Actinomycosis of the Tongue: A Case Report and Review of Literature

Background: Actinomycosis of the tongue is an uncommon, suppurative infection of lingual mucosa, caused by actinomyces. The clinical diagnosis may present serious difficulties because of its ability to mimic other lesions, including both benign and malignant neoplasms. Methods: Here, we describe the case of a 52-years-old patient affected by an asymptomatic, tumor-like tongue swelling, then diagnosed as actinomycosis. A review of tongue localization of actinomycosis is also reported, with emphasis on clinical findings and therapy. Results and Conclusion: Early diagnosis and treatment, with pus drainage and systemic antibiotic therapy, are pivotal to avoid severe and life-threatening complications

Supercritical Antisolvent Precipitation of Quercetin Systems: Preliminary Experiments

Flavonoids have attracted a lot of attention due to their antioxidant, antitumor and antibacterial activities. Quercetin (3,5,7,3,4-pentahydroxyflavone) is a polyphenolic flavonoid that shows several biological effects including a strong inhibitory effect on the growth of several human and animal cancer cell lines and enhances the antiproliferative effect of cisplatin both in-vitro and in-vivo. In spite of a variety of its biological effects. Quercetin is very poorly soluble in water, which has limited its absorption upon oral administration. As known, the solubility of drug is often due to the increase of the surface/volume ratio which implies the increase of the number of surface atoms (or molecules) with respect to the number of bulk atoms (or molecules). With this aim, we investigated the use of supercritical antisolvent (SAS) technique for Quercetin microparticles generation finding the best operative conditions through the Peng Robinson’s Equation of State. The obtained simulation behaviors were confirmed by experimental precipitation: the physicochemical characterizations of the samples were also performe

Supercritical Antisolvent Precipitation of Quercetin Systems: Preliminary Experiments

Flavonoids have attracted a lot of attention due to their antioxidant, antitumor and antibacterial activities. Quercetin (3,5,7,3,4-pentahydroxyflavone) is a polyphenolic flavonoid that shows several biological effects including a strong inhibitory effect on the growth of several human and animal cancer cell lines and enhances the antiproliferative effect of cisplatin both in-vitro and in-vivo. In spite of a variety of its biological effects. Quercetin is very poorly soluble in water, which has limited its absorption upon oral administration. As known, the solubility of drug is often due to the increase of the surface/volume ratio which implies the increase of the number of surface atoms (or molecules) with respect to the number of bulk atoms (or molecules). With this aim, we investigated the use of supercritical antisolvent (SAS) technique for Quercetin microparticles generation finding the best operative conditions through the Peng Robinson’s Equation of State. The obtained simulation behaviors were confirmed by experimental precipitation: the physicochemical characterizations of the samples were also performe

A rare case of transmural endometriosis in primary adenocarcinoma of the rectum

Intestinal endometriosis of the rectum and sigmoid colon, occurring in up to 34% of pelvic endometriosis, mimics a wide number of conditions that are difficult to differentiate from inflammatory or malignant diseases. Herein we report the first case of transmural endometriosis concomitant with advanced primary rectal adenocarcinoma, presenting with obstructive symptoms. Correct diagnosis based on morphological identification and immunohistochemical characterization of the two entities is crucial for treatment

Drug-polymer filled micro-containers for oral delivery loaded using supercritical CO₂ aided-impregnation

In this work we present an effective loading technique of micro-containers for oral drug delivery of a poorly water soluble drug in a solid dispersion with polymer. By combining inkjet printing and supercritical CO2 impregnation we load ketoprofen in a solid dispersion with poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) into cylindrical micro-containers providing unidirectional release. Both the printing and the impregnation step can be tuned in order to control drug loading with accuracy in the range of micro-grams

Long-term disease-free survival in surgically-resected oral tongue cancer: a 10-year retrospective study

Sopravvivenza libera da malattia a lungo termine nel tumore della lingua mobile operato: studio retrospettivo a 10 anni.PLAIN-LANGUAGE-SUMMARY: Early and loco-regionally advanced oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) can be treated by surgery alone or followed by adjuvant radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. Nevertheless, up to 40% of patients develop tumour relapse. The aim of our study is to investigate the clinical and pathological features associated with reduced disease-free survival (DFS) in a cohort of surgically-resected OTSCC patients. One hundred and six patients surgically resected for OTSCC were retrospectively identified from clinical records. DFS was calculated according to the Kaplan\u2013Meier method and differences between variables were assessed with Log-Rank test. A multivariable Cox regression model was used to analyse the impact of different prognostic factors on DFS. After a median of follow-up of 8.9 years, 22 events, including 11 deaths, were observed. Overall, the 5-year DFS-rate was 87.4%. The presence of extra-nodal extension (p = 0.023) and perineural invasion (p = 0.003) were significantly correlated with shorter DFS (in univariate analysis). In multivariable analysis, extra-nodal extension and perineural invasion confirmed their role as independent prognostic factors associated with an increased risk of disease recurrence [hazard ratio (HR) 2.87, 95% CI 1.11-7.42, p = 0.03; HR 3.85, 95% CI 1.49-9.96, p = 0.006, respectively]. p16 and p53 expressions in tumour cells were detected in 12% (n = 9) and 46% (n = 40) of cases, respectively. No differences in DFS were observed between p16+ and p16- (p = 0.125) and between p53+ and p53- tumours (p = 0.213). In conclusion, radical surgery, eventually followed by adjuvant radiotherapy or chemo-radiotherapy, can achieve high cure rates in OTSCC. After long-term follow-up, perineural invasion and extra-nodal extension confirmed their role as prognostic factors associated with reduced DFS in OTSCC patients

Rapid, progressive neuropathic arthropathy of the hip in a patient co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis C virus and tertiary syphilis: case report

BACKGROUND: Syphilis is a chronic infection that is classified into three stages. In its tertiary stage, syphilis spreads to the brain, heart and other organs; the lesions may involve the skin, mucous membranes and bones. Neuropathic arthropathy associated with tertiary syphilis has rarely been described in Europe and its association with HIV-HCV co-infection has not been reported so far.This article reports the case of a man with tertiary syphilis presenting with rapidly evolving neuropathic arthropathy of the hip and extensive bone destruction. CASE PRESENTATION: On initial presentation, the patient complained of progressively worsening left-sided coxalgia without localized or generalized inflammation. The patient reported to have no history of previous infections, trauma or cancer. Plain x-ray films of the left coxofemoral joint showed marked degeneration with necrosis of the proximal epiphysis of femur and morphological alterations of the acetabulum without protrusion. Primary coxarthrosis was diagnosed and hip arthroplasty was offered, but the patient declined treatment. Three months later, the patient presented a marked deterioration of his general condition. He disclosed that he was seropositive for HCV and HIV, as confirmed by serology. Syphilis serology testing was also positive. A Girdlestone's procedure was performed and samples were collected for routine cultures for bacteria and acid fast bacilli, all resulting negative.Although histological findings were inconclusive, confirmed positive serology for syphilis associated with progressive arthropathy was strongly suggestive of tertiary syphilis, probably exacerbated by HIV-HCV co-infection. The patient partially recovered the ability to walk. CONCLUSIONS: Due to the resurgence of syphilis, this disease should be considered as a possible cause of neuropathic arthropathy when other infectious causes have been ruled out, particularly in patients with HIV and/or HCV co-infection

Prognostic value of Goseki histological classification in adenocarcinoma of the cardia

Various histologic classification systems have been proposed as prognostic factors for gastric cancer. We assessed the prognostic value of Goseki classification as well as the TNM staging system, histological tumour grading, Lauren, WHO, Goseki and Siewert classifications in 100 patients with cardia carcinoma undergoing curative surgery. Two patients were lost at follow-up. The median time of follow-up in the remaining patients was 32.9 months after surgery (range: 0.1–142.1 months). No differences in survival rates were observed according to tumour grading, Lauren or WHO histologic or Siewert topographical classification. No differences were found according to Goseki classes, when considering either the mucin content of the carcinoma (types I and III vs II and IV) or the differentiation grade (types I and II vs III and IV). Multivariate analysis showed that the only lymph node positivity was a significant predictor of survival: 7.2% of patients with, but 41.5% of those without nodal involvement were alive after five years (P=0.0001). In conclusion, we found no prognostic role for Goseki or the traditional histological indexes, while the TNM staging system and particularly lymph node positivity were the main predictors of survival in patients with cardia adenocarcinoma