Pain management in total knee arthroplasty: efficacy of a multimodal opiate-free protocol.

Purpose: this study was conducted to identify the most effective method of postoperative pain management, comparing the intravenous opiate infusion protocol with the use of a single periarticular local anesthetic infiltration (LAI) in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) surgery.

Methods: 50 patients submitted to TKA surgery between 2013 and 2015 were divided into two groups. Buprenorphine was administered intravenously to the patients in Group A, while the Group B patients received a single periarticular LAI (ropivacaine and ketorolac) during surgery.

Sudden death of an infant with cardiac, nervous system and genetic involvement--a case report.

Unlabelled: We present a case of sudden death of a 1-month-old male infant with heart, brainstem and genetic polymorphism involvement. Previously considered quite healthy, the child died suddenly and unexpectedly during sleep. The autopsy protocol included an in-depth anatomopathological examination of both the autonomic nervous system and the cardiac conduction system, and molecular analysis of the serotonin transporter gene promoter region, in which a specific genetic condition seems to be associated with sudden infant death.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in children with Class III malocclusion: involvement of the PHOX2B gene.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to provide new molecular approaches to the children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome by evaluating the possible involvement of the PHOX2B gene, notoriously associated to congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS), in Class III malocclusion.

Methods: Fifty subjects with Class III malocclusion, aged from 8 to 14 years, and with history of sleep apneic episodes, and 20 age-matched controls were submitted to genomic DNA examination from oral cells to specifically analyze the PHOX2B genotype.

Results: Point "silent" mutations affecting different nucleotides of the PHOX2B gene were observed in 32 % of patients with Class III malocclusion and never in controls (0 %).

Developmental alterations of the respiratory human retrotrapezoid nucleus in sudden unexplained fetal and infant death.

The study aims were twofold: 1) identify the localization and the cytoarchitecture of the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) in the human fetus and infant and 2) ascertain if the RTN, given its essential role in animal studies for the maintenance of breathing and chemoreception, showed abnormalities in victims of sudden perinatal and infant death (sudden intrauterine unexplained death/SIUD - and sudden infant death syndrome/SIDS). We examined SIDS and SIUD cases and Controls (n=58) from 34 gestational weeks to 8 months of postnatal age by complete autopsy, in-depth autonomic nervous system histological examination, and immunohistochemical analysis of the PHOX2B gene, a transcriptional factor involved in Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome that has been defined as a marker of rat RTN neurons. We identified a group of PHOX2B-immunopositive neurons within the caudal pons, contiguous to the facial/parafacial complex, in 90% of Controls, likely the homologous human RTN (hRTN).

Investigation of 5-HTT expression using quantitative real-time PCR in the human brain in SIDS Italian cases.

The sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the main cause of postneonatal infant death, being defined as the sudden death of an infant under one year of age that remains unexplained after a complete clinical review, autopsy and death scene investigation. The neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) is involved in the regulation of a broad array of behavioral and biological functions. By controlling the reuptake of 5-HT from the extracellular space, the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) regulates the duration and strength of the interactions between 5-HT and its receptors.

New method to produce hemocomponents for regenerative use from peripheral blood: integration among platelet growth factors monocytes and stem cells.

Recent studies have shown the importance of monocytes/macrophageses and of CD34+ progenitors in tissue regeneration processes. These cells, obtained generally from bone marrow, are seen in damaged tissue. We have studied a method to collect from the peripheral blood, using a cell separator and without stimulation of the patient/donor, a leukocyte platelet concentrated hemocomponent (CLP) for regenerative use which contains platelets, monocytes/macrophages, fibrinogen and CD34+ cells.

Optimisation of postmortem tissue preservation and alternative protocol for serotonin transporter gene polymorphisms amplification in SIDS and SIUD cases.

The major obstacle to genetic research in SIUD (sudden intrauterine unexplained death) and SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) cases is the complex characteristics of the human anatomic samples available. In fact, in Italy autopsies are performed at least 24 h post-mortem and tissues can be left in formalin for long fixation times (>4/5 days), thus compromising nucleic acids integrity. In this study we compared the quality of DNA and RNA extracted from tissues differently preserved.

Sudden infant death syndrome and sudden intrauterine unexplained death: correlation between hypoplasia of raphé nuclei and serotonin transporter gene promoter polymorphism.

This study, besides to delineate the cytoarchitecture and the localization in the brainstem of the human raphé nuclei, aims to evaluate the correlation between neuropathological raphé defects and serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT) promoter region polymorphisms in a cohort of 28 SIDS victims, 12 sudden intrauterine unexplained deaths (SIUD), and 17 controls. Hypoplasia of one or more nuclei of both the rostral and caudal raphé groups was found in 57% of SIDS, in 67% of SIUD, and only in 12% of controls. Furthermore, a significant correlation among 5-HTT Long (L) allele, hypoplasia of the raphé nuclei, and maternal smoking in pregnancy was observed in sudden fetal and infant deaths.

Urotensin-II and UII-receptor expression and function in the rat adrenal cortex.

Urotensin-II (UII) is a potent hypertensive peptide, which has been recognized as an endogenous ligand of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPR)-14, now named UT-R. Real-time PCR demonstrated the expression of UII and UT-R mRNAs in both dispersed and in vitro cultured rat adrenocortical cells. UII concentration-dependently decreased basal, but not ACTH-stimulated, corticosterone secretion from cultured adrenocortical cells, and the effect was abolished by the UT-R antagonist Palosuran.

In vitro culture on Matrigel favors the long-term maintenance of rat zona glomerulosa-cell differentiated phenotype.

Zona glomerulosa (ZG) cells cultured on plastic within few days dedifferentiate losing their capacity to secrete aldosterone (ALDO) in appreciable amounts. Evidence indicates that extracellular matrix modulates the secretory behavior of adrenocortical cells cultured in vitro. Hence, we compared the morphology and function of rat ZG cells grown on plastic and Matrigel basement membrane matrix (hereinafter Matrigel) for up to 12 days.

Age-dependent decrease in the ghrelin gene expression in the human adrenal cortex: a real-time PCR study.

Numerous lines of evidence indicate that ghrelin, an endogenous ligand of the growth hormone-secretagogue receptor, is expressed in the human and rat adrenal cortex. In this study, we examined whether ghrelin gene expression undergoes changes in the human adrenal cortex during aging. Semi-quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction demonstrated a highly significant negative correlation between ghrelin mRNA and age in adrenal cortex of 27 patients (aged from 33 to 82 years), who underwent unilateral adrenalectomy/nephrectomy for kidney cancer.