Predictive Role of p53 Protein as a Single Marker or Associated to Ki67 Antigen in Oral Carcinogenesis

p53 over-expression has been proposed as a reliable marker associated to oral carcinogenesis, although only about 50% of oral carcinomas (OSCC) are associated with p53 over-expression and even p53-negative lesions can progress to OSCC. The aim of the study was to determine whether the combination of p53 over-expression and p53 low-expression associated with Ki67 over-expression (high Ki67/p53 ratio) could lead to a more sensitive parameter. Immunohistochemical expression of Ki67 and p53 was measured in 54 specimens from OSCC; 27 specimens from moderate/severe epithelial dysplasia; 32 specimens from oral leukoplakias without epithelial dysplasia, and 13 specimens with normal epithelium. p53 over-expression was found in 31 (53%) samples from OSCC, in 10 (37%) samples from severe dysplasias, and in 5 (15%) samples from non-dysplastic lesions, while the combination of high p53 values with high Ki67/p53 ratio was observed in 93% of OSCC, in 81% of dysplastic lesions, and in 50% of non-dysplastic lesions. This parameter may have a clinical implication to detect early lesions with an impairment of p53 pathway, and probably at risk of progress to OSCC

Freshwater fish introductions in mediterranean-climate regions: are there commonalities in the conservation problem?

Aim To compare patterns and drivers of freshwater fish introductions across five climatically similar regions and evaluate similarities and differences in the nonnative species introduced. Location Five mediterranean-climate regions: California (USA), central Chile, south-western Australia, the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and the south-western Cape (South Africa). Methods Species presence–absence for native and non-native fishes were collated across the regions, and patterns of faunal change were examined using univariate and multivariate statistical approaches. Taxonomic patterns in freshwater fish introductions were evaluated by comparing the number of species introduced by order to the numbers expected from binomial probabilities. Factors influencing multiple introductions of freshwater fish species in mediterranean regions were determined using generalized linear modelling. Results High levels of endemism (70–90%) were revealed for south-western Cape, south-western Australia and Chile. Despite their high rates of endemism, all regions currently have more non-native species than endemic species. Taxonomic selection was found for five orders, although this was only significant for Salmoniformes across regions. The average increase in regional compositional similarity of fish faunas resulting from non-native fish introductions was 8.0%. Important factors predicting multiple introductions of a species include previous introduction success and mean latitude of its distribution Main conclusions The mediterranean-climate regions of the world, separated by vast distances, originally had a few fish species in common but are now more similar, owing to species introductions, illustrating the extent and importance of taxonomic homogenization. Introductions are largely driven by taxonomically biased human interests in recreational fisheries, aquaculture and ornamental pet species.Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biolog

Closed circuits : kinship, neighborhood and incarceration in urban Portugal

The notion that prisons are a ‘world apart’, with their walls severing prisoners from their external relationships, and incarceration an interruption, ‘time away’ spent in a separate social universe, has provided an adequate framework for understanding the social realities of imprisonment in the past. But it has also created an analytical dead angle that prevents us from identifying the ramifying social effects of concentrated incarceration upon both the prison and heavily penalized lower-class neighborhoods. This article addresses these effects with data from an ethnographic revisit of a major women’s prison in Portugal, where the recomposition of the inmate population that has accompanied the rapid inflation of the country’s carceral population is especially pronounced and entails the activation of wide-ranging carceralized networks bringing kinship and neighborhood into the prison as well as the prison into the domestic world. The analysis focuses on the ways whereby these constellations have transformed the experience of confinement and the texture of correctional life, calling for a reconsideration of the theoretical status of the prison as a ‘total institution’ and for exploring anew the boundary that separates it (or not) from outside worlds.Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research

To be or not to be (inflamed) - is that the question in anti-inflammatory drug therapy of neurodegenerative disorders?

A sustained inflammatory reaction is present in acute (e.g. stroke) and chronic (e.g. Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis) neurodegenerative disorders. Inflammation, which is fostered by both residential glial cells and blood-circulating cells that infiltrate the diseased brain, probably starts as a time- and site-specific defense mechanism that could later evolve into a destructive and uncontrolled reaction. In this article, we review the crucial dichotomy of brain inflammation, where failure to resolve an acute beneficial response could lead to a vicious and anarchic state of chronic activation. The possible use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for the management of neurodegenerative diseases is discussed in light of recent data demonstrating a neuroprotective role of local innate and adaptive immune responses. Novel therapeutic approaches must rely on potentiation of endogenous anti-inflammatory pathways, identification of early markers of neuronal deterioration and a combination treatment involving immune modulation and antiinflammatory therapies

Identificazione di caratteristiche istopatologiche ed immunoistochimiche rilevanti ai fini prognostici delle neoplasie del distretto testa-collo

Un problema importante nella valutazione dei pazienti con Carcinoma Squamoso Orale \ue8 la diagnosi differenziale tra recidiva e comparsa di seconda neoplasia primitiva. Esistono parametri clinici che considerano la sede d\u2019insorgenza e la distanza temporale tra le due neoplasie come utili nella diagnosi differenziale, ma questi parametri non sono sempre di univoca interpretazione. Recentemente, l\u2019analisi della clonalit\ue0 delle neoplasie \ue8 stata proposta come indagine utile a questo proposito. La relazione clonale \ue8 stata analizzata attraverso lo studio delle mutazioni della sequenza D-Loop del DNA mitocondriale, metodo gi\ue0 validato precedentemente presso il nostro laboratorio. In un primo lavoro sono stati studiati tre casi nei quali era comparso carcinoma squamoso in situ sul lembo cutaneo utilizzato per ricostruire il difetto chirurgico derivante dall\u2019asportazione del tumore primitivo. Si \ue8 visto che i tumori insorti sul lembo cutaneo avevano una relazione clonale con il carcinoma primitivo, e si potevano considerare come derivanti da un clone cellulare comune. E\u2019 possibile che le cellule (derivanti dal clone comune precursore della prima neoplasia) si siano diffuse dalla mucosa alla cute, probabilmente attratte da citochine o da altri agenti chemotattici, analogamente a quanto avviene del carcinoma di Paget. E\u2019 stata inoltre studiata, sempre con analisi della sequenza D-Loop del DNA mitocondriale, una casistica retrospettiva di 9 pazienti che hanno presentato due neoplasie successive del cavo orale e i cui parametri clinici ponevano dubbi di interpretazione. In 49 casi \ue8 stata evidenziata una chiara relazione clonale tra le due neoplasie, confermando un quadro di recidiva, mentre nei restanti casi tale relazione non \ue8 risultata evidente, avvalorando l\u2019ipotesi di seconda neoplasia. La casistica \ue8 ora in fase di ampliamento. Questo metodo ha importanti risvolti pratici nella gestione del paziente in quanto la dimostrazione esatta della natura primitiva o secondaria di una neoplasia pu\uf2 comportare scelte terapeutiche diverse. Lesioni pre-neoplastiche: Si \ue8 proseguito lo studio dell\u2019espressione di p16INK4A nelle condizioni pre-neoplastiche del cavo orale, in particolare nel lichen planus. Sono stati studiati 103 casi di cui 67 lichen planus orale, 20 lesioni pre-neoplastiche e 16 flogosi aspecifiche. Si \ue8 visto che l\u2019 espressione immunoistochimica di p16INK4A aumentava con la comparsa della flogosi e diminuiva alla sua scomparsa. Questo dato fa ritenere che essa non sia correlata ad una maggiore tendenza a sviluppare il carcinoma ( manoscritto in preparazione)