Head down tilt 15° in experimental intracerebral hemorrhage: a randomized noninferiority safety trial.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Head down tilt 15° (HDT15°), applied before recanalization, increases collateral flow and improves outcome in experimental ischemic stroke. For its simplicity and low cost, HDT15° holds considerable potential to be developed as an emergency treatment of acute stroke in the prehospital setting, where hemorrhagic stroke is the major mimic of ischemic stroke. In this study, we assessed safety of HDT15° in the acute phase of experimental intracerebral hemorrhage. METHODS: Intracerebral hemorrhage was produced by stereotaxic injection of collagenase in Wistar rats. A randomized noninferiority trial design was used to assign rats to HDT15° or flat position (n = 64). HDT15° was applied for 1 h during the time window of hematoma expansion. The primary outcome was hematoma volume at 24 h. Secondary outcomes were mass effect, mortality, and functional deficit in the main study and acute changes of intracranial pressure, hematoma growth, and cardiorespiratory parameters in separate sets of randomized animals (n = 32). RESULTS: HDT15° achieved the specified criteria of noninferiority for hematoma volume at 24 h. Mass effect, mortality, and functional deficit at 24 h showed no difference in the two groups. HDT15° induced a mild increase in intracranial pressure with respect to the pretreatment values (+2.91 ± 1.76 mmHg). HDT15° had a neutral effect on MRI-based analysis of hematoma growth and cardiorespiratory parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Application of HDT15° in the hyperacute phase of experimental intracerebral hemorrhage does not worsen early outcome. Further research is needed to implement HDT15° as an emergency collateral therapeutic for acute stroke.

Immunohistochemical evaluation of the mTOR pathway in intra-oral minor salivary gland neoplasms.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of upstream and downstream molecules of the oncogenic mTOR signaling pathway in intra-oral minor salivary gland tumors (SGTs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Tissue samples consisted of 39 malignant and 13 benign minor SGTs, and 8 controls of normal minor salivary glands (NMSG). An immunohistochemical analysis for phosphorylated Akt, 4EBP1 and S6 (total and phosphorylated), and eIF4E was performed. RESULTS: Expression of pAkt and 4EBP1 was observed in all SGTs and in most NMSG. p4EBP1 was detected in almost all SGT cases, NMSG being negative. S6 immunoreactivity was observed in 37.5% of NMSG, 92.3% of benign and 100% of malignant SGTs, while pS6 expression was observed in 77% of benign and 95% of malignant SGTs, but not in NMSG. Finally, eIF4E was expressed in 12.5% of NMSG, 69.2% of benign, and 76.9% of malignant tumors. All molecules studied had statistically significantly lower expression in NMSG compared with SGTs. Moreover, malignant neoplasms received higher scores compared with benign tumors for all molecules with the exception of eIF4E. CONCLUSION: The mTOR signaling pathway is activated in SGTs, especially in malignancies. Therefore, the possible therapeutic role of targeting the mTOR pathway by rapamycin analogs in SGTs needs further investigation.

[High resolution computerized tomography in cystic fibrosis. Clinico-radiologic correlations in 25 patients]. / La tomografia computerizzata ad alta risoluzione nella fibrosi cistica. Correlazioni clinico-radiologiche in 25 pazienti.

Twenty five patients with a clinical and radiological diagnosis of cystic fibrosis underwent high resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) with the aim to study pulmonary parenchymal localization of disease. Both patients with initial pulmonary alterations and patients in a more advanced phase of the disease were studied. HRCT proved an excellent method for detecting very early lesions such as bronchiolar ectasia and bronchiolar obstruction by mucous accumulation. Moreover, HRCT proved to be very useful in detecting centrolobular and panlobular parenchymal lesions, with diagnostic information on axial and peripheral interlobular connective tissue. HRCT provided a better spatial definition of bronchiectasia and subpleural air if compared to conventional radiology. It also allowed for correct diagnosis of pneumothorax and detection of pleural fibrosis as a result of iatrogenic complications.

Primary and Secondary Prevention of Acute Coronary Syndromes: The Role of the Statins.

Poor prognosis is strongly associated with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) and, even though a number of treatment strategies are available, the incidence of subsequent serious complications after an acute event is still high. Statins are hypolipidemic factors and recent studies have demonstrated that they have a protective role during the process of atherogenesis and that they reduce mortality caused by cardiovascular diseases. This review tries to reveal the function of the statins as a component of the primary and secondary action of acute coronary syndrome and to describe the lifestyle changes that have the same effect as the use of statins.

Effect of a medium dose of ursodeoxycholic acid with or without taurine supplementation on the nutritional status of patients with cystic fibrosis: a randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial.

Ursodeoxycholic acid administration has been reported to improve cholestasis and inflammatory activity in primary biliary cirrhosis and, in an uncontrolled study, also in young adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) and chronic cholestasis. As an improvement in nutritional status was also observed in these young adult patients, we investigated whether the administration of a medium dose of ursodeoxycholic acid ameliorates the nutritional status of malnourished young adult CF patients with chronic liver disease. The study included 51 patients (27 male patients and 24 female patients; age range, 8-32 years; median, 14) with body mass percentiles < 90%. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either ursodeoxycholic acid (10-12 mg/kg/day) alone or with taurine (18-22 mg/kg/day). Patients were followed in a crossover fashion within each group; 6 months of treatment was randomly alternated with 6 months of placebo. Nine patients dropped out before concluding the study. Liver function tests, nutritional status, and coefficients of fat absorption were determined at entry and after each 6 months of placebo or treatment. Nutritional status and fat absorption were not significantly modified by either treatment. Liver function tests improved after ursodeoxycholic acid administration only in patients with concomitant chronic liver disease. Our findings indicate that 6 months of therapy with a medium dose of ursodeoxycholic acid, either alone or with taurine, does not improve the nutritional status of young malnourished CF patients. Higher doses given for longer periods might be worth investigating.

Food allergy in cystic fibrosis.

Food allergy was investigated in 20 children with cystic fibrosis (CF), who still suffered from diarrhea and failed to thrive, in spite of adequate diet and enzyme treatment (group A). The study also included two age-matched control groups, comprising 10 CF children without intestinal symptoms and/or failure to thrive (group B), and 20 healthy children (group C). Skin tests were positive and total IgE higher than the mean + 2SD respectively in 14/20 and 11/20 patients of group A, in 3/10 and 2/10 patients in group B and in none in group C. The specific IgE were present in 6/14 children in group A whose skin tests were positive and in none in group B. There was no significant difference between group A and group B (p > 0.05). The levels of specific antibodies IgG, IgA and IgM were overall higher than the mean + 2SD of the normal in 18/20 in group A, in 6/10 in group B and in none in group C. The measurement by ELISA of specific antibodies for cow milk and egg proteins showed a statistically significant difference for casein, beta-lactoglobulin and ovalbumin between the IgG (p < 0.05) and IgA (p < 0.001) levels in group A and the other groups (B and C). Symptoms improved in 90% of CF patients (group A) when the implicated foods were eliminated from the diet and in 78% the oral provocation test resulted positive. The occurrence of food allergy must be considered in CF patients who do not improve with the conventional treatment. In these patients immunological investigations, in particular the measurement of IgG, IgA and IgM specific antibodies, are useful for diagnosis and in selecting an appropriate diet leading to an improvement in nutritional status.