Publications by authors named "Iacopo Zanardi"

The beneficial effect of low doses of ozone on wound healing has been well documented and attributed mainly to its bactericidal and pro-oxidant properties. Because ozone itself does not penetrate the cells but immediately reacts with polyunsaturated fatty acids, its effects are the results of oxidative mediators. Among the molecule produces by the interaction of ozone with biological systems, there are HNE and H2O2.

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Objective: The aim of this review is to elucidate the biochemical, molecular, immunological, and pharmaceutical mechanisms of action of ozone dissolved in biological fluids. Studies performed during the last two decades allow the drawing of a comprehensive framework for understanding and recommending the integration of ozone therapy for spinal pain.

Methods: An in-depth screening of primary sources of information online - via SciFinder Scholar, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases as well as Embase, PubMed, and the Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews - was performed.

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This paper tries to emphasize two relevant concepts: the first is that type 2 diabetes is a chronic diseases characterized by both a dysmetabolism and a chronic oxidative stress. A variety of orthodox drugs are somewhat able to correct the metabolic alterations, but do not deal with the chronic inflammation. Consequently, as the validity of precisely treating blood with therapeutic ozone concentrations in restoring a redox homeostasis has been now demonstrated, the integration of ozone therapy appears essential for a rational treatment of type 2 diabetes.

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Diacerhein, a poorly water soluble antirheumatic prodrug, was spectroscopically characterized to form inclusion complexes with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) in both aqueous solution and in solid phase. Complexation with the hydrophilic carriers was used to improve the solubility and dissolution rate of the compound. The kinetics of the prodrug degradation to the active rhein in aqueous buffer solution were also investigated as a function of HPβCD concentration.

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The intervention strategies in various types of skin wounds include several treatment programs that depend on the identified disease. Several factors such as aging, defective nutrition, traumatism, atherosclerosis, and diabetes may contribute to the formation of a wound that has no tendency to heal due to a defective and complicated repair process. The numerous advances in the understanding of the wound-healing process in both acute and chronic lesions have been recently described.

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Objectives: This review aims to highlight the advantages and safety of oxygen-ozone therapy (OOT) and to suggest ways to enhance its acceptance.

Key Findings: The treatment of a herniated disk by injecting a gaseous oxygen-ozone mixture inside the nucleus pulposus is a great clinical success. However, the use of OOT lags for a number of reasons, including lack of standardization, the need for numerous treatments, lack of knowledge and even denial.

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Abstract Stroke is one of the most debilitating diseases, and it is unfortunate that only a small percentage of patients can be treated with thrombolytic agents. Consequently, there is an urgent need of finding an alternative procedure for reoxygenating the so-called penumbra at the earliest time as possible for reducing morbidity and disability. A preliminary, preclinical study has been carried out by using rat hippocampal and cortical brain slices subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation.

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Besides oxygen, several other gases such as NO, CO, H2, H2S, Xe and O3 have come to age over the past few years. With regards to O3, its mechanisms of action in medicine have been clarified during the last two decades so that now a comprehensive framework for understanding and recommending ozone therapy in various pathologies is available. O3 used within the determined therapeutic window is absolutely safe and more effective than golden standard medications in numerous pathologies, like vascular diseases.

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The aim of this paper is to analyze why ozone can be medically useful when it dissolves in blood or in other biological fluids. In reviewing a number of clinical studies performed in Peripheral Arterial Diseases (PAD) during the last decades, it has been possible to confirm the long-held view that the inverted U-shaped curve, typical of the hormesis concept, is suitable to represent the therapeutic activity exerted by the so-called ozonated autohemotherapy. The quantitative and qualitative aspects of human blood ozonation have been also critically reviewed in regard to the biological, therapeutic and safety of ozone.

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It is now well established that hyperglycemia, present in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, causes a variety of biochemical derangements leading to a diffused vascular damage responsible for several pathologic manifestations. Although preclinical and clinical studies have been performed by an unreliable administration route, the correct approach of oxygen-ozonetherapy may break a vicious circle. Messengers, released by a precise interaction ex vivo of the patient's blood with an equivalent calculated dose of ozone (0.

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A vaccine against HIV able to generate properly neutralizing antibodies and an efficacious cytotoxic T lymphocyte response is of paramount importance. We are proposing a novel approach based on the collection of thousand small HIV-infected human plasma samples for preparing a global vaccine, able to counteract HIV diversity and mutagenicity. The pooled plasmas will undergo several steps for sterilizing and inactivating HIV, possibly other contaminant viruses and other pathogens.

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Ozone is well recognized as a bactericidal agent and its beneficial effect on wound healing could be a consequence of this property. Because ozone itself does not penetrate the cells but immediately reacts with polyunsaturated fatty acids, its effects should be the results of oxidative reaction. For this reason, ozonated oils could be a way to deliver ozone messengers to the skin.

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During the last century the lifespan of human beings has increased from about 49 to almost 80 years owing to the great advances of biomedical sciences. This fact has strongly stimulated the idea that it may be possible to prolong productive life for another twenty years but paradoxically the problem of both hyper- and hyponutrition severely jeopardizes this objective all over the world. Many causes of premature aging have been discussed in order to prevent it or find suitable medical treatment.

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Metabonomic characterization of the effects caused by ozone and other stressors on normal human blood was performed. Samples of blood obtained from healthy subjects were treated ex vivo with increasing concentrations of ozone and/or with UV radiation and heat. (1)H-NMR analysis of plasma samples after treatments showed the quantitative variation of some metabolites and the formation of new metabolites normally absent.

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Gaseous ozone chemically reacts with unsaturated triglyceride substrates leading to ozonated derivatives with a wide potential applications, ranging from the petrochemical to the pharmaceutical industry. To date, an ultimate understanding of the ozone reactivity during sesame oil ozonation process as well as detailed (1)H and (13)C NMR assignments are lacking. A practical advantage of NMR is that a single NMR sample measurement can explain many issues, while similar analysis by traditional methods may require several independent and time-consuming measurements.

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The host-guest interaction between Rhein (Rh)--an anthraquinonic drug characterized by low water solubility and recently considered for its potential antidiabetic and antitumoral activities other than for the well-established anti-inflammatory properties--with cyclodextrins (CDs) was investigated using phase-solubility diagrams. The typical A(L) phase-solubility profiles suggest the formation of the 1:1 inclusion complexes between Rh and the two CDs investigated, namely beta-cyclodextrin and 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin and the resulting constant values of complex formation, K(c), were estimated. Due to the higher K(c) value, complex of Rhein with 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin was chosen for further investigation.

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A study aimed to compare the efficiency of the ozone transfer of four hydrophilic dialysis filters, and one hydrophobic gas-exchange device (GED) has been performed. Obviously, the former should be specifically used only for dialysis. Unfortunately, some clinicians incautiously use them as GEDs.

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Orthodox medicine has been very active in the field of topical anti-infective agents and current chemotherapy has procured valid antibiotics, antivirals, vaccines, antibodies, and antiparasitic drugs to be parenterally and/or topically used. However, these drugs may cause side effects and sometimes provide unsatisfactory results because pathogens become drug-resistant. Another drawback is represented by their cost, which compromise their use or their availability in poor Countries.

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In an aging population vascular disorders well exemplified by the chronic limb ischemia, chronic heart failure, cerebral ischemia and age-related macular degeneration represent a serious medical and socio-economical problem. While there is always a not easily identifiable first pathogenic noxa, all of these diseases are characterized by ischemia, chronic inflammation and tissue degeneration. Orthodox medicine has provided several optimal drugs targeting various pathological situations but, even with their concomitant applications, it is not possible to reduce the chronic oxidative stress.

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After five decades characterized by empiricism and several pitfalls, some of the basic mechanisms of action of ozone in pulmonary toxicology and in medicine have been clarified. The present knowledge allows to understand the prolonged inhalation of ozone can be very deleterious first for the lungs and successively for the whole organism. On the other hand, a small ozone dose well calibrated against the potent antioxidant capacity of blood can trigger several useful biochemical mechanisms and reactivate the antioxidant system.

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The hypothesis of an autovaccine for HIV is borne out by: (1) the present lack of a valid vaccine; (2) by a remarkable improvement of the HAART, which however does not prevent HIV mutagenicity and a consequent valid immunological response and (3) the persistence of a hidden infection ready to thrive again. The preparation of the autovaccine is described as well as the administration schedule but only a clinical study will define its validity.

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