Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of hyaluronic acid and supplemented with amino acids, and glutathione or colin, for the prevention and treatment of wrinkles on the face, neck, décolleté and hands.

OBJECTIVE: Hyaluronic acid has been used for a long time as a biorevitalizer to treat skin aging both in single formulation and in association with other compounds such as amino acids or vitamins. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of class III medical devices SKIN B, SKIN R, SKIN OX, SKIN COLIN, for the treatment of wrinkles on the face, neck, décolleté and hands. These medical devices are all based on hyaluronic acid and supplemented with amino acids (SKIN B and SKIN R) and glutathione (SKIN OX) or colin (SKIN COLIN). This gives broader possibilities to the aesthetic surgeon for personalization and pharmacological diversification based on the patient's deficits to treat. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 60 subjects affected by skin damage such as rhytidids, dehydration, reduced sebum production and skin hypoxia were enrolled. The patients were treated with a session of mesotherapy every 7 days for 30 days, followed by other 2 sessions every 15 days for 30 days and the follow-up on day 90. The primary efficacy endpoint was evaluated by means of a 0-10 visual analog scale at day 60; the secondary efficacy endpoint was evaluated by means of a 0-10 visual analog scale at day 90. RESULTS: All patients completed the 3-month follow-up. Treatment with SKIN B, SKIN OX, SKIN COLIN and SKIN R medical devices for the prevention and treatment of wrinkles on the face, neck, décolleté and hands were associated with favorable and positive results. A clear reduction of wrinkles has been clinically observed with improvement in the texture, brightness, and turgor of the skin. No adverse events were reported. CONCLUSIONS: The medical devices SKIN B, SKIN SKIN OX, SKIN COLIN produce an aesthetic improvement in patients affected by skin defects, when administered by mesotherapy technique. This study confirms the safety and efficacy of the medical devices based on hyaluronic acid supplemented with amino acids and glutathione or colin.

Constitutive relations for steady, dense granular flows.

This work focuses on the mechanical response of dry granular materials under steady, simple shear conditions. In particular, the goal is to obtain a complete rheology able to describe the material behavior within the entire range of concentrations for which the flow can be considered dense. The total stress is assumed to be the linear sum of a frictional and a kinetic component. The frictional and the kinetic contributions are modeled in the context of the critical state theory and the kinetic theory of dense granular gases, respectively; in the latter, the correlated motion among the particles, which is likely to occur at high concentration, is also included. In accordance with recent findings on disordered granular packings, the frictional component of stresses is assumed to vanish when the concentration is below the random loose packing. According to this approach, four nondimensional quantities govern steady, simple shear flows: the concentration, the shear to normal stress ratio, the ratio of the time scales associated with the motion perpendicular and parallel to the flow, and the ratio between the particle stiffness and the normal stress. The present theory allows us to reproduce, in a notable way, both numerical simulations on simple shear flows of disks and physical experiments on incline flows of glass spheres taken from the literature.

[The usefulness of monoclonal antibodies in the diagnosis of lung carcinoma]. / Utilità degli anticorpi monoclonali nella diagnosi di carcinoma polmonare.

Monoclonal antibodies detection represented a turning point in field of immunological and biological research. Their application has rapidly extended at immunopathology as well as immunodiagnosis and immunotherapy fields. In oncological field monoclonal antibodies has proved a great usefulness in diagnosis of several districts neoplasm. Monoclonal antibodies are utilized in differential diagnosis of different histologic types of lung cancer; in bone marrow metastasis early detection; and, experimentally, in "in vivo" diagnosis of lung cancer via peripheral blood sample examination. Authors relate about more recent literature about this specific topic.

Modifications of brain steroidogenesis and plasma steroids after p-chlorophenylalanine-methyl-ester treatment in male rats and rabbits.

The effect of p-chlorophenylalanine (p-CPA) on testosterone (T) hypothalamic metabolism and on plasma levels of T, estradiol (E2) and corticosterone (B) was studied in male rats and rabbits: both were sacrificed 48 hours after the last injection. In both rats and rabbits a significant increase in T leads to E2 transformation (aromatization) was evident after p-CPA treatment. This increase could be responsible for the stimulatory effect on sexual behavior which has been described in literature following p-CPA administration. Moreover p-CPA caused a decrease of circulating T and E2 in both species.

Neuroendocrine changes following habituation of animal hypnosis in male rabbits.

Neuroendocrine changes have been studied in male rabbits during daily repeated inductions of animal hypnosis. All the animals attained the habituation but after different times, showing a different individual sensitivity to the treatment. Once habituation was reached, further treatment did not elicit any recovery. Corticosterone plasma levels gradually increased during treatment, reached a peak at habituation and did not change afterwards. Because corticosterone was not modified after habituation was established, despite further manipulation of the animals, it can be assumed that the increase of corticosterone is due to hypnosis. ACTH did not follow the same pattern of variation as corticosterone: an increase was found at habituation, but this was not statistically significant. Estradiol decreased and the testosterone/estradiol (T/E) ratio increased on the final day with respect to Day 1, whereas testosterone plasma levels were not modified by the treatment. However, there was a general increase of testosterone metabolites (dihydrotestosterone, estradiol) studied in vitro in the anterior hypothalamus of rabbits sacrificed at the end of the treatment. Thus the different responsiveness associated with repeated induction of animal hypnosis changes basal levels of ACTH, steroid hormones and central testosterone metabolism.

Endocrine and behavioral modifications in aging male rats.

Endocrine and behavioral effects of age and aging have been studied in 4 groups of Sprague-Dawley male rats (2, 6, 12, 24 months old). Plasma testosterone decreases after 6 months of age, plasma estradiol decreases from 2 to 6 months, then it increases with age and decreases again with aging (from 12 to 24 months). Aromatization of testosterone in brain tissue is similar in 2-, 12- and 24-month-old rats, but at 6 months a significant increase is observed. Testosterone biosynthesized in the gonad from dehydroepiandrosterone increases from 2 to 6 months, then it decreases, while the other metabolites of dehydroepiandrosterone show an increment with age. Corticosterone and 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone biosynthesized in the adrenal decrease with aging. Explorative and locomotor activity decreases with age and aging, while emotionality decreases from 2 to 12 months, but it increases with aging. These results indicate that endocrine equilibrium is remarkably altered by aging process showing a decrease of plasma sexual hormones and of gonadal activity. The decrement of aromatization of testosterone in the brain, which occurs between 6 and 12 months, is correlated with the decrement of plasma testosterone. It could be hypothesized that the hormones of the brain-pituitary-gonad axis are involved in the control of explorative behavior or that both hormonal and behavioral parameters are controlled by a common factor.

Plasma corticosterone and its relation to susceptibility to animal hypnosis in rabbits.

Plasma corticosterone has been correlated with the susceptibility to animal hypnosis in male rabbits. Subjects (Ss) were considered susceptible when mean hypnosis duration was above 30 sec or when initial duration (duration of trial 1) was greater than 0. A positive significant correlation was found between mean and initial duration. A significant difference was found between corticosterone levels in susceptible and unsusceptible Ss: higher values were associated with susceptible SS and with SS with initial duration greater than 0. These results indicate a higher susceptibility to animal hypnosis in rabbits with a more active adrenocortical system.

Effect of long-term isolation of the rat on in vitro biosynthesis of gonadal steroids from dehydroepiandrosterone.

In vitro biosynthesis of gonadal steroids from dehydroepiandrosterone was studied in isolated and in socially reared male and female rats. Acetone-dried powder of gonadal tissue incubated with dehydroepiandrosterone-4-14C yielded androstenedione, androst-5-ene-3beta, 17beta-diol, 11beta-hydroxyandrostenedione and testosterone. In the male, conversion to androstenedione was significantly increased after isolation and conversion to androst-5-ene-3beta, 17beta-diol was significantly lowered. In the female, conversion to androstenedione and androstenediol was significantly lowered by isolation. Testosterone and 11beta-hydroxyandrostenedione were not affected by isolation. Gonadal tissue of isolated and of socially reared male and female rats metabolizes dehydroepiandrosterone in a different way. These findings support the view that the conditions of housing affect the production of sex steroids.