ABSTRACT
Plant-based diets (PBDs) are increasingly consumed by the Italian population and around the world. In particular, among PBDs, the vegan diet is a food pattern characterized by the exclusion of all animal-origin foods. What drives people to adopt this model are mainly ethical, health and environmental reasons. A vegan diet, if well-balanced and varied, can help in achieving and maintaining an optimal state of health. However, this nutritional approach, if not well-balanced, can cause deficiencies in proteins, ω-3 fatty acids, iron, vitamin D and calcium, zinc, iodine and, above all, vitamin B12. Oral food supplements especially fortified foods are recommended in these cases to restore the nutritional deficiencies. A vegan diet generally reduces the risk of developing chronic non-communicable degenerative diseases, such as metabolic syndrome (MetS) and, in addition, requires fewer natural resources for food production than an omnivorous diet. The aim of this review is to analyze the possible impact of the vegan diet on MetS onset and its treatment.
Subject(s)
Diet, Vegan , Metabolic Syndrome , Blood Pressure , Calcium, Dietary , Cardiovascular Diseases , Databases, Factual , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 , Dietary Supplements , Fatty Acids, Omega-3 , Humans , Iron , Italy , Lipid Metabolism , Obesity , Vitamin DABSTRACT
Sternum infection after cardiac surgery represents a severe complication with a high mortality rate. Therapeutic possibilities consist in "open packing" with specific antibiotic irrigation or in "en-block" resection. We report a case of sternum reconstruction using a titanium patch covered with bone-powder.
Subject(s)
Cardiac Surgical Procedures/adverse effects , Drainage/methods , Pericardial Effusion/etiology , Pericardial Effusion/therapy , Sternum/surgery , Surgical Wound Infection/etiology , Surgical Wound Infection/therapy , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Recurrence , Vancomycin/therapeutic useABSTRACT
Giant liposarcoma is an unusual variant of mediastinal tumors. The case of a 73-year-old woman is reported. She presented with a posterior mediastinal tumor invading the third middle tract of the thoracic esophagus and the adventitia of the descending aorta, close to the posterior pericardium; a neoplastic thrombus 2cm in size was located in the upper left pulmonary vein. The tumor was completely excised by left thoracotomy, in extracorporeal circulation. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient received adjuvant chemotherapy. She is currently alive after 8 months, disease-free. The natural history, pathology, and prognosis of the disease are reviewed and management of such lesions is discussed.
Subject(s)
Esophagus/pathology , Liposarcoma/pathology , Mediastinal Neoplasms/pathology , Aged , Aorta, Thoracic/pathology , Chemotherapy, Adjuvant , Female , Humans , Liposarcoma/diagnostic imaging , Liposarcoma/drug therapy , Liposarcoma/surgery , Mediastinal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Mediastinal Neoplasms/drug therapy , Mediastinal Neoplasms/surgery , Neoplasm Invasiveness , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
The role of surgery in the treatment of diffuse pleural malignant mesothelioma is controversial. The procedures proposed to date are extrapleural pneumonectomy, pleurectomy, and thoracoscopy. External radiation or intraoperative implantation of radioisotopes, chemotherapy and intrapleural treatment with various different agents are also considered as adjuvant therapy. Patient selection, postoperative morbidity and mortality and survival rates are discussed. Our personal series of 72 diffuse pleural malignant mesotheliomas is described: 29 had a palliative operation while 43 underwent radical surgery consisting in 24 extrapleural pneumonectomies and 19 pleurectomies.
