Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Giuliano Rossi.
Recently the existence of bacterial cell-cell intercommunications, the so called "quorum sensing" systems, has been discovered and studied. The role that these systems play in the infections by Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and the promising therapeutic applications are briefly discussed.
The human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is a recently decribed virus, belonging to the family Paramyxoviridae, isolated from the respiratory tract of patients of all ages, but mostly in young children. Epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis and therapy of infections from hMPV are briefly discussed.
Recent studies on neuroprotection in ischemia have demonstrated that the activation of neuronal acid-sensing ion channels type 1 (ASIC-1) can lead to neuronal death. Ongoing studies on this subject show that ASIC-1 may be a new target for therapy of ischemic ictus.
Recently the angiogenic mechanism of platelet-derived growth factor-CC was discovered. This factor is capable of mobilize endothelial progenitor cells in ischemic conditions, and induce differentiation of bone marrow cells into endothelial cells. The possibility of modulating the activity of this factor may provide a new strategy for treating ischemic diseases.
Legionella species other than Legionella pneumophila may cause pneumonias and extrapulmonary infections. Most infections are nosocomial or observed in immunocompromised patients and often remain undiagnosed because of the failure of confirmatory culture methods. The therapy is based on macrolides and fluoroquinolones; rifampin and tetracycline are also used.
Persistently normal levels of alanin-aminotransferase are often found in patients with chronic hepatitis C. The role of liver biopsy and the effectiveness of the antiviral therapy with peg-interferon and ribavirin in these patients are briefly discussed.
The mounting diffusion of the resistance to antibiotics have fostered to study the polypeptides with antimicrobial properties contained in the respiratory secretions. The recent data on this subject are briefly summarized.
The proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells has an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The results of recent studies on drugs interfering on this process are briefly summarized.
Microorganisms attack and grow upon living as well inorganic surfaces, forming a "biofilm". Biofilms are a serious problem of public health, because biofilm-associated microorganisms exhibit increased resistance to antibiotics. The mechanisms of biofilm formation, the mechanisms of resistance and the possibilities of therapy are briefly summarized.
Recent studies on genetics and molecular biology have allowed the discovery of new therapies for breast cancer. Some possibilities of therapy of this tumor emerged from these discoveries are briefly discussed.
The central role of IgE in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma has induced to study the effects of a monoclonal antibody anti-IgE in this disease. The characteristics of this antibody and the early results of its use in bronchial asthma are briefly summarized.
The confirmation of the eradication of smallpox (WHO, 1980) brought to the interruption of smallpox vaccination. Recently, with the possibility of a bioterrorism use of smallpox, the problem of mass vaccination has reemerged. The proposals to tackle this problem are briefly reviewed.
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The most recent advances in the knowledge of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease have fostered the research of new and effective methods of prevention and therapy of this disease. The studies on the possibility of immunization for Alzheimer's disease are briefly summarized.