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The prevalent inflammatory picture in mild eosinophilic allergic and non-allergic asthma is now established. Neutrophilic asthma and the underlying inflammatory responses after allergen challenge in mild asthma are also established. Paucigranulocytic asthma and airway remodeling occurring in mild to severe forms of the disease are further recent acquisitions. These advances have led to a better definition of the therapeutic strategy with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and long acting β2 agonists (LABA) and to innovative therapies with monoclonal antibodies targeted against key effector molecules. This review discusses some aspects of asthma pathology in relation to therapeutic progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalent inflammatory picture in mild eosinophilic allergic and non-allergic asthma is now established. Neutrophilic asthma and the underlying inflammatory responses after allergen challenge in mild asthma are also established. Paucigranulocytic asthma and airway remodeling occurring in mild to severe forms of the disease are further recent acquisitions. These advances have led to a better definition of the therapeutic strategy with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and long acting b2 agonists (LABA) and to innovative therapies with monoclonal antibodies targeted against key effector molecules. This review discusses some aspects of asthma pathology in relation to therapeutic progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glia exerts a pathogenic role in the development and maintenance of pain. In the past, glia was considered only support material; the glia is 70 to 90 percent of the CNS cells. Normally in a resting state, it is activated by substances released from central terminals of C fibers and releases cytokines that enhance excitatory synaptic transmission in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord (that is the basis of central sensitization), with allodynia-hyperalgesia. By analogy with the role of glia, it has been suggested the importance of the mast cell, a connective ubiquitous cell filled with granules that contain histamine, heparin, serotonin, and NGF as well as lipid droplets that contain hyaluronic acid and a cell membrane on which cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 and vanilloid are located. Nociceptive stimuli cause mast cell degranulation and the release of substances contained in the granules. ___________________________________________________

Glia exerts a pathogenic role in the development and maintenance of pain. In the past, glia was considered only support material; the glia is 70 to 90 percent of the CNS cells. Normally in a resting state, it is activated by substances released from central terminals of C fibers and releases cytokines that enhance excitatory synaptic transmission in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord (that is the basis of central sensitization), with allodynia-hyperalgesia. By analogy with the role of glia, it has been suggested the importance of the mast cell, a connective ubiquitous cell filled with granules that contain histamine, heparin, serotonin, and NGF as well as lipid droplets that contain hyaluronic acid and a cell membrane on which cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 and vanilloid are located. Nociceptive stimuli cause mast cell degranulation and the release of substances contained in the granules.

Pain is a complex subjective experience, associated with neurovegetative, affective and cognitive rapid changes. Biological; psychosocial and contextual factors may contribute. Chronic inflammation, of whatever cause, is the leading contributor to chronic pain. The mast cell directs both the inflammatory process and the shift to chronic pain, mediating through the production of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) and other neurotrophic molecules. Women, in the fertile age, are biologically more vulnerable to chronic inflammation, as fluctuations of estrogens are agonist factors of mast cells degranulation, mostly in the premenstrual phase. Pain is defined as "nociceptive" when it indicates an ongoing damage; "neuropathic" when it becomes a disease per se. Chronic Pelvic Pain (CPP) indicates an invalidating, persistent or recurrent pelvic pain, persisting for more than 6 months. CPP is the main complaint of 10-15% of gynaecologic consultations, leading to 40% of diagnostic laparoscopies and 15% of hysterectomies. Comorbidity, i.e. the coexistence of pathologies and painful syndromes in different pelvic organs, is another common feature. Cystitis, vulvar vestibulitis, endometriosis, irritable bowel syndrome all play an important role and contribute to identifying the hyperactive mast cell and related chronic inflammation as the common pathophysiologic factor. The paper reviews nociception characteristics, the emerging role of mast cells, the pathophysiology of comorbidity, biological, psychosexual and contextual predictors, and stresses the need to move from a "hyperspecialistic" perspective to a multisystemic reading of CPP, with special attention to the urologic perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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There are little data on the biological and prognostic role of neoangiogenesis in squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity (SCCOC). In particular, the role mast cells--reservoirs of angiogenetic peptides--play in neovascularization is not clear. In this work 50 cases of SCCOC T1-3 N0-1 M0 were studied, examining the microvasal density (MVD), mast cell density (MCD), relationship between these two parameters and their relationship with the pathological clinical features. Microvessels were identified with an immunohistochemical method using pan-endothelial anti-CD34 antibody while a histochemical method was used to label the mast cells with toluidine blue on adjacent sections for each tumor sample. MVD and MCD were characterized using an image analyzer. The mean MVD was 30 +/- 17 s.d. per sample while the average MCD was 8 +/- 6 s.d. per sample. Statistical analysis comparing MVD and MCD using the Pearson method showed a direct, significant correlation between the two variables (correlation coefficient = 0.496; p = 0.000). When the carcinomas were divided into subgroups with high and low MVD and MCD--using the median counts (27 and 7 respectively) as cutoff point--no association was found with the main clinical pathological features (age, sex, tumor diameter, lymph node status, cytopathological grading). As regards the correlation with prognosis, after an median 020 months of follow-up, the subgroup of patients with tumors with high MVD presented a better overall survival at 18 months from diagnosis than did the subgroup with tumors with a lower degree of vascularization (70% vs. 45%; p = 0.049 log rank test). The data obtained suggest that mast cells play an active role in angiogenetic processes in SCCOC and indicate that MVD is a favorable prognostic factor for SCCOC patients.