The global population is experiencing an aging trend; however, this increased longevity is not necessarily accompanied by improved health in older age. A significant consequence of this demographic shift is the rising prevalence of multiple chronic illnesses, posing challenges to healthcare systems worldwide. Aging is a major risk factor for multimorbidity, which marks a progressive decline in resilience and a dysregulation of multisystem homeostasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic wounds represent silent epidemic affecting a large portion of the world population, especially the elders; in this context, the development of advanced bioactive dressings is imperative to accelerate wound healing process, while contrasting or preventing infections. The aim of the present work was to provide a deep characterization of the functional and biopharmaceutical properties of a sustainable thin and flexible films, composed of whey proteins alone (WPI) and added with nanostructured zinc oxide (WPZ) and intended for the management of chronic wounds. The potential of whey proteins-based films as wound dressings has been confirmed by their wettability, hydration properties, elastic behavior upon hydration, biodegradation propensity and, when added with nanostructured zinc oxide, antibacterial efficacy against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens, i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough real-time 3D echocardiography (RT3DE) has only been introduced in the last decades, its use still needs to be improved since it is a time-consuming and operator-dependent technique and acquiring a good quality data can be difficult. Moreover, the additive value of this important diagnostic tool still needs to be wholly appreciated in clinical practice. This review aims at explaining how, why, and when performing RT3DE is useful in clinical practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic wounds are a major concern for global health, affecting millions of individuals worldwide. As their occurrence is correlated with age and age-related comorbidities, their incidence in the population is set to increase in the forthcoming years. This burden is further worsened by the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which causes wound infections that are increasingly hard to treat with current antibiotics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatent foramen ovale (PFO) is a common cardiac abnormality with a prevalence of 25% in the general population. PFO has been associated with the paradoxical embolism causing cryptogenic stroke and systemic embolization. Results from clinical trials, meta-analyses, and position papers support percutaneous PFO device closure (PPFOC), especially if interatrial septal aneurysms coexist and in the presence of large shunts in young patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCardiac tumors may be primary (either benign or malignant) or secondary (malignant) and are first detected by echocardiography in most cases. The cardiologist often challenges their identification, the differential diagnosis and the best therapeutic approach. Malignant tumors have usually a poor prognosis, which may be significantly improved by appropriate and timely therapies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe use of toxic crosslinking agents and reagents in the fabrication of hydrogels is a frequent issue which is particularly concerning for biomedical or food packaging applications. In this study, novel antibacterial bionanocomposite films were obtained through a simple solvent casting technique without using any crosslinking substance. Films were made from a flexible and transparent whey protein matrix containing zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesised via a wet chemical precipitation route.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcute aortic syndrome includes three main pathological conditions: aortic dissection (AD), intramural hematoma (IMH) and penetrating aortic ulcer (PAU). These are life-threatening conditions, therefore early diagnosis and interventional/surgical treatment are fundamental for the survival of affected individuals. While anatomical findings of classical AD provided by imaging techniques are known to all cardiologists, imaging findings of IMH and PAU are less known, as are their prognostic implications and consequences on management and treatment strategies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFType A acute aortic dissection (TA-AAD) is a catastrophic condition for which emergency surgery is the mainstay of therapy. Surgical treatment of TA-AAD is centered on excision of the proximal intimal tear, replacement of the ascending aorta and re-establishment of a dominant flow in the distal true lumen. In patients who survive surgery, a dissected distal and/or proximal aorta remains, posing a risk of subsequent aneurysmal degeneration, rupture and malperfusion, and secondary extensive interventions are often required.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe world's population is ageing; however, the prolonged life expectancy is barely associated with an increase of healthy aging, and an important part of this demographic shift is a rising susceptibility to development and progressive accumulation of multiple chronic illness, challenging healthcare systems. Aging, therefore, represents the major risk factor for multimorbidity, a milestone for progressive loss of resilience and age-related multisystem homeostatic dysregulation. Cardiovascular risk factors, time and comorbidities play a vicious role in the development of heart disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe complexity of cardiovascular diseases has led to an extensive use of technological instruments and the development of multimodality imaging. This extensive use of different cardiovascular imaging tests in the same patient has increased costs and waiting times.The concept of appropriateness has changed over time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSarcomeric hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most common cardiovascular genetic disease. Clinical evaluation and comprehensive echocardiography are crucial for the diagnosis and early evaluation of the hypertrophic phenotype, but multimodality imaging approach is often required to better define diagnosis and differential diagnosis from phenocopies. This review aims to assess the role of multimodality imaging and, in particular, advanced echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance in relation to differential diagnosis and preclinical diagnosis, identification of different phenotypes, and assessment of disease progression and risk of sudden cardiac death.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMechanical or bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement has traditionally been the treatment of choice for patients with aortic valve insufficiency. However, prosthetic valve replacement has significant limitations being associated with a substantial cumulative risk of thromboembolism, anticoagulation-related hemorrhage, prosthetic valve endocarditis, and structural or non-structural valve dysfunction requiring reoperation. In this setting, aortic valve repair, by avoiding the long-term risks associated with prosthetic valve implantation, has emerged as a valid alternative treatment to conventional aortic valve replacement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeft ventricular noncompaction cardiomyopathy is a heart disease with relevant potential complications including heart failure, life-threatening arrhythmias, and embolic events. In order to prevent adverse outcomes, it is crucial to appropriately recognize and manage this cardiomyopathy. In this paper, we report the main clinical presentations and imaging modalities used for diagnosis, including echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFG Ital Cardiol (Rome)
March 2019
Continuous improvement of technologies, devices and drugs needs a renewal and update of current recommendations and guidelines on antithrombotic strategies, especially in those fields where literature lacks of established scientific evidences. Accordingly, the aim of this consensus statement is to provide support for antithrombotic therapy based on current guidelines and the most recent scientific evidences.After an overview on the currently available devices, the appropriate therapy according to type of procedure and implanted device is discussed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur Heart J Suppl
May 2017
Aortic stenosis is one of the most frequent valvular diseases in developed countries, and its impact on public health resources and assistance is increasing. A substantial proportion of elderly people with severe aortic stenosis is not eligible to surgery because of the advanced age, frailty, and multiple co-morbidities. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) enables the treatment of very elderly patients at high or prohibitive surgical risk considered ineligible for surgery and with an acceptable life expectancy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFG Ital Cardiol (Rome)
September 2016
Aortic stenosis is one the most frequent valvular diseases in developed countries, and its impact on public healthcare resources and assistance is increasing. A substantial proportion of elderly patients with severe aortic stenosis is frequently not eligible for surgery because of advanced age, frailty and multiple comorbidities. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) enables the treatment of very elderly patients at high or prohibitive surgical risk considered ineligible for surgery and with an acceptable life expectancy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe long-term sequelae of mantle therapy include, especially lung and cardiac disease but also involve the vessels and the organs in the neck and thorax (such as thyroid, aorta, and esophagus). We presented the case of 66-year-old female admitted for congestive heart failure in radiation-induced heart disease. The patient had undergone to massive radiotherapy 42 years ago for Hodgkin's disease (type 1A).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe describe the case of a patient with acute bioprosthesis dysfunction in cardiogenic shock, in whom hemodynamic support was provided by venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and successfully treated by transcatheter aortic valve implantation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the setting of an acute coronary syndrome, the differential diagnosis between a thrombus and a myxoma may be cumbersome. We describe the case of a patient presenting with an acute coronary syndrome associated with an aneurysmatic apical left ventricular myxoma.
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