Minerva medica
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This retrospective study evaluated the epidemiology of burn injuries, due to paint thinner ignition, in patients treated at the burn units of a university hospital network. ⋯ Paint thinner ignition may cause excessive burns with high mortality rates. Its common misuse in starting stove fires by persons living in urban areas should be prevented immediately.
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The recent rediscovery of the natural traditional medical sciences has contributed to improve the treatment of the human diseases and, in particular, it has been shown that the pharmacological approach is not the only possible strategy in the treatment of nausea and vomiting, since bioenergetic approaches, such as acupressure and acupuncture, may also counteract the onset of vomiting due to different causes. Previous preliminary clinical studies had already suggested a possible efficacy of acupressure also in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced vomiting resistant to the classical antiemetic drugs. The aim of this study was to confirm these preliminary data. ⋯ This study confirms previous preliminary clinical results, which had already suggested the potential efficacy of acupressure in the treatment of vomiting due to cancer chemotherapy. Therefore, acupressure may be successfully included within the therapeutic strategies of cancer chemotherapy-induced vomiting.
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Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most prevalent, potentially lethal monogenic disorder. Over the past two decades, its study has yielded remarkable progress. ⋯ The large inter- and intra-familial variability, explained to a large extent by genetic heterogeneity and modifier genes, is now better appreciated. Increased understanding of the progression of the disease and of its underlying genetic, molecular and cellular mechanisms have laid the foundations for the development of potentially effective therapies and clinical trials.
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Alopecia still remains one of the most untreatable side-effects induced by cancer chemotherapy. According to the phytotherapeutic tradition, Panicum Miliaceum has been proven to be effective in the prevention of hair loss for different reasons. At present, however, there are no data about its possible efficacy in the treatment of cancer chemotherapy-induce alopecia. The aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy of Panicum Miliaceum in cancer patients treated with the most potent chemotherapeutic drugs in terms of hair loss, consisting of cisplatin (CDDP) and anthracyclines. ⋯ This preliminary study would suggest that the concomitant treatment with Panicum Miliaceum may be effective in preventing hair loss induced by CDDP-containing chemotherapies, whereas the benefit was lower in patients treated with anthracyclines. Future randomized studies will be necessary to confirm these preliminary
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The kidney is commonly affected in thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), a multi-system disorder with microvascular thrombosis of the capillaries and arterioles. Nevertheless, due to difference in its diagnostic criteria, the frequency and severity of renal dysfunction in TTP remains controversial. Recent studies indicate that the severe deficiency of a von Willebrand factor (VWF) cleaving protease, ADAMTS13, is the main cause of platelet thrombosis in TTP; it is now possible to define TTP at the molecular level. ⋯ Patients with TTP, particularly of the hereditary type, may develop chronic renal failure. This complication may be a consequence of repeated insults by overt or subclinical microvascular thrombosis to the kidney, or it may have a separate cause. Therapy of hereditary TTP should aim not only to prevent acute exacerbations but also to minimize the risk of irreversible renal injury.