Pancreas bifidum: an extremely rare cause of acute pancreatitis.

A wide spectrum of anomalies of the pancreas, the pancreatic ductal system and the biliary tree are commonly encountered at radiologic evaluation. Pancreas bifidum, also known as bifid pancreas or fish-tail pancreas, is an extremely rare congenital branching anomaly of the main pancreatic duct characterized by its duplication. These 2 separate ducts are laid from the pancreatic tail to neck and they generally join at the pancreas body-tail draining via the major papilla; the pancreatic parenchyma is also bifurcated with separated dorsal and caudal buds.

Site-dependency of the E/e' ratio in predicting invasive left ventricular filling pressure in patients with suspected or ascertained coronary artery disease.

Purpose: To test the accuracy of different mitral annular sites of the E/e' ratio in predicting invasive left ventricular filling pressure (LVFP) in patients hospitalized for coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: Forty-one patients with suspected or ascertained chronic CAD underwent non-invasive estimation of LVFP the same day as coronary angiography combined with right catheterization for pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) assessment. The ratio between E velocity and early diastolic velocity of the mitral annulus (e') was calculated as a surrogate of PWCP by (i) averaging septal and lateral e' (E/e'A2); (ii) averaging septal, lateral, inferior, anterior (E/e'A4); (iii) using the sole septal (E/e'S); or (iv) lateral annulus (E/e'L).

Improved cardiovascular diagnostic accuracy by pocket size imaging device in non-cardiologic outpatients: the NaUSiCa (Naples Ultrasound Stethoscope in Cardiology) study.

Miniaturization has evolved in the creation of a pocket-size imaging device which can be utilized as an ultrasound stethoscope. This study assessed the additional diagnostic power of pocket size device by both experts operators and trainees in comparison with physical examination and its appropriateness of use in comparison with standard echo machine in a non-cardiologic population. Three hundred four consecutive non cardiologic outpatients underwent a sequential assessment including physical examination, pocket size imaging device and standard Doppler-echo exam.

Diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome: a comparative analysis in an unselected sample of adult male population.

This analysis compares the performance of 7 different diagnostic criteria of metabolic syndrome (MS) with regard to the prevalence of the syndrome, the characteristics of subjects with a positive diagnosis, and the ability to correctly identify individuals at high calculated cardiovascular (CV) risk or with signs of systemic inflammation or early organ damage. The diagnostic criteria proposed by the World Health Organization (1998); European Group for the Study of Insulin Resistance (EGIR) (1999); Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) (2001); American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) (2003); ATP III (2004); International Diabetes Federation (IDF) (2005); and American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (2005) were applied to the population of 933 men aged 59.5 years (range, 33-81 years) attending the 2002-2004 examination of the Olivetti Heart Study.

Circulating leptin levels predict the development of metabolic syndrome in middle-aged men: an 8-year follow-up study.

Background: Because high circulating plasma leptin is associated with many features of the metabolic syndrome (MS), such as abdominal obesity, insulin resistance and high blood pressure (BP), we analysed the ability of plasma leptin concentration to predict the risk of developing MS in a prospective investigation of adult male participants of the Olivetti Heart Study (OHS).

Methods And Results: Three hundred and sixty out of 907 men participating in the 1994-95 and 2002-04 OHS examinations (mean age at baseline 50.4 years, range 25-73 years) were free of MS at first visit according to NCEP-ATP III criteria (modified for the lack of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol measurement at baseline).

Incidence of hypertension in individuals with different blood pressure salt-sensitivity: results of a 15-year follow-up study.

Objective: To evaluate the incidence of hypertension and the rate of decline in renal function in a sample of 47 Olivetti Heart Study (OHS) participants whose blood pressure (BP) salt-sensitivity and renal tubular sodium handling had been assessed in 1987-88.

Methods: During the 2002-04 OHS follow-up examination, medical history, physical examination and blood and urine sampling were performed in 36 of the 47 participants to the baseline study (age 60 +/- 6 years; average follow-up = 15.1 +/- 0.

Genetic variations at the endocannabinoid type 1 receptor gene (CNR1) are associated with obesity phenotypes in men.

Context: The endocannabinoid system modulates food intake and body weight in animal models. Treatment with the cannabinoid type 1 receptor blocker, rimonabant, reduces body weight in obese individuals.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether single nucleotide polymorphisms of the gene encoding cannabinoid type 1 receptor, CNR1, are associated with body fat mass and distribution in two independent samples of white European adult men.

Do statins reduce blood pressure?: a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials.

A meta-analysis was performed of the effect of 3hydroxy3methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) on blood pressure in humans including the randomized, controlled trials of statin therapy (20 trials and 828 patients) in which concomitant antihypertensive treatment (if any) remained unchanged throughout the study. A total of 291 and 272 patients were given a statin or placebo, respectively, in parallel group trials, whereas 265 took part in crossover trials receiving a statin and placebo (or probucol, in 1 trial). Systolic blood pressure was significantly lower in patients on statin than in those on placebo or control hypolipidemic drug (mean difference: -1.

Abnormalities of renal sodium handling in the metabolic syndrome. Results of the Olivetti Heart Study.

Objective: The mechanisms underlying high blood pressure in the framework of metabolic syndrome (MS) are not clarified: we thus analyzed the relationship of MS and its components to renal tubular sodium handling among participants of the Olivetti Heart Study, an epidemiological investigation of a representative sample of adult white male population in southern Italy.

Methods: Proximal (FPRNa) and distal (FDRNa) fractional sodium reabsorption were estimated by the clearance of exogenous lithium in 702 participants aged 25-75 years examined in 1994-1995. Blood pressure and relevant anthropometric and biochemical variables were also measured.