Damage to the vascular structures in inguinal hernia specimens.

BACKGROUND: Few scientific reports to date describe the histological modification of structures outlining a hernia opening. This article is focused on the identification of the pathological changes in vascular structures in tissues excised from cadavers with inguinal hernia. A deeper comprehension of this topic could lead to essential improvements in the detection of hernia genesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Different kinds of hernia, including indirect, direct and mixed, were identified in 30 autopsied subjects. Tissue samples were resected for histological study from abdominal wall structures close to the hernia opening. Histological examination focused on the detection of structural changes in arteries and veins. The results were compared with tissue specimens excised from equivalent sites of the inguinal area in a control group of 15 fresh cadavers without hernia. RESULTS: Significant modification of vascular structures were identified in the tissue specimens examined. The veins demonstrated parietal fibrosis, perivascular edema and vascular dilation due to congestion and stasis. The arterial structures detected showed thickening of the media due to medial hyperplasia, ranging from luminal sub-occlusion to a manifest artery occlusion. These findings are present independent of hernia type in cadavers with inguinal hernia. These pathological changes were lacking in the control group of cadavers without hernia. CONCLUSIONS: The notable changes in vascular structures described in the report could be the result of a steady compressive effect exerted by the abdominal viscera in the inguinal area. These pathological changes could represent one of the factors involved in the weakening of the inguinal region leading to hernia protrusion

Cardiac risk stratification in elective non-cardiac surgery: role of NT-proBNP

AIM: The aim of the study was to investigate the utility of NT-proBNP measurement for the stratification of presurgical cardiac risk. METHODS: Cardiac risk before elective non-cardiac surgery was evaluated in 82 consecutive patients. From each patient a venous blood sample was drawn to determinate NT-proBNP levels. Patients were followed up over three months in order to detect the occurrence of cardiac adverse events. RESULTS: NT-proBNP was positively correlated (P<0.0001) with age, days of hospitalization (P=0.001) and ASA class (P=0.001). High surgical risk (P<0.0001), diabetes (P=0.004), dyslipidemia (P=0.006) and elevated levels of NT-proBNP (P<0.0001) were significantly correlated with events. Using a logistic regression analysis we found an independent association between pre-operative elevated NT-proBNP and postoperative cardiac events (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0-1.4, P=0.01). CONCLUSION: Measuring NT-proBNP before non cardiac surgery in clinical practice could be useful to better stratify patients' risk

L’emangioma capillare dello stomaco: una rara fonte di sanguinamento. Caso clinico

Gastric haemorrhages are common clinical emergencies which often directly involve the surgeon in diagnosis and treatment; among these, rare vascular neoplasms deserve particular attention. The Authors report a rare case of benign vascular tumour of the stomach, a capillary angioma. After a literature review they highlight the importance of specific exams to reveal these small neoformations which, generally, show up clinically with acute bleeding, which may be severe, and which may not be discovered if the clinical evaluation is not very detailed. The surgical excision supported by a frozen sections is the most effective treatmen

L’importanza della biodiversità floristica nel vigneto siciliano

La scelta di sistemi colturali ecocompatibili implica il mantenimento di una flora equilibrata, espressione di un’ampia biodiversità sito-specifica. Focus sul progetto siciliano STRA.VI.NA. e in particolare sulla valutazione di applicare protocolli di gestione suolo con inerbimento con specie autoctone: si sta salvaguardando e testando una lista di leguminose isolane atte alla costituzione di cotici erbosi per vigneti resilienti

PPARa GENE VARIATION AND PHISYCAL PERFORMANCE IN ITALIAN SOCCER PLAYERS

Background and Objective: One of the genes of the health-related fitness phenotype is PPARa coding for peroxisome proliferator activator receptor a, a central regulator of expression of genes involved in fatty acid metabolism. We analyzed the role of polymorphism of PPARa gene in performance enhancing in sixty italian soccer players, compared to sedentary controls.Methods: Sixty professional soccer players and thirty volunteers were enrolled in the study. Samples of venous blood were obtained in the morning by convenional clinical procedures and allowed to cloted at room temperature for 30 minutes and centrifuges. Serum was collected and total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides were mesured by using a kit in a chinetic enzyme analyzer. An aliquote of anticoagulant-treated blood was used to prepare genomic DNA from whole blood. The polymorphic site in PPARa intron 7 was scanned by using PCR-RFLP protocol with Taq I enzyme

PPARα gene variation and phisycal performance in italian soccer players

PURPOSE: One of the genes of the health-related fitness phenotype is a PPARα coding for peroxisome proliferator activator receptor alpha, a central regulator of expression of genes involved in fatty acid metabolism. The aim of our research was to study the role of polymorphism of PPARα gene in performance enhancing in Italian soccer players. METHODS: Sixty professional soccer players and thirty sedentary volunteers were enrolled in the study. Samples of venous blood were obtained at rest in the morning by conventional clinical procedures. Serum was collected and lipid profile was measured by using a commercial kit. An aliquote of anticoagulant-treated blood was used to prepare genomic DNA from mononuclear cells. The polymorphic site in PPARα intron 7 was scanned by using PCR-RFLP protocol with Taq I enzyme. RESULTS: We found variations among genotype distribution of PPARα in professional soccer players versus sedentary volunteers. To enphatyzed this correlation, we also investigated lipidic profile variation. CONCLUSIONS: Our results evidenced an high expression of G allele as well as GG genotype in accordance with other studies that associate this genotype with endurance performance. So PPARα G allele may be considered an endurance relates allele. We can explain this one because PPARα is an important factor that regulate the balance between fatty acid and glucose metabolism. Moreover, we analyzed the correlation between G allele distribution and athletes lipid profile but we didn’t find any correlation

Does a specific genetic background influence endurance or power-orientated phenotypes?

The purpose of this study was to determine the probability of individuals having the “best” mitochondrial biogenesis related polygenic profile that could increase performance. We compared polygenic profile analyzing several polymorphisms on sixty professional italian soccer players, considered “power-oriented athletes” and thirty sedentary volunteers. Samples of venous blood were obtained by standard clinical procedures and anticoagulant-treated blood was used to prepare genomic DNA. The polymorphic sites were scanned using PCR-RFLP protocols with different enzyme. Furthermore, a cloted part of venus blood sample was used to obtain serum from which we analyzed total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides, by using a kit in a chinetic enzyme analyzer. We computed an “endurance genotype score” (EGS), related to mitochondrial biogenesis, from 0 to 100, from the accumulated combination of the polymorphisms in the PPARα-PPARGC1A-NRF2 (A/G; C/T) pathway; moreover, we analyzed the ACTN3 polymorphism. Particularly, as regards PPARα we also analyzed the lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL and LDL) because it is an important factor that regulate the balance between fatty acid and glucose metabolism. The results evidence an higher EGS and a variation of genotype distribution of the analyzed polymorphisms in professional soccer players compared with sedentary healty volunteers. Moreover, our study shows that PPARα genotype distribution is not related with a variation in the values of the lipid profile. In conclusion professional soccer players possess “theoretically” a genetic background that is more suitable for mitochondrial biogenesis