Nutrients Intake in Individuals with Hypertension, Dyslipidemia, and Diabetes: An Italian Survey.

The aim of this study is to evaluate whether nutrients intake in an Italian adult population receiving pharmacological treatment for hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes are within the recommended values proposed by dietary guidelines. Cross-sectional data from the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Observatory/Health Examination Survey in 8462 individuals 35-79 years were used. Food consumption was assessed with a self-administered semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire.

Targeted drugs and Psycho-oncological intervention for breast cancer patients.

Personalized medicine is a new field based on molecular biology and genomics in which targeted tumor therapies are administered to patients. Psycho-oncology is a complementary approach that considers social and psychological aspects of patients as part of the treatments for cancer patients. The aim of this mini-review is to weigh clinical benefits for breast cancer patients of both treatments and possibly enhance benefits by modulating the use of both interventions.

Determinants of the proinflammatory action of ambient particulate matter in immortalized murine macrophages.

Background: Proximity to traffic-related pollution has been associated with poor respiratory health in adults and children.

Objectives: We wished to test the hypothesis that particulate matter (PM) from high-traffic sites would display an enhanced capacity to elicit inflammation.

Methods: We examined the inflammatory potential of coarse [2.

Microsatellite instability as a marker of prognosis and response to therapy: a meta-analysis of colorectal cancer survival data.

Background And Methods: We have reviewed and pooled data from published studies to evaluate the relationship between microsatellite instability (MSI) and colorectal cancer (CRC) prognosis. Thirty-one eligible studies reporting survival in 12782 patients characterised for MSI were pooled using a fixed- or random-effects model.

Results: The summary odds ratio (OR) estimate for overall survival (OS) associated with MSI was 0.

Toxicity of coarse and fine particulate matter from sites with contrasting traffic profiles.

Residence in urban areas with much traffic has been associated with various negative health effects. However, the contribution of traffic emissions to these adverse health effects has not been fully determined. Therefore, the objective of this in vivo study is to compare the pulmonary and systemic responses of rats exposed to particulate matter (PM) obtained from various locations with contrasting traffic profiles.

Winter urban air particles from Rome (Italy): effects on the monocytic-macrophagic RAW 264.7 cell line.

Epidemiological data show an association between exposure to elevated levels of particulate matter (PM), in particular the fine fraction (<2.5 microm in diameter), and an increase in cardiovascular mortality and respiratory symptoms. The aim of this study was to compare the in vitro toxicity of coarse and fine particulate matter collected with a cascade impactor during winter in an urban area of Rome in relation to their physicochemical characterization (size distribution and chemical composition) as assessed by analytical electron microscopy (SEM/EDX).

Environmental inequities and low birth weight.

The effects of environmental exposures to toxic agents, are related to different levels of exposure, genetic and biological susceptibility, risk perception and socioeconomic status (SES). In the present study we suggest that environmental influences on human reproduction should include investigations on SES, that can play an important role in embryo-foetal development. Low birth weight (LBW) is a risk factor for developing in adulthood coronary hearth disease, hypertension and type 2 diabetes.

Inflammatory mediators induced by coarse (PM2.5-10) and fine (PM2.5) urban air particles in RAW 264.7 cells.

Increased incidence of mortality and morbidity due to cardiopulmonary complications has been found to associate with elevated levels of urban air particles with an aerodynamic diameter <10 micron, PM10 and <2.5 micron, PM2.5.

Modulation of PGE(2) and TNFalpha by nitric oxide and LPS-activated RAW 264.7 cells.

Prostaglandins (PGs), the arachidonic acid (AA) metabolites of the cyclooxygenase (COX) pathway, and the cytokine TNFalpha play major roles in inflammation and they are synthesised mainly by macrophages. Their syntheses have been shown to be regulated by several factors, including nitric oxide, a further important macrophage product. Since both positive and negative regulations of PGs and TNFalpha synthesis by NO have been reported, we sought to understand the mechanisms underlying these opposite NO effects by using a recent class of NO releasing compounds, the NONOates, which have been shown to release NO in a controlled fashion.