1,721,029 research outputs found

    Metastasizing uterine tumor resembling ovarian sex cord tumor (UTROSCT)

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    An enigmatic category of uterine mesenchymal neoplasms is descriptively referred to as uterine tumors resembling sex cord-gonadal stromal tumor. First described by Clement and Scully in 1976, they were subsequently subcategorized in 1) endometrial stromal tumors with sex cord-like elements (ESTSCLE) and 2) mural uterine tumors resembling ovarian sex cord tumors (UTROSCT). In the first subcategory, the prognosis depends on the type, grade, and stage of the underlying stromal neoplasm, while in the second one, a low-grade malignant behavior has been postulated on the basis of occasional local recurrences. Here, the authors report a new case of metastasizing UTROSCT in an 83-year-old Caucasian woman, providing a literature review, and emphasizing its metastatic potential. This tumor entity shows a variable immunohistochemical profile with possible co-expression of sex cord (inhibin, calretinin, WT1, MART1/melanA), epithelial, smooth muscle (actin, caldesmon), and miscellaneous markers, such as estrogen or progesterone receptors. For this aberrant expression of immunohistochemical markers, the final diagnosis of metastatic UTROSCT appears a diagnostic challenge. Finally, the authors detected the cdkn2a (p16INK4a) expression in about half of the neoplastic cells; this finding suggests a possible involvement of the CDKN2A gene in the genesis of an aggressive tumor clone, as observed in other uterine sarcomas

    Abnormal immunothrombosis and lupus anticoagulant in a catastrophic COVID-19 recalling Asherson’s syndrome

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    Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a complex disease with many clinicopathological aspects, including abnormal immunothrombosis, and the full comprehension of its pathogenetic mechanisms is urgently required. Methods/Results: By means of a multidisciplinary approach, we here report a catastrophic COVID-19 in a 44-year-old Philippine male patient, discovered lupus anticoagulant (LAC)-positive shortly before death, occurred 8 days after hospitalization in a clinical scenario refractory to standard high acuity care recalling Asherson’s syndrome (catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome). Conclusion: A parallelism between this severe form of COVID-19 and Asherson’s syndrome can be so drawn. Both the diseases in fact exhibit hypercytokinemia, thrombotic microangiopathy, disseminated intravascular coagulation and multiple organ failure, they show a relationship with viral infections, and they are burdened by a high mortality rate. A genetic predisposition to develop these two overlapping conditions may be supposed

    Nucleoside‐modified messenger RNA COVID‐19 vaccine platform

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    On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic; from that date, the vaccine race has begun, and many technology platforms to develop a specific and effective COVID-19 vaccine have been launched in several clinical trials (protein subunit, RNA-based, DNA-based, replicating viral vector, nonreplicating viral vector, inactivated virus, live attenuated virus, and virus-like particle). Among the next-generation strategies, nucleoside-modified messenger RNA vaccines appear the most attractive, not only to counteract emerging pathogens but also for the possible applications in regenerative medicine and cancer therapy. However, exactly as all innovative drugs, they deserve careful pharmacovigilance in the short and long term

    Trends in the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy during the Summers of 2020 (before Mass Vaccination), 2021 (after Primary Mass Vaccination) and 2022 (after Booster Mass Vaccination): A Real-World Nationwide Study Based on a Population of 58.85 Million People

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    Like all RNA viruses, SARS-CoV-2 shows a high mutation rate, which has led to the emergence of new variants. Among them, Gamma and Delta developed at the turn of 2020–2021 in Amazonas and India, two ecoregions characterized by hot-humid weather, very similar to that of the summer season in Italy due to climate change, the first Western country to be hit hard by COVID-19 and to experience lockdown restrictions in a democratic framework of 58.85 million people. The aim of our research has been to evaluate the impact of climate on the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy during the summers of 2020 (before mass vaccination), 2021 (after primary mass vaccination) and 2022 (after booster mass vaccination), also taking into account the emergence of these two variants. Methods: During the state of national health emergency and the Draghi government, the Civil Defense Department released the aggregate data coming from the Ministry of Health, the Higher Institute of Health, the Independent Provinces and the Italian Regions daily, in order to inform about the pandemic situation in Italy. Among these data there were the number of deaths, hospitalizations in intensive care units (ICU), non-ICU patients, contagions and performed swabs. By means of a team effort, we have collected and elaborated all these data, comparing the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy during the summers of 2020 (following the nationwide lockdown), 2021 and 2022. Results: from the summer of 2020 to the summers of 2021 and 2022 all pandemic trend indicators have shown a sharp worsening in Italy. COVID-19 deaths increased by ≈298% and ≈834%, ICU hospitalizations by ≈386% and ≈310%, non-ICU hospitalizations by ≈224% and ≈600%, contagions by ≈627% and ≈6850% (i.e., ≈68.50 times), swabs by ≈354% and ≈370%, and the mean positivity rate passed from ≈1% to ≈2% and ≈20%, respectively. Conclusions: SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted in any climate, including areas with hot and humid weather, and the emergence of variants adapted to hot-humid climates may result in summer COVID-19 outbreaks, even in neither tropical nor subtropical countries. Although COVID-19 vaccines can confer cross-protection against newly emerging variants, this cross-immunity is naturally not absolute but limited, considering that vaccine protection wanes significantly after 6 months. It follows that a subject vaccinated at the beginning of the winter will not be completely covered in the height of the summer, and we should not forget the unvaccinated. As a final remark, the long and strict nationwide lockdown made it possible to flatten SARS-CoV-2 circulation and, therefore, its negative impact on Italy during the summer of 2020
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