352 results match your criteria: "Research Instituts "S. De Bellis" Research Hospital[Affiliation]"

Development and Validation of a Scoring System to Predict Response to Obeticholic Acid in Primary Biliary Cholangitis.

Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol

October 2024

Division of Gastroenterology, Centre for Autoimmune Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, European Reference Network on Hepatological Diseases, San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy. Electronic address:

Article Synopsis
  • The study focused on creating a scoring system called the OCA response score (ORS) to predict how individuals with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) will respond to the treatment using obeticholic acid (OCA).
  • Data were collected from two large cohorts in Italy to derive and validate the score, which includes various clinical factors both before and after six months of treatment.
  • The scoring system demonstrated good predictive ability for treatment response, which could help healthcare providers customize therapies for patients with PBC more effectively.
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Individuals with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are more susceptible to experiencing severe complications of COVID-19 if infected. Nevertheless, sub-optimal immunization rates have been reported among these patients. Our study aims to assess COVID-19 VH among a global population of patients with IBD and to investigate the role of healthcare professionals, particularly gastroenterologists, in promoting immunization.

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Macrophages Orchestrate the Liver Tumor Microenvironment.

Cancers (Basel)

May 2024

National Institute of Gastroenterology, IRCCS "S. de Bellis" Research Hospital, Via Turi 27, Castellana Grotte, 70013 Bari, Italy.

Liver cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality. Hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma are the most common types, and despite numerous advances, therapeutic options still remain poor for these cancer patients. Tumor development and progression strictly depend on a supportive tumor microenvironment (TME).

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Article Synopsis
  • This study compares two surgical methods, Hartmann's procedure (HP) and resection with primary anastomosis (RPA), for treating acute left-sided colonic emergencies among 1215 patients from 204 centers globally.
  • Results showed that while HP was the more common treatment (57.3%), RPA was favored for younger patients with fewer health issues and those needing surgery sooner.
  • The study concluded that although HP is still widely used, RPA might be the better option, emphasizing the importance of patient characteristics and surgeon experience in determining treatment choice.
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Background: In the randomized phase II REGOMA trial, regorafenib showed promising activity in patients with recurrent glioblastoma. We conducted a large, multicenter, prospective, observational study to confirm the REGOMA data in a real-world setting.

Patients And Methods: The major inclusion criteria were histologically confirmed diagnosis of glioblastoma according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2016 classification and relapse after radiotherapy with concurrent/adjuvant temozolomide treatment, good performance status [Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS 0-1)] and good liver function.

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Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is closely related to some metabolic disorders, such as central obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), such as semaglutide, may have therapeutic roles in MASLD associated with T2D. This study aims to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of semaglutide on MASLD in terms of progression from liver steatosis to fibrosis.

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Background And Aim: Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), an oncofetal protein and biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), has unclear roles and actions.To evaluate the relationships between AFP, liver function tests, and HCC aggressiveness.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective analysis of an HCC patient database was conducted to examine the relationships between baseline serum AFP values, liver function tests, and tumor characteristics.

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Desmosomes are essential structures for ensuring tissue functions, and their deregulation is involved in the development of colorectal cancer (CRC). JUP (γ-catenin) is a desmosome adhesion component that also acts as a signaling hub, suggesting its potential involvement in CRC progression. In this context, we recently demonstrated that miR-195-5p regulated JUP and desmosome cadherins expression.

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Prevention of influenza complications in patients with liver disease: a retrospective cohort study.

Front Public Health

January 2024

Gastroenterology Unit, National Institute of Gastroenterology, IRCCS S. De Bellis, Research Hospital, Castellana Grotte, Italy.

Introduction: Patients with chronic liver disease are highly prone to acquiring influenza infection diseases and experiencing associated complications. National and international guidelines recommend the influenza vaccine for patients with liver disorders to reduce the risk of influenza complications. Our study aims to evaluate the risk of flu complications faced by patients with liver disease and assess influenza vaccination coverage.

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Introduction: Inverted Internal Limiting Membrane (ILM)-flap technique demonstrated its effectiveness, in terms of anatomical closure rate and visual acuity recovery for high myopic macular holes. We evaluated macular function after a successful inverted ILM-flap for macular holes in high myopic eyes (hMMH) using microperimetry to predict visual prognosis.

Methods: A retrospective study on 23 eyes of 23 patients after surgical closure of hMMH, was performed.

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miR-195-5p as Regulator of γ-Catenin and Desmosome Junctions in Colorectal Cancer.

Int J Mol Sci

December 2023

National Institute of Gastroenterology S. De Bellis, IRCCS Research Hospital, Via Turi 27, 70013 Castellana Grotte, BA, Italy.

Desmosomes play a key role in the regulation of cell adhesion and signaling. Dysregulation of the desmosome complex is associated with the loss of epithelial cell polarity and disorganized tissue architecture typical of colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of this study was to investigate and characterize the effect of miR-195-5p on desmosomal junction regulation in CRC.

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This prospective study aimed to evaluate inflammatory status in cats affected by chronic kidney disease (CKD) at IRIS stages 2-4, using serum amyloid A (SAA) and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) as inflammatory markers. Thirty-two cats with CKD and ten clinically healthy cats (i.e.

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Colorectal Liver Metastasis: Can Cytokines Make the Difference?

Cancers (Basel)

November 2023

Scientific Direction, National Institute of Gastroenterology, IRCCS "S. de Bellis" Research Hospital, Via Turi 27, Castellana Grotte, 70013 Bari, Italy.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Metastasis is the prime driver of CRC-related mortality, and the liver is the organ most frequently involved. Despite the overall success of current treatments, colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) is associated with poor prognoses and a survival rate of only 14%.

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Extraintestinal manifestations occur rather frequently in ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease patients and are usually related to an exacerbation of the underlying intestinal bowel disease but sometimes may run a course independent of the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). About one-third of patients with IBD develop extraintestinal manifestations, such as pyoderma gangrenosum (PG). PG is an uncommon inflammatory skin disorder of unknown pathogenesis.

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Individuals with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are characterized by an increased vulnerability to complications stemming from infectious diseases. While these patients do not inherently face a heightened risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to the general population, their vulnerability to severe COVID-19 complications and subsequent hospitalization is notably increased. The objective of our study is to quantitatively assess the global coverage of COVID-19 vaccination among individuals with IBD, achieved through a comprehensive meta-analysis and systematic review.

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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide, and the number of cases is constantly increasing. Early and accurate HCC diagnosis is crucial to improving the effectiveness of treatment. The aim of the study is to develop a supervised learning framework based on hierarchical community detection and artificial intelligence in order to classify patients and controls using publicly available microarray data.

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Metastatic gastric cancer (mGC) often has a poor prognosis and may benefit from a few targeted therapies. Ramucirumab-based anti-angiogenic therapy targeting the VEGFR2 represents a milestone in the second-line treatment of mGC. Several studies on different cancers are focusing on the major VEGFR2 ligand status, meaning VEGFA gene copy number and protein overexpression, as a prognostic marker and predictor of response to anti-angiogenic therapy.

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The 'speck'-tacular oversight of the NLRP3-pyroptosis pathway on gastrointestinal inflammatory diseases and tumorigenesis.

J Biomed Sci

October 2023

Personalized Medicine Laboratory, National Institute of Gastroenterology "S. de Bellis", IRCCS Research Hospital, Via Turi 27, 70013, Castellana Grotte, BA, Italy.

The NLRP3 inflammasome is an intracellular sensor and an essential component of the innate immune system involved in danger recognition. An important hallmark of inflammasome activation is the formation of a single supramolecular punctum, known as a speck, per cell, which is the site where the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18 are converted into their bioactive form. Speck also provides the platform for gasdermin D protein activation, whose N-terminus domain perforates the plasma membrane, allowing the release of mature cytokines alongside with a highly inflammatory form of cell death, namely pyroptosis.

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Background And Aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is characterized by several clinically important prognostic parameters, including portal vein thrombosis (PVT), tumor multifocality, and serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels, in addition to maximum tumor diameter (MTD). However, associations among these parameters have not been thoroughly examined. Thus, the study aimed to investigate the correlations among these HCC characteristics in a prospectively collected database.

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Article Synopsis
  • Excessive lipid buildup in liver cells leads to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is characterized by cell death and fibrosis, but its molecular mechanisms are still unclear.
  • A study showed that the imbalance of palmitic acid (PA) and oleic acid (OA) in exosomes from NAFLD patients affects liver cell health and function.
  • Modifying the PA/OA ratio in exosomes can improve or worsen liver cell viability and proliferation, and targeting the molecules involved in this pathway may offer therapeutic insights for NAFLD.
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Inflammasomes are multiprotein complexes expressed by immune cells in response to distinct stimuli that trigger inflammatory responses and the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Evidence suggests a different role of inflammasome NLRP3 in IBD. NLRP3 inflammasome activation can be controlled by post-translational modifications such as ubiquitination through BRCC3.

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Background: Microperimetric biofeedback training improved visual acuity and fixation stability in patients who previously underwent macular surgery. We aimed to compare the functional results of biofeedback training with the standard of care in patients who underwent successful inverted Internal Limiting Membrane (ILM)-flap technique for high myopic macular holes (hMMH).

Methods: This was a retrospective, comparative, cohort study.

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Impact of High-to-Moderate Penetrance Genes on Genetic Testing: Looking over Breast Cancer.

Genes (Basel)

July 2023

Medical Genetic, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari "Aldo Moro", 70124 Bari, Italy.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. Since the discovery of the highly penetrant susceptibility genes and , many other predisposition genes that confer a moderate risk of BC have been identified. Advances in multigene panel testing have allowed the simultaneous sequencing of with these genes in a cost-effective way.

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