La terramara di Gaggio di Castelfranco Emilia (MO).

Il contributo è dedicato alla descrizione sintetica delle ricerche effettuate fra il 2001 e il 2004 nella terramara di Gaggio di Castelfranco databile alla media età del bronz

A case of disseminated Langerhans' cell histiocytosis treated with thalidomide.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) seems to play a key role in the pathogenesis of Langerhans' cell histiocytosis (LCH). Thalidomide is an immunomodulator agent of inflammatory cytokines including TNF-alpha. To our knowledge this is the first case of disseminated LCH successfully treated with thalidomide

Neoplastic circulating endothelial-like cells in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia.

Accumulating evidence suggests that angiogenesis may play a key role in the pathogenesis of leukaemic disorders. Several studies have shown that bone marrow-derived endothelial cells (EC) may contribute to tumour angiogenesis and that in the peripheral blood of cancer patients there is an increased amount of circulating ECs (CECs) that may participate to new vessel formation. In this report, we showed that, in seven acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patients with known cytogenetic abnormalities, CEC levels were significantly increased in comparison with controls and that a significant proportion of these CECs carried the same chromosomal aberration as blast cells (20-78%, mean value 42.1% of CECs). Most of CECs (mean value 74.4%) displayed immunophenotypic features of endothelial progenitor cells as they expressed CD133, a marker gradually lost during EC differentiation and absent on mature EC. These findings suggest a possible direct contribution of AML-related CECs to tumour vasculogenesis and possibly to the spreading and progression of the disease

Archaeobotany and the Terramara Archaeological Park of Montale (Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy): Experiences of Public Education. IANSA, VIII (2), pp. 175-186.

The Terramara Archaeological Park of Montale is an open-air museum dedicated to the enhancement of the Bronze Age terramare culture of Northern Italy. Investigation of its rich archaeological record, particularly from the archaeobotanical point of view (seeds/fruits, pieces of wood and charcoal, pollen and charcoal particles), has made it possible to reconstruct the landscape’s evolution and human-plant- animal relationships. This paper aims to present a comprehensive and exhaustive overview of the relationship between archaeology and archaeobotany in order to improve the content and exposition of the Terramara Archaeological Park of Montale, thanks to the fruitful cooperation between the Laboratory of Palynology and Archaeobotany of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and Civic Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of Modena

A case of advanced Hodgkin lymphoma with breast involvement treated with a combination of gemcitabine and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin.

Gemcitabine in combination with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin has been recognized as an effective treatment in patients with refractory solid tumors. To our knowledge, this is the first case of relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma with breast involvement successfully treated with this associatio

Mobilization of endothelial progenitor cells in patientes with haematological malignancies after treatment with filgrastim and chemotherapy for autologous transplantation

In recent years, endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), gave rise to increasing interest because of their possible use as a therapeutic tool in the treatment of vascular lesions in ischemic tissues or as a target for anti neoplastic therapy. It has been shown that several drugs can increase the number of EPCs into the peripheral blood (PB). However, there is insufficient data concerning the mobilization and collection of EPCs during CD34+ cell mobilization. In this study, we have evaluated EPC mobilization and collection in a series of 47 patients affected by lymphoid neoplasms [31 non Hodgkin lymphoma and 16 multiple myeloma] undergoing CD34+ cell mobilization with cyclophosphamide (4000 mg/m2) and Filgrastim (5 microg/kg). PB EPCs identified by flow cytometry as CD34+/VEGFR2+/CD133+ cells showed a peak on day +10. This peak paralleled that of PB CD34+/CD45+ cells. A direct correlation was observed between CD34+ and CD34+/VEGFR2+/CD133+ cells (r = 0.99 P < 0.0001). An average of 23.7 x 10e6 CD34+/VEGFR2+ CD133+ cells have been collected (range 12.1-41.76 x 10e6). These findings showed that in hematological diseases, cyclophosphamide in combination with filgrastim allows the mobilization and collection of large numbers of EPCs which may be used for reparative medicine studies in these patients

Neoplastic circulating endothelial cells in multiple myeloma with 13q14 deletion.

In multiple myeloma (MM), circulating endothelial cells (CECs) represent a vascular marker of angiogenesis and may reflect tumor mass. In this report, we showed that, in 5 MM patients with 13q14 deletion, CECs carried the same chromosome aberration as the neoplastic plasma cells (11%-32% of CECs with 13q14 deletion). Most of the CECs displayed immunophenotypic features of endothelial progenitor cells as they expressed CD133, a marker gradually lost during endothelial differentiation and absent on mature endothelial cells. To the contrary, in 3 patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and 13q14 deletion, CECs were cytogenetically normal and had a mature immunophenotype. In MM CECs, immunoglobulin genes were clonally rearranged. These findings suggest a possible origin of CECs from a common hemangioblast precursor that can give rise to both plasma cells and endothelial cells and point to a direct contribution of MM-derived CECs to tumor vasculogenesis and possibly to the spreading and progression of the disease