Raccontare le favole

Il capitolo affronta il tema della comprensibilità e della narrazione delle favole di Esopo con bambini di età prescolar

Endothelial dysfunction markers as a therapeutic target for Sildenafil treatment and effects on metabolic control in type 2 diabetes

Endothelial dysfunction (ED) plays a role in diabetic cardiovascular complications. Hyperglycemia increases cytockines involved in vascular inflammation. Inhibition of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) exerts a relaxation on corpora cavernosa and has cardioprotective properties. The effect of chronic sildenafil treatment, on ED markers and metabolic parameters in a non-randomized study on men with type 2 diabetes (T2DM), was investigated

Detection of Pancreatic Carcinomas by Imaging Lactose-Binding Protein Expression in Peritumoral Pancreas Using [18F]Fluoroethyl-Deoxylactose PET/CT

BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma with highly sensitive diagnostic imaging methods could save lives of many thousands of patients, because early detection increases resectability and survival rates. Current non-invasive diagnostic imaging techniques have inadequate resolution and sensitivity for detection of small size ( approximately 2-3 mm) early pancreatic carcinoma lesions. Therefore, we have assessed the efficacy of positron emission tomography and computer tomography (PET/CT) imaging with beta-O-D-galactopyranosyl-(1,4')-2'-deoxy-2'-[(18)F]fluoroethyl-D-glucopyranose ([(18)F]FEDL) for detection of less than 3 mm orthotopic xenografts of L3.6pl pancreatic carcinomas in mice. [(18)F]FEDL is a novel radioligand of hepatocarcinoma-intestine-pancreas/pancreatitis-associated protein (HIP/PAP), which is overexpressed in peritumoral pancreatic acinar cells. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Dynamic PET/CT imaging demonstrated rapid accumulation of [(18)F]FEDL in peritumoral pancreatic tissue (4.04+/-2.06%ID/g), bi-exponential blood clearance with half-lives of 1.65+/-0.50 min and 14.14+/-3.60 min, and rapid elimination from other organs and tissues, predominantly by renal clearance. Using model-independent graphical analysis of dynamic PET data, the average distribution volume ratio (DVR) for [(18)F]FEDL in peritumoral pancreatic tissue was estimated as 3.57+/-0.60 and 0.94+/-0.72 in sham-operated control pancreas. Comparative analysis of quantitative autoradiographic images and densitometry of immunohistochemically stained and co-registered adjacent tissue sections demonstrated a strong linear correlation between the magnitude of [(18)F]FEDL binding and HIP/PAP expression in corresponding regions (r = 0.88). The in situ analysis demonstrated that at least a 2-4 fold apparent lesion size amplification was achieved for submillimeter tumors and to nearly half a murine pancreas for tumors larger than 3 mm. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: We have demonstrated the feasibility of detection of early pancreatic tumors by non-invasive imaging with [(18)F]FEDL PET/CT of tumor biomarker HIP/PAP over-expressed in peritumoral pancreatic tissue. Non-invasive non-invasive detection of early pancreatic carcinomas with [(18)F]FEDL PET/CT imaging should aid the guidance of biopsies and additional imaging procedures, facilitate the resectability and improve the overall prognosis

Refinement of the diagnostic approach for the identification of children and adolescents affected by familial hypercholesterolemia: Evidence from the LIPIGEN study

Background and aims: We aimed to describe the limitations of familiar hypercholesterolemia (FH) diagnosis in childhood based on the presence of the typical features of FH, such as physical sings of cholesterol accumulation and personal or family history of premature cardiovascular disease or hypercholesterolemia, comparing their prevalence in the adult and paediatric FH population, and to illustrate how additional information can lead to a more effective diagnosis of FH at a younger age.Methods: From the Italian LIPIGEN cohort, we selected 1188 (>= 18 years) and 708 (<18 years) genetically-confirmed heterozygous FH, with no missing personal FH features. The prevalence of personal and familial FH features was compared between the two groups. For a sub-group of the paediatric cohort (N = 374), data about premature coronary heart disease (CHD) in second-degree family members were also included in the evaluation.Results: The lower prevalence of typical FH features in children/adolescents vs adults was confirmed: the prevalence of tendon xanthoma was 2.1% vs 13.1%, and arcus cornealis was present in 1.6% vs 11.2% of the cohorts, respectively. No children presented clinical history of premature CHD or cerebral/peripheral vascular disease compared to 8.8% and 5.6% of adults, respectively. The prevalence of premature CHD in first-degree relatives was significantly higher in adults compared to children/adolescents (38.9% vs 19.7%). In the sub-cohort analysis, a premature CHD event in parents was reported in 63 out of 374 subjects (16.8%), but the percentage increased to 54.0% extending the evaluation also to second-degree relatives.Conclusions: In children, the typical FH features are clearly less informative than in adults. A more thorough data collection, adding information about second-degree relatives, could improve the diagnosis of FH at younger age

Refinement of the diagnostic approach for the identification of children and adolescents affected by familial hypercholesterolemia: Evidence from the LIPIGEN study

Background and aims: We aimed to describe the limitations of familiar hypercholesterolemia (FH) diagnosis in childhood based on the presence of the typical features of FH, such as physical sings of cholesterol accumulation and personal or family history of premature cardiovascular disease or hypercholesterolemia, comparing their prevalence in the adult and paediatric FH population, and to illustrate how additional information can lead to a more effective diagnosis of FH at a younger age. Methods: From the Italian LIPIGEN cohort, we selected 1188 (≥18 years) and 708 (<18 years) genetically-confirmed heterozygous FH, with no missing personal FH features. The prevalence of personal and familial FH features was compared between the two groups. For a sub-group of the paediatric cohort (N = 374), data about premature coronary heart disease (CHD) in second-degree family members were also included in the evaluation. Results: The lower prevalence of typical FH features in children/adolescents vs adults was confirmed: the prevalence of tendon xanthoma was 2.1% vs 13.1%, and arcus cornealis was present in 1.6% vs 11.2% of the cohorts, respectively. No children presented clinical history of premature CHD or cerebral/peripheral vascular disease compared to 8.8% and 5.6% of adults, respectively. The prevalence of premature CHD in first-degree relatives was significantly higher in adults compared to children/adolescents (38.9% vs 19.7%). In the sub-cohort analysis, a premature CHD event in parents was reported in 63 out of 374 subjects (16.8%), but the percentage increased to 54.0% extending the evaluation also to second-degree relatives. Conclusions: In children, the typical FH features are clearly less informative than in adults. A more thorough data collection, adding information about second-degree relatives, could improve the diagnosis of FH at younger age

Development and behavioral outcomes of perinatal inhibition of ornithine decarboxylase.

Rats were treated with alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), an irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), at a dose of 200 mg/kg/day SC, either prenatally (to the mothers, on days 16 to 20 of gestation) or neonatally (to the pups, on days 1 to 10 after birth). At this dose level neither maternal reproductive performance (prenatal treatment) nor gain in body weight on the part of offspring were affected. Earlier developmental alterations were rapidly overcome. Prenatally-treated rats proved less active than controls in the open field, performed better in passive avoidance retention (both preweaning and postweaning), and had a shorter post-ejaculatory interval in the male copulatory test. Postnatally-treated rats performed better than controls in two-way active avoidance conditioning, and in passive avoidance retention (as adults). Reproductive performance of the treated female offspring was similar to that of controls. ODC activity in brains of DFMO-exposed offspring was substantially inhibited throughout treatment (-72 to -41%, compared with respective controls), but showed a strong rebound after termination of treatment (up to +400%, compared with respective controls). These results show that partial inhibition of ODC activity during a limited period of the perinatal life has no adverse effect on the overall behavioral development of rats: indeed, some performances are actually improved. This being the most likely due to a rebound ODC hyperactivity after termination of treatment, when brain maturation is still in progress

Influence of antineoplastic drugs on morphine analgesia and on morphine tolerance

The possible influence of cisplatin, methotrexate, adriamycin and vincristine on thermal pain threshold, morphine analgesia and development of morphine tolerance was investigated in mice. In the hot-plate test, the nociceptive threshold was not affected by acute or repeated administration of any of the antineoplastic drugs used. The analgesic activity of morphine was significantly reduced by pretreatment with cisplatin, intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected at the dose of 2 mg/kg. In contrast, methotrexate, subcutaneously (s.c.) injected at the dose of 1 and 5 mg/kg, adriamycin (1 and 3 mg/kg s.c.), vincristine (0.25 and 0.5 mg/kg i.p.) and a lower dose of cispratin (1 mg/kg i.p.) had no effect. The development of tolerance to morphine analgesia was delayed by adriamycin but was not influenced by the other antineoplastic drugs used. These data show that, of the four antineoplastic agents used in this study, cisplatin may interfere in the mechanism of action of morphine, and that adriamycin may delay the development of opiate tolerance. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

On the corrosion, stress corrosion and cytocompatibility performances of ALD TiO2 and ZrO2 coated magnesium alloys

Magnesium alloys are increasingly studied as materials for temporary implants. However, their high corrosion rate and susceptibility to corrosion-assisted cracking phenomena, such as stress corrosion cracking (SCC), continue to prevent their mainstream use. Recently, coatings have been considered to provide an effective solution to these issues and researchers have focused their attention on Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). ALD stands out as a coating technology due to the outstanding film conformality and density achievable, and has shown encouraging preliminary results in terms of reduced corrosion rate and reduced SCC susceptibility. Here, we contribute to the ongoing interest in ALD-coated Mg alloys, providing a comprehensive characterisation of the effect of 100 nm thick ALD TiO2 and ZrO2 coatings on the corrosion behaviour and SCC susceptibility of AZ31 alloy. Moreover, we also investigate the effect of these coatings on the induced biological response. Our results suggest that the ALD coatings can improve the corrosion and SCC resistance of the Mg alloy, with the ZrO2 ALD coating showing the best improvements. We suggest that the different corrosion behaviours are the cause of the cytocompatibility results (only the ZrO2 ALD coating was found to meet the demands for cellular applications). Finally, we leverage on considerations about the coatings’ wettability, electrochemical stability and surface integrity to justify the different results

Behavioral activity and active avoidance learning and retention in rats neonatally exposed to painful stimuli.

Twice daily for the first 15 days after birth, rats from the same litters were either placed for 5 sec on a hot plate (55 degrees C) (treated group), or on a plate maintained at body temperature (38 degrees C) (manipulated group). Controls were left undisturbed. When 90 days old, they were studied for pain threshold, open-field behavior, and two-way active avoidance learning and retention. Weight gain, pain threshold, open-field behavior, and active avoidance retention were not significantly different in the three groups. On the other hand, the rate of two-way active avoidance learning was significantly greater in treated rats. These results suggest that repeated neonatal exposure to painful stimuli, in rats raised under otherwise normal conditions, improves later active avoidance performance. The most likely mechanisms are discussed

Effect of polyamines on perfused rat heart contractility

The influence of polyamines (putrescine, spermidine and spermine) on heart contractility was studied using perfused rat ventricle strips (2 X 10 mm), electrically driven at 1 Hz. Putrescine (100 microM) caused a negative inotropic effect gradually increasing in intensity, whereas spermidine and spermine (10 and 100 microM) caused a sharp, positive inotropic effect, followed by a rapid and more marked fall. The possibility that these effects of polyamines on heart contractility may be due to their role in Ca++ fluxes and mobilization, and in membrane functions, is discussed