Biomedical subjects

C Valeri

Publications and source records attributed to C Valeri.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Autoantibodies in Type 1 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Autoimmune diseases are associated with autoantibodies which recognise specific antigens. METHODS: Autoantibodies can be detected by various methods including immunofluorescence and radioimmunoassays using disease-specific radiolabelled recombinant autoantigens As recombinant assay have high-throughput potential, it is now even possible to screen whole populations. RESULTS: Diabetes-associated autoantibodies including autoantibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase are valuable in disease classification and disease prediction. Some autoantibodies are more predictive of diabetes than others. CONCLUSIONS: Autoantibodies, and the antigens they recognise, are potentially valuable in the prediction and prevention respectively of type 1 diabetes as well as in the classification of autoimmune diabetes. Screening the general population for type 1 diabetes susceptibility is now feasible. Trials to prevent type 1 diabetes using disease-associated autoantigens are now in progress.

Autoantibodies↗

PubMed2001

Anxiety but not depression decreases in coeliac patients after one-year gluten-free diet: a longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: A high prevalence of anxiety and depression has been reported in untreated coeliac disease (CD) patients. At present, the role of a gluten-free diet (GFD) on psychological disorders is still poorly known. The aim of this study was to evaluate state and trait anxiety and depression in adult CD patients before and after 1 year of GFD. METHODS: A total of 35 CD patients were studied before and after 1 year of GFD. A total of 59 healthy subjects matched for gender, age and socio-economic status were studied as a control group. State and trait anxiety were assessed with the STAI test; depression was assessed using the modified version of the SDS Zung self-rating depression scale (M-SDS). The tests were administered before (TO) and after 1 year of GFD (T1). RESULTS: At T0, CD patients showed high levels of state anxiety in a significantly higher percentage compared to controls (71.4% versus 23.7%; P < 0.0001), while there was no significant difference in trait anxiety between groups (25.7% versus 15.2%; P:ns); the percentage of subjects with depression was significantly higher in the CD group than in the control group (57.1% versus 9.6%; P < 0.0001). At T1, a significant decrease in the percentage of state anxiety was found in CD patients (T0: 71.4% versus T1: 25.7%; P < 0.001), while there were no significant changes in the percentage of trait anxiety (T0: 25.7% versus T1: 17.1%; P:ns) or depression (T0: 57.1.% versus T1: 45.7%; P:ns), which was still present in a significantly higher percentage in treated CD compared to controls (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: In CD patients anxiety is present in a predominantly reactive form and it decreases after GFD. Depression is present in a higher percentage in CD patients and 1 year of GFD fails significantly to affect depressive symptoms. The presence of depression after GFD could be related to the reduction in quality of life in CD patients. The non-regression of depression after GFD could suggest that these patients need psychological support.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Prevalence of HIV infection and risk behaviour among street prostitutes in Rome, 1997-1998.

A cross-sectional survey was carried out between April 1997 and February 1998 among street prostitutes in Rome. The study population (n = 142) consisted of 102 women and 40 transsexuals: 20% from Western Europe, 38% Eastern Europe, 23% Latin America and 17% Africa. Two-thirds of the population had more than 20 clients during the last week and most respondents (95%) reported always using condoms with clients. Eight per cent of the women and 2% of the transsexuals report a history of injecting drug use. Only 38% of the women with a stable partner reported use of contraceptives and 33% of them had undergone a voluntary abortion during the last year. Only 38% of the women had been checked for STDs during the last year, compared with 80% of the transsexuals. The HIV-prevalence was 6% among the women and 20% among the transsexuals. Four out of the six positive women and one of the positive transsexuals had a history of injecting drug use. Five out of the six HIV-positive women were Italian. Transsexual prostitutes seem to pay more attention to their medical wellbeing compared with females who rarely go for medical check-ups and only a minority uses efficient contraceptive methods.

Adult↗

PubMed1981

Body schema and lateralization.

To study some aspects of the relationship between body schema and lateralization, 44 female subjects between 19 and 39 yr. of age were measured using a test of accuracy of perception for the right and left halves of the body. Analysis gave three different groups: subjects with larger indexes of deviation on the left (56%), those with larger indexes of deviation on the right (31%), and others with no difference between right and left halves (11%).

Adult↗

PubMed1981

Functional asymmetry in body perception and ocular dominance: a study of their interactions.

The relationships between ocular dominance and body perception (for the left and right body halves) were examined for 41 undergraduate female psychology students. The results indicate an interesting connection between the two phenomena. The four groups of subjects classified on the basis of ocular dominance (right, left, fluctuating and no dominance) showed statistically significant differences on one aspect of body perception, measured by the 'Difference Deviation Scores.' Also three groups of subjects classified on the basis of body perception (subjects with major perceptual error on the left or on the right, and subjects showing no difference in perception of the two body halves) showed statistically significant differences in ocular dominance.

Adult↗

PubMed1981

Variations in perception of right and left halves of the body during the menstrual cycle.

To determine whether cerebral dominance in body perception changes during the menstrual cycle, we have examined the body perceptions of 55 women between 16 and 49 yr. of age. The women were placed in one of 4 groups (menstrual, follicular, luteal, premenstrual). The maximum dominance in body perceptions appeared in the follicular group and tended to disappear for luteal and premenstrual groups. A positive, statistically significant correlation of .25 was found between days of cycle and Deviation Index for the perception of the right half of the body.

Adolescent↗