Università Campus Bio-Medico

About: Università Campus Bio-Medico is a education organization based out in Rome, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 2829 authors who have published 8519 publications receiving 193689 citations. The organization is also known as: Universita Campus Bio-Medico & Campus Bio-Medico University.

Restoring Natural Sensory Feedback in Real-Time Bidirectional Hand Prostheses

Abstract: Hand loss is a highly disabling event that markedly affects the quality of life. To achieve a close to natural replacement for the lost hand, the user should be provided with the rich sensations that we naturally perceive when grasping or manipulating an object. Ideal bidirectional hand prostheses should involve both a reliable decoding of the user's intentions and the delivery of nearly "natural" sensory feedback through remnant afferent pathways, simultaneously and in real time. However, current hand prostheses fail to achieve these requirements, particularly because they lack any sensory feedback. We show that by stimulating the median and ulnar nerve fascicles using transversal multichannel intrafascicular electrodes, according to the information provided by the artificial sensors from a hand prosthesis, physiologically appropriate (near-natural) sensory information can be provided to an amputee during the real-time decoding of different grasping tasks to control a dexterous hand prosthesis. This feedback enabled the participant to effectively modulate the grasping force of the prosthesis with no visual or auditory feedback. Three different force levels were distinguished and consistently used by the subject. The results also demonstrate that a high complexity of perception can be obtained, allowing the subject to identify the stiffness and shape of three different objects by exploiting different characteristics of the elicited sensations. This approach could improve the efficacy and "life-like" quality of hand prostheses, resulting in a keystone strategy for the near-natural replacement of missing hands.

TP53 mutations and survival in squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Abstract: Background The abrogation of function of the tumor-suppressor protein p53 as a result of mutation of its gene, TP53, is one of the most common genetic alterations in cancer cells. We evaluated TP53 mutations and survival in patients with squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Methods A total of 560 patients with squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck who were treated surgically with curative intent were enrolled in our prospective multicenter, 7-year study. TP53 mutations were analyzed in DNA from the tumor specimens with the use of the Affymetrix p53 chip and the Surveyor DNA endonuclease and denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography. Mutations were classified into two groups, disruptive and nondisruptive, according to the degree of disturbance of protein structure predicted from the crystal structure of the p53–DNA complexes. TP53 mutational status was compared with clinical outcome. Results TP53 mutations were found in tumors from 224 of 420 patients (53.3%). As compared with wild-...

Randomized Trial of High Loading Dose of Clopidogrel for Reduction of Periprocedural Myocardial Infarction in Patients Undergoing Coronary Intervention Results From the ARMYDA-2 (Antiplatelet therapy for Reduction of MYocardial Damage during Angioplasty) Study

Abstract: Background— Aggressive platelet inhibition is crucial to reduce myocardial injury and early cardiac events after coronary intervention. Although observational data have suggested that pretreatment with a high loading dose of clopidogrel may be more effective than a conventional dose, this hypothesis has never been tested in a randomized trial. Methods and Results— A total of 255 patients scheduled to undergo percutaneous coronary intervention were randomized to a 600-mg (n=126) or 300-mg (n=129) loading regimen of clopidogrel given 4 to 8 hours before the procedure. Creatine kinase MB, troponin I, and myoglobin levels were measured at baseline and at 8 and 24 hours after intervention. The primary end point was the 30-day occurrence of death, myocardial infarction (MI), or target vessel revascularization. The primary end point occurred in 4% of patients in the high loading dose versus 12% of those in the conventional loading dose group (P=0.041) and was due entirely to periprocedural MI. Peak values of all...

Mechanisms of diabetes mellitus-induced bone fragility

Abstract: The risk of fragility fractures is increased in patients with either type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) or type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Although BMD is decreased in T1DM, BMD in T2DM is often normal or even slightly elevated compared with an age-matched control population. However, in both T1DM and T2DM, bone turnover is decreased and the bone material properties and microstructure of bone are altered; the latter particularly so when microvascular complications are present. The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying bone fragility in diabetes mellitus are complex, and include hyperglycaemia, oxidative stress and the accumulation of advanced glycation endproducts that compromise collagen properties, increase marrow adiposity, release inflammatory factors and adipokines from visceral fat, and potentially alter the function of osteocytes. Additional factors including treatment-induced hypoglycaemia, certain antidiabetic medications with a direct effect on bone and mineral metabolism (such as thiazolidinediones), as well as an increased propensity for falls, all contribute to the increased fracture risk in patients with diabetes mellitus.

Randomized Trial of Atorvastatin for Reduction of Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery Results of the ARMYDA-3 (Atorvastatin for Reduction of MYocardial Dysrhythmia After cardiac surgery) Study

Abstract: Background— Atrial fibrillation (AF) after cardiac surgery is associated with increased risk of complications, length of stay, and cost of care. Observational evidence suggests that patients who have undergone previous statin therapy have a lower incidence of postoperative AF. We tested this observation in a randomized, controlled trial. Methods and Results— Two hundred patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass, without previous statin treatment or history of AF, were enrolled. Patients were randomized to atorvastatin (40 mg/d, n=101) or placebo (n=99) starting 7 days before operation. The primary end point was incidence of postoperative AF; secondary end points were length of stay, 30-day major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events, and postoperative C-reactive protein (CRP) variations. Atorvastatin significantly reduced the incidence of AF versus placebo (35% versus 57%, P=0.003). Accordingly, length of stay was longer in the placebo versus atorvastatin arm (6.9±1.4 v...