0000000000443563
AUTHOR
P. Damiani
Searches for lepton number violation and resonances in K± → πμμ decays
The NA48/2 experiment at CERN collected a large sample of charged kaon decays to final states with multiple charged particles in 2003–2004. A new upper limit on the rate of the lepton number violating decay K±→π∓μ±μ± is reported: B(K±→π∓μ±μ±)<8.6×10−11 at 90% CL. Searches for two-body resonances X in K±→πμμ decays (such as heavy neutral leptons N4 and inflatons χ ) are also presented. In the absence of signals, upper limits are set on the products of branching fractions B(K±→μ±N4)B(N4→πμ) and B(K±→π±X)B(X→μ+μ−) for ranges of assumed resonance masses and lifetimes. The limits are in the (10−11,10−9) range for resonance lifetimes below 100 ps.
Nutrition in inflammatory bowel disease patients
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) is a chronic disorder characterized bya relapsing-remitting course, which alternates between active and quiescent states, ultimately impairing a patient's quality of life. The two main types of IBD are Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). CD shows a transmural granulomatous inflammation that can involve any segment of the intestine affecting all layers of the intestinal wall while UC is limited to the mucosa and superficial sub-mucosa of the colon. In physiologial conditions the gut is costantly exposed to various antigens, commensal microflora and pathogens and the inflammatory response is finely balanced. Anyhow in some individuals with genet…
ITTERO OSTRUTTIVO COME SINTOMO DI ESORDIO IN SOGGETTO CON LEUCEMIA MONOCITICA ACUTA. CASO CLINICO
Un paziente di 24 anni si è presentato alla nostra osservazione con una sintomatologia caratterizzata da dolore addominale, febbre e ittero. L'esame ecografico dell'addome mostrava una colecisti litiasica con dilatazione della via biliare principale senza immagini da riferire a calcoli nel suo interno. La colangio-RM mostrava una stenosi del terzo distale del coledoco con dilatazione del tratto a monte. Lo stesso quadro veniva mostrato da una colangiopancreatografia endoscopica retrograda. Il paziente veniva, quindi, sottoposto a laparotomia esplorativa. La colecisti non conteneva calcoli, ma nella zona infundibolare era palpabile un nodulo duro, rotondeggiante, apparentemente indovato nell…
HEAT SHOCK PROTEINS AND AUTOIMMUNE SYSTEM ACTIVATION IN IBD: ARTICULAR MANIFESTATIONS AND THE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL FREQUENCY IN ORTHPEDICS
clinical evidence suggest that arthritis is one of the complications of inflammatori bowel disease (IBD) of which the etiological causes are still not completely understood. Among the possible explanations the most probable theory is poor regulation of the intestinal immune system, which causes a cross-like immune reactivity against the resident micro flora. Arthritis is these subjects involves different joints and is asymmetric, with greater involvement of the large joints of the lower limbs. Joints may also be involved with the spinal forms of sacroileitis and ankilosing spondylitis. This clinical evidence explains the existence of Lesnioski-Crohn's disease, a variant of IBD in which pati…
IBD, malignancy and oral microbiota: Analysis of the literature
The human microbiota, in adults, varies in number and species based on the location in the gastrointestinal tract. The highest concentration is at the intestinal level, where mainly Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes and proteobacteria are found. Instead, in the oral cavity, five major phyla exists. Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Fusobacteria. Variations in the microbiota cause bysbiosis, which is responsible to a great extent for the onset of many diseases including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colorectal cancer (CRC). In some cases (8-10%) IBD has shown oral manifestations that may reflect a change in the composition of the oral microbiota. Th…
Comparative analysis of Hsp10 and Hsp90 in large bowel healthy mucosa and adenocarcinomas
Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are an important class of molecules with various functions. Their classic role is to assist other proteins in folding and re-folding and, when proteins are defective or irreversibly misfolded, to drive their degradation. For this reason, some Hsps are also named molecular chaperones. During evolution, this class of proteins has also acquired extrachaperoning roles such as participation in immune system regulation, cell differentiation, programmed cell death and carcinogenesis. Hsp10 is a partner of Hsp60 in the Hsp60/10 folding machine, but numerous scientific studies have shown that Hsp10 may also play other roles. In fact, Hsp10 seems to have an immunomodulatory…
THE FINGERPRINT OF THE HUMAN GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT MICROBIOTA: A HYPOTHESIS OF MOLECULAR MAPPING
The precise etiology of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IDB) remains unclear and several factors are believed to play a role in its development and progression, including the composition of microbial communities resident in the gastrointestinal tract. Human intestinal microbiota are extensive with at least 15,000-36,000 bacterial species. However, thanks to the new development in sequencing and molecular taxonomic methodologies, our understanding of the microbiota population composition, dynamics, and ecology has greatly increased. Intestinal microbiota play a critical role in the maintenance of the host intestinal barrier homeostasis, while dysbiosis, which involves reduction in the microbiome…
Bleeding in orthopaedic surgery: The role of blood transfusion and erythropoietin alpha
High energy trauma is often responsable for acute bleeding. Long bone and pelvis fractures are correlated with increased blood loss. Hypovolaemia could become a life threatening complication especially in elderly patients because of the reduced physiological response. Furthemore it could compromise the course of associated morbidities. Haemorrage is also associated in both comminuted fractures and osteoporosis. An increased intraoperative bleeding often occurs when a prolonged surgical time is required to obtain an appropriate ostheosynthesis. The final consequence of a major bleeding is hypovolaemic shock. the reduced oxygen tension of the tissue may be responsible for heart attack, arrhyt…
Probiotics, prebiotics and symbiotics in inflammatory bowel diseases: state-of-the-art and new insights
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) consists of two distinct clinical forms, ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), with unknown aetiology, which nevertheless are considered to share almost identical pathophysiological backgrounds. Up to date, a full coherent mechanistic explanation for IBD is still lacking, but people start to realize that the pathogenesis of IBD involves four fundamental components: the environment, gut microbiota, the immune system and the genome. As a consequence, IBD development might be due to an altered immune response and a disrupted mechanism of host tolerance to the non-pathogenic resident microbiota, leading to an elevated inflammatory response. Consideri…
Intraoperative cholangiography during laparoscopic cholecystectomy: What role?
Aim: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has increased the number of iatrogenic lesion of the biliary tree. In this study, we evaluate the role of intra-operative cholangiography in prevention of biliary tree iatrogenic lesions and early identification of choledocolithiasis, during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Material of study: 169 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy, were evaluated by means of intra-operative cholangiography. Patients were divided into two groups basing on the risk to develop biliary tree lithiasis. Discussion: Patients with a higher risk of postoperative complications effectively showed cholangiographic anomalies, including duct stones, dilations, anatomical va…
Upper gastrointestinal diseases correlated to helicobacter pylori infection: Comparison between uremic and non-uremic patients. Review of the literature
Helicobacter Pylori is the first cause of infection of the upper gastrointestinal tract in hemodyalisis patients. The hemodialytic treatment can lead to spontaneous eradication of this bacteria, but the frequency of pathological involving the upper gastrointestinal tract is still higher in these patients compared to hemodialysis patients negative for the infection and normal patients. In consideration of virulence and pathogenicity of helicobacter pylori infection, there is the strong recommendation for eradication therapy in uremic patients, that it has been demonstrated to reduce the incidence of benign and malignant of the upeer gastrointestinal tract.
Nutrition, malnutrition and dietary interventions in inflammatory bowel disease
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), which includes both Crohn's disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC), is a chronic idiopathic inflammatory disorder affecting the gastrointestinal tract. Diet, as a source of luminal antigens, is thought to be an important factor in the pathogenesis of IBD. often the nutritional status of patients is significantly compromised, particularly in CD. several factors, including drug-nutrient interactions, disease location, symptoms, and dietary restriction can lead to protein energy malnutrition and specific nutritional deficiencies. solid evidence regarding the accountability of certain dietary components in the etiology of IBD are lacking. With regard to malnu…
ENDOSCOPIC FINDINGS IN CHRONIC RENAL FAILURE: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Chronic kidney Disease (CKD) is associated with several gastrointestinal diseases, documented with endoscopy. we revisited internation experience about endoscopic pictures in these patients, analyzing only the pre-transplantation period. Gastritis, esophagitis, duodenitis, gastrointestinal bleeding, intestinal ischaemia, angiodysplasia and diverticula are the most common findings, but others are reported too. Every author has different data and percentages, and further studies are necessary to assess the relation between CKD and gastrointestinal diseases. CKD is often part of a multisystem damage, that makes the management of the patinet critical. The aim of this review is to consider patie…
Towards an improvement of hospital services and streamlining of health care costs: The DRG analysis in Italy
The term Diagnosis-related Group (DRG) refers to a classification system used to assess hospital services with the aim of a better management of health care costs and improving performance. The DRG system focuses on the utilization of resources, and is not concerned with the specific type of care provided to the patient. This system highlights any diseconomies and eventual critical aspects of the hospital system. This article, starting from the history of heath care financing in Italy and pointing out the difficulty to define the "quality" of health care services, describes the variables used to evaluate correctly hospital performance based on the DRG system. These include Average Length of…
Argon plasma coagulation in the treatment of post-radiotherapy rectal bleeding
Introduction: Chronic radiation proctitis is often associated to radiotherapy for treatment of pelvic cancer. The most common side effect of this pathological condition is rectal bleeding but despite the great number of clinical approaches and techniques that have been employed no consensus for the management of it is available. Although prospective randomized trials about hemorrhagic radiation proctitis are still lacking, endoscopic approach delivering an Argon Plasma Coagulation (APC) seems to be a successful and available option. Patients and Methods: Sixteen patients suffering from post-radiotherapy rectal bleeding were followed. In the nine cases presenting a rectum ulcerative colitis …
Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium lactis supplementation reduces tissue damage of intestinal mucosa and liver after 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid treatment in mice
Probiotics (PB) are living microorganisms that act as a commensal population in normal intestines and confer numerous beneficial effects on the host. The introduction of probiotics in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) prolongs remission. The aim of this study was to investigate the intestinal and hepatic effects of PB supplementation in an experimental IBD model in mice induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS). In the first step of the experimental procedure, CD-1 male mice, 5 to 6 weeks old, were randomly divided into 3 groups and inoculated intrarectally with, respectively, saline, alcohol, or TNBS to assess the experimental IBD model. In the second step, mice…
Enteral nutrition: Our experience with percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) and revision of literature
Enteral nutrition (EN), as parenteral nutrition (PN), can be used in cases of patients whose medical conditions prevent the intake of food by mouth; unlike PN, EN keeps the functionality of the digestive tract and it makes home management of patients easier. However, the experience and literature have documented a number of serious complications, fortunately rare, which depend on the methods used in EN realization. We report in this paper our experience in 44 cases of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), concluding that it is a safe and complications-free procedure. We believe that a nutritional intervention is indicated when, improving nutritional status, patients can obtain a better…
Fentanyl and sufentanyl in fast track anaesthesia for major intra-abdominal surgery
Background and aim: Major intra-abdominal surgery is estimated to have high costs annually in Italy. In an attempt to decrease surgery costs and improve outcome for patients, fast-track programs have become popular. This is especially due both to the improvement of surgery and to the new anesthetic agents (regarding pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic) resulting in better care for patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate two different anesthetic protocols in patients undergoing scheduled anesthesia including the combination of two different opioids (fentanyl or sufentanil) with the same hypnotic and muscle relaxant. Material and Methods: 40 patients, with an American Society of Anest…
Colorectal cancer: An update on the effects of lycopene on tumor progression and cell proliferation
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Various factors, including oxidative stress, where excessive productions of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) occur, contribute to its pathogenesis. Numerous studies have investigated the effect of antioxidant substances derived from food such as fruits and vegetables; however, data on Lycopene are still rare. Studies on HT-29 colorectal cancer cells and on animal models have shown that lycopene has effects on cell proliferation and on the progression of the CRC by interacting with various cellular signaling pathways. This analysis of the literature focused on the antioxidant effect of lycop…
HSP-MOLECULAR CHAPERONES IN CANCER BIOGENESIS AND TUMOR THERAPY: AN OVERVIEW
Molecular chaperones, many of which are heat-shock proteins (HSPs), are an important class of molecules with various functions. Pathological conditions in which chaperones become etiological and/or pathogenic factors are called chaperonopathies, and are classified into by defect, by excess, and by "mistake". In the latter case, the chaperone is structurally and functionally normal but paqrtecipates in pathwais that favor diseases, aòlthough in some cases the chaperone may have post-translational modifications that may lead it to change its location and function and, thus, to become pathogenic. For example, HSP-chaperones are involved in acrcinogenesis in various ways, so that some forms of …
INTESTINAL BACTERIA AND BOWEL DISEASE: ROLE OF PROBIOTICS.
The gut of a helathy adult harbours a myriad of different microbial species (aproximately 10.14 colony forming units). In healthy adults the main control of intestinal bacterial colonization occurs through the gastric acidity. Moreover, other factors can influence the intestinal micorenvironment, as pH, temperature, competition among different bacterial strains, peristalsis, drugs, radiotherapy, and much more. It was found that, when you have an impaired micorbial homeostasis, the intestinal microsystem becomes unstable, so that leads to an alteration of the permeability of tissues, togheter with the activation of the intestinal immune system (MALT). These microenvironmental changes thus pr…
DYSBIOSIS, INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE AND COLON CANCER: THERE IS A CORRELATION?
Dysbiosis has been linked to IBD. The intestinal microbiota plays a fundamental role in health and the progression of diseases such as IBD and CRC. Many cancers arise from sites of infection and chronic inflammation. Patients with inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) have an increased risk of 10%-15% developing colorectal cancer. Therefore, a complete understanding of the composition and function of the gut microbiota is critical.
REPORT OF A CASE OF MALIGNANT TUMOR-LIKE GASTRIC LESION BY CANDIDA IN A DIABETIC TREATED WITH CYCLOSPORINE FOR PSORIASIS AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Mycotic infection of the alimentary canal are rare and usually involve the upper digestive tract. Mycetes, especially of Candida family, are habitual saprophytes in the digestive tract of healthy individuals. Under certain conditions, fungal flora may overgrowth, resulting in lesions of the digestive mucosa, which, rarely, might evolve to local diffusion and/or systemic lympho-hematogenous spreading. In the stomach, sometimes, mycotic infections may appear like benign gastric ulcers. we described a case of woman, aged 64, affected by psoriasis, in chronic treatment with cyclosporine and type 2 diabetes mellitus, a well-known immunosoppressive condition, with endoscopic evidence of ulcerated…
Helicobacter pylori and Barretts esophagus: a protective factor or a real cause?
Nothwithstanding the definite aethiopathogenetic path of certain diseases, the relationship between Helicobacter Pylori (H. Pylori) and barrett's esophagus (BE), a condition that increases the risk for dysplasia and consequently adenocarcinoma of the distal esophagus and esophagogastric junction, remains uncertain. this paper reviews the current scientific literature with emphasis on the protective correlation between H. Pylori infection and BE, and demonstrates that a causal relathionship has not been disproved with certainty. Furthermore, H. Pylori infection could pose a risk for the onset of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which could in turn trigger BE, a precancerous lesion and…
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) in pregnancy: analysis of the possible effects of the disease on the fetus and the newborn and therapeutic approaches
The Inflammatory Bowel Diseases(IBD), are a group of inflammatory diseases characterized by the presence of chronic inflammation, i the absenc of infectious ethiology. The two most well-known diseases in this group are: Crohn's disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC). In cases where iti is not possible to distinguish between CD and UC, it is called Indeterminated Colitis. IBD can affect women pregnant. The causes of IBD are unknown, and the clinical course of the sdisease is characterized by phases of activity and remission. UC is a chronic inflammation of the mucosa of the colon and involving predominantly the left colon and rectum. It is associatred with presence of blood and mucus in th…
ORAL MICROBIOTA: CHARACTERISTICS, RELATED PATHOLOGIES AND FUTURE PROSPECTS
The oral microbiota is represented by the set of bacteria and microrganisms that reside in the oral cavity. It is formed from bird and stabilizes during the period of permanent dentition. The oral microbiota poresents from 500 to 700 bacterial species, belonging to six main phyla, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Spirochaetes and Fusobacteria. These bacteria partecipate in the formation of dental plaque, a sort of biofilm that deposits on the rigid surfaces of the oral cavity, and contributes to the healthy maintenance of the oral cavity. An alteration of the oral microbiota contributes to the pathogenesis of periodontitis, caries, gingivitis and also of systemic d…