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A Zuccarelli

Publications and source records attributed to A Zuccarelli.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Hyperinsulinemia in a normal population as a predictor of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and coronary heart disease: the Barilla factory revisited.

The study was initiated to evaluate the ability of hyperinsulinemia (as a surrogate measure of insulin resistance) to predict the development in a previously healthy population of three putative outcomes of this abnormality--glucose intolerance, hypertension, and coronary heart disease (CHD). The study involved defining the incidence at which these changes occurred between 1981 and 1993 to 1996 in 647 individuals who were free of any disease when initially studied. The study population consisted of approximately 90% of the subjects evaluated in 1981, divided into quartiles on the basis of the plasma insulin response to a glucose challenge as determined in 1981. The results indicated that the 25% of the population with the highest insulin response in 1981 had significant (P < .001) increases in the incidence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or type 2 diabetes (eightfold), hypertension (twofold), or CHD (threefold). Furthermore, the ability of hyperinsulinemia to predict the three clinical endpoints was independent of differences in age, gender, or body mass index (BMI). Finally, if CHD is considered the clinical endpoint, multiple logistic regression analysis indicates that the values for plasma triglyceride (TG) and mean arterial blood pressure ([MAP] as measured in 1981) also predict the development of CHD. These results indicate that the untoward clinical effects of insulin resistance and/or compensatory hyperinsulinemia, glucose intolerance, hypertension, and CHD clearly can develop in less than 15 years.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Can weight gain in healthy, nonobese volunteers be predicted by differences in baseline plasma insulin concentration?

In this study, we have evaluated the effect, over approximately 14 yr, of differences in baseline degree of hyperinsulinemia on weight gain in 647 healthy, nonobese factory workers. The subjects were divided into 4 quartiles, on the basis of their plasma insulin response to an oral glucose challenge, in 1981. At that time, the mean (+/-SD) plasma insulin concentration, 2 h after the glucose challenge, varied from 18+/-5 to 106+/-42 microU/mL. Despite this approximate 6-fold difference in plasma insulin response at baseline, the weight gain over the period of observation was similar in all quartiles, with mean (+/-SD) increments (kg) of 1.8+/-5.1, 1.6+/-5.3, 2.3+/-5.2, and 2.3+/-5.7, going from the lowest quartile to the highest quartile, in terms of insulin concentration. Furthermore, when the population was considered as a whole, there was no correlation between baseline degree of hyperinsulinemia and change in either absolute (r = 0.004) or percent (r = 0.003) weight gain. Finally, there was no difference in the number of individuals who gained more than 4.5 kg, as a function of their baseline insulin response. Consequently, we conclude that 6-fold differences in plasma insulin responses to glucose do not predict weight gain in a healthy, nonobese population.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1997

Quantitative analysis of apoptosis and bcl-2 in Sjögren's syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether apoptosis plays a significant role in tissue damage of Sjögren's syndrome (SS). METHODS: We performed a quantitative analysis of programmed cell death on salivary glands of 11 patients. Ten age matched women with sicca syndrome served as controls. Morphometric measurement of the fractional volume of acini and ducts showing DNA strand breaks was performed in sections stained by deoxynucleotidyl transferase assay. The extent of bcl-2 expression was determined in sections labeled with monoclonal antibody. The different cell populations infiltrating the glands were examined in tissues stained with anti-leukocyte common antigen and OPD4 monoclonal antibodies. RESULTS: In patients with SS, 68% of the ductal epithelium was occupied by apoptotic structures, whereas only 12% of acini showed DNA strand breaks. Corresponding values in control salivary glands were 3 and 0.13%. bcl-2 labeling was higher in ducts than in acini of both control and pathologic glands. However, in SS a 43% (p < 0.001) and 75% (p < 0.001) reduction in bcl-2 expression was observed in ductal and acinar epithelium, respectively. In comparison with controls, the numerical density of CD4+ cells and plasma cells scattered throughout the interstitium was 323% and 203% higher (p < 0.001) in SS. Moreover, T helper/inducer lymphocytes represented 52% of the inflammatory foci. CONCLUSION: Apoptosis occurs in minor salivary glands of patients with SS with a prevailing localization on the ductal epithelium in association with downregulation of bcl-2 and a large number of infiltrating CD4+ lymphocytes. Thus, the destruction of glandular tissue and the loss of secretory function in SS is dependent on the activation of the suicide program of epithelial cells.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Dissociation between urinary albumin excretion and variables associated with insulin resistance in a healthy population.

OBJECTIVES: To see if the cluster of metabolic and haemodynamic variables defined as comprising Syndrome X varied as a function of urinary albumin excretion (UAE) rate in a healthy population. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, population-based study. SETTING: A factory in Italy. SUBJECTS: Two hundred and twenty-five healthy volunteers, 115 men and 110 women. OUTCOME MEASURES. Measurements were made of the plasma glucose and insulin responses to oral glucose, fasting triglyceride (TG) and high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol concentrations, blood pressure, and UAE rates. RESULTS: Only five of the 225 volunteers had micro-albuminuria, defined as a UAE rate > 2 micrograms min-1, and the UAE rate was < 5 micrograms min-1 in 80% of the volunteers. Significant variations in the metabolic and haemodynamic variables measured were not associated with any differences in UAE. Finally, significant relationships were found between various measures of plasma insulin concentration and plasma glucose response to oral glucose, plasma TG and HDL-cholesterol concentrations, and mean arterial blood pressure, independent of variations in age, body mass index, ratio of waist-to-hip girth, and UAE rates. CONCLUSION: The widespread variability in plasma glucose and insulin responses, plasma TG and HDL-cholesterol concentrations, and blood pressure that are seen in the population at large cannot be attributed to variations in UAE rate.

Albuminuria↗
PubMed1995

Relevance of residue 116 of HLA-B27 in determining susceptibility to ankylosing spondylitis.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is an autoimmune disorder strongly associated with HLA-B27. A direct role of B27 molecules in the disease pathogenesis has been postulated, possibly by presenting to T cells an as-yet unidentified arthritogenic peptide that triggers the autoimmune response. There are nine HLA-B27 alleles differing from each other at one or more amino acid positions. It is important, for the identification of the arthritogenic peptide, to define which alleles, and therefore which polymorphic positions, predispose to the disease. Here, we report that HLA-B*2709 is not associated with AS, as it was not found in patients. HLA-B*2709 differs from the most frequent and disease-associated HLA-B*2705 allele for a single substitution (His vs. Asp) at position 116. Amino acid 116 is located at the bottom of the groove where the antigenic peptide sits, and it has been proven to influence the peptide-binding specificity of HLA class I molecules. The most likely interpretation of these data is that the differences in charge and size that accompany the His-to-Asp substitution exclude the acceptance of the arthritogenic peptide.

Alleles↗
PubMed1989

Elliptic fourier analysis of cell and nuclear shapes.

The elliptic Fourier analysis (EFA) is proposed to characterize the cell and nuclear shape. The principal feature of this method is that it decomposes shapes with a closed contour into subshapes each of which maintains a closed contour. A set of homogeneous, nonredundant descriptors, independent of the contour rotation and translation, is computed from the elliptic Fourier coefficients. These descriptors also account for the contour size and resolution. The paired analysis of the cell and nuclear shape provides an exhaustive and accurate definition of the nucleoplasmic configuration.

Computer Simulation↗
PubMed1977

Flight for life!

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Aircraft↗