University of Turin

About: University of Turin is a education organization based out in Turin, Piemonte, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 29607 authors who have published 77952 publications receiving 2480900 citations. The organization is also known as: Universita degli Studi di Torino & Università degli Studi di Torino.

Melusin, a muscle-specific integrin β1-interacting protein, is required to prevent cardiac failure in response to chronic pressure overload

Abstract: Cardiac hypertrophy is an adaptive response to a variety of mechanical and hormonal stimuli, and represents an early event in the clinical course leading to heart failure. By gene inactivation, we demonstrate here a crucial role of melusin, a muscle-specific protein that interacts with the integrin beta1 cytoplasmic domain, in the hypertrophic response to mechanical overload. Melusin-null mice showed normal cardiac structure and function in physiological conditions, but when subjected to pressure overload--a condition that induces a hypertrophic response in wild-type controls--they developed an abnormal cardiac remodeling that evolved into dilated cardiomyopathy and contractile dysfunction. In contrast, the hypertrophic response was identical in wild-type and melusin-null mice after chronic administration of angiotensin II or phenylephrine at doses that do not increase blood pressure--that is, in the absence of cardiac biomechanical stress. Analysis of intracellular signaling events induced by pressure overload indicated that phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK-3beta) was specifically blunted in melusin-null hearts. Thus, melusin prevents cardiac dilation during chronic pressure overload by specifically sensing mechanical stress.

Understanding Intentions in Social Interaction: The Role of the Anterior Paracingulate Cortex

Abstract: Neuroimaging studies have identified the anterior paracingulate cortex (PCC) as the key prefrontal region subserving theory of mind. We adopt an evolutionary perspective hypothesizing that, in response to the pressures of social complexity, a mechanism for manipulating information concerning social interaction has emerged in the anterior PCC. To date, neuroimaging studies have not properly distinguished between intentions of persons involved in social interactions and intentions of an isolated person. In two separate fMRI experiments, we demonstrated that the anterior PCC is not necessarily involved in the understanding of other people's intentions per se, but primarily in the understanding of the intentions of people involved in social interaction. Moreover, this brain region showed activation when a represented intention implies social interaction and therefore had not yet actually occurred. This result suggests that the anterior PCC is also involved in our ability to predict future intentional social interaction, based on an isolated agent's behavior. We conclude that distinct areas of the neural system underlying theory of mind are specialized in processing distinct classes of social stimuli.

The cut-off limits of the GH response to GH-releasing hormone-arginine test related to body mass index.

Abstract: Objective: The diagnosis of growth hormone (GH) deficiency (GHD) in adults is based on a reduced peak GH response to provocative tests, such as the insulin tolerance test (ITT) and the GH-releasing hormone-arginine (GHRH-ARG) test However, the cut-off limits of peak GH response in lean subjects are not reliable in obese patients; this is noteworthy since adult GHD is often associated with obesity Aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic cut-off limits of peak GH response to the GHRH-ARG test in overweight and obese as well as in lean population Design and methods: The GH responses to the GHRH-ARG test were studied in 322 patients with organic hypothalamic-pituitary disease and in 318 control subjects Patients were subdivided into two groups on the basis of the number of pituitary hormone deficits, except for GH deficiency: (a) patients with total pituitary hormone deficit (TPHD) and (b) patients without or with no more than two pituitary hormone deficits (PHD) Both patients and control subjects were divided into three subgroups according to body mass index (BMI): lean (BMI ,25kg/m 2 ), overweight (BMI $25 and ,30kg/m 2 ) and obese (BMI $30kg/m 2 ) TPHD patients were assumed to be GH deficient, whereas PHD patients may include subjects with either normal or impaired GH secretion The statistical analysis was carried out by the Receiver-Operating Characteristic curve analysis (Medcalc 72) The diagnostic cut-off points were calculated for lean, overweight and obese subjects to provide optimal separation of GH-deficient patients and control subjects according to two criteria: (1) a balance between high sensitivity and high specificity; (2) to provide the highest pair of sensitivity/specificity values for GH deficiency Results: In the lean population the best pair of values, with highest sensitivity as 987% and highest specificity as 837%, was found using a peak GH cut-off point of 115mg/l In the overweight population the best pair of values, 967 and 755%, respectively, was found using a peak GH cut-off point of 80mg/l In the obese population the best pair of values, 935 and 783%, respectively, was found using a peak GH cut-off point of 42mg/l Applying the above mentioned cut-off points, among PHD patients we found that 80 subjects (72%) were GHD whereas 31 (28%) had normal GH secretion Conclusions: In conclusion the GHRH-ARG test is a reliable tool for the diagnosis of adult GH deficiency in lean, overweight and obese patients, provided that specific BMI-related cut-off limits are assumed

Photodynamic therapy for chronic central serous chorioretinopathy.

Abstract: PurposeTo determine whether photodynamic therapy (PDT) is effective for treatment of chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC).MethodsSixteen eyes with chronic CSC and macular detachment documented by optical coherence tomography (OCT) received PDT guided by indocyanine green (ICG) angiography