Hormonal prostate cancer therapies and cardiovascular disease: a systematic review.

Therapeutic intervention for prostate cancer mostly relies on eliminating circulating androgen or antagonizing its effect at the cellular level. As the use of endocrine therapies grows, an under-reported incidence of cardiovascular toxicities occurs in prostate cancer patients. In this review, we summarize data of clinical studies, investigating the cardiovascular and metabolic alterations associated with the use of old and new endocrine drugs (gonadotropin-releasing hormone [GnRH] agonists and antagonists, androgen receptor inhibitors, 17α-hydroxylase/c-17,20-lyase [CYP17] inhibitor) in prostate cancer.

[Analysis of the European Consensus on the treatment of opioid-induced constipation analgesic drugs.].

Until recently, conclusive data on clinical presentation, diagnosis and therapy of the opioid-induced constipation (OIC) were not available. Lately, some phase II and III prospective studies, evaluating the efficay of several old and new laxatives in cancer and non-cancer patients, make their mechanisms of action easier to understand and lead healthcare institutions to determine homogeneous guidelines for OIC, with the use of diagnostic and treatment algorithms. On May 2018, management recommendations from a panel of 7 European experts on OIC was published on United European Gastroenterology Journal.

Chemotherapy in Patients with Hereditary Angioedema.

Background: Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is an autosomal dominant hereditary disorder characterized by episodic swelling of many body regions (especially throat and abdomen), potentially triggered by medication. No data are available for HAE in patients with cancer assigned to standard chemotherapy. The aim of our study was to identify circulating mediators potentially predictive of acute HAE attacks during chemotherapy.

Application and advantages of monoenergetic reconstruction images for the reduction of metallic artifacts using dual-energy CT in knee and hip prostheses.

Objective: The study aimed to assess image quality when using dual-energy CT (DECT) to reduce metal artifacts in subjects with knee and hip prostheses.

Methods: Twenty-two knee and 10 hip prostheses were examined in 31 patients using a DECT protocol (tube voltages 100 and 140 kVp). Monoenergetic reconstructions were extrapolated at 64, 69, 88, 105, 110, 120, 140, 170, and 190 kilo-electron volts (keV) and the optimal energy was manually selected.

Update on mitochondria and muscle aging: all wrong roads lead to sarcopenia.

Sarcopenia is a well-known geriatric syndrome that has been endorsed over the years as a biomarker allowing for the discrimination, at a clinical level, of biological from chronological age. Multiple candidate mechanisms have been linked to muscle degeneration during sarcopenia. Among them, there is wide consensus on the central role played by the loss of mitochondrial integrity in myocytes, secondary to dysfunctional quality control mechanisms.

Complex tibial plateau fractures: a retrospective study and proposal of treatment algorithm.

Introduction: Complex tibial plateau fractures are characterized by compression and sinking of one or both the articular surfaces. In this study, we evaluated clinical and radiological outcomes in patients with 41.C1,41.

Mitochondrial dynamics signaling is shifted toward fusion in muscles of very old hip-fractured patients: Results from the Sarcopenia in HIp FracTure (SHIFT) exploratory study.

Background: Mitochondrial quality control (MQC) is crucial for maintaining mitochondrial fitness. We investigated MQC signaling in muscle of old hip-fractured patients.

Methods: Twenty-three patients, enrolled in the Sarcopenia in HIp FracTure (SHIFT) study, were categorized into old (OL; n=8) and very old groups (VOL; n=15) using 85years as the cut-off.

Titanium elastic nailing in diaphyseal femoral fractures of children below six years of age.

Aim: To report the clinical and radiographic results of titanium elastic nail (TEN) in diaphyseal femoral fractures of children below age of six years.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 27 diaphyseal femoral fractures in children younger than six years treated with TEN between 2005 and 2015 was conducted. Patients were immobilized in a cast for 5 wk and the nails were removed from 6 to 12 wk after surgery.

Association between myocyte quality control signaling and sarcopenia in old hip-fractured patients: Results from the Sarcopenia in HIp FracTure (SHIFT) exploratory study.

Background: Sarcopenia has been proposed as a potentially amenable factor impacting the clinical outcomes of hip-fractured elderly. The identification of specific biological targets is therefore crucial to developing pharmacological interventions against age-related muscle wasting. The present work reports promising preliminary data on the association between alterations of myocyte quality control (MQC) signaling and sarcopenia in old patients with hip fracture.

Kallikrein-related peptidases targeted therapies in prostate cancer: perspectives and challenges.

Introduction: Despite the emergence of several new effective treatments for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients, disease progression inevitably occurs, leading scientific community to carefully look for novel therapeutic targets of prostate cancer. Kallikrein (KLK)-related peptidases have been demonstrated to facilitate prostate tumorigenesis and disease progression through the development of an oncogenic microenvironment for prostate cells.

Areas Covered: This review first summarizes the large amount of preclinical data showing the involvement of KLKs in prostate cancer pathobiology.

Treatment of osteochondritis dissecans of the knee with a biomimetic scaffold. A prospective multicenter study.

Purpose: the aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical outcome of the treatment of osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) of the knee with a type-I collagen-hydroxyapatite nanostructural biomimetic osteochondral scaffold.

Methods: twenty-three patients affected by symptomatic knee OCD of the femoral condyles, grade 3 or 4 of the International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) scale, underwent biomimetic scaffold implantation. The site of the defect was the medial femoral condyle in 14 patients, whereas in 9 patients the lateral femoral condyle was involved.

Fixation techniques for the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: early follow-up. A systematic review of level I and II therapeutic studies.

The purpose of our study was that to systematically review the fixation techniques for the ACL reconstruction and associated clinical outcomes at the early follow-up. Systematic search on three electronic databases (Cochrane register, Medline and Embase) of fixation devices used for primary ACL reconstruction with doubled semitendinosus and gracilis and bone-patellar tendon-bone autografts in randomized clinical trials of level I and II of evidence published from January 2001 to December 2011. Therapeutic studies collected were with a minimum 12-month follow-up, and the clinical outcomes were evaluated by at least one of International Knee Documentation Committee, Lysholm and Tegner functional scales and at least one of the following knee stability tests: arthrometric AP tibial translation, Lachman test and pivot-shift test.

Over 17-month complete clinical brain response with a well-tolerated lapatinib plus capecitabine combination in a very young patient afflicted by HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

This report describes a case of ab initio metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer in a very young patient. The onset of breast cancer at such a young age is uncommon and could delay the diagnosis with unquestionable impact on the prognosis. Unfortunately, the patient experienced cerebral progression during first-line treatment.

Medullary thyroid cancer secreting carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (Ca 19-9): a fatal case report.

Background: During follow-up for patients with medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), the levels of serum calcitonin and carcinoembryonic antigen are important, and the doubling time of these biomarkers significantly correlates with disease progression. Other antigens are present in tumor tissue and the sera of patients with MTC, but there are scarce published data on the serum levels of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (Ca 19-9), a tumor marker primarily used for the diagnosis and follow-up of pancreatic and gastrointestinal neoplasias. Recently, the case of a 56-year-old woman with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B with high serum levels of Ca 19-9 was reported; this patient experienced rapid disease progression that led to her death.

Localized pigmented villonodular synovitis of the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee: an exceptional presentation of a rare disease with neoplastic and inflammatory features.

Pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) is a rare condition, most commonly involving the knee joint. PVNS is locally aggressive and can invade and destroy surrounding soft tissue and bone, leading to anatomical and functional deterioration of the affected joint. Localized PVNS is an unusual presentation of the disease, generally consisting of a nodular lesion protruding into the articular cavity.

Joint line tenderness and McMurray tests for the detection of meniscal lesions: what is their real diagnostic value?

Objectives: To assess the interobserver concordance of the joint line tenderness (JLT) and McMurray tests, and to determine their diagnostic efficiency for the detection of meniscal lesions.

Design: Prospective observational study.

Setting: Orthopedics outpatient clinic, university hospital.

Correlation Between Hump Dimensions and Curve Severity in Idiopathic Scoliosis Before and After Conservative Treatment.

Study Design: Prospective study in 150 consecutive outpatients affected by adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).

Objectives: The purposes were to (1) identify a correlation between hump dimensions and the severity of scoliotic curve, and (2) evaluate how the treatment influenced the main parameters of scoliosis.

Summary Of Background Data: The existence of a relationship between clinical deformities and curve severity in AIS is still debated.

Metastasis to the Pancreas from Breast Cancer: Difficulties in Diagnosis and Controversies in Treatment.

BACKGROUND: Metastasis to the pancreas originating from malignant tumours is a rare event and, in the literature, we have found only 11 reported cases of solitary pancreatic metastases originating from breast cancer. CASE REPORT: We report a case of a 51-year-old woman with primary breast cancer who developed obstructive jaundice and epigastric pain after 2 years without any symptoms. The pancreatic mass revealed by computed tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was not recognised as a metastasis from breast cancer and the patient underwent cephalic pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Greenselect Phytosome as an adjunct to a low-calorie diet for treatment of obesity: a clinical trial.

A recently developed oral formulation in the form of coated tablets (Monoselect Camellia) (MonCam) containing highly bioavailable green tea extract (GreenSelect Phytosome) was tested in obese subjects (n=100) of both genders on a hypocaloric diet. Fifty subjects were assigned to the green tea extract plus hypocaloric diet, while the other 50 subjects followed the hypocaloric diet only. After 90 days of treatment, significant weight loss and decreased body mass index (BMI) were observed in the group taking the herbal extract (14-kg loss in the green tea group compared to a 5-kg loss in the diet-only group); waistline was reduced only in male subjects.

Surgical management of chronic, unreduced posterior dislocation of the shoulder.

Four patients with chronic posterior dislocation of the shoulder underwent surgical treatment after an average delay of 10 months from injury. They were examined clinically and radiographically at an average follow-up of 32 months. Treatment consisted of subscapularis tendon transfer (McLaughlin procedure) into the humeral defect in one case, transfer of the lesser tuberosity (McLaughlin modified procedure) in two cases, and in the fourth case-a patient with a 19-month missed dislocation and 50% humeral head lesion-a transposition of the coracoid process and conjoined tendon was performed.

Tibial intercondylar eminence fractures in adults: arthroscopic treatment.

Results obtained from the surgical treatment of 15 cases of type II and III tibial intercondylar eminence fractures-according to the classification of Meyers and McKeever [12, 13]-are reported in this paper. The average age of the patients observed was 22 years (range 18-41). All patients underwent an arthroscopic procedure of reduction and fixation.

Results of autologous osteochondral grafts in chondral lesions of the knee.

Background: To evaluate multiple osteochondral autografts for the treatment of traumatic chondral lesions of the knee.

Methods: Twenty-four (19 male and 5 female) patients underwent multiple osteochondral transplantation from 1995 to1999, the age ranging from 19 and 47 years old. Osteochondral lesion was localized on the femoral condyle in 21 cases, on the patella in 1 case and on the femoral groove in other 2 cases.

Prevalence of intestinal metaplasia in the distal oesophagus, oesophagogastric junction and gastric cardia in symptomatic patients in north-east Italy: a prospective, descriptive survey. The Italian Ulcer Study Group "GISU".

Background: Incidence of adenocarcinoma of distal oesophagus and gastric cardia, probably arising from areas of intestinal metaplasia, has been increasing rapidly.

Aims: To define prevalence of intestinal metaplasia of distal oesophagus, oesophagogastric junction and gastric cardia and to evaluate potential associated factors, by means of a prospective multicentre study including University and teaching hospitals, and primary and tertiary care centres.

Patients: Each of 24 institutions involved in study enrolled 10 consecutive patients undergoing first-time routine endoscopy for dyspeptic symptoms.

Tibial plateau fracture after arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Complications have been described with each technique for reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the knee, both open and arthroscopically assisted. The authors describe a case of tibial plateau fracture occurring 7 months after an ACL reconstruction using the half tunnel technique. The fracture occurred at the tibial fixation site and required open reduction with internal fixation.