Diffusion-weighted imaging in breast cancer: relationship between apparent diffusion coefficient and tumour aggressiveness.

Aim: To assess the utility of diffusion-weighted imaging in diagnosing and characterizing breast malignancy.

Materials And Methods: From April 2006 to April 2009, all consecutive patients with breast cancer undergoing breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and subsequent surgery in our hospital were enrolled in this study. MRI was performed using a 1.

Structural and dynamic features of apolipoprotein A-I cysteine mutants, Milano and Paris, in synthetic HDL.

Pursuing an established research interest in our group, we built two models for synthetic HDL containing the natural cysteine mutants of apolipoprotein A-I, apolipoprotein A-I Milano (apoA-IM) and apolipoprotein A-I Paris (apoA-IP), both in their homodimeric form. Data on the structural and dynamic properties of such s-HDL are an essential preliminary step for the understanding of the biological activity of the two mutants. Furthermore, comparison between apoA-IM and apoA-IP allows evaluating the effects of the same mutation in a different position in the primary structure and to directly compare our findings with previously published models.

Lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase, high-density lipoproteins, and atheroprotection in humans.

The lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) enzyme is responsible for the synthesis of cholesteryl esters in human plasma. Lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase is a critical enzyme in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) metabolism, and deficiency of LCAT-mediated cholesterol esterification leads to defective HDL maturation with accumulation of nascent pre-beta HDL. In addition to its function in HDL metabolism, LCAT has also long been believed to play a critical role in macrophage reverse cholesterol transport (RCT).

The global livestock impact mapping system (GLIMS) as a tool for animal health applications.

Recent concerns expressed by various national and international organisations about global livestock sector development and its consequences on the environment and on human and animal health suggest the need to reinforce efforts to monitor and collect more accurate and detailed statistics on livestock. Modern technologies for the organisation, analysis, dissemination and presentation of data and results enhance the contribution that these statistics can make towards the planning of efficient and sustainable animal production and health interventions. To this end, the Food and Agriculture Organization Animal Production and Health Division (FAO-AGA) has developed the Global Livestock Impact Mapping System (GLIMS).

High-density lipoprotein quantity or quality for cardiovascular prevention?

Plasma concentrations of HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) are strongly and inversely associated with cardiovascular risk, leading to the concept that therapies to enhance plasma HDL-C levels would be anti-atherogenic and protective against cardiovascular events. However, HDL are highly heterogeneous, with subclasses that can be separated and identified according to density, size, charge, and protein composition. There is evidence that these subclasses may differ in their functional anti-atherogenic properties.

Conservative treatment of a rare case of multifocal adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast: case report and literature review.

Background: Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast is a rare neoplasm accounting for 0.1% of all malignant breast tumors and presenting most commonly as a painful breast mass. Compared with the more common histological forms of breast cancer, it has a more favorable prognosis and lymph node involvement or distant metastases seldom occur.

Structure and function of the apoA-IV T347S and Q360H common variants.

Human apolipoprotein A-IV (apoA-IV) is involved in chylomicron assembly and secretion, and in reverse cholesterol transport. Several apoA-IV isoforms exist, the most common in Caucasian populations being apoA-IV-1a (T347S) and apoA-IV-2 (Q360H). The objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of these common aminoacid substitutions on the ability of apoA-IV to bind lipids, to promote cell cholesterol efflux via ABCA1, and to maintain endothelial homeostasis.

High uptake of colonoscopy in first-degree relatives of patients with colorectal cancer in a healthcare region: a population-based, prospective study.

Background And Study Aims: A screening program in first-degree relatives (FDRs) of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients (index patients) was started in Trentino, Italy, to analyze factors that influence uptake of CRC screening among invited FDRs (first objective) and to describe colorectal findings among those undergoing colonoscopy (secondary objective).

Patients And Methods: FDRs aged between 45 and 75 years were invited; exclusion criteria were: colonoscopy or barium enema in the preceding 5 years, a history of familial adenomatous polyposis, hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel diseases, and severe comorbidities. FDRs who were eligible but were not invited for screening because consent was not obtained from the index patients were considered as the control group.

Small discoidal pre-beta1 HDL particles are efficient acceptors of cell cholesterol via ABCA1 and ABCG1.

The aim of this study was to correlate the lipid content and size of discoidal reconstituted HDL particles with their ability to promote cellular cholesterol efflux. Homogeneous discoidal rHDL particles containing apoA-I and POPC, with diameters of 7.8, 9.

Structural features and dynamics properties of human apolipoprotein A-I in a model of synthetic HDL.

High-density lipoproteins (HDL) play a major role in the reverse transport of cholesterol and have antiatherogenic activities. Their major protein component is apolipoprotein (apo) A-I. While apoA-I amphipathic alpha-helix based secondary structure has been extensively investigated, for its lipid-bound tertiary structure only theoretical models have been proposed.

Functional lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase is not required for efficient atheroprotection in humans.

Background: Mutations in the LCAT gene cause lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) deficiency, a very rare metabolic disorder with 2 hypoalphalipoproteinemia syndromes: classic familial LCAT deficiency (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man No. 245900), characterized by complete lack of enzyme activity, and fish-eye disease (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man No. 136120), with a partially defective enzyme.

Parametric analysis of the strength in the ''Toronto'' osseous-prosthesis system.

Aim: The aim of this work is to analyze how the different distributions of the chewing load could be related to dental prosthesis fractures of the Toronto restoration via the fulfilment of a virtual parametric model. Moreover investigation about implant positions and perspectives in comparison with a virtual medial plane was made to evaluate the incidence of screw and prosthesis breakage.

Methods: Finite element analysis of the lower jaw was performed to underline parameters and mechanical features of dental implants connected with the fractures of the prosthetic restoration.

A novel homozygous mutation in CETP gene as a cause of CETP deficiency in a Caucasian kindred.

Objective: To analyze the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) gene and the plasma HDL phenotype in a Caucasian subject with extremely elevated plasma high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C).

Methods And Results: The proband, a 63-year-old male of Swedish ancestry with elevated HDL-C (208mg/dl) and apoA-I (and 272mg/dl), was found to be homozygous for a point mutation in exon 2 of CETP gene (c.109 C>T) resulting in a premature termination codon (R37X).

Early onset lactating adenoma and the role of breast MRI: a case report.

Introduction: Lactating adenoma is a benign condition, representing the most prevalent breast lesion in pregnant women and during puerperium; in this paper, a case of a woman with lactating adenoma occurring during the first trimester of pregnancy is reported. There have been no reports in the literature, according to our search, focusing on magnetic resonance imaging findings in cases of lactating adenomas. Also the early onset of the lesion during the first trimester of pregnancy is quite unusual and possibly unique.

Conservative and radical oncoplastic approches in the surgical treatment of breast cancer.

In the attempt to optimise the balance between the risk of local recurrence and the cosmetic outcomes in breast surgery, new surgical procedures, so-called oncoplastic techniques, have been introduced in recent years. The term oncoplastic surgery refers to surgery on the basis of oncological principles during which the techniques of plastic surgery are used, mostly for reconstructive and cosmetic reasons. The advantage of the oncoplastic surgery for breast cancer is the possibility of performing a wider excision of the tumour with a good cosmetic result.

Accessory nipple reconstruction following a central quadrantectomy: a case report.

Introduction: nipple dichotomy (or intra-areolar polythelia) is a rare congenital malformation in which one or more supernumerary nipples are located within the same areola.A case of a woman undergoing a central quadrantectomy with a contralateral supernumerary nipple used for reconstruction is reported. No other report in the Literature, according to our search, has focused on reconstructive use of an accessory nipple after breast conserving surgery.

Current controversies in the treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast.

The incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a noninvasive form of breast cancer, has increased markedly in recent decades, and DCIS now accounts for approximately 20% of breast cancers diagnosed by mammography. Laboratory and patient data suggest that DCIS is a precursor lesion for invasive cancer. Controversy exists with regard to the optimal management of DCIS patients.

Functional LCAT is not required for macrophage cholesterol efflux to human serum.

Objectives: To evaluate the capacity of serum from carriers of LCAT gene mutations to promote cell cholesterol efflux through the ABCA1, ABCG1, and SR-BI pathways.

Methods: Serum was obtained from 41 carriers of mutant LCAT alleles (14 carriers of two mutant LCAT alleles and 27 heterozygotes) and 10 non-carrier relatives (controls). The capacity of serum to promote cholesterol efflux was tested in pathway-specific cell models.

Congenital tumors of the retrorectal space in the adult: report of two cases and review of the literature.

Aims And Background: To describe and discuss, on the basis of the authors' experience and a review of the literature, the main aspects regarding the etiology, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of congenital tumors of the retrorectal space.

Methods: We present 2 cases of congenital retrorectal tumors, a sacrococcygeal teratoma and a dermoid cyst, which represent, from the pathogenetic point of view, the most frequent presentation of the rare tumors of the retrorectal space.

Results: The reported cases are typical.

[Progresses in the treatment of early breast cancer. A mini-review].

The treatment of breast cancer has undergone continuous and profound changes over the last three decades; breast conservation therapy has been progressively validated as a safe alternative to radical mastectomy for patients with early stage breast cancer. Several large trials have shown that overall survival time of patients treated with conservative surgery and axillary dissection followed by radiation therapy is equivalent to that of patients treated with modified radical mastectomy, with better cosmetic outcomes and acceptable rates of local recurrence. Improvements in diagnostic work-up and the wider diffusion of screening programs have allowed the detection of smaller, often non palpable tumours, furtherly facilitating the widespread use of tumour localization and breast conserving techniques.

The plasma concentration of Lpa-I:A-II particles as a predictor of the inflammatory response in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between plasma HDL at admission and the extent of the inflammatory response during an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), and to analyse structural HDL changes during STEMI as related to the extent of inflammation.

Methods And Results: CRP and IL-6 were monitored for 96h in 45 patients with STEMI. Plasma apoA-II and LpA-I:A-II levels at admission, but not HDL cholesterol or other HDL-related biomarkers, were associated with the extent of the inflammatory response during STEMI, as indicated by the positive correlations with CRP AUC (apoA-II: F=7.

Synthetic HDL as a new treatment for atherosclerosis regression: has the time come?

Plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) has received considerable attention as a potential therapeutic target to further reduce cardiovascular events in the statin era. One therapeutic approach to enhance HDL-mediated atheroprotection involves the use of small, synthetic and orally-active compounds that substantially raise plasma HDL-C levels. However, doubts on the clinical benefit achievable with such treatments have been raised by the premature termination of a large Phase III trial with torcetrapib, the most potent and furthest developed HDL-C raising compound, because of excess mortality in patients receiving the drug.

The LXR agonist T0901317 promotes the reverse cholesterol transport from macrophages by increasing plasma efflux potential.

The liver X receptors (LXRs) have been shown to affect lipoprotein plasma profile, lipid metabolism, and reverse cholesterol transport (RCT). In the present study, we investigated whether a short-term administration of the synthetic LXR agonist T0901317 (T0) to mice may affect RCT by modulating the capacity of plasma to promote cellular lipid efflux. Consistent with previous data, the pharmacological treatment of mice caused a significant increase of macrophage-derived [3H]cholesterol content in plasma, liver, and feces and resulted in improved capacity of plasma to promote cellular cholesterol release through passive diffusion and scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI)-mediated mechanisms.

Conservative treatment of the central breast cancer with nipple-areolar resection: an alternative oncoplastic technique.

Conservative surgery with radiation therapy is the standard treatment for early-stage breast cancer. Nevertheless, the patients with subareolar breast cancer have been often excluded from breast-conserving surgery and treated with mastectomy because of the unacceptable cosmetic effect associated with the resection of the nipple-areola complex (NAC), as well as oncologic concerns about multicentricity or multifocality associated with these tumours. We show a conservative "oncoplastic technique" in which the resection of the central portion of the breast, including the NAC, can allow a wide excision of the tumour with uninvolved margins of resection and good cosmetic results.