PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A Salvaggio

Publications and source records attributed to A Salvaggio.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Sympathetic skin response versus maximum motor and sensory conduction velocity to detect subclinical neuropathy in non-insulin-dependent diabetics.

Conventional motor (MCV) and sensory conduction velocity (SCV) of the ulnar (UN), peroneal (PN) and median nerves (MN) and the areas of sympathetic sudomotor response (SSR) recorded from the middle finger were measured on both sides in 20 normal and 20 non-insulin-dependent diabetic (NIDD) subjects. Conventional statistical tests (t test, linear correlation coefficient r) and discrimination analysis were applied to the above electrophysiological parameters. To evaluate the capability of the tests to separate NIDD diseased from normal nerves, the results were represented as generalized distances, i.e., difference between mean discriminant normalized combinations adjusted for intra-group variability. The r values were 0.92 (P less than 0.01) for the UN, 0.40 (P greater than 0.05) for the PN, and 0.86 (P less than 0.01) for the MN sensory action potential (SAP) amplitudes. No significant differences were found for normalized latencies. The r values of the SSR areas were 0.62 (P less than 0.01) at the right and 0.77 (P less than 0.01) at the left, homolaterally to the side of stimulation. SR and MCV generalized distances were 1.35 and 1.39, respectively. The discriminating power of SSR, MCV and SCV considered together was higher (2.40) than that of MCV and SCV (1.70). Since motor, sensory and autonomic alterations often did not coexist in NIDD, it was possible to find at least one type of involvement in most of the diabetic subjects.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Occurrence of breathing disorders during CPAP administration in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome.

The spectrum of breathing events during sleep in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) after the abolition of obstructive apnoeas has been extensively studied in tracheostomized patients, but has received much less attention in patients submitted to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). We analysed the breathing pattern during sleep in forty patients while CPAP was administered. A regular breathing pattern throughout the sleep study was observed in 15 patients. In the remaining 25 subjects, one or more of the following events was observed: central apnoeas, hypopnoeas, periodic breathing, prolonged oxyhaemoglobin desaturations. Central apnoeas during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep appeared almost exclusively after arousals or wakefulness periods; their prevalence did not significantly differ between subjects who showed and who did not show similar events before CPAP. Central apnoeas in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep had a random occurrence. Hypopnoeas were found only in REM sleep, and, like central apnoeas, occurred randomly; in one patient they had a prolonged duration (up to 110 s). Periodic breathing was observed in only two subjects, one of whom had congestive heart failure: it was limited to NREM sleep and was not associated with arousals or shifts in sleep stage. Prolonged oxyhaemoglobin desaturations were found mainly in REM sleep; most subjects with such abnormalities had daytime blood gas alterations. In conclusion, abnormalities of the breathing pattern of patients with OSAS can be observed during CPAP and after tracheostomy, but periodic breathing is less common than is reported after tracheostomy, and is probably caused by different mechanisms.

Female↗
PubMed1990

Effect of cigarette smoking and coffee consumption on apolipoprotein B levels.

Apolipoprotein B levels were studied in relation to cigarette smoking, coffee and alcohol consumption, physical activity, age and body mass index in 253 men aged 21-61 years. The mean apolipoprotein B level was 7.3 +/- 3.2 mg/dl and was higher for smokers compared with non-smokers. Considering the smokers of over 20 cigarettes/day and the non-smokers, this difference reached 12.6 +/- 4.3 mg/dl. A significant increase of 7.2 +/- 3.5 mg/dl in apolipoprotein B levels was observed in the subjects who drank over 3 cups of coffee/day compared with the remaining subjects, but the increase was only 4.3 +/- 3.7 mg/dl when we made a correction for cigarette consumption. Furthermore, for cigarette smoking and coffee consumption, there is apparently an interactive effect with BMI and/or age (vs apolipoprotein B levels). However, with a stepwise selection among explicative variables [age, BMI, smoking (yes/no) and coffee consumption (less than or equal to 3, greater than 3 cups/day)] and all their interactions of first order, only the interaction between BMI and smoking (BMI*smoking: b +/- ES (b) = 0.3029 +/- 0.0303), and age and BMI (age*BMI), are significantly and positively related to serum levels of apolipoprotein B. Thus cigarette smoking, interacting with high BMI, appear related to higher apolipoprotein B levels.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Association between habitual coffee consumption and blood pressure levels.

The relationship between habitual coffee consumption and blood pressure was investigated in 9601 subjects (7506 men and 2095 women) who were office managers and employees, aged 18-65 years. Those who drank coffee had lower blood pressure levels than those who did not and the mean blood pressure levels decreased with increasing coffee consumption. In the men, blood pressure (systolic/diastolic) was highest in the non-coffee drinkers (130.0/83.0 mmHg) and lowest in those drinking greater than 5 cups/day (126.0/81.3 mmHg). Mean differences (+/- s.e.m.) corrected by analysis of covariance for age and body mass index (kg/m2) were: systolic -4.0 +/- 0.7 mmHg, P less than 0.0001; diastolic -1.7 +/- 0.5 mmHg, P less than 0.001. In the women, blood pressure ranged from 121.1/77.4 mmHg in the non-coffee drinkers to 117.7/76.2 mmHg in those drinking greater than 5 cups/day (mean +/- s.e.m. systolic difference -3.4 +/- 1.4 mmHg, P less than 0.05; diastolic -1.2 +/- 0.9 mmHg, P greater than 0.05). These observations were confirmed after correction for physical activity, and cigarette and alcohol consumption (for age and body mass index). In the men, blood pressure ranged from 130.8/83.1 mmHg in non-coffee drinkers to 127.5/81.9 mmHg in those drinking greater than 5 cups/day, with the effect of classification by coffee consumption being very important (analysis of covariance: systolic F = 12.17, 3 degrees of freedom at numerator, P less than 0.0001; diastolic F = 3.56, 3 degrees of freedom at numerator, P = 0.0135).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Placebo effect and adaptation to noninvasive monitoring of BP.

Three 24 h ambulatory monitorings of BP were performed at two-week intervals in 21 untreated hypertensives (mean age 38 +/- 10 yrs, 13 males and 9 females). After the first baseline monitoring, the patients were randomised, according to a cross-over design, to one of the following sequences: no therapy to placebo or placebo to no therapy. At the end of each period, noninvasive ambulatory monitoring was performed. Mean +/- SE 24 h systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) pressures recorded at the first monitoring were 129.2 +/- 3.5 mmHg and 81.7 +/- 2.3 mmHg respectively. At the second and third monitorings, mean 24 h BP differences versus baseline levels were -2.9 +/- 1.8 and -4.7 +/- 1.7 mmHg for SBP, and -2.0 +/- 1.1 and -2.7 +/- 1.5 mmHg for DBP. Both SBP and DBP differences at repeated monitorings were significant by analysis of variance (P less than 0.05). No significant effects on BP of treatment sequence or of placebo administration were found. Analysis of covariance showed a significant relationship between initial 24 h BP and subsequent mean 24 h BP differences (SBP: beta = -0.260, DBP: beta = -0.124). ANOVA performed on waking and sleeping BP separately showed the observed differences to be significant only during waking hours. Regression analysis showed that the decrease in 24 h BP at repeated monitorings was significantly related to the extent of 'white coat'-induced BP increase only for DBP (P = 0.022). For both 24 h SBP and DBP, however, a negative correlation between the alarm reaction to the presence of the physician and 24 h BP decrease at repeated monitorings was observed. It is concluded that noninvasive ambulatory monitoring is subject to adaptative phenomena but not to placebo effect. Factors influencing the defence reactions to manual measurements and to ambulatory monitoring might be partly different.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Transmural pressure measurements. Importance in the assessment of pulmonary hypertension in obstructive sleep apneas.

Seven patients with OSAS were studied during nocturnal sleep in order to assess the trend of PAP throughout apneas and to identify factors possibly associated with such a trend. All patients underwent a polysomnography including the monitoring of PAP and esophageal pressure. While intravascular PAP decreased during apneas and increased at the resumption of breathing, transmural PAP values (ie, corrected for intrathoracic pressure swings) showed a trend toward a progressive increase throughout apneas and toward a decrease once ventilation had been resumed. The measurement of transmural values allowed a reliable assessment of PAP changes occurring during apneas, and different degrees of such changes shown by different patients may be related to a host of factors relevant to wakefulness and sleep, including individual responsivity to hypoxic stimulus.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Afterload changes in diabetic dysautonomia evaluated using echocardiography].

We have studied echocardiographic morpho-functional alterations in 34 male subjects with diabetes, aged 31-73 years, with and without autonomic nervous system failure. The subjects are grouped following the tests "deep breathing", "Valsalva manoeuver", "lying to standing" and "active standing" in: D-I (10 normal subjects); D-II (16 subjects with parasympathetic failure); D-III (8 subjects with orthosympathetic failure). The D-III subjects showed significantly lower parietal systolic stress (PSS) compared to normal subjects, 115.6 +/- 17.4 vs 163.1 +/- 13.1 10(3) dynes/cm2 (mean +/- 1SD), and significantly lower end isovolumetric systolic stress, 67.8 +/- 7.8 vs 98.6 +/- 7.1 10(3) dynes/cm2 ("afterload" indexes). In D-III group, the subjects with noradrenaline levels greater than 300 pg/ml, with an hypothetical peripheral resistance to noradrenaline (or receptor "down regulation"), showed higher blood pressure levels and higher parietal stress (PSS: 141.3 +/- 25.3 vs 98.5 +/- 20.7 10(3) dynes/cm2; EISS: 74.1 +/- 17.8 vs 63.6 +/- 8.6 10(3) dynes/cm2). Thus, cardiovascular signs of autonomic failure, like the stress index variation, related to a modification of the afterload, may be observable in diabetic patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Alcohol consumption and blood pressure. An Italian study.

We studied the relationship between alcohol consumption and arterial pressure in 1,190 subjects of both sexes aged between 18 and 63 years who were examined during the course of a program of preventive medicine organized by Centro Diagnostico Italiano. In 711 subjects who were not requested to alter their usual alcohol consumption we found a significant relationship between alcohol consumption and systolic arterial pressure, b + SE(b), 4.6 +/- 2.1 mmHg/100 g ethanol/day. In particular, males who were heavy drinkers (greater than or equal to 50 g ethanol/day) presented significantly higher systolic pressure levels than the other men, d +/- SE(d), 3.7 +/- 1.6 mmHg, whereas no significant differences were observed among the various classes of women subdivided according to alcohol intake (only 4.6% of the women consumed greater than 50 g ethanol/day). On the other hand, in 479 subjects who were requested to abstain from alcohol consumption during the three days preceding the examination, no significant relation was found between alcohol intake and arterial pressure. The difference between the systolic pressure levels of the male heavy drinkers and those of the male moderate and non-drinkers was only 0.1 mmHg. Excessive alcohol consumption, in this case, mainly in the form of wine, was therefore associated with higher systolic pressure levels. However, it seems that abstaining from alcohol for even a brief period may modify this relation considerably.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Coffee consumption and blood pressure: an Italian study.

The relation between habitual coffee consumption and blood pressure was studied in 500 Italian subjects, males and females, aged 18-62 years. After allowing for sex, age and weight, the pressure levels showed a significant decrease with increasing coffee consumption. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were respectively 130.4 +/- 1.8 (SE) mmHg and 81.5 +/- 1.1 mmHg for non-coffee drinkers, 129.4 +/- 1.4 and 82.2 +/- 0.9 mmHg for 1 cup per day, 128.4 +/- 0.8 and 81.4 +/- 0.5 mmHg for 2-3 cups per day, 124.9 +/- 1.1 and 78.8 +/- 0.7 mmHg for 4-6 cups per day, and 124.1 +/- 2.5 and 78.7 +/- 1.6 mmHg for more than 6 cups of coffee daily (analysis of covariance: SBP F = 3.46, 4 df, P less than 0.01; DBP F = 3.46, 4 df, P less than 0.01). Even after correcting pressure levels for habitual alcohol intake and cigarette smoking, we observed a mean reduction in SBP and DBP of 0.80 mmHg and 0.48 mmHg respectively per cup per day.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Blood pressure levels in adolescents: the Milan Study.

The relationship between pubertal maturation and blood pressure (BP) was investigated in a cohort of 1,252 adolescents followed for 4 years. Males and females were categorized into two groups (pre and post), according to pubic hair growth (males) and menses onset before or after the age of 12. BP tracking was higher for systolic BP (SBP) than for diastolic BP (DBP), without differences between the two groups of each sex. By multiple regression analysis, initial BP was the major predictor of the final value in all subjects. Body mass index (BMI) annual change was positively correlated to SBP change over time. Analysis of variance showed an increased within-person variability of SBP in pre subjects, with a significant reduction of DBP residual variance at higher initial DBP levels. Our results suggest that early pubertal maturation and high DBP at age 14 years characterize subjects differing at least partially from the general adolescent population in BP determinants.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Temporal analysis of blood pressure by ambulatory 24 H blood pressure monitoring.

In order to study the circadian rhythm of BP in man, we performed 24-hour non invasive BP on 15 hospitalized patients. Each subject was monitored twice, with an interval of 24-48 h between the two monitorings. In 14 of the 15 subjects MBP showed a statistically significant circadian rhythm. The curve fitted by the single cosinor method to the mean of the first rhythmometric measurements performed on all 15 subjects was characterized by an acrophase at 12.53, an amplitude of 4.68 mmHg and a mesor of 87.49 mmHg. The same parameters for the second rhythmometric measurements were: acrophase at 13.57, amplitude 4.1 mmHg and mesor 88.35 mmHg. In both cases, overall circadian rhythm resulted to be similar in all the subjects (p less than 0.01). Multivariate analysis of variance showed that each subject has his own characteristic circadian rhythm. Our findings support the hypothesis of a identifiable circadian rhythm of BP in man.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Brain-stem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs): maturation of interpeak latency I-V (IPL I-V) in the first years of life.

BAEPs were recorded from 89 healthy children aged 0.1-52.1 months. The maturation kinetics of interpeak latency I-V can be well approximated by an exponential model with a horizontal asymptote. Adult values are reached by about 3 years of life. Differences between males and females become significant when maturation is completed. A non-fragmented reference range for interpeak latency I-V in the first years of life is provided.

Aging↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Benign fibrous histiocytoma of the small intestine in a cow.

A well circumscribed, firm nodule was found protruding from the duodenal wall of an adult cow at routine meat inspection. On the basis of morphological and immunophenotypic features, a diagnosis of benign fibrous histiocytoma (BFH) was established. Malignant fibrous histiocytoma has been reported previously in the cow, albeit rarely, but to the best of our knowledge this is the first recorded case of bovine intestinal BFH.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Nerve conduction velocity distribution in normal subjects and in diabetic patients without clinical neuropathy. I. Motor nerve.

A computer-assisted collision method to evaluate motor conduction velocity distribution of the ulnar and external peroneal nerves in normal subjects and in insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetics without clinical signs of neuropathy is described. Distribution curves were sigmoidally (bimodally) shaped in normal and in insulin- and non-insulin-dependent subjects. In insulin-dependent patients, motor conduction velocity of the peroneal nerves was globally impaired, whereas of the ulnar nerves it was normal. In non-insulin-dependent patients, slower conduction velocity was involved in both nerves.

Action Potentials↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Nerve conduction velocity distribution in normal subjects and in diabetic patients without clinical signs of neuropathy. II. Sensory nerve.

A new computer-assisted method to evaluate sensory conduction velocity distribution and dispersion of the digital nerve of the middle finger in normal subjects and in type I and type II diabetic subjects without any neurological impairment is reported. Distribution curves were exponentially shaped in normal and in diabetic subjects. In insulin-dependent diabetics, only slower conduction velocity fibers were involved, whereas no significant difference was observed between the non-insulin-dependent diabetic group and the control group.

Adult↗