Francesco Caruso

Bio: Francesco Caruso is an academic researcher from Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico. The author has contributed to research in topics: Sleeve gastrectomy & Benzamide. The author has an hindex of 10, co-authored 26 publications receiving 540 citations. Previous affiliations of Francesco Caruso include Institut Gustave Roussy.

Strategies for Preventing Pseudomyxoma Peritonei After Resection of a Mucinous Neoplasm of the Appendix.

Abstract: Background/aim Considering the suspected link between mucinous neoplasm (MN) and pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP), one option could be to propose prophylactic hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) to selected patients in order to prevent the occurrence of PMP. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for developing PMP after curative surgery for a MN of the appendix. Patients and methods All consecutive patients referred to our single tertiary care cancer center between September 1992 and March 2014 for MN of the appendix, initially without PMP, were retrospectively studied. Patients who had received prophylactic intraperitoneal treatment were excluded from the analysis. Results Twenty-five patients with a median age of 51 (range=25-74) years were identified. At the initial appendectomy, 19 (76%) patients had a perforated MN. Nine of these patients (40%) exhibited disseminated-free acellular intraperitoneal mucin without PMP. Six (24%) patients had an unperforated MN without free intraperitoneal mucin. After a median follow-up of 50 months, 12 (52%) patients had developed PMP after a median time of 61 (range=13-121) months. Complete cytoreductive surgery plus HIPEC was possible in only seven (64%) out of these 12 patients. No factor reached statistical significance in predicting the occurrence of PMP but a trend was found in the case of perforated MN (p=0.068), associated with a 65% recurrence rate, compared to 17% without perforation. Conclusion An appendicular MN cannot be considered a benign occurrence because PMP is common after resection and can occur up to 10 years after the initial appendectomy. Patients should be systematically followed up to detect PMP as early as possible. Patients with a perforated MN could be at higher risk of developing PMP.

Bisphosphonate metal complexes as selective inhibitors of Trypanosoma cruzi farnesyl diphosphate synthase.

Abstract: In the search for a pharmacological answer to treat Chagas disease, eight metal complexes with two bioactive bisphosphonates, alendronate (Ale) and pamidronate (Pam), were described. Complexes of the formula [M2II(Ale)4(H2O)2]·2H2O, with M = Cu, Co, Mn, Ni, and ([CuPam]·H2O)n as well as [MII(Pam)2(H2O)2]·3H2O, with M = Co, Mn and Ni, were synthesized and fully characterized. Crystal structure of [Cu2II(Ale)4(H2O)2]·2H2O, [CoII(Pam)2(H2O)2] and [NiII(Pam)2(H2O)2] were solved by X-ray single crystal diffraction methods and the structures of [M2II(Ale)4(H2O)2]·2H2O complexes M = Co, Mn and Ni were studied by X-ray powder diffraction methods. All obtained complexes were active against the amastigote form of Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), etiological agent of Chagas disease. Most of them were more active than the corresponding free ligands showing no toxicity for mammalian cells. The main mechanism of the antiparasitic action of bisphosphonates, inhibition of parasitic farnesyl diphosphate synthase (TcFPPS), remains in the obtained metal complexes and an increase in the inhibiting enzyme levels was observed upon coordination. Observed enzymatic inhibition was selective for TcFPPS as the metal complexes showed no or little inhibition of human FPPS. Additionally, metal complexation might improve the bioavailability of the complexes through the hindrance of the phosphonate group's ionization at physiological pH and, eventually, through the ability of plasma proteins to work as complex transporters.

Biostimulants in Plant Science: A Global Perspective.

Abstract: This review presents a comprehensive and systematic study of the field of plant biostimulants and considers the fundamental and innovative principles underlying this technology. The elucidation of the biological basis of biostimulant function is a prerequisite for the development of science-based biostimulant industry and sound regulations governing these compounds. The task of defining the biological basis of biostimulants as a class of compounds, however, is made more complex by the diverse sources of biostimulants present in the market, which include bacteria, fungi, seaweeds, higher plants, animals and humate-containing raw materials, and the wide diversity of industrial processes utilized in their preparation. To distinguish biostimulants from the existing legislative product categories we propose the following definition of a biostimulant as ‘a formulated product of biological origin that improves plant productivity as a consequence of the novel or emergent properties of the complex of constituents, and not as a sole consequence of the presence of known essential plant nutrients, plant growth regulators, or plant protective compounds’. The definition provided here is important as it emphasizes the principle that biological function can be positively modulated through application of molecules, or mixtures of molecules, for which an explicit mode of action has not been defined. Given the difficulty in determining a ‘mode of action’ for a biostimulant, and recognizing the need for the market in biostimulants to attain legitimacy, we suggest that the focus of biostimulant research and validation should be upon proof of efficacy and safety and the determination of a broad mechanism of action, without a requirement for the determination of a specific mode of action. While there is a clear commercial imperative to rationalize biostimulants as a discrete class of products, there is also a compelling biological case for the science-based development of, and experimentation with biostimulants in the expectation that this may lead to the identification of novel biological molecules and phenomenon, pathways and processes, that would not have been discovered if the category of biostimulants did not exist, or was not considered legitimate.