Until a few years ago the only information that doctors utilized from the sequences of heartbeats (R-R) was only their average for shorter or longer intervals. The heart rate was related to macroscopic states such as fatigue, fever, emotion etc… Much of the information, represented by the R-R interval, was therefore unused, and two key aspects were overlooked: the RR intervals are not all...read

The spectral analysis of RR interval variability enables the identification of oscillatory components hidden in it, the sum of which is the total Heart Rate Variability (HRV). This type of analysis allows the bundling of oscillations in heart rate in two main frequency bands: a low frequency band, known as LF (Low Frequency), about 0.10 Hz correlated with the sympathetic nerve activity, and a...read

Most people think that Glaucoma is almost exclusively a single disease. To the contrary, glaucoma is not considered a single disease, but a diverse group of pathologies that share a chronic and progressive damage to the optic nerve and to the retinal nerve fiber layer. These diseases are important because the damage they cause is irreversible and set in silently, until they manifest their...read

Summary In recent years, studies with stress cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cardiac stress MRI) reported good feasibility and accuracy in the characterization of patients with known, or suspected, coronary artery disease. This article presents an overview of the important data for the application of the techniques of stress-MRI in the diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of ischemic heart...read

Colorectal tumors are the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States and represent a major threat in Italy, but, fortunately, good screening can yield a survival of 90 percent for cancer of the colon, and 80 percent for cancer of the rectum. All this is possible, and starts with a good conversation between the patient and the general practitioner, who more than anyone else...read

The management of post-traumatic retroperitoneal hematomas is still controversial and difficult because of the multiplicity of possible causes and the extreme variety of injuries occurring either singly, or in combination (1). But some principles can be helpful for a correct strategy of approach and treatment. Multiscan CT with contrast is considered the diagnostic gold standard, particularly...read

Aim: The aim of my study has been to evaluate the efficacy of a new method of compression sclerotherapy of GSV and SSF. Materials and Methods: 180 lower extremities with primary varicous veins, with a long reflux of the GSV (C2-6, Ep, As2  p, Pr), have been submitted to sclerotherapy applying the following method: injection of the trunk of the GSV, according to Sigg's technique; echoguided...read

Src (short for sarcoma) is a family of proto-oncogenic tyrosine kinases active in many cancer tumors, including medulloblastoma, the most common malignant cancer in children. Src represents one of the most promising targets for cancer therapy. A recent study shows that pyrazolo-[3,4-d]–pyrimidine-derivatives, designed to target Src, may be effective in interfering with the cell cycle and...read

It is not uncommon to see patients with cutaneous manifestations that can be classified morphologically as eczema, but based, on their etiology they must be differentiated between allergic contact dermatitis and irritant dermatitis. It is possible to differentiate an allergic contact dermatitis from irritant dermatitis with a diagnostic test called patch-test, which uses incomplete allergens,...read

Before beginning a discussion on the technical aspects of the various interventions for the treatment of the ulcers secondary to venous stasis, it is necessary to clarify their role, their objectives, and their indications. The diagnosis of venous ulcer is certainly not by itself sufficient to guide the therapeutic choice. Moreover, the patient usually requires our intervention after a long...read

Gene Src (short for sarcoma) is part of a family of proto-oncogenic tyrosine kinases active in many tumors, including medulloblastoma, the most common malignant cancer in children. Src represents one of the most promising targets for cancer therapy. A recent study shows that pyrazolo-[3,4-d]–pyrimidine-derivatives, designed to target Src, may be effective in interfering with the cell cycle and...read

The Salerno court Judge’s decision that for the first time granted a fertile couple to have access to pre-implantation diagnosis and assisted fertilization techniques, set a historical landmark. The couple is a carrier of a serious hereditary disease, Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type I, which is the most frequent genetic cause of death for children during the first year of life. Until now, the...read

Caesarean Section was described, and sporadically practiced, in medical history before the twentieth century; it was later technically defined and made safe for mother and baby in the early decades of the '900s, with a maternal mortality rate that currently stands at 1:10.000. In recent years it has been widely used for deliveries, with frequencies that are between 25 and 50%. Since 2002 the...read

Cholelithiasis is the cause of many acute pathological conditions that generally range from biliary colic to pancreatitis. In rare cases, following an iatrogenic cause, but more often spontaneously, repeated inflammatory processes result in formation of a biliary-digestive fistula between the gallbladder or bile duct and a segment of bowel, with migration of gallstones through the fistula. The...read

Osteonecrosis of jaw is a highly disabling disease which has recently been associated with the use of Biophosphonates, which are useful in the treatment of Osteoporosis, but must be used with extreme caution to prevent this condition. This disease, that in the past has been described in association with the use of white phosphorus, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, in the initial phase presents...read

Giulio Tarro, Chief Emeritus, A. O. "D. Cotugno", Naples, and Adjunct Professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he often collaborated with the noted Neapolitan researcher Antonio Giordano of the Sbarro Institute in projects like the Human Health Foundation Onlus - the promising foundation founded in 2006 in Spoleto - gives his point of view on A/H1N1 virus alarm in Italy. The data...read

The degree of pain is a very subjective feeling, which depends on factors significantly different from one woman to another, such as previous experience, cultural level, and pain threshold. The problem of pain control during childbirth has always been of great interest for women and doctors. Recently (January 2007), in Italy, the National Commission on the Essential Levels of Attention...read

In the past 14 years we have seen a gradual and steady decrease in the mortality rate from AIDS in industrialized countries. This new reality is obviously in close correlation with the improvement of therapeutic strategies that, since then, have included the use of highly active triple therapy (HAART), which today provide a number of new drug classes (integrase inhibitors, CCR5 inhibitors etc.)...read

The term myositis is often misused as a synonym of myalgia, but this should never occur because myositis is a different pathological process. Myalgia is, in fact, a term for generic muscle pain and, although it is true that it is also present in myositis, is not its only peculiarity. Myositis predominantly affects striated muscle, and only minimally involves the cardiac muscle. There are...read

Pregnancy for women with diabetes, as for any other woman, is a moment in the life of great importance, perhaps the most important of all. But it is equally important for her partner to deal with it responsibly and with the necessary knowledge. Both must know its meaning, implications and possible complications, and methods to prevent adverse events. Indeed, although today the outlook is better...read

Insulin Detemir (LEVEMIR*) is a long acting insulin analogue of new generation; its mechanism of action is based on a fatty acid attached to the molecule of insulin that allows the insulin to bind to circulating albumin, allowing its release at a constant speed. This constant and predictable absorption results in a lower risk of hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, and complications. The 9 official...read

Fibromyalgia is a condition globally recognized only in the past two decades that encompasses previous definitions such as Non- Specific Articular Rheumatism, Spasmophilia, and many others. This syndrome is clinically characterized by diffuse pain along the body in atypical areas, combined with an altered awake-sleep rhythm. In addition, there is a cohort of symptoms that can vary from burning...read

The diagnosis of HIV-related lipodystrophy makes use of subjective and objective tools and instruments. The subjective methods may include self-administered questionnaires which reflect the change in the distribution of body fat or trivial increases the size of the collar of the shirt, bra or pants. Another simple procedure considers, however, the objective detection (by the doctor or patient) of...read

(March 22, 2009 – Philadelphia, PA) -- The clinically approved AIDS drug ABC (Abacavir) can reduce proliferation and induce differentiation of human medulloblastoma cells through the downregulation of telomerase activity, which may make it an effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of the highly malignant primary brain tumors, according to research published in the International...read

Until a few years ago, the hemodynamic monitoring of the patient hospitalized in Intensive Care was performed only in specialized centers utilizing the traditional method which is fairly complicated, not always safe, expensive and not continuously applicable. At present, the intensive care unit physician who needs to know hemodynamic parameters such as cardiac output, or systemic vascular...read

The name is complicated; the disease even more so. This condition is also called: Charcot's disease, Lou-Gehrig disease, and Motor Neuron disease. This disease, which is very rare, devastating and fatal, is one of a group of neuromuscular disorders and, in turn, could be divided into various subclasses, because it presents in many different ways. The literal meaning of ALS is: A for...read

,was established about 20 years ago and immediately became the optimal surgical approach for Cholecystectomy. The gallbladder is the organ of choice around which many pioneers have taken an evolutionary path leading to more innovation in several routes of access for minimally invasive surgery. Finally, thanks to the contribution of the masterly French surgeon Marescaux, these methods have reached...read

Nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy are among the most frequent and worst tolerated side effects of anti-cancer treatments. The evidence of the prognostic significance of the dose intensity and dose dense led researchers to develop increasingly aggressive chemotherapy schemes with ever higher doses of drugs. Vomiting is disabling and, along with alopecia, is among the most poorly tolerated...read

Many biological functions are exercised according to daily rhythms (1). Modifications of these rhythms are present in all the affective disorders (2, 3, 4), as also indicated in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV Items) (5). Therapies of proven effectiveness act directly changing circadian rhythms and mainly include the Light Therapy and Sleep Deprivation; drug...read

Emergency-Urgency Ultrasound Imaging is considered a modern discipline in itself, and its importance has been clearly recognized by the most prestigious scientific societies worldwide. This method of Imaging provides an immediate contribution for injured patient assessment, as a primary adjuvant modality. It has earned an important place in the so-called “Golden Hour”, immediately after the...read

Heart failure is a common pathologic condition with a high mortality. Early diagnosis is often difficult, and therefore many patients are not identified and treated promptly. Important works have recently shown that Natriuretic Peptide can be very useful in the diagnosis and monitoring of this disease condition. Plasma concentrations of different natriuretic peptides are related to left...read