Ricerc@Sapienza

BACKGROUND: Despite advances in pharmacotherapy of lipid disorders, many dyslipidemic patients do not attain sufficient lipid lowering to mitigate risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Several classes of novel lipid-lowering agents are being evaluated to reduce atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk.

Background: Vena cava anomalies are a rare group of anatomical variations due to an incorrect development of the
superior or inferior vena cava during fetal life. They generally show no clinical relevance and the diagnosis is done due
to the association with congenital heart diseases in most of cases. However, preoperative identification of these anomalies
is mandatory for surgeons to proper surgical planning. If not recognized, lethal complications may occur, as already reported
in literature.

PURPOSE:
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of the aortic bifurcation (AB) morphological characteristics, analyzed on computed tomography angiography (CTA), on outcomes of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs), treated by endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) in a single-center experience.

Background: The deficiency of α1-antitrypsin (AAT) is secondary to misfolding and polymerization of the abnormal Z-AAT in liver cells and is associated with lung emphysema. Alveolar macrophages (AMs) produce AAT; however, it is not known whether Z-AAT can polymerize in AMs, further decreasing lung AAT and promoting lung inflammation. Our intention was to investigate whether AAT polymerizes in human AMs and to study the possible relation between polymerization and degree of lung inflammation.

Evolutionary pressure produced 2 master regulators of physiological homeostasis: the nervous system and the immune system. The nervous system evolved to integrate physiological functions and control changes in homeostasis. Neural signals establish reflex responses, perceive disturbances in the environment (internal or external), and elicit activation of the afferent arc (ie, the neural circuit that transfers information from the periphery to the brain).

Objective- EMILIN-1 (elastin microfibrils interface located protein-1) protein inhibits pro-TGF-? (transforming growth factor-?) proteolysis and limits TGF-? bioavailability in vascular extracellular matrix. Emilin1-/- null mice display increased vascular TGF-? signaling and are hypertensive. Because EMILIN-1 is expressed in vessels from embryonic life to adulthood, we aimed at unravelling whether the hypertensive phenotype of Emilin1-/- null mice results from a developmental defect or lack of homeostatic role in the adult.

This editorial refers to ‘Glucose is preferentially utilized for biomass synthesis in pressure-overloaded hearts: evidence from fatty acid-binding protein-4 and -5 knockout mice’ by Y. Umbarawan et al., pp. 1132–1144.

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the degree of glycaemic control and the frequency of diabetic complications in Italian people with diabetes who were treated with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII).