87 research outputs found
Non ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome presenting with ST-segment elevation in aVR and dual antiplatelet therapy
No full text[Stent thrombosis and clopidogrel response variability: is the genetic test useful in clinical practice?]. FT Trombosi di stent e variabilita di risposta al clopidogrel: il test genetico puo essere utile oggi nella pratica clinica?
No full textThe antiplatelet agent clopidogrel is an effective drug for the prevention of thrombotic events in patients with acute coronary syndrome and in those undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with the deployment of a coronary stent. However, it has been reported that, despite adequate treatment, about 30% of patients continue to show the high degree of platelet reactivity that is central to the development of atherothrombotic complications and poorer clinical outcomes. Up to 13% of those taking clopidogrel experience a recurrent ischemic event during the first year after acute coronary syndrome, 1-3% experience sub-acute stent thrombosis after percutaneous coronary intervention probably due to a poor drug response, and about 1.5% experience major bleeding mainly due to an enhanced response. Recent research findings have highlighted the role of genetic variations in determining antiplatelet response variability, and this has aroused interest in genotyping all thienopyridine-eligible patients in order to identify those who would be at increased risk of harm if treated with clopidogrel. However, it remains to be determined whether this information is necessary or sufficient for risk stratification. Only when there are clinical data to support the hypothesis that genotype-guided therapy reduces the rate of ischemic and bleeding events will it be possible to justify the use of genetic testing in all potential patients. When that happens, genotype-guided antiplatelet therapy will also be available in the field of cardiovascular medicine. © 2011 Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore
Alpha-Linolenic acid and Linoleic acid in serum and tissues after flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum) oil in vivo administration
No full textEssential fatty acids can be helpful in the prevention of several pathologies. The bioavailability of acute supplementation of different doses of flaxseed oil was studied by analyzing the level of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and linoleic acid (LA) in serum and tissues (adipose, liver) of rats tested at 2, 4, 8 and 16 h after the administration. The amount of flaxseed oil administered at increasing doses corresponded to 1, 2.5 and 5 g ALA/kg of body weight. The corresponding fatty acid methyl esters obtained via direct methylation were quantified using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Serum ALA level increased after 1 or 2.5 g/kg. ALA was increased in both adipose and liver tissue 4 h after the administration of 1 g/kg of flaxseed oil. There was no further increase by using a higher oil dosage. LA did not change in serum at the doses used
Flaxseed oil: acute and chronic supplementation increases serum and tissue concentrations of omega fatty acids in rats
No full textWe studied the bioavailability of acute supplementation of scalar doses of flaxseed oil by analysing the level of Linolenic acid (ALA, -3) and Linoleic acid (-6) in serum and tissues (adipose, liver and brain) of rats tested at 2-4-8-16 h after the administration. The amount of flaxseed oil administered by oral rate was 1.9, 4.7, 9.5 mL/kg corresponding to 1, 2.5, 5 g ALA/kg. Two techniques of lipid extraction were investigated to achieve maximal free fatty acids recovery in a reasonably short time. The corresponding fatty acid methyl esters obtained with direct methylation with MeOH/HCl, were quantified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) technique. GC-MS analyses were performed on a Gas-Chromatograph Varian 3400 on a HP-INNOWAX column (30 m x 0.25 mm; 0.25 m film thickness). Mass spectra were acquired on a Finnigan MAT SSQ 710A mass spectrometer in the electron impact (EI) mode.Serum ALA levels at 1 g/kg after 2h in the flaxseed oil group increased by 70% from 0.067 ± 0.007 to 0.096 ± 0.008 mg/mL (P<0.001 Anova) whereas no significant increase occurred in the flaxseed oil group at 2.5 g/kg (0.142 ± 0.009) or at 5 g/kg after 2 h (0.140 ± 0.008) when compared with the value obtained after 1 g/kg. A statistically significant increase of ALA was found in adipose tissue and in liver 4 h after the administration of 1 g/kg of ALA whereas higher doses (2.5-5 g/kg) did not produce any significant changes. Concerning linoleic acid (-6) no significant increased concentrations were found in serum at the three doses studied confirming that flaxseed oil is mainly a source of -3 fatty acids
Flaxseed oil supplementation increases plasma and tissue concentrations of W3 fatty acids in rats.
No full text-Linolenic acid (ALA) is a major dietary (-3) fatty acid. The essential fatty acids must be absorbed by food intake and play a very important role in the coagulation (inhibition of platelets aggregation) and in the inflammatory reaction (anti-inflammatory effects). In cardiovascular diseases, particularly in coronary diseases, studies demonstrated a decreased mortality in populations who eat an omega-3 rich diet or who take an omega-3 supplement.We studied the bioavailability of acute supplementation of scalar doses of flaxseed oil (Organic Oils–Perugia) by analysing the level of ALA (-3) and Linoleic acid (-6) in serum and tissues (adipose, liver and brain) of rats tested at 2-4-8-16 h after the administration. The amount of flaxseed oil administered by oral rate was 1.9, 4.7, 9.5 mL/kg corresponding to 1, 2.5, 5 g ALA/kg. Two techniques of lipid extraction were investigated to achieve maximal free fatty acids recovery in a reasonably short time. The corresponding fatty acid methyl esters obtained with direct methylation with MeOH/HCl, were quantified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) technique. GC-MS analyses were performed on a Gas-Chromatograph Varian 3400 on a HP-INNOWAX column (30 m x 0.25 mm; 0.25 m film thickness). Mass spectra were acquired on a Finnigan MAT SSQ 710A mass spectrometer in the electron impact (EI) mode with an ionization energy of 70 eV; the ion source temperature was 250°C, the filament current was 200 A, the conversion dynode power was –15.0 kV and electron multiplier voltage was 1500 V.Serum ALA levels at 1 g/kg after 2h in the flaxseed oil group (n=25) increased by 70% from 0.067 ± 0.007 to 0.096 ± 0.082 mg/mL (P<0.001 Anova) whereas no significant increase occurred in the flaxseed oil group at 2.5 g/kg (0.142 ± 0.071) or at 5 g/kg after 2 h (0.140 ± 0.106) when compared with the value obtained with 1 g/kg. ALA (1g/kg) significantly increased after 4 h in adipose tissue and in liver but also in this case at higher doses (2.5-5 g/kg) the concentration wasn’t increased. Concerning linoleic acid (-6) no significant increased concentrations were found in serum at the three doses studied confirming that flaxseed oil is a source of -3 fatty acids. These data suggested that there is a limiting step in the adsorption of these fatty acids and that there is no advantage to take more than 1 g/kg of ALA supplementation
HPLC analysis of essential fatty acids in rat plasma
No full textLinoleic acid (n-6 family) and -Linolenic acid (n-3 family) are two polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that are known as essential fatty acids and must be provided by diet.They play an important role in coagulation and inflammatory reactions; concerning cardiovascular diseases studies demonstrated a decreased mortality in populations who eat an omega-3 rich diet or who take an omega-3 supplement.This paper deals with HPLC analysis of linoleic acid and linolenic acid in rat plasma in order to investigate the effect of flaxseed oil supplementation on plasma levels of these essential fatty acids.HPLC procedures are recommended for accurately quantifying of thermally labile moieties like polyunsaturated fatty acids; nevertheless a derivatization step is required as these analytes are lacking both in chromophore and fluorophore group and cannot therefore be detected at sufficiently low concentrations.In this work, p-bromophenacyl bromide is used as UV-derivatizing agent followed by HPLC/UV on C18 reversed phase column. The mobile phase gradient was studied in order to obtain a complete separation for the anaytes and the internal standard from matrix components.Concerning plasma sample clean-up, existing techniques of lipid extraction were tested and modified to achieve maximal free fatty acids recovery in a reasonable time.Studies on rats fed with flaxseed oil are currently in progress in order to evaluate how the chronic supplementation can increase plasma levels of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids
Key enabling technologies for point-of-care diagnostics
No full textA major trend in biomedical engineering is the development of reliable, self-contained point-of-care (POC) devices for diagnostics and in-field assays. The new generation of such platforms increasingly addresses the clinical and environmental needs. Moreover, they are becoming more and more integrated with everyday objects, such as smartphones, and their spread among unskilled common people, has the power to improve the quality of life, both in the developed world and in low-resource settings. The future success of these tools will depend on the integration of the relevant key enabling technologies on an industrial scale (microfluidics with microelectronics, highly sensitive detection methods and low-cost materials for easy-to-use tools). Here, recent advances and perspectives will be reviewed across the large spectrum of their applications
HIGH SECURITY CLOSED DEVICES ARE EFFICIENT AND SAFE FOR VITRIFICATION TO PROTECT HUMAN OOCYTES FROM THE RISK OF VIRAL CONTAMINATION ESPECIALLY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
No full textOn the Dynamic Performance of the Santa Maria Maddalena Church, Ischia Island (Italy): Numerical and Experimental Comparative Analysis
No full textAfter the seismic event of August 21st, 2017 that hit the Ischia Island (Italy), in-situ surveys were carried out on several masonry churches located in the island in order to assess the damage induced by the earthquake. Among the inspected churches, a very interesting case study is represented by the Santa Maria Maddalena Church, located on the hill of Casamicciola Terme, close to the epicentre. The church was built in 1896 with a ‘mixed’ structure, made of yellow tuff masonry walls strengthened by iron profiles in its main body and by wooden elements in its back part. After the seismic event, in addition to a detailed survey of the church, thermography imaging and in-situ dynamic tests under operational conditions were carried out. The paper describes the experimental procedures adopted during the tests and the results in terms of experimentally identified fundamental modal parameters. An attempt of correlating the experimental results with those obtained from a finite element numerical model of the only church façade is carried out. The comparison evidences some discrepancies between the dynamic features of the single façade and the whole church. This confirms that the church is characterized by a ‘box behaviour’, most likely favoured by the presence of the iron frames, and, thus, the behaviour of the single façade cannot be considered independent of that of the whole church
Congenital Hypopigmentary Disorders with Multiorgan Impairment: A Case Report and an Overview on Gray Hair Syndromes
No full textThe term congenital hypopigmentary disorders refers to a wide group of heterogeneous hereditary diseases, clinically characterized by inborn pigmentary defects of the iris, hair, and/or skin. They include Gray Hair Syndromes (GHSs), a rare group of autosomal recessive genodermatosis hallmarked by inborn silvery gray hair. GHSs encompass Griscelli, Chediak–Higashi, Elejalde, and Cross syndromes, which are all characterized by a broad spectrum of severe multisystem disorders, including neurological, ocular, skeletal, and immune system impairment. In this manuscript, we describe in detail the clinical, trichoscopic, and genetic features of a rare case of Griscelli syndrome; moreover, we provide an overview of all the GHSs known to date. Our report highlights how an accurate clinical examination with noninvasive methods, like trichoscopy, may play a crucial rule in diagnosis of rare and potentially lethal genetic syndromes such as Griscelli syndrome, in which timely diagnosis and therapy may modify the clinical course, quality of life, and likelihood of survival
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