Abdominal pain represents a frequent symptom for referral to emergency departments and/or internal medicine outpatient setting. Similarly, fever, fatigue and weight loss are non-specific manifestations of disease. The present case describes the diagnostic process in a patient with abdominal pain and a palpable abdominal mass.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClinical manifestations accompanying respiratory failure with insidious and rapidly progressive onset are often non-specific. Symptoms such as a cough, dyspnea, and fever are common to a large number of inflammatory, infectious, or neoplastic diseases. During the COVID-19 pandemic it is essential to limit the use of hospital services and inappropriate diagnostic techniques.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBlood acid-base imbalance has important effects on vascular reactivity, which can be related to nitric oxide (NO) concentration and increased during hypercapnia. Release of NO seems to be linked to H+ and CO2 concentration and to exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a common medical condition in the elderly. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD), a valuable cardiovascular risk indicator, allows assessment of endothelial-dependent vasodilation, which is to a certain extent mediated by NO.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVitamin D (25OHD) and/or parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels have been associated with common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT). We investigated such associations in inpatients consecutively admitted to an Internal Medicine Department. In 168 consecutive patients admitted to our department, 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) was measured by means of RIA and PTH by means of ICMA, whereas IMT by means of ultrasonography.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: According to the original Petersen criteria, we investigated the association between endothelial dysfunction and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by flow-mediated dilation (FMD). We aimed to verify if endothelial dysfunction occurs in MCI and whether vascular factors are implicated in the MCI pathogenesis.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study performed on 34 subjects with clinical diagnosis of MCI and 37 controls, older than 60 years.
Exp Gerontol
December 2012
Insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS2) plays a crucial role in the regulation of insulin signaling. Several polymorphisms of the gene encoding IRS2 have been identified. The variant causing Gly1057Asp substitution is relatively frequent in humans and its impact on insulin sensitivity seems to be dependent on age and body weight.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe fountain of youth has always been a myth for mankind. Aging is a physiologic state in which a progressive decline of organ functions is accompanied with the development of age-related diseases. The causes of aging remain unknown, probably being related to a multifactorial process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study was carried out to assess whether endothelial dysfunction, evaluated by flow-mediated dilation (FMD), is related to the occurrence of the Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) in old age. Eighty patients (25 men and 55 women), mean age 74.1±7.
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