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Biomedical subjects

E Petruzzi

Publications and source records attributed to E Petruzzi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Longevity index (LI%) and centenarity index (CI%): new indicators to evaluate the characteristics of aging process in the Italian population.

Centenarians represent a group of population displaying the most rapid expansion. This progressive increase of the presence of centenarians is a multi-factorial phenomenon, which is due to the improvements of the environmental conditions and the life style and also to the progress of the medical science. In order to obtain a more reliable estimate of the longevity per gender and territorial entities, we propose two new indicators. (i) The ratio between the ultranonagenarians and the total population above 65 years old (called longevity index: LI%); (ii) the ratio between the centenarians and the total population above 90 years old (called centenarity index: CI%). An analysis of the data of the Italian National Office of Statistics (ISTAT, ) using these two indicators demonstrates that the subjects above the age of 90 are more frequent in the regions of Central and Northern Italy, which are more developed regarding the economic conditions and technological progress. Nevertheless, the Southern and Insular regions of Italy have a higher occurrence of centenarians among the ultranonagenarian population, and also a higher prevalence of male centenarians, as compared to the northern regions. This demonstrates that achievement of the threshold of 100 years old does not require only particular socio-economic conditions, but also an adequate climate and environment, as well as a favorable genetic composition.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Effect of diet and red wine consumption on serum total antioxidant capacity (TAC), dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate (DHEAS) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in Italian centenarians.

The traditional mediterranean diet is associated with a hope for longer survival. It has also been shown that the red wine possesses a protective effect against the oxidative stress. We studied TAC, the DHEAS and the IGF-1 in a group of 26 healthy centenarians, 17 women and 9 men, of the age range of 100--105 years. Furthermore, we analyzed also serum urate and bilirubin levels between drinkers and abstainers. Most of centenarian subjects have been moderate wine consumers (<500 ml/day of red wine). These subjects were subdivided as follows: (i) Group A: those who had maintained the style of their dietary habits as compared to the previous years (n=3 males, 10 females); (ii) Group B: those who actually consumed a diet being deficient compared to that of the previous years, but remained moderate drinkers of red wine (n=3 males, 4 females); and (iii) Group C: those who actually consumed a diet being deficient compared to that of the previous years, and at the same time, were abstainers in wine consumption (n=3 males, 3 females). The results show that in men three of the studied parameters decreased from Group A to C to considerable extents, as follows (mean+/-S.D.). TAC: 302.4+/-32.3; 142.0+/-24.1 and 96.4+/-20.1 micromol/l; DHEAS: 3.35+/-0.81; 2.52+/-0.18 and 1.34+/-0.14 micromol/l; IGF-1: 85.7+/-6.7; 76.6+/-6.7 and 65.6+/-2.6 ng/ml, respectively. For the same parameters, the results in the women were: TAC: 258.4+/-12.2; 182.1+/-14.0 and 107.6+/-10.0 micromol/l; DHEAS: 3.85+/-0.16; 2.34+/-0.19 and 2.05+/-0.04 micromol/l; IGF-1: 89.7+/-6.7; 76.6+/-4.7 and 64.2+/-2.7 ng/ml, respectively. We did not find any significant difference in the other serum parameters between drinkers (n=14) and abstainers (n=3) (urate: 267.6+/-52.9, and 289.5+/-80.1; bilirubin: 9.81+/-4.29 and 7.18+/-2.89 micromol/l, respectively). Our data suggest that the deteriorated diet caused a reduction of TAC, DHEAS and IGF-1 in the centenarians. However, red vine consumption exerted a protective effect against this trend, even if this protection is not reaching statistical significance in some cases (in men), which is due most probably to the lower number of male subjects in the study.

Aged, 80 and over↗
PubMed2005

Healthy centenarian subjects: the effect of red wine consumption on liver function tests.

Liver function is well maintained with increasing age. The aim of our study was to investigate if long-term moderate (<or=500 ml/day) red wine consumption influences the most common laboratory tests of liver function in healthy centenarians. Wine consumption habits were classified as moderate red wine drinkers (D) (<or=500 ml/day of red wine consumption in the past and present) (no.=3 males, 16 females) and abstainers (A) who never consumed red wine or alcoholic beverages (no.=1 male, 4 females). None were heavy drinkers. Laboratory tests revealed low levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). AST was higher in A (Mean+/-SE=8.40+/-0.32 U/l) in comparison to D (Mean+/-SE=6.25+/-0.72 U/l), but this difference was not statistically significant. Total-bilirubin (Tbil), alkaline phosphatase (AlkP), gamma- glutamyltransferase (GGT) and pseudocholinesterase (CHE) were in the normal range, and there was no difference between D and A. We conclude that red wine consumption in centenarians had no negative effect on circulating liver enzyme activities.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Diabetes mellitus and subjects' ageing: a study on the ATP content and ATP-related enzyme activities in human erythrocytes.

Na+/K(+)- and Ca(2+)-ATPase are the major ATP-dependent membrane-bound enzymes that regulate the cation transmembrane gradient which is altered both in red blood cell (RBC) senescence and in RBCs of diabetic patients. In an attempt to clarify the possible connection between diabetes mellitus and ageing, we investigated the relationship between RBC ATP content, Na+/K(+)-ATPase, Ca(2+)-ATPase activities and ageing in healthy, insulin-dependent (IDDM) and non-insulin-dependent (NIDDM) subjects. A significant correlation was found (r = -0.82; P < 0.001) between RBC ATP content and subject's age only in the control group. A significant reduction in Na+/K(+)-ATPase activity was observed in the older group (C2) of control subjects, in comparison with the younger (C1) one. In both IDDM and NIDDM subjects, the enzymatic activity was significantly decreased when compared with health subjects of similar age (P < 0.001). A significant negative correlation was found between age and enzymatic activity in healthy subjects (r = -0.60; P < 0.001). No difference was observed in the RBC membrane Ca(2+)-ATPase activity between younger (C1) and older (C2) healthy subjects. Ca(2+)-ATPase activity was significantly increased both in IDDM patients compared with C1 (P < 0.001) and in NIDDM patients compared with C2 (P < 0.001). The present data indicate that ageing causes a reduction in the erythrocyte ATP content in both healthy and diabetic subjects. In diabetic patients Na+/K(+)-ATPase activity decreases independently of age.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1994

Adenosine triphosphate release by osmotic shock and hemoglobin A1C in diabetic subjects' erythrocytes.

We investigated the significance of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) release from diabetic subjects' red blood cells (RBCs) following osmotic shock (OS) and its possible relationship with hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) and with the RBC membrane protein skeleton. RBCs from type I (insulin-dependent [IDDM]) and type II (non-insulin-dependent [NIDDM]) diabetic subjects and age- and sex-matched control subjects were submitted to OS using NaCl solutions (from 0.9% to 0.045% final concentration). ATP release values were determined by the bioluminescent method. For pattern study, they were expressed both as absolute values and as percentages (%) of ATP maximum release (at 0.045% NaCl solution). Twenty-seven IDDM and 25 NIDDM subjects and two control groups were investigated. ATP content in RBCs was 2.08 +/- 0.19 pmol/10(4) RBC in IDDM and 1.23 +/- 0.20 pmol/10(4) RBC in NIDDM subjects. The ATP content of IDDM subjects' RBCs was significantly higher than that of the corresponding control group. ATP release at 0.49% NaCI OS, both as absolute value and as percentage value, was significantly lower in both diabetic groups, and ATP% was inversely correlated with HbA1" (IDDM: r = -.489, P < .01; NIDDM: r = -.654, P < .01), suggesting a possible relationship between Hb glycation, RBC membrane protein skeleton glycation, and its influence on ATP release by OS. In conclusion, the proposed method seems useful for measuring RBC ATP content and, at the same time, for monitoring the leak effect of the RBC membrane before it bursts.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗