Group Of Young Subjects Research Articles

First-ever admitted psychiatric inpatients in Italy: Clinical characteristics and reasons contributing to admission: Findings from a national survey

The aim of this study was to describe the sociodemographic, clinical and treatment-related characteristics of patients admitted to any acute psychiatric inpatient facilities in Italy for the first time in their life, and to identify reasons contributing to admission. Data from the PROGRES-Acute Project, a national survey on facilities admitting acute psychiatric patients in Italy, were used. A cluster analysis was carried out in order to identify patients' groups sharing similar sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Among patients admitted during the index period, 337 were at their first-ever admission. Median age at admission was 40, and about 46% of patients were not receiving any treatment in the month prior to admission. Social/work functioning problems, social withdrawal and conflict with family members were the most common reasons contributing to admission. Cluster analysis yielded four patient groups: two groups of younger subjects, differentiating each other for frequency of antisocial behaviors, compulsory admissions, treatment at time of admission and family support; two groups of older subjects, with high rates of affective disorders, who showed remarkable differences with regard to their living situation and family support. Our study shows that first-ever admitted patients represent a highly heterogeneous group. Early intervention research should take this sociodemographic and clinical diversity into account, in order to better allocate resources and develop special intervention programs.

Aging and tactile temporal order

Although it is generally held that speed of processing declines with age, there have been few studies in which tactile temporal processing has been examined with older subjects. In the present study, temporal order judgments were obtained from a group of younger subjects (n = 28, mean age = 23.5 years) and a group of older subjects (n = 93, mean age = 69.8 years). The subjects judged the temporal order of two patterns presented to the same finger, four patterns presented to the same finger, and two patterns presented to different hands. Depending on the task, the average thresholds for the older subjects ranged from two to five times longer than the thresholds from the younger subjects. In absolute terms, the largest difference between the young and older subjects was seen in correctly identifying the order of four patterns, a difference of more than 500 msec. There was some support for the decline in temporal processing being due in part to a slowing in cognitive processing, and, depending on the task, in part to stimulus persistence and difficulty in pattern identification.

Circadian Variations of Cortisol, Melatonin and Lymphocyte Subpopulations in Geriatric Age

A number of age-related changes in the 24-hour hormonal and non-hormonal rhythms have been found in older human beings. Lymphocyte subpopulations present circadian variation of some of their subsets and this variation may influence magnitude and expression of the immune responses. Numerous interactions exist among the nervous, endocrine and immune systems, mediated by neurotransmitters, hormones and cytokines. The aim of this study is to evaluate circadian variations of some endocrine and immune factors in older adults. Cortisol and melatonin serum levels were measured and lymphocyte subpopulation analyses were performed on blood samples collected every four hours for 24 hours from ten healthy young and middle-aged subjects and from ten healthy elderly subjects. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in the observed values of CD20 (higher in young and middle-aged subjects) and CD25 and DR+ T cells (higher in elderly subjects). In the group of young and middle-aged subjects a clear circadian rhythm was validated for the time-qualified changes of all the factors studied. In the group of elderly subjects a number of rhythms were absent or altered. The results of the current study show that aging is associated with enhanced responsiveness of T cell compartment and alterations of circadian rhythmicity.

Longevity in Untreated Congenital Growth Hormone Deficiency Due to a Homozygous Mutation in the GHRH Receptor Gene

Reduced longevity observed in hypopituitarism has been attributed to GH deficiency (GHD). It is, however, unclear whether GHD or other confounding factors cause this early mortality. The aim was to study longevity in subjects from a large kindred with untreated, lifetime isolated GHD (IGHD) due to a homozygous mutation in the GHRH receptor gene and in heterozygous carriers of the mutation. We carried out a retrospective cohort study on three groups. We first compared mortality risk of 65 IGHD individuals and their 128 unaffected siblings from 34 families. We then compared mean age of death of the IGHD to the general population. A transversal study was carried out to compare the rate of heterozygosity for the mutation in two groups of young (20-40 yr old) and old (60-80 yr old) normal-appearing subjects from the same county. We measured longevity. The risk of death of IGHD subjects was not different from their siblings. Life span in IGHD individuals was shorter than the general population. When stratified by sex, this difference persisted only in females, due to a high frequency of IGHD deaths in females aged 4-20. There was no significant difference in life span between IGHD subjects and siblings or the general population when analyzing subjects who reached age 20. The prevalence of heterozygosity did not differ in young and old groups, suggesting no survival advantage or disadvantage. In a selected genetic background, lifelong untreated IGHD does not affect longevity.

Eyelid Pressure and Contact with the Ocular Surface

Purpose. To investigate static upper eyelid pressure and contact with the ocular surface in a group of young adult subjects. Methods. Static upper eyelid pressure was measured for 11 subjects using a piezoresistive pressure sensor attached to a rigid contact lens. Measures of eyelid pressure were derived from an active pressure cell (1.14-mm square) beneath the central upper eyelid margin. To investigate the contact region between the upper eyelid and the ocular surface, the authors used pressure-sensitive paper and the lissamine-green staining of Marx's line. These measures, combined with the pressure sensor readings, were used to derive estimates of eyelid pressure. Results. The mean contact width between the eyelids and the ocular surface estimated using pressure-sensitive paper was 0.60 +/- 0.16 mm, whereas the mean width of Marx's line was 0.09 +/- 0.02 mm. The mean central upper eyelid pressure was calculated to be 3.8 +/- 0.7 mm Hg (assuming that the whole pressure cell was loaded), 8.0 +/- 3.4 mm Hg (derived using the pressure-sensitive paper imprint widths), and 55 +/- 26 mm Hg (based on contact widths equivalent to Marx's line). Conclusions. The pressure-sensitive paper measurements suggested that a band of the eyelid margin, significantly larger than the anatomic zone of the eyelid margin known as Marx's line, had primary contact with the ocular surface. Using these measurements as the contact between the eyelid margin and the ocular surface, the authors believe that the mean pressure of 8.0 +/- 3.4 mm Hg is the most reliable estimate of static upper eyelid pressure.

Multi-task locomotion analysis of young CMT subjects: Test–retest reliability and correlation with clinical findings

Abstracts / Gait & Posture 30S (2009) S26–S74 References [1] Wade DT, et al. Scand J Rehabil Med 1987;19(1):25–30.[2] Wang CH, et al. Phys Ther 2005;85(9):887–94.[3] Messier S, et al. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2004;85(10):1619–24. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2009.07.027 Multi-task locomotion analysis of young CMT subjects:Test–retest reliability and correlation with clinical findings M. Ferrarin 1,∗ , M. Rabuffetti ,G. Bovi 1 , P. Mazzoleni ,A.Montesano 1 , D. Pareyson 2 , E. Pagliano , C. Marchesi 2 ,E.Andreucci 2 , A. Marchi , A. Ardissone , I. Moroni1 IRCCS Don Gnocchi Foundation Onlus, Polo Tecnologico & UORRF,Milano, Italy 2 IRCCS Foundation Istituto Neurologico C. Besta, Milano, ItalyIntroduction : Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is the mostfrequent hereditary neuropathy (prevalence 1:2500) and presentsdifferent genetic forms sharing the same clinical symptoms: distallimbmusclewastingandweakness,skeletaldeformities,distalsen-sorylossandreduceddeeptendonreflexes[1].Onsetofsymptomsoftenoccursinchildhoodandthediseasethenfollowsaprogressivedisablingcourse.Todatenopharmacologicaltreatmentisavailablefor CMT patients and clinical approaches are limited to physio-therapy, orthotics and surgical treatment of skeletal deformities.Recently, treatment with ascorbic acid has been shown effectivein an animal model and multicenter clinical trials are currentlybeing performed in humans. Beside clinical, neurophysiologicaland Quality of Life assessment, a quantitative and objective evalu-ation of locomotor functions would provide additional importantoutcome measures, possibly with a higher sensitivity to therapy-induced or progression-related changes. At early stage, CMT maynotdrasticallyaffectthebasicgaitability,thoughmoredemandinglocomotorfunctionsmaybeclearlycompromised.Goalofthestudywas therefore to develop and apply, on a group of young CMT sub-jects, a multi-task protocol for the instrumented analysis of somelocomotor functions.

중고령 주부를 고려한 김치냉장고 제어판의 사용자 인터페이스 디자인

To evaluate the usability of a Kimchi refrigerator, we performed an evaluation test that consisted of an experiment and a post-hoc questionnaire survey. In this study, we focused on the older women who have less physical and cognitive ability than younger women. In physical usability, there was no significant difference between the older and the younger subject group. However, there was some significant statistical difference in the results of cognitive usability test. When the subjects debriefed their operations after finishing the experiment, the all subjects in the older group reported the difficulties in identifying the labels and icons in the control panel and in understanding operation sequences. Also, they couldn`t learn and remember the operation procedures well. Based on the analysis of the video protocols, some causes of the problems were found and then several improvement ideas were suggested.

Aging is associated with a numerical and functional decline in plasmacytoid dendritic cells, whereas myeloid dendritic cells are relatively unaltered in human peripheral blood

Dendritic cells (DC) are potent antigen-presenting cells that initiate and regulate T-cell responses. In this study, the numbers and functional cytokine secretions of plasmacytoid and myeloid DC (pDC and mDC, respectively) in peripheral blood from young and elderly subjects were compared. Overall, pDC numbers in peripheral blood were lower in healthy elderly compared with healthy young subjects ( p = 0.016). In response to influenza virus stimulation, isolated pDC from healthy elderly subjects secreted less interferon (IFN)–α compared with those from healthy young subjects. The decline in IFN-α secretion was associated with a reduced proportion of pDC that expressed Toll-like receptor–7 or Toll-like receptor-9. In contrast, there was little difference in the numbers and cytokine secretion function between healthy young and healthy elderly subjects ( p = 0.82). However, in peripheral blood from frail elderly subjects, the numbers of mDC were severely depleted as compared with either healthy young or elderly subjects ( p = 0.014 and 0.007, respectively). Thus, aging was associated with the numerical and functional decline in pDC, but not mDC, in healthy young versus elderly subject group comparisons, while declining health in the elderly can profoundly impact mDC negatively. Because of the importance of pDC for antiviral responses, the age-related changes in pDC likely contribute to the impaired immune response to viral infections in elderly persons, especially when combined with the mDC dysfunction occurring in those with compromised health.

Psychotic-Like Ideations Among a Group of Young Normal Subjects in Iran

Recent studies show that self-reported psychotic-like experiences in general population samples are quite common and on a continuum with psychotic symptoms in clinical samples. However, most evidence comes from western settings and there is a dearth of research in developing countries. Examination of these experiences across different cultures adds to their validity. To assess psychotic-like ideations and its association with poor mental health in a group of young normal individuals in Iran. A total of 150 medical students with no history of a psychiatric disorder completed the Peters et al. Delusions Inventory (PDI-40) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). Psychotic-like ideations were rated on the basis of their presence, as well as their levels of distress, preoccupation and conviction (PDI sub-scores). On average, 9.4 psychotic-like ideations were reported by the subjects (range 0-28). More frequent psychotic-like ideations and higher distress and preoccupation associated with these ideations were correlated with poor mental health as assessed by the GHQ. Frequency of psychotic-like ideation and its dimensions, as well as its association with poor mental health, were comparable to the studies on healthy subjects conducted in Europe.

Effect of Aging on Nocturnal Blood Flow in the Optic Nerve Head and Macula in Healthy Human Eyes

To study the effect of aging on 24-hour blood flow in the optic nerve head and macula of healthy human eyes. Fifteen older volunteers with healthy eyes (age 50 to 80 y) and 15 healthy younger volunteers (age 20 to 25 y) were housed for 1 day in a sleep laboratory. Every 2 hours, blood pressure and intraocular pressure (IOP) were measured after 5 minutes in the sitting position. Ocular perfusion pressure was calculated. Indices of blood volume, flow, and velocity in the optic nerve head and macula were measured using a scanning laser Doppler flowmeter at the same time points. Within the group of older subjects, nocturnal IOP was significantly lower than diurnal IOP. There was no significant difference in the ocular perfusion pressure between the 2 time periods. However, there were statistically significant decreases (6.8% to 16.8%) in the ocular blood flow parameters from the diurnal period to the nocturnal period. Within the group of younger subjects, nocturnal IOP was higher and nocturnal ocular perfusion pressure was lower than the corresponding diurnal values. There was no significant difference in any ocular blood flow parameter between the diurnal and nocturnal periods. Comparing the older and younger subject groups, nocturnal ocular perfusion pressure was higher in the older group. Significant diurnal-to-nocturnal decreases in blood flow occurred in the optic nerve head and macula in the older subjects, but not in the younger subjects. These diurnal-to-nocturnal change patterns in ocular blood flow were independent of the change patterns in ocular perfusion pressure.

L-Laktat und H2O2-Bestimmungen im Atemkondensat unter Ruhebedingungen sowie unter leichter bis mittelgradiger Belastung von jungen gesunden Probanden

The recently developed microenzyme detectors make a non-invasive measurement of inflammatory markers and L-lactate in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) possible. In a group of young and healthy subjects, we examined whether L-lactate and H (2)O (2) can be detected in EBC. During resting conditions as well as at 60 and 120 Watt external load on a cycle ergospirometer 100 l exhaled air were collected under stationary load conditions from 19 healthy subjects. Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) was obtained by cooling the expired air volume. The analysis was performed within 90 min using an ECo-Check amperometer (Viasys Health Care). The H (2)O (2) measurement was performed amperometrically by means of a biosensor after chemical reaction catalysed by peroxidase. Lactate measurements were performed using a bienzyme sensor after lactate oxidase-induced oxidation of L-lactate to pyruvate and H (2)O (2). The rates of release of L-lactate in nmol/min und H (2)O (2) in pmol/min were calculated from the concentrations of L-lactate and H (2)O (2) in the EBC and the time of collection. At rest 100 l exhaled air were collected in 10.6 +/- 5.1 min, and 0.99 +/- 0.3 ml EBC were obtained, at the 60 Watt step 1.23 +/- 0.47 ml EBC were collected in 6.7 +/- 1.8 min, and at 120 Watt 1.09 +/- 0.38 ml EBC in 4.8 +/- 0.8 min. At rest, there was a mean rate of L-lactate release of 3.3 +/- 3.1 nmol/min, which increased at the 60 Watt step to 8.4 +/- 5.1 nmol/min (p < 0.05), and at 120 Watt to 5.0 +/- 12.6 nmol/min (p < 0.02). The rate of L-lactate was proportional to the metabolic rate (r = 0.99). The rate of H (2)O (2) release at rest was 49.1 +/- 37.9 pmol/min, it increased at 60 Watt to 159 +/- 113 pmol/min (p < 0.05) and decreased at 120 Watt to 96.5 +/- 49.5 pmol/min (p < 0.05). Significant measurable concentrations of L-lactate and H (2)O (2) in the exhaled breath condensate were found already under resting conditions. During external load, an increase in the L-lactate concentration was found, correlating with the metabolic rate. H (2)O (2) is an inflammatory marker, its concentration in the EBC was markedly increased during the first step of applied external load, but less during the second. A probable correlation between L-lactate concentration in EBC and arterialized blood will be studied in future investigations.

Needs in screening cardiovascular parameters during dental care in the elderly

The aim of this study was to compare physiological reactivity during oral care between elderly and young subjects. Heart rate (HR), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) and blood oxygen saturation (SPO2) were recorded seven times during two consecutive dental impression sessions in 31 complete denture wearers (aged 60.7+/-11.44 yrs) and 31 young subjects (aged 21.8+/-1.5 yrs). Subjects also reported pain and anxiety on a visual analogue scale. In the group of young subjects, SBP and DBP increased after the first impression and remained unchanged after the second. In the group of elderly persons, SBP and DBP increased significantly during both first and second dental impressions. Intergroup comparisons showed a longer-term relative increase in SBP and DBP in the group of elderly subjects. These results emphasize the need to screen cardiovascular parameters during dental care in elderly subjects.

Acute Posttraumatic Ischemia of the Limbs: Algodystrophy or Related Syndrome? A Prospective Study on a Series of 25 Patients

The aim of this study was to present clinical and paraclinical features of a rarely studied vascular syndrome that usually occurs after a minor traumatic injury. The prospective study of 25 patients identified a group of young subjects, mainly women, generally with history of vascular hyperactivity to cold, showing disseminated pain in a limb always combined with vasospasm, consecutive to a minor traumatic injury in general, and simulating acute ischemia of a limb. The patients' arterial and microcirculatory flows were restored after warming, which proved that they were suffering from intense, reversible but pathological vasospasm, because of its duration, diffusion, intensity, and disproportion as to the triggering event. The symptoms may recur, but they respond to physiotherapy. Patients' follow-up showed that microcirculatory function remains abnormal sometime after the initial episode with, in particular, an exacerbation of the venoarteriolar reflex.

Plasma Antioxidants and Human Aging: A Study on Healthy Elderly Tunisian Population

The aging has been described by several theories. It was proposed that free radicals are the major factor involved in this process. This gave birth to the free radical theory of aging. This current theory provides the most popular explanation for how aging occurs at the biochemical/molecular level. Ever since 1956, this theory has received widespread attention and a large body of evidence has been accumulated in support of its hypotheses which were subsequently refined. The free radical theory of aging postulates that age-associated reductions in physiological functions are caused by an irreversible accumulation of oxidative alterations to macromolecules. This accumulation increases with age and is associated with the life expectancy of organisms. Moreover, this theory suggests the existence of an imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS)-producing pathways and (ROS)-scavenging pathways, which is responsible for the generation of oxidative stress syndrome. In this article, we evaluate the antioxidant status in a population of healthy elderly Tunisians in comparison with a group of healthy young Tunisian subjects. This study sets out to investigate the age-related changes in glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, and in total antioxidant status (TAS) of human plasma. We have concluded that healthy aging is accompanied with a disturbed antioxidant status.

Should the instructions issued to the subject in traditional static posturography be standardised?

The postural ability of a subject is usually evaluated through the observation of the centre of pressure parameters obtained through posturography. These parameters are known to be sensitive to various factors and standards have consequently been proposed for data acquisition and analysis. A factor usually not taken into due consideration but likely to influence the postural exam is the kind of standing posture (e.g. natural or immobile) a subject is instructed to maintain. This study aimed at investigating whether instructions issued in a traditional static posturographic test influence its outcome and hence should be considered in the standardisation of the posturography protocols. Two groups of young healthy subjects were each issued one of two common instructions, “stand quietly” or “stand as still as possible”, by means of projected instructions. Differences between the two groups were investigated for commonly calculated centre of pressure parameters. All these parameters, but the mean frequency, were significantly different, with variations in the range between 8% (mean velocity) and 71% (confidence circle area). These results suggest that instructions given to the subjects strongly influence the outcome of posturography and should, hence, be standardised.

Altered dorsal premotor–motor interhemispheric pathway activity in focal arm dystonia

Given the possible role of dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) in the pathophysiology of dystonia, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) methods to study PMd and PMd-primary motor cortex (M1) interactions in patients with focal arm dystonia. Here, we tested the connectivity between left PMd and right M1 as well as the intracortical excitability of PMd in 11 right-handed patients with focal arm/hand dystonia and nine age-matched healthy controls. The results showed that excitability of the inhibitory connection between PMd and M1 was reduced in patients, but there was no significant difference to healthy subjects in the excitability of the facilitatory connection. A triple stimulation technique in which pairs of TMS pulses are given over PMd and their interaction measured in terms of the effect on the baseline PMd-M1 connection failed to reveal the usual pattern of interaction between the pairs of PMd stimuli. Indeed, the results in patients were similar to those seen in a group of young healthy subjects after the excitability of PMd had been changed by pretreatment with high-frequency rTMS. We suggest that reduced transcallosal inhibition from the PMd may be involved in the altered pattern of abnormal muscle contractions of agonists and antagonists (overflow).

Relationship between elastase and total antioxidant status in young subjects with recent myocardial infarction

In a group of young subjects with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (68 men and 7 women; mean age 39.6+/-5.7 years) we examined the plasma concentration of elastase, the thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and the total antioxidant status (TAS) at the initial stage of AMI. In this group we found an increase of elastase (p<0.001) and TBARS (p<0.001) and a decrease of TAS (p<0.001). A statistical correlation was observed in the whole group of AMI patients between plasma elastase and TAS (p<0.01) and this correlation was more statistically significant in patients with more risk factors and not in those with more involved vessels.

Thalamic Shape Abnormalities in Individuals with Schizophrenia and Their Nonpsychotic Siblings

Deficits in the volume of the thalamus have been observed in both individuals with schizophrenia and their nonpsychotic relatives. However, no studies to date have examined the underlying pattern of thalamic shape change in relatives of individuals with schizophrenia. This study examined the volume and shape of the thalamus in schizophrenia subjects, their siblings, and healthy control individuals. T1-weighted magnetic resonance scans were collected in a group of young subjects with schizophrenia (mean age, 23 years) and their nonpsychotic siblings (n = 25 pairs), and control subjects and their siblings (n = 40 pairs). Thalamic surfaces were generated using high-dimensional brain mapping. A canonical weighting function was derived from the contrast between schizophrenia and control subjects and then used to generate a canonical shape score for all subjects. Maps of the estimated surface displacement between groups were also created to visualize the thalamic shape differences between groups. The thalamic canonical scores of the siblings of the schizophrenia probands were intermediate between the probands and healthy control subjects. These siblings also displayed an intermediate degree of the inward surface deformation of the anterior and posterior thalamus that was present between schizophrenia probands and controls. There was no main effect of group status on thalamic volume and no significant correlations of the structural measures with measures of psychopathology or cognitive function. Our results indicate that thalamic shape abnormalities are present in relatively young individuals with schizophrenia and their siblings. Inward deformation of the anterior and posterior regions of the thalamus represents a potential neuroanatomical endophenotype of schizophrenia.

Exercise-mediated alteration of protein redox states in plasma: a possible stimulant for hormetic response

Physical exercise increases the metabolic rate and production of reactive oxygen species subsequent to elevat- ed oxidative phosphorylation required to meet the higher ATP demand. This increased free radical generation could al- ter the redox state of proteins. In order to gain insight into the altered redox state during exercise, protein carbonyls, 4- hydroxylnonenal (HNE) and 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) levels were measured in two groups of young subjects (4 untrained controls and 6 long-distance runners). Plasma was analyzed before and after completing a treadmill run at increasing in- tensities up to volitional exhaustion. After the exhausting run, protein carbonyl and HNE levels were significantly in- creased in trained runners but not in controls. However, the protein 3-NT levels did not significantly change in either group. These results suggest that altered protein redox state occurs while running an exhausting run in relation to the physical condition of the subjects involved.

Heterogeneous remodelling of the ascending and descending aorta with age

Cross-sectional area compliance (CC) and distensibility (DC) in the ascending and descending aorta and the average pulse wave velocity (PWV) along the descending section of the thoracic aorta were studied in a group of young versus old normotensive subjects using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). CC and DC correlated stronger with age in the ascending aorta than the descending aorta. Aging-related alteration of the functional properties of the aortic wall, have a different pattern in the ascending versus the descending aorta.