QT Indexes in Cirrhotic Patients: Relationship with Clinical Variables and Potential Diagnostic Predictive Value.

Background And Aims: A wide spectrum of cardiovascular changes characterizes cirrhosis, ranging from subclinical alterations to hyperkinetic syndrome. We looked for ECG markers of ventricular repolarization in a population of patients with cirrhosis in comparison to patients without cirrhosis and we investigated the relationship between these and other clinical and laboratory variables.

Methods: In 149 patients with cirrhosis and 152 controls, we measured QT maximum interval (QTmax), QT corrected interval (QTc), QT minimum interval (QTmin), QT dispersion (QTdisp), QT peak and T peak-to-end (TpTe).

Immune-inflammatory markers and arterial stiffness indexes in subjects with acute ischemic stroke.

Unlabelled: No study has yet evaluated the relationship between arterial stiffness indexes and immuno-inflammatory pathway in patients with an acute cardiovascular or cerebrovascular event. The aim of our study was to evaluate in patients with acute ischemic stroke the relationship between immune-inflammatory markers and arterial stiffness indexes.

Methods: 107 subjects with acute ischemic stroke and 107 controls without stroke.

Arterial stiffness indexes in acute ischemic stroke: relationship with stroke subtype.

Introduction: No study has evaluated both arterial stiffness indexes (PWV and Aix) in patients with an acute cerebrovascular event. The aim of our study was to evaluate arterial stiffness indexes in subjects with acute ischemic stroke and to evaluate the relationship between these indexes and other clinical and laboratory variables.

Materials And Methods: We enrolled all consecutive patients with a diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke admitted to the Internal Medicine Department at the University of Palermo between November 2006 and January 2009, and hospitalized control patients without a diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke.

Plasma levels of inflammatory and thrombotic/fibrinolytic markers in acute ischemic strokes: relationship with TOAST subtype, outcome and infarct site.

Background: The aim of our study was to evaluate in patients with acute ischemic stroke the relationship between immuno-inflammatory variables, clinical outcome and infarct site.

Materials And Methods: We evaluated plasma levels of IL-1beta, TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-10, E-selectin, P-selectin, sICAM-1 ,sVCAM-1 vWF, TPA and PAI-1.

Results: Patients with cardioembolic subtype showed significantly higher median plasma levels of TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-1beta whereas the lacunar subtype showed significantly lower median plasma levels of TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-1beta.