Rate of complications due to neuromuscular scoliosis spine surgery in a 30-years consecutive series

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the rate of intraoperative and postoperative complications in a large series of patients affected by neuromuscular scoliosis. METHODS: It was a monocentric retrospective study. In this study have been considered complications those events that significantly affected the course of treatment, such as getting the hospital stay longer, or requiring a subsequent surgical procedure, or corrupting the final result of the treatment. RESULTS: Of the 358 patients affected by neuromuscular scoliosis treated from January 1985 to December 2010, 185 that met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. There were recorded 66 complications in 55/185 patients. Of that 66 complications, 54 complications occurred in 46/120 patients with Luque's instrumentation, while only 12 complications occurred in 9/65 patients with hybrid instrumentation and this difference was statistically significant (p 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The surgical treatment in neuromuscular scoliosis is burdened by a large number of complications. An accurate knowledge of possible complications is mandatory to prepare strategies due to prevent adverse events. A difference in definitions could completely change results in good or bad as well as in our same series the adverse events amounted at almost 30% of cases, but complications that due to complete failure would amount at 9.19% of patients. KEYWORDS: Complications; Neuromuscular scoliosis; Scoliosis; Scoliosis surgery PMID: 28314995 DOI: 10.1007/s00586-017-5034-6 Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Google

Regulatory T-cells in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: actor or innocent bystander?

Abstract: Regulatory T (Treg) cells are now under extensive investigation in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). This small subset of T-cells has been, in fact, considered to be involved in the pathogenesis and progression of CLL. However, whether Treg dysregulation in CLL plays a key role or it rather represents a simple epiphenomenon is still matter of debate. In the former case, Treg cells could be appealing for targeting therapies. Finally, Treg cells have also been proposed as a prognostic indicator of the disease clinical course

Medicinal and useful plants in the tradition of Rotonda, Pollino National Park, Southern Italy

Background: This paper reports an ethnobotanical survey of the traditional uses of medicinal and useful plants in an area of the Pollino National Park, Basilicata, Southern Italy. The study, conducted between 2009 and 2010, gathered information on the medicinal plants traditionally used in the neighbourhood of town of Rotonda, in the Pollino National Park, that appears have very rich and interesting ethnopharmacological traditions.Methods: In all, we interviewed 120 key informants, whose age ranged between 50 and 95 years.Results: The research resulted to the identification of 78 medicinal plants belonging to 46 families. Among the species reported, 59 are used in human medicine, 18 for domestic use, 8 in veterinary medicine. Several plants have been reported in previous studies, but with different uses, or never reported.Conclusions: Data obtained showed that in the studied area the folk use of plants is alive and still derives from daily practice

Extraction of bioactive compounds using supercritical carbon dioxide

Microalgae Dunaliella salina contains useful molecules such as β-carotene and fatty acids (FAs), which are considered high value-added compounds. To extract these molecules, supercritical carbon dioxide was used at different operative conditions. The effects of mechanical pre-treatment (grinding speed at 0–600 rpm; pre-treatment time of 2.5–7.5 min) and operating parameters for extraction, such as biomass loading (2.45 and 7.53 g), pressure (100–550 bars), temperature (50–75 ◦ C) and CO 2 flow rate (7.24 and 14.48 g/min) by varying the extraction times (30–110 min) were evaluated. Results showed that the maximum cumulative recovery (25.48%) of β-carotene was achieved at 400 bars and 65 ◦ C with a CO 2 flow rate of 14.48 g/min, while the highest purity for stage (55.40%) was attained at 550 bars and 65 ◦ C with a CO 2 flow rate of 14.48 g/min. The maximum recovery of FAs, equal to 8.47 mg/g, was achieved at 550 bars and 75 ◦ C with a CO 2 flow rate of 14.48 g/min. Moreover, the lowest biomass loading (2.45 g) and the first extraction cycle (30 min) allowed the maximum extraction of β-carotene and FAs

ACL reconstruction with hamstrings: how different technique and fixation devices influence bone tunnel enlargement

Bone tunnel enlargement after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is well documented in the literature. The cause of this tunnel enlargement is unclear, but is thought to be multifactorial, with mechanical and biological factors playing a role.BACKGROUND: Bone tunnel enlargement after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is well documented in the literature. The cause of this tunnel enlargement is unclear, but is thought to be multifactorial, with mechanical and biological factors playing a role. AIM: The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate how the different techniques may affect the bone tunnel enlargement and clinical outcome. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-five consecutive patients undergoing ACL reconstruction with autologous doubled semitendinosus and gracilis tendons entered this study. They were randomly assigned to enter group A (In-Out technique, with cortical fixation and Interference screw) and group B (Out-In technique, metal cortical fixation on the femour and tibia). At a mean follow-up of 10 months, all the patients underwent CT scan exam to evaluate the post-operative diameters of both femoral and they underwent tibial tunnels clinical examination after 24 months. RESULTS: The mean femoral tunnel diameter increased significantly from 9.05±0.3 mm to 10.01±2.3 mm in group A and from 9.04±0.8 mm to 9.3±1.12 mm in group B. The mean increase in femoral tunnel diameters observed in group A was significantly higher than that observed in group B (p < 0.05) The mean tibial tunnel diameter increased significantly from 9.03±0.04 mm to 10.68±2.5 mm in group A and from 9.04±0.03 mm to 10.±0.78 mm in group B. The mean increase in tibial tunnel diameters observed in group A was significantly higher than that observed in group B (p < 0.05). No clinical differences were found between two groups and no correlations between clinical and radiological results were found in any patients of both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Results of the study suggest that different mechanical fixation devices could influence tunnel widening. The lower stiffness of the fixation devices is probably responsible of the tunnel widening through the fixa

Extraction of Astaxanthin and Lutein from Microalga <i>Haematococcus pluvialis</i> in the Red Phase Using CO₂ Supercritical Fluid Extraction Technology with Ethanol as Co-Solvent

Astaxanthin and lutein, antioxidants used in nutraceutics and cosmetics, can be extracted from several microalgal species. In this work, investigations on astaxanthin and lutein extraction from Haematococcus pluvialis (H. pluvialis) in the red phase were carried out by means of the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) technique, in which CO2 supercritical fluid was used as the extracting solvent with ethanol as the co-solvent. The experimental activity was performed using a bench-scale reactor in semi-batch configuration with varying extraction times (20, 40, 60, and 80 min), temperatures (50, 65, and 80 &#176;C) and pressures (100, 400, and 550 bar). Moreover, the performance of CO2 SFE with ethanol was compared to that without ethanol. The results show that the highest astaxanthin and lutein recoveries were found at 65 &#176;C and 550 bar, with ~18.5 mg/g dry weight (~92%) astaxanthin and ~7.15 mg/g dry weight (~93%) lutein. The highest astaxanthin purity and the highest lutein purity were found at 80 &#176;C and 400 bar, and at 65 &#176;C and 550 bar, respectively

Prodotti tipici italiani: Cipolla dolce rossa di Tropea. Natural1, 107, 32-38.

E' stata caratterizzata la cipolla rossa di Tropea sia chimicamente, sia per gli aspeti biomolecolari al fine di creare un modello chemiometrico per la rintracciabilità

Eicosapentaenoic Acid Extraction from <i>Nannochloropsis gaditana</i> Using Carbon Dioxide at Supercritical Conditions

This research shows that carbon dioxide supercritical fluid (CO2-SF) is an emerging technology for the extraction of high interest compounds for applications in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and cosmetics from microalgae. The purpose of this study is to recover fatty acids (FAs) and, more precisely, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) from Nannochloropsis gaditana biomass by CO2-SF extraction. In the paper, the effect of mechanical pre-treatment was evaluated with the aim of increasing FAs recovery. Extraction was performed at a pressure range of 250&#8315;550 bars and a CO2 flow rate of 7.24 and 14.48 g/min, while temperature was fixed at 50 or 65 &#176;C. The effect of these parameters on the extraction yield was assessed at each extraction cycle, 20 min each, for a total extraction time of 100 min. Furthermore, the effect of biomass loading on EPA recovery was evaluated. The highest EPA extraction yield, i.e., 11.50 mg/g, corresponding to 27.4% EPA recovery, was obtained at 65 &#176;C and 250 bars with a CO2 flow rate of 7.24 g/min and 1.0 g biomass loading. The increased CO2 flow rate from 7.24 to 14.48 g/min enhanced the cumulative EPA recovery at 250 bars. The purity of EPA could be improved by biomass loading of 2.01 g, even if recovery was reduced

Nanohydroxyapatite-based bone graft substitute in tunnel enlargement after ACL surgery: RMN study

A successful anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL) requires solid healing of the tendon graft in the bone tunnel. New biological strategies have already been proposed with the aim of improving ACL graft healing and therefore allowing a faster rehabilitative program. The aim of this prospective study was to clinically and radiologically evaluate the efficacy of nanohydroxyapatite bone-base grafts in facilitating bone-tendon incorporation after ACL reconstruction with hamstrings (HS). As far as we know, this is the first study that has tried to asses the efficacy of such a type of bone substitute on human beings