Search

Cancer-related coagulopathy is a known cause of stroke and can lead to formation of thrombi with a unique composition. The effectiveness of mechanical thrombectomy in cancer patients is still unknown. The aim of the study was to evaluate the rate of successful reperfusion and the clinical outcome in cancer patients with stroke treated with endovascular therapies, compared to patients without cancer. We performed a retrospective analysis of consecutive patients with ischemic stroke treated with endovascular therapies at our hospital between January 2008 and January 2016. A sub-group analysis was performed including only patients with cryptogenic stroke. We included in the final analysis 14 patients with active cancer and 267 patients without cancer. Successful reperfusion was achieved in 79% of patients without cancer, and 71% of patients with active cancer (P = 0.68). Patients with cryptogenic stroke and active cancer had a lower reperfusion rate compared to patients with cryptogenic stroke without active cancer, although not significantly so (2/4 cancer patients, 50% vs 37/50, 74%, p: 0.31). Mortality rate was higher among cancer patients. Hemorrhagic transformation occurred in similar proportions in the two groups. Endovascular treatment in cancer patients seems, thus, effective.

Introduction: The ongoing SARS-COV-2 pandemic hit world’s population since the first trimester of 2020 Since the beginning health care workers have been at higher risk of morbidity because of in-hospital infections Moreover, health care workers can contribute to the spread of infection The aim of the study was to monitor the spread and outcomes among health care workers in Nephrology-Dialysis units in Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta Regions, North-West Italy Methods: A web platform accessible by Dialysis coordinators across the first and second wave of pandemic is still being used to collect and regularly update demographic and clinical data of health care workers We present preliminary results on risk estimates and measures of association Results: An overall of 163 cases has been monitored since March 2020 The cumulative incidence is 13,5% compared to 3,3% of the general population A slightly higher cumulative incidence has been observed among Nurses 14%, while among Doctors it is 12% A higher incidence rate among operators is observed in the second wave of infection compared to the first (9,5% and 4%, respectively) During Autumn 2020 Italian Government did not opt for a strict lockdown in high risk Regions such as Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta Nonetheless, strict protocols for in-hospital treatments ensured that cumulative incidence grew at a slower rate than the rest of the population (incidence rate ratio of 3,3 for health care workers compared to 5,9 for the rest of the population) Conclusions: The study of an overall population of 163 showed a higher susceptibility to SARS-COV-2 infection for health care workers compared to the general population We observed increased risks of infection in the second wave of pandemic compared to the first wave, suggesting that despite strict protocols to manage dialysis patients infection risks for health care workers could increase without strict general lockdowns No conflict of interest

An oocyte can activate its developmental process without the intervention of the male counterpart. This form of reproduction, known as parthenogenesis, occurs spontaneously in a variety of lower organisms, but not in mammals. However, it must be noted that mammalian oocytes can be activated in vitro, mimicking the intracellular calcium wave induced by the spermatozoon at fertilization, which triggers cleavage divisions and embryonic development. The resultant parthenotes are not capable of developing to term and arrest their growth at different stages, depending on the species. It is believed that this arrest is due to genomic imprinting, which causes the repression of genes normally expressed by the paternal allele. Human parthenogenetic embryos have recently been proposed as an alternative, less controversial source of embryonic stem cell lines, based on their inherent inability to form a new individual. However many aspects related to the biology of parthenogenetic embryos and parthenogenetically derived cell lines still need to be elucidated. Limited information is available in particular on the consequences of the lack of centrioles and on the parthenote's ability to assemble a new embryonic centrosome in the absence of the sperm centriole. Indeed, in lower species, successful parthenogenesis largely depends upon the oocyte's ability to regenerate complete and functional centrosomes in the absence of the material supplied by a male gamete, while the control of this event appears to be less stringent in mammalian cells. In an attempt to better elucidate some of these aspects, parthenogenetic cell lines, recently derived in our laboratory, have been characterized for their pluripotency. In vitro and in vivo differentiation plasticity have been assessed, demonstrating the ability of these cells to differentiate into cell types derived from the three germ layers. These results confirmed common features between uni- and bi-parental embryonic stem cells. However data obtained with parthenogenetic cells indicate the presence of an intrinsic deregulation of the mechanisms controlling proliferation vs. differentiation and suggest their uni-parental origin as a possible cause.

Objective Different etiopathological mechanisms of enuresis are today under study, and different therapies and drugs have been proposed. The Italian Multicentric Trial was undertaken in twelve pediatric and urological centers in order to assess the efficacy of two of the most popular drugs, desmopressin (DDAVP) and oxybutynin. Methods 114 enuretic patients were enrolled in the study. After a 2-week observation period, 66 patients with primary monosymptomatic enuresis were treated with DDAVP, 30 micrograms/day intranasally, for 6 weeks, 48 patients with enuresis and voiding dysfunction were randomly assigned to a protocol with oxybutynin alone or oxybutynin plus DDAVP. The efficacy of the two drugs was measured in terms of reduction of wet nights per week during the 6-week treatment period and a 2-week follow-up period. Children with 0-3 dry nights/week were considered as nonresponders. Results Patients with monosymptomatic enuresis treated with DDAVP reported a significantly lower number of wet night during treatment than during the baseline period, with 79% showing a 'good' (6-7 dry nights/week) or 'intermediate' response (4-5 dry nights/week). Of the patients with diurnal voiding disturbances and enuresis, those treated with oxybutynin alone had a 54% success rate. The patients treated with both oxybutynin and DDAVP showed a better response, with a 71% rate of success. Conclusions The efficacy of the two drugs is confirmed in patients carefully selected on the clinical basis of voiding disturbances. In patients with enuresis and voiding dysfunction, the reduced urinary output and the lower bladder filling rate due to DDAVP can reduce uninhibited bladder contractions, thus enhancing the oxybutynin action.

We previously showed that in patients, nitric oxide synthase activity (NOS2) promoted nasopharyngeal tumor growth (NPC). Tumor necrosis factor (TNF α ) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine which engages nitric oxide (NO∗) in several carcinogenic processes. In NPC patients, TNF α synthesis associates with poor survival. Here, we aimed at determining whether TNF α signaling inhibition could alter NOS2 dependent NPC growth in vitro. For this purpose, TNF α influence on nitrite production and tumor cell proliferation were analyzed. We observed that monocytes/macrophages (Mo/Ma) and primary tumor biopsies, isolated from patients, synthesized significant amounts of nitrites. Endogenous TNF α neutralization with an anti-TNF α monoclonal antibody (mAb) successfully inhibited nitrites synthesis by Mo/Ma and tumor explants. Recombinant TNF α (rTNF α ) enhanced nitrites synthesis and C666-1 NPC cells proliferation. Treatment with the NOS2 selective inhibitor (1400 W) and an anti-TNF α mAb potently inhibited rTNF α induced C666-1 proliferation and nitrites synthesis. Strikingly, patients tumors explants treated with the anti-TNF α mAb displayed reduced proliferation as indicated by Ki67 index. Altogether, our results define Mo/Ma and the primary tumor as major sources of circulating NO∗ in NPC patients and support the idea that antibody dependent inhibition of the TNF α /NOS2 inflammatory pathway may alter nasopharyngeal carcinoma tumor growth.