<i>Structores amphitheatri</i>: a proposito dell’anfiteatro di <i>Forum Traiani</i> (<i>Sardinia</i>)

Gli structores, talora richiamati nella documentazione epigrafica, coordinano le maestranze e le forniture di materiali e di servizi necessari alla realizzazione del progetto edilizio di un architectus, in particolare per quelle strutture monumentali destinate all’ornatus civitatis, ma anche ad una precisa funzionalità nell’ambito delle direttrici urbanologiche della città romana. Si vuole proporre in questa sede un’analisi ricostruttiva dei cantieri edilizi, con il relativo personale tecnico, attivati rispettivamente in funzione della costruzione e dell’ampliamento del secondo edificio per gli spettacoli della Sardinia, per le sue dimensioni, l’anfiteatro di Forum Traiani, fatto oggetto di scavo archeologico fra i mesi di febbraio e settembre 2008, a cura della Soprintendenza archeologica della Sardegna in collaborazione con l’Università degli Studi di Sassari, il Comune di Fordongianus e la Casa Circondariale di Oristano

Ageing and inflammation in patients with HIV infection

Nowadays, HIV+ patients have an expected lifespan that is only slightly shorter than healthy individuals. For this reason, along with the fact that infection can be acquired at a relatively advanced age, the effects of ageing on HIV+ people have begun to be evident. Successful anti-viral treatment is, on one hand, responsible for the development of side effects related to drug toxicity; on the other hand, it is not able to inhibit the onset of several complications caused by persistent immune activation and chronic inflammation. Therefore, patients with a relatively advanced age, i.e. aged more than 50 years, can experience pathologies that affect much older citizens. HIV+ individuals with non-AIDS-related complications can thus come to the attention of clinicians because of the presence of neurocognitive disorders, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, bone abnormalities and non-HIV-associated cancers. Chronic inflammation and immune activation, observed typically in elderly people and defined as 'inflammaging', can be present in HIV+ patients who experience a type of premature ageing, which affects the quality of life significantly. This relatively new condition is extremely complex, and important factors have been identified as well as the traditional behavioural risk factors, e.g. the toxicity of anti-retroviral treatments and the above-mentioned chronic inflammation leading to a functional decline and a vulnerability to injury or pathologies. Here, we discuss the role of inflammation and immune activation on the most important non-AIDS-related complications of chronic HIV infection, and the contribution of aging per se to this scenario

Characteristics and Drug Utilization of Patients with Hereditary Angioedema in Italy, a Real-World Analysis

This real-world analysis investigated the characteristics and treatment patterns of patients with hereditary angioedema (HAE) in Italy using the administrative data of health units across Italy. Patients were identified via exemption code or HAE-specific treatments (thus, all known forms, type I, II and, III, were included). The index date was that of first prescription of HAE treatments within the inclusion period (01/2010–06/2021) or of the date of exemption. The number of HAE patients included was 148 (43.2% male, mean age 43.3 years). Gastrointestinal disorders affected 36.5% patients, hypertension affected 28.4%, hypercholesterolemia affected 11.5%, and depression affected 9.5%. The frequent gastrointestinal involvement was further confirmed by the use of antiemetics and systemic antihistamines that doubled after the index date. Among patients enrolled by treatment (n = 125), n = 105 (84%) were receiving a treatment for acute attacks. This analysis provided insights into the characterization of patients with HAE and their management in Italian clinical practice, suggesting that an unmet therapeutic need could be present for such patients in terms of the clinical burden

Peginterferon alfa-2b and ribavirin for 12 vs. 24 weeks in HCV genotype 2 or 3

BACKGROUND: We hypothesized that in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 2 or 3 in whom HCV RNA is not detectable after 4 weeks of therapy, 12 weeks of treatment is as effective as 24 weeks. METHODS: A total of 283 patients were randomly assigned to a standard 24-week regimen of peginterferon alfa-2b at a dose of 1.0 mug per kilogram weekly plus ribavirin at a dose of 1000 mg or 1200 mg daily, on the basis of body weight. Of these, 70 patients were assigned to the 24-week regimen (standard-duration group) and 213 patients to a variable regimen (variable-duration group) of 12 or 24 weeks, depending on whether tests for HCV RNA were negative or positive at week 4. The primary end point was HCV that was not detectable by polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) assay 24 weeks after the completion of therapy. RESULTS: In the standard-duration group, 45 (64 percent) patients had HCV that was not detectable by PCR assay at week 4, as compared with 133 (62 percent) in the variable-duration group (difference [the rate in the standard-duration group minus that in the variable-duration group], 2 percent; 95 percent confidence interval, -11 to 15 percent). Fifty-three patients (76 percent) in the standard-duration group and 164 patients (77 percent) in the variable-duration group had a sustained virologic response (difference, -1 percent; 95 percent confidence interval, -13 to 10 percent). Fewer patients in the variable-duration group receiving the 12-week regimen had adverse events and withdrew than in the group receiving the 24-week regimen (P=0.045). The rate of relapse (defined as HCV not detectable at the end of treatment but detectable at the end of follow-up) was 3.6 percent in the standard-duration group and 8.9 percent in the variable-duration group (P=0.16). Overall, the rate of sustained virologic response was 80 percent among patients with HCV genotype 2 and 66 percent among those with genotype 3 (P&lt;0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A shorter course of therapy over 12 weeks with peginterferon alfa-2b and ribavirin is as effective as a 24-week course for patients with HCV genotype 2 or 3 who have a response to treatment at 4 weeks

A randomized controlled trial of pegylated interferon alpha-2a (40 KD) or interferon alpha-2a plus ribavirin and amantadine vs interferon alpha-2a and ribavirin in treatment-naïve patients with chronic hepatitis C.

We determined whether triple therapy comprising amantadine (AMA), ribavirin (RBV) and either peginterferon (PEG-IFN) alpha-2a or conventional IFN alpha-2a would improve sustained virological response (SVR) rates over dual therapy with IFN alpha-2a and RBV in patients with chronic HCV infection. A total of 362 treatment-naïve patients were randomized to 48 weeks of treatment with: PEG-IFN alpha-2a 180 microg/week (group A) or IFN alpha-2a 3 MU tiw (groups B and C). All patients received RBV 1000 or 1200 mg/day and those in groups A and B received AMA 200 mg/day. SVR was defined as an undetectable HCV RNA after 24 weeks of untreated follow-up. At the end of therapy, 74.4\% (95\% CI 0.66-0.82) of patients in group A were HCV RNA-negative compared with 42.5\% (95\% CI 0.33-0.50) of those in group B (P = 0.0001) and 48.8\% (95\% CI 0.40-0.56) of those in group C. SVR was achieved in a significantly greater proportion of patients in group A compared with groups B and C: 65.3\% (95\% CI 0.53-0.56), 33.3\% (95\% CI 0.25-0.41) and 44.6\% (95\% CI 0.36-0.53; P = 0.0001) respectively. In patients with genotype 1, SVR rates were 55.2, 22.8 and 28.8\% with the three regimens respectively. Factors independently associated with SVR were HCV genotype 2 or 3, therapy with PEG-IFN, female gender and age. In treatment-naive patients with chronic hepatitis C, triple therapy with PEG-IFN alpha-2a, RBV and AMA produces higher SVR than dual or triple therapy with conventional IFN alpha-2a