Surgical management of large scalp infantile hemangioma in 30-month-old infant

Infantile Hemangiomas (IH) are the most common benign tumor of infancy, occurring in over 10% of newborns. The head and neck is the most frequently affected area (60%), and the scalp is a typical site for such large lesions. Scalp-IHs are usually focal lesions that can be both disfiguring and may lead to complications such as ulceration and bleeding. We describe a case of a 30-months old female who presented a large scalp-IH at birth that rapidly grew in the first year of life. Topical and systemic treatments (with timolol ointment and oral propranolol, respectively) were not effective in reducing dimensions of the hemangioma. After vascular imaging study, the patient underwent surgical resection of the IH and primary closure with excellent cosmetic outcome. When medical therapy is ineffective or cosmetic and functional integrity is threatened, early surgery allows to completely removing large scalp-IHs, with good cosmetic results

Design of engineered cyclodextrin derivatives for spontaneous coating of highly porous metal-organic framework nanoparticles in aqueous media

Nanosized metal-organic frameworks (nanoMOFs) MIL-100(Fe) are highly porous and biodegradable materials that have emerged as promising drug nanocarriers. A challenging issue concerns their surface functionalization in order to evade the immune system and to provide molecular recognition ability, so that they can be used for specific targeting. A convenient method for their coating with tetraethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, and mannose residues is reported herein. The method consists of the organic solvent-free self-assembly on the nanoMOFs of building blocks based on beta-cyclodextrin facially derivatized with the referred functional moieties, and multiple phosphate groups to anchor to the nanoparticles’ surface. The coating of nanoMOFs with cyclodextrin phosphate without further functional groups led to a significant decrease of macrophage uptake, slightly improved by polyethylene glycol or mannose-containing cyclodextrin phosphate coating. More notably, nanoMOFs modified with tetraethylene glycol-containing cyclodextrin phosphate displayed the most effcient “stealth” effect. Mannose-coated nanoMOFs displayed a remarkably enhanced binding affnity towards a specific mannose receptor, such as Concanavalin A, due to the multivalent display of the monosaccharide, as well as reduced macrophage internalization. Coating with tetraethylente glycol of nanoMOFs after loading with doxorubicin is also described. Therefore, phosphorylated cyclodextrins o er a versatile platform to coat nanoMOFs in an organic solvent-free, one step manner, providing them with new biorecognition and/or “stealth” properties

Ankyloblepharon Filiforme Adnatum in a Newborn

Abstract Ankyloblepharon filiforme adnatum (AFA) is a rare congenital anomaly consisting of a partial or complete fusion of the eyelid margins. It is usually an isolated and benign malformation but its presence should alert the neonatologist because it can be rarely associated to other important multisystemic disorders. We report a case of a newborn presenting with isolated AFA at birth, treated in the first day of life

Infantile Perineal Protrusion in Two Monochorionic Twins

Abstract Case Report Two female monochorionic-monoamniotic twins showed the same kind of infantile perineal protrusion (IPP) at birth. Lesions in both twins progressively healed until resolution in 6 weeks' time; none of the twins have manifested, till date, alvus disturbances. Discussion and Literature Review A literature review numbers approximately 100 reports of IPP. This condition has been classically classified into three categories: congenital/familiar (i.e., female sex, positive parental history of IPP), acquired (mainly due to constipation), and associated with lichen sclerosus et atrophicus. Conclusions and Final Remarks This case report describes, for the first time, the presence of IPP in monochorionic-monoamniotic twins, supporting the existence of hereditary/genetic factors in the developing of this condition

Harlequin Color Change: Neonatal Case Series and Brief Literature Review

First clinical report of Harlequin color change (HCC) phenomenon came in 1952 from Neligan and Strang. Since then, HCC has been described in a fairly broad number of clinical reports involving neonates, infants, children, and adult patients. We here present a small case series of HCC occurring in neonates, pointing out three of the different possible presentations (hemifacial, patchy scattered across the whole body, and hemiscrotal) of this phenomenon. A brief discussion and literature review encompassing epidemiology, clinical features, physiopathology, associated conditions, and differential diagnoses of HCC is then presented. In most cases, HCC represents a benign, idiopathic, and rapidly autoresolutive phenomenon, with no need for treatment. Some drugs (especially anesthetics and prostaglandin E) are thought to enhance HCC expression through their influence on the capillary tone in the peripheral vascular bed; this effect is anyway promptly reversible with drug withdrawal. Only in rare circumstances, HCC may act as a clue for serious central nervous system disorders (e.g., meningitis; hypothalamic, brain stem, or sympathetic nervous system lesions); anyway, in these rare occurrences HCC always represents an epiphenomenon of the disease, never acting as the sole sign of the underlying disorder