Publications by authors named "Valentina ROSSI"

Background: One-stage bilateral unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (BUKA) is a promising option for patients with bilateral medial knee osteoarthritis. This study aims to compare the safety, early clinical and functional outcomes, and radiological results of conventional vs robotic-assisted medial BUKA.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted involving patients who underwent medial BUKA as a single-stage procedure between April 2016 and January 2022.

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Background: Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterised by non-caseating granulomas, while arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is a genetic condition mainly affecting desmosomal proteins. The coexistence of CS and genetic variants associated with ACM is not well understood, creating challenges in diagnosis and management. This study aimed to describe the clinical, imaging and genetic features of patients with both conditions.

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Cyclin Dependent Kinases (CDKs) are closely connected to the regulation of cell cycle progression, having been first identified as the kinases able to drive cell division. In reality, the human genome contains 20 different CDKs, which can be divided in at least three different sub-family with different functions, mechanisms of regulation, expression patterns and subcellular localization. Most of these kinases play fundamental roles the normal physiology of eucaryotic cells; therefore, their deregulation is associated with the onset and/or progression of multiple human disease including but not limited to neoplastic and neurodegenerative conditions.

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Background And Aims: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a systemic autoimmune disease, characterized by widespread microvasculopathy and fibrosis. Vascular and endothelial cell changes appear to precede other features of SSc. Retinal vascular analysis is a new, easy-to-use tool for the assessment of retinal microvascular function.

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Background: Aphanomyces root rot is one of the most severe diseases in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.), resulting in drastic losses in sugar yield and plant degeneration. The causal agent is the soil-borne pathogen Aphanomyces cochlioides, a phytopathogenic oomycete able to infect sugar beet roots from the seedling stage until harvest.

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Background: The aim of our retrospective study was to describe the immunophenotypic characteristics of neuroendocrine breast neoplasm (BNEN), a peculiar and rare type of breast carcinoma.

Methods: Pathological data from 51 patients affected by BNEN were retrospectively evaluated, and 44 patients were considered eligible (7 patients with incomplete data were excluded). The patients were followed in six different Italian hospitals between 2009 and 2019.

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Article Synopsis
  • Risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) is recommended for women with BRCA1/2 pathogenic variants to prevent ovarian cancer, but many still refuse the surgery despite its benefits.
  • A study at a referral center in Italy analyzed 287 women, finding a high uptake rate of 96.1% for RRSO after counseling, although some women were hesitant due to fears about menopause and childbearing.
  • The study suggests that a specialized clinic with a supportive team and options for surveillance plays a crucial role in encouraging women to consider risk-reducing surgery.
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Background: The mechanism of how sacubitril/valsartan improves outcomes in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is still incompletely understood.

Objectives: The aim of this trial was to delineate the effects of sacubitril/valsartan on endothelial function, retinal microvascular function, and arterial stiffness in HFrEF.

Methods: This double-blind controlled trial randomized 79 stable HFrEF patients with NYHA class II-IV on guideline-recommended therapy (mean age: 59.

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Cancer cells can release EGF-like peptides, acquiring the capacity of autocrine stimulation via EGFR-mediated signaling. One of these peptides (HBEGF) was found to be released from a membrane-bound precursor protein and is critically implicated in the proliferative potential of cancer cells. We observed that the increased lactate levels characterizing neoplastic tissues can induce the release of uPA, a protease promoting HBEGF shedding.

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The energetic metabolism of cancer cells relies on a substantial commitment of pyruvate to the catalytic action of lactate-generating dehydrogenases. This coupling mainly depends on lactate dehydrogenase A (LDH-A), which is overexpressed in different types of cancers, and therefore represents an appealing therapeutic target. Taking into account that the activity of LDHs is exclusively exerted by their tetrameric forms, it was recently shown that peptides perturbing the monomers-to-tetramer assembly inhibit human LDH-A (hLDH-A).

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Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents a major therapeutic challenge due to its heterogeneous and aggressive phenotype, and limited target-specific treatment options. The trophoblast cell surface antigen (Trop-2), a transmembrane glycoprotein overexpressed in various cancers, has emerged as a promising target for TNBC. Sacituzumab govitecan (SG), an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that targets Trop-2, has recently entered treatment algorithms for advanced and metastatic TNBC, independently from Trop-2 expression status, with manageable toxicity.

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  • * The study revealed that bone morphogenic protein-4 (BMP4) gradients play a crucial role in maintaining cardiac tissue health in both mice and humans with myocarditis.
  • * Enhancing BMP signaling by targeting inhibitors gremlin-1 and gremlin-2 reduced inflammation and fibrosis in mouse models, suggesting that this BMP4-gremlin pathway could be a potential treatment for myocardial inflammation.
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A hypertensive response to exercise is a precursor leading to hypertension, which is a major risk factor for the development of heart failure and diastolic dysfunction. Herein, we aimed to assess blood pressure (BP) in patients with a hypertensive response to exercise and different degrees of diastolic dysfunction. Between January 2009 and December 2014, 373 patients with a hypertensive response to exercise (HRE) and echocardiographic data assessing diastolic function were enrolled at the University Hospital of Zurich.

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Ancient biomolecules provide a unique perspective on the past but are underutilized in paleontology because of challenges in interpreting the chemistry of fossils. Most organically preserved soft tissues in fossils have been altered by thermal maturation during the fossilization process, obscuring original chemistry. Here, we use a comprehensive program of thermal maturation experiments on soft tissues from diverse extant organisms to systematically test whether thermally altered biosignatures can be discriminated using Raman spectroscopy.

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  • A significant number of heart failure patients progress to advanced stages, which heightens health risks, and some may qualify for advanced treatments like ventricular assist devices (VAD).
  • This study assessed vascular function in 34 patients with VAD compared to 34 patients with advanced heart failure, finding that those with VAD showed improved endothelial function in larger arteries but not in microcirculation.
  • The findings suggest that while VAD implantation benefits endothelial function at the arterial level, it does not enhance microvascular function in advanced heart failure patients.
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The Anderson-Fabry disease (AFD) is a X-linked lysosomal storage disorder due to the deficiency in the α-galactosidase A enzyme. Cardiovascular mortality is a major cause of death in patients with AFD and sudden cardiac death (SCD) is one of the main causes of death. The storage of glycosphingolipid along with ionic channel impairment, inflammation and fibrosis are involved in the arrhythmogenesis.

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  • The study aimed to develop a new planning method for medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) using preoperative stress radiographs to guide bone resection on the tibia and femur, validated by robotic surgery data.
  • The methodology involved analyzing radiographs from 76 patients who underwent robotic-assisted UKA, focusing on specific angle measurements to ensure accurate joint line restoration and assessing the reliability of measurements.
  • Results showed strong correlations between planned and actual bone resections, indicating that the new planning method is reliable for surgeons performing UKA, with high inter- and intra-observer reliability.
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Background: Hypertension and exercise testing are essential for cardiovascular risk assessment. However, an exact description of blood pressure (BP) in patients with a hypertensive response during exercise (HRE), especially in the recovery phase is lacking. Herein, we aimed to analyse BP and heart rate during exercise testing and recovery in patients with an HRE.

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  • Iron deficiency (ID) is prevalent in heart failure (HF) patients and negatively impacts their health, even if they aren't anemic; iron supplementation can improve exercise and quality of life in these individuals.
  • An online survey of 256 cardiologists revealed that most defined ID correctly and screened more than half of their patients, but only 54.3% did periodic screenings; intravenous iron was the most commonly prescribed treatment.
  • The survey results point to a need for better, standardized practices for ID screening and management in HF patients, as many physicians view ID as an overlooked issue in this group.
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Background: Advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (OC) patients often present with malnutrition; however, the ideal nutritional evaluation tool is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the role of preoperative albumin, Prognostic Nutritional Index [PNI], neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio [NLR], and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio [PLR] as independent predictors of severe postoperative complications and 90-day mortality in OC patients who underwent primary cytoreductive surgery to identify the ideal tool.

Methods: OC patients who underwent surgery at Mayo Clinic (2003-2018) were included; biomarkers were retrospectively retrieved and established cut-offs were utilized.

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  • The study investigates how machine learning (ML) can classify patients with cardiovascular disease or risk factors who are hospitalized with COVID-19, aiming to better predict patient outcomes.
  • A total of 458 patients were analyzed, revealing three distinct clusters: one with mostly women and fewer comorbidities, another mainly with men and less severe symptoms, and a third group of men with severe cardiovascular issues and higher mortality risk.
  • The findings highlight the importance of personalized approaches in treating high-risk COVID-19 patients, particularly identifying those likely to face poorer outcomes due to their cardiovascular conditions.
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  • HFpEF is a complex condition influenced by factors like age, genetics, and various health issues, including kidney disease, which significantly affects its progression and management.
  • The relationship between heart failure (HF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) is intricate, as both share similar biological pathways and pose challenges for effective treatment due to patients often not being well-represented in clinical trials.
  • Newer medications, particularly SGLT2 inhibitors, show promise for treating patients with both HFpEF and CKD, highlighting the importance of understanding their cardiorenal interactions for improved management strategies.
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Background: Aortic diameters are related to age, sex, and body size. There is a scarcity of data on the long-term sequelae of a hypertensive response to exercise (HRE) on aortic diameters. In this retrospective cohort study, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between the growth rates of the aorta in individuals with a HRE.

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