Tuberculosis in Genoa: The contribution of edoardo maragliano (1849-1940) and the medical school of the university of Genoa

Between nineteenth and twentieth centuries, medicine knew the beginning of an incessant development: the birth of new medical specialties (radiology, for instance), the introduction of new devices in medical and surgical wards, and the discovery of bacteria represented important milestones in that first historical period. The Medical School of the University of Genoa, head by Edoardo Maragliano, full professor of internal medicine, took on a relevant role in the battle against tuberculosis, through the experimental demonstration of the existence of an immune response against M. tuberculosis and the production of an inactivated vaccine. During his career, Maragliano surrounded himself with graduate assistants and students, who would later become full professors of internal medicine in prestigious universities and excellent physicians. In order to allow the correct diagnosis and educate his young colleagues, Maragliano endowed his clinic laboratories of haematology, biochemistry, microbiology and radiology. Under his supervision, the assistants of the Genoa University Medical Clinic issued over two thousand scientific publications

Aortic coarctation in a WW1 soldier? Looking back at military medicine during WW1 through a rediscovered case report

Professor Edoardo Maragliano (1849-1940), a distinguished Italian clinician and physician who lived between the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, illustrated a complex cardiovascular case of uncertain interpretation to medical students during the First World War. On the basis of current knowledge, a novel interpretation is proposed to better frame the historically important case

Michelangelo Buonarroti's Alleged Goiter: Anatomical Fact or Literary Misinterpretation?

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) is rightly regarded as one of the most important artists of the 15th and 16th centuries; one of the very icons of the Italian Renaissance. Besides his artistic masterpieces, Michelangelo’s production is alsocompellingly represented in his written works: Rhymes (Rime) and Letters (Lettere)

Common aspects between glaucoma and brain neurodegeneration

Neurodegeneration can be defined as progressive cell damage to nervous system cells, and more specifically to neurons, which involves morphologic alterations and progressive loss of function until cell death. Glaucoma exhibits many aspects of neurodegenerative disease. This review examines the pathogenesis of glaucoma, comparing it with that of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), highlighting their common features. Indeed, in all three diseases there are not only the same types of pathogenic events, but also similarities of temporal cadences that determine neuronal damage. All three age-related illnesses have oxidative damage and mitochondrial dysfunction as the first pathogenic steps. The consequence of these alterations is the death of visual neurons in glaucoma, cognitive neurons in AD and regulatory motor neurons (substantia nigra) in PD. The study of these common pathogenic events (oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, protein degradation, apoptosis and autophagy) leads us to consider common therapeutic strategies for the treatment and prevention of these diseases. Also, examination of the genetic aspects of the pathways involved in neurodegenerative processes plays a key role in shedding light on the details of pathogenesis and can suggest new treatments. This review discusses the common molecular aspects involved in these three oxidative-stress and age-related diseases

Tetanus vaccination, antibody persistence and decennial booster: a serosurvey of university students and at-risk workers

none8noThe aim of the present research is to verify the immune status against tetanus in students and workers exposed to risk and to ascertain whether a decennial booster is necessary. Antibodies against tetanus were measured in 1433 workers and students of Padua University (Italy). The enrolment criterion was the ability to provide a booklet of vaccinations released by a public health office. The influence of age, gender, the number of vaccine doses, and the interval since the last dose was determined. Ten years after the last dose, the majority of subjects (95.0%) displayed an antibody titre above the protective level (≥0.10 IU/ml), and half of these (49.1%) had a long-term protective level (≥1.0 IU/ml). According to our data, titre depends on both the number of vaccine doses and the interval since the last dose (P<0.0001). Five vaccine doses and an interval of at least 10 years since the last dose are predictive of a long-term protective titre in absence of a booster (1.97 IU/ml). These data suggest that when primary series are completed, a decennial booster is unnecessary for up to twenty years. Furthermore, we recommend measuring the antibody level before a new booster is given to prevent problems related to overimmunization.mixedBORELLA-VENTURINI, M.; Frasson, C.; Paluan, F.; DE NUZZO, D.; DI MASI, G.; Giraldo, M.; Chiara, F.; Trevisan, ABORELLA VENTURINI, Matteo; Frasson, Clara; Paluan, Filippo; DE NUZZO, Davide; DI MASI, Giacomo; Giraldo, Monica; Chiara, Federica; Trevisan, Andre