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Purpose: This study evaluated the methods, technical aspects and impact of preoperative radiological guidance in radioguided occult lesion localisation (ROLL) for single nonpalpable breast lesions., Materials and Methods: A total of 288 patients underwent ROLL before surgery. Human serum albumin macroaggregates labelled with 3.7-7.4 MBq of technetium(99) were injected into the lesion. In the case of ultrasonographic guidance (221/288 patients), inoculum positioning resulted in a change of echogenicity at the lesion site. In the case of mammographic guidance (67/288 patients), iodinated contrast medium was injected following the radiotracer for subsequent mammographic evaluation. Patients underwent surgery within 24 h from ROLL. A gamma-detecting probe was used to locate the lesion during surgery and guide its removal. After excision, the specimen was examined by either ultrasonography or mammography to verify complete lesion removal before histological evaluation., Results: The lesion was correctly localised in 281/288 patients (97.5%). One ROLL procedure failed because surgery could not be performed within 24 h and the radioactivity decayed. Of the six incorrect localisations, 2 were due to the radiological guidance and 4 to technetium(99) dispersion., Conclusions: Radiological guidance in ROLL ensured the outcome of the procedure of localisation and removal of single, nonpalpable breast lesions in the majority of cases.

Background: Cardiac stem cell therapy is a field of scientific research with the goal to translate into clinical benefit the initial findings obtained in basic research laboratories. We have moved into clinical trials in different disease categories: acute myocardial infarction, chronic stable angina refractory to conventional therapy and heart failure. So far we have faced with contradictory results. Some previous studies suggested that bone marrow cell injection may improve myocardial perfusion and left ventricular function in patients with chronic myocardial ischemia., Methods: In this paper we present a brief review about stem cell use in clinical cardiology and describe our research protocol evaluating the effects of direct intramyocardial injection of autologous bone marrow cells (CD34+ selected cells versus all mononuclear cells) in patients with chronic myocardial ischemia., Results: Preliminary results show that this procedure seems to be safe and generally well tolerated by patients. An improvement in symptoms, in the first 6 months, appears to be achieved in approximately 50% of patients, with concomitant improvement of quantitative scintigraphic stress test imaging., Conclusions: Before drawing any definitive conclusions, we need to wait for the end of enrollment and unblinding of study randomization.

Nephrotic syndrome has been reported in obesity; its precise incidence in obese patients without diabetes mellitus and/or arterial hypertension is however unknown. Thirty-two obese subjects without complications were therefore assessed before and after weight loss, together with 18 healthy control subjects. Overnight albumin excretion rate (AER) was assessed using a RIA method (H. Albumin-Kit, Sclavo). Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was also evaluated in 10 obese subjects using Cr51 before and after weight loss. AER was found to be higher, although the difference was not statistically significant, in obese subjects compared to controls, but was significantly reduced after weight loss (p = 0.05). GFR also showed a non-significant tendency to decrease following loss of weight. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly decreased following weight loss (p less than 0.01 and p less than 0.025 respectively). In conclusion, although it is not possible to confirm the presence of true nephropathy in uncomplicated obesity, the latter can facilitate the onset of hemodynamic-type mechanisms which, in the presence of diabetes mellitus or arterial hypertension, may lead to the appearance of the nephrotic syndrome.