Prognostic Significance of Immunohistochemical Phenotypes in Patients Treated for High-Grade Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia

Strong evidence exists that the host’s immune system plays a crucial role for the development of human papillomavirus-related cervical premalignant and malignant lesions. In particular, effective cell-mediated immunity (CMI) promotes spontaneous infection clearance and cancer precursors regression in healthy subjects, while immunosuppressed individuals are more likely to experience infection persistence, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) lesions, and cervical cancer. In this study, the prognostic significance of immunohistochemical profiling of CD4+ T-cells, CD8+ T-cells, dendritic cells (CD11c+), T-bet+, and GATA-3+ transcription factors has been studied in surgical specimens of 34 consecutive women affected by high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2-3) submitted to cervical conization. Results have been correlated with the clinical outcomes at 24 months after treatment and statistically analyzed. Higher rates of CD4+ T-cells, CD11c+ dendritic cells, and T-bet+ transcription factor positivity showed a strong statistically significative correlation with favourable clinical outcomes (P≤0.0001). These data reinforce the evidence of the relevance of the host’s immune status in the natural history of HPV-related cervical disease and add a prognostic significance of the cervical immunological profile in terms of predicting significant lower recurrence rates

Potential Anti-Tumor Activity of Intravenous and Subcutaneous Immunoglobulin

This case study and brief review shows that IVIg can have an inhibitory role on growth and tumor spread in both solid neoplasms and lymphoproliferative diseases. Various molecular and cellular pathways are involved in this fight against tumor growth and spread, although the specific manifestations are not completely understood. There are no available data on SCIg and cancer. It is thus possible that the administration of IVIg supplemented with SCIg can help in the treatment of cancer itself and its metastases. More experimental and clinical data are necessary to confirm these preliminary observations

Subcutaneous IgG in the Myositis Spectrum Disorders

The efficacy of subcutaneous immunoglobulin is reported in several neurological disorders and, more recently, its use has been extended to other inflammatory diseases, such as the idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, including polymyositis and dermatomyositis. Due to the rarity of these disorders, the role of immunoglobulin, administered intravenously or subcutaneously, remains unclear and poorly investigated. We report our experience about the use of subcutaneous immunoglobulin in myositis spectrum disorders, from idiopathic inflammatory myopathies to more complex conditions, such as overlap and cancer-associated myositis or pregnancy

Luminescence properties induced by sintering of silica nanoparticles

The effect of sintering on the optical properties of silica nanoparticles, a mean diameter of ~14 nm, are investigated by absorption and luminescence experiments. The sintering is induced by a thermal treatment of 1000 °C for 272 hours; after that the sample is transparent, and emits a bright luminescence under UV excitation. Time resolved photoluminescence spectra excited by a tunable laser source allows to evidence four bands around 2.0 eV, 2.4 eV, 2.7 eV and 3.4 eV, peculiar to defects induced by the sintering

La scelta della maternità. Una guida alla decisione per le donne con LES

La decisione di affrontare una gravidanza riguarda la scelta se avere o no un bambino o se avere un altro bambino, per chi già ne ha uno o più di uno. Prendere questa decisione è importante per ogni donna; dopo la diagnosi di LES, diventa più difficile. Va ricordato il rischio per la salute della madre durante la gravidanza e dopo il parto, così come va considerata la capacità per la madre di essere fisicamente in grado di prendersi cura del proprio figlio nel tempo. Valutare questi rischi fa parte delle gioie e delle preoccupazioni del diventare genitori. Questo libro ha lo scopo di fornire informazioni sui rischi e i benefici che investono chi, portatore di LES, vuole affrontare una gravidanza e diventare genitore. Vuole aiutare la donna e il partner a prendere una decisione informata

Subclinical Cardiac Dysfunction in Polymyositis and Dermatomyositis: A Speckle-tracking Case-control Study

OBJECTIVE: Subclinical heart disease occurs in up to 50% of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) and is difficult to detect through conventional imaging. We investigated the usefulness of global longitudinal strain (GLS) measurement to detect a subclinical systolic ventricular dysfunction in patients with IIM. METHODS: We enrolled 28 patients with IIM and 28 matched controls in a 1:1 fashion. Standard variables for the left ventricle (LV) and right ventricle (RV) systolic and diastolic function were measured and compared between cases and controls, along with speckle-tracking GLS of the LV and RV. A possible correlation between GLS and muscle strength, disease activity, cardiovascular risk factors, and other organ systems involvement was searched. RESULTS: Standard variables of systolic and diastolic dysfunction were similar between patients and controls. GLS was significantly lower in patients when compared with controls for both LV (-18.7 ± 4.2% vs -21.2 ± 2.1%, p = 0.006) and RV (-19.3 ± 6.3% vs -22.5 ± 3.8%, p = 0.033). Patients with IIM had a 4.9-fold increased risk for impaired left GLS [relative risk (RR) 4.9, 95% CI 1.5-15.8, p = 0.006], which involved usually basal and mid-segments of the anterior, anterior-septal, and lateral wall. Patients with IIM had a 3.4-fold increased risk for impaired right GLS (RR 3.4, 95% CI 1.1-11.7, p = 0.04) with the basal segment of the free RV wall most frequently involved. Muscle strength, disease activity, damage and duration, other organ system involvement, and previous treatment were not associated with reduced GLS. CONCLUSION: Subclinical systolic impairment is common in patients with IIM without overt LV dysfunction. In this context, GLS is a potentially useful variable