The role of cVEMPs and vHIT in the evaluation of otosclerosis and its eventual vestibular impairment: preliminary findings.

The role of cVEMPs and vHIT in the evaluation of otosclerosis and its eventual vestibular impairment: preliminary findings. OBJECTIVES: Otosclerosis is one of the most common causes of hearing loss in adults, with a prevalence of 0.3% to 0.4% in Caucasians. Vestibular symptoms may occur, with an incidence ranging between 5% and 57% of patients. The aim of our study is to evaluate the vestibular function and its eventual changes after stapes surgery in patients affected by otosclerosis. METHODS: Prospective case-control study. Twenty patients (17 females; age range 33-58; mean age 44) who underwent surgery for otosclerotic disease between April 2012 and February 2014 were prospectively studied. These patients underwent preoperative and postoperative audiological tests. Furthermore, vestibular function was evaluated using the cervical evoked myogenic potentials test (cVEMPs) and video head impulse test (vHIT), preoperatively and postoperatively. A case-control study was also performed. Quantitative and statistical analysis of patients' vestibular function was carried out both before and after stapes surgery. RESULTS: The means of the vHIT gains in the case group were 1.03 on the right side and 1.01 on the left side. A significant difference between case and control groups was seen, with a lower left gain registered in the control group. No cases with a gain of less than 0.8 were found in either group. Moreover, a significant postoperative reduction in P1/NI amplitude was seen in patients complaining of postoperative dizziness or vertigo. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate a probable traumatic saccular impairment in patients with vestibular symptoms. However, a longer follow-up may help in understanding the behaviour of cVEMPs in post-stapes surgery vertigo.

Hair determination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the Italian population.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are anthropogenic chemicals present in the environment and defined as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The interest in these forms of contaminants is related to the toxic consequences for health derived from exposures and bioaccumulation processes. The present research aims at assessing differences in the exposure of PFAS in the Italian population by hair analyses. To this aim, 20 compounds of the PFAS family were investigated in hair of 86 Italian subjects distributed across the regions of Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Marche. The applied method was ad hoc developed in a previous research and included SPE extraction and LC-QTOF analysis. In the analyzed population, 66.4 % had quantifiable amounts of one or more PFAS molecules (up to 4 compounds); mean PFAS content, expressed as sum of PFAS, was 0.1457 ng/g, ranging from "not detected" to 0.85 ng/g (SD 0.1867). PFOA and PFOS were the chemicals most frequently detected, with mean concentrations of 0.1402 ng/g and 0.1155 ng/g, respectively. PFBA was detected in 9.3 % of subjects with a mean concentration of 0.3760 ng/g; PFNA in 3.5 % of subjects with mean concentration 0.12 ng/g; PFDA was found in one subject at the concentration of 0.541 ng/g. PFUnA and PFHxS were detected below the limit of quantification. The overall results displayed differences in the presence and prevalence of PFAS in hair of the Italian population on a geographical base. On the contrary, no significatively differences in the amount of PFAS were observed when considering gender or age classes. On this base, hair can be considered a good diagnostic tool to assess PFAS exposure on a regional-scaled base. Of course, more studies are required to infer PFAS internal dose from hair results due to its peculiar detection window and to interpretative issues derived from external contamination.

Use of intralesional cidofovir in the recurrent respiratory papillomatosis: a review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is characterized by exophytic, benign, and papillary lesions infected by the virus in the epithelium of the upper aerodigestive tract. RRP is caused by persistent infection of the respiratory epithelium by human papillomavirus (HPV) HPV6 and-11. The clinical course of RRP is unpredictable, frequently relapsing, and may be lifelong. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the use of intralesional Cidofovir in the treatment of RRP. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We have selected articles on the use of cidofovir as adjuvant therapy in laryngeal papillomatosis. We reviewed 20 reports that enrolled 185 patients with "adult onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis" (AORRP) and 85 patients with "juvenile onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis" (JORRP). We evaluated concentration of cidofovir, number of injections, injection interval, therapeutic response, side effects, and progression to dysplasia. RESULTS: The mean concentration of cidofovir was 7.5 mg/ml at injection. The mean number of injections per patient is 6 with 26 days between injections. The percentage of patients with dysplasia after use of cidofovir is 1.48%. The AORRP response to cidofovir is better with a 74% complete response rate, compared to 56.5% of the JORRP. CONCLUSIONS: Intralesion use of cidofovir has a good adjuvant action in RRP increasing the complete remission of the disease. The treatment does not increase the risk of laryngeal dysplasia.

[TNM system: presentation of graphic classification of T laryngeal cancer]. / Sistema TNM: proposta di classificazione grafica del T laringeo.

Using the most recent TNM revision as a basic framework to build upon, the Authors set up a graphic representation of the larynx on the basis of data gathered using clinical-instrumental examination. This graph, which allows automatic extrapolation of the degree of T, represents various sites and subsites of the larynx (including the pre-epiglottic area, the retro-cricoid area and the piriform sinus) which are divided by different coloured lines. This simple graphic representation of cancerous tumours, whose various colours indicate tumor extension in depth (data had with CT and RM), allows for automatic T classification of larynx cancer on the basis of T extension as well as on that of the degree of vocal cord impairment. Particularly useful for students in memorizing TNM classification, this graph, furthermore, groves to be a means of facilitating under standing the disease as well as opinion exchange among members of the medical staff. As furthermore proves of utmost value in patient management in that it may be fed into computerized management programmes containing individual patient's records thereby permitting a more rapid classification of the tumor. Moreover, the data easily stored in the programme are readily accessible for eventual statistical elaboration. The Authors conclude with a proposal of the eventual use of a similar graph of other sites in the body which may be adapted in the event of future TNM revisions.

[Upper maxillary cysts: embryogenic and surgical considerations in our cases]. / Cisti del mascellare superiore: considerazioni embriogenetiche e chirurgiche su una nostra casistica.

Upper maxillary cysts are a chapter in otorhinolaryngological pathology which have been relatively neglected by the Literature. The reason for this most likely lies in the difficulty in producing a nosographic picture of these pathologies which border on other surgical fields (dentistry, maxillofacial surgery), and because they show significant clinical and etiopathogenic polymorphism. The elements that characterize upper maxillary cysts as a separate clinical entity are basically their cystic nature and origin within the upper maxillary bone, although they can expand widely within the medio-facial region (nasal vestibule, oral vestibule, nasolabial region, palate, maxillary sinus). After having reviewed the various classification schemes proposed over the years, and briefly examining the main clinical and etiopathogenic characteristics and principles for surgical treatment, the present work offers a surgical case study, together with the related iconography. Moreover this work does not neglect embryogenic considerations which are indispensable for the study of some of these pathologies. In this manner the results for 35 surgical procedures on upper maxillary cysts performed from 1989 to 1996 are presented and classified following the Cudennec classification module (1991). This study shows the variety of possible clinical manifestations for these pathologies. Such a variety makes correct diagnosis imperative--today facilitated by modern imaging techniques--and requires diversifying the surgical approach, conditioned not only by the site, extension and nature of the specific lesion, but also by the related symptoms. The significant progress in surgical techniques has made increasingly functional surgery possible and led to the abandonment of such conventional radical techniques as the Caldwell-Luc procedure. Moreover, CT and NMR have provided good image definition, specifying precisely the limits and extensions and, in most cases, facilitating diagnosis of the nature of the disorder with direct and indirect signs of the cystic nature of the lesions whenever the clinical data proves inadequate.

[Laryngeal tuberculosis: considerations on the most recent clinical and epidemiological data and presentation of a case report]. / Tubercolosi laringea: considerazioni sui più recenti dati clinici ed epidemiologici e presentazione di un caso clinico.

According to the "Global Tuberculosis Control" performed in 1999--the third complete, international, global report on tuberculosis infection--173 countries reported their infection data to the WHO; of these countries 102 met the criteria for "DOTS programs" at the end of 1997. The DOTS programs are the only control strategy able to produce a cure rate of 85%. Both at the national and international (Centers of Disease Control) levels, guidelines have been drawn up to improve and coordinate the fight against tuberculosis. New indicators and methods of analysis should be developed to quantify the full impact on the control of infection transmission, incidence, prevalence, mortality and prevention of drug resistance. In addition, two significant world-wide events have affected the increase morbidity rate seen in the last decade in the more highly industrial countries: immigration from countries outside the European Community and HIV infection. The tuberculosis infection worsens the evolution of HIV, facilitating viral replication. In the present work the authors discuss the most recent epidemiological data regarding tuberculosis infection and review the Literature on the primary laryngeal location of the disease. Then they present a clinical case which recently came under observation. This case is a typical example of the clinical picture of the laryngeal tuberculosis seen today. It must not be forgotten that in recent years there has been an increase in morbidity in Italy, in both the pulmonary and extrapulmonary forms of the disease, although in our country the problem of delayed or incomplete reporting is quite widespread. The data show that the age ranges with the highest incidence of both pulmonary and extrapulmonary forms are the 25-35 and 60-70 year groups. Distribution by sex, on the hand, shows that the pulmonary forms are most often seen in males while the extrapulmonary forms have practical the same frequency in both sexes. In recent years the clinical and morphological aspects of tubercular laryngitis have changed significantly from what they were before chemotherapy and the most common clinical form is pseudotumoral tuberculosis. This form requires a differential diagnosis to distinguish it from neoplasms because they present a similar objective picture and have no signs of simultaneous or previous pulmonary involvement.

Quantitative evaluation of hidden defects in cast iron components using ultrasound activated lock-in vibrothermography.

This paper reports one of the first experimental results on the application of ultrasound activated lock-in vibrothermography for quantitative assessment of buried flaws in complex cast parts. The use of amplitude modulated ultrasonic heat generation allowed selective response of defective areas within the part, as the defect itself is turned into a local thermal wave emitter. Quantitative evaluation of hidden damages was accomplished by estimating independently both the area and the depth extension of the buried flaws, while x-ray 3D computed tomography was used as reference for sizing accuracy assessment. To retrieve flaw's area, a simple yet effective histogram-based phase image segmentation algorithm with automatic pixels classification has been developed. A clear correlation was found between the thermal (phase) signature measured by the infrared camera on the target surface and the actual mean cross-section area of the flaw. Due to the very fast cycle time (<30 s/part), the method could potentially be applied for 100% quality control of casting components.

[Unusual anatomic coronary variants: parallel left anterior descending artery. Description of 3 cases]. / Insolita variante anatomica coronarica: ramo discendente anteriore parallelo. Descrizione di 3 casi.

Three cases with a variation of the classic anatomic left anterior descending artery pattern, encountered unexpectedly during coronary arteriography, are reported. The importance of this unusual and rare coronary artery pattern is only anatomic, and the possibility to carry out these findings by the coronary arteriography, can increase their occurrence instead of an incidental finding.

[Aortic stenosis and coronary pathology. Their implications for the transvalvular gradient]. / Stenosi aortica e coronaropatia. Implicazioni sul gradiente transvalvolare.

To assess the incidence of coronary artery disease in patients with valvular aortic stenosis and its implication on peak systolic valvular gradient, 31 consecutive patients who underwent cardiac catheterization were examined. Associated significant coronary artery disease (> 50% reduction in luminal diameter evaluated in proximal segments and right dominant circulation) was present in 54.8% of patients. There was no difference in the distribution of risk factors among patients with and without significant luminal narrowings. The prevalence of coronary artery disease was found not to be significantly correlated with age (p = 0.276). There was no relationship between typical angina pectoris and the presence of coronary artery disease (p = 0.063). Fourty-seven percent of cases resulted free of chest pain. Ejection fraction was found to be significantly lower in patients with coronary artery disease (45 +/- 14.2%) than in patients without coronary artery disease (65.1 +/- 3.9%; p = 0.03) and a reverse relationship was observed between the presence of coronary artery disease and peak systolic valvular gradient (p = 0.006) which, in turn, correlated significantly with ejection fraction (r = 0.68; p = 0.023). These data demonstrate that the value of peak systolic valvular gradient, as the only index for the evaluation of the severity of aortic stenosis, is greatly limited in patients with associated coronary artery disease. Moreover, confirming the guidelines of the American College of Cardiology and of the American Heart Association task force, these data also stress the necessity of performing coronary angiography regardless angina pectoris is present or not.

Soluble E-selectin levels in acute human myocardial infarction.

It has been suggested that leukocyte adhesion mechanisms play a key role in experimental myocardial infarction. We have recently shown that E-selectin, an adhesion molecule belonging to the selectin family, is involved in the pathogenesis of experimental myocardial ischemia. We investigated the circulating levels of E-selectin, studied as a marker of endothelial dysfunction, in acute myocardial infarction. Our study was carried out in 60 patients, 20 hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction, 20 suffered from angina pectoris and 20 healthy control subjects. Patients with acute myocardial infarction had increased serum levels of soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin = 255 +/- 12 ng/ml) compared to both patients with angina pectoris (sE-selectin = 51 +/- 14 ng/ml). Thrombolytic therapy with urokinase (1,000,000 IU as an intravenous bolus in 5 min, followed by producing reperfusion and reduced the serum levels of sE-selectin (71 +/- 19 ng/ml). Our results confirm previous experimental data and indicate that adhesion mechanisms supporting leukocyte-endothelium interaction may also be operative in human acute myocardial infarction.