Keeping the LINC: the importance of nucleocytoskeletal coupling in intracellular force transmission and cellular function.

Providing a stable physical connection between the nucleus and the cytoskeleton is essential for a wide range of cellular functions and it could also participate in mechanosensing by transmitting intra- and extra-cellular mechanical stimuli via the cytoskeleton to the nucleus. Nesprins and SUN proteins, located at the nuclear envelope, form the LINC (linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton) complex that connects the nucleus to the cytoskeleton; underlying nuclear lamins contribute to anchoring LINC complex components at the nuclear envelope. Disruption of the LINC complex or loss of lamins can result in disturbed perinuclear actin and intermediate filament networks and causes severe functional defects, including impaired nuclear positioning, cell polarization and cell motility.

Acute adverse reactions to gadolinium-based contrast agents in CMR: multicenter experience with 17,767 patients from the EuroCMR Registry.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency, manifestation, and severity of acute adverse reactions associated with administration of several gadolinium-based contrast agents to patients who underwent cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging in the EuroCMR (European Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance) Registry multinational and multicenter setting.

Background: The frequency, manifestations, and severity of acute adverse reactions associated with gadolinium-based contrast agents in the specific setting of cardiovascular magnetic resonance have not been systematically evaluated yet.

Methods: This is a multicenter and multinational registry with consecutive enrollment of patients in 45 European centers.

The role of cardiovascular magnetic resonance in candidates for Fontan operation: proposal of a new algorithm.

Background: To propose a new diagnostic algorithm for candidates for Fontan and identify those who can skip cardiac catheterization (CC).

Methods: Forty-four candidates for Fontan (median age 4.8 years, range: 2-29 years) were prospectively evaluated by trans-thoracic echocardiography (TTE), Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and CC.

Impact of increased visceral and cardiac fat on cardiometabolic risk and disease.

Objective: Previous studies have highlighted the associations between abdominal, cardiac or total fat accumulation and cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of different ectopic fat depots on measurements of metabolic dysfunction and cardiovascular disease risk.

Methods: Using magnetic resonance imaging in 113 subjects, we measured abdominal (visceral and subcutaneous) and cardiac (epicardial and extra-pericardial) fat depots and examined their association with overall (BMI) and abdominal obesity (waist circumference), dyslipidaemia (triglycerides, total and HDL cholesterol), glucose tolerance (by an oral glucose tolerance test) and insulin sensitivity, blood pressure and 10-year coronary heart disease risk by Framingham score.

Italian Euromelanoma Day Screening Campaign (2005-2007) and the planning of melanoma screening strategies.

Although no study has definitively shown that unfocused screening of skin cancer is effective, many campaigns have been organized with the aim of increasing awareness on melanoma risk factors. The objective of this study was to analyse the results of the Skin Cancer Screening Day in Italy during the period 2005-2007, to determine the priorities for melanoma control plans in a Mediterranean country. A total of 5002 patients were screened by dermatologists in 31 cities.

Biophysical assays to probe the mechanical properties of the interphase cell nucleus: substrate strain application and microneedle manipulation.

In most eukaryotic cells, the nucleus is the largest organelle and is typically 2 to 10 times stiffer than the surrounding cytoskeleton; consequently, the physical properties of the nucleus contribute significantly to the overall biomechanical behavior of cells under physiological and pathological conditions. For example, in migrating neutrophils and invading cancer cells, nuclear stiffness can pose a major obstacle during extravasation or passage through narrow spaces within tissues.(1) On the other hand, the nucleus of cells in mechanically active tissue such as muscle requires sufficient structural support to withstand repetitive mechanical stress.

Near infrared spectroscopy in newborns with surgical disease.

NIRS has been used as a key device with the aim to evaluate the impact of surgery and anesthesia on cerebral and splanchnic oxygenation in neonatal population. The main applications has been in cardiac surgery, congenital diaphragmatic hernia and esophageal atresia. In this report we summarized the results published on the application of NIRS in neonatal surgery with particular respect to cerebral and splanchnic oxygenation, presenting also some future prospective.

A novel tool for estimation of magnetic resonance occupational exposure to spatially varying magnetic fields.

Object: Staff operating in the environment of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners are exposed daily to static magnetic fields (MFs). To protect workers several guidelines are present in literature reporting exposure limits values expressed in terms of magnetic flux density or induced current density. We present here a novel tool for estimating the induced current density due to worker movement in the MR environment.

Pericardial rather than epicardial fat is a cardiometabolic risk marker: an MRI vs echo study.

Background: Several studies using echocardiography identified epicardial adipose tissue (EPI) as an important cardiometabolic risk marker. However, validation compared with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography has not been performed. Moreover, pericardial adipose tissue (PERI) has recently been shown to have some correlation with cardiovascular disease risk factors.

A functioning FSH-secreting pituitary macroadenoma causing an ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome with multiple cysts resected and relapsed after leuprolide in a reproductive-aged woman.

Bioactive gonadotropin-secreting pituitary adenomas are very rare in fertile women and can cause an ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). A 31-year-old woman with oligo-amenorrhea, severe ovarian cystic swelling and high serum estradiol was submitted to the resection of ovarian cysts and then treated with long-acting leuprolide 11.25 mg.

Cell-surface sensors for real-time probing of cellular environments.

The ability to explore cell signalling and cell-to-cell communication is essential for understanding cell biology and developing effective therapeutics. However, it is not yet possible to monitor the interaction of cells with their environments in real time. Here, we show that a fluorescent sensor attached to a cell membrane can detect signalling molecules in the cellular environment.

Diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune hypophysitis: a short review.

Medical therapy of autoimmune hypophysitis with immunosuppressive drugs can be effective to induce remission of the disease by treating both pituitary dysfunction and compression symptoms. We describe the case of a 41-yr-old man with autoimmune hypophysitis in whom prednisone therapy induced remission of the disease but was followed by a sudden relapse after withdrawal. A second trial of corticosteroid was started and succeeded in inducing remission of the disease.

High-density hyaluronic acid for the treatment of HIV-related facial lipoatrophy.

Background: Facial lipoatrophy is a stigmatizing hallmark of HIV. The injection of facial fillers has an essential role in the treatment of this condition. The objective of our study was to verify the safety and efficacy of a new formulation of high-density hyaluronic acid for the injectable treatment of HIV-related facial lipoatrophy.

Myocardial first-pass perfusion: influence of spatial resolution and heart rate on the dark rim artifact.

Myocardial perfusion images can be affected by the dark rim artifact. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the spatial resolution and heart rate on the transmural extent of the artifact. Six pigs under anesthesia were scanned at 1.

Silent myocardial damage in cocaine addicts.

Background: Cocaine addiction is associated with either ischaemic or non-ischaemic cardiac complications. The prevalence of myocardial damage in asymptomatic addicts has never been evaluated by cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), which allows non-invasive detection of myocardial oedema and fibrosis.

Objective: To prospectively evaluate the prevalence of myocardial damage in cocaine addicts with no history of cardiac disease by CMR.

The interaction between nesprins and sun proteins at the nuclear envelope is critical for force transmission between the nucleus and cytoskeleton.

Maintaining physical connections between the nucleus and the cytoskeleton is important for many cellular processes that require coordinated movement and positioning of the nucleus. Nucleo-cytoskeletal coupling is also necessary to transmit extracellular mechanical stimuli across the cytoskeleton to the nucleus, where they may initiate mechanotransduction events. The LINC (Linker of Nucleoskeleton and Cytoskeleton) complex, formed by the interaction of nesprins and SUN proteins at the nuclear envelope, can bind to nuclear and cytoskeletal elements; however, its functional importance in transmitting intracellular forces has never been directly tested.

Right ventricular remodelling in systemic hypertension: a cardiac MRI study.

Background: Consistent evidence shows an impact of systemic haemodynamic overload on the right ventricle, but its functional and structural consequences have received scarce attention for several reasons including the difficult application of conventional imaging techniques due to the complex shape and orientation of that cardiac chamber.

Aims: To evaluate whether mild to moderate, uncomplicated hypertension associates with abnormal right ventricular structure and function and how those changes relate to homologous changes in the left ventricle. Data were acquired by steady-state free-precession cardiac MRI, the state of the art tool for the morphological and functional evaluation of the right ventricle.

Cardiac extrinsic apoptotic pathway is silent in young but activated in elder mice overexpressing bovine GH: interplay with the intrinsic pathway.

Apoptosis may occur through the mitochondrial (intrinsic) pathway and activation of death receptors (extrinsic pathway). Young acromegalic mice have reduced cardiac apoptosis whereas elder animals have increased cardiac apoptosis. Multiple intrinsic apoptotic pathways have been shown to be modulated by GH and other stimuli in the heart of acromegalic mice.

Fat in left ventricular myocardium assessed by steady-state free precession pulse sequences.

Intramyocardial fat can be observed in different pathologic processes including arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) and in old myocardial infarction (OMI) In SSFP images, fat is hyperintense and surrounded by a black boundary, called "Indian Ink" artifact that is generated when fat and water coexist in the same voxel. Aim of this study was to compare the SSFP with the conventional FSE and STIR (FSE/STIR) method for the detection of LV intramyocardial fat. Fifty-four consecutive patients with OMI (>1,000 days) and 69 patients with a diagnosis of ARVC underwent magnetic resonance.

Myocardial blood flow and fibrosis in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Background: We investigated the relationship between myocardial blood flow (MBF), fibrosis, risk factors for sudden death, and clinical manifestations in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).

Methods And Results: Sixty-two patients with HCM (45 men, overall mean age 47 ± 16 years), 15 acromegalic patients with left ventricular hypertrophy (9 man, overall mean age 47 ± 12 years), and 20 healthy subjects underwent cardiac magnetic resonance. Resting MBF was measured as the ratio between coronary sinus flow measured by phase-contrast technique and left ventricular mass.

Inverse association between dietary vitamin D and risk of cutaneous melanoma in a northern Italy population.

The possibility of an inverse association between vitamin D and risk of cancer and, in particular, of cutaneous malignant melanoma has been suggested, but results of epidemiologic studies are still conflicting. We examined the relation between dietary vitamin D intake and melanoma risk through a population-based case-control study (380 cases, 719 controls) in a northern region of Italy, a country with an average vitamin D intake lower than that in northern Europe or the United States. We assessed average daily intake of vitamin D from foodstuffs using the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire.

Elastic properties of aortic wall in patients with bicuspid aortic valve by magnetic resonance imaging.

Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is frequently associated with aortic wall abnormalities, including dilation of the ascending aorta and even dissection. We propose 2 new indexes of aortic wall biophysical properties, the maximum rates of systolic distension and diastolic recoil (MRSD and MRDR, respectively), in patients with BAV and matched control subjects. We evaluated 53 consecutive young patients with BAV (36 males, mean age 16 ± 4 years) with mild aortic valve disease and a control group of 22 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers.