Breast Cerclage: An Innovative Expedient for Perimammary Dehiscence Healing.

The perimammary zone is a critical area for healing, due to high incidence of dehiscences, expecially sternal ones. Although deep sternal wound complications are nowadays less common after cardiac surgery, in some at risk patients, dehiscences still represent important complications of major cardiac or vascular surgeries and they are directly correlated to an increased risk of patient's morbidity and mortality. A heavy breast represents a source of tension on the perimammary wound, inhibiting or delaying a complete recovery.

Chronic Ulcer by Cutaneous GvHD After Bone Marrow Transplantation Treated With Skin Allograft From HLA-Identical Donor: Case Report and Literature Review.

We present a successful split-thickness skin allograft for a chronic cutaneous graft-versus-host disease of the thigh in an immunosuppressed patient, treated for acute myeloid leukemia with allogenic bone marrow stem cells transplant.

Doppler perfusion index and colorectal hepatic metastases: personal experience and review of the literature.

Background/aims: To evaluate the role of the hepatic perfusion in the assessment of the colorectal cancer.

Methodology: For this research 18 patients affected by colorectal cancer were enrolled. All the patients were submitted to the evaluation of the Doppler Perfusion Index (DPI) which represents the ratio of hepatic arterial to total liver blood flow.

PPAR-alpha Contributes to the Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Verbascoside in a Model of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Mice.

The previous results suggest that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR)-alpha, an intracellular transcription factor activated by fatty acids, plays a role in control of inflammation. There is persuasive epidemiological and experimental evidence that dietary polyphenols have anti-inflammatory activity. In this regard, it has been demonstrated that verbascoside (VB) functions as intracellular radical scavenger and reduces the microscopic and macroscopic signs of experimental colitis.

Olprinone attenuates the development of ischemia/reperfusion injury of the gut.

Purpose: Splanchnic artery occlusion (SAO) shock is a severe form of circulatory shock produced by ischemia and reperfusion of the splanchnic organs. The occlusion and reperfusion of the splanchnic arteries causes activation and adhesion of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs), release of proinflammatory substances and the formation of both species of oxygen and nitrogen derivatives free radicals. Olprinone is a specific phosphodiesterase-III inhibitor that has many properties; one of which is anti-inflammatory actions at therapeutic concentrations clinically used for heart failure.

3,5-Dicaffeoyl-4-malonylquinic acid reduced oxidative stress and inflammation in a experimental model of inflammatory bowel disease.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of 3,5-dicaffeoyl-4-malonylquinic acid (CA1), extract from Centella Asiatica, in rats subjected to experimental colitis.

Results: Colitis was induced in rats by intracolonic instillation of dinitrobenzene sulphonic acid (DNBS). CA1 was administered daily orally (0.

Green tea polyphenols ameliorate pancreatic injury in cerulein-induced murine acute pancreatitis.

Objective: Green tea polyphenols (GTPs) are naturally occurring antioxidants acting through pathways that include reactive oxygen species and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB). This study investigates the effect of GTPs in a cerulein-induced murine model of acute pancreatitis (AP).

Methods: Male CD mice (median weight, 37.

Role of osteopontin in breast cancer patients.

Aim And Background: In breast cancer, as in almost all neoplastic diseases, the prognosis is strictly related to the invasive capacity, local and distant, that characterizes the growth of all tumors. Since the mechanisms that regulate replication of the neoplastic cells, with consequent capacity to metastasize, are not completely known, identification of new markers represents the gold standard of research in the stratification of patients with such a pathology. Osteopontin, a specific phosphoglycoprotein isolated from extracellular bone matrix and actively involved in mechanisms of bone reabsorption, appears to play a key role in osteoclastogenesis at the level of the skeleton in some pathologic situations.

Effects of verbascoside biotechnologically produced by Syringa vulgaris plant cell cultures in a rodent model of colitis.

The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of verbascoside (VB) in rats subjected to experimental colitis. Colitis was induced in rats by intracolonic instillation of 2,4 dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (DNBS; 25 mg/rat). VB was administered daily per os (0.

Absence of endogenous interleukin-10 enhances secondary inflammatory process after spinal cord compression injury in mice.

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) exerts a wide spectrum of regulatory activities in the immune and inflammatory response. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of endogenous IL-10 on the modulation of the secondary events in mice subjected to spinal cord injury induced by the application of vascular clips (force of 24 g) to the dura via a four-level T5-T8 laminectomy. IL-10 wild-type mice developed severe spinal cord damage characterized by oedema, tissue damage and apoptosis (measured by Annexin-V, terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated UTP end labeling staining, Bax, Bcl-2, and Fas-L expression).

Melatonin reduces stress-activated/mitogen-activated protein kinases in spinal cord injury.

Permanent functional deficits following spinal cord injury (SCI) arise from both mechanical injury and from secondary tissue reactions involving inflammation. The mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) play a critical role in cell signaling and gene expression. MAPK family includes three major members: extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK), p38, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), representing three different signaling cascades.

Teupolioside, a phenylpropanoid glycosides of Ajuga reptans, biotechnologically produced by IRBN22 plant cell line, exerts beneficial effects on a rodent model of colitis.

The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of phenylpropanoid glycoside, teupolioside, biotechnologically produced by IRBN22 Ajuga reptans cell line, in rats subjected to experimental colitis. Colitis was induced in rats by intracolonic instillation of dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (DNBS). Teupolioside was administered daily orally (0.

Myrtucommulone from Myrtus communis exhibits potent anti-inflammatory effectiveness in vivo.

Myrtucommulone (MC), a nonprenylated acylphloroglucinol contained in the leaves of myrtle (Myrtus communis), has been reported to suppress the biosynthesis of eicosanoids by inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase-1 in vitro and to inhibit the release of elastase and the formation of reactive oxygen species in activated polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Here, in view of the ability of MC to suppress typical proinflammatory cellular responses in vitro, we have investigated the effects of MC in in vivo models of inflammation. MC was administered to mice intraperitoneally, and paw edema and pleurisy were induced by the subplantar and intrapleural injection of carrageenan, respectively.

Ethyl pyruvate reduces the development of zymosan-induced generalized inflammation in mice.

Objective: Ethyl pyruvate (EP) is a simple aliphatic ester, which has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects in previous numerous cell culture and animal studies. In the present study, we investigated the effects of EP (75 mg/kg i.p.

Beneficial effects of ethyl pyruvate in a mouse model of spinal cord injury.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate in a mouse model of spinal cord injury (SCI) the effect of the treatment with ethyl pyruvate (EP). Spinal cord injury was induced by the application of vascular clips (force of 24 g) to the dura via a four-level T5-T8 laminectomy in mice. Treatment with EP (75, 25, or 8.

Volvulus due to a giant sigmoid diverticulum: a rare cause of intestinal occlusion.

The case of a giant sigmoid diverticulum complicated by a volvulus of the bowel is reported. After an exhaustive literature review, the Authors analyse the aetiopathogenetic, physiopathological and clinical aspects of this rare condition, considering its diagnostic and therapeutic implications. The Authors describe surgical problems and therapeutic management, pointing out that without an accurate study by radiological imaging, it is very difficult to diagnose the condition, particularly when no specific symptoms have been observed.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha modulates the anti-inflammatory effect of glucocorticoids in a model of inflammatory bowel disease in mice.

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are effective anti-inflammatory agents widely used in therapeutic approach to treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Previous results suggest that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor [alpha] (PPAR-[alpha]), an intracellular transcription factor activated by fatty acids, plays a role in control of inflammation. With the aim to characterize the role of PPAR-[alpha] in GC-mediated anti-inflammatory activity, we tested the efficacy of dexamethasone (DEX), a synthetic GC specific for GR, in an experimental model of IBD induced by dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid, comparing mice lacking PPAR-[alpha] (PPAR-[alpha]KO) with wild-type (WT) mice.

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 and metalloproteinase-2 activity and expression is reduced by melatonin during experimental colitis.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are associated with matrix turnover in both physiological and pathological conditions. Several data indicate that MMPs play an important role in the pathogenesis of colitis. Various evidence has documented that the pineal secretory product melatonin exerts an important anti-inflammatory effect in different experimental models including colitis.

Melatonin regulates matrix metalloproteinases after traumatic experimental spinal cord injury.

The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are important enzymes that regulate developmental processes, maintain normal physiology in adulthood and have reparative roles at specific stages after an insult to the nervous system. MMPs, particularly MMP-9/gelatinase B, promote early inflammation and barrier disruption after spinal cord injury (SCI). Recently, we have reported that the pineal secretory product melatonin exerts important anti-inflammatory effects in an experimental model of SCI induced by the application of vascular clips (force of 24 g) to the dura after a four-level T5-T8 laminectomy.

Protective effect of Arbutus unedo aqueous extract in carrageenan-induced lung inflammation in mice.

In the present study, we show that an aqueous extract of Arbutus unedo L. (AuE), a Mediterranean endemic plant widely employed as an astringent, diuretic and urinary anti-septic, in vitro down-regulates the expression of some inflammatory genes, such as those encoding inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and intracellular adhesion molecule-(ICAM)-1, exerting a inhibitory action on both IFN-gamma-elicited STAT1 activation and IL-6-elicited STAT3 activation. To evaluate further the effect of AuE in animal models of acute inflammation, we examined whether AuE administration attenuates inflammatory response of murine induced by intrapleural injection of carrageenan.

Management of solitary pulmonary nodule.

Objectives: The pulmonary nodule is an important diagnostic and therapeutic problem. Diagnostic certainty is only obtained by histological examination. Mini-invasive surgery allows removal of the nodule with minimal sequelae for the patient.

Effect of thalidomide on signal transduction pathways and secondary damage in experimental spinal cord trauma.

TNF-alpha seems to play a central role in the inflammatory process of spinal cord injury. We tested the neuroprotective effects of thalidomide, an immunomodulatory agent that inhibits TNF-alpha production, which have not been investigated so far. The aim of our study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of thalidomide in an experimental model of spinal cord trauma, which was induced by the application of vascular clips (force of 24 g) to the dura via a 4-level T5 to T8 laminectomy.

Absence of endogenous interleukin-10 enhanced organ dysfunction and mortality associated to zymosan-induced multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.

Experimental evidence suggests that interleukin (IL)-10 plays a pivotal role in generalized inflammation. Here we investigate the effects of IL-10 gene deletion on the acute phase of the multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) caused by zymosan in the mouse. MODS was induced by zymosan administration (500 mg/kg, suspended in saline solution, i.

Etanercept reduces acute tissue injury and mortality associated to zymosan-induced multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.

It has been well demonstrated that TNF-alpha is integral to the pathogenesis of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). In this study, we investigate the effects of etanercept (10 mg/kg, s.c.

Thoracoscopy and transplantation: a new attractive tool.

Background: Transplanted patients on immunosuppressive treatment have an increased risk of infections or neoplasms. Transplantation candidates with infection or a suspected malignancy are excluded from transplantation. In patients already transplanted, thoracoscopy can resolve complications or treat the pulmonary pathology without compromising the precarious existing reactive equilibrium.