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Biomedical subjects

Carmen González

Publications and source records attributed to Carmen González.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Vasoinhibins: endogenous regulators of angiogenesis and vascular function.

Vasoinhibins are a family of peptides derived from prolactin, growth hormone and placental lactogen that act on endothelial cells to suppress vasodilation and angiogenesis and to promote apoptosis-mediated vascular regression. Some of the pathways by which vasoinhibins act have now been defined, and recent developments indicate that endogenous vasoinhibins exert tonic and essential actions on blood vessel growth, dilation and regression in vivo. By studying the pathways that can generate vasoinhibins, and the nature of their receptors and key biological mediators, it should be possible to clarify the role of vasoinhibins in controlling vascular function in health and disease.

Angiogenesis Modulating Agents↗
PubMed2006

[Cardiovascular risk by Framingham and SCORE in patients 40-65 years old].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the clinical and treatment implications of 2 cardiovascular risk stratification systems in a population of patients 40-65 years old. PATIENTS AND METHOD: 929 non diabetic patients (40-65 years old) (51% female) with no evidence of previous cardiovascular disease were included in the study. The risk of cardiovascular death was assessed with the charts of the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE), and coronary risk by the Framingham function (National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults -NCEP-ATP-III-). Patients were considered of high risk if risk of cardiovascular death was >or= 5% and coronary risk was > 20%, respectively. RESULTS: 4.1% of patients were considered as high risk by SCORE and 2.5% by Framingham. Only 0.2% of females were classified as high risk with either system. 8.2% and 4.8% of male population were considered as high risk by SCORE and Framingham, respectively. There was a low level of concordance between both systems. Patients classified as high risk by SCORE but not by Framingham were older, smoke less and had a better lipid profile. According to European Guidelines 28% of male and 23% of female were candidates to hypolipemic treatment, that proportion was higher, 43% of males and 28% of females, by NCEP-ATP-III guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: In Spanish patients 40-65 years old, SCORE charts almost duplicate the number of high risk individuals compared to Framingham. although the number of patients candidates to hypolipemic treatment is lower with the European than ATP-III guidelines. Differences were more evident in male.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

[Blastic NK-cell lymphoma].

Blastic NK (< >) cell lymphoma is a rare type of lymphoma, recognized as an independent entity in the new World Health Organization-European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (WHO-EORTC) classification for cutaneous lymphomas. Its clinical, morphological and immunophenotypical characteristics are relatively well defined. It frequently starts with extranodal involvement (primarily cutaneous), often presents with splenomegaly and pancytopenia, and initially responds well to chemotherapy, although the medium-term prognosis is usually poor. It was first considered to originate from immature NK lymphocytes, but now its origin is thought to be plasmacytoid dendritic cell precursors. We present the clinicopathological characteristics of a new case of this entity in a 78-year-old male patient.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Vasoinhibins: a family of N-terminal prolactin fragments that inhibit angiogenesis and vascular function.

Antiangiogenic molecules derived from prolactin (PRL) are not a single entity, but rather a family of peptides with different molecular masses, all containing the N-terminal region of PRL. Cleavage of PRL by cathepsin-D or by matrix metalloproteases generates N-terminal fragments that act on endothelial cells to suppress vasodilation and angiogenesis and promote vascular regression. N-terminal PRL fragments have been identified in cartilage and retina, where angiogenesis is highly restricted. In vivo experiments demonstrate that these PRL fragments exert a tonic and essential suppression of retinal blood vessel growth and dilation. Similar PRL fragments have been detected in the pituitary gland, a highly vascularized organ where the control of vascular growth may differ from that in tissues where angiogenesis is highly restricted. We have previously proposed the name vasoinhibins to describe the collection of N-terminal PRL fragments having blood vessel-blocking activity, and here we discuss their promise as factors to control vascular function in health and disease.

Angiogenesis Inhibitors↗
PubMed2005

[C-reactive protein changes with antihypertensive and statin treatment].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the modifications of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) with antihypertensive and statin treatment in a hypertensive population with a wide range of coronary risks (CR). PATIENTS AND METHOD: Retrospective follow-up study in 665 hypertensive patients: 556 (52% male) without dyslipidemia and CR (Framingham at 10 years) of 8.3 (7.6) as a control group (C) and 109 (61% male) with dyslipidemia and CR of 13.1 (8.8) who were treated with statins (T). Statins treatment was established according to NCEP-ATP-III. In both groups, the antihypertensive treatment was optimized in order to achieve blood pressure (BP) control (< 140/90 mmHg). A lipid profile and high sensitivity CRP (analyzed by nephelometry) was performed at the beginning and at the end of follow up [14.3 (3.6) months]. RESULTS: CRP levels were reduced in the T group -0.17 (0.2) mg/L vs. 0.14 (0.09) mg/L (p = 0.003, Mann-Whitney) in C. The lessening of CRP was not related to the reduction of lipids levels: total cholesterol (r = 0.06; p = 0.49), LDL-C (r = 0.11; p = 0.24), triglycerides (r = -0.02; p = 0.81) (Spearman), or to the reduction of systolic BP (r = -0.07; p = 0.44) and diastolic BP (r = -0.121; p = 0.21). The T group was treated with more antihypertensive drugs than C (2.2 [2.3] vs. 2.5 [1.2]; p = 0.02). Patients treated with ECA inhibitors or angiotensin II antagonist showed a tendency to decreasing the CRP levels more (p = 0.08). CONCLUSION: In hypertensive populations, statins induce a reduction of CRP levels. The reduction is not related to the lowering of lipids levels or BP values. The effect of statins on the reduction of CRP in hypertensive patients is not related to the lowering of lipids or BP.

Antihypertensive Agents↗
PubMed2005

Interaction of surfactants with thickeners used in waterborne paints: a rheological study.

Studies of the phase diagram and linear viscoelasticity of aqueous solutions of hydrophobically modified hydroxyethyl cellulose (HMHEC), a thickener used in water-based paints, and SDS reveal that SDS-HMHEC mixed micelles are formed that increase the number of hydrophobic junctions and enhance interpolymer association up to an [SDS]/[HMHEC] ratio. This fact produces a strong increase of viscoelasticity or a phase separation, depending on the [HMHEC]. At higher ratios the excess of micelles with predominant SDS isolates hydrophobes and disrupts the micellar network. Then, viscoelastic functions decrease and HMHEC behaves as a nonassociative polymer. TTAB and Brij30 also interact with HMHEC, but in a different way. No phase separation is observed with these surfactants. TTAB forms mixed micelles and new junction points in the same way as SDS. However, this surfactant does not stabilize the micelles as SDS does, presumably due to the different interaction between the OH from the cellulose and the charged groups. Results seem to indicate that Brij30 enters into the hydrophobic aggregates of HMHEC and stabilizes them, increasing relaxation time, but it does not form new junction points, since it forms quite big micelles.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Walking recovery after an acute stroke: assessment with a new functional classification and the Barthel Index.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate walking recovery after an acute stroke by using both a new functional classification and the Barthel Index, and to identify factors associated with good recovery. DESIGN: A 1-year inception cohort study. SETTING: In- and outpatient setting in a district hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-six patients with a prognosis of intermediate walking recovery. INTERVENTION: Conventional physical rehabilitation under professional supervision. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Walking capacity was assessed with a new classification scale and the Barthel Index during 5 patient evolution stages (admission to the hospital, hospital and physiotherapy discharge, clinical review, end of study). We also assessed the severity of the paresis of the affected lower limb, the time lapse between the stroke until the recovery of the weight-bearing capacity of the affected leg, and finally the time until standing balance was regained. RESULTS: We detected improvement in walking capacity throughout the follow-up process with our new classification scale, but not with the Barthel Index. Significant improvements were observed from the initial assessment, from 1 month onward, and from 3 to 12 months. The functional level of the final ambulation correlated negatively and significantly with the initial time to achieve weight-bearing capacity on the affected leg and also with the standing balance. There was also a significant correlation with the severity of lower-extremity paresis. CONCLUSIONS: Patients experienced an improvement in walking recovery throughout the first year after their stroke. The early weight-bearing capacity of the affected leg and standing balance were associated with higher walking levels 1 year after the stroke.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Proposal and validation of a new functional ambulation classification scale for clinical use.

OBJECTIVE: To validate a new functional ambulation classification. DESIGN: Validity study. SETTING: In- and outpatients of a district hospital rehabilitation service. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-one patients with poststroke hemiplegic gait disorders compared with a control group of 5 healthy people. Interventions Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Three independent examiners assessed the functional ambulation levels of each patient in blind trials. Interrater reliability was analyzed among the examiners. Walking velocity (slow, normal, fast) was measured with a manual chronometer, and the number of steps taken over a 48-hour period was recorded with a step counter. The linear correlation was calculated from among functional level classification, walking velocity, and the number of steps taken. RESULTS: There was a good interrater reliability among the examiners (kappa=.74). A significant association and a linear correlation were found between functional ambulation level, walking velocity, and the number of steps taken. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed classification is reliable and valid for determining the different levels of walking abilities.

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMed2005

Acute deafness as an extraintestinal manifestation of ulcerative colitis.

Autoimmune sensorineural hearing loss is a syndrome with an immunological mechanism occasionally associated with diverse autoimmune diseases. We describe a case of sensorineural hearing loss in a patient with ulcerative colitis. Several pathogenic mechanisms have been invoked. Treatment is steroid therapy and should be initiated when symptoms appear to restore hearing.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

[Impact of metabolic syndrome in the control of blood pressure and dyslipemia].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to assess the influence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in the control of blood pressure (BP) and dyslipemia. PATIENTS AND METHOD: A cross sectional study was performed with 1,320 (634 M and 686 F), 40.1 (13.3) years-old, BMI 29.8 (4.7) hypertensive non-diabetic patients. MS was diagnosed according to NCEP-ATP-III guidelines. Blood pressure control goal was BP < 140/90 mmHg. Coronary risk (CR) was calculated according to Framingham (low < 10%, intermediate 10-20% and high > 20% at 10 years). Goals of C-LDL levels were those of NCEP-ATP-III. RESULTS: 461 (35%) patients had MS and the remaining 859 became controls. Patients with MS had higher initial levels of hypertension and were receiving more antihypertensive drugs: 2.1 [1.3] vs. 1.7 [1.3]; p < 0.001), yet the average systolic and diastolic BP achieved and the degree of control was similar in both groups 53% vs. 52%; (p = ns). Patients with MS had higher CR at ten years than controls (10.7 [8.3] vs. 7.9 [6.8], p < 0.001) but achieved the C-LDL goals at fewer proportions than controls (57% vs. 74%; p < 0.001). In a regression analysis, patients with MS had 26% less probabilities of achieving both goals (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Hypertensive patients with MS have higher CR, and need more antihypertensive drugs to achieve the same BP goals. Yet it is more difficult for them to achieve LDL cholesterol goals. Patients with MS remain a target for cardiovascular prevention.

Anthropometry↗
PubMed2004

Chronic l-arginine treatment reduces vascular smooth muscle cell hypertrophy through cell cycle modifications in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of long-term l-arginine supplementation on phenotype and proliferative status of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) as well as the possible changes in nitric oxide (NO) availability. METHODS: Male SHR, 22 weeks of age, received l-arginine (660 mg/kg per day) in their drinking water for 12 weeks. VSMCs from untreated (C-VSMC) and l-arginine-treated (l-Arg-VSMC) SHR were isolated from the common carotid artery, cultured and used until passage five. Size, protein content, cell proliferation and ploidy were evaluated in carotid VSMCs in culture, as well as the possible association of NO in these changes. RESULTS: Relative cell size, total protein content per cell, and number of polyploid cells were significantly lower in l-Arg-VSMC compared to C-VSMC. Fetal calf serum stimulation (10% FCS) increased cell number only in l-Arg-VSMC. DNA synthesis, assessed by [H]methylthymidine incorporation after 10% FCS stimulation, was higher in l-Arg-VSMC than in C-VSMC. Cell cycle analysis revealed a significant increase of the number of l-Arg-VSMC at the G1 phase, together with a reduction at the G2 + M phase. In contrast, C-VSMC were arrested at the G2 + M phase of the cell cycle. Nitrite/nitrate levels, as well as intracellular cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) content, were significantly higher in l-Arg-VSMC. This was accompanied by enhanced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression and activity and a decreased constitutive nitric oxide synthase (cNOS) activity in these cells. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that chronic treatment with l-arginine induces changes in VSMC size, ploidy and cell cycle. These changes are accompanied by iNOS induction and stimulation of the NO-cGMP pathway.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Function transfer in human operant experiments: the role of stimulus pairings.

Although function transfer often has been studied in complex operant procedures (such as matching to sample), whether operant reinforcement actually produces function transfer in such settings has not been established. The present experiments, with high school students as subjects, suggest that stimulus pairings can promote function transfer in conditions that closely approximate those of matching to sample. In Experiment 1, the subjects showed transfer of operant responding from three geometric figures (C1, C2, C3) to three colored shapes (B1, B2, B3) when the latter were paired with the former. Experiment 2 involved two groups of subjects. In the matching group, subjects matched the colored shapes with the geometric figures; in the yoked group, the shapes were merely paired with the geometric figures, and the schedule of stimulus pairing was yoked to the performance of the subjects in the matching group. Both groups of subjects showed function transfer. Experiment 3 documented function transfer from C stimuli to B stimuli through indirect stimulus pairings (A-B, A-C). In Experiment 4, function transfer was obtained even though the subjects vocalized continuously during the pairing trials, presumably preventing covert verbalization that might mediate transfer effects. Our results are consistent with a Pavlovian account and raise difficulties for current operant theories of function transfer.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

[Clinical use of statins and cholesterol goals in patients with several cardiovascular risk factors].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to determine the number of patients who achieve low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) targets according to new guidelines. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Descriptive and transversal study of patients from a cardiovascular clinic. LDL-c was calculated and targets were established according the NCEP-ATP III. RESULTS: 1,811 patients (46% males, 54% females) were studied. 35% of these were high-risk patients (group 1: coronary risk > 20% at 10 years), 19% were intermediate-risk patients (group 2: coronary risk 10-20% at 10 years) and 46% were low-risk patients (group 3: coronary risk < 10% at 10 years). Overall, 58% of patients achieved target LDL-c levels, yet success rates were 26% among group 1 patients, 51% among group 2 patients, and 86% among group 3 patients (p = 0.001, for differences between groups). Statin treatment was significantly related to achieving target LDL-c levels in group 1 patients (OR = 1.7; 95% CI, 1.2-2.4; p = 0.007). In group 1.41% of patients had LDL-c levels > 130 mg/dl without receiving lipid-lowering drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Although an overall 58% patients achieve target LDL-C levels, only one of four high-risk patients have LDL-c levels < 100 mg/dl, and statin treatment is a determining factor to achieve this goal. These findings indicate that a more aggressive treatment with statins is needed in secondary prevention.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Staphylococcus aureus bacteremic pneumonia: differences between community and nosocomial acquisition.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to ascertain the clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of patients with nosocomial or community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus bacteremic pneumonia. METHODS: A prospective study of 134 cases diagnosed between January 1990 and December 1995 was performed. RESULTS: Fifty cases involved primary bacteremic pneumonias, of which 80% were nosocomial (the majority, 72%, in intensive care unit patients, of whom 57% were post-surgery). Of the 84 cases of secondary pneumonia, 36 were non-intravenous drug users (78% nosocomial, of whom 43% were in the intensive care unit), and 48 cases were intravenous drug users (98% community-acquired). CONCLUSIONS: Nosocomial S. aureus bacteremic pneumonia was especially frequent in intensive care unit patients (68.1%), and community-acquired pneumonia in intravenous drug users (72.3%). In non-intravenous drug users, clinical outcome and mortality were similar for nosocomial and community-acquired pneumonia.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Cholecystokinin induces cerebral vasodilatation via presynaptic CCK2 receptors: new implications for the pathophysiology of panic.

The authors report that cholecystokinin (CCK), via its subtype 2 receptor (CCK2R) located presynaptically on cerebral arteries, mediates the release of nitric oxide (NO), which induces vasodilatation. Whereas CCK octapeptide and its fragment CCK tetrapeptide (CCK-4) lack a direct effect on the smooth muscle of pial vessels, the authors showed that both CCK peptides modulate the neurogenic responses in bovine cerebral arteries. The neurogenic vasodilatation induced by CCK-4 was blocked by the CCK2R antagonist, L-365,260, and antagonized by neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) inhibitors, but was independent of the endothelium. In whole-mount arteries, CCK2Rs were detected in nerve fibers and colocalized with nNOS and synaptophysin. The findings provide, for the first time, a neural mechanism by which CCK may increase cerebral blood flow.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Differential outcomes effect in children and adults with down syndrome.

In previous studies, researchers have demonstrated that learning of symbolic relations is facilitated when a particular outcome is associated with each relation to be learned. In the present study, we extend this differential outcomes procedure to children and adults with Down syndrome who had to learn a symbolic conditional discrimination task. Participants showed a better terminal accuracy and a faster learning of the task when the alternative correct responses were each followed by unique different outcomes than when nondifferential outcomes were arranged. These findings confirm that the differential outcomes procedure can be a useful tool to ameliorate discriminative learning deficits and demonstrate the benefits of this procedure for people with Down syndrome.

Adolescent↗