Adipokines: a novel link between adiposity and carotid plaque vulnerability.

Background: In patients with carotid stenosis, we prospectively investigated the association of novel adipokines, apelin and visfatin, with gray-scale median (GSM) score, a valid index of carotid plaque vulnerability. We also assessed the impact of atorvastatin therapy on the above biochemical and imaging markers.

Materials And Methods: Seventy-four overweight [body-mass index (BMI) > 25 kg/m(2) , fat-mass > 30%], statin-free patients, with carotid stenosis, but without indications for intervention were enrolled.

Leiomyosarcoma of renal vein, initially resembling pheochromocytoma.

We report the case of a 43-year-old woman who presented with mild left-sided abdominal pain. Computed tomography and MRI findings revealed a 10.7 × 8.

Surgical management of primary aldosteronism. not everything that shines is gold.

Background: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is a syndrome which includes a group of clinical entities in which aldosterone production is inappropriately high and nonsupressible by sodium loading. The most frequent causes of PA are adrenal adenoma and unilateral or bilateral primary hyperplasia.

Methods: We report a case of a 55-year-old man with a 10-year history of hypertension in whom functional hormonal studies were indicative of PA.

Oxygenated perfluorocarbons protect the intestine from the ischemia/reperfusion injury in rabbits.

Objective: To investigate whether intraluminal administration of oxygenated perfluorocarbons (PFCs) protects the enterocyte from acute ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury.

Materials And Methods: Twenty rabbits were divided in 4 groups: sham-operated controls (group A), acute I/R (group B), acute I/R plus infusion of oxygenated PFCs 30 minutes before ischemia (group C), and acute I/R plus infusion of oxygenated PFCs 30 minutes before reperfusion (group D). Serum creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and mucosal disaccharidase activity were examined.

Intussusception of the small bowel secondary to malignant metastases in two 80-year-old people: a case series.

Introduction: Small bowel intussusception is rare in adults and accounts for one percent of all bowel obstructions. Malignancy is the etiologic agent in approximately 50 percent of all cases.

Case Presentation: Our first patient was an 80-year-old Caucasian woman with signs and symptoms of intermittent bowel obstruction for the last 12 months.

Reconstruction of a traumatic duodenal transection with a pedicled ileal loop: a case report.

Introduction: Blunt duodenal injuries do not occur often. A patient with damage to the duodenal tissue around the pancreatic and common bile duct presents a challenge to surgeons. The choice of procedure must be tailored to the nature of the defect and the amount of tissue lost.

Perioperative use of antibiotics in intra-abdominal surgical infections.

Background: We created a questionnaire with the aim of evaluating surgeon compliance with the guidelines for antibiotic use in the perioperative period in intra-abdominal surgical infections. We discuss the problems emerging from non-adherence to these guidelines.

Methods: In the questionnaire, we tried to correlate the type of intra-abdominal infection with: (1) Time of antibiotic administration commencement; (2) type of antibiotic(s) administered; (c) duration of antibiotic administration; and (4) modification of antibiotic type/duration of administration in the presence of factors increasing the risk of treatment failure.

A rare case of femoral hydatidosis.

Background: We present a case of a hydatid cyst located in the left thigh.

Case Report: A 67-year-old man was admitted to our department with a 10 × 5 × 4 cm mass in the medial compartment of the left thigh. Computed tomography scan indicated possible hydatidosis.

Aggressive lipid-lowering is more effective than moderate lipid-lowering treatment in carotid plaque stabilization.

Objective: Atherosclerotic plaque stabilization is a promising strategy to prevent cerebrovascular events in patients with carotid atherosclerosis. Vascular calcification inhibitors, known osteopontin (OPN) and osteoprotegerin (OPG), have emerged as novel cardiovascular biomarkers. This open-label, prospective study aimed to examine whether aggressive lipid-lowering therapy with atorvastatin is more effective than moderate lipid-lowering in increasing carotid plaque echogenicity, assessed by Gray-Scale Median (GSM) score and suppressing serum OPN and OPG levels in patients with moderate carotid stenosis.

The protective effect of oxygenated perfluorocarbons (PFCs) on intestinal ischemia reperfusion injury (I/R) in rabbits.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of intraluminal administration of oxygenated perfluorocarbons (PFCs) on small intestine's viability in an experimental model of acute ischemia-reperfusion (I/R).

Methods: Twenty rabbits were divided in four groups: sham-operated controls (group A), acute I/R (group B), acute I/R plus infusion of PFCs 30 min before ischemia (group C), and acute I/R plus infusion of PFCs 30 min before reperfusion (group D). Malondialdehyde (MDA) tissue levels and d-lactate blood samples were taken.

The relationship between serum levels of vascular calcification inhibitors and carotid plaque vulnerability.

Objective: Osteopontin (OPN) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) are well-known vascular calcification inhibitors, which have been recently demonstrated to correlate with inflammation and cardiovascular events incidence. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to survey whether OPN and OPG are involved in carotid plaque vulnerability. For this reason, we assessed serum OPN and OPG levels in patients with carotid stenosis, and we explored their relationship with carotid plaque echogenicity and subsequent cerebrovascular ischemic events.

Mid-term comparison of bifurcated modular endograft versus aorto-uni-iliac endograft in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm.

The aim of this prospective study was to compare the outcome of the Talent bifurcated endograft versus the Endofit aorto-uni-iliac endograft in the short-term and mid-term. Between March 2000 and December 2003, 86 patients were treated with the Talent bifurcated endograft (group A) and 21 with the Endofit aorto-uni-iliac endograft (group B) in the same institute by the same surgical team. All patients followed a prospective protocol of preoperative evaluation and postoperative follow-up.

Inhibition of clot formation process by treatment with the low-molecular-weight heparin nadroparin in patients with carotid artery disease undergoing angioplasty and stenting. A thromboelastography study on whole blood.

Low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs) have become the corner stone of antithrombotic treatment but their administration protocol needs to be optimized for certain groups of patients. In this paper, we studied the influence of nadroparin treatment on clot formation process assessed by thromboelastography in patients with carotid artery disease undergoing angioplasty and stenting. Standard thromboelastography assays (in-TEM and ex-TEM) and minimal TF-triggered thromboelastography assay in citrated whole blood were performed in normal volunteers (n = 20), in patients with carotid artery disease receiving only antiplatelet treatment (n = 30), and in patients undergoing angioplasty receiving nadroparin 5750 anti-Xa IU s.

Impact of endograft material on the inflammatory response after elective endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of endograft material on the inflammatory response after elective endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. Consecutive patients (n = 22, all men, 53 to 82 years old) were divided into 2 groups according to the graft material used: In group A (n = 12) the endovascular device was made of polyester and in group B (n = 10) the device was made of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE). All patients received antiinflammatory drugs in the perioperative period.

Lack of an association between angiotensin converting enzyme gene polymorphism and peripheral arterial occlusive disease.

Numerous factors have been reported to influence the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) gene is a candidate gene for atherosclerotic-related disease. In the present study, the association between the polymorphism of the ACE gene and peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) was investigated.