How to cite this article: d'Onofrio F, Neri L, Neri G. Vertical saccades during horizontal head i... more How to cite this article: d'Onofrio F, Neri L, Neri G. Vertical saccades during horizontal head impulses: a sign of posterior semicircular canal hypofunction.
A correlation was established between snoring and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Althou... more A correlation was established between snoring and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Although this association is highly prevalent in the general population, OSAS remains largely undiagnosed. The STOP-BANG Questionnaire (SBQ) consists of simple questions with dichotomous answers (yes/no). It is utilized for the preoperative clinical assessment of anesthesiological risk in patients with suspected OSAS, and positive response to ≥3 questions reinforces the diagnostic suspicion. The SBQ survey during an ENT visit in a patient with a rupture may be a reliable, fast, concise, and easy-to-use screening tool to diagnose OSAS. The present study aimed to evaluate the predictability of SBQ during an ENT visit and compare it with the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) in patients undergoing nocturnal cardiorespiratory monitoring, a gold standard for the diagnosis of OSAS. A population of roncopathic subjects was evaluated using SBQ, ENT assessment, and night-time cardiorespiratory monitoring. SBQ was administered by the ENT specialist during the first visit in the presence of the bed partner. A total of 98 snoring subjects were evaluated. A significant linear correlation was established between AHI and the number of positive responses to SBQ. The present study demonstrated that SBQ can be employed for the diagnosis of OSAS in roncopathic population. Also, a linear correlation was found between the SBQ score and the OSAS grade based on the AHI. The SBQ administered by the ENT specialist is a rapid and reliable screening tool, capable of reducing the national health costs through early and targeted diagnosis.
Since its apomorphic appearance in 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus type 2 (SA... more Since its apomorphic appearance in 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nowadays circulates as a plesiomorphic human virus in several synapomorphic variants. The respiratory tract is the most important site of infection, the viral effects in the lungs are well described, and more than half of the patients could develop shortness of breath and dyspnea and require ventilatory support. The physiological sign of this condition is the decrease in the partial pressure of oxygen in the blood, leading to acute hypoxia, which could be a factor in the disease. In severe patients, we recorded several physiological parameters: breath frequency (BF), partial pressure of oxygen in the blood (pO2), partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the blood (pCO2), hemoglobin (Hb), heart rate (HR), and blood pressure in correlation with the olfactory threshold. We found significant correlations between reduced olfactory threshold with pO2 and hemoglobin levels, changes in he...
A Nasal Provocation Test allows the differentiation of allergic and non-allergic rhinitis, but it... more A Nasal Provocation Test allows the differentiation of allergic and non-allergic rhinitis, but it is difficult and expensive. Therefore, nasal cytology is taking hold as an alternative. We carried out a cross-sectional study, including 29 patients with persistent rhinitis according to ARIA definition and negative skin prick tests. Nasal symptoms were scored from 0 to 5 using a visual analogue scale, and patients underwent blood tests to investigate blood cell count (particularly eosinophilia and basophilia), to analyze serum total and specific IgE and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), and to perform nasal cytology. We performed a univariate logistical analysis to evaluate the association between total serum IgE, serum eosinophilia, basophils, and ECP and the presence of eosinophils in the nasal mucosa, and a multivariate logistic model in order to weight the single variable on the presence of eosinophils to level of the nasal mucosa. A statistically significant association between ...
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an increasingly recognized disorder in children. Adenotonsillect... more Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an increasingly recognized disorder in children. Adenotonsillectomy is the primary surgical treatment for OSA in children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy (ATH). We present the case of an obese 4-year-old boy hospitalized for severe desaturation during sleep and severe ATH. Nasal steroid therapy proved ineffective with persistent symptoms. Polygraphy documented severe OSA with an apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) equal to 11. Tonsillectomy resulted in prompt symptom improvement and a substantial reduction of the AHI (2.2). In this case, tonsillectomy alone resulted effective in treating OSA, despite obesity. We concluded that the presence of obesity should not postpone/exclude surgical treatment of preschool children for whom ATH is the most important cause of OSA.
Journal of Microbial & Biochemical Technology, 2019
Background: Chronic atypical oropharyngeal disease in adults, accompanied with chronic cough, can... more Background: Chronic atypical oropharyngeal disease in adults, accompanied with chronic cough, can occur at any age manifesting itself with different grade evolutive diseases. Often their pathogenesis is attributed to gastroesophageal reflux, to virosis or to unspecified immune deficiencies but some clinical aspects, such as the simultaneous presence of urinary disorders, the temporal scanning of the recurrence and the reduced response to antibiotic therapy, suggests a different or a superimposed pathology. Methods: The present study was carried out to assess retrospectively biopsy and biological materials from a population afflicted by atypical recurrent pharyngitis, presenting a âwhite lineâ clinical sign into the context of respiratory difficulties, manifesting chronic choking cough (CCC), laryngopharyngeal (LPR) and gastroesophageal (GERD) reflux diseases. This population, already clinically, endoscopically and histologically characterized, was newly studied following the mic...
Journal of biological regulators and homeostatic agents
Conditions of stress and anxiety have complex interactions with insufficient vitamin intake and m... more Conditions of stress and anxiety have complex interactions with insufficient vitamin intake and malnutrition. This study, based on literature research in Medline, analyzes the inter-relationship between vitamins and stress. This report concerns a number of vitamins that have been receiving much attention in earlier reviews of the literature, for their potential to protect against stress-related events, and focus is placed upon recent findings.
International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology, 2007
Chemokines are inflammatory proteins acting via G-protein coupled chemokine receptors that trigge... more Chemokines are inflammatory proteins acting via G-protein coupled chemokine receptors that trigger different signaling pathways. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (CCL2/MCP-1) and regulated on activation, normal T expressed and secreted (CCL5/RANTES) are the two major members of the CC chemokine beta subfamily. The roles of RANTES and MCP-1 are emerging in regulating the recruitment of inflammatory cells into tissue during inflammation. The inhibition of MCP-1 and RANTES with corresponding antibodies or other inhibitors may provide benefits in different clinical scenarios including cancer, inflammation, CNS disorders, parasitic disease, autoimmune and heart diseases. RANTES and MCP-1 may represent targets for diagnostic procedures and therapeutic intervention, and may be useful as a prognostic factor in the above diseases.
International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology, 2008
The tridecapeptide neurotensin (NT) acts in the mammalian brain as a primary neurotransmitter or ... more The tridecapeptide neurotensin (NT) acts in the mammalian brain as a primary neurotransmitter or neuromodulator of classical neurotransmitters. Morphological and functional in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated the existence of close interactions between NT and dopamine both in limbic and in striatal brain regions. Additionally, biochemical and neurochemical evidence indicates that in these brain regions NT also plays a crucial role in the regulation of the aminoacidergic signalling. Immune cells, such as lymphocytes, macrophages and mast cells are reported to be activated by neuropeptides, such as neurotensin; this activation leads to cytokine and immunoglobulin production. In addition, neurotensin increases calcium level and the production of nitric oxide, therefore neurotensin is deeply involved in immunity and inflammation but its real function still remains to be elucidated.
The most serious complications of total thyroidectomy, in cases of widespread and invasive diseas... more The most serious complications of total thyroidectomy, in cases of widespread and invasive diseases, are mainly hypoparathyroidism and laryngeal inferior nerve palsy. Lesions of the external branch of superior laryngeal nerve instead, although less obvious than the those caused by the recurrent laryngeal nerve lesions, have been taken less into consideration. The frequency of this lesion varies from 14% to 20% of cases, although in reality it is underestimated; in fact, on the one hand it is difficult to assess this, and on the other, post-thyroidectomy dysphonia is often considered inevitable. In the present retrospective research, 15 thyroidectomized patients (4 male, 11 female), have been subjected to qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the voice. Of these, 7 had a nerve lesion, while 8 did not. all the patients received a self-evaluation voice questionnaire (VHI). In all cases, a videolaryngostroboscopy has been carried out and the voice acoustic features examined through a spectrographic analysis. The results showed that removal of the thyroid, at the end of a 12-month post-surgery period, still causes an impact on the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the vocal function, whether the superior larynx nerve was injured or not. The majority of the patients, in both groups, reported that their voice had worsened in quality and durability. Hence, we have shown that the patients with upper larynx nerve lesion have an alteration of F0, show a lower energy level and a modified spectrographic quality compared to patients without injury. This low voice is often considered by patients as a normal consequence of thyroid surgery. The present research confirms that the attempt to identify and protect the superior laryngeal nerve is essential to prevent post-thyroidectomy dysphonia, but this is not sufficient to obtain the best results because of the existence of muscular and psychogenic factors that reduce the still voice capacity of the patient.
Mast cells reside in connective tissues and are widely recognized as effector cells important in ... more Mast cells reside in connective tissues and are widely recognized as effector cells important in innate and acquired immunity. These cells are the only ones capable of storing preformed TNFα in their cytoplasmatic granules and release upon activation. TNF-alpha is a potent multifunctional cytokine involved in autoimmune diseases, cancer, allergy, and acute and chronic inflammation. In this study, we revisit the interrelationship between TNFα and mast cells.
Facial nerve palsy following middle ear surgery is a terriblee complication for every otology sur... more Facial nerve palsy following middle ear surgery is a terriblee complication for every otology surgeon. Generally this happens due to identifiable causes like surgical trauma or locall anaesthetic use. It is uncommon to see facial nerve palsyy more than 72 hours following the surgery. In this study wee report two cases of facial nerve paralysis appearing 111 and 5 days following a successful tympano-mastoid surgery and we performed a Viral screening for Herpes Viruss type 1 for to confirm the viral aetiology of the Delayed Facial Paralysis. When an ipsilateral facial nerve palsy appears more than 72 hours after an uneventful middle earr procedure, without symptoms of any infection, a viral reac-tivation must be suspected.. EuroMediterranean Biomedical Journal
The nasal respiratory mucosa plays a key role in conditioning the inhaled air and in regulating t... more The nasal respiratory mucosa plays a key role in conditioning the inhaled air and in regulating the immune response against foreign particles. Many authors recom- mend mucosal sparing techniques for the surgical management of the inferior turbinate hypertrophy, such as laser surgery, radiofrequency electrocautery, cryosurgery, etc. In spite of their conservative purposes, ultrastructural studies demonstrate that these methods produce irreversible changes in the nasal mucosa. The aim of this study was to analyze ultrastructural features of the healing process after Microde- brider Assisted Turbinoplasty, alternative procedure that provides a radical interven- tion with removal of both mucosal and submucosal soft tissues of the inferior turbi- nate. Nasal mucosa biopsies from 7 patients (mean age 42+10) affected with inferior turbinate hypertrophy were taken before operation and 4 months after surgery and compared with 2 unaffected controls of the same age. Preoperative samples, routi...
The efficacy of an eutectic mixture of local anesthetics (lidocaine and prilocaine) in ointment f... more The efficacy of an eutectic mixture of local anesthetics (lidocaine and prilocaine) in ointment for topical use (EMLA) in the treatment of post-tonsillectomy pain in both pediatric and adult patients was evaluated. Ninety patients affected by recurring tonsillitis and refractory to antibiotic therapy were submitted to tonsillectomy by dissection. Of the ninety patients 45 random subjects received topical treatment and the remaining 45 did not receive any treatment in the emptied tonsillar compartment. Pain intensity was evaluated at 3, 6 and 9 hours after surgical treatment using a visual subjective evaluation scale (VAS for adults and FES for children). The percentage of adults who referred pain of minor intensity was greater in the treated patients than in the controls: 51.4% vs 14.3% (p<0.001) at the third hour, 71.4% vs 2.9% (p<0.001) at the sixth hour and 88.6% vs 14.3% (p<0.001) at the ninth hour. In the pediatric groups, 80.0% of the treated subjects referred moderat...
IgE is an important marker for allergy and plays a central role in the induction of allergic dise... more IgE is an important marker for allergy and plays a central role in the induction of allergic diseases through its binding of the high affinity receptor on mast cells. Mast cells can influence B cell survival, proliferation and differentiation into CD138+cells. Among TH2 cytokines, interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 are responsible for class-switching in B cells which resolves in production of allergen-specific IgE antibodies that bind to specific receptor on mast cells. IgE synthesis by B cells is regulated by CD40 ligand, IL-4 and interferon-gamma, therefore inhibition of B cell antigen-specific IgE may prevent the cleavage of CD23 from B cells, having a therapeutic impact which also includes the removal of circulating free IgE, omalizumab, corticosteroids, mast cell stabilizers, leukotriene receptor antagonist, and others. B cell differentiation into IgE-producing cells requires two signals provided by TH2 cells and IL-4, however IL-4, IL-1 and IL-10 as well as several hormones are crit...
Journal of biological regulators and homeostatic agents
The main problem arising from tinnitus is the disturbance it causes in day-to-day life and distur... more The main problem arising from tinnitus is the disturbance it causes in day-to-day life and disturbance in sleep leading to fatigue and general discomfort. We attempted to study the effect of melatonin in conjunction with Sulodexide as a treatment method for tinnitus and evaluate its effectiveness. We studied 102 patients suffering from tinnitus with a Prospective Randomised Controlled Study conducted in a tertiary care ENT department. After randomisation, 34 patients were treated with melatonin and Sulodexide, another 34 were treated with melatonin alone, and the remaining 34 (control group) were managed without therapy in order to evaluate spontaneous variations in quality of tinnitus. Patients were assessed prospectively with Tinnitus Handicap Inventory and Acufenometry both pre-treatment and post-treatment. Among the patients we studied, we found better results with both Tinnitus Handicap Inventory and Acufenometry in the group who received melatonin and Sulodexide as against mel...
How to cite this article: d'Onofrio F, Neri L, Neri G. Vertical saccades during horizontal head i... more How to cite this article: d'Onofrio F, Neri L, Neri G. Vertical saccades during horizontal head impulses: a sign of posterior semicircular canal hypofunction.
A correlation was established between snoring and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Althou... more A correlation was established between snoring and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Although this association is highly prevalent in the general population, OSAS remains largely undiagnosed. The STOP-BANG Questionnaire (SBQ) consists of simple questions with dichotomous answers (yes/no). It is utilized for the preoperative clinical assessment of anesthesiological risk in patients with suspected OSAS, and positive response to ≥3 questions reinforces the diagnostic suspicion. The SBQ survey during an ENT visit in a patient with a rupture may be a reliable, fast, concise, and easy-to-use screening tool to diagnose OSAS. The present study aimed to evaluate the predictability of SBQ during an ENT visit and compare it with the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) in patients undergoing nocturnal cardiorespiratory monitoring, a gold standard for the diagnosis of OSAS. A population of roncopathic subjects was evaluated using SBQ, ENT assessment, and night-time cardiorespiratory monitoring. SBQ was administered by the ENT specialist during the first visit in the presence of the bed partner. A total of 98 snoring subjects were evaluated. A significant linear correlation was established between AHI and the number of positive responses to SBQ. The present study demonstrated that SBQ can be employed for the diagnosis of OSAS in roncopathic population. Also, a linear correlation was found between the SBQ score and the OSAS grade based on the AHI. The SBQ administered by the ENT specialist is a rapid and reliable screening tool, capable of reducing the national health costs through early and targeted diagnosis.
Since its apomorphic appearance in 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus type 2 (SA... more Since its apomorphic appearance in 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nowadays circulates as a plesiomorphic human virus in several synapomorphic variants. The respiratory tract is the most important site of infection, the viral effects in the lungs are well described, and more than half of the patients could develop shortness of breath and dyspnea and require ventilatory support. The physiological sign of this condition is the decrease in the partial pressure of oxygen in the blood, leading to acute hypoxia, which could be a factor in the disease. In severe patients, we recorded several physiological parameters: breath frequency (BF), partial pressure of oxygen in the blood (pO2), partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the blood (pCO2), hemoglobin (Hb), heart rate (HR), and blood pressure in correlation with the olfactory threshold. We found significant correlations between reduced olfactory threshold with pO2 and hemoglobin levels, changes in he...
A Nasal Provocation Test allows the differentiation of allergic and non-allergic rhinitis, but it... more A Nasal Provocation Test allows the differentiation of allergic and non-allergic rhinitis, but it is difficult and expensive. Therefore, nasal cytology is taking hold as an alternative. We carried out a cross-sectional study, including 29 patients with persistent rhinitis according to ARIA definition and negative skin prick tests. Nasal symptoms were scored from 0 to 5 using a visual analogue scale, and patients underwent blood tests to investigate blood cell count (particularly eosinophilia and basophilia), to analyze serum total and specific IgE and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), and to perform nasal cytology. We performed a univariate logistical analysis to evaluate the association between total serum IgE, serum eosinophilia, basophils, and ECP and the presence of eosinophils in the nasal mucosa, and a multivariate logistic model in order to weight the single variable on the presence of eosinophils to level of the nasal mucosa. A statistically significant association between ...
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an increasingly recognized disorder in children. Adenotonsillect... more Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an increasingly recognized disorder in children. Adenotonsillectomy is the primary surgical treatment for OSA in children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy (ATH). We present the case of an obese 4-year-old boy hospitalized for severe desaturation during sleep and severe ATH. Nasal steroid therapy proved ineffective with persistent symptoms. Polygraphy documented severe OSA with an apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) equal to 11. Tonsillectomy resulted in prompt symptom improvement and a substantial reduction of the AHI (2.2). In this case, tonsillectomy alone resulted effective in treating OSA, despite obesity. We concluded that the presence of obesity should not postpone/exclude surgical treatment of preschool children for whom ATH is the most important cause of OSA.
Journal of Microbial & Biochemical Technology, 2019
Background: Chronic atypical oropharyngeal disease in adults, accompanied with chronic cough, can... more Background: Chronic atypical oropharyngeal disease in adults, accompanied with chronic cough, can occur at any age manifesting itself with different grade evolutive diseases. Often their pathogenesis is attributed to gastroesophageal reflux, to virosis or to unspecified immune deficiencies but some clinical aspects, such as the simultaneous presence of urinary disorders, the temporal scanning of the recurrence and the reduced response to antibiotic therapy, suggests a different or a superimposed pathology. Methods: The present study was carried out to assess retrospectively biopsy and biological materials from a population afflicted by atypical recurrent pharyngitis, presenting a âwhite lineâ clinical sign into the context of respiratory difficulties, manifesting chronic choking cough (CCC), laryngopharyngeal (LPR) and gastroesophageal (GERD) reflux diseases. This population, already clinically, endoscopically and histologically characterized, was newly studied following the mic...
Journal of biological regulators and homeostatic agents
Conditions of stress and anxiety have complex interactions with insufficient vitamin intake and m... more Conditions of stress and anxiety have complex interactions with insufficient vitamin intake and malnutrition. This study, based on literature research in Medline, analyzes the inter-relationship between vitamins and stress. This report concerns a number of vitamins that have been receiving much attention in earlier reviews of the literature, for their potential to protect against stress-related events, and focus is placed upon recent findings.
International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology, 2007
Chemokines are inflammatory proteins acting via G-protein coupled chemokine receptors that trigge... more Chemokines are inflammatory proteins acting via G-protein coupled chemokine receptors that trigger different signaling pathways. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (CCL2/MCP-1) and regulated on activation, normal T expressed and secreted (CCL5/RANTES) are the two major members of the CC chemokine beta subfamily. The roles of RANTES and MCP-1 are emerging in regulating the recruitment of inflammatory cells into tissue during inflammation. The inhibition of MCP-1 and RANTES with corresponding antibodies or other inhibitors may provide benefits in different clinical scenarios including cancer, inflammation, CNS disorders, parasitic disease, autoimmune and heart diseases. RANTES and MCP-1 may represent targets for diagnostic procedures and therapeutic intervention, and may be useful as a prognostic factor in the above diseases.
International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology, 2008
The tridecapeptide neurotensin (NT) acts in the mammalian brain as a primary neurotransmitter or ... more The tridecapeptide neurotensin (NT) acts in the mammalian brain as a primary neurotransmitter or neuromodulator of classical neurotransmitters. Morphological and functional in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated the existence of close interactions between NT and dopamine both in limbic and in striatal brain regions. Additionally, biochemical and neurochemical evidence indicates that in these brain regions NT also plays a crucial role in the regulation of the aminoacidergic signalling. Immune cells, such as lymphocytes, macrophages and mast cells are reported to be activated by neuropeptides, such as neurotensin; this activation leads to cytokine and immunoglobulin production. In addition, neurotensin increases calcium level and the production of nitric oxide, therefore neurotensin is deeply involved in immunity and inflammation but its real function still remains to be elucidated.
The most serious complications of total thyroidectomy, in cases of widespread and invasive diseas... more The most serious complications of total thyroidectomy, in cases of widespread and invasive diseases, are mainly hypoparathyroidism and laryngeal inferior nerve palsy. Lesions of the external branch of superior laryngeal nerve instead, although less obvious than the those caused by the recurrent laryngeal nerve lesions, have been taken less into consideration. The frequency of this lesion varies from 14% to 20% of cases, although in reality it is underestimated; in fact, on the one hand it is difficult to assess this, and on the other, post-thyroidectomy dysphonia is often considered inevitable. In the present retrospective research, 15 thyroidectomized patients (4 male, 11 female), have been subjected to qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the voice. Of these, 7 had a nerve lesion, while 8 did not. all the patients received a self-evaluation voice questionnaire (VHI). In all cases, a videolaryngostroboscopy has been carried out and the voice acoustic features examined through a spectrographic analysis. The results showed that removal of the thyroid, at the end of a 12-month post-surgery period, still causes an impact on the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the vocal function, whether the superior larynx nerve was injured or not. The majority of the patients, in both groups, reported that their voice had worsened in quality and durability. Hence, we have shown that the patients with upper larynx nerve lesion have an alteration of F0, show a lower energy level and a modified spectrographic quality compared to patients without injury. This low voice is often considered by patients as a normal consequence of thyroid surgery. The present research confirms that the attempt to identify and protect the superior laryngeal nerve is essential to prevent post-thyroidectomy dysphonia, but this is not sufficient to obtain the best results because of the existence of muscular and psychogenic factors that reduce the still voice capacity of the patient.
Mast cells reside in connective tissues and are widely recognized as effector cells important in ... more Mast cells reside in connective tissues and are widely recognized as effector cells important in innate and acquired immunity. These cells are the only ones capable of storing preformed TNFα in their cytoplasmatic granules and release upon activation. TNF-alpha is a potent multifunctional cytokine involved in autoimmune diseases, cancer, allergy, and acute and chronic inflammation. In this study, we revisit the interrelationship between TNFα and mast cells.
Facial nerve palsy following middle ear surgery is a terriblee complication for every otology sur... more Facial nerve palsy following middle ear surgery is a terriblee complication for every otology surgeon. Generally this happens due to identifiable causes like surgical trauma or locall anaesthetic use. It is uncommon to see facial nerve palsyy more than 72 hours following the surgery. In this study wee report two cases of facial nerve paralysis appearing 111 and 5 days following a successful tympano-mastoid surgery and we performed a Viral screening for Herpes Viruss type 1 for to confirm the viral aetiology of the Delayed Facial Paralysis. When an ipsilateral facial nerve palsy appears more than 72 hours after an uneventful middle earr procedure, without symptoms of any infection, a viral reac-tivation must be suspected.. EuroMediterranean Biomedical Journal
The nasal respiratory mucosa plays a key role in conditioning the inhaled air and in regulating t... more The nasal respiratory mucosa plays a key role in conditioning the inhaled air and in regulating the immune response against foreign particles. Many authors recom- mend mucosal sparing techniques for the surgical management of the inferior turbinate hypertrophy, such as laser surgery, radiofrequency electrocautery, cryosurgery, etc. In spite of their conservative purposes, ultrastructural studies demonstrate that these methods produce irreversible changes in the nasal mucosa. The aim of this study was to analyze ultrastructural features of the healing process after Microde- brider Assisted Turbinoplasty, alternative procedure that provides a radical interven- tion with removal of both mucosal and submucosal soft tissues of the inferior turbi- nate. Nasal mucosa biopsies from 7 patients (mean age 42+10) affected with inferior turbinate hypertrophy were taken before operation and 4 months after surgery and compared with 2 unaffected controls of the same age. Preoperative samples, routi...
The efficacy of an eutectic mixture of local anesthetics (lidocaine and prilocaine) in ointment f... more The efficacy of an eutectic mixture of local anesthetics (lidocaine and prilocaine) in ointment for topical use (EMLA) in the treatment of post-tonsillectomy pain in both pediatric and adult patients was evaluated. Ninety patients affected by recurring tonsillitis and refractory to antibiotic therapy were submitted to tonsillectomy by dissection. Of the ninety patients 45 random subjects received topical treatment and the remaining 45 did not receive any treatment in the emptied tonsillar compartment. Pain intensity was evaluated at 3, 6 and 9 hours after surgical treatment using a visual subjective evaluation scale (VAS for adults and FES for children). The percentage of adults who referred pain of minor intensity was greater in the treated patients than in the controls: 51.4% vs 14.3% (p<0.001) at the third hour, 71.4% vs 2.9% (p<0.001) at the sixth hour and 88.6% vs 14.3% (p<0.001) at the ninth hour. In the pediatric groups, 80.0% of the treated subjects referred moderat...
IgE is an important marker for allergy and plays a central role in the induction of allergic dise... more IgE is an important marker for allergy and plays a central role in the induction of allergic diseases through its binding of the high affinity receptor on mast cells. Mast cells can influence B cell survival, proliferation and differentiation into CD138+cells. Among TH2 cytokines, interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 are responsible for class-switching in B cells which resolves in production of allergen-specific IgE antibodies that bind to specific receptor on mast cells. IgE synthesis by B cells is regulated by CD40 ligand, IL-4 and interferon-gamma, therefore inhibition of B cell antigen-specific IgE may prevent the cleavage of CD23 from B cells, having a therapeutic impact which also includes the removal of circulating free IgE, omalizumab, corticosteroids, mast cell stabilizers, leukotriene receptor antagonist, and others. B cell differentiation into IgE-producing cells requires two signals provided by TH2 cells and IL-4, however IL-4, IL-1 and IL-10 as well as several hormones are crit...
Journal of biological regulators and homeostatic agents
The main problem arising from tinnitus is the disturbance it causes in day-to-day life and distur... more The main problem arising from tinnitus is the disturbance it causes in day-to-day life and disturbance in sleep leading to fatigue and general discomfort. We attempted to study the effect of melatonin in conjunction with Sulodexide as a treatment method for tinnitus and evaluate its effectiveness. We studied 102 patients suffering from tinnitus with a Prospective Randomised Controlled Study conducted in a tertiary care ENT department. After randomisation, 34 patients were treated with melatonin and Sulodexide, another 34 were treated with melatonin alone, and the remaining 34 (control group) were managed without therapy in order to evaluate spontaneous variations in quality of tinnitus. Patients were assessed prospectively with Tinnitus Handicap Inventory and Acufenometry both pre-treatment and post-treatment. Among the patients we studied, we found better results with both Tinnitus Handicap Inventory and Acufenometry in the group who received melatonin and Sulodexide as against mel...
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Papers by Giampiero Neri