OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence of multiple sclerosis in the L'Aquila district, central Italy. METHODS All available case sources were screened. Definite and probable cases of multiple sclerosis, classified according to the Poser criteria, were considered as prevalent cases. RESULTS On the prevalence day, 31 December 1996, 158 patients (105 women and 53 men; ratio 2:1) affected by defi...

BACKGROUND Abdominal obesity increases all-cause mortality and is a risk factor for a number of diseases. There are few population-based studies of the longitudinal changes of abdominal obesity. METHODS Based on data from the Tromsø Study, we studied gender- and age-specific mean waist circumference and prevalence of abdominal overweight and abdominal obesity in two surveys in 1994-1995 (Trom...

BACKGROUND Physical measurement reference values are helpful to manage patients, conduct surveillances and monitor and evaluate interventional activities. Such valuable data at a community level however, are almost non-existent in Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to determine anthropometrics and blood pressure in "apparently healthy individuals" in community settings. METHODS A popul...

Background—Age related changes in the immune system have been studied frequently but a possible relation to sex has not, to our knowledge, previously been examined. The eVect of age and sex on the composition of lymphocyte subsets in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and peripheral blood was therefore examined. Methods—Bronchoscopy with lavage was performed in 32 healthy non-atopic, nonsmoking...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The index of mean blood flow velocity (V) in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) divided by respective velocity in the ipsilateral internal carotid artery (ICA), or V(MCA)/V(ICA) index, is commonly used as a marker of vasospasm, although reference values are not established. We sought to provide reference data for these velocities and index. METHODS Transcranial color-code...

BACKGROUND Age-related declines in free and bioavailable testosterone are frequently reported for Western populations, but interpopulation variation in this pattern has not previously been investigated. METHODS Salivary testosterone was measured using a consistently applied protocol on morning samples collected from men in four populations (USA, Congo, Nepal, and Paraguay) representing differ...

BACKGROUND Age related changes in the immune system have been studied frequently but a possible relation to sex has not, to our knowledge, previously been examined. The effect of age and sex on the composition of lymphocyte subsets in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and peripheral blood was therefore examined. METHODS Bronchoscopy with lavage was performed in 32 healthy non-atopic, non-smo...

Brain development during childhood and adolescence differs between boys and girls. Structural changes continue during adulthood and old age, particularly in terms of brain volume reductions that accelerate beyond age 35 years. We investigated whether brain structural change in mid-life differs between men and women. 43 men and 28 women from the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort underwent MRI b...

CCL11, a protein previously associated with age-associated cognitive decline, is observed to be increased in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) compared to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Using a cohort of 23 deceased American football players with neuropathologically verified CTE, 50 subjects with neuropathologically diagnosed AD, and 18 non-athlete con...

Background and Study Aim. The main purpose of the study is to investigate whether individual responsibility empathy levels athlete-students affect level social capital. secondary examine capital, in terms various variables reveal relationship between them. Material Methods. In this context, "Social Capital Scale" , "Empathy Scale Sports Environment" "Student Individual Responsibility were used ...