Transplantation of human fetal biliary tree stem/progenitor cells into two patients with advanced liver cirrhosis.

Efforts to identify cell sources and approaches for cell therapy of liver diseases are ongoing, taking into consideration the limits recognized for adult liver tissue and for other forms of stem cells. In the present study, we described the first procedure of via hepatic artery transplantation of human fetal biliary tree stem cells in patients with advanced cirrhosis.MethodsThe cells were immune-sorted from human fetal biliary tree by protocols in accordance with current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) and extensively characterized. Two patients with advanced cirrhosis (Child-Pugh C) have been submitted to the procedure and observed through a 12 months follow-up.ResultsThe resulting procedure was found absolutely safe. Immuno-suppressants were not required, and the patients did not display any adverse effects correlated with cell transplantation or suggestive of immunological complications. From a clinical point of view, both patients showed biochemical and clinical improvement during the 6 month follow-up (Table1), and the second patient maintained a stable improvement for 12 months.ConclusionThis report represents proof of the concept that the human fetal biliary tree stem cells are a suitable and large source for cell therapy of liver cirrhosis. The isolation procedure can be carried out under cGMP conditions and, finally, the infusion procedure is easy and safe for the patients. This represents the basis for forthcoming controlled clinical trials

Fear of Cockroaches Questionnaire

The aim of this study was to validate the Fear of Cockroaches Questionnaire (FCQ) in general Italian population. The FCQ is an 18-item self-report questionnaire assessing fear of cockroaches. It was translated in Italian and modified as a cockroach adaption of the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire. Data obtained from 329 (mean age 24.21 \ub1 4.08 years) undergraduates revealed that the FCQ allowed discrimination between high fear and low fear subjects. Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed a mono-factorial structure. The FCQ has a good test-retest reliability (r=.95) and a good internal consistency (\u3b1=.95). The FCQ correlates with other measures related to fear of small animals, showing good concurrent validity. Finally, the FCQ score seems to be a measure of the fear free from disgust and anxiety caused by the cockroach exposition

Hazard Perception in teenagers: an effectiveness study of a virtual riding trainer

http://host.uniroma3.it/riviste/ats