, with a trend in favor of celecoxib when the 2 active treatments were compared. The mean changes were -13 mm, -21 mm, and -27 mm (P = 0.006) for pain and 1, -6, and -12 (P = 0.0008) for BASFI score in the placebo, ketoprofen, and celecoxib groups, respectively. During treatment, the number of patients reporting epigastric pain was 6 (8%), 13 (14%), and 10 (13%) in the placebo, ketoprofen, and celecoxib groups, respectively. CONCLUSION: The results of this study confirm the clinically relevant antiinflammatory effect of celecoxib at a 200-mg daily dosage, with significant improvement of both pain and function in patients with AS.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Inflamed shoulder structures in polymyalgia rheumatica with normal erythrocyte sedimentation rate.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the inflammatory involvement of shoulder articular and extraarticular structures in polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) patients with a normal erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) at diagnosis. METHODS: This was a case-control study. All consecutive, untreated new outpatients diagnosed as having PMR with a normal ESR (<40 mm/hour) during a 6-month period were included in the study (case patients). Controls were 12 consecutive, untreated PMR outpatients with an ESR of >40 mm/hour who were observed after the case patients. Before starting corticosteroid therapy, all case patients and controls underwent bilateral shoulder ultrasonography (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). US and MRI scans were evaluated independently by two radiologists who were blinded to the reciprocal results. RESULTS: Six case patients (4 men and 2 women) and 12 controls (4 men and 8 women) were studied. Both US and MRI demonstrated bilateral subacromial/subdeltoid bursitis in all 6 case patients and in 11 of the 12 (92%) controls (P not significant [NS]). One control had unilateral bursitis. Glenohumeral joint synovitis was found in 4 of 6 case patients (67%) by MRI and in 3 of 6 case patients (50%) by US (P NS), as well as in 8 of 12 controls (67%) by MRI and in 7 of 12 controls (58%) by US (P NS). Both MRI and US detected biceps tenosynovitis in 5 of 6 case patients (83%) and in 8 of 12 controls (67%) (P NS). The severity of bursitis did not differ significantly between the groups. US was as effective as MRI in detecting inflammatory changes of the shoulder. CONCLUSION: MRI and US studies showed that PMR patients with normal or high ESRs have similar inflammatory shoulder lesions. Moreover, bilateral subacromial/subdeltoid bursitis represents the imaging hallmark in PMR patients with a high or normal ESR. MRI or US of the shoulder may facilitate the proper diagnosis in patients with the typical proximal symptoms of PMR who also have normal ESRs.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Comparative allozyme and microsatellite population structure in a narrow endemic plant species, Centaurea corymbosa Pourret (Asteraceae).

Centaurea corymbosa Pourret (Asteraceae) is a narrow endemic species known only from six populations located in a 3-km2 area in the south of France. Earlier field experiments have suggested that pollen and seed dispersal were highly restricted within and among populations. Consistent with the field results, populations were highly differentiated for five allozyme loci and among-population variation fitted an isolation-by-distance model. In the present study, we investigated the genetic structure of C. corymbosa using six microsatellite loci. As with allozymes, microsatellites revealed no within-population structure and a large differentiation among populations. However, allozyme loci were less powerful than microsatellites in detecting the extent of gene flow assessed by assignment tests. The patterns of structuration greatly varied among loci for both types of marker; we suggest that differences in single-locus pattern could mainly be an effect of stochastic variation for allozymes and an effect of variation in mutation rate for microsatellites. In contrast to the multilocus results, the two most polymorphic microsatellite loci did not show any isolation-by-distance pattern. Our results suggest that highly variable loci might not always be the best suited markers to quantify levels of gene flow among populations.

Asteraceae↗
PubMed2001

Spatial effects and rare outcrossing events in Medicago truncatula (Fabaceae).

In order to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the large amount of RAPD polymorphism found in 1990 in a population of the selfing annual Medicago truncatula GAERTN. (Fabaceae), we have analysed most of the individuals (n = 363) from the same population 6 years later using microsatellite loci. We confirm the result of the earlier study, namely that this population is very polymorphic and highly subdivided, with approximately 37% of the variance distributed among subpopulations, only 50 m apart one from another. We use standard F-statistics analyses, linkage disequilibria, minimum spanning network, multilocus assignment tests and spatial autocorrelation analyses to test the hypotheses that spatial structure and outcrossing events are involved in maintaining the large amount of genetic diversity at the level of each subpopulation. Interestingly, fine-scale spatial structure could be observed in only one subpopulation suggesting that other mechanisms are acting elsewhere. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of fine spatial genetic structure in a predominantly selfing species.

Crosses, Genetic↗
PubMed2001

Musculoskeletal manifestations in a population-based cohort of inflammatory bowel disease patients.

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal disorders are the most common extra-intestinal manifestation of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Wide ranges of prevalence have been reported depending on the criteria used to define spondylarthropathy and on the selection of patients. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence and clinical spectrum of musculoskeletal manifestations in an inception cohort of European IBD patients. METHODS: From 1 October 1991 to 30 September 1993, 202 IBD patients were diagnosed in three centres of two countries (Italy and The Netherlands) by means of a population-based inception cohort study. Of this group of patients, 160 (79%) were interviewed and examined by a rheumatologist and a gastroenterologist in the period June-September 1996. A total of 139/160 patients had an antero-posterior radiograph of the pelvis, and in 140/160 HLA-B27 was determined. RESULTS: 53 (33.1%) of the 160 patients had experienced at least one musculoskeletal manifestation, 29 (18.1%) satisfied the European Spondylarthropathy Study Group (ESSG) criteria for spondylarthropathy and 5 (3.1%) satisfied the modified New York criteria for ankylosing spondylitis. However, 23 (14.4%) patients developed one or more spondylarthropathy-related manifestations without fulfilling any of the classification criteria. In patients satisfying ESSG criteria a significantly higher frequency of women (P = 0.03), of ocular and liver involvement (P = 0.01 and P = 0.03, respectively), and use of immunosuppressive drugs (P = 0.02) was observed. CONCLUSION: Our study shows a high prevalence of musculoskeletal manifestations in an inception cohort of IBD patients. The clinical spectrum is broader than that defined by spondylarthropathy criteria.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Inbreeding depression in small populations of self-incompatible plants.

Self-incompatibility (SI) is a widespread mechanism that prevents inbreeding in flowering plants. In many species, SI is controlled by a single locus (the S locus) where numerous alleles are maintained by negative frequency-dependent selection. Inbreeding depression, the decline in fitness of selfed individuals compared to outcrossed ones, is an essential factor in the evolution of SI systems. Conversely, breeding systems influence levels of inbreeding depression. Little is known about the joint effect of SI and drift on inbreeding depression. Here we studied, using a two-locus model, the effect of SI (frequency-dependent selection) on a locus subject to recurrent deleterious mutations causing inbreeding depression. Simulations were performed to assess the effect of population size and linkage between the two loci on the level of inbreeding depression and genetic load. We show that the sheltering of deleterious alleles linked to the S locus strengthens inbreeding depression in small populations. We discuss the implications of our results for the evolution of SI systems.

Alleles↗
PubMed2001

Ankylosing spondylitis and undifferentiated spondyloarthropathies: a clinical review and description of a disease subset with older age at onset.

The onset of ankylosing spondylitis, as defined by the currently used criteria, after the age of 50 years is uncommon. Late-onset undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy is relatively more frequent. Its clinical spectrum seems to be as wide as it is in children and young and middle-aged adults. Most patients have two or more manifestations of spondyloarthropathy and meet the Amor criteria or the European Spondylarthropathy Study Group criteria. Some patients show only one manifestation of the B27-associated disease process for years and need more sensitive criteria. A subset of patients shows distal inflammatory swelling with pitting edema on the dorsum of feet or hands together with peripheral arthritis and peripheral enthesitis. In these cases spondyloarthropathy must be differentiated from other inflammatory rheumatic diseases with elderly onset showing the same distal inflammatory swelling with pitting edema.

Age of Onset↗
PubMed2001

Divergent evolution of dispersal in a heterogeneous landscape.

The evolution of dispersal is investigated in a landscape of many patches with fluctuating carrying capacities and spatial heterogeneity in temporal fluctuations. Although asynchronous temporal fluctuations select for dispersal, spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of fluctuating environmental variables selects against it. We find evolutionary branching in dispersal rate leading to the evolutionarily stable coexistence of a high- and a low-dispersal phenotype. We study how the opposing forces of selection for and against dispersal change with the relative size and the environmental qualities of the source and sink habitats. Our results suggest that the evolution of dispersal dimorphism could be a first step towards speciation and local adaptation.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Association between vitiligo and spondyloarthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To establish if spondyloarthritis (SpA) and vitiligo occur together more frequently than by chance. METHODS: All consecutive patients with SpA seen in a 6 month period were evaluated for vitiligo by an experienced dermatologist. The control group included the 2 consecutive patients without SpA seen after each patient with SpA. RESULTS: Two hundred thirty-four patients with SpA (131 men, 103 women; mean age 59 +/- 18.3 yrs) were seen in the study period. Of these, 43 had ankylosing spondylitis (AS), 112 psoriatic arthritis (PsA), 14 SpA associated with inflammatory bowel disease, 64 undifferentiated SpA, and one reactive arthritis. The 468 control patients (360 women, 108 men; mean age 68.5 +/- 2 yrs) had various degenerative and inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Eight (3.4%) patients out of 234 with SpA had type A vitiligo. In the control group, 5 (1.06%) out of 468 had type A vitiligo. The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Of the 8 patients with coexisting vitiligo and SpA, 4 had PsA, 2 primary AS, one AS associated with Crohn's disease, and one undifferentiated SpA. Of the 5 patients with vitiligo in the control group, one had rheumatoid arthritis, one S ogren's syndrome, one palindromic rheumatism, one crystal arthropathy, and one osteoarthritis. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that vitiligo and SpA do not coexist by chance and that vitiligo should be included in the list of diseases associated with SpA.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Shoulder ultrasonography in the diagnosis of polymyalgia rheumatica: a case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed that subacromial/subdeltoid bursitis is the most frequent shoulder lesion in polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). We evaluated whether shoulder ultrasonography (US) was as effective as MRI in the detection of this lesion and assessed the sensitivity and specificity of bilateral subacromial/subdeltoid bursitis in the diagnosis of PMR. METHODS: A case-control study of 57 consecutive case patients with untreated PMR and 114 controls seen over a 6 month period in 3 secondary referral rheumatology centers. Control patients consisted of the next 2 consecutive patients with bilateral shoulder aching and stiffness observed after the case patient. In all case and control patients the glenohumeral joint space, bursae, and long head biceps tendon were assessed by bilateral shoulder US. The first 24 case patients were also examined by bilateral shoulder MRI. RESULTS: US showed subacromial/subdeltoid bursitis in 55/57 (96%) patients with PMR and in 25/114 (22%) controls (p < 0.001). The lesion was bilateral in 53/55 (96%) case patients and in 1/25 (4%) controls (p < 0.001). The frequency of glenohumeral joint synovitis and biceps tenosynovitis did not differ significantly between case patients and controls. In 100% of case patients MRI showed subacromial/subdeltoid bursitis confirming US findings. The sonographic evidence of bilateral bursitis had a sensitivity of 92.9%, specificity of 99. 1%, and positive predictive value of 98. 1% for the diagnosis of PMR. CONCLUSION: US and MRI were equally effective in confirming bilateral subacromial and subdeltoid bursitis in PMR. This finding, in view of its high sensitivity and specificity, could be used as a new diagnostic criterion for PMR.

Aged↗