Background: COVID-19 is associated with intense systemic inflammation and abnormal coagulation profile leading to an increased incidence of pulmonary embolism (PE). This study investigates whether PE in COVID-19 patients has different clinical, laboratory and radiological characteristics when compared to traditional PE in COVID negative patients.
Methods: We conducted an observational, multicentric, cross-sectional study on consecutive patients diagnosed with PE at admission or during hospital stay from February 21 2019 to February 20 2021.
: Dominant mutations in are known to cause vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (vEDS) by impairing extracellular matrix (ECM) homeostasis. This disruption leads to the fragility of soft connective tissues and a significantly increased risk of life-threatening arterial and organ ruptures. Currently, treatments for vEDS are primarily symptomatic, largely due to a limited understanding of its underlying pathobiology and molecular mechanisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Venous outflow is the favored access for endovascular management of dialysis fistulas. However, transradial access (TRA) offers advantages in specific clinical scenarios. The study aims to compare the efficacy, feasibility, and safety of TRA and transvenous access (TVA) in the endovascular management of malfunctioning dialysis fistulas, addressing the existing gap in comprehensive literature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChanges in maternal nutrition during the periconceptional period can influence postnatal growth in cattle. This study aimed to identify the impact of supplementing beef cows with rumen-protected methionine (RP-Met) during the periconceptional period on their female progeny. In exp 1, plasma methionine (Met) levels were analyzed in samples from 10 Angus crossbred, non-lactating beef cows.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: This study aims to evaluate the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of distal transradial access (dRA) for the endovascular management of malfunctioning dialysis fistulas. This study also compares dRA with conventional access techniques, such as proximal radial and transvenous access, focusing on technical success, clinical outcomes, and vascular access site complications (VASCs).
Methods: A retrospective multicenter study was conducted across four hospitals, including 292 patients treated between January 2019 and June 2024.
Objective: To investigate the potential role of dual-energy spectral computer tomography (CT) quantitative parameters in the definition of bladder cancer (BCa) pathological grading.
Methods: This retrospective study evaluated the use of spectral CT imaging features for BCa. From 2021 to 2023, 63 patients with histologically-confirmed BCa diagnosis were examined at our Institution.
Hidradenitis suppurativa is a chronic skin disorder characterized by painful inflammatory nodules and abscesses, significantly impacting patients' quality of life. Current treatment strategies, including topical antibiotics, often yield limited efficacy and pose risks of antibiotic resistance. Photodynamic therapy has emerged as a potential option, with RLP068/Cl (ELKOFAST®, non-sterile formulation) showing promising efficacy due to its broad-spectrum bactericidal activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe endogenous neuromodulator adenosine is massively released during hypoxic/ischemic insults and differentially modulates post-ischemic damage depending on the expression and recruitment of its four metabotropic receptor subtypes, namely A, A, A and A receptors (ARs, ARs, ARs and ARs). We previously demonstrated, by using a model of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAo) in rats, that selective activation of ARs, as well as ARs, ameliorates post-ischemic brain damage in contrast to neuroinflammation. In the present study, we investigated whether the multitarget nucleoside MRS3997, a full agonist at both ARs and ARs, would afford higher neuroprotection in post-ischemic damage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To evaluate the differences in efficacy and safety between the 100 and 150 W percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) systems in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all patients who underwent percutaneous MWA (Emprint™ HP Ablation System, Medtronic) between January 2021 and May 2023. We divided the cohort into two groups: Group 1, treated with MWA at 100 W power system, and Group 2, treated with 150 W one.
High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev
November 2024
Introduction: Vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (vEDS) is an inherited connective tissue disorder characterized by arterial fragility. Celiprolol is a β1-adrenoceptor antagonist with partial β2 agonist activity that has been shown to reduce rates of vascular events in this setting, though the underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood. Moreover, very few echocardiographic data are available in patients with vEDS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF(1) Background/Objectives: Nail psoriasis (NP) is a chronic and difficult-to-treat disease, which causes significant social stigma and impairs the patients' quality of life. Moreover, nail psoriasis is a true therapeutic challenge for clinicians. The presence of nail psoriasis can be part of a severe form of psoriasis and can have predictive value for the development of psoriatic arthritis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated, inflammatory skin disease, associated with multiple comorbidities and psychological and psychiatric disorders. The quality of life of patients with this disease is severely compromised, especially in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Secukinumab, a fully humanized monoclonal antibody, was the first anti-interleukin (IL)-17 biologic approved for treating psoriasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Despite the importance of adherence to immunosuppressants (IMMs) after an allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) for the treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD), no studies to date have reported the experiences of such patients concerning medication adherence (MA). Therefore, the aim of the study was to explore the perspective on MA to immunosuppressive oral therapy among allogeneic HSCT patients with aGvHD.
Methods: A qualitative descriptive study following a reflexive thematic analysis methodological approach was performed involving a purposive sample of 16 patients with aGvHD who were being cared for in the outpatient setting of a bone marrow transplant centre and were willing to participate.
Diagnosing hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) and hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD), common overlapping multisystemic conditions featuring symptomatic joint hypermobility, is challenging due to lack of established causes and diagnostic tools. Currently, the 2017 diagnostic criteria for hEDS are used, with non-qualifying cases classified as HSD, although the distinction remains debated. We previously showed extracellular matrix (ECM) disorganization in both hEDS and HSD dermal fibroblasts involving fibronectin (FN), type I collagen (COLLI), and tenascin (TN), with matrix metalloproteinase-generated fragments in conditioned media.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDifferentiation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) into mature oligodendrocytes (OLs) is a key event for axonal myelination in the brain; this process fails during demyelinating pathologies. Adenosine is emerging as an important player in oligodendrogliogenesis, by activating its metabotropic receptors (AR, AR, AR, and AR). We previously demonstrated that the Gs-coupled AR reduced differentiation of primary OPC cultures by inhibiting delayed rectifier (I) as well as transient (I) outward K currents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The incidence of skin cancer in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and systemic sclerosis (SSc) has only been investigated with retrospective studies enrolling a low number of patients. The aims of our study were to assess the incidence of skin cancer in two large cohorts of patients, one with SLE and the other with SSc and investigating possible risk factors.
Methods: Ninety SLE, 53 SSc patients and 392 control subjects were enrolled.
Inflammation-based scores are biomarkers of the crosstalk between the tumor microenvironment and the immune response. Investigating the intricate relationship between the tumor stromal microenvironment, biomarkers, and the response to transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is essential for early identification of TACE refractoriness or failure, providing insights into tumor biology and facilitating personalized therapeutic interventions. This study addresses a dearth of recent literature exploring the prognostic significance of the preoperative LMR in individuals from western countries diagnosed with stage B hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing drug eluting microspheres TACE (DEM-TACE) or conventional TACE (cTACE).
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