Fall safety agreement: a new twist on education in the hospitalized older adult.

Objective: The aim of this study was to further explore falls that occur in the elderly individuals (>65 years) in an academic medical center. This was done through secondary analysis of a preexisting falls database.

Background: All hospitalized patients are at risk for falls.

Residual vein thrombosis and onset of post-thrombotic syndrome: influence of the 4G/5G polymorphism of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 gene.

Background: Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is the most important inhibitor of plasminogen activator. The functional 4G/5G polymorphism of the gene coding for PAI-1 may affect PAI-1 plasmatic activity, influencing the imbalance between coagulation and fibrinolysis cascades. In this prospective cohort analytic study, we investigated the role of this single nucleotide polymorphism in the persistence of thrombotic lesion and the occurrence of post-thrombotic syndrome.

Nitric oxide metabolites (nitrite and nitrate) in several clinical condition.

We determined the concentration of nitric oxide metabolites (NO2-+NO3-), expressed as NOx, in several clinical conditions. Regarding this, we have examined 25 subjects with arterial hypertension, 41 subjects with chronic kidney disease in conservative treatment, 106 subjects with metabolic syndrome subdivided according to the presence (n = 43) or not (n = 63) of diabetes mellitus, 48 subjects with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), 14 women with systemic sclerosis complicated with Raynaud's phenomenon, 42 dialyzed subjects and 105 young subjects with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In subjects with arterial hypertension, chronic kidney disease, metabolic syndrome, systemic sclerosis, as well as, in dialyzed and AMI subjects, we found at baseline a NOx increase.

Myocardial infarction in young adults: risk factors, clinical characteristics and prognosis according to our experience.

Objectives: Myocardial infarction is a relatively unusual phenomenon in young subjects. The aim if this work is to characterize the risk profile and factors influencing outcomes of these patients since it makes possible to manage prevention interventions.

Patients And Methods: We examined cardiovascular risk factors, clinical presentation, angiographic picture and outcome of a group of young patients hospitalized for a myocardial infarction.

Pro-inflammatory genetic markers of atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic, progressive, multifactorial disease mostly affecting large and medium-sized elastic and muscular arteries. It has formerly been considered a bland lipid storage disease. Currently, multiple independent pathways of evidence suggest this pathological condition is a peculiar form of inflammation, triggered by cholesterol-rich lipoproteins and influenced both by environmental and genetic factors.

Is the mean blood leukocyte telomere length a predictor for sporadic thoracic aortic aneurysm? Data from a preliminary study.

Telomeres have been postulated as a universal clock that shortens in parallel with cellular aging. They are specialized DNA-protein structures at the ends of chromosome with remarkable functions--preventing their recognition as double-stranded DNA breaks, protecting their recombination and degradation, and avoiding a DNA damage cellular response. Telomere shortening is currently considered the best aging marker, but is also a predictor for age-related diseases, including cardiovascular diseases.

Behaviour of protein carbonyl groups in juvenile myocardial infarction.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is accompanied by oxidative stress, and protein oxidation is among the consequences of oxidative stress. We examined the plasma concentration of protein carbonyl groups (PC), a marker of protein oxidation, in a group of young subjects with AMI (45 men and 5 women; mean age 40.4 ± 4.

Contrast-induced nephropathy after percutaneous coronary intervention in simple lesions: risk factors and incidence are affected by the definition utilized.

Aim: To compare the incidence, and risk factors, in-hospital and at the 18-month prognosis of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) according to the definition utilized: as an increase in serum creatinine (Scr) ≥ 0.5 mg/dL (CIN 1) or as an increase in Scr ≥ 25% above baseline values (CIN 2).

Methods And Results: We prospectively evaluated CIN according to two different definitions in 150 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in simple lesions employing a low-medium dose of contrast media.

Chest pain due to late huge coronary pseudoaneurysm following stent implantation.

A 50-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of persistent atypical chest pain. His past medical history was remarkable for a non ST elevation myocardial infarction, treated five months previously with PCI on the right coronary artery. Two months later, for chest pain, he underwent coronary angiography that showed a right coronary artery with slight ectasia near the stent.

Role of genetic polymorphisms in myocardial infarction at young age.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in young adult presents a typical pattern of risk factors, clinical, angiographic and prognostic characteristics. In the last years we demonstrated that hemorheological profile is altered in these patients in a persistent way and independently of the number of risk factors and of the extent of coronary lesions. Thus, the hyperviscosity syndrome following AMI could be considered an intrinsic characteristic of these patients.

Pro-inflammatory gene variants in myocardial infarction and longevity: implications for pharmacogenomics.

Inflammation and genetics play an important role in the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease (CHD). However, despite the increasing appreciation of the role of genetics in CHD and myocardial infarction (MI) pathogenesis, pharmacogenomic approaches to uncover drug target have not been extensively explored. Cyclo-oxygenases (COXs) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) are the key enzymes in the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandins (PG) and leukotrienes (LT) and are implicated in a wide variety of inflammatory disorders, including atherosclerosis.

TLR2 and age-related diseases: potential effects of Arg753Gln and Arg677Trp polymorphisms in acute myocardial infarction.

Inflammation is a key component of immune system. It is involved in both defense and pathophysiological events maintaining the dynamic homeostasis of host organism. Its function is controlled by innate immunity genes.

Pharmacogenomics: a tool to prevent and cure coronary heart disease.

Inflammation and genetics play an important role in the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease (CHD). This is supported by epidemiological studies which have thoroughly investigated the association between CHD and gene polymorphisms of the inflammatory molecules. Moreover, efforts to find elective therapy have not been rewarding and, despite the increasing appreciation of the role of genetics in CHD and myocardial infarction (MI) pathogenesis, pharmacogenomic approaches to uncover drug target have not been extensively explored.

Left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy in children: Is segmental fibrosis the cause of tissue Doppler alterations and of EF reduction?

Noncompaction of the ventricular myocardium (LVNC) is a rare congenital cardiomyopathy resulting from an arrest in normal endomyocardial embryogenesis. In 2002 Jenni et al. [Jenni R, Wyss CA, Oechslin EN, Kaufmann PA.

Role of TLR4 polymorphisms in inflammatory responses: implications for unsuccessful aging.

The total burden of infection at various sites may affect the progression of atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease (AD), the risk being modulated by host genotype. The role of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) receptor TLR4 is paradigmatic. It initiates the innate immune response against gram-negative bacteria, and TLR4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), such as +896A/G, known to attenuate receptor signaling, have been described.

Chronic pharmacological treatment in takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

Background: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a disorder that has been appreciated only recently. In most of reported cases, this syndrome mimes an acute myocardial infarction. Till this moment no data are available from literature about the treatment in the acute phase of this disease.

Genetics of inflammation in age-related atherosclerosis: its relevance to pharmacogenomics.

In response to tissue injury elicited by trauma or infection, the inflammatory response, as a complex network of molecular and cellular interactions, sets an answer directed to facilitate a return to physiological homeostasis and tissue repair. The role of the genetic background and the subsequent predisposition toward the extent of the inflammatory response is determined by gene variability encoding endogenous mediators involved in the inflammatory pathway. Due to its clinical relevance, the genetics of inflammation in aging will be studied using an inflammatory disease like atherosclerosis as an example.

Association between platelet glycoprotein Ib-alpha and myocardial infarction: results of a pilot study performed in male and female patients from Sicily.

Myocardial infarction (AMI) is a complex multifactorial disorder. Platelet adhesion and thrombosis are pivotal events in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. Occlusive thrombus is almost exclusively initiated by plaque rupture and adhesion of platelets to subendothelial von Willebrand factor (vWf) by its specific platelet receptor, the alpha-chain of glycoprotein (GP) Ib-IX-V complex of the human platelet-specific antigens (HPA).

Role of proinflammatory alleles in longevity and atherosclerosis: results of studies performed on -1562C/T MMP-9 in centenarians and myocardial infarction patients from Sicily.

Centenarians are characterized by marked delay or escape from age-associated diseases that cause mortality at earlier ages. Jointly, atherosclerosis and its complications, such as myocardial infarction (AMI), significantly contribute to mortality in the elderly. Inflammation is a key component of atherosclerosis and inflammatory genes are good candidates for the risk of the development of atherosclerosis.

Persistence of the altered polymorphonuclear leukocyte rheological and metabolic variables after 12 months in juvenile myocardial infarction.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is associated with an elevated polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) count and a PMN rheological impairment. In this study we evaluated two major rheological aspects (membrane fluidity and cytosolic Ca2+ concentration) in a group of young adults with AMI. We enrolled 41 AMI patients (39 men and 2 women; mean age 41.