A patient affected by racemous neurocysticercosis, occurring 5 years after the onset of chronic meningitis and followed by sequential MRI studies, is described. After ventriculo-peritoneal shunt, he ...was successfully treated with Praziquantel and Albendazole. This case may contribute to understand the natural history of the disease and stress the efficacy of medical versus surgical treatment of this lifethreatening disease.
A case of a progressive disease with epilepsy, marble skin, and roentgenographic evidence of tapering of the distal carotid branches with corticomeningeal angiomatosis was studied. The clinical ...course, angiographic findings, and skin biopsy results justified the diagnosis of noncalcifying venous capillary angiomatosis, or Divry-Van Bogaert syndrome.
BAEPs have been studied in a group of 20 migraine subjects before and after chronic flunarizine treatment. No statistically significant modifications of neurophysiological parameters have been ...observed. We confirm flunarizine effectiveness in migraine treatment.
The compromised viability and function of cardiovascular cells are rescued by small molecules of triazole derivatives (Tzs), identified as 3a and 3b, by preventing mitochondrial dysfunction. The ...oxidative phosphorylation improves the respiratory control rate in the presence of Tzs independently of the substrates that energize the mitochondria. The F1FO-ATPase, the main candidate in mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) formation, is the biological target of Tzs and hydrophilic F1 domain of the enzyme is depicted as the binding region of Tzs. The protective effect of Tz molecules on isolated mitochondria was corroborated by immortalized cardiomyocytes results. Indeed, mPTP opening was attenuated in response to ionomycin. Consequently, increased mitochondrial roundness and reduction of both length and interconnections between mitochondria. In in-vitro and ex-vivo models of cardiovascular pathologies (i.e., hypoxia-reoxygenation and hypertension) were used to evaluate the Tzs cardioprotective action. Key parameters of porcine aortic endothelial cells (pAECs) oxidative metabolism and cell viability were not affected by Tzs. However, in the presence of either 1 μM 3a or 0.5 μM 3b the impaired cell metabolism of pAECs injured by hypoxia-reoxygenation was restored to control respiratory profile. Moreover, endothelial cells isolated from SHRSP exposed to high-salt treatment rescued the Complex I activity and the endothelial capability to form vessel-like tubes and vascular function in presence of Tzs. As a result, the specific biochemical mechanism of Tzs to block Ca2+-activated F1FO-ATPase protected cell viability and preserved the pAECs bioenergetic metabolism upon hypoxia-reoxygenation injury. Moreover, SHRSP improved vascular dysfunction in response to a high-salt treatment.
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•The Ca2+-activated F1FO-ATPase inhibition by Tzs affects the mPTP.•Tzs can counteract the mPTP-related cardiovascular damage.•Vascular endothelial cell metabolism is rewired by Tzs upon hypoxia-reoxygenation.•Tzs are protective against endothelial dysfunction caused by high-salt exposure.
The correlation between depressive and cognitive symptoms and OSAS (obstructive sleep apnea syndrome) is between 5 and 63%. We reported the case of two patients with severe OSAS and its associated ...depressive symptoms that were intolerant to continuous positive airway pressure (C-PAP) and underwent maxillomandibular advancement (MMA) surgery. The severity of cognitive and depressive symptoms was assessed using validated questionnaires (Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and quality of life), medical observation, and patient-reported symptoms. We performed pre- and post-treatment polysomnography. Six months after treatment, the value of the apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) had returned to the normal range and, together with it, the depressive component was considerably reduced and the patients’ overall quality of life (BDI, BAI, ESS, and qol) improved. Conclusion: We described significant improvement in all the analyzed parameters, such as physical and mental functioning, and depression and anxiety rates.
A sample of polyamide-6 (PA) was blended with low density polyethylene (LDPE) in the 80/20 wt/wt ratio, either without and with 2phr of an ethylene–acrylic acid copolymer (EAA), Which was known to ...behave as a compatibilizer precursor, and the effect of the addition of small amounts (0.2 or 0.35phr) of a fourth component, 2,2′-(1,3-phenylene)-bis(2-oxazoline) (PBO), was investigated. The reactions of PBO with EAA, PA and their blends were studied by recording as a function of time the torque applied to the blending apparatuses and by studying the solubility behavior of the products in formic acid. The PALDPE blends were prepared in a co-rotating twin screw extruder and were characterized by Molau tests, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, rheology, and determination of the ultimate mechanical properties, including impact tests. The results indicate that the effectiveness of EAA as a compatibilizer precursor is considerably enhanced when PBO is added into the blends. It is thought that the reactions of PBO with the free carboxyl groups of EAA and with the amine or carboxyl end groups of PA run, at least in part, toward the formation of PA-g-EAA copolymers acting as the true compatibilizers for these blends.
The compromised viability and function of cardiovascular cells are rescued by small molecules of triazole derivatives (Tzs), identified as 3a and 3b, by preventing mitochondrial dysfunction. The ...oxidative phosphorylation improves the respiratory control rate in the presence of Tzs independently of the substrates that energize the mitochondria. The F
F
-ATPase, the main candidate in mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) formation, is the biological target of Tzs and hydrophilic F
domain of the enzyme is depicted as the binding region of Tzs. The protective effect of Tz molecules on isolated mitochondria was corroborated by immortalized cardiomyocytes results. Indeed, mPTP opening was attenuated in response to ionomycin. Consequently, increased mitochondrial roundness and reduction of both length and interconnections between mitochondria. In in-vitro and ex-vivo models of cardiovascular pathologies (i.e., hypoxia-reoxygenation and hypertension) were used to evaluate the Tzs cardioprotective action. Key parameters of porcine aortic endothelial cells (pAECs) oxidative metabolism and cell viability were not affected by Tzs. However, in the presence of either 1 μM 3a or 0.5 μM 3b the impaired cell metabolism of pAECs injured by hypoxia-reoxygenation was restored to control respiratory profile. Moreover, endothelial cells isolated from SHRSP exposed to high-salt treatment rescued the Complex I activity and the endothelial capability to form vessel-like tubes and vascular function in presence of Tzs. As a result, the specific biochemical mechanism of Tzs to block Ca
-activated F
F
-ATPase protected cell viability and preserved the pAECs bioenergetic metabolism upon hypoxia-reoxygenation injury. Moreover, SHRSP improved vascular dysfunction in response to a high-salt treatment.
The INK4a gene, one of the most often disrupted loci in human cancer, encodes two unrelated proteins, p16(INK4a) and p14(ARF) (ARF) both capable of inducing cell cycle arrest. Although it has been ...clearly demonstrated that ARF inhibits cell cycle via p53 stabilization, very little is known about the involvement of ARF in other cell cycle regulatory pathways, as well as on the mechanisms responsible for activating ARF following oncoproliferative stimuli. In search of factors that might associate with ARF to control its activity or its specificity, we performed a yeast two-hybrid screen. We report here that the human homologue of spinophilin/neurabin II, a regulatory subunit of protein phosphatase 1 catalytic subunit specifically interacts with ARF, both in yeast and in mammalian cells. We also show that ectopic expression of spinophilin/neurabin II inhibits the formation of G418-resistant colonies when transfected into human and mouse cell lines, regardless of p53 and ARF status. Moreover, spinophilin/ARF coexpression in Saos-2 cells, where ARF ectopic expression is ineffective, somehow results in a synergic effect. These data demonstrate a role for spinophilin in cell growth and suggest that ARF and spinophilin could act in partially overlapping pathways.
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