Gastroenteric parasite of wild Galliformes in the Italian Alps: implication for conservation management.

This study provides insights about the diversity, prevalence and distribution of alpine wild galliformes gastrointestinal parasite community, trying to fill a gap in the scientific information currently available in scientific literature. The analysis included three host species: 77 rock partridge (Alectoris graeca saxatilis), 83 black grouse (Tetrao tetrix tetrix) and 26 rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta helveticus) shot during the hunting seasons 2008-2015. Parasites isolated were Ascaridia compar, Capillaria caudinflata and cestodes. The rock ptarmigan was free from gastrointestinal parasites, whereas the most prevalent helminth (37%) was A. compar in both black grouse and rock partridge. C. caudinflata occurrence was significantly higher in black grouse (prevalence = 10%, mean abundance = 0.6 parasites/sampled animal) than in rock partridge (prevalence = 1.20%, mean abundance = 0.01 parasites/sampled animal). Significant differences were detected among hunting districts. A. compar was found with a significant higher degree of infestation in the hunting districts in the northern part of the study area whereas cestodes abundance was higher in Lanzo Valley. Quantitative analysis of risk factors was carried out using a generalized linear model (GLM) only on the most common parasite (A. compar). Latitude was the only factors associated with infestation risk (OR = 52.4). This study provides information on the composition and variability of the parasite community in the alpine Galliformes species.

Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies in inflammatory bowel disease: do they recognize different subsets of a heterogeneous disease?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies in a series of patients with inflammatory bowel disease, the discriminatory value of these antibodies in differentiating between ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, their antigen specificity and their correlation with epidemiological and clinical variables. METHODS: Serum anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies were evaluated by indirect immunofluorescence and immunoblotting using neutrophils isolated from peripheral blood and by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) using proteinase 3 and myeloperoxidase as antigens. RESULTS: Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies were detected by immunofluorescence in 43 (39.8%) of 108 patients with ulcerative colitis, in 11 (11.9%) of 92 patients with Crohn's disease (P < 0.001) and 5 (6.8%) of 73 control patients. The predominant pattern was perinuclear staining around neutrophil nuclei (44 of 59, 75%); a homogeneous cytoplasmic staining was present in 15 (25%) of 59 sera, mainly among Crohn's disease and control patients. The ELISAs gave no positive results. Recognition of proteins of relative molecular masses 27,000 and 49,000 at immunoblotting was common to ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and control sera. The proteins of relative molecular masses 32,000 and 106,000 were recognized exclusively by 11% of anti-neutrophil-positive ulcerative colitis sera. No significant correlation was found between the presence of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies and the demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients. CONCLUSION: Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies are detectable in a large proportion of patients with ulcerative colitis, but their prevalence in a limited proportion of patients with Crohn's disease reduces their discriminatory capability. The persistence of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies after total colectomy and the absence of a correlation between the activity of the disease and the presence or titre of these antibodies support the hypothesis that anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies are not simply an epiphenomenon of colonic inflammation.

Breast cancer cellular proliferation indexes and 99mTc-sesta Mibi capture: what correlation?

Aim of this study was to verify existing correlations between breast cancer 99mTc-sestaMIBI cells uptake and their cytological characteristics. Forty-five patients with clinically and/or mammographically suspect breast cancer were enrolled. In all patients 99mTc-sestaMIBI scintimammography was performed and malignant lesions were detected in 44 cases and benign in one case. In positive uptake (PU) lesions with diameter <1.5cm, 85.7% showed a high tumor grade (II-III degrees) while in negative uptake (NU) lesions with diameter <1.5cm, 100% showed a low tumor grade (I degrees). In PU lesions, 70% had expressed a high value of Ki 67, while 100% of the NU lesions showed normal values. In this series, tumor diameter does not play a basic role, while the correlations between uptake and the histological grade (G) and/or cellular kinetics (Ki67) seem to be more important. Further studies are needed to confirm our present results.

[Breast carcinoma and the axillary lymph node status: the use of 99mTc-sestamibi scintimammography for the diagnosis and preoperative staging. Preliminary results]. / Il carcinoma mammario e lo status linfonodale ascellare: uso della 99mTc sestaMIBI scintimammografia a scopo diagnostico e stadiativo prechirurgico. Risultati preliminari.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is the sensitivity and specificity evaluation of the 99mTc-sestaMIBI scintimammography (SMM) in the diagnosis and pre-surgical staging of patients with clinical and/or radiological suspicion of breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-five patients with clinical and/or mammographic breast cancer suspicion were enrolled. Prone lateral views of both mammalian glands and anterior of chest, to evaluate the axillary lymph node infiltration, were acquired 60 min after i.v. injection of 20-25 mCi of 99mTc-sestaMIBI. RESULTS: Breast cancer was diagnosed by histological findings in 44 patients; benign disease in 1 case. The tumors diameter ranged from 0.3 to 4 cm. The SMM sensitivity in the detection of breast cancer was 90% and the VPP was 100%. The smallest diameter in these detected lesions was 0.5 cm. The pathologic examination showed metastatic axillary involvement in 15 patients. The SMM sensitivity in the detection of axillary lymph node metastases was 75%, specificity was 90%. For each lesion grading, mitosis number, 67Ki expression, diameter, were considered and correlated to 99mTC-sestaMIBI uptake. The 5 breast cancer non-uptake cases had low cytoproliferative indexes. According to our data it is possible to observe that there is a correlation between uptake and cellular proliferation. CONCLUSIONS: The 99mTc-sestaMIBI SMM is a highly accuracy test in the breast cancer detection. The sensitivity in the axillary lymph node metastatic detection is just little below average according to the literature; it is possible that the results can improve with higher accrual of patients, operator experience and equipment improvement and the using of SPECT.

Regional sympathetic denervation after myocardial infarction: a follow-up study using [123I]MIBG.

Previous studies in dogs have shown that experimental infarction produces myocardial sympathetic denervation not only in the infarcted area, but also in a region apical to the infarction. In these dogs MIBG myocardial scintigraphy detected denervation but returned to normal in a few months at which time reinnervation was shown to have occurred. Myocardial sympathetic denervation was studied with MIBG scintigraphy in ten patients after their first acute transmural myocardial infarction; scans were repeated at 4 months, one year and 30 months to follow the time course of possible reinnervation. Except during the first 48 hours following the infarction, no therapy except for antiaggregants was administered to the patients; during this follow-up period no cardiac events were seen. One week after infarction, comparison of MIBG images with perfusion scans revealed that the denervated area was larger than the infarcted area; no difference in MIBG uptake by the infarcted myocardium was found during the 30 months follow-up.