Cancer patients' desire for psychological support: prevalence and implications for screening patients' psychological needs.

Objectives: To investigate cancer patients' desire for psychological support and to identify patients' sociodemographic, disease-related and psychological factors associated with this desire.

Methods: The study is part of a multicenter, cross-sectional study assessing cancer patients' needs and desire for psychological support. Patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Ways of Coping Checklist, the Cancer Rehabilitation Evaluation System and reported their desire for psychological support.

Efficacy of sublingual specific immunotherapy in intermittent and persistent allergic rhinitis in children: an observational case-control study on 171 patients. The EFESO-children multicenter trial.

Sublingual-specific immunotherapy (SLIT) is considered as a valid treatment of respiratory allergies. However, there are few data on large sample size regarding its clinical role in 'real life' in term of reduction of symptoms, rescue medications and prevention of asthma in patients suffering from allergic rhinitis (AR) especially in children. We performed a multicenter, case-control study to evaluate the effect of SLIT in children (age 6-18 yr) with intermittent or persistent AR.

D-dimer before chemotherapy might predict venous thromboembolism.

To see whether D-Dimer levels can identifying patients at high risk of venous thrombotic events and establish the best benefit/risk-of-bleeding ratio. Current guidelines do not recommend routine prophylaxis against venous thromboembolism (VTE) in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, but the risk increases about 6.5-fold because of this treatment.

Crystal structure of a methyltransferase from a no-known-vector Flavivirus.

Presently known flaviviruses belong to three major evolutionary branches: tick-borne viruses, mosquito-borne viruses and viruses with no known vector. Here we present the crystal structure of the Yokose virus methyltransferase at 1.7A resolution, the first structure of a methyltransferase of a Flavivirus with no known vector.

Natural rubber latex allergy in children: clinical and immunological effects of 3-years sublingual immunotherapy.

Background: We previously demonstrated that one year of sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) with natural rubber latex (NRL) was safe and efficacious in paediatric patients with NRL allergy.

Research Design And Methods: We studied 12 NRL-allergic children (age 4-15), previously assigned to the treated arm of a double-blind placebo controlled study, who received a commercial latex SLIT for three years. Adverse reactions were monitored.

Comparison of different preparation methods of biological samples for FIB milling and SEM investigation.

When a new approach in microscopy is introduced, broad interest is attracted only when the sample preparation procedure is elaborated and the results compared with the outcome of the existing methods. In the work presented here we tested different preparation procedures for focused ion beam (FIB) milling and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of biological samples. The digestive gland epithelium of a terrestrial crustacean was prepared in a parallel for FIB/SEM and transmission electron microscope (TEM).

Immunomodulation of FOXP3+ regulatory T cells by the aromatase inhibitor letrozole in breast cancer patients.

Purpose: We have shown previously that tumor infiltration by FOXP3+ regulatory T cells (Treg) is associated with increased relapse and shorter survival of patients with both in situ and invasive breast cancer. Because estrogen regulates Treg numbers in mice and promotes the proliferation of human Tregs, we hypothesized that blocking estrogen receptor-alpha signaling would abrogate Tregs and be associated with response to hormonal therapy and increased survival.

Experimental Design: FOXP3+ Tregs were quantified in tumor samples collected at baseline by incisional biopsy and after 6 months at definitive surgery in 83 elderly breast cancer patients (T2-4 N0-1) enrolled in a randomized phase II trial based on 6 months of primary letrozole (2.

A novel founder mutation in the MFN2 gene associated with variable Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2 phenotype in two families from Southern Italy.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease is the most common hereditary neuropathy. CMT falls into two main forms: the demyelinating CMT type 1 with decreased nerve conduction velocities and the axonal CMT type 2. CMT2 is further subtyped by linkage analysis into >10 loci, with eight genes identified.

The impact of antithrombotic prophylaxis on infectious complications in cancer patients with central venous catheters: an observational study.

Infections in cancer patients after implantation of a central venous device (CVD) are not infrequent and are potentially serious. The possibility of limiting this complication with antithrombotic drugs is still debated. For this observational study, we recorded the routine management of CVD in cancer patients in 18 oncology centers in Lombardy (northern Italy), assessing the effect of antithrombotic prophylaxis on catheter-related infections.

Clinical validation of a specially sized class II compression knee-sock for the prevention of recurrent ulcers in patients with chronic venous stasis (CEAP 5).

Aim: Patients cured of venous ulcers (VU) often suffer recurrences if they do not wear elastic compression hosiery. Unfortunately, only half of them can benefit of this treatment, because their leg proportions have changed, obliging them to order to measure products which are harder to find, and expensive. This study was designed to validate a class II elastic knee-sock (GGG-Ral standards) manufactured on the basis of the ankle and calf circumferences of recently cured patients.

Phosphorylated ERalpha, HIF-1alpha, and MAPK signaling as predictors of primary endocrine treatment response and resistance in patients with breast cancer.

Purpose: We aimed to identify signaling pathways involved in the response and resistance to aromatase inhibitor therapy in patients with breast cancer.

Patients And Methods: One hundred fourteen women with T2-4 N0-1, estrogen receptor (ER) alpha-positive tumors were randomly assigned to neoadjuvant letrozole or letrozole plus metronomic cyclophosphamide. Twenty-four tumor proteins involved in apoptosis, cell survival, hypoxia, angiogenesis, growth factor, and hormone signaling were assessed by immunohistochemistry in pretreatment samples (eg, caspase 3, phospho- mammalian target of rapamycin, hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha [HIF-1alpha], vascular endothelial growth factor, mitogen-activated protein kinase [MAPK], phosphorylated epidermal growth factor receptor, phosphorylated ERalpha [pERalpha]).

Designing Smac-mimetics as antagonists of XIAP, cIAP1, and cIAP2.

Inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) such as XIAP, cIAP1, and cIAP2 are upregulated in many cancer cells. Several compounds targeting IAPs and inducing cell death in cancer cells have been developed. Some of these are synthesized mimicking the N-terminal tetrapeptide sequence of Smac/DIABLO, the natural endogenous IAPs inhibitor.

Targeting tumour hypoxia in breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. Hypoxia occurs in breast cancer and in other solid tumours due to the tumour outgrowing the existing vasculature. Hypoxia leads to an adaptive response, orchestrated by HIF-1 (hypoxia-inducible factor-1), that is crucial for tumour progression and therapy resistance responsible for poor patient outcome.

Recognition of RNA cap in the Wesselsbron virus NS5 methyltransferase domain: implications for RNA-capping mechanisms in Flavivirus.

The mRNA-capping process starts with the conversion of a 5'-triphosphate end into a 5'-diphosphate by an RNA triphosphatase, followed by the addition of a guanosine monophosphate unit in a 5'-5' phosphodiester bond by a guanylyltransferase. Methyltransferases are involved in the third step of the process, transferring a methyl group from S-adenosyl-l-methionine to N7-guanine (cap 0) and to the ribose 2'OH group (cap 1) of the first RNA nucleotide; capping is essential for mRNA stability and proper replication. In the genus Flavivirus, N7-methyltransferase and 2'O-methyltransferase activities have been recently associated with the N-terminal domain of the viral NS5 protein.

Targeting the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein through 4-substituted azabicyclo[5.3.0]alkane smac mimetics. Structure, activity, and recognition principles.

The X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) is overexpressed in several malignant cells where it prevents apoptosis by binding to, and blocking, the activation of caspase-3, -7, and -9. Human XIAP (479 residues) is composed of three tandem-repeated baculoviral IAP repeat (BIR) domains (BIR1-3), and by a C-terminal RING domain. Smac-DIABLO [second mitochondria-derived activator of caspases (Smac)-direct IAP binding protein with low pI (DIABLO)], the natural antagonist of XIAP, binds through its N-terminal sequence AVPI to the same surface groove, in the BIR domains, that binds caspases.

Sublingual desensitization in patients with wasp venom allergy: preliminary results.

The aim of this paper is to assess in an open prospective pilot case-control study the tolerability, safety and efficacy of an ultra-rush sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) protocol with Vespula venom in wasp allergic patients compared to subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT). Forty-one wasp allergic patients were treated with sublingual (SLIT group) or subcutaneous (SCIT group) ultrarush immunotherapy with Vespula venom extract. All patients underwent skin tests and serum specific IgE and IgG4 detection before enrollment and after 6, 12 and 24 months of immunotherapy.

Observational study of sublingual specific immunotherapy in persistent and intermittent allergic rhinitis: the EFESO trial.

Background: Sublingual specific immunotherapy (SLIT) is a valid treatment for allergies. However, there are few data on a large sample size regarding its clinical role in 'real life'.

Study Aim: We performed a multicentre, case-control study to evaluate the effectiveness of SLIT in patients with allergic rhinitis (AR).

Ligand binding to truncated hemoglobin N from Mycobacterium tuberculosis is strongly modulated by the interplay between the distal heme pocket residues and internal water.

The survival of Mycobacterium tuberculosis requires detoxification of host *NO. Oxygenated Mycobacterium tuberculosis truncated hemoglobin N catalyzes the rapid oxidation of nitric oxide to innocuous nitrate with a second-order rate constant (k'(NOD) approximately 745 x 10(6) m(-1) x s(-1)), which is approximately 15-fold faster than the reaction of horse heart myoglobin. We ask what aspects of structure and/or dynamics give rise to this enhanced reactivity.

Genetic testing for adult-type hypolactasia in Italian families.

Background: Adult-type hypolactasia is characterized by the inability to digest lactose during adulthood, due to lactase (LCT) deficiency. It is usually diagnosed by the measurement of breath hydrogen increase after a lactose load (breath hydrogen test, BHT). A substitution of C to T at position -13910 bp upstream the LCT gene (rs4988235), in a regulatory region, was found to be strongly associated with the lactase persistence phenotype in North-European populations.

CD4+ T cells and cytokines in the pathogenesis of acquired myasthenia gravis.

Although human and experimental acquired myasthenia gravis (MG) are prototypic antibody (Ab)-mediated autoimmune diseases, synthesis of the pathogenic anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) Abs, which are high affinity IgG, requires intervention of CD4(+) T helper cells and their cytokines. Moreover, cytokine signaling is crucial for development, modulation, and downregulation of immune responses, and therefore influences the initiation and evolution of the anti-AChR response in acquired MG. Cytokines are involved in the growth and differentiation of CD4(+) T cells, and are secreted by activated CD4(+) T cells as effectors of their functions: differentiated CD4(+) T cells are classified into subtypes based on the cytokines they synthesize and secrete.