Publications by authors named "Zampi G"

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-enclosed bio-nanoparticles secreted by cells and naturally evolved to transport various bioactive molecules between cells and even organisms. These cellular objects are considered one of the most promising bio-nanovehicles for the delivery of native and exogenous molecular cargo. However, many challenges with state-of-the-art EV-based candidates as drug carriers still exist, including issues with scalability, batch-to-batch reproducibility, and cost-sustainability of the final therapeutic formulation.

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  • The Italian Society of Echography and Cardiovascular Imaging (SIECVI) conducted a national survey to investigate stress echocardiography (SE) practices across Italy, collecting data from 228 laboratories in November 2022.
  • The survey revealed that out of 179 centers performing SE, most were located in northern Italy, and the study categorized them into low, moderate, and high volume of activity based on the number of SE examinations.
  • Key findings indicated differences in the use of stressors, with a tendency for high-volume centers to employ multiple stress techniques and incorporate advanced evaluations like coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) more frequently than low and moderate volume centers.
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  • Wilson disease (WD) is caused by mutations in the ATP7B gene, leading to copper overload in the liver and brain, which can result in severe health issues.
  • A mutant strain of Caenorhabditis elegans was created to study this condition, showing significant Cu sensitivity, stunted development, and other health impairments due to a specific ATP7B variant.
  • The cua-1 mutant strain serves as a valuable experimental model for understanding copper toxicity in WD and testing potential therapeutic approaches.
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According to the amyloid hypothesis, in the early phases of Alzheimer's disease (AD), small soluble prefibrillar aggregates of the amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) interact with neuronal membranes, causing neural impairment. Such highly reactive and toxic species form spontaneously and transiently in the amyloid building pathway. A therapeutic strategy consists of the recruitment of these intermediates, thus preventing aberrant interaction with membrane components (lipids and receptors), which in turn may trigger a cascade of cellular disequilibria.

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In this case we briefly describe the case of an old woman presenting with acute exertional dyspnea due to hyperacute Sapien Valve thrombosis.

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Background: The Italian Society of Echocardiography and Cardiovascular Imaging (SIECVI) conducted a national survey to understand better how different echocardiographic modalities are used and accessed in Italy.

Methods: We analyzed echocardiography laboratory activities over a month (November 2022). Data were retrieved via an electronic survey based on a structured questionnaire, uploaded on the SIECVI website.

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Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) have gained increasing interest in nanomedicine, but most of those that have entered the clinical trials have been withdrawn due to toxicity concerns. Therefore, there is an urgent need to design low-risk and biocompatible SPION formulations. In this work, we present an original safe-by-design nanoplatform made of silica nanoparticles loaded with SPIONs and decorated with polydopamine (SPIONs@SiO2-PDA) and the study of its biocompatibility performance by an ad hoc thorough in vitro to in vivo nanotoxicological methodology.

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Background: The pharmacological effects of cocaine have been associated with different types of cardiac dysrhythmias and with Brugada pattern on the ECG, but currently only type 1 pattern has been described. We report a case of a transient Brugada type 2 pattern in a young cocaine abuser.

Method: We report the clinical presentation of a 32-year-old male with a history of cocaine abuse.

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Subvalvular aortic stenosis (SAS) can be either a fixed stenosis resulting from subaortic anatomical obstacle or a dynamic stenosis because of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Here, we report a patient with a rare subaortic circumferential fibromuscular tunnel who became unusually symptomatic in her sixth decade of life. Transthoracic and mostly transesophageal echocardiography with 3D application is the preferred diagnostic modality.

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Metastatic spread to the heart from neoplasms is very rare, often silent and rarely gains clinical attention. Usually, it correlates with widespread metastatic disease and is suggestive of a poor prognosis. Most cardiac metastases (CM) are detected following post-mortem studies with only a handful reported antemortemly.

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Kiwifruit is considered a functional food and a good source of nutraceuticals. Among the possible beneficial effects of kiwifruit species, a neuroprotective activity exerted in rats with learning and memory impairment induced by exposure to different chemicals was reported. We sought to investigate the neuroprotective activities of kiwifruit toward spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

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The dopamine transporter (DAT) is a cell membrane protein whose main function is to reuptake the dopamine (DA) released in the synaptic cleft back into the dopaminergic neurons. Previous studies suggested that the activity of DAT is regulated by allosteric proteins such as Syntaxin-1A and is altered by drugs of abuse such as amphetamine (Amph). Because expresses both DAT (DAT-1) and Syntaxin-1A (UNC-64), we used this model system to investigate the functional and behavioral effects caused by lack of expression of in cultured dopaminergic neurons and in living animals.

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Atrial myxomas are the most common benign cardiac neoplasms. Although the majority occur in the left atrium (LA) and are attached to the interatrial septum (75-80 % of cases), they can arise from any part of the LA and the cardiac chambers. We report the case of a 65-year-old woman who presented with features of worsening dyspnea and persistent headache.

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Dopamine transporter deficiency syndrome (DTDS) is a novel autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the dopamine transporter (DAT), which leads to the partial or total loss of function of the protein. DTDS is a pharmacoresistant syndrome and very little is known about its neurobiology, in part due to the lack of relevant animal models. The objective of this study was to establish the first animal model for DTDS with strong construct validity, using Caenorhabditis elegans, and to investigate the in vivo role played by DTDS-related mutations found in human DAT (hDAT).

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We describe the case of a patient with acute bioprosthesis dysfunction in cardiogenic shock, in whom hemodynamic support was provided by venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and successfully treated by transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

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Bacteriovorus eukaryotes such as nematodes are one of the major natural predators of bacteria. In their defense bacteria have evolved a number of strategies to avoid predation, including the production of deterrent or toxic metabolites, however little is known regarding the response of predators towards such bacterial defenses. Here we use the nematode C.

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