[A regional equity profile to assess the impact of social inequalities on determinants and health outcomes in the population residing in Sicily Region (Southern Italy)]

OBJECTIVES

to build an equity profile for assessing the impact of socioeconomic inequalities on the determinants and health outcome in Sicily (Southern Italy).

DESIGN

descriptive study aimed to define an equity profile in Sicily by using a rich list of indicators of structure of the resident population and of distribution of determinants and health outcome, derived from the integration of available information and scientific evidence at regional level with high local detail.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

the equity profile collects available information on the health status of the population in Sicily, on the determinants, and on the use of health and social services. The characteristics of people or population groups have been explored and can produce inequalities on health which included individual and context socioeconomic status.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

using available information sources and study results have explored the effects of the disadvantage on health in the region: mortality, morbidity, oncological incidence, reproductive health, and some of their determinants.

RESULTS

the Sicilian population tends to aging. Migration flows tend to compensate the reduction in births in Sicily and it increases the proportion of younger people and women in childbearing age. The proportion of large families tends to get smaller, whereas the proportion of single-component ones increases; the population groups with low education, unemployment, poverty, and income increases. Starting from the first thousand days of life, to continue in the other classes of the population, the different distribution of risk factors on health was identified according to different levels of deprivation.

CONCLUSIONS

the Sicilian equity profile has systematized and consolidated previous experiences on the effects of disadvantage on health. Prevention interventions, oriented towards equity, should be based on the results of this study and should take care of the general aspects of actions and, at the same time, focus on vulnerable population groups.

A planar impedance sensor for 3D spheroids

Three dimensional cell culture systems have witnessed rapid expansion in the fields of tissue engineering and drug testing owing to their inherent ability to mimic native tissue microenvironments. High throughput technologies have also facilitated rapid and reproducible generation of spheroids and subsequently their use as in vitro tissue models in drug screening platforms. However, drug screening technologies are in need of monitoring platforms to study these 3D culture models. In this work we present a novel platform to measure the electrical impedance of 3D spheroids, through the use of a planar organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) and a novel circular-shaped microtrap. A new strategy was generated to overcome incompatibility of the integration of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microdevices with OECT fabrication. The impedance platform for 3D spheroids was tested by using spheroids formed from mono-cultures of fibroblast and epithelial cells, as well as co-culture of the two cell types. We validated the platform by showing its ability to measure the spheroid resistance (R_sph) of the 3D spheroids and differences in R_sph were found to be related to the ion permeability of the spheroid. Additionally, we showed the potential use of the platform for the on-line R_sph monitoring when a co-culture spheroid was exposed to a porogenic agent affecting the integrity of the cell membrane.

1,3-Diarylcycloalkanopyrazoles and diphenyl hydrazides as selective inhibitors of cyclooxygenase-2

Novel 1,3-diarylcycloalkanopyrazoles 1, and diphenyl hydrazides 2 were identified as selective inhibitors of cyclooxygenase-2. The 1,3-diaryl substitution pattern of the pyrazole ring in 1 differentiates these compounds from most of the known selective COX-2 inhibitors that contain two aryl rings at the adjacent positions on a heterocyclic or a phenyl ring. Similarly, the two phenyl rings in 2 are also separated by three atoms. SAR of both phenyl rings in 1 and 2, and the aliphatic ring in 1 will be discussed.

Tepoxalin: a dual cyclooxygenase/5-lipoxygenase inhibitor of arachidonic acid metabolism with potent anti-inflammatory activity and a favorable gastrointestinal profile

Tepoxalin [5-(4-chlorophenyl)-N-hydroxy-(4-methoxyphenyl)-N-methyl-1H- pyrazole-3-propanamide] is a potent inhibitor of sheep seminal vesicle cyclooxygenase (CO) (IC50 = 4.6 microM), rat basophilic leukemia cell (RBL-1) lysate CO (IC50 = 2.85 microM) and CO from intact RBL-1 cells (IC50 = 4.2 microM). The compound inhibits the production of thromboxane B2 (TxB2) in Ca++ ionophore A-23187-stimulated human peripheral blood leukocytes (HPBL; IC50 = 0.01 microM) and human whole blood (IC50 = 0.08 microM) and is a potent inhibitor of epinephrine-induced human platelet aggregation (IC50 = 0.045 microM). Tepoxalin inhibits lipoxygenase (LO) in RBL-1 lysates (IC50 = 0.15 microM) and intact RBL-1 cells (IC50 = 1.7 microM) and inhibits the generation of leukotriene B4 (LTB4) in calcium ionophore A-23187-stimulated HPBL (IC50 = 0.07 microM) and human whole blood (IC50 = 1.57 microM). Human platelet 12-LO (IC50 = 3.0 microM) is inhibited, but 15-LO is only weakly so (IC50 = 157 microM). In vivo, tepoxalin, administered orally, demonstrated potent anti-inflammatory activity in the established adjuvant arthritic rat (ED50 = 3.5 mg/kg) and potent analgesic activity in the acetic acid abdominal construction assay in mice (ED50 = 0.45 mg/kg). In an ex vivo whole blood eicosanoid production assay, tepoxalin produces a dose-related inhibition of prostaglandin (PG) and LT production in dogs (PGF2 alpha - ED50 = 0.015 mg/kg; LTB4 - ED50 = 2.37 mg/kg) and adjuvant arthritic rats following oral administration. In adjuvant arthritic rats, tepoxalin is devoid of ulcerogenic activity within its anti-inflammatory therapeutic range (1-33 mg/kg p.o.) and does not exhibit ulcerogenic activity in normal rats at doses lower than 100 mg/kg (UD50 = 173 mg/kg p.o.). Tepoxalin represents a new class of anti-inflammatory drugs which may exhibit less gastrointestinal toxicity and may be efficacious in immunoinflammatory disease states where excessive PG and LT production has been implicated and may offer a significant alternative to nonsteroidal and corticosteroidal anti-inflammatory therapy.