Publications by authors named "Paulis A"
Healing of Peyronie's disease after multimodal antioxidant treatment. A case series.
Arch Ital Urol Androl
October 2024
Introduction: Peyronie's disease (PD) is characterized by fibrosis of the penile tunica albuginea. Conservative treatment options may involve oral and/or injectable medications.
Materials And Methods: This case series includes four patients with PD in the first phase.
Background: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection increases the risk of having multiple sclerosis (MS). Data on adults with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) are lacking.
Objective: To compare EBV serological status in MOGAD versus MS.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to explore gender differences in the phenotypical expression of Behçet's disease (BD) using data from the International AIDA Network Registry, focusing on damage index, disease manifestations, and cardiovascular risk.
- A total of 1024 patients (567 males and 457 females) were examined, revealing that males had a significantly higher overall damage index and more frequent occurrences of uveitis and vascular involvement, while females showed higher instances of arthralgia, arthritis, and CNS involvement.
- Key factors associated with major organ involvement included male gender, treatment with biologic agents, origin from endemic regions, and longer disease duration, indicating a more severe course of BD in males compared to females.
Objective: To evaluate the cardiac involvement in patients with Still's disease with a focus on myocarditis included in the multicenter AIDA (AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance) network Still's disease registry. To exploit the predictive factors for myocarditis in deriving a clinical risk patient profile for this severe manifestation.
Methods: A multicenter observational study was built up assessing consecutive patients with Still's disease characterized by the cardiac involvement among those included in the AIDA Network Still's Disease Registry.
Article Synopsis
- B-mode ultrasound (US) is effective in diagnosing Peyronie's disease (PD), but real-time elastography (RTE) enhances the detection of elusive penile plaques that standard US may miss.
- The study involved 37 PD patients and demonstrated that combining RTE with standard US detected all non-palpable plaques (100% detection) compared to 61.5% with just standard US.
- RTE also proved useful for monitoring treatment progress in PD patients, showing a significant correlation between plaque volume and diagnostic indicators throughout the treatment process.
Article Synopsis
- Neutrophils, the most common type of white blood cells, play a significant role in inflammation and are present in greater levels in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), a chronic disease affecting joints and other body systems.
- A study involving 31 PsA patients and 22 healthy controls investigated the function of neutrophils from blood samples; these neutrophils were tested for various activation and response characteristics.
- Results showed that neutrophils from PsA patients had lower activation and effectiveness when responding to stimuli, along with elevated serum levels of inflammatory markers, suggesting a compromised immune response in these patients.
Article Synopsis
- - Hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) is a group of diverse disorders characterized by high levels of eosinophils, with ongoing challenges in diagnosis, understanding, and personalized treatment still needing attention.
- - There is an urgent need to reduce the time it takes to diagnose and begin treatment for HES, as the condition significantly affects patients' quality of life.
- - The Italian Society of Allergy, Asthma, and Clinical Immunology (SIAAIC) has launched a national initiative, the InHES network, to unify medical efforts and improve communication about HES, including sharing recent research findings and treatment recommendations.
The Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING) is involved in cytosolic DNA sensing and type I Interferons (IFN-I) induction. Aiming to identify new STING agonists with antiviral activity and given the known biological activity of benzothiazole and benzimidazole derivatives, a series of benzofuran derivatives were tested for their ability to act as STING agonists, induce IFN-I and inhibit viral replication. Compounds were firstly evaluated in a gene reporter assay measuring luciferase activity driven by the human IFN-β promoter in cells expressing exogenous STING (HEK293T).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPeyronie's disease (PD) affects the penile albuginea, resulting in penile deformity, pain, erectile dysfunction (ED), and an anxious-depressive state. PD diagnosis involves a thorough medical history, penile palpation, documentation of the penile deformation, a dynamic penile echo color Doppler ultrasound (PCDU), and the completion of questionnaires for the evaluation of pain, ED, and psychometric tests. The aim of this study was to evaluate the symptoms of PD and their prevalence in PD patients in the active phase who had access to our andrology clinic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFood allergy (FA) has shown an increasing prevalence in the last decades, becoming a major public health problem. However, data on the prevalence of FA across the world are heterogeneous because they are influenced by several factors. Among IgE-mediated FA, an important role is played by FA related to plant-derived food which can result from the sensitization to a single protein (specific FA) or to homologous proteins present in different foods (cross-reactive FA) including non-specific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs), profilins, and pathogenesis-related class 10 (PR-10).
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- Idiopathic non-histaminergic acquired angioedema (InH-AAE) is a rare disease that causes swelling and doesn't respond well to common medications like antihistamines.
- The study looked at 26 patients with InH-AAE to understand their symptoms and possible markers of the disease, collecting a lot of health-related information.
- Findings included changes in specific proteins in the blood and differences in blood vessel shape, helping to improve the understanding of InH-AAE and possibly leading to better treatments in the future.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the relationship between Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), a severe inflammatory condition, and the risk of cancer development compared to other diseases like fibromyalgia, Still's disease, and Behçet's disease.
- Results show that FMF patients have a significantly lower risk for malignancies compared to fibromyalgia patients, with a risk ratio (RR) of 0.26; however, this risk is less clear when comparing with the other conditions.
- Factors influencing cancer risk in FMF patients include age at onset and diagnosis, frequency of disease attacks, and treatment with specific biotechnological agents.
It has been more than four years since the first report of SARS-CoV-2, and humankind has experienced a pandemic with an unprecedented impact. Moreover, the new variants have made the situation even worse. Among viral enzymes, the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M) has been deemed a promising drug target vs.
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- - VEXAS syndrome is a new autoinflammatory disease that often affects various organs, with noticeable inflammatory issues in the eyes and orbits.
- - In a study of 59 VEXAS patients, 45.8% exhibited orbital/ocular problems, with periorbital edema and episcleritis being the most common conditions observed.
- - There is a significant link between relapsing polychondritis and eye involvement in VEXAS, and patients with eye issues showed higher mortality rates, indicating the need for closer monitoring by healthcare providers.
Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is a heterogeneous autoimmune disease characterized by widespread vasculopathy, the presence of autoantibodies and the progressive fibrosis of skin and visceral organs. There are still many questions about its pathogenesis, particularly related to the complex regulation of the fibrotic process, and to the factors that trigger its onset. Our recent studies supported a key role of N-formyl peptide receptors (FPRs) and their crosstalk with uPAR in the fibrotic phase of the disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElastography is a noninvasive method that utilizes ultrasound imaging to assess the elasticity and stiffness of soft tissue. Peyronie's disease (PD) is a chronic inflammatory condition that affects the male penis, causing the formation of fibrous plaques. This alters the penis's elasticity and can lead to changes in its shape.
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- This study evaluated the effectiveness of a systemic score in predicting severe outcomes in patients with Still disease, including the risk of mortality and severe complications like macrophage activation syndrome.
- Involving 597 patients, the study found that a higher systemic score significantly correlated with life-threatening outcomes, with scores of 7 or above indicating a greater risk.
- Key components that were most predictive of severe outcomes included liver and lung involvement, emphasizing the importance of these factors in managing Still disease.
Background: Eosinophilia can be influenced by multiple factors. This study aims to set a protocol for monitoring blood absolute eosinophil count (AEC) in patients with seasonal allergy affected by bronchial asthma (BA), allergic rhinitis (AR), or chronic rhinosinusitis with or without nasal polyposis (CRSw/sNP).
Methods: We planned a total of four annual blood samples to measure AEC in- and out-seasonal pollen exposure (i.
Peyronie's disease (PD) is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the penile albuginea. Oxidative stress (OS) is important for the development of the disease; therefore, it seemed interesting to us to directly measure OS at both the site of the disease and in peripheral blood. For a precise OS study, it is necessary to evaluate not only the single results of the total oxidant status (TOS) and total antioxidant status (TAS) but also their ratio: OS index (OSI) (arbitrary unit) = TOS/TAS × 100.
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- - This study investigates whether pediatric-onset, adult-onset, and elderly-onset Still's disease are the same condition or different diseases by comparing demographic, clinical, and treatment response data across these age groups.
- - Out of 411 patients surveyed, most were adults (76.4%), while 15.8% were pediatric and 7.8% were elderly, with significant differences found in symptoms like skin rash and arthritis being more prevalent in children, and pleuritis in the elderly.
- - Overall, while some minor differences in symptoms and lab results were noted among the age groups, the study concludes that Still's disease has similar demographic and treatment characteristics across pediatric, adult, and elderly patients.
Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a rare, systemic necrotizing vasculitis affecting small-to-medium-sized vessels. EGPA's clinical manifestations are heterogeneous, affecting different organs and systems, and the upper respiratory tract can be affected by ear, nose and throat (ENT) involvement. The aim of our study was to assess type manifestations at the time of diagnosis in a cohort of EGPA patients and correlate findings with baseline variables (sex, age, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies-ANCA-status) and literature reports.
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- Nitric oxide (NO) is a short-lived gas important for signaling in blood vessels and various biological processes like immunity, inflammation, and aging.
- Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is a non-invasive method to measure airway inflammation, particularly in asthma, and is responsive to anti-inflammatory treatments.
- The review focuses on the use of FeNO as a biomarker for type 2 inflammation and its role in various allergic disorders, highlighting both past and current research findings.
Article Synopsis
- The study focuses on patients with Still's disease to identify clinical and laboratory signs associated with macrophage activation syndrome (MAS), a serious complication.
- Out of 414 patients examined, 39 (9.4%) developed MAS, with several significant variables like liver involvement and high ferritin levels linked to its occurrence.
- Multivariate analysis revealed that having hepatomegaly and monoarthritis were directly associated with MAS, while factors like a normal platelet count were protective against its development.
Behçet's disease (BD) is a heterogeneous multifactorial autoinflammatory disease characterized by a plethora of clinical manifestations. Cutaneous lesions are considered hallmarks of the disease. However, their evolution over time and a thorough description are scarcely reported in non-endemic regions.
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