Phase I Clinical Trial on Pleural Mesothelioma Using Neoadjuvant Local Administration of Paclitaxel-Loaded Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (PACLIMES Trial): Study Rationale and Design.

Pleural mesothelioma (PM) is a rare and aggressive neoplasm that originates from the pleural mesothelium and whose onset is mainly linked to exposure to asbestos, which cannot be attacked with truly effective therapies with consequent poor prognosis. The rationale of this study is based on the use of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) as a vehicle for chemotherapy drugs to be injected directly into the pathological site, such as the pleural cavity. The study involves the use of a conventional chemotherapeutic drug, Paclitaxel (PTX), which is widely used in the treatment of different types of solid tumors, including PM, although some limitations are related to pharmacokinetic aspects.

Comparison between Suspected and Confirmed COVID-19 Respiratory Patients: What Is beyond the PCR Test.

COVID-19 modified the healthcare system. Nasal-pharyngeal swab (NPS), with real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase (PCR), is the gold standard for the diagnosis; however, there are difficulties related to the procedure that may postpone it. The study aims to evaluate whether other elements than the PCR-NPS are reliable and confirm the diagnosis of COVID-19.

Inhaled corticosteroids and risk of osteoporosis in late-middle-aged subjects: a multicenter European cohort study.

Background: Inhaled corticosteroids have been widely used for the regular treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) over the past few decades. To date, studies investigating the effects of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) on bone in populations including asthma and COPD patients, show conflicting results. The skeletal effects of ICS remain poorly understood.

Mepolizumab Effectiveness and Allergic Status in Real Life.

Background: It is not clear whether mepolizumab is differently effective in allergic and nonallergic severe eosinophilic asthmatics (SEA) in real life.

Objective: We tested mepolizumab effectiveness in allergic/nonallergic SEA in real life. A strict criterion to identify the 2 phenotypes was used.

Formaldehyde, Oxidative Stress, and FeNO in Traffic Police Officers Working in Two Cities of Northern Italy.

Personal air formaldehyde (air-FA) was measured as risk factor of airways inflammation and oxidative stress (SO) induction. Overall, 154 police officers were enrolled from two differently urbanised Italian cities, Turin and Pavia. Urinary F2t-isoprostane (15-F2t-IsoP), a prostaglandin-like compound, was quantified as a biomarker of general OS in vivo and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) was measured for monitoring local inflammatory processes.

Mepolizumab effectiveness on small airway obstruction, corticosteroid sparing and maintenance therapy step-down in real life.

Background: Mepolizumab (MEP) has been recently introduced to treat severe eosinophilic asthma. Trials have demonstrated a significant effectiveness in this asthma phenotype. We evaluated MEP efficacy on lung function, symptoms, asthma exacerbations, biologic markers, steroid dependence and controller treatment level in real-life.

Chronic bronchitis without airflow obstruction, asthma and rhinitis are differently associated with cardiovascular risk factors and diseases.

Background And Objectives: Cardiovascular and respiratory diseases can frequently coexist. Understanding their link may improve disease management. We aimed at assessing the associations of chronic bronchitis (CB), asthma and rhinitis with cardiovascular diseases and risk factors in the general population.

Depression is associated with poor control of symptoms in asthma and rhinitis: A population-based study.

Background: Although many studies have highlighted the link between asthma/rhinitis and depression, it is still unclear which characteristics of these diseases are associated with the risk of depression. We aimed to explore the relationship between depression and asthma or rhinitis in a representative sample of the Italian general population.

Methods: The data were collected in GEIRD, an Italian multicenter, population-based, multicase-control study.

Persistent exercise limitation after successful pulmonary endoarterectomy: frequency and determinants.

Background: After successful pulmonary endoarterectomy (PEA), patients may still suffer from exercise limitation, despite normal pulmonary vascular resistance. We sought to assess the proportion of these patients after the extension of PEA to frail patients, and the determinants of exercise limitation.

Methods: Out of 553 patients treated with PEA from 2008 to 2016 at our institution, a cohort of 261 patients was followed up at 12 months.

Dietary fats, olive oil and respiratory diseases in Italian adults: A population-based study.

Background: Fat intake has been associated with respiratory diseases, with conflicting results.

Objective: We studied the association between asthma and rhinitis with dietary fats, and their food sources in an Italian population.

Methods: Clinical and nutritional information was collected for 871 subjects (aged 20-84) from the population-based multi-case-control study Genes Environment Interaction in Respiratory Diseases (GEIRD): 145 with current asthma (CA), 77 with past asthma (PA), 305 with rhinitis and 344 controls.

Asthma-like symptoms: is it always a pulmonary issue?

Background: Double aortic arch is a rare congenital and complete vascular ring around trachea and esophagus. It is usually diagnosed during infancy. The symptoms are generally related to respiratory and gastroesophageal tracts.

Asthma management in a specialist setting: Results of an Italian Respiratory Society survey.

Background: Asthma considerably impairs patients' quality of life and increases healthcare costs. Severity, morbidity, and degree of disease control are the major drivers of its clinical and economic impact. National scientific societies are required to monitor the application of international guidelines and to adopt strategies to improve disease control and better allocate resources.

The course of asthma in young adults: a population-based nine-year follow-up on asthma remission and control.

Background: Only few longitudinal studies on the course of asthma among adults have been carried out.

Objective: The aim of the present prospective study, carried out between 2000 and 2009 in Italy, is to assess asthma remission and control in adults with asthma, as well as their determinants.

Methods: All the subjects with current asthma (21-47 years) identified in 2000 in the Italian Study on Asthma in Young Adults in 6 Italian centres were followed up.

The rapid FEV(1) decline in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is associated with predominant emphysema: a longitudinal study.

Background: Early identification of patients with COPD and prone to more rapid decline in lung function is of particular interest from both a prognostic and therapeutic point of view. The aim of this study was to identify the clinical, functional and imaging characteristics associated with the rapid FEV(1) decline in COPD.

Methods: Between 2001 and 2005, 131 outpatients with moderate COPD in stable condition under maximum inhaled therapy underwent clinical interview, pulmonary function tests and HRCT imaging of the chest and were followed for at least 3 years.

The impact of cigarette smoking on asthma: a population-based international cohort study.

Background: The prevalence rates of smoking in subjects with asthma have frequently been reported as similar to those in the general population; however, available data are not up-to-date. There is only limited and somewhat conflicting information on the long-term effects of smoking on health outcomes among population-based cohorts of subjects with asthma. We aimed to investigate changes in smoking habits and their effects on forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1)) in subjects with asthma in comparison with the rest of the population, focusing on the healthy smoker effect.

Exposure to heptachlor: evaluation of the effects on the larval and adult epidermis of Rana kl. esculenta.

Widely used in the past against termites and soil insects, the chlorinated insecticide heptachlor (H) is a toxic contaminant which represents a risk for both terrestrial and aquatic organisms. Like many organochlorine pesticides, heptachlor and heptachlor epoxide (HE), with oxidation products synthesized by many plant and animal species, degrade slowly since many of the derived compounds are persistent. This increases the status of heptachlor as a hazardous pollutant.

Evaluation of Rana snk esculenta blood cell response to chemical stressors in the environment during the larval and adult phases.

The assessment of the biological effects on aquatic vertebrate species is frequently employed to monitor water pollution, as it provides significant information on bioavailability and actual concentration levels. In anamniote vertebrates (fish and amphibians), significant correlations have been observed between exposure to contaminants - both natural and experimental - and blood modification. We investigated the changes in some circulating blood cell parameters of green frog (Rana snk esculenta) tadpoles and adults collected at two sample rice fields, one heavily polluted and the other relatively unpolluted.