April 2016

34 Articles

No Section

Peer review in medical journals: Beyond quality of reports towards transparency and public scrutiny of the process

26 April 2016
Author(s): Paolo Vercellini, Laura Buggio, Paola Viganò, Edgardo Somigliana

Published medical research influences health care providers and policy makers, guides patient management, and is based on the peer review process. Peer review should prevent publication of unreliable... more

Editorial

Frailty: The pleasure and pain of geriatric medicine

7 April 2016
Author(s): Graziano Onder, Alessandra Marengoni

Frailty is a geriatric condition characterized by increased vulnerability, resulting from aging-associated declines in reserves and function across multiple physiologic systems, such that the ability... more

Internal Medicine Flashcard

Sudden chest pain two months after a motor vehicle accident

29 April 2016
Author(s): Hesham R. Omar, Engy Helal, Enrico M. Camporesi

A 60-year-old-woman presented to the emergency department with a six-hour history of severe left pectoral chest pain radiating to left shoulder associated with shortness of breath. She noted that... more

An immunocompetent 49-year-old man with a disseminated infection

22 April 2016
Author(s): S. Ortiz, S. Wiesner, J.C. Cataño

A 49-year-old man, who works as a farmer in rural Colombia, consulted in the emergency department with a clinical picture of 5months history of frontal and occipital headache, associated with... more

Letter to the Editor

Heat stroke: Clinical experience from an Italian ICU during summer 2015

30 April 2016
Author(s): Giorgio Berlot, Giulia Marcer, Francesca Zornada, Margarita Nieto Yabar, Ariella Tomasini, Fulvio Iscra

An abnormal peak of mortality attributed to an unusually persisting heat wave (HW) has been recorded throughout Italy by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) during the summer of 2015 [1].

The holiness of sick people: A strong idea in the art of European Renaissance

26 April 2016
Author(s): Antonio V. Sterpetti

In the western and eastern civilization, rudimental hospitals were built since the antiquity [1]. There has been always a close relationship between religion and medicine. In Greece, sick people... more

A strong need for improving the education of physicians on glucocorticoid replacement treatment in adrenal insufficiency: An interdisciplinary and multicentre evaluation

20 April 2016
Author(s): Daniela Kampmeyer, Hendrik Lehnert, Heiner Moenig, Christian S. Haas, Birgit Harbeck

Adrenal insufficiency (AI) is a rare disease with an estimated prevalence of less than 300 per million [1]. AI can either be the result of destruction of the adrenal glands (primary AI), or of... more

Gender differences in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

14 April 2016
Author(s): En-Ting Chang, Hsiu-Mei Wang, Hui-Ling Lai

A previous epidemiological study reported that males have higher prevalence rates of a diagnosis and severity of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) than females, with a ratio of 2:1 to 3:1 [1].... more

The influence of the stroke suffered by Leonardo on his last paintings. A pioneer of psychoanalysis?

14 April 2016
Author(s): Antonio V. Sterpetti

Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452–Amboise 1519) represents the ideal man of the Italian Renaissance [1].

Sharing Clinical Data

14 April 2016
Author(s): Francesco Violi

Since the times of Roman Empire knowledge sharply increased when the communication among human beings has been accelerated; thus, the inventors of roots and bridges paved the way for more rapid... more

Is ACE–inhibitors cough a difficult diagnosis? 1100 general practitioners replies from four countries

13 April 2016
Author(s): Xavier Humbert, Sophie Fedrizzi, Joachim Alexandre, Paolo-Emilio Puddu, Antoine Coquerel, Jean-Charles Robert, Lydia Guittet

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) are widely used in the management of hypertension, heart failure, myocardial infarction, renal failure, and kidney diseases. ACEI produced a 10%... more

Reply letter to the comments

13 April 2016
Author(s): Chia-Hung Kao

We very appreciate these valuable comments for the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) in Taiwan [1,2]: The NHIRD covers a highly representative sample of Taiwan's general population... more

How the art in Rome represented personages with goitre

12 April 2016
Author(s): Antonio V. Sterpetti

Rome has been always a centre of civilization and art, since the antiquity.

National Health Insurance database in Taiwan: A resource or obstacle for health research?

11 April 2016
Author(s): Yu-Tzu Wu, Hsin-yi Lee

We recently read with interest the correspondences between Hampson and Weaver [1] and Kao [2]. In particular, Kao has mentioned several advantages of using the National Health Insurance (NHI) data in... more

Reply letter to the comments: More on gout, erectile dysfunction and depression

11 April 2016
Author(s): Chao-Yu Hsu, Chia-Hung Kao

We much appreciate these comments [1]. Based on the recommendation, we did the new analyses of medical treatment on gout. Comparing them to the gouty patients without using anti-gout drugs, the... more

Gout and erectile dysfunction with special reference to depression

9 April 2016
Author(s): Tomoyuki Kawada

I read with great interest the paper by Hsu et al. [1], a study in patients with gout showing increased risk of organic and psychogenic erectile dysfunction (ED) by using large samples. The authors... more

Letter to the editor: The association between mean platelet volume and cardiovascular risk factors

5 April 2016
Author(s): Chams B. Maluf, Sandhi M. Barreto, Rodrigo C.P. dos Reis, Pedro G. Vidigal

We read the article published by Sansanayudh et al. with great interest [1]. The authors report the association between mean platelet volume (MPV) and cardiovascular risk factors. This is a cross-... more

Letters to the Editor

Death is not the only healthcare outcome important to patients

7 April 2016
Author(s): John Kellett

Unfortunately throughout history there have been wide variations in the way death has been handled by the medical profession in different times and places, and even today within the same hospital... more

Original Article

Barriers to influenza vaccine uptake in obese people in Italy: Changes 2005–2013

29 April 2016
Author(s): Pamela Barbadoro, Claudia Recanatini, Elisa Ponzio, Diego Illuminati, Marcello M. D'Errico, Emilia Prospero

Obesity is an independent risk factor for developing flu-related complications.

Impact of long-term gastric acid suppression on spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in patients with advanced decompensated liver cirrhosis

29 April 2016
Author(s): Kuang-Wei Huang, Yi-Chun Kuan, Jiing-Chyuan Luo, Cheng-Li Lin, Ji-An Liang, Chia-Hung Kao

Recent studies have presented conflicting results on the association between gastric acid suppression and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP). The long-term effects of gastric acid suppression on... more

Randomized clinical trial comparing ten day concomitant and sequential therapies for Helicobacter pylori eradication in a high clarithromycin resistance area

28 April 2016
Author(s): Sotirios D. Georgopoulos, Elias Xirouchakis, Beatrice Martinez-Gonzales, Evanthia Zampeli, Elias Grivas, Charikleia Spiliadi, Maria Sotiropoulou, Kalliopi Petraki, Kostantinos Zografos, Fotini Laoudi, Dionysios Sgouras, Andreas Mentis, Panagiotis Kasapidis, Spyros Michopoulos

Currently only a few studies compare sequential and concomitant non-bismuth Helicobacter pylori therapies referring to high antibiotic resistance populations.

Short-term amiodarone treatment for atrial fibrillation after catheter ablation induces a transient thyroid dysfunction: Results from the placebo-controlled, randomized AMIO-CAT trial

26 April 2016
Author(s): Søren Zöga Diederichsen, Stine Darkner, Xu Chen, Arne Johannesen, Steen Pehrson, Jim Hansen, Ulla Feldt-Rasmussen, Jesper Hastrup Svendsen

Amiodarone is known to affect the thyroid, but little is known about thyroid recovery after short-term amiodarone treatment.

Comparison of low-normal and high-normal IGF-1 target levels during growth hormone replacement therapy: A randomized clinical trial in adult growth hormone deficiency

22 April 2016
Author(s): Christa C. van Bunderen, Paul Lips, Mark H. Kramer, Madeleine L. Drent

Current guidelines state that the goals of growth hormone (GH) therapy in adults should be an appropriate clinical response, avoidance of side effects, and an IGF-1 value within the age-adjusted... more

Relationships of iron metabolism with insulin resistance and glucose levels in young and healthy adults

21 April 2016
Author(s): Philipp Krisai, Stefanie Leib, Stefanie Aeschbacher, Thomas Kofler, Mustafa Assadian, Anna Maseli, John Todd, Joel Estis, Martin Risch, Lorenz Risch, David Conen

Several biomarkers within the iron metabolism pathway have been related to the occurrence of diabetes mellitus, but underlying mechanisms are unknown. The aim of our study was to investigate the... more

Handgrip strength is inversely and independently associated with multimorbidity among older women: Results from the KORA-Age study

20 April 2016
Author(s): K.A. Volaklis, M. Halle, B. Thorand, A. Peters, K.H. Ladwig, H. Schulz, W. Koenig, C. Meisinger

Data on the association between handgrip strength and multimorbidity (MMB) are missing.

Obesity or smoking: Which factor contributes more to the incidence of myocardial infarction?

14 April 2016
Author(s): Dror Dicker, Becca S. Feldman, Maya Leventer-Roberts, Arriel Benis

Comparing the contributions of smoking and obesity to the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) can help prioritize behavioral modifications. The objective of this study was to determine the relative... more

Polyautoimmunity in autoimmune gastritis

13 April 2016
Author(s): Çağdaş Kalkan, Irfan Soykan

Autoimmune gastritis may be associated with other organ-specific autoimmune disorders, but the prevalence of this association is not entirely quantified. The aims of this study were to investigate... more

Levothyroxine treatment restored the decreased circulating fibroblast growth factor 21 levels in patients with hypothyroidism

13 April 2016
Author(s): Guang Wang, Jia Liu, Ning Yang, Yanjin Hu, Heng Zhang, Li Miao, Zhi Yao, Yuan Xu

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is an important endogenous regulator of energy metabolism. Thyroid hormone has been shown to regulate hepatic FGF21 expression in rodents. The goal of this study... more

Polymorphic variants of the HSD11B1 gene may be involved in adverse metabolic effects of glucocorticoid replacement therapy in Addison's disease

13 April 2016
Author(s): Marta Fichna, Magdalena Żurawek, Maria Gryczyńska, Anna Sowińska, Jerzy Nowak, Marek Ruchała

Increased frequency of glucose intolerance, dyslipidaemia, and obesity has been reported in subjects treated for adrenocortical failure (Addison's disease, AD). Glucocorticoid substitution is... more

The impact of fever/hyperthermia in the diagnosis of Fabry: A retrospective analysis

12 April 2016
Author(s): Elena Verrecchia, Anna Zampetti, Daniela Antuzzi, Roberta Ricci, Lorenzo Ferri, Amelia Morrone, Claudio Feliciani, Lorenzo Dagna, Raffaele Manna

Fever emerged to be common as part of the FD clinical spectrum and it significantly contributed to the diagnostic delay encountered with this rare disease. Furthermore, our retrospective analysis... more

Mutation detection rates associated with specific selection criteria for BRCA1/2 testing in 1854 high-risk families: A monocentric Italian study

6 April 2016
Author(s): Jacopo Azzollini, Giulietta Scuvera, Eleonora Bruno, Patrizia Pasanisi, Daniela Zaffaroni, Mariarosaria Calvello, Barbara Pasini, Carla B. Ripamonti, Mara Colombo, Valeria Pensotti, Paolo Radice, Bernard Peissel, Siranoush Manoukian

BRCA mutation screening is frequently offered on the basis of the fulfillment of empirical selection criteria, thought to be indicative of a genetic predisposition to breast/ovarian cancer (BrCa/OvCa... more

Risk stratification using D-dimers in patients presenting to the emergency department with nonspecific complaints

1 April 2016
Author(s): C.H. Nickel, T. Kuster, C. Keil, A.S. Messmer, N. Geigy, R. Bingisser

Patients with nonspecific complaints (NSC) such as generalized weakness present frequently to acute care settings. These patients are at risk of adverse health outcomes. The aim of our study was to... more

Review Article

Pregnancy in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)

30 April 2016
Author(s): Gabriella Moroni, Claudio Ponticelli

For many years pregnancy has been contraindicated in patients with SLE, particularly when kidney involvement was present. Today, pregnancy is no longer considered impossible in women with lupus. Yet... more

Obese and diabetic patients with end-stage renal disease: Peritoneal dialysis or hemodialysis?

7 April 2016
Author(s): Robert Ekart, Radovan Hojs

Obesity is a chronic disease that is increasingly prevalent around the world and is a well-recognized risk factor for type 2 diabetes and hypertension, leading causes of end-stage renal disease (ESRD... more

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