[Well ageing in the XXI century. Political, social and individual strategies].

Population ageing is a triumph, but because to the tendency to the increase of the phenomenon in all countries of the globe, it is also a concern and a challenge for national governments and societies. Starting from the current picture in the States of European Union and the future predictions, it's provides an overview of the relationship between ageing and health, emphasizing some social, political and person-related aspects. In particular, it's examined the theoretical models, strategies and multilevel actions proposed to well-ageing and with dignity, focusing on the model of "active and healthy ageing" promoted in 2012 by the World Health Organization and the European Union.

[Hip fractures in the elderly. Observational study in an unit of intermediate care].

ASL TO4-ICU inpatients with hip fracture over 5 month-period were 45, 12 men and 33 women, average age 81. In 42 patients the fall was accidental or environment-related, and in 40 cases it occurred at home. More than 3 coexisting diseases were found in 22 patients (48%), and polipharmacotherapy with more than 3 drugs in 27 (60%).

[The problem of the chronic recurrent pain among older in-patients].

Epidemiological data of pain prevalence, with particular attention to hospitalised subjects, are described as well as the problems of pain detection, its evaluation and management in older patients. The authors underline that chronic pain is the most frequent type of pain in advanced age, and it is often unrecognized and undertreated. Advanced age is not a sufficient reason to exclude an analgesic treatment which could improve the quality of life of these subjects.

Extremely low frequency-modulated static magnetic fields to treat cancer: A pilot study on patients with advanced neoplasm to assess safety and acute toxicity.

Results of a toxicity pilot human study approved by the competent ethical Committee are reported. Eleven patients with heavily pre-treated advanced cancer were enrolled in a pilot study with different schedules of time exposure to static magnetic fields (MF), amplitude modulated by ELF. An area including the neck, thoracic and abdomen was MF exposed daily, 5 days/week for 4 weeks according to two different schedules: 20 min daily (4 patients) and 70 min daily (7 patients).

Static and ELF magnetic fields enhance the in vivo anti-tumor efficacy of cis-platin against lewis lung carcinoma, but not of cyclophosphamide against B16 melanotic melanoma.

Previous works showed that exposure to static and extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields (MF) over 3 mT slows down the growth kinetics of human tumors engrafted s.c. in immunodeficient mice, reducing their metastatizing power and prolonging mouse survival.

Increased mouse survival, tumor growth inhibition and decreased immunoreactive p53 after exposure to magnetic fields.

The possibility that magnetic fields (MF) cause antitumor activity in vivo has been investigated. Two different experiments have been carried out on nude mice bearing a subcutaneous human colon adenocarcinoma (WiDr). In the first experiment, significant increase in survival time (31%) was obtained in mice exposed daily to 70 min modulated MF (static with a superimposition of 50 Hz) having a time average total intensity of 5.

Static and ELF magnetic fields induce tumor growth inhibition and apoptosis.

The ability of static and extremely low frequency (ELF) Magnetic Fields (MF) to interfere with neoplastic cell function has been evaluated. In vitro experiments were carried out to study the role of MF characteristics (intensity, frequency, and modulation) on two transformed cell lines (WiDr human colon adenocarcinoma and MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma) and one nontransformed cell line (MRC-5 embryonal lung fibroblast). Increase in cell death morphologically consistent with apoptosis was reported exclusively in the two transformed cell lines.

[Findings on standard electrocardiograms of elderly in-patients with diagnosis other than cardiac].

Objective: To investigate the frequency of cardiac arrhythmias, conduction disturbances and other electrocardiographic abnormalities in elderly in-patients without clinical evidence of heart disease, and in relation to different age groups.

Design: Retrospective analysis of the standard 12-lead electrocardiogram recordings.

Methods: Resting electrocardiograms of 595 in-patients aged 65 years and older, without cardiac diagnoses, over a period of one year were examined.

[Genes, molecules, and mechanisms regulating programmed cell death].

Apoptosis is a morphologically distinct form of programmed cellular death that plays a central role during embryogenesis, tissue homeostasis, and to remove not necessary or potentially dangerous cells. Moreover, disregulation of genes mediating or modulating apoptosis contributes to the pathogenesis of a number of human diseases, including cancer, autoimmune diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, viral infections and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. A number of genes and molecules promoting or protective against cell death is at present-day known and an important information about the external and internal signals involved in stimulation and suppression of apoptosis is also emerging.

[Genetic alterations and molecular mechanisms underlying colorectal tumorigenesis].

Tumor cells are cells that have acquired damage to genes that directly regulate their cell cycles. In the multistep process leading to colorectal carcinoma, the adenoma-carcinoma sequence is characterized by progressive accumulation of genetic abnormalities (K-ras oncogene mutation, allelic deletion on chromosome 5q, 18q, 17p). In a hereditary non-polyposis syndrome (Lynch syndrome II) and in about a quarter of the cases of sporadic colorectal cancer there is a DNA micro-instability which contributes to the acquisition of mutations that cause loss of tumor-suppressor function.

[What posttreatment monitoring in Whipple's disease? A case report].

The authors--which publish an overview about Whipple's disease in this issue, pages 609-611--report the case of a 67-year-old man admitted to the hospital because of migratory arthralgia, low-grade fever, lymphadenopathy, diarrhea, and impaired intestinal absorption. The microscopical examination of the intestinal mucosa showed an infiltration of the lamina propria by foamy PAS-positive macrophages. The patient was treated with antibiotics for 1 year and obtained clinical remission.

[Strongyloides stercoralis in a region of northwestern Italy. An epidemiological note and presentation of a case of eosinophilic infiltration of the lung].

The Authors report a case of Strongyloides stercoralis infection in an autochthonous farmer from Piedmont (Northern Italy) presenting as an eosinophilic lung disease. After having briefly considered the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the Strongyloides stercoralis infection, the Authors conclude by affirming that the appearance of migratory pulmonary infiltrates in autochthonous subjects or resident in Canavese area (Piedmont), especially if blood and sputum eosinophilia is present, should raise the possibility of Strongyloides-induced lung disease and lead to appropriate examination of sputum, feces, and eventually duodenal contents.

Occlusion of a branch of the central retinal vein as a manifestation of hypercoagulability in a patient with lung cancer. A possible paraneoplastic event.

The author describes the case of a patient with occlusion of a branch of the retinal central vein associated with lung carcinoma. He attributes the occlusive event, at the level of the retinal venous microcirculation, to a condition of hypercoagulability induced by cancer in coexistence with a slowing down of the blood flow as a result of a slight increase of serum viscosity. In the clinical discussion the author first considers the pathogenesis of the clinical and laboratory alterations concerning the coagulation observed in patients with cancer, and then hypothesises that the retinal vein thrombosis in the patient under question might be produced by way of a mechanism of interaction between tumor cells, plasmatic systems of the coagulation, leucocytes, platelets and endothelial cells.