Efficacy of metreleptin in obese patients with type 2 diabetes: cellular and molecular pathways underlying leptin tolerance.

Objective: Metreleptin has been efficacious in improving metabolic control in patients with lipodystrophy, but its efficacy has not been tested in obese patients with type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: We studied the role of leptin in regulating the endocrine adaptation to long-term caloric deprivation and weight loss in obese diabetic subjects over 16 weeks in the context of a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized trial. We then performed detailed interventional and mechanistic signaling studies in humans in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro.

Effects of hypoxia on nocturnal erection quality: a case report from the Manaslu expedition.

Introduction: High altitude environment represents a fine model to study physiological and pathophysiological effects of oxygen availability on sleep-related erections (SREs).

Aim: To describe altitude-dependent effects on quality of SREs in order to estimate the role of hypoxia in erection physiology.

Methods: A healthy 37-year-old male mountain climber underwent a chronic high altitude-related hypoxia experience during the 43 days of the Manaslu expedition (Nepal).

High flow nasal cannula for respiratory support in preterm infants.

Background: High flow nasal cannulae (HFNC) are small, thin, tapered cannulae used to deliver oxygen or blended oxygen and air at flow rates of > 1 L/min. HFNC can be used to provide high concentrations of oxygen and may deliver positive end-expiratory pressure.

Objectives: To compare the safety and efficacy of HFNC with other forms of non-invasive respiratory support in preterm infants.

Validity and reliability of the MSKCC Bowel Function instrument in a sample of Italian rectal cancer patients.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to translate the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre (MSKCC) Bowel Function Instrument into Italian and to test its psychometric validity and reliability in a sample of Italian rectal cancer patients.

Methods: The MSKCC questionnaire was translated into Italian using a standard procedure of double-back translation. Construct validity was tested using a factor analysis and internal reliability was estimated using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient.

Multimodality approach in extra cervical locally advanced cervical cancer: chemoradiation, surgery and intra-operative radiation therapy. A phase II trial.

Background: The goal of this study was to determine the rational of radical surgery with intra-operative high-dose radiotherapy after chemoradiation (RT-CT) in extra cervical locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) patients.

Methods: Between 2000 and 2007, 42 LACC (stage IIA bulky-IVA) patients were treated at the Gynecologic Oncology Unit of the C.R.

Assessment of chronic wounds by three-dimensional optical imaging based on integrating geometrical, chromatic, and thermal data.

Chronic wounds represent a particular debilitating health care problem, mainly affecting elderly people. A full and correct diagnosis of tissue damage should be carried out considering both dimensional, chromatic, and thermal parameters. A great variety of methods have been proposed with the aim of producing objective assessment of skin lesions, but none of the existing technologies seem to be robust enough to work for all ulcer typologies.

Exercising fasting or fed to enhance fat loss? Influence of food intake on respiratory ratio and excess postexercise oxygen consumption after a bout of endurance training.

Exercise and nutrition are often used in combination to lose body fat and reduce weight. In this respect, exercise programs are as important as correct nutrition. Several issues are still controversial in this field, and among them there are contrasting reports on whether training in a fasting condition can enhance weight loss by stimulating lipolytic activity.

Integration of 3D anatomical data obtained by CT imaging and 3D optical scanning for computer aided implant surgery.

Background: A precise placement of dental implants is a crucial step to optimize both prosthetic aspects and functional constraints. In this context, the use of virtual guiding systems has been recognized as a fundamental tool to control the ideal implant position. In particular, complex periodontal surgeries can be performed using preoperative planning based on CT data.

Prophylactic methylxanthine for prevention of apnoea in preterm infants.

Background: Recurrent apnoea is common in preterm infants. These episodes can lead to hypoxaemia and bradycardia, which may be severe enough to require the use of positive pressure ventilation. In infants with apnoea, methylxanthine treatment has been used successfully to prevent further episodes.

Methylxanthine treatment for apnoea in preterm infants.

Background: Recurrent apnoea is common in preterm infants, particularly at very early gestational ages. These episodes of ineffective breathing can lead to hypoxaemia and bradycardia that may be severe enough to require the use of positive pressure ventilation. Methylxanthines (such as caffeine, theophylline or aminophylline) have been used to stimulate breathing and reduce apnoea and its consequences.

Patient-reported outcomes after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer: a multicenter prospective observational study.

Objective: To prospectively describe patient-reported outcomes (PROs) after preoperative chemoradiotherapy (pCRT) for rectal cancer.

Background: Little evidence is available on PROs after pCRT for rectal cancer.

Patients And Methods: Patients with rectal cancer, candidates to receive pCRT, were enrolled in a multicenter prospective observational trial.

Improved postural control after dynamic balance training in older overweight women.

Background And Aims: Many studies have reported a greater frequency of falls among older women than men in conditions which stress balance. Previously, we found an improvement in static balance in older women with an increased support surface area and equal load redistribution on both feet, in response to a dynamic balance training protocol. The aim of the present study was to examine whether the same training program and body composition would have effects on the postural control of older overweight women.

Preliminary evaluation of a new technique of minimally invasive surfactant therapy.

Objective: To investigate a method of minimally invasive surfactant therapy (MIST) to be used in spontaneously breathing preterm infants on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), evaluating the feasibility of the technique and the therapeutic benefit after MIST.

Design: Non-randomised feasibility study.

Setting: Tertiary neonatal intensive care unit.

Excess mortality for non–AIDS-defining cancers among people with AIDS.

During the period 1999–2006, non–AIDS-defining cancers accounted for 7.4% of deaths among Italian people with AIDS. The risk of death was 6.

Latissimus dorsi fine needle muscle biopsy: a novel and efficient approach to study proximal muscles of upper limbs.

Background: The muscle biopsy based on the Bergström needle has been widely used for more than 40 y for diagnosis and experimental studies on muscle. More recently, thinner needles and tru-cut needles have also been introduced. Such techniques have been largely tested on various muscles, including the quadriceps, with few studies on upper limb muscles like deltoid, and no studies on latissimus dorsi muscle (LDM).

The effects of indoor cycling training in sedentary overweight women.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the body composition and physiological effects in young sedentary overweight women after an indoor cycle training period.

Methods: Fourteen subjects (22.6+/-2.

Influence of different ranges of motion on selective recruitment of shoulder muscles in the sitting military press: an electromyographic study.

Popular fitness literature suggests that varying the elbow range of motion (ROM) during the Military press can lead up to specific muscle isolation especially for deltoid and trapezius muscles. The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of ROM at different loads on the electromyographic (EMG) activity of 8 preselected muscles. Six experienced lifters performed 3 sets of 10 repetitions, each one with a different ROM: the first one with a final elbow angle of 90 degrees (R1); the second with 135 degrees (R2), and the last one with a final elbow angle of 180 degrees (R3).

Elevated risks of death for diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases in Italian AIDS cases.

After the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART), an increased incidence of insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus (DM), and cardiovascular diseases has been described. The impact of such conditions on mortality in the post-HAART era has been also assessed in various modes in the literature. In this paper, we report on the death risks for DM, myocardial infarction, and chronic ischemic heart diseases that were investigated among 9662 Italian AIDS cases diagnosed between 1999 and 2005.

The impact of Kaposi sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma on mortality of people with AIDS in the highly active antiretroviral therapies era.

Background: Kaposi sarcoma (KS) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) have strongly diminished in the HAART era, but their impact on life expectancy of people with AIDS (PWA) needs to be monitored. We aimed at quantifying the burden of KS and NHL on mortality of PWA in the HAART period in Italy.

Methods: Death certificates of 3209 PWA diagnosed in 1999-2006 who died as of December 2006 were reviewed to identify those deaths in which KS or NHL was the underlying cause.

Early myocardial dysfunction after chronic use of anabolic androgenic steroids: combined pulsed-wave tissue Doppler imaging and ultrasonic integrated backscatter cyclic variations analysis.

Background: The chronic consumption of androgenic anabolic steroids (AAS) has shown to cause subclinical impairment of myocardial function. Pulsed-wave Doppler tissue imaging (PWDTI) detects early regional alterations of ventricular function, whereas integrated backscatter cyclic variations (IBScv) are tightly related to the contractile efficiency of the left ventricular wall. The aim of this study was to identify the effects of chronic AAS misuse on myocardial function using both PWDTI and IBScv.

Tumor response is predicted by patient genetic profile in rectal cancer patients treated with neo-adjuvant chemo-radiotherapy.

The aim of the study was the identification of a pharmacogenetic profile predictive of the tumor regression grade (TRG), considered as tumor response parameter, after neo-adjuvant treatment in rectal cancer patients. A total of 238 rectal cancer patients treated in a neo-adjuvant setting by a fluoropyrimidines-based chemo-radiotherapy (RT) were genotyped for 25 genetic polymorphisms in 16 genes relevant for treatment-associated pathways. Two polymorphisms were associated with TRG in a multivariate analysis: hOGG1-1245C > G, which can affect radiosensitivity and MTHFR-677C > T, which is involved in fluoropyrimidines action.

Effects of three distinct protocols of fitness training on body composition, strength and blood lactate.

Aim: Circuit training is a very popular methodology in fitness program because it allows to join together cardiovascular and strength training. The purpose of this study was to determine the physiological effects of circuit training performed at different intensities on body composition, strength and blood lactate in middle-aged subjects who had recently undergone only minimum physical training.

Methods: Forty participants (aged 50-65) were assigned to a control group (CG) or to one of the three exercise treatment groups: Endurance Group (EG), Circuit-Low Intensity Group (CLG), Circuit-High Intensity Group (CHG).

Comparison between polishing (maturation) ponds and subsurface flow constructed wetlands (planted and unplanted) for the post-treatment of the effluent from UASB reactors.

This paper presents the results of a comparison of the performance of two treatment systems operating in parallel, with the same influent wastewater. The investigated systems are (i) UASB + three polishing ponds in series + coarse filter (200 population equivalents) and (ii) UASB + subsurface flow constructed wetlands (50 population equivalents). Two wetland units, operating in parallel, were analysed, being one planted (Typha latifolia) and the other unplanted.

[AIDS and injecting drug use: survival determinants in the highly active antiretroviral therapy era].

Objectives: to estimate survival, after AIDS diagnosis, in people who got infected with HIV through injecting drug use (IDUs), to identify among variables collected at AIDS diagnosis those which were associated to prognosis and to assess the frequency of morbid conditions at death.

Design: population-based, longitudinal study.

Setting And Participants: 4,040 IDUs diagnosed with AIDS in Italy between 1999 and 2005.

Cancer incidence in people with AIDS in Italy.

People with HIV/AIDS (PWHA) have increased risk of some cancers. The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART) has improved their life expectancy, exposing them to the combined consequences of aging and of a prolonged exposure to cancer risk factors. The aim of this study was to estimate incidence rates (IR) in PWHA in Italy, before and after the introduction of HAART, after adjusting for sex and age through direct standardization.