Search results for "Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine"
showing 10 items of 1498 documents
Validation of lung densitometry threshold at CT for the distinction between senile lung and emphysema in elderly subjects
2015
Background and Aims. An ageing lung is characterised by distal airspace enlargement without alveolar wall destruction: therefore the anatomical distinction between senile lung and emphysema is clear-cut. In clinical settings the definition of precise boundaries between normalcy and pathology is more difficult with the risk of overdiagnosis. CT is an important diagnostic advancement in the field of COPD. Most methods for the evaluation of emphysema are based on the detection and measurement of areas characterised by a density level below a threshold assumed to characterize parenchymal destruction. Methods. Our retrospective study included 47 healthy subjects (65-91 years), 36 never smokers a…
Non-sutureless minimally invasive aortic valve replacement: mini-sternotomy versus mini-thoracotomy: a series of 1130 patients
2016
Objectives Aortic valve replacement through conventional sternotomy still represents the gold-standard surgical approach for aortic valve disease. However, given the increasing number of patients with comorbidities, strategies that can improve operative results are always sought. Minimally invasive aortic valve surgery, although related to a steep learning curve, might be associated with improved postoperative outcomes. The main aim of this study was to assess whether significant differences exist in terms of operative and early results between a mini-sternotomy and a right mini-thoracotomy approach for isolated aortic valve replacement without sutureless technologies. Methods This is an ob…
Histological and genetic studies in patients with bicuspid aortic valve and ascending aorta complications.
2011
OBJECTIVES: Aneurysm diameter and growing rate does not represent a definite parameter for operation in bicuspid aortic valve (BAV), ascending aortic aneurysm and normal root patients. Thus, we investigated histological and immunohistochemical aspects of different segments of ascending aorta (precisely, aortic root without dilatation, aneurysmatic tubular portion, dissected ascending aorta) and genetic features of patients with BAV and ascending aorta complication (aneurysm or dissection). METHODS: Aorta tissue samples of 24 BAV patients were examined. The patients comprised of 18 men and 6 women; the mean age was 54.2 ± 14.3 years. All patients underwent composite aortic root replacement (…
Pneumomediastinum as a complication of critical pertussis
2014
Background and Aims: Pertussis is a common and potentially serious disease affecting mainly infants and young children. In its non-classic presentation, pertussis can be clinically indistinguishable from other respiratory illnesses. Pertussis today often remains underdiagnosed in adults. Our aims was to report a complicated cases of pertussis. Results: A case of serologically confirmed pertussis occurred in an 18-year-old man presenting with pneumomediastinum, subcutaneous emphysema in the neck and chest, and persistent attacks of coughing with apnea that required treatment in the intensive care unit. Conclusion: Pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema have never been described in adul…
TA-MUC1 epitope in non-small cell lung cancer
2007
MUC1 (CD227), an established tumor marker, is expressed on glandular epithelia and on epithelial tumors. Tumor MUC1 differs from normal MUC1 by modified glycan side chains. Recently, a novel carbohydrate-induced conformational tumor-associated MUC1 epitope (TA-MUC1) was described, whose clinical relevance in lung cancer is not known. Eighty-five paraffin embedded tissue sections of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients (73% male; mean age 64+/-9 years) were stained with the monoclonal antibody PankoMab (against TA-MUC1) and compared with the established antibodies E29 and 214D4 regarding prognostic relevance. TA-MUC1 is virtually absent in bronchial epithelium. As shown by multivariat…
Gemcitabine and docetaxel every 2 weeks in advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a phase II study of the Gruppo Oncologico Italia Meridionale
2002
Abstract Introduction: Platinum-based chemotherapy is the gold standard in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), although with relevant toxic effects. Both docetaxel (DCT) and gemcitabine (GEM) have shown activity as single agent in advanced NSCLC with a different toxicity profile and a lack of cross-resistance. Materials and methods: From April 2000 to May 2001, 47 consecutive patients were enrolled in a multicenter phase II trial. Main inclusion criteria included untreated patients with histologically confirmed NSCLC, age⩽70 years, stage IIIB/IV, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (PS) 0–2, measurable disease, adequate hematologic, cardiac, hepatic and renal func…
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 study of tigatuzumab (CS-1008) in combination with carboplatin/paclitaxel in patients with che…
2013
Abstract Introduction Tigatuzumab, a humanized monoclonal DR5 agonist antibody induces apoptosis in human cancer cell lines. The objective of this study was to investigate the antitumor effects of tigatuzumab combined with carboplatin/paclitaxel in chemotherapy-naive patients with metastatic/unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods Patients with histologically or cytologically confirmed NSCLC stage IIIB/IV disease by RECIST (version 1.0) and ECOG-PS 0–1 were enrolled at 15 European sites. Patients received tigatuzumab or placebo intravenously with carboplatin/paclitaxel every 3 weeks (1 cycle) for up to 6 cycles. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). Sec…
Beneficial effects of C1 esterase inhibitor in ST-elevation myocardial infarction in patients who underwentsurgical reperfusion: a randomized double-…
2007
Background: The inflammatory cascade has been hypothesized to be an important mechanism of post-ischaemic myocardial reperfusion injury and several studies demonstrated that C1 esterase inhibitor (C1 -INH) is effective in post-ischaemia myocardial protection. Therefore, we aimed to investigate prospectively in a randomised double-blind study the cardioprotective effects of C1-INH in ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in patients who underwent emergent reperfusion with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Methods: In this study, we enrolled 80 patients affected with STEMI who underwent emergent CABG. Patients were assigned in two groups (C1-INH group: receive 1000 Ul of C1…
Off-pump versus on-pump myocardial revascularization in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: A randomized trial
2009
Objective Conventional cardioplegic arrest coronary artery bypass grafting after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction is associated with high mortality and morbidity. The benefits of off-pump surgery have been suggested. This study randomly evaluated the impact of the off-pump technique on clinical results. Methods Between February 2002 and October 2007, 128 patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction who underwent myocardial revascularization within 48 hours from the onset of symptoms were randomly assigned to 2 groups: on-pump group (66 patients/51.5%) and off-pump group (63 patients/48.5%). The primary end point was the incidence of in-hospital death and outcomes (low …
MUC1 intracellular bioactivation mediates lung fibrosis
2019
BackgroundSerum KL6/mucin 1 (MUC1) has been identified as a potential biomarker in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), but the role of MUC1 intracellular bioactivation in IPF is unknown.ObjectiveTo characterise MUC1 intracellular bioactivation in IPF.Methods and resultsThe expression and phosphorylation of Thr41 and Tyr46 on the intracellular MUC1-cytoplasmic tail (CT) was increased in patients with IPF (n=22) compared with healthy subjects (n=21) and localised to fibroblasts and hyperplastic alveolar type II cells. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 phosphorylated SMAD3 and thereby increased the phosphorylation of MUC1-CT Thr41 and Tyr46 in lung fibroblasts and alveolar type II cells, ac…