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The indifference that is often manifested towards physical and mental handicaps should make us ponder, in order to adequately address neurological and psychiatric diseases. The welcome, the care and socialization towards the elderly suffering from dementia, are certainly an issue that is increasingly affecting today's society, and that should be broadened. It is important, therefore, to...read

The herpes virus, which is the same virus that causes the little blisters that appear on your lips when you are stressed, was genetically modified and used by a team of Italian researchers in” in vivo experiments” that demonstrated its effectiveness in defeating the more advanced ovary and breast tumors. The researchers followed a particular approach. The virulence of the virus has been left...read

INTRODUCTION Spitz naevus (SN) is an uncommon, benign melanocytic neoplasm that shares many clinical and histological features with melanoma (1). SN presents clinical ambiguity that makes the diagnosis and management of the patient difficult. There is no consensus concerning management of Spitz naevi (SNi) (2-4). Much more is still to be learnt about its evolution, modifications seen clinically...read

Dietary habits effect our lives, for both, deficiency or for excess of nutrients, and, together with a host of other factors, play a role in the development of the chronic diseases that are more frequently seen in this era of increased longevity. The diet related risk factors can be dealt with and modified throughout life, also in advanced age, but appropriate strategies are needed to induce...read

In humans the eating behavior, provides a dual function: on one hand it helps to control energy balance and nutrition; on the other, regulates the exchange of the individual with its environment. These functions are interdependent, and integrity of each is necessary for the harmonious functioning of the person. The eating disorders depend on alteration of one, or more, of these functions....read

In recent decades, many researchers throughout the scientific world have focused their studies on gene therapy. Gene therapy involves the insertion of healthy genes in the body of a patient to compensate for the loss of functionality of altered genes that are responsible for a disease, with the purpose of restoring the proper function of genes, and thus halting the disease. This approach is...read

The history of influenza viruses has shown that the flu comes from volatile animals, waterfowl in general, before moving to man through the "jump" in pigs. The promiscuity of the farms, as is in use in Asia, leads this step and then its spread. This is what caused the Spanish influenza (1918, H1N1), the Asiatic (1957, H2N2), the Hong Kong (1968, H3N2), and so forth. Older people have antibodies...read

In the context of a rather chaotic evolution of operative technique and technology of implant dentistry, the immediate and early loading of the implants is finding increasing support from edentulous patients. Technical knowledge is necessary to more clearly understand this subject, and the difficulties associated with it. "Immediate prosthesization” means that the implant is prosthesized, in...read

In the context of a rather chaotic evolution of operative technique and technology of implant dentistry, the immediate and early loading of the implants is finding increasing support from edentulous patients. Technical knowledge is necessary to more clearly understand this subject, and the difficulties associated with it. "Immediate prosthesization” means that the implant is prosthesized, in...read

In the context of a rather chaotic evolution of operative technique and technology of implant dentistry, the immediate and early loading of the implants is finding increasing support from edentulous patients. Technical knowledge is necessary to more clearly understand this subject, and the difficulties associated with it. "Immediate prosthesization” means that the implant is prosthesized, in...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

The strategic role of communication in health care management is still not fully recognized, despite overwhelming evidence provided by the vast legislation created in the last fifteen years covering the Italian Health and Public Communications. The PO of San Felice a Cancello, promoted a project of organizational communication with the intent to finalize the actions of individual professionals...read

“Nobody should die of melanoma”: this is the provocative, but at the same time exciting and meaningful statement, made by the famous American dermatopathologist Bernard Ackerman, whose work has emphasized the important role of an early diagnosis that should be pursued by the General Practitioner. In fact, there are two types of melanoma: an invasive kind, that has a poor prognosis in most...read

There isn’t a day that a newspaper or a magazine does not speak of botulinum toxin, this wonderful substance that can give us a sweet “stretch of freshness " that, when used with skill, can be also very natural. With a single injection we can smooth the forehead, soften the darn "chicken legs", and remove the wrinkles between the eyebrows that give a vexed look to the face. But let’s try...read

Psoriasis is a skin disorder that not only has a negative effect on quality of life, as it alters the body image, but it is also burdened by greater co-morbidity that leads to metabolic syndrome, heart disease, and rheumatic pathologies. There are many hypotheses concerning its cause, but the increase in allergic and autoimmune diseases in developed countries has been accompanied by a decrease...read

Society has always defined what is understood as a masculine or feminine. Several studies have, however, identified that the influence of social pressure on the construction of identities is greater on male than on female, resulting in a more marked and direct stereotyping of gender roles. Very often masculinity includes items such as social dominance, aggression and control, so that the...read

Speaking of centers of excellence, without talking of centers of cost, does not have any particular value, particularly in the current economic situation; mentioning some of the "pseudo interim leadership", without making a clear distinction between good and bad leadership. does not have any particular value as well. A perfect organization does not exist; it keeps a shaky balance between...read

Death was in every age a subject that has caused anxiety; it was always difficult to face this reality that, strictly speaking, is ineffable. In fact, one cannot have direct access to death: we cannot speak of it personally, because it is necessarily the death of the other person. Modern medical knowledge has changed the concept of death: the concept of death that was understood as the...read

In the days when the roles were rigidly codified, and "patiently” accepted, it was unusual to raise questions, and any inner conflicts were resolved in line with codes, not always written, but long handed down. Abandoning those tracks, laid down by tradition, seemed unthinkable, but ... something gave: today there are no more roles built in "granite", but there are organizational and social...read

In recent years the demand for aesthetic interventions has greatly increased, and among these Breast Augmentation is the most frequent. I think it absolutely correct to withhold interventions of Breast Augmentation from girls who are less than 18 year old. This is a deontological and ethical principle that, like all professionally correct specialists, I have always personally followed. The...read

Actinic Keratosis, or Solar Keratosis, is a lesion that generally affects adults, over 40 years of age, who often work outdoors. The lesions are located anywhere in the body, but particularly in the areas exposed to the sun, like the face and the back of the hands. The typical lesion is flat or raised, usually characterized by multiple squamous formations with an erythematous background, and an...read

On the occasion of the Jubilee of 2000, Pope John Paul II, addressing the doctors participating in the International Congress organized by AMCI, emphasized their activity as "noble service to Life". A mission that "puts you in daily contact with the mysterious and wonderful realities of life, encouraging you to bear the sufferings and hopes of so many brothers and sisters." The Holy Father...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

Loss of fertility is one of the most frequent consequences for patients undergoing treatments with chemotherapy and/or radiation for cancer. When the disease occurs at young age, that is when the patient has not yet achieved his or her desire for maternity or paternity, the inability to have biological children may cause great sense of deprivation and frustration. Just recently the news...read

Exacerbations are the basis for the mortality and morbidity of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). A study was carried out to compare the quality and effectiveness to prevent exacerbations and assessment of outcomes in patients with severe and with very severe COPD, between a long-acting inhaled bronchodilator combined with an anti-inflammatory agent (Salmeterol/Fluticasone...read

The issue of AIDS and strategies used to reduce the sexual transmission came back in the limelight during the recent visit of Pope Ratzinger in Africa. In fact, a recent work of Professor Cohen, presented to the International AIDS Society in 2008, suggests a variety of prevention opportunities that apply to: 1) the general population, 2) the exposed persons, and 3) the infected subjects. 1)...read

Phosphatidylcholine is a phospholipid able to dissolve the fat with which it comes into contact. The substance has been used for years in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia, and only recently found an important role in the cosmetic field. To date the most effective solution for localized fat and cellulite was offered by liposculpture, a surgical technique that provides for the aspiration of...read

Actinic Keratosis, or Solar Keratosis, is a lesion that generally affects adults, over 40 years of age, who often work outdoors. The lesions are located anywhere in the body, but particularly in the areas exposed to the sun, like the face and the back of the hands. The typical lesion is flat or raised, usually characterized by multiple squamous formations with an erythematous background, and an...read

Actinic Keratosis, or Solar Keratosis, is a lesion that generally affects adults, over 40 years of age, who often work outdoors. The lesions are located anywhere in the body, but particularly in the areas exposed to the sun, like the face and the back of the hands. The typical lesion is flat or raised, usually characterized by multiple squamous formations with an erythematous background, and an...read

Actinic Keratosis, or Solar Keratosis, is a lesion that generally affects adults, over 40 years of age, who often work outdoors. The lesions are located anywhere in the body, but particularly in the areas exposed to the sun, like the face and the back of the hands. The typical lesion is flat or raised, usually characterized by multiple squamous formations with an erythematous background, and an...read

The loss of ovarian activity and of production of estrogen during menopause is responsible for different clinical manifestations, some immediate, others long term, causing not only the appearance of the typical climacteric symptoms, such as hot flushes, night sweats, changes in mood, vaginal atrophy and dyspareunia, but also a modification of glyco-insulin, lipid and bone metabolism, and an...read

The loss of ovarian activity and of production of estrogen during menopause is responsible for different clinical manifestations, some immediate, others long term, causing not only the appearance of the typical climacteric symptoms, such as hot flushes, night sweats, changes in mood, vaginal atrophy and dyspareunia, but also a modification of glyco-insulin, lipid and bone metabolism, and an...read

Recent years have witnessed a substantial increase in the use of assisted reproductive technologies, governed Italy by Law 40 of 2004, to correct male and / or females infertility. Parallel to this phenomenon, there is a higher rate of twin pregnancies with increased risk of maternal-fetal complications (hypertension and gestational diabetes, premature birth, low birth weight), extensively...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

The management oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT) is of great importance for family doctors, because there are many people with venous thromboembolism, or various cardiovascular diseases, such as myocardial infarction and stroke, who are at great risk for embolism. Oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT), is designed to depress in a controlled and reversible manner blood coagulability, which is measured...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

Obesity is nowadays one of the major health emergencies in the world: in fact, abdominal obesity has reached epidemic proportions and its prevalence is steadily increasing. The phenomenon involves 1 billion and 200 thousand people worldwide, including over 115 million suffering from other diseases, such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, dyslipidemia, sleep apnea, and arthritis. It is...read

In the era of communication through images, the importance and "weight" of our physical appearance, which is the image of ourselves that speaks to the world around us, cannot be underestimated. An image that does not meet certain culturally required conditions can create, in some people, a sense of inadequacy. Makeup, always a precious ally of beauty, can be of valuable support for all people...read

Pregnancy is always a fascinating event in the life of the woman, of the couple, and of the environment around them, becoming an experience that is not only physical and biological, but that also extends to the mental, emotional and intellectual spheres. Its physiological course can be compromised by preexisting diseases, diagnosed before the pregnancy or occurring during its course. This is...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

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

The main causes of overcrowding in the Italian emergency departments (ED) are attributable to several factors including: the increasing lack of confidence in the General Practitioners, excessively long waiting times for specialist outpatient services and diagnostic tests, the increase size of the population not included in the National Health Service, the organizational evolution of ED as a...read

Melatonin is a neuroendochrine hormone regulating biological rhythms, secreted from the pituitary at night, in proportion to the duration of darkness. The actions of melatonin are mediated by specific membrane receptors, MT1 and MT2, expressed in the CNS (hippocampus, cerebellum, pars tuberalis of the pituitary gland) and in some peripheral organs (mammary epithelium, uterine myometrium, ovarian...read

The human papillomavirus vaccine (Gardasil) has been available in Italy for two years, and is finding increasing use in adolescents given the high risk of contracting HPV 16,18,6 and 11: four very dangerous histotypes, the first two associated with cervical cancer, and the others implicated in the development of genital warts. The vaccine produces neutralizing antibodies that inhibit the...read

The A/H1N1 pandemic influenza has set in motion several strategies for healthcare related planning. Epidemiology, with its load of scientific knowledge related to Infection, vaccination and organization, has permitted to draw out possible scenarios, as well as strategies of attack and containment of an infection that had appeared to potentially be the most serious pandemic of the new century....read

In an era particularly polarized on beauty and skin care, non-ablative radio frequency (NARF) represents one of the most modern techniques for the treatment of aging and sagging skin of face and body, which can be rejuvenated in a non-ablative manner without the use of needles or drug injections. The NARF was the first non-surgical method to be authorized by the Food and Drug Administration...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

The swine flu is now the most frequently talked about topic and it has been more successful than the reality shows, with a frightening marketing induction. Although it is too large to be covered with one article, this one will partly clarify this issue. Contrary to popular belief, swine influenza is not new: it frequently affects pigs, and its first appearance in the virology world dates back...read

The discovery of penicillin is associated to the name of Alexander Fleming, who in 1928 noticed the inhibition of growth of a bacterium from a mold. But it was not until 1940 that the studies by Fleming, Florey and Chain allowed the isolation of Penicillin, which was later successfully used to help the many wounded soldiers during the Second World War. In 1945 Fleming, Florey and Chain were...read