Metalli pesanti e sclerosi multipla

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease of the central nervous system affecting young adults. Sardinia is a high-risk area for MS. MS findings were being associated to exposure to heavy metals (Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn) by in vitro studies. Aim of this study was to assess the presence of heavy metals in 51 cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) samples; 29 (56.9%) individuals were affected by MS and 22 (43.1%) subjects by other neurological disorders. Among MS patients 69% had relapsing-remitting (RR) course and 21% had a progressive. Using high resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), we determined Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn CSF levels (mean+/-SD) in MS patients (2.9+/-3.58 microg/L, 0.08+/-0.06 microg/L, 18.8+/-6.5 microg/L, 35.6+/-20.8 microg/L, 1.6+/-1.4 microg/L, 0.74+/-0.39 microg/L, 74.4+/-175.7 microg/L, respectively) and in the control group ( 2.7+/-1.67 microg/L, 0.11+/-0.11 microg/L, 21.6+/-9.8 microg/L, 34.6+/-21.09 microg/L, 1.28+/-0.7 microg/L, 1+/-0.72 microg/L, 28.58+/-19.5 microg/L, respectively). Comparing to controls, Al, Mn, Zn and Fe levels were higher in MS patients; several other differences in trace element levels were also identified

Sunlight and Herpes Virus

The Herpesviridae are a family of viruses widely spread in nature that can infect a wide variety of species. After the primary infection, the human alphaherpesvirinae sub-family remains quiescent in the nerve ganglia from which it can periodically reactivate, causing clinical manifestations. Although spontaneous recurrences are possible, a wide variety of internal and external triggers may lead to transformation of the Herpes Simplex and Varicella-Zoster Viruses from a dormant to a proliferative state. Sunlight is a potent stimulus for the alphaherpesvirinae reactivation. The purpose of this paper is to analyze various features of this correlation and several steps you can take to lower your risk of triggering a herpes outbreak after sun exposure. Learning how to reduce the recurrence is extremely important and it is necessary: to perform a gradual and progressive sun exposure; to know what garments to wear; to know the environmental conditions of exposure; to know each skin phototype; to use a protective product against UVB and UVA with sun protection factor suitable for each phototype and environmental conditions

Immunomodulation of fucosyl-lactose and lacto-N-fucopentaose on mononuclear cells from multiple sclerosis and healthy subjects

The 1,2-fucosyl-oligosaccharides, and among these the 2’-fucosyl-lactose (2’-FL) and lacto-N-fucopentaose (LNFP)-I, are quantitatively the most represented oligosaccharides of human milk. They are also seen to represent an important immune device to prevent nursing infants from severe infectious diarrhoea. Recent evidences show that the appearance of 2’-FL and LNFP-I in human colostrums is synchronised with the macrophage inhibition and that LNFP-III induces a Th2 response from the mouse peripheral immune system. Since mannosyl-fucosyl receptors are described on the macrophage surface, all these evidences allow us to investigate on the possible immune function of human 2’-FL and LNFP-I in vitro on LPS-activated mononuclear cells (MNC) from 12 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and 20 matched health controls (HC). We found that 2’-FL and LNFP-I significantly decrease, to a different extent, the MNC proliferation from both HC and MS patients, in a linear and dose-dependent manner. 2’-FL and LNFPI also reduce the production of IL-12 and IFN-γ, particularly in MS patients as compared to HC (p=0.01 and p<0.001, respectively), while increasing that of IL- 10. The overall immunomodulatory effect of 2’-FL and LNFP I here presented may represent a future therapeutic option for the abnormal immune response found in some monocyte-mediated diseases

Apoptosis in spermatozoa of infertile men, clinical correlations

The methods for evaluation of male infertility include not only routine investigations, standardized by the WHO, but also complementary techniques, developed over the last years, in order to improve the predictive value of seminal analysis for natural conception and assisted reproduction. With reference to these new methods, studies suggest that sperm with certain levels of DNA fragmentation serve as a strong predictor of reduced male fertility. We studied subjects who underwent seminal fluid evaluation, because of an infertility condition, at the Department of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Sassari.The samples collected by masturbation were evaluated according to the World Health Organisation (1999).The samples was washed twice in PBS and cytocentrifuged for 10 min at 1800 rpm on polylysine-coated slides that were fixed in methanol at room temperature. The apoptosis was evaluated using the TUNEL (In Situ Cell Death Detection Kit, Fluorescein, Roche, Cat.No. 1 684 795). At fluorescent miscroscopy are counted at least 300 cells. Quantitative evaluation of apoptosis by the TUNEL method confirmed that apoptosis did not seem to be correlated with sperm concentration or morphology; however, we found a higher apoptotic rate in semen from patients affected by andrologic diseases, such as varicocele, than from those with alteration of semen characteristics. Apoptosis analysis might be used in infertile patients in order to understand the etiology of unexplained infertility and to improve therapeutic effectiveness

Epidemiology of hydatidosis in the province of Sassari, Italy

Cystic echinococcosis is endemic in certain parts of the world, including Sardinia, Italy. It was performed a study in the province of Sassari in order to evaluate the incidence of the infection in man and the effects of control programs since 1964 to 2002. Data obtained by surgical records, hospital discharge forms, radiological and pathological files were collected using a case report form. During the years 1964- 2002, 2702 new cases were identified (average annual incidence: 17 per 100,000) and 1981 (73.3%) were submitted to surgical treatment. In 57.3% municipalities no cases were observed during the years 1998- 2002. Males are more affected (56.2%), mostly farmers-shepherdess (68.6 per 100,000) and pensioners (59.6 per 100,000). Control measures led to a significant decline in the incidence rate of hydatidosis during the period 1964-2002, dropping by 27.6 per 100,000. The mean age of surgical patients increased during the years of surveillance, such as the surgical liver/lung ratio as a consequence of a cohort effect. The durability of control programs is the corner stone for obtaining a significant decrease of this infection

Brain perivascular spaces and autism: clinical and pathogenic implications from an innovative volumetric MRI study

IntroductionOur single-center case–control study aimed to evaluate the unclear glymphatic system alteration in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through an innovative neuroimaging tool which allows to segment and quantify perivascular spaces in the white matter (WM-PVS) with filtering of non-structured noise and increase of the contrast-ratio between perivascular spaces and the surrounding parenchyma.MethodsBriefly, files of 65 ASD and 71 control patients were studied. We considered: ASD type, diagnosis and severity level and comorbidities (i.e., intellectual disability, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, epilepsy, sleep disturbances). We also examined diagnoses other than ASD and their associated comorbidities in the control group.ResultsWhen males and females with ASD are included together, WM-PVS grade and WM-PVS volume do not significantly differ between the ASD group and the control group overall. We found, instead, that WM-PVS volume is significantly associated with male sex: males had higher WM-PVS volume compared to females (p = 0.01). WM-PVS dilation is also non-significantly associated with ASD severity and younger age (< 4 years). In ASD patients, higher WM-PVS volume was related with insomnia whereas no relation was found with epilepsy or IQ.DiscussionWe concluded that WM-PVS dilation can be a neuroimaging feature of male ASD patients, particularly the youngest and most severe ones, which may rely on male-specific risk factors acting early during neurodevelopment, such as a transient excess of extra-axial CSF volume. Our findings can corroborate the well-known strong male epidemiological preponderance of autism worldwide

Educational methods in neuroanatomy: a review

Among the basic sciences providing relevant medical awareness, human anatomy, which includes gross and neuroanatomy, represents a crucial science in medical schools (Verhoeven et al., 2002). Although numerous changes have been performed in medical curricula worldwide, the anatomic background is deemed a cornerstone for approaching clinical medicine (McLachlan and Patten, 2006). In the last decades, several modifications in anatomy and, in particular, in neuroanatomy education have been done and numerous strategies have been identified to improve the skills of the students (Rizzolo et al, 2010). We carried out a non-systematic review focusing our interest on the transformation of traditional teaching methodology of neuroanatomy. Articles on neuroanatomy education were selected if the study described an approach for teaching/learning neuroanatomy and if the neuroanatomy course was aimed to all medical students but dental or healthcare students. PubMed database was used to select manuscripts with a predefined combined list of search terms: “neuroanatomy”, “anatomy”, “teaching”, “learning”, “methods and strategies”. Our search included only English language manuscripts published from December 1990 to January 2012. Abstracts and unpublished studies were excluded. References of all relevant retrieved articles, of relevant recent review articles, and abstracts published in proceedings were also evaluated manually in order to find additional articles. For data extraction an electronic form was prepared. Only eighteen of the fifty (36%) selected articles met the inclusion criteria. Two described the dissection as the primary educational method, whereas the majority used electronic tools providing three-dimensional information. Some authors highlighted that students could be more enthusiastic when they have the chance to study with cadavers deeming this approach near to clinical medicine (Zurada et al, 2011); however the comprehension of topography and spatial relationships of various structures is equally achieved with the use of electronic means. The post-mortem examination represents an opportunity to evaluate the variability of human anatomy; however, logistical, ethical, and safety issues hamper the implementation of this method in medical schools (Winkelmann, 2007). The method used for anatomy and neuroanatomy teaching is essential to augment the interest of the medical students towards medicine but several obstacles can hinder the implementation and scale-up of the best educational method

Multiple sclerosis: peripheral mononuclear cells inhibit <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> growth and are activated by parasite antigens

The human genome has been subjected to selective pressures to resist to infectious agents in spite of a heavy segregational load. With this regard, thalassaemia and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency have been considered an efficient genetic protection against P. falciparum malaria in Sardinia, insular Italy. In this island, some multiple sclerosis (MS)-associated HLA haplotypes have the highest odds ratios in the same highestrate malarious areas of the island. Moreover, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) polymorphisms epidemiologically associated with both MS and malaria are ten-fold more frequent amongst Sardinians compared to other populations worldwide4. A possible association between MS and malaria in this island was never analysed experimentally. We studied the immunological response of mononuclear cells to P. falciparum and the killing effect of macrophages on parasites in Sardinian MS patients and in matched healthy controls (HC)