660 research outputs found
I meningiomi giganti. Una diagnosi precoce difficile
No full textMeningiomi Giganti: sintomatologia tardiva
La Vestale 'incesta'
No full textMarcello Salvadore: La Vestale incesta.
Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Pliny the Younger and Plutarch are the sources
of a detailed account of Vestalis incesta’s punishment: they say that she was
sentenced to death. Dionysius adds that there was no after death ritual.
Modern scholars generally accept what the three authors assert. In this article
the author surmises that the Vestalis incesta, together with the parricida, was
not condemned to death: both of them were sentenced to a particular kind
of banishment from the Society
De Lope a Celano: la adaptación italiana de "Los tres diamantes"
No full textAbstract
This paper explores an Italian adaptation of Lope de Vega’s play Los tres diamantes, written in the
second part of the seventeenth century. Its author, Carlo Celano, was a famous writer of opere regie,
i.e., adaptations of Spanish comedies of situation. The analysis focuses on the way in which the
adaptation of the Aristotelian units of space and time leads to a reduction of the characters and a
simplification of the situation, although this is compensated by enriching its ludic component. This
last trait can be also observed in a previous re-elaboration of Lope’s comedy, the scenario of the
Commedia dell’arte titled Il cavaliere dai tre gigli d’oro
Due note critiche
No full textMarcello Garzaniti
Answers to Criticism
The author answers to the critics of M. Capaldo and A.Giambelluca Kossova with the aim to bring the different proposed questions back into the sphere of scientifi c dialogue
Mitotane reduces human and mouse ACTH-secreting pituitary cell viability and function
No full textMedical therapy for Cushing's disease (CD) is currently based on agents mainly targeting adrenocortical function. Lately, pituitary-directed drugs have been developed, with limited efficacy. Mitotane, a potent adrenolytic drug, has been recently investigated for the treatment of CD, but the direct pituitary effects have not been clarified so far. The aim of our study was to investigate whether mitotane may affect corticotroph function and cell survival in the mouse pituitary cell line AtT20/D16v-F2 and in the primary cultures of human ACTHsecreting pituitary adenomas, as an in vitro model of pituitary corticotrophs. We found that in the AtT20/D16v-F2 cell line and in primary cultures, mitotane reduces cell viability by inducing caspase-mediated apoptosis and reduces ACTH secretion. In the AtT20/D16v-F2 cell line, mitotane reduces Pomc expression and blocks the stimulatory effects of corticotropinreleasing hormone on cell viability, ACTH secretion, and Pomc expression. These effects were apparent at mitotane doses greater than those usually necessary for reducing cortisol secretion in Cushing's syndrome, but still in the therapeutic window for adrenocortical carcinoma treatment. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that mitotane affects cell viability and function of human and mouse ACTH-secreting pituitary adenoma cells. These data indicate that mitotane could have direct pituitary effects on corticotroph cells. © 2013 Society for Endocrinology
Effect of Everolimus on Cell Viability in Nonfunctioning Pituitary Adenomas
No full textContext: Pituitary adenomas can cause specific syndromes due to hormone excess and/or determine sellar mass symptoms. Pituitary cell growth can sometimes be influenced by medical therapy, such as for somatotroph adenomas treated with
somatostatin analogs or prolactinomas treated with dopaminergic drugs. However, nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFAs) are still orphans of medical therapy. Everolimus (RAD001), a derivative of rapamycin, is a well-known immunosuppressant
drug, which has been recently shown to have antineoplastic activity in several human cancers. Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate the possible antiproliferative effects of RAD001 in human NFAs. Design: We collected 40 NFAs that were dispersed in primary cultures, treated without or with 1 nM to
1 muM RAD001, 10 nM cabergoline, 10 nM SOM230 (a somatostatin receptor multiligand), and/or 50 nM IGF-I. Cell viability and apoptosis were evaluated after 48 h, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion was assessed
after an 8-h incubation. Somatostatin and dopamine subtype 2 receptor expression was investigated by quantitative PCR. Results: In 28 cultures (70%), Everolimus significantly reduced cell viability (by approximately 40%; P < 0.05 vs. control), promoted apoptosis (+30%; P < 0.05 vs. control), inhibited p70S6K activity (-20%), and blocked IGF-I proliferative and antiapoptotic effects. In selected tissues cotreatment with SOM230, but not cabergoline, exerted an additive effect. Everolimus did not affect VEGF secretion but blocked the
stimulatory effects of IGF-I on this parameter. Conclusions: Everolimus reduced NFA cell viability by inducing apoptosis, with a mechanism likely involving IGF-I signaling but not VEGF secretion, suggesting that it might represent a possible
medical treatment of invasive/recurrent NFAs
The eagle jugular syndrome
No full textBackground: The elongation of the styloid process is historically associated with two variants of the Eagle syndrome. The classic one, mainly characterized by pain and dysphagia, and the carotid variant characterized by pain and sometimes by cerebral ischemia. We observed a further variant characterized by a styloid elongation coursing adjacent to the transverse process of C1, causing significant compression of the internal jugular vein.
Methods: We reviewed all the cases of Eagle syndrome, including the jugular variant, admitted in our Hospital in the last six years. We compared symptomatology, associated comorbidities and imaging. Data were statistically analyzed. Results: Overall 23 patients were admitted to the Hospital for symptomatic elongation of the styloid process, 11 male and 12 females. The jugular variant of the Eagle syndrome is clinically delineated by significant differences, as compared to the classic variant and carotid variants. Headache was the more prominent symptom (p < .009) as well as a documented peri-mesencephalic hemorrhage was the more significant comorbidity (p < .0003). The group classic-carotid variant was characterized by ipsilateral pain respect to the jugular variant (p < .0003). CT angiography with venous phase extended to the neck veins and imaging reconstruction is highly recommended as imaging technique, complemented by color-Doppler ultrasound.
Conclusions: The elongation of the styloid process may have different paths which creates compression on the surrounding anatomical structures. There may be a possible association of jugular impingement by an elongated styloid process with symptoms
Transpars Microscopic Approach for the Treatment of Purely Foraminal Herniated Lumbar Disc: A Clinical, Radiological, Two-center Study
No full textStudy Design. This is a prospective two-center study. Objective. The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of treating patients with lumbar foraminal disc herniations via a microscopic transpars approach, with a clinical and radiological follow-up evaluation. Summary of Background Data. Purely foraminal lumbar disc herniations comprise about 5% of all lumbar herniated intervertebral discs. Operative management can be technically difficult, and the optimum surgical treatment remains controversial. Methods. From January 2012 to January 2015, 47 patients were prospectively recruited. Patients were followed-up as outpatients at 1 week after discharge, then at 1, 6, and 12 months. A clinical multiparametric evaluation of patients including numeric rating scale (NRS), drugs intake, Macnab criteria, and working days lost was used. Postoperative dynamic x-rays (flexion, extension) were performed in all cases 12 months after surgery. Results. No surgery-related complications occurred. Among the 35 patients who were not retired at the time of the study, 29 patients returned to work and to normal daily activities within 60 days after surgery. Pain evaluation at discharge showed a significant improvement of NRS score, from 8.93 to 1.45 at 12 months. Root palsy significantly improved in all cases already at 1-month follow-up. Drugs intake analysis showed that at 6-month follow-up, no patients used steroids, or opioids, 17 patients used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs when needed, and 29 patients (61.7%) used no drugs for pain relief. No significant variations occurred at 12-month-follow-up. At 12-month follow-up, excellent or good outcome (following Macnab criteria) was achieved in 36 (76.6%) and 8 (17%) patients, respectively. There were no cases of spinal instability at 12-month radiological evaluation. No recurrence occurred at follow-up. Conclusion. Transpars microscopic approach is effective and safe for the treatment of FLDH, but larger studies are needed
The Pragmatics of Literature
No full textThis translation of the work of one of the founding fathers of literary structuralism and semiotics in Italy is a timely introduction to the theoretical study of literary communication. Marcello Pagnini is a leading figure in the post-structuralist endeavor to return the text to something resembling its social matrix. He explores not only the dynamics of the author/reader rapport but also the connections between the literary text and its sociocultural and historical contexts
- …
