Development and characterization of 3D printed ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) as drug delivery device for the treatment of overactive bladder.

The overactive bladder is a condition characterized by a sudden urge to urinate, even with small volumes of urine present in the bladder. The current treatments available for this pathology consist on conservative approaches and the continuous administration of drugs, which when made by conventional methods has limitations related to the first pass metabolism, bioavailability, severe side effects, and low patient adherence to treatments, ultimately leading to low effectiveness. Within this context, the present work proposes the design, manufacture, and characterization of an intravesical implant for the treatment of overactive bladder pathology, using EVA copolymer as a matrix and oxybutynin as a drug.

Overview of hepatitis B virus mutations and their implications in the management of infection.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) affects approximately two billion people worldwide and more than 240 million people in the world are currently chronic carrier that could develop serious complications in the future, like liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Although an extended HBV immunization program is being carried out since the early '80s, representing effective preventive measure, leading to a dramatic reduction of HBV hepatitis incidence, globally HBV infection still represents a major public health problem. The HBV virus is a DNA virus belongs to the Hepadnaviridae family.

Clinical relevance and inter-test reliability of anti-infliximab antibodies and infliximab trough levels in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: Treatment with infliximab is a common option for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. Therapeutic drug monitoring could improve treatment management.

Aims: To test inter-test reliability of two commercially available diagnostic kits for infliximab trough levels and infliximab antibodies, and their association with treatment outcomes.

"Marsupial cava" and ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. A case report and review of the literature.

A patient with a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm underwent an emergency operation. A rare anomaly of inferior vena cava, known as "marsupial cava," was found. The iliac vein confluence crossed anteriorly (rather then posteriorly) the right common iliac artery.

[Iliac PTA: long-term results and current prospects].

The authors outline their experience with reference to the treatment of segmentary lesions at the level of the iliac artery. They analyse a series of 93 patients undergoing PTA. In 85 cases it was possible to conclude the procedure: 4 patients presented a small occlusion and 81 stenosis which was associated with femoro-popliteal occlusion in 35 cases.

[Incidence and treatment of vascular prosthesis infection in the groin. Personal experience].

The incidence of prosthesis infection in the groin ranges between 1 and 3%, with high morbidity and mortality rates. Contamination, irrespective of whether it is endogenous or exogenous, may occur during surgery of afterwards due to a secondary bacterial load which is often associated with a traumatic surgical technique for tissues, often in emergency surgery or re-operations. MATERIALS AND METHODS.

[Controversies regarding an algorithm and the type of surgical treatment in popliteal aneurysms].

Having outlined their 20-year experience in the treatment of popliteal aneurysms (PA), the authors discuss the type of therapeutic approach used. From the authors' point of view an overly aggressive approach to PA is unnecessary, and the decision to adopt a given therapy must instead be weighed up on the basis of the careful clinical evaluation of each individual case, taking into account the patient's clinical conditions at the time, the pathological anatomy of the lesion and its consequences. The authors divide primary PA into symptomatic and asymptomatic cases; in the latter surgery is definitely indicated and the possible contraindications represented by anesthesiological risk or small aneurysm diameter need not be evaluated.

[Anastomotic pseudoaneurysms of the femoral bifurcation. Clinical experience].

The authors report their experience of the treatment of anastomotic pseudoaneurysms of the femoral tripod. The paper analyses 231 cases treated over the past 8 years by the Division of Vascular Surgery using an alloplastic prosthetic implant in correspondence with the femoral tripod. Pseudoaneurysms were observed in 23 patients (9.

[Acute thrombosis of the lower limbs: choice of treatment?].

The paper reports the Authors' experience of treating acute thrombotic-type ischemia of the lower limbs. It analyses the results obtained in 105 patients treated either using vascular reconstruction, loco-regional fibrinolytic therapy, or simple thrombectomy. Statistical analysis reveals a marked difference between reconstructive surgery and simple thrombectomy, whereas fibrinolysis was found to be a useful but limited method used only in patients with pallid ischemia and in circulatory compensation.

Transplacental passage of autoantibodies to triiodothyronine.

Autoantibodies to T3 (T3Ab) were detected by immunoprecipitation in a 18-year-old female patient affected by Graves' disease. The presence of these antibodies was constantly confirmed during a 7-year follow-up period, independently of therapy and functional thyroid status. Antithyroid microsomal antibodies (McAb) and TSH binding-inhibiting antibodies (TBII) were also present.

[Effects of fibrinolytic therapy in acute ischemia of the lower limbs].

In this paper the Authors illustrate their experience of loco-regional fibrinolytic medical treatment in patients suffering from acute thrombotic-type ischemia of the lower limbs. The clinical, ultrasonographic and angiographic criteria leading to the choice of this form of treatment rather than surgery are examined. The Authors outline the reasons which led them to give preference to the use of plasminogen tissue activators (rt-PA) rather than other fibrinolytic agents; the results obtained are evaluated not only in terms of immediate permeability but also in relation to the additional procedures required to ensure a correct therapeutic iter.

[Aneurysms of the superficial femoral artery at the rupture stage. Apropos 2 personal cases].

The paper reports two case of aneurysms of the surface femoral artery during the rupturing stage. Preoperative clinical data are described together with intraoperative angiographic examinations. These led to the choice of different surgical techniques in the two patients, thus enabling their limbs to be saved.

[Traumatic lesion of the popliteal artery. Synthesis of our experience].

The Authors reported experiences from 26 traumas of popliteal artery; 2 are related to continuous microtrauma from exotosis; 2 vasospasms implied vascular intervention. Tibial artery bypasses with vein grafts have been advocated to obviate any exploration of popliteal hematoma. A multidisciplinary approach consisting of orthopedist, plastic and vascular surgeons should be employed.

Ifosfamide and mesna for the treatment of advanced squamous cell head and neck cancer. A GETLAC study.

High-dose ifosfamide/mesna was administrated to 28 mostly pretreated patients with locally advanced and metastatic head and neck cancer who failed conventional surgery/radiation treatment. Primary sites include tongue (5), salivary gland (3), floor of mouth (5), oropharynx (2), hypopharynx (5) and larynx (8). The dose and schedule of ifosfamide (IF) was 3.

[The current value of the whipstitch suture following carotid TEA].

There is no consensus of opinion regarding the type of suture to be used followed carotid TEA. The paper reports a study carried out in 123 operated patients who were followed for a variable period ranging from 6 months to 4 years with six-monthly controls using B-mode echotomography, supplemented by digital angiography via a venous route if necessary. A direct suture was used in 92 of the patients, while a venous patch was applied in the remaining 31.

Synthesis and antiviral activity of metabolites of rimantadine.

The hydroxy metabolites of rimantadine (3-5) were synthesized and compared to amantadine (1) and rimantadine (2) for their ability to inhibit the replication of influenza viruses in vitro. All three metabolites were inhibitory to wild-type influenza A viruses (H3N2 and H1N1). In particular, 2-hydroxyrimantadine (3) showed similar activity to amantadine, but the 3- and 4-hydroxy metabolites (4 and 5, respectively), both of which are found in rimantadine-treated patients, showed only modest inhibitory activity.

[Factors determining prognosis in the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm in the rupture stage].

Personal experience in the treatment of 70 ruptures of the subrenal abdominal aorta over the past 15 years is reported. The various factors determining prognosis are analysed with particular reference to the time between onset of symptoms and admission to hospital, clinical condition (state of shock, kidney function) and rupture location (anterior or posterior). Preoperative investigations and types of surgical treatment are described together with results.

[Carotid lesion associated with contralateral occlusion: diagnostic and therapeutic approach].

The treatment of atheromatous carotid lesions combined with occlusion of the contralateral carotid artery remains a problem and one that is much debated. With this in mind the present paper reports personal experience of 25 cases, 16 treated surgically and 9 medically. The criteria for the selection of either type of treatment on the basis of the clinical situations, angiographic findings and Doppler ultrasound studies of the carotid plaque, are analysed.

[Fibrinolytic treatment in acute ischemia caused by thrombosed popliteal aneurysm. Apropos of 2 cases].

Two personally observed cases of ischaemia of the lower extremities due to thrombosis caused by a popliteal aneurysm are presented. While surgery is known to be treatment of choice, in these cases locoregional fibrinolysis was preferred. It seems useful to detail the advantages of this approach that has never appeared in the literature as a treatment for aneurysmatic pathologies.

Resistance of influenza A virus to amantadine and rimantadine: results of one decade of surveillance.

All clinical isolates of influenza A viruses from patients in Huntington, West Virginia, during the decade 1978-1988 were tested, and 65 of 65 H1N1 and 176 of 181 H3N2 viruses were susceptible to the antiviral action of amantadine and rimantadine. The five resistant viruses were obtained from three members of a family undergoing therapy or prophylaxis with rimantadine. Resistant influenza emerged during treatment with rimantadine and spread to two family contacts, causing typical influenza with fever, myalgia, and cough of 5 days' or less duration.

Recombinant interferons alpha and gamma: comparative antiviral activity and synergistic interaction in encephalomyocarditis virus infection of mice.

The antiviral properties of 2 recombinant DNA-produced interferons, a human hybrid interferon alpha that is active in mice and a murine interferon gamma, were examined in the treatment of mice infected with encephalomyocarditis virus. A single dose of interferon alpha induced a protective state in mice more rapidly than did interferon gamma, but the activity of the latter was more long lasting. When interferon and virus were administered 6 h apart, either intraperitoneally or intravenously, interferons alpha and gamma were equally effective.

Synergistic activity of combinations of recombinant human alpha interferon and acyclovir, administered concomitantly and in sequence, against a lethal herpes simplex virus type 1 infection in mice.

The nucleoside analog acyclovir [9-(2-hydroxyethoxymethyl)guanine] and the hybrid recombinant human alpha interferon (rHuIFN-alpha A/D) were evaluated in weanling mice for their efficacy alone and in combination against a lethal systemic infection with herpes simplex virus type 1. Simultaneous parenteral treatment with combinations of both agents at various doses resulted in a higher percentage of survival than when either agent was administered alone, with a synergistic interaction demonstrated at certain dose combinations. Sequential administration of parenteral rHuIFN-alpha A/D and oral acyclovir, administered by gavage or supplied ad libitum in drinking water, resulted in a synergistic interaction at all dose combinations tested.