Yearly Archives: 2016
May-Thurner Syndrome – a rare cause of leg pain and swelling
In this case, a 75 year-old female presented with painful swelling in her left leg shortly after stents were placed in her iliac arteries, which are blood vessels in the upper thigh that allow blood to flow
Fat and genes: can they predict stroke?
The modern way of life has led to an unprecedented increase of diseases that affect the well-being of our arteries, including high blood pressure, high lipids, diabetes and obesity. These diseases promote atherosclerosis, which means the deposition
Functional behavior of neuronal networks interconnected through electrical synapses
Gap junction (GJ) channels, which allow direct transfer of electrical signal and exchange by metabolites between cells, are formed of 21 member of connexin (Cx) protein family in humans. Hundreds of GJ channels clustered in junctional plaques
Importance of diagnosing spontaneous intracranial hypotension with uncommon clinical presentation
Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) results from loss of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), most commonly from a CSF spinal leak, without history of recent surgery, spinal procedure or trauma. Patients typically present with orthostatic headache, i.e. headache upon standing
Acute apical endodontic abscesses: the role of bacteria, geography, and synergy
In conditions of health, the root canal of the tooth is essentially sterile and devoid of the hundreds of microbial species that colonize the oral cavity. When oral bacteria are permitted to access the pulp – whether
Approaching distal radius fractures from a unified perspective
Distal Radius Fracture (DRF) is one of the most common traumatic orthopedic conditions among adults. However, a common metric to assess outcomes does not exist. We propose a comprehensive approach to outcomes assessments for DRFs that would
Antibiotics for treatment of asthma-like episodes in childhood
Childhood asthma is often preceded by recurrent episodes of asthma-like symptoms in relation to airway infections in the first years of life. Treatment of such episodes represents a major unmet clinical need; they are the most common
Could you still ‘see’ one’s action even when s/he disappears?
The ability to predict and anticipate the actions of others is crucial for planning appropriate behaviours before engaging or intervening in observed action, such as the pre-judgement of partner’s next actions in the football game. Even we
Insulin analogue with reduced weight gain effect in diabetic patients: detemir
Diabetes mellitus is a progressive condition in which the glycated hemoglobin level (i.e. marker of average blood glucose levels) rises inexorably over time. Strict glucose control in patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus reduces
Who is a cancer survivor? A brief overview of this controversial term
Chiara Marzorati, Foundations of the Life Sciences Bioethics and Cognitive Sciences, European School of Molecular Medicine (SEMM), European Institute of Oncology, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy. Gabriella Pravettoni, Department of Oncology and Hemato-oncology, University of Milan,
Testing a new way to measure the impact of stroke: PRECiS
Cognition helps us think and understand the world. It involves functions like memory, attention, problem-solving, planning, organising and communicating. After a stroke, many people have problems with cognition. These can affect confidence, mood and the ability to
One explanation for why females have more optimal cardiac blood flow compared to males
The myogenic response is defined as that the muscle layer of small blood vessels, called resistance vessels, responds to changing blood pressure (within a certain range) by constricting (smaller vessel diameter) when intraluminal pressure is increased and
Trucker sleep patterns influence safety-critical events
Commercial truck drivers are essential to transporting goods long distances to meet consumer demands. These demands can put pressure on shippers to move goods quickly while keeping costs low, which often puts truckers at risk for insufficient
CCN proteins : A new vista for molecular medicine
The CCN family of proteins is composed of six members playing critical biological roles, both in normal and pathological conditions. The first three CCN proteins discovered were designated Cyr61, Ctgf, and Nov because of the context in
Improving cancer care: Counseling patients on quitting smoking
Given the damaging effects of continued smoking on cancer management and post-treatment survival, all oncology practitioners should provide brief counseling to patients who smoke, encouraging them to quit smoking and referring them to specialized care (i.e. tobacco
Serum osteopontin as a novel biomarker for muscle regeneration in Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked muscular disease, affecting boys in principle. It is caused by mutations in the gene coding for dystrophin, a membrane-related structural protein in skeletal and cardiac muscles. The lack of dystrophin
Multi-tasking proteins protect sea urchins from multitudes of pathogens
Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a deadly problem for human health, yet these pathogens arise and persist due to the misuse and over-prescription of the same classes of antibiotics. Wouldn’t it be better if there was a
Oxidized cholesterol makes stronger and stiffer cells, promotes blood vessel formation
Atherosclerotic plaques that clog major arteries lead to heart attack and stroke because of the loss of the local blood supply to the heart or to brain tissues. It is also increasingly recognized today that formation and
Do we really know why cardiac surgery is still affected by substantial inflammatory reaction?
Modern cardiac surgery was born in early fifty’s with the use of the heart lung machine. This machine allowed to bypass the heart and the lung, draining the blood from the right atrium, oxygenating and pumping it
How alkaliphiles produce energy to sustain their life under extremely low concentration of proton
Alkaliphiles are defined as microorganisms with optimum growth pH of above 9 (10-9 mol dm−3 H+ concentration). This means that these microorganisms can grow in environment with one-hundredth times lower proton (H+) concentration than that of neutral
