AIMS To compare rates and predictors of documented hypoglycaemia in type 2 diabetes patients treated with either basal insulin supported oral therapy (BOT), conventional therapy (CT) or supplementary insulin therapy (SIT) in primary care. METHODS Data from 10,842 anonymous patients (mean age ± SD: 54 ± 8 yrs) on BOT, 2,407 subjects (56 ± 7 yrs) on CT, and 7,480 patients (52 ± 10 yrs) using SI...

Twentyfour patients with Mytonic Dystrophy (MD) (mean age 42.8 ±13.4 yrs; range 21-59) of moderate degree underwent neuropsychological and neuroradiological (Magnetic Resonance Imaging MRI) evaluation.The results show the presence of cognitive impairment, in particular involving visuo-constructive and attentional skills, not related to sex, age at onset or disease duration; subjects with matern...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Quality of life (QOL) and sleepiness for patients with sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) might improve with continuous positive airway pressure devices working in auto-adjust mode (autoCPAP) by allowing pressure modulations following patient needs. Clinical comparisons between devices driven by different algorithms are needed. METHODS We compared the clinical effecti...

BACKGROUND Endothelial dysfunction is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events. Inflammatory mediators released by the adipose tissue can lead to local insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction. This study addressed the relationship of adipocytokines with endothelial function and blood pressure. METHODS In 92 newly diagnosed, drug-naïve essential hypertensive patients (HT, me...

Methods 65 healthy subjects (age=43±14 yrs, 20 females) underwent aortic 4D flow MRI as part of an IRB-approved protocol. A 3D phase-contrast angiogram was generated from the 4D flow data followed by 3D segmentation of the aortic lumen. A volume centerline was calculated based on the aorta 3D segmentation and used to automatically characterize aortic diameter (AoD) and peak velocity (PV). Stand...

Background: Association between body mass indexes (BMI) and blood pressure have been observed, but remains poorly understood. BMI is shown to be a measure of overweight status and is applicable to all populations. In this cross-sectional study we have examined the relationship between the BMI and blood pressure in school age children. Methods: This study comprised of 486 boys and 463 girls at a...

Noninvasive biomarkers can be used to evaluate airways damage caused by tobacco smoke, but studies so far have only involved adult smokers. In this study, we evaluated whether such biomarkers can detect early respiratory effects in adolescents passively or actively exposed to tobacco smoke. In a cross-sectional study of 845 adolescents (mean age 16 yrs), we measured exhaled nitric oxide (NO) an...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Resistant hypertension is defined as failure to achieve blood pressure lower than 140/90 mmHg when using three antihypertensive agents or controlled blood pressure with four or more drugs. We aimed at assessing the prevalence of resistant hypertension and to describe a type 2 diabetes population with resistant hypertension. METHODS The retrospective observational study inc...

BACKGROUND Primary osteosarcomas of the head and neck in the pediatric age group, not associated with previous irradiation or a known syndrome, are rare. The literature contains several single cases and small study series; however, to the authors's knowledge, there has been no comprehensive large study to evaluate the clinicopathologic aspects of these tumors. METHODS Twenty-two cases of oste...

Presence of a nasogastric tube is a risk factor for the development of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Alternatively, gastrostomy can be used for administration of enteral feedings. To determine whether early performance of gastrostomy affects frequency of VAP, a randomised, controlled study was carried out in patients mechanically ventilated for stroke or head injury. In the gastrostomy...