Publications of C Cirelli
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Fejer B, Tarnoki AD, Tarnoki DL, Lucatelli P, Littvay L, Maurovich-Horvat P, et al. Heritability of the femoral intima media thickness. European Journal of Internal Medicine. 2017;41:44-8.
Heritability of the femoral intima media thickness
Background The measurement of femoral intima-media thickness (IMT) is underutilized in the clinical practice, although it is a surrogate marker of cardiovascular disease. Materials and methods 388 Hungarian and Italian twins (121 monozygotic, 73 dizygotic pairs) underwent bilateral B-mode sonography of femoral arteries. IMT was measured by semiautomated software, where available, or by calipers. Results Within-pair correlation in monozygotic twins was higher than in dizygotics for each parameter. Age-, sex- and country-adjusted genetic effect accounted for 43.9% (95% confidence interval, CI 21.3%–65.2%) and 47.2% (95% CI, 31.4%–62.6%) of the variance of common and superficial femoral artery IMT, respectively, and unshared environmental effect for 56.1% (95% CI 34.6%–78.5%) and 52.8% (95% CI, 37.2%–68.5%). These results did not change significantly after correcting for body mass index or central systolic blood pressure. Conclusions Genetic factors have a moderate role in the determination of common and superficial femoral IMT; however, the influence of environmental (lifestyle) factors remains still relevant. Environmental factors may have a role in influencing the genetic predisposition for femoral vascular hypertrophy.
Tarnoki AD, Fejer B, Tarnoki DL, Littvay L, Lucatelli P, Cirelli C, et al. Vertebral artery diameter and flow: nature or nurture. Neuroimaging. 2017;27(5).
Vertebral artery diameter and flow: nature or nurture
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In contrast with the carotid arteries, the vertebral arteries (VAs) show considerable variation in length, caliber, and vessel course. This study investigated whether the variation in diameter and flow characteristics of the VAs might be inherited. METHODS A total of 172 Italian twins from Padua, Perugia, and Terni (54 monozygotic, 32 dizygotic) recruited from the Italian Twin Registry underwent B‐mode and pulsed‐wave Doppler ultrasound assessment of their VAs. VA diameters, peak systolic velocity (PSV) and end diastolic velocity (EDV) were assessed at the level of a horizontal V2 segment. Univariate quantitative genetic modeling was performed. RESULTS Fourteen percent of the sample had VA hypoplasia. Within pair correlation in monozygotic twins was higher than in dizygotics (.552 vs. .229) for VA diameter. Age‐ and sex‐adjusted genetic effect, under the most parsimonious model, accounted for 54.7% (95% CI: 42.2‐69.1%) of the variance of VA diameter, and unshared environmental effect for 45.3% (95% CI: 30.9‐57.8%). No heritability was found for the PSV of VA, but shared (34.1%; 95% CI: 16.7‐53.7%) and unshared (65.9%; 95% CI: 45.9‐83.1%) environmental factors determined the variance. EDV of VA is moderately genetically influenced (42.4%; 95% CI: 16.1‐64.9%) and also determined by the unshared environment (57.6%; 95% CI: 34.7‐83.7%). CONCLUSIONS The diameter of the VAs is moderately genetically determined. Different factors influence the PSV and EDV of VAs, which may highlight the complex hemodynamic background of VA flow and help to understand the vertebral flow anomalies found by ultrasound.