Publications by authors named "Simona Simeoni"

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the diurnal fluctuation of salivary cortisol and its overall diurnal secretion are associated with the length of gestation in patients who were admitted to the hospital with an assigned diagnosis of possible preterm labor (PL) at a gestational age of 28-33 weeks.

Methods: In 22 patients, maternal saliva samples were collected for a cortisol assay 4 times per day (8 AM, 12 AM, 4 PM and 8 PM) on day 4 and day 6 after antenatal corticosteroid prophylaxis to prevent neonatal respiratory distress syndrome.

Results: Eight patients who ultimately delivered before term (32.

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Background: Hypobaric hypoxia is a stressful emergency situation that can cause a degradation of the sensory, motor, and higher cognitive functions necessary for safe flight.

Methods: We studied the salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S) concentrations of 12 healthy male military aviators (AV) exposed to an altitude-induced hypoxia challenge in a hypobaric chamber. A matched control group (C) of eight flight physiology instructors wearing oxygen masks during the challenge was studied.

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Objectives: Because the cortisol awakening response (CAR) has received increasing attention as a useful index of adrenocortical activity, the primary objective of this study was to investigate the presence of an awakening response for various salivary biomarkers of adrenocortical activity, including dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate (DHEA-S), which acts as a cortisol antagonist, and α-amylase, which is a predictor of circulating catecholamine activity. Salivary biological indicators are considered to be valuable markers of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis diurnal activity.

Methods: In an attempt to overcome problems associated with non-adherence to the requested sampling protocol, only young, healthy males with a physiological CAR value (defined as a 50% increase in salivary cortisol within 30 min after waking) were included in the study (67 out of 102 who initially enrolled met this criterion).

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Few studies have assessed the effects of stress on in vivo platelet activation. In the present study, hypobaric hypoxia induced by rapid decompression during high-altitude simulated flight in a hypobaric chamber was used to evaluate the effects of environmental stress on salivary cortisol and urinary thromboxane metabolite (TXM) excretion, a noninvasive marker of in vivo platelet function. Twenty-one male aviators (mean ± SD age = 36 ± 7 years) experiencing hypoxia by removing their oxygen mask for 4-5 min during a simulated flight to 25,000 ft (7,620 m; pO(2) = 59.

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Migraine is a complex disorder caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Although family and twin studies show that there is a genetic component in migraine, no genes predisposing to common forms of the disorder, migraine with and without aura, have been identified. Patients with migraine respond differently to a given drug administered.

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We have studied the effects of the treatment with corticosterone (CORT), parathyroid hormone (PTH), or both (CORT + PTH), and of their withdrawal (CORT-rec and CORT + PTH-rec), on the osteoprotegerin (OPG) and receptor activator of nuclear factor-kB ligand (RANKL) localization and expression and on histomorphometric parameters in primary and secondary spongiosa of rat femur and tibia metaphyses. In the secondary spongiosa of the CORT group, the bone remodeling and the OPG/RANKL mRNA ratio decreased. In the PTH group, the bone turnover and the structural and connectivity indices increased, and the OPG/RANKL mRNA ratio fell; this ratio rose, however, in the primary spongiosa.

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Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity was monitored in 20 women with chronic migraine (CM), previously affected by medication overuse headache (MOH), in comparison to healthy women (20 subjects) by measuring salivary cortisol, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate (DHEA-S) levels, and their ratios, one week after the end of the MOH rehabilitation procedure. The participants were instructed how to collect saliva samples at home, a procedure that was performed twice a day (08:00 a.m.

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