Spaceflight osteoporosis: current state and future perspective.

Osteoporosis is one of the established major consequences of long-duration spaceflights in astronauts seriously undermining their health after their returning on Earth. Indeed, astronauts typically lose more bone mass during one month than postmenopausal women on Earth lose in one year. To date, countermeasures mainly consist in exercise and supplementation while pharmacological treatment as those used in postmenopausal women are not routine. However, it is evident that exercise and supplementation alone are not enough to maintain bone homeostasis. In this paper we describe the current countermeasures for bone loss during long-term spaceflight, review the modern treatment which are successfully employed to prevent osteoporosis on Earth and that could be quickly used also for astronauts and finally focus on the recent cellular and molecular understanding of bone homeostasis which might provide the basis for the development of future targeted therapies.

Fine needle aspiration of non-small cell lung cancer: current state and future perspective.

AThe emerging treatment revolution determined by the advent of new targeted therapies requires accurate tumour subtyping as a mandatory step in the clinical workup of patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). As a result of advanced and inoperable disease or poor performance status, in many patients, minimally invasive procedures must be employed to obtain diagnostic material. Fine needle aspiration (FNA) is a valid and widely employed alternative to either tru-cut or open-sky biopsy. Indeed, cytological specimens are suitable for techniques such as immunocytochemistry, mutation and microRNA analysis, and may present advantages over small biopsies especially if cell blocks are prepared and attention is paid to cytomorphology and pre-analytic management of specimens at the time they are collected. These will allow the adequate stratification of patients into different diagnostic and prognostic classes.

Autoimmune gastritis: histology phenotype and OLGA staging.

BACKGROUND: Among Western populations, the declining incidence of Helicobacter pylori infection coincides with a growing clinical impact of autoimmune gastritis. AIMS: To describe the histological phenotype of autoimmune gastritis, also to test the prognostic impact of OLGA staging in the autoimmune setting. METHODS: A single-institutional series (spanning the years 2003-2011) of 562 consecutive patients (M:F ratio: 1:3.7; mean age = 57.6 ± 14.4 years) with serologically confirmed autoimmune gastritis underwent histology review and OLGA staging. RESULTS: Helicobacter pylori infection was ascertained histologically in 44/562 cases (7.8%). Forty six biopsy sets (8.2%) featured OLGA stages III-IV; they included all four cases of incidental epithelial neoplasia (three intraepithelial and one invasive; three of these four cases had concomitant H. pylori infection). There were 230 (40.9%) and 139 (24.7%) cases, respectively, of linear and micro-nodular enterochromaffin-like cell hyperplasia; 19 (3.4%) type I carcinoids were detected. The series included 116 patients who underwent repeated endoscopy/biopsy sampling (mean time elapsing between the two procedures = 54 months; range 24-108). Paired histology showed a significant (P = 0.009) trend towards a stage progression [the stage increased in 25/116 cases (22%); it remained unchanged in 87/116 cases (75%)]. CONCLUSIONS: In autoimmune gastritis, the cancer risk is restricted to high-risk gastritis stages (III-IV), and is associated mainly with concomitant H. pylori infection. OLGA staging consistently depicts the time-dependent organic progression of the autoimmune disease and provides key information for secondary gastric cancer prevention strategies.

Role and accuracy of rapid on-site evaluation of CT-guided fine needle aspiration cytology of lung nodules.

OBJECTIVE: To prospectively investigate the role of trans-thoracic fine needle aspiration cytology (FNA) and the value of rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) in the clinical management of patients with pulmonary nodules/masses. Computed tomography (CT)-guided FNA is commonly employed for the diagnosis of lung lesions although its position in the diagnostic work-up is still a matter of debate. METHODS: We reviewed 311 patients (211 males and 100 females, mean age 69.5 years) admitted to the University of Padova from 2004 to 2008, correlating the results of cytology with the available histological findings obtained from biopsies, surgery or autopsy. RESULTS: Smears were adequate in 305 cases (98%) and inadequate in six (2%); a diagnosis of malignancy was achieved in 263 cases (86.2%); 39 cases (12.8%) were classified as non-malignant; and three cases (1%) were classified as suspect for malignancy. When correlated with histology, FNA with ROSE discriminated malignant versus non-malignant lesions (Cohen's kappa 0.78), with three false negatives (sensitivity 96.3%, specificity 100%). Moreover, a satisfactory overall agreement of 71.4% was achieved in differentiating the cancer histological types. Pneumothorax occurred in 13 cases, haemoptysis in four, and chest pain in three. A single aspiration was sufficient in 79.6% of patients; two aspirations were needed in 17.4% and three in 3%. The low complication rate was related to the limited number of aspirations needed due to ROSE. CONCLUSIONS: FNA with ROSE is a safe and useful tool in the diagnostic work-up of lung cancer patients, with no contraindications to its use as the first diagnostic procedure for all patients with peripheral lung lesions. FNA with ROSE should be reconsidered in the guidelines for diagnosing and managing lung cancer.