Surgical Management of Rhinosinusitis in Onco-Hematological Patients

Stefano Di Girolamo,Sara Mazzone,Roberta Di Mauro,Piergiorgio Giacomini,Maria Cantonetti 대한이비인후과학회 2014 Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology Vol.7 No.4

Objectives. In onco-hematological diseases, the incidence of paranasal sinuses infection dramatically increase and requires a combination of medical and surgical therapy. Balloon dilatation surgery (DS) is a minimally invasive, tissue preserv- ing procedure. The study evaluates the results of DS for rhinosinusitis in immunocompromised patients. Methods. A retrospective chart review was conducted in 110 hematologic patients with rhinosinusitis. Twenty-five patients were treated with DS technique and 85 patients with endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). We considered the type of an- esthesia and the extent of intra- and postoperative bleeding. Patients underwent Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-20) to evaluate changes in subjective symptoms and global patient assessment (GPA) questionnaire to value patient satis- faction. Results. Local anesthesia was employed in 8 cases of DS and in 15 of ESS. In 50 ESS patients, an anterior nasal packing was placed and in 12 cases a repacking was necessary. In the DS group, nasal packing was required in 8 cases and in 2 cases a repacking was placed (P=0.019 and P=0.422, respectively). The SNOT-20 change score showed significant improvement of health status in both groups. However the DS group showed a major improvement in 3 voices: need to blow nose, runny nose, and facial pain/pressure. The 3-month follow-up GPA questionnaire showed an higher sat- isfaction of DS group. Conclusion. Balloon DS represents a potentially low aggressive treatment and appears to be relatively safe and effective in onco-hematologic patients. All these remarks may lead the surgeon to consider a larger number of candidates for sur- gical procedure.

Accuracy of High-Resolution MRI with Lumen Distention in Rectal Cancer Staging and Circumferential Margin Involvement Prediction

Elsa Iannicelli,Sara Di Renzo,Mario Ferri,Emanuela Pilozzi,Marco Di Girolamo,Alessandra Sapori,Vincenzo Ziparo,Vincenzo David 대한영상의학회 2014 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.15 No.1

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with lumen distention for rectal cancer staging and circumferential resection margin (CRM) involvement prediction. Materials and Methods: Seventy-three patients with primary rectal cancer underwent high-resolution MRI with a phasedarray coil performed using 60-80 mL room air rectal distention, 1-3 weeks before surgery. MRI results were compared to postoperative histopathological findings. The overall MRI T staging accuracy was calculated. CRM involvement prediction and the N staging, the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were assessed for each T stage. The agreement between MRI and histological results was assessed using weighted-kappastatistics. Results: The overall MRI accuracy for T staging was 93.6% (k = 0.85). The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV for each T stage were as follows: 91.8%, 86.2%, 95.5%, 92.6% and 91.3% for the group ≤ T2; 90.4%, 94.6%, 86.1%, 87.5% and 94% for T3; 98,6%, 85.7%, 100%, 100% and 98.5% for T4, respectively. The predictive CRM accuracy was 94.5% (k =0.86); the sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV were 89.5%, 96.3%, 89.5%, and 96.3% respectively. The N staging accuracy was 68.49% (k = 0.4). Conclusion: MRI performed with rectal lumen distention has proved to be an effective technique both for rectal cancer staging and involved CRM predicting.

The Natural History of Peyronie's Disease

Di Maida Fabrizio,Cito Gianmartin,Lambertini Luca,Valastro Francesca,Morelli Girolamo,Mari Andrea,Carini Marco,Minervini Andrea,Cocci Andrea 대한남성과학회 2021 The World Journal of Men's Health Vol.39 No.3

Peyronie’s disease (PD), a fibrotic disorder of the tunica albuginea fully described in 1793 by French physician Francois de la Peyronie, is characterized by pain, plaque formation, penile deformity, and ultimately sexual function decline. The epidemio-logical data on PD vary considerably across previous studies, with recent evidence reporting a prevalence of up to 9%. PD is generally divided into two different phases: active or acute and stable or chronic. Plaque formation generally occurs during the acute phase, while during chronic phase pain usually tends to complete resolution and penile deformity stabilizes. PD’s pathophysiology is still subject of great discussion. Tunical mechanical stress and microvascular trauma are major contribu-tory factors. However, better understanding of the molecular pathophysiology of this condition remains paramount towards an in-depth comprehension of the disorder and the development of newer and more effective disease-targeted interventions. In this review we provide a detailed overview of natural history of PD, specifically focusing on clinical manifestations and the underlying molecular regulation patterns.

Two-dimensional neovascular complexity is significantly higher in nontumor prostate tissue than in low-risk prostate cancer

Fabio Grizzi,Gianluigi Taverna,Piergiuseppe Colombo,Mauro Seveso,Guido Giusti,Silvia Proietti,Girolamo Fiorini,Giovanni Lughezzani,Paolo Casale,Nicolò Buffi,Massimo Lazzari,Giorgio Guazzoni 대한비뇨의학회 2015 Investigative and Clinical Urology Vol.56 No.6

Purpose: Prostate cancer is the most frequent cancer in men in Europe. A major focus in urology is the identification of new biomarkerswith improved accuracy in patients with low-risk prostate cancer. Here, we evaluated two-dimensional neovascular complexityin prostate tumor and nontumor biopsy cores by use of a computer-aided image analysis system and assessed the correlationsbetween the results and selected clinical and pathological parameters of prostate carcinoma. Materials and Methods: A total of 280 prostate biopsy sections from a homogeneous series of 70 patients with low-risk prostatecancer (Gleason score 3+3, prostate-specific antigen [PSA]<10 ng/mL, and clinical stage T1c) who underwent systematic biopsysampling and subsequent radical prostatectomy were analyzed. For each biopsy, 2-μm sections were treated with CD34 antibodiesand were digitized by using an image analysis system that automatically estimates the surface fractal dimension. Results: Our results showed that biopsy sections without cancer were significantly more vascularized than were tumors. No correlationswere found between the vascular surface fractal dimension and patient's age, PSA and free-to-total PSA ratios, pathologicalstage, Gleason score, tumor volume, vascular invasion, capsular penetration, surgical margins, and biochemical recurrence. Conclusions: The value of angiogenesis in prostate cancer is still controversial. Our findings suggest that low-risk prostate cancertissues are less vascularized than are nontumor tissues. Further studies are necessary to understand whether angiogenesis is a hallmarkof intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer.

Pyridostigmine in Pediatric Intestinal Pseudo-obstruction: Case Report of a 2-year Old Girl and Literature Review

( Giovanni Di Nardo ),( Federica Viscogliosi ),( Francesco Esposito ),( Vincenzo Stanghellini ),( Maria Pia Villa ),( Pasquale Parisi ),( Alessia Morlando ),( Girolamo Cal ),( Roberto De Giorgio ) 대한소화기기능성질환·운동학회(구 대한소화관운동학회) 2019 Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (JNM Vol.25 No.4

Pediatric chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction is a rare disorder characterized by a severe impairment of gastrointestinal motility leading to intestinal obstruction symptoms in the absence of mechanical causes. The diagnosis is usually clinical and diagnostic work is usually aimed to rule out mechanical obstruction and to identify any underlying diseases. Treatment is challenging and requires a multidisciplinary effort. In this manuscript we describe the youngest child successfully treated with the orally administrable, longacting, reversible anti-cholinesterase drug, pyridostigmine. Like other drugs belonging to cholinesterase inhibitors, pyridostigmine enhances gut motility by increasing acetylcholine availability in the enteric nervous system and neuro-muscular junctions. Based on the direct evidence from the reported case, we reviewed the current literature on the use of pyridostigmine in severe pediatric dysmotility focusing on intestinal pseudo-obstruction. The overall data emerged from the few published studies suggest that pyridostigmine is an effective and usually well tolerated therapeutic options for patients with intestinal pseudo-obstruction. More specifically, the main results obtained by pyridostigmine included marked reduction of abdominal distension, reduced need of parenteral nutrition, and improvement of oral feeding. The present case and review on pyridostigmine pave the way for eagerly awaited future randomized controlled studies testing the efficacy of cholinesterase inhibitors in pediatric severe gut dysmotility. (J Neurogastroenterol Motil 2019;25:508-514)

New insights about coke deposition in methanol-to-DME reaction over MOR-, MFI- and FER-type zeolites

Massimo Migliori,Enrico Catizzone,Alfredo Aloise,Giuseppe Bonura,Luis Gómez-Hortigüela,Leone Frusteri,Catia Cannilla,Francesco Frusteri,Girolamo Giordano 한국공업화학회 2018 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.68 No.-

The effect of channel-system of zeolite on methanol-to-DME reaction was studied. Results revealed that channels size and topology affect catalyst lifetime, type and location of coke precursors. FER and MFI showed the best resistance towards coke deposition, whilst fast deactivation was observed on MOR. Although the higher concentration and strength of acid sites, FER structure formed a lower coke amount, preferably located within the pores, while coke cluster deposited on the external surface of MOR. Analysis of acid sites distribution and strength was performed during deactivation–regeneration process. Coke location assessment was also supported by molecular simulations.

Identification of novel mutations in L1CAM gene by a DHPLC-based assay

Mirella Vinci,Michele Falco,Lucia Castiglia,Lucia Grillo,Angela Spalletta,Maurizio Sturnio,Ornella Galesi,Michele Salemi,Angelo Gloria,Silvestra Amata,Maria Piccione,Vincenzo Antona,Girolamo Aurelio V 한국유전학회 2016 Genes & Genomics Vol.38 No.12

X-linked hydrocephalus, MASA syndrome, X-linked complicated Spastic Paraplegia Type I, and X-linked partial agenesis of the corpus callosum are rare diseases mainly affecting male population and broadly referred as L1 syndrome, caused by mutations in the L1CAM gene. In the present study 36 boys and a male fetus whose clinical features were consistent with L1 syndrome were analyzed by dHPLC assay and direct sequencing of L1CAM gene. Sequence analysis of the 14 different aberrant dHPLC elution profiles demonstrated that six of them were associated with already reported polymorphisms, four with previously described causative variants while the remaining four represented novel L1CAM mutations. The dHPLC method proposed identified eight (21 %) causative L1CAM mutations in our patients while direct sequencing failed to detect any variation in patients negative to dHPLC analysis. We conclude that the dHPLC assay represents a fast and efficient method for the screening of L1CAM mutations and that L1 syndrome should be considered in the differential diagnosis of intellectual disability in children, especially when other signs such as hydrocephalus or adducted thumbs are present.