Hydroxytryptamine transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5HTTLPR) is associated with delusions in Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Serotoninergic pathways underlying delusion symptoms in Alzheimer's disease (AD) have not been fully clarified. 5-Hydroxytryptamine transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) is a variable number tandem repeats in the promoter region of serotonin transporter encoding-gene affecting transcription.

Methods: We investigated the association of 5-HTTLPR with delusions in a total of 257 consecutive patients clinically diagnosed as AD according to the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer's Association criteria.

Analysis of MTNR1B gene polymorphisms in relationship with IRS2 gene variants, epicardial fat thickness, glucose homeostasis and cognitive performance in the elderly.

ABSTARCT Genome-wide association studies pinpointed common variants in or near the MTNR1B gene encoding MT2 melatonin receptor to be strongly associated with fasting glucose levels. IRS2 gene polymorphisms impact insulin resistance and epicardial fat (EF) thickness, which in turn is correlated with visceral adiposity, cognitive ability and risk for metabolic plus cardiovascular disease. We aimed to discover the interactions between MTNR1B and IRS2 gene polymorphisms, insulin sensitivity, EF thickness and cognitive performance in the elderly.

Short-term effects of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists on fat distribution in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: an ultrasonography study.

Aims: Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) induce weight loss and reduction in adipose tissue, but the effects of GLP-1 RA on the distribution of fat deposits have been poorly investigated.

Methods: In 25 patients with type 2 diabetes (16 females and 9 males, mean age 63.5 ± 8.

An association study between epicardial fat thickness and cognitive impairment in the elderly.

The amount of fat surrounding the heart, called epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), is a marker of cardiometabolic risk and correlates with the quantity of visceral adipose tissue (VAT). The amount of VAT is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease and with cognitive impairment. We aimed to evaluate the association between EAT thickness as a measure of VAT and cognitive function.

Frailty, disability and physical exercise in the aging process and in chronic kidney disease.

Frailty in the elderly is a state of vulnerability to poor resolution of homoeostasis after a stressor event and is a consequence of cumulative decline in many physiological systems during a lifetime. This cumulative decline depletes homoeostatic reserves until minor stressor events trigger disproportionate changes in health status. It is usually associated to adverse health outcomes and to one-year mortality risk.

Effects of hypercapnia on peripheral vascular reactivity in elderly patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Blood 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.

Endothelial dysfunction associated with mild cognitive impairment in elderly population.

Background 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.

Influence of the Gly1057Asp variant of the insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS2) on insulin resistance and relationship with epicardial fat thickness in the elderly.

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.

Epicardial adipose tissue and idiopathic deep venous thrombosis: an association study.

Objective: Epicardial fat (EpiF) reflects abdominal visceral adiposity and visceral fat plays an important role in the development of an unfavorable metabolic and atherosclerosis risk profile. An increased cardiovascular risk has been evidenced in patients with deep venous thrombosis (DVT). Advancing age is characterized by alterations of body fat mass and function In this study we studied the association between EpiF, DVT, age, obesity and other atherosclerosis risk factors.

Antiphase signalling in the neuroendocrine-immune system in healthy humans.

Background: Any quantity varying in the spatial-temporal dimension may be considered as a signal. Human lymphocyte cell surface molecules and subsets present circadian variation and this variation may represent a kind of signalling in the neuroendocrine-immune system. We have analyzed the dynamics of variation of specific lymphocyte subsets in healthy humans.

Idiopathic deep venous thrombosis and arterial endothelial dysfunction in the elderly.

Arterial and venous thrombosis have always been regarded as different pathologies and epidemiological studies have examined the association between venous thrombosis and indicators of atherosclerosis and/or arterial thromboembolic events. We measured the flow-mediated dilation (FMD), a well-known marker of arterial endothelial dysfunction, in young-middle-aged and old-aged patients with and without unprovoked deep venous thrombosis (DVT). The aim of this study was to investigate whether DVT was a significant predictor for impaired FMD, considering all the patients and young-middle-aged (age < 65 years) and old-aged (age ≥ 65 years) patients separately.

Anti-tumor necrosis factor-α therapy and changes of flow-mediated vasodilatation in psoriatic and rheumatoid arthritis patients.

For a long time, the endothelial covering of the vessels has been considered an inert surface. On the contrary, the endothelial cells are active and dynamic elements in the interaction between blood and tissues. The control of the vessel basal tone is obtained by the complex balance between the relaxing and contracting endothelial factors.

Neuroendocrine-immune interactions in healthy aging.

Aim: The nervous, endocrine and immune systems are connected by shared neurotransmitters, hormones and cytokines. The function of these systems shows patterns of circadian rhythmicity and a number of age-related changes in the 24-h hormonal and non-hormonal rhythms have been found in older human beings. The aim of this study was to evaluate integration among the nervous, endocrine and immune systems in the elderly.

Aging related changes of circadian rhythmicity of cytotoxic lymphocyte subpopulations.

Background: Immunosenescence is a process that affects all cell compartments of the immune system and the contribution of the immune system to healthy aging and longevity is still an open question. Lymphocyte subpopulations present different patterns of circadian variation and in the elderly alteration of circadian rhythmicity has been evidenced. The aim of our study was to analyze the dynamics of variation of specific cytotoxic lymphocyte subsets in old aged subjects.