Publications

Abstract Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was developed as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in many medical conditions, and its use is spreading as a predictor of postoperative outcome in orthopaedic surgery. The aim of this study is to investigate the improvement of NLR 24 hours after surgical intervention in a cohort of 91 patients (F/M = 68/23) with hip fracture who underwent femur intramedullary fixation. Patients were 84.7 ± 7.9 years old, and the mean hospital stay was 13.4 ± 4.7 days, with a mean delay to surgery of 1.9 ± 1.4 days. A significant increase in NLR between baseline (T0) and 24 hours after surgical intervention (T1) was observed in the study sample overall and on subgroup analysis by gender. Nevertheless, no significant effect of NLR on the length of hospital stay was observed.

Th17 cells are a proinflammatory subset of effector T cells that have been implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma. Their production of the cytokine IL-17 is known to induce local recruitment of neutrophils, but the direct impact of IL-17 on the lung epithelium is poorly understood. In this study, we describe a novel mouse model of spontaneous IL-17-driven lung inflammation that exhibits many similarities to asthma in humans. We have found that STAT3 hyperactivity in T lymphocytes causes an expansion of Th17 cells, which home preferentially to the lungs. IL-17 secretion then leads to neutrophil infiltration and lung epithelial changes, in turn leading to a chronic inflammatory state with increased mucus production and decreased lung function. We used this model to investigate the effects of IL-17 activity on airway epithelium and identified CXCL5 and MIP-2 as important factors in neutrophil recruitment. The neutralization of IL-17 greatly reduces pulmonary neutrophilia, underscoring a key role for IL-17 in promoting chronic airway inflammation. These findings emphasize the role of IL-17 in mediating neutrophil-driven pulmonary inflammation and highlight a new mouse model that may be used for the development of novel therapies targeting Th17 cells in asthma and other chronic pulmonary diseases.

We found regional differences in the mortality trends over 15 years. Although the coastal region experienced a downward trend, the highlands had an upward mortality trend in the entire study period. It is necessary to implement tailored public health interventions to reduce BC mortality in Peru.

Using a novel approach to investigate etiologic heterogeneity among NHL subtypes, we identified risk factors that were common among subtypes as well as risk factors that appeared to be distinct among individual or a few subtypes, suggesting both subtype-specific and shared underlying mechanisms. Further research is needed to test putative mechanisms, investigate other risk factors (eg, other infections, environmental exposures, and diet), and evaluate potential joint effects with genetic susceptibility.

The relationship between hormonal therapy for menopause (hormone replacement therapy, HRT) and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer was evaluated in a collaborative re-analysis of 4 European case-control studies, 2 conducted in Greece and 1 each in Italy and the United Kingdom, including a total of 1,470 ovarian cancer cases and 3,271 hospital controls. Odds ratios (ORs) for HRT use were derived after allowance for study centre, age, socio-economic level, parity, menopausal status, type of menopause, age at menopause and oral contraceptive use. Overall, 109 (8.0%) ovarian cancer cases and 146 (4.7%) controls had ever used HRT, corresponding to an adjusted OR of 1.71 (95% confidence interval 1.30-2.25). The point estimates of the OR were 1.77 in the first Greek study, 1.40 in the second Greek study, 1.66 in the Italian study and 1.68 in the British study. Adjustment for possible confounders, including menopausal status, type of menopause, age at menopause and oral contraceptive use, slightly increased the OR. Limiting the analysis to women with information on relevant aspects of HRT use revealed a weak positive association with duration and some evidence that the excess relative risk for ovarian cancer declined with time since last use. These findings are compatible with a promoting effect of HRT in ovarian carcinogenesis. It is also possible, however, that the positive association reflects chance or selective administration of HRT to high-risk individuals, since until recently in Europe HRT was prescribed mainly for alleviation of peri-menopausal symptoms.

Journal Article Risk Factors for Cervical Cancer: Comments on Attributable Risk Calculations and the Evaluation of Screening in Case-Control Studies Get access FABIO PARAZZINI, FABIO PARAZZINI *Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche ‘Mario Negri’via Eritrea, 62, 20157 Milano, Italy. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar ALLAN HILDESHEIM, ALLAN HILDESHEIM **Environmental Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer InstituteBethesda, MD, USA. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar MONICA FERRARONI, MONICA FERRARONI †Istituto di Biometria e Statistica Medica, University of Milan20133 Milan, Italy. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar CARLO LA VECCHIA, CARLO LA VECCHIA *Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche ‘Mario Negri’via Eritrea, 62, 20157 Milano, Italy.‡Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Lausanne1005 Lausanne, Switzerland. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar LOUISE BRINTON LOUISE BRINTON *Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche ‘Mario Negri’via Eritrea, 62, 20157 Milano, Italy. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar International Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 20, Issue 4, December 1991, Pages 1142–1143, https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/20.4.1142 Published: 01 December 1991

Physical activity has been associated with lower risks of breast and colorectal cancer in epidemiological studies; however, it is unknown if these associations are causal or confounded. In two-sample Mendelian randomisation analyses, using summary genetic data from the UK Biobank and GWA consortia, we found that a one standard deviation increment in average acceleration was associated with lower risks of breast cancer (odds ratio [OR]: 0.51, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.27 to 0.98, P-value = 0.04) and colorectal cancer (OR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.48 to 0.90, P-value = 0.01). We found similar magnitude inverse associations for estrogen positive (ER+ve) breast cancer and for colon cancer. Our results support a potentially causal relationship between higher physical activity levels and lower risks of breast cancer and colorectal cancer. Based on these data, the promotion of physical activity is probably an effective strategy in the primary prevention of these commonly diagnosed cancers.

<p>Supplementary Figures S1-S7</p>