The aims of the study were to analyze the clinical and epidemiological characteristics and treatments for patients who developed zygomycosis enrolled in Italy during the European Confederation of Medical Mycology of medical mycology survey. This prospective multicenter study was performed between 2004 and 2007 at 49 italian Departments. 60 cases of zygomycosis were enrolled: the median age was 59.5 years (range 1-87), with a prevalence of males (70%). The majority of cases were immunocompromised patients (42 cases, 70%), mainly hematological malignancies (37). Among non-immunocompromised (18 cases, 30%), the main category was represented by patients with penetrating trauma (7/18, 39%). The most common sites of infection were sinus (35%) with/without CNS involvement, lung alone (25%), skin (20%), but in 11 cases (18%) dissemination was observed. According to EORTC criteria, the diagnosis of zygomycosis was proven in 46 patients (77%) and in most of them it was made in vivo (40/46 patients, 87%); in the remaining 14 cases (23%) the diagnosis was probable. 51 patients received antifungal therapy and in 30 of them surgical debridement was also performed. The most commonly used antifungal drug was liposomal amphotericin B (L-AmB), administered in 44 patients: 36 of these patients (82%) responded to therapy. Altogether an attributable mortality rate of 32% (19/60) was registered, which was reduced to 18% in patients treated with L-AmB (8/44). Zygomycosis is a rare and aggressive filamentous fungal infection, still associated with a high mortality rate. This study indicates an inversion of this trend, with a better prognosis and significantly lower mortality than that reported in the literature. It is possible that new extensive, aggressive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, such as the use of L-AmB and surgery, have improved the prognosis of these patients.

Our study demonstrated a significant decrease in blood pressure values, in particular in diastolic blood pressure values, after H. pylori eradication in hypertensive patients. A high prevalence of CagA positivity was found. The association between cardiovascular disease and H. pylori infection seems pronounced only in CagA-positive patients. The possible links between hypertensive disease and H. pylori infection may involve the activation of the cytokine cascade with the release of vasoactive substances from the primary site of infection, or molecular mimicry between the CagA antigens of H. pylori and some peptides expressed by endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells.

OBJECTIVE -Obesity is associated with chronic inflammation due to overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-␣. We assessed the effects of TNF-␣ neutralization by infliximab on vascular reactivity during hyperinsulinemia in obesity-related metabolic syndrome. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS-Vascular responses to intra-arterial infusion of acetylcholine (ACh) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) were assessed in patients with metabolic syndrome, before and after administration of infliximab.RESULTS -Patients had blunted vasodilator responses to ACh and SNP during hyperinsulinemia compared with control subjects; a potentiation of the responsiveness to both ACh and SNP, however, was observed in patients following infliximab. The antioxidant vitamin C improved the vasodilator response to ACh in patients with metabolic syndrome, but its effect was not further enhanced by concurrent administration of infliximab.CONCLUSIONS -TNF-␣ neutralization ameliorates vascular reactivity in metabolic syndrome during hyperinsulinemia, likely in relation to decreased oxidative stress, thereby suggesting an involvement of inflammatory cytokines in vascular dysfunction of these patients. Diabetes Care 31:1439-1441, 2008C entral obesity is associated with lowgrade, chronic inflammation, which might affect insulin action and thus contribute to both insulin resistance and vascular dysfunction characteristic of metabolic syndrome. Among various inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-␣ seems to play an important role in the pathophysiology of insulin resistance. However, no clear link has been established between the vascular pathology of metabolic syndrome and a particular inflammatory cytokine in humans. This study, therefore, assessed the effects of TNF-␣ neutralization by the monoclonal antibody infliximab on vascular reactivity during hyperinsulinemia in metabolic syndrome. RESEARCH DESIGN ANDMETHODS -A total of 16 patients with metabolic syndrome (National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel [NCEP ATP] III criteria) and 13 healthy control subjects, approximately matched for sex and age, were recruited for this study. In all patients, waist circumference was Ͼ102 cm in male subjects and Ͼ88 cm in female subjects, thus indicating central obesity. Studies consisted of infusion of drugs into the brachial artery and measurement of forearm blood flow responses by means of straingauge plethysmography. In Study 1, control subjects and 10 patients with metabolic syndrome received infusion of regular insulin (0.2 mU ⅐ kg Ϫ1 ⅐ min Ϫ1 ); after 45 min of insulin infusion, doseresponse curves to graded doses of acetylcholine (ACh) (release of endogenous NO) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) (exogenous NO donor) were obtained. Thereafter, while keeping insulin infusion constant, patients with metabolic syndrome received infusion of infliximab (200 g/min for 45 min) and doseresponse curves to ACh and SNP were repeated. In Study 2, to assess whether the effect of infliximab on vascular response...

Intravascular administration of anti-TNF-alpha antibody ameliorates endothelial function in patients with RA but does not concurrently affect systemic inflammatory changes. Our findings suggest that enhanced TNF-alpha generation within the vessel wall, rather than systemic mechanisms, plays a role in the pathobiologic features of endothelial dysfunction in RA.

The aim of this longitudinal study was to evaluate the echocardiographic outcome of acromegalic heart disease in patients undergoing different therapeutic approaches, in order to investigate whether SSA could provide therapeutic advantages as compared with neurosurgery. In total of 36, consecutive patients undergoing SSA treatment after neurosurgery were enrolled in this study (Gr.Surg.-SSA). After 12 months of treatment, 21 patients had a controlled disease, while the remaining 15 patients displayed uncontrolled disease. Twelve acromegalic patients who did not undergo SSA treatment due to controlled disease after neurosurgery were enrolled as control group (Gr.Surg). The echocardiographic-Doppler study was performed before neurosurgery and after 12-months of follow-up. After follow-up, a significant reduction in serum GH and IGF-I values, Left Ventricular Mass index (LVMi) and LVH rate with an improvement in diastolic function was observed in both groups of patients. We found a significant reduction of LVMi either in patients with controlled disease or in those with poorly controlled disease undergoing SSA treatment. Diastolic function and of LVH percentage improved in all groups, but significantly so only in controlled patients, no significant difference in any echocardiographic parameters and in the prevalence of the LVH rate were observed between the three groups of patients at the end of follow-up. Therefore, our data appear to show that for echographic parameters medical treatment additive beneficial effects is compared to neurosurgery alone. SSA also appears to contribute to the improvement of acromegalic cardiomyopathy also in patients who did not achieve biochemical control of the disease.