Roberto copetti

OBJECTIVES: Long-term visit-to-visit SBP variability (VVV) predicts cerebro-cardiovascular and renal events in patients with hypertension. Whether VVV predicts hypertension and/or chronic kidney disease is currently unknown. We assessed the role of VVV on the development of hypertension and changes in renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes and normal blood pressure (NBP) in a real-life clinical setting. METHODS: Clinical records from 8998 patients with type 2 diabetes, NBP, and normal estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were analyzed...

Lung ultrasound (LU) has a multitude of features and capacities that make it a useful medical tool to assist physicians contending with the pandemic spread of novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) caused by coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Thus, an LU approach to patients with suspected COVID-19 is being implemented worldwide. In noncritical COVID-19 patients, 2 new LU signs have been described and proposed, the "waterfall" and the "light beam" signs. Both signs have been hypothesized to increase the diagnostic accuracy of LU for COVID-19 interstitial pneumonia...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Pneumothorax (PTX) represents accumulation of the air in the pleural space. A large or tension pneumothorax can collapse the lung and cause hemodynamic compromise, a life-threatening disorder. Traditionally, neonatal pneumothorax diagnosis has been based on clinical images, auscultation, transillumination, and chest X-ray findings. This approach may potentially lead to a delay in both diagnosis and treatment. The use of lung US in diagnosis of PTX together with US-guided thoracentesis results in earlier and more precise management...

MicroRNA-210-3p is the most prominent hypoxia regulated microRNA, and it has been found significantly overexpressed in different human cancers. We performed the expression analysis of miR-210-3p in a retrospective cohort of breast cancer patients with a median follow-up of 76 months (n = 283). An association between higher levels of miR-210-3p and risk of disease progression (HR: 2.13, 95%CI: 1.33-3.39, P = 0.002) was found in the subgroup of patients treated with Epirubicin and Cyclophosphamide followed by Docetaxel...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

We do not always accomplish what is best for our patients. Is "more procedures, more drugs" a real synonym of good and always useful medicine? Probably not. Indeed, it has been highlighted that many tests and treatments, widely used in medical practice, do not bring benefits to patients, but they can be harmful. So, why do we keep performing them? Many reasons, surely one of the main is the constant fear of malpractice legal-medical consequences; this led to the development of a defensive medicine, no longer focused on the health of the patient...

The main objective of this phase I trial was to assess the feasibility and safety of microtransplanting human neural stem cell (hNSC) lines into the spinal cord of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Eighteen patients with a definite diagnosis of ALS received microinjections of hNSCs into the gray matter tracts of the lumbar or cervical spinal cord. Patients were monitored before and after transplantation by clinical, psychological, neuroradiological, and neurophysiological assessment. For up to 60 months after surgery, none of the patients manifested severe adverse effects or increased disease progression because of the treatment...

Ultrasound is a safe bedside imaging tool that obviates the use of ionizing radiation diagnostic procedures. Due to its convenience, the lung ultrasound has received increasing attention from neonatal physicians. Nevertheless, clear reference standards and guideline limits are needed for accurate application of this diagnostic modality. This document aims to summarize expert opinions and to provide precise guidance to help facilitate the use of the lung ultrasound in the diagnosis of neonatal lung diseases.

Tetra-platinated(II) porphyrin hexafluorophosphate compound (4-PtTPyPor) was synthetized and along 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-pyridyl)porphyrin (4-TPyPor), evaluated about the antimicrobial activity and safety. The effect was evaluated with and without light exposition. The antimicrobial activity was analyzed by microdilution and growth curve method. The assays showed an increase of antimicrobial potential caused by porphyrins with light exposition comparing the treatment without light irradiation. The biocompatibility was tested by MTT, ROS production, dsDNA on culture medium and hemolysis...

Background : Chest ultrasound (CUS) has been shown to be a sensitive and specific imaging modality for pneumothorax, pneumonia, and pleural effusions. However, the role of chest ultrasound in the diagnosis of thoracic tuberculosis (TB) is uncertain. We performed a systematic search in the medical literature to better define the potential role and value of chest ultrasound in diagnosing thoracic tuberculosis. Aim : To describe existing literature with regard to the diagnostic value of chest ultrasound in thoracic tuberculosis...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract available.

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the most widespread and severe infectious diseases worldwide. In the emergency department (ED), there is still a need for a rapid and accurate tool that can diagnose CAP. Lung ultrasound (LUS) is a recent tool that is increasingly being for this purpose. So far, the LUS has been evaluated on a wide range of patients, but not yet on the specific population in the ED through a meta-analysis. Our aim was to assess the accuracy of the LUS in diagnosing CAP in this setting through a systematic review and a meta-analysis...

PURPOSE: This population-based study investigated the incidence, in-hospital and long-term all-cause mortality, for hip fracture (HipFx), stroke (STR), and myocardial infarction (MI) in residents hospitalized between 2000 and 2014. METHODS: Data about hospitalization were drawn from the administrative discharge database, whereas information about residents and all-cause mortality from the municipality of our town. Patients were followed-up from the first hospital admission until death or study end...

Somatosensory discrimination training may modulate cognitive processes, such as movement planning and monitoring, which can be useful during active movements. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of somatosensory discrimination training on brain functional activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during motor and sensory tasks in healthy subjects. Thirty-nine healthy young subjects were randomized into two groups: the experimental group underwent somatosensory discrimination training consisting of shape, surface and two-point distance discrimination; and the control group performed a simple object manipulation...

No abstract available.

In resource-limited countries, the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is based on clinical findings, chest radiography and the demonstration of acid-fast bacilli in sputum. Few data are available on the use of ultrasound (US) to diagnose pulmonary TB. Chest US was performed in patients with lung TB from a rural African setting, to look for signs of the disease and to clarify the role US may have in the diagnosis of pulmonary TB. Sixty adult patients diagnosed with lung TB underwent chest US. All patients had abnormal findings...

miR-9 was initially identified as an epigenetically regulated miRNA in tumours, but inconsistent findings have been reported so far. We analysed the expression of miR-9-5p, miR-9-3p, pri-miRs and MIR9 promoters methylation status in 131 breast cancer cases and 12 normal breast tissues (NBTs). The expression of both mature miRs was increased in tumours as compared to NBTs (P < 0.001) and negatively correlated with ER protein expression (P = 0.005 and P = 0.003, for miR-9-3p and miR-9-5p respectively)...

Gait disorders represent a therapeutic challenge in Parkinson's disease (PD). This study investigated the efficacy of 4-week action observation training (AOT) on disease severity, freezing of gait and motor abilities in PD, and evaluated treatment-related brain functional changes. 25 PD patients with freezing of gait were randomized into two groups: AOT (action observation combined with practicing the observed actions) and "Landscape" (same physical training combined with landscape-videos observation)...