0000000000269684
AUTHOR
Antonio Costanzo
Prevalence and genomic variability of transfusion transmitted virus in Italian cryptogenic chronic liver disease and healthy blood donors
Abstract Background. Infection with transfusion transmitted virus, a new member of the Parvoviridae family, has been found in patients both with chronic and fulminant post-transfusion cryptogenic hepatitis. Aim. To evaluate the prevalence and clinical impact of transfusion transmitted virus infection in Italy. Patients and Methods. Studies were carried out on 256 patients and control subjects from three centres from Northern, Central and Southern Italy (92 nonA-nonC chronic hepatitis, 10 acute non fulminant cryptogenic hepatitis, 41 hepatitis C virus-related chronic hepatitis and 113 blood donors). Serum transfusion transmitted virus was detected by nested polymerase chain reaction using tw…
Improving the disease awareness: how a communication campaign brings hidradenitis suppurativa to the light
Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa is an inflammatory skin disease that presents a recurrence of painful and suppurating lesions in the apocrine gland-bearing regions, with a strong impact on the patients’ life quality. Despite its peculiar presentation, early forms are often underestimated by patients and this would inevitably result in late diagnosis and delayed therapy. Objectives: Improved communication around the disease could facilitate self-diagnosis and a quicker response from healthcare practitioners, especially in this moment when we dispose of effective treatment against this disease. Methods: A HS awareness campaign was conducted for 2 years with the help of a media agency and…
Evidence for a 'window of opportunity' in hidradenitis suppurativa treated with adalimumab: a retrospective, real-life multicentre cohort study
BACKGROUND The anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α adalimumab is the only licenced biologic for moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). No predictors of response have been identified so far. OBJECTIVES To identify clinical parameters predicting response to adalimumab and confirm its efficacy/safety. METHODS The data of 389 patients with HS treated with adalimumab in 21 Italian centres were reviewed. Sex, age at onset/diagnosis/baseline, body mass index, smoking, phenotype, previous treatments, concomitant antibiotics and 'therapeutic delay', defined as the time from HS onset to adalimumab initiation, were assessed. Response to adalimumab and its impact on quality of life (QoL) wer…
[Optimization of systemic treatments for chronic plaque psoriasis. Recommendations for switching and transitioning.]
The aim of this study was to provide practical recommendations for optimizing the use of conventional and biological systemic treatments for moderate-severe chronic plaque psoriasis, particularly in case of transitioning and switching.A total number of 147 dermatologists from 33 different countries including Italy achieved consensus in providing practical recommendations for the use of conventional and biological treatments for moderate to severe psoriasis based on systematic literature review and/or expert opinion.In general, the continuous treatment regimen should be preferred in order to achieve a complete and long-term control of psoriasis. However, the treatment could be stopped or the…
Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) Receptor 1 Signaling Downstream of TNF Receptor-associated Factor 2
Like other members of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor family, p55 TNF receptor 1 (TNF-R1) lacks intrinsic signaling capacity and transduces signals by recruiting associating molecules. The TNF-R1 associated death domain protein interacts with the p55 TNF-R1 cytoplasmic domain and recruits the Fas-associated death domain protein (which directly activates the apoptotic proteases), the protein kinase receptor interacting protein, and TNF receptor-associated factor 2 (TRAF2). TRAF2 has previously been demonstrated to activate both transcription factor nuclear factor kappaB (NFkappaB) and the c-Jun N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK/SAPK) pathway, which in turn stimu…
Age and gender influence on HIDRAdisk outcomes in adalimumab-treated hidradenitis suppurativa patients.
Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory skin disease characterized by a significant impairment of patients’ quality of life (QoL). It has been recently found that clinical severity of HS does not correlate well with QoL. Therefore, it is important to enhance the evaluation of severity considering the disease burden on QoL. Recently, a new graphical tool able to better describe HS burden, the so-called HIDRAdisk, has been introduced. Objective: To investigate the utility of HIDRAdisk in clinical practice before and after treatment and to analyse whether specific factors such as age and gender may influence the outcomes in patients with moderate-to-severe…
Additional file 1 of A real-world economic analysis of biologic therapies for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in Italy: results of the CANOVA observational longitudinal study
Additional file 1.
A real-world economic analysis of biologic therapies for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in Italy: results of the CANOVA observational longitudinal study
AbstractBackgroundPsoriasis is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease which can also involve joints. It is often associated with burdensome comorbidities which negatively impact prognosis and quality of life (QoL). Biologic agents have been shown to be effective in controlling disease progression, but their use is associated with higher costs compared with traditional systemic treatments. The economic analysis of the CANOVA (EffeCtiveness of biologic treAtmeNts for plaque psOriasis in Italy: an obserVAtional longitudinal study of real-life clinical practice) study aims to assess the costs and cost-effectiveness of biologics in a real-world context in Italy.MethodsThe annualised…
Decay assessment of stone-built cultural heritage: The case study of the cosenza cathedral façade (south calabria, italy)
This study aims to assess the different decay phenomena affecting the Cosenza Cathedral façade (Calabria, South Italy) through the evaluation of the relative damage indices. For this goal, a multidisciplinary approach was applied exploiting both nondestructive and microdestructive techniques. Such a combination enabled proposing an intervention priority scale that can be helpful to institutions when planning a prompt restoration intervention. The results suggest the efficiency of this approach to obtain a multidisciplinary diagnostic and conservation system for the management and valorization of the Cultural Heritage also in terms of monitoring, maintenance, and selection of the most suitab…
Integrated use of unmanned aerial vehicle photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning to support archaeological analysis: The Acropolis of Selinunte case (Sicily, Italy)
Southwestern Sicily is an area of infrequent seismic activity; however, some studies carried out in the archaeological Selinunte site suggest that, between the fourth century BC and the early Middle Ages, probably at least two earthquakes strucked this area with enough energy to damage and cause the collapse and kinematics of much of the architecture of Selinunte. Take into account that, in 2008, a noninvasive archaeological prospection and traditional data gathering methods along the Acropolis north fortifications were carried out. Following these first studies, after about 10 years, a new geophysical campaign was carried out. This second campaign benefited from the application of modern t…