Anorexia nervosa: a role for L-arginine supplementation in cardiovascular risk factors?

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of a short-term oral L-arginine treatment on platelet NO production, intracellular calcium concentration, iNOS and eNOS expression, in AN patients. METHOD: Forty outpatients belonging to restricting subtype and 40 normal participants age and sex matched were enrolled in the study. RESULTS: NO production was significantly elevated in the platelets from AN patients compared with controls while [Ca(2+)](i) was significantly decreased in patients with respect to controls. Western blot analysis demonstrated that iNOS isoform was more pronounced in the cell lysates from AN patients than controls. After supplementation with L-arginine, both NO production and [Ca(2+)](i) seem to return to control levels, suggesting a probable recovery of their metabolisms. The same was found after western blot analysis of NOS expression. DISCUSSION: The results here proposed can be considered highly indicative of a positive effect of L-arginine supplementation on platelet NO production in AN patients.

[Study on in vitro susceptibility of Candida spp. isolated from blood culture]. / Studio sulla incidenza e sulla sensibilità in vitro di ceppi di Candida spp. isolati da sangue.

In recent years the incidence of bloodstream infections due to Candida species has progressively increased, partly due to the more critical conditions of hospitalized patients. There has been a significant increase in immune-compromised, diabetic and/or elderly patients, also with venous access, with a subsequent increase in Candida species isolated from bloodstream infections. In 2009-2010 in the hospitals of Mestre and Venice we isolated 123 Candida species from bloodstream infections: 59 Candida albicans, 28 Candida parapsilosis, 12 Candida glabrata, 9 Candida tropicalis, and 4 Geotrichum capitatum, while the 11 others belong to 8 different species. We calculated MIC for the following antifungal agents: fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, 5-flucytosine, amphotericin B and caspofungin.

Interactions between lipoproteins and platelet membranes in obesity.

The aim was to investigate low-density lipoprotein (LDL) composition and Na(+)/K(+) adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) and Ca(2+) ATPase activities and membrane fluidity measured by 1-(4-trimethylaminophenyl)-6-phenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (TMA-DPH) in platelets from obese patients and controls in order to identify, if any, platelet membrane's chemical-physical and/or functional modifications associated with compositional modification of circulating lipoproteins. Moreover, we studied the in vitro effect on both platelet transmembrane cationic transport and fluidity, by incubating LDL from 30 obese subjects with platelets from 30 control subjects. The analysis of the chemical composition of LDL from obese patients showed a significant increase in the percent content of total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TGs) and in the mean levels of lipid hydroperoxides compared to controls' LDL. Platelet Na(+)/K(+) ATPase and Ca(2+) ATPase activities showed, respectively, a significant decrease and increase in patients compared to controls; minor significant, respectively, decreases and increases are shown also in control platelets incubated with LDL from obese patients. Anisotropy tested with TMA-DPH probe was significantly increased both in platelets from obese patients and in control platelets incubated with LDL from obese patients compared to control platelets. This study highlights that obesity induces remarkable modifications both in lipoproteins and platelets. Both platelet hyperfunction and quantitative/qualitative alterations in plasma lipoproteins, as well as an altered interaction between circulating lipoproteins and platelets, might play a relevant role in the increased prevalence of the early atherosclerotic lesions development in obese subjects. The present data point out that obesity might represent a major potentially modifiable risk factor for the onset of numerous complications, in particular cardiovascular ones.