Search results for " Specialist"
showing 10 items of 770 documents
Evaluation of serum CA 125 levels in patients with pelvic pain related to endometriosis.
2007
The aim of the study was to investigate the clinical value of the serum CA 125 level for diagnosing and determining the severity of endometriosis and pelvic pain associated with endometriosis. Eighty-six women who underwent operative laparoscopy were enrolled. Sixty-nine women with endometriosis and 17 without endometriosis participated in this study. In all of the patients, endometriosis was diagnosed and classified into stages according to the Revised American Fertility Society (R-AFS) classification. The mean serum CA 125 levels were determined in each patient. We also investigated the relationship between serum CA 125 concentration and the intensity of dysmenorrhea and dyspareunia in t…
Different Innate and Adaptive Immune Responses to SARS-CoV-2 Infection of Asymptomatic, Mild, and Severe Cases
2020
Abstract Background SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus, not encountered before by humans. The wide spectrum of clinical expression of SARS-CoV-2 illness suggests that individual immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 play a crucial role in determining the clinical course after first infection. Immunological studies have focussed on patients with moderate to severe disease, demonstrating excessive inflammation in tissues and organ damage. We have studied the individual response to SARS-CoV-2 of asympromatic, mild and severe COVID-19 patients in order to investigate the role of innnate and adaptive immunity in determining the clinical course after first infection. Methods To understand the basis of th…
Application of guidelines for the management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in three prospective cohorts of HIV-monoinfected patients
2020
Objectives: Current guidelines recommend use of a diagnostic algorithm to assess disease severity in cases of suspected nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We applied this algorithm to HIV-monoinfected patients. Methods: We analysed three prospective screening programmes for NAFLD carried out in the following cohorts: the Liver Disease in HIV (LIVEHIV) cohort in Montreal, the Modena HIV Metabolic Clinic (MHMC) cohort and the Liver Pathologies in HIV in Palermo (LHivPa) cohort. In the LIVEHIV and LHivPa cohorts, NAFLD was diagnosed if the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) was ≥ 248 dB/m; in the MHMC cohort, it was diagnosed if the liver/spleen Hounsfield unit (HU) ratio on abdomin…
COVID-19: viral–host interactome analyzed by network based-approach model to study pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection
2020
AbstractBackgroundEpidemiological, virological and pathogenetic characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infection are under evaluation. A better understanding of the pathophysiology associated with COVID-19 is crucial to improve treatment modalities and to develop effective prevention strategies. Transcriptomic and proteomic data on the host response against SARS-CoV-2 still have anecdotic character; currently available data from other coronavirus infections are therefore a key source of information.MethodsWe investigated selected molecular aspects of three human coronavirus (HCoV) infections, namely SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and HCoV-229E, through a network based-approach. A functional analysis of HCoV-hos…
Drug Retention Rate and Predictive Factors of Drug Survival for Interleukin-1 Inhibitors in Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.
2019
Introduction: The advent of biologic agents has revolutionized therapeutic approaches in systemic juvenile idiopatic arthritis (sJIA) as their introduction has been shown to modify disease course and improve overall outcomes, particularly when initiated early. Few studies have reported the drug retention rate (DRR) of biologic drugs in JIA, and none of them has specifically investigated the DRR of interleukin (IL)-1 inhibitors on sJIA. Objectives: The primary aim of the study was to examine the overall DRR of IL-1 blockers in sJIA patients. Secondary aims of our study were to: (i) explore the influence of biologic line of treatment, adverse events (AEs), type of anti-IL-1 agent and the conc…
The unbalanced p53/SIRT1 axis may impact lymphocyte homeostasis in COVID-19 patients
2021
Abstract Background/objectives A dysregulated inflammatory profile plays an important role in coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pathogenesis. Moreover, the depletion of lymphocytes is typically associated with an unfavourable disease course. We studied the role and impact of p53 and deacetylase Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) on lymph-monocyte homeostasis and their possible effect on T and B cell signalling. Methods Gene expression analysis and flow cytometry were performed on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of 35 COVID-19 patients and 10 healthy donors (HD). Inflammatory cytokines, the frequency of Annexin+ cells among CD3+ T cells and CD19+ B cell subsets were quantified. Results PBMC from …
The Generalist Inside the Specialist: Gut Bacterial Communities of Two Insect Species Feeding on Toxic Plants Are Dominated by Enterococcus sp.
2016
Some specialist insects feed on plants rich in secondary compounds, which pose a major selective pressure on both the phytophagous and the gut microbiota. However, microbial communities of toxic plant feeders are still poorly characterized. Here, we show the bacterial communities of the gut of two specialized Lepidoptera, Hyles euphorbiae and Brithys crini, which exclusively feed on latex-rich Euphorbia sp. and alkaloid-rich Pancratium maritimum, respectively. A metagenomic analysis based on high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene revealed that the gut microbiota of both insects is dominated by the phylum Firmicutes, and especially by the common gut inhabitant Enterococcus sp. Staph…
An Inflammatory Profile Correlates With Decreased Frequency of Cytotoxic Cells in Coronavirus Disease 2019
2020
Abstract Increased production of inflammatory cytokines and myeloid-derived suppressor cells occurs in patients with coronavirus disease 2019. These inversely correlated with perforin-expressing natural killer (NK) and CD3+ T cells. We observed a lower number of perforin-expressing NK cells in intensive care unit (ICU) patients compared with non-ICU patients, suggesting an impairment of the immune cytotoxic arm as a pathogenic mechanism.
Interleukin 1α: a comprehensive review on the role of IL-1α in the pathogenesis and treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
2021
Abstract The interleukin (IL)-1 family member IL-1α is a ubiquitous and pivotal pro-inflammatory cytokine. The IL-1α precursor is constitutively present in nearly all cell types in health, but is released upon necrotic cell death as a bioactive mediator. IL-1α is also expressed by infiltrating myeloid cells within injured tissues. The cytokine binds the IL-1 receptor 1 (IL-1R1), as does IL-1β, and induces the same pro-inflammatory effects. Being a bioactive precursor released upon tissue damage and necrotic cell death, IL-1α is central to the pathogenesis of numerous conditions characterized by organ or tissue inflammation. These include conditions affecting the lung and respiratory tract, …
Drivers of parasite community structure in fishes of the continental shelf of the Western Mediterranean: the importance of host phylogeny and autecol…
2019
15 pages, 5 figures, 6 tables, supplementary data https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2019.04.004