Morphological and functional aspects of sciatic nerve regeneration after crush injury.

Experimental models for the investigation of nerve regeneration are critical in studying new strategies able to promote the repair process. The aim of the present work was to characterize morphological and functional aspects of sciatic nerve regeneration after mechanical crush injury in rodents. Morphological changes were assessed after a four minutes sciatic nerve injury induced by means of a standardized compression clip.

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2/neu) supraexpression in the mammary tumors.

A series of morphological and molecular factors can be used in order to appreciate the prognostic of mammary cancer. A multitude of molecular factors has been investigated in order to identify a prognostic factor, one of the most studied factors being HER2 (human epidermal receptor growth factor). For this purpose, we have carried out an immunohistochemical research, in order to determine the correlation between the presence of morphological factors in tumor formation, different stages of evolution, and the response to therapy.

The protective effect of superoxide dismutase on isolated human mammary arteries preincubated with triglyceride-rich remnant lipoproteins.

Unlabelled: The main changes of the plasma lipid profile in patients with endothelial dysfunction are the increased triglyceride content of the lipoprotein remnant particles, the presence of the small and dense LDL particles and the decreasing of the HDL-cholesterol level.

Material And Method: Considering these observations, we performed "in vitro" experiments using human mammary artery rings, in order to examine the effect of the lipoprotein "remnants" on endothelium-dependent vasodilatation induced by cumulative doses (10(-9) M - 10(-4) M) of adenosine (ADP) and to study the effect on endothelial--independent vasodilatation induced by cumulative doses (10(-9) M-10(-4) M) of sodium-nitropruside (NSP), respectively.

Results: Our results showed that 1 hour pre-incubation with triglyceride--rich lipoprotein remnants diminished the endothelial-dependent vasodilator response to ADP, but it has not modified the endothelial-independent vasodilator response to NSP.

Measurement of plasma ox-LDL and carotid IMT may represent useful markers for atherosclerosis and may represent potential targets for therapeutic interventions.

Unlabelled: Oxidation of LDL plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Increased wall thickness precedes plaque formation and noninvasive B-mode ultrasonographic measurement of IMT is considered a useful marker of the development of the carotid atherosclerosis.

Material And Method: The present study was designed to assess the association of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) with carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in hypertensive patients.

[Some aspects of pulmonary vascular remodelling in smokers and patients with mild COPD].

An important feature of the pathophysiology of COPD patients is represented by the remodelling of pulmonary vasculature. Within this process, a pathogenic element might be the endothelial dysfunction induced by the combined effect of several factors such as: cigarette smoke, inflammatory mediators, hypoxia, mechanical stress, whose contribution differs according to the stage of the disease. The aims of our study were to characterize the structural pulmonary vascular abnormalities present in smokers and patients with mild COPD and to assess their pathophysiological importance.