The Importance of Sustainability in the Fashion Sector: ADIDAS Case Study

In a society such as the present, characterized by an extremely consumerist lifestyle, the issue of socia

Age-related changes of the noradrenergic and acetylcholinesterase reactive nerve fibres innervating the pigeon bursa of Fabricius.

Age-dependent changes in the innervation of the pigeon (Columba livia, L.) bursa of Fabricius, from hatching to 120 days of age, were studied by fluorescence-histochemical and neurochemical methods for demonstrating noradrenergic and acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-reactive nerve fibres respectively. The distribution of both nerve fibre types was largely perivascular. Furthermore, a few isolated nerve fiber profiles were observed beneath the bursal epithelium, in the interfollicular septa and in the follicular cortex. No nerve fibre profiles reaching the medulla of the lymphoid follicles were observed. In addition to nerve fibres, AChE reactive neuron-like cells were encountered within the capsule and interfollicular septa. AChE reactivity was also found in dendritic-like cells localized in the cortical and cortico-medullary border. No changes in the density of perivascular noradrenergic innervation were noticeable during the ages studied, whereas the density of AChE-reactive fibres supplying vessels reached the adult pattern at 30 days, and then remained unvaried. The density of non-perivascular nerve fiber profiles, specially the AChE reactive type, increased until 30 days, remained unchanged until 75 days and then increased with aging (90-120 days). The interrelationship between the autonomic nervous system and the immune system is discussed

Chronicle of a death foretold. It is time for echocardiographic screening in young athletes

Background: The novel "Chronicle of a death foretold" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a story of a sudden death which could have been prevented. In 1976, within the University of Maryland basketball program and only 8 weeks apart, two athletes died suddenly during physical exertion. They were affected by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and Marfan syndrome and in both cases an echocardiogram would have prevented the tragic epilogue. This coincidence drew everyone's attention and experts' interest on sudden death in sports.Methods and results: Even in recent Italian history, unexpected deaths continue to affect athletes but surprisingly any real knowledge regarding the numbers and the impact of those tragedies must take medical literature and non-medical press into consideration. Herein we report the clinical case of a 13-year-old patient with a bicuspid aortic valve, whose mother was alarmed by the news of a young boy who died because of an anomalous origin of coronary artery (AOCA) which had not been diagnosed at transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). Her obstinacy induced the physicians to repeat TTE and led to the same diagnosis in her son: actually, his right coronary artery originated from the opposite sinus of Valsalva. The suspicion was confirmed by coronary CT scan and, thanks to appropriate therapy, the boy now fares well.Conclusions: AOCA is the second most common cause of sudden death in young athletes. Although AOCA is often undetectable at ECG, TTE increases sensitivity of preparticipation screening. It could therefore allow us to avoid such coincidences and prevent sudden juvenile death

Beta-blocker treatment guided by head-up tilt test in neurally mediated syncope

This study was an open-label, uncontrolled, dose-escalation trial of beta-blockers in patients with a history of syncope without warning or syncope resulting in trauma (malignant vasovagal syncope) who had positive head-up tilt test (HUT) responses, with or without isoproterenol infusion. Thirty patients (mean age, 37 +/- 21 years) with recurrent syncopal and near-syncopal episodes of unexplained origin in the previous year (6 +/- 14 syncopal episodes and 17 +/- 3 near-syncopes) underwent HUT for diagnostic purposes and for guiding prophylactic treatment. After patients were given a 10-minute rest in a recumbent position, rye performed an WT at 70 degrees for 25 minutes; if indicated, isoproterenol testing was performed at incremental dosages (dye steps at 10-minute intervals at 80 degrees), AU patients experienced syncope during HUT, 15 (50%) at baseline HUT and 15 (50%) during isoproterenol infusion (1 to 3 mu g/min; mean, 1.6 mu g/min). Sixteen syncopes were of vasodepressor type, 10 were mixed, and 4 were of cardioinhibitory type. After baseline HUT, betablocking drugs were prescribed to all patients as follows: 1 patient was given propranolol (160 mg daily), and 29 patients were given metoprolol (246 +/- 49 mg daily), with a dose titration period of 14 days. HUT was repeated after 3 weeks, and 24 patients (80%) had negative results (no syncope or anomalous responses). After further dosage adjustment of beta-blockers in nonresponders, a negative HUT was obtained in 28 patients (93%). Overall mean metoprolol daily dose was 262 +/- 60 mg (29 patients), and propranolol was administered at 160 mg daily in 1 patient. Thirteen patients (43%) reported side effects, none of which required drug withdrawal. At an average follow-up of 16 +/- 4 months, none of the patients experienced syncope, a statistically significant reduction. Moreover, a statistically significant reduction in the number of near-syncopal episodes was observed in comparison to the previous year. None of the patients discontinued treatment because of long-term side effects. Beta-blockers were well tolerated and achieved a high rate of efficacy, even in cardioinhibitory syncopes. In conclusion, in selected patients with malignant vasovagal syncope, treatment with metoprolol or propranolol at relatively high doses is feasible and, if guided by HUT results, is associated with a favorable outcome in terms of freedom from syncopal recurrences. Appropriate titration to achieve the full beta-blocking effect appears to be advisable

Conjoined lumbosacral nerve roots: observations on three cases and review of the literature

Lumbosacral nerve root anomalies are a rare group of congenital anatomical anomalies. Various types of anomalies of the lumbosacral nerve roots have been documented in the available international literature. Generally speaking, these anomalies may consist of a bifid, conjoined structure, of a transverse course or of a characteristic anastomized appearance. Firstly described as an incidental finding during autopsies or surgical procedures performed for lumbar disk herniations and often asymptomatic, lumbosacral nerve root anomalies have been more frequently described in the last years due to the advances made in radiological diagnosis (metrizamide myelography and CT, MRI). Our study comprised three patients with conjoined lumbosacral nerve roots, representing 0.25% of a total of 1200 patients who underwent lumbosacral CT/MRI procedures in the Addolorata Hospital and in the Service of Neuroradiology of the University of Rome "La Sapienza" during the last three years (March 2001-March 2004). We report our experience with three cases of conjoined lumbosacral nerve roots and analyze the most important literature on this topic. MR imaging is a better diagnostic procedure (in comparison to CT) for the differentiation of nerve root anomalies and, in particular, coronal sections furnish a precise definition of the profile of the conjoined/enlarged rootlets. In fact, the accurate information derived from MRI of multiple planes may be priceless for the preoperative and diagnostic evaluation of lumbosacral nerve root anomalies

Fine-Tuning Roles of Endogenous Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, TrkB and Sortilin in Colorectal Cancer Cell Survival

International audienceBACKGROUND: Neurotrophin receptors were initially identified in neural cells. They were recently detected in some cancers in association with invasiveness, but the function of these tyrosine kinase receptors was not previously investigated in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We report herein that human CRC cell lines synthesize the neural growth factor Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) under stress conditions (serum starvation). In parallel, CRC cells expressed high- (TrkB) and low-affinity (p75(NTR)) receptors at the plasma membrane, whereas TrkA and TrkC, two other high affinity receptors for NGF and NT-3, respectively, were undetectable. We demonstrate that BDNF induced cell proliferation and had an anti-apoptotic effect mediated through TrkB, as assessed by K252a, a Trk pharmacologic inhibitor. It suppressed both cell proliferation and survival of CRC cells that do not express TrkA nor TrkC. In parallel to the increase of BDNF secretion, sortilin, a protein acting as a neurotrophin transporter as well as a co-receptor for p75(NTR), was increased in the cytoplasm of primary and metastatic CRC cells, which suggests that sortilin could regulate neurotrophin transport in these cells. However, pro-BDNF, also detected in CRC cells, was co-expressed with p75(NTR) at the cell membrane and co-localized with sortilin. In contrast to BDNF, exogenous pro-BDNF induced CRC apoptosis, which suggests that a counterbalance mechanism is involved in the control of CRC cell survival, through sortilin as the co-receptor for p75(NTR), the high affinity receptor for pro-neurotrophins. Likewise, we show that BDNF and TrkB transcripts (and not p75(NTR)) are overexpressed in the patients' tumors by comparison with their adjacent normal tissues, notably in advanced stages of CRC. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these results highlight that BDNF and TrkB are essential for CRC cell growth and survival in vitro and in tumors. This autocrine loop could be of major importance to define new targeted therapies