papers by paolo mazzarello
article, 2024
Obituary of Elio Raviola, an Italian/American neuroscientist, famous for his fundamental research... more Obituary of Elio Raviola, an Italian/American neuroscientist, famous for his fundamental research on the anatomy and physiology of the retina.
book chapter, 2024
Before the advent of AIDS, syphilis was historically the disease with the most imposing religious... more Before the advent of AIDS, syphilis was historically the disease with the most imposing religious and social stigma, due to the subversive modalities by which it was contracted. Its connection with inappropriate religiously and familial sexual behavior was recognized since this disease exploded at the end of the fifteenth century among the King Charles VIII of France’s soldiers when his army invaded Naples. Although it was not as deadly as the plague, the disease caused repulsive manifestations, first in the genital organs and later upon the body surface with the appearance of hideous pustules and ulcers. In the following centuries syphilis became the very metaphor of transgression and dissolute behavior to be socially hidden. In 1864 Angelo Scarenzio, Professor of Dermatology at the University of Pavia, proposed a new treatment of syphilis with the injections of a mercurial salt, calomel. The article focuses on how and why Scarenzio’s method, despite its positive results, was initially opposed and marginalized by the scientific community which denied it effectiveness, and on his struggle to gain visibility and legitimization. The disappearance of the therapy from medical practice at the beginning of the twentieth century is also investigated together with the disappearance of the memory of Angelo Scarenzio as a pioneer scientist.
Journal, 2000
Book Review: Nancy G. Siraisi: The clock and the mirror
book, 2001
A brief medical biography of Gerolamo Cardano.
Audiologia&Foniatria - Italian Journal of Audiology and Phoniatrics, 2023
Alfonso Corti was 28 years old when he wrote the first draft of his most famous work (Recherches ... more Alfonso Corti was 28 years old when he wrote the first draft of his most famous work (Recherches sur l’organe de l’ouïe des mammifères) while in Paris in 1850, probably at the Sorbonne. His work was published
in June of the following year. The human and scientific story of this young medical student is fascinating. He left Pavia, the city of his youth and where he had begun his medical studies, and went to complete
them in Vienna, where he graduated. He then continued his studies in several European cities – in Bern, Paris, London, Utrecht, and Würzburg – before completely cutting all his ties with the scientific world to
which he had been so dedicated when he was just 32 years of age. The name of Corti quickly became known throughout the world, and synonymous with the organ of hearing, thanks to Joseph Hyrtl and Albert Kölliker, who had been his teachers and mentors. Almost nothing was known about Alfonso Corti as a scholar, however, until the publication of biographical articles by Gottfried Brückner (1913) and Josef Schaffer (1914), and especially the monograph by Bruno Pincherle published in 1932. With this paper coinciding with the bicentenary of Corti’s birth, we wanted to explore this man’s human and scientific history.
Uracil in Oris of herpes simplex 1 alters its specific recognition by origin binding protein (OBP): does virus induced uracil-DNA glycosylase play a key role in viral reactivation and replication?
Chromosoma, Dec 1, 1992
We have recently demonstrated that mammalian uracil-DNA glycosylase activity is undetectable in a... more We have recently demonstrated that mammalian uracil-DNA glycosylase activity is undetectable in adult neurons. On the basis of this finding we hypothesized that uracil, derived either from oxidative deamination of cytosine or misincorporation of dUMP in place of dTMP during DNA repair by the unique nuclear DNA polymerase present in adult neurons, DNA polymerase beta, might accumulate in neuronal DNA. Uracil residues could also arise in the herpes simplex 1 (HSV1) genome during latency in nerve cells. We therefore suggest a role for the virus encoded uracil-DNA glycosylase in HSV1 reactivation and in the first steps of DNA replication. We show here 1) that the viral DNA polymerase incorporates dUTP in place of dTTP with a comparable efficiency in vitro; 2) that virus specific DNA/protein interactions between the virus encoded origin binding protein and its target DNA sequence is altered by the presence of uracil residues in its central region TCGCA. Thus uracil, present in viral OriS or other key sequences could hamper the process leading to viral reactivation. Hence, HSV1 uracil-DNA glycosylase, dispensable in viral proliferation in tissue culture, could be essential in neurons for the "cleansing" of the viral genome of uracil residues before the start of replication.
Lazzaro Spallanzani : la lussuria della conoscenza
R. Sallares, Malaria and Rome. A History of Malaria in Ancient Italy
Athenaeum: Studi di letteratura e Storia dell'antichità, 2005
Ottorino Rossi e lo sviluppo della neurologia nelle Università Italiane
Confinia Cephalalgica, 2008
... Luciano Bolzani (Lugano), Giorgio Maria Kauchtschischvili, Francesco Zerbi e Amelia Tartara a... more ... Luciano Bolzani (Lugano), Giorgio Maria Kauchtschischvili, Francesco Zerbi e Amelia Tartara a Pavia, Ramelli e Mapelli a ... ricerca e della assistenza convenzionata: Fabio Antonaci (Cefalee), Paola Bo✞(Alcolismo/Dipendenza da sostanze), Alfredo Costa (Neuroendocrinologia ...
Microheterogeneity of CSF alpha 2-macroglobulin in multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases. A study performed by direct immunofixation after isoelectric focusing
PubMed, Aug 1, 1985
Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) and serum alpha 2-Macroglobulin (alpha 2M) was studied in patients affe... more Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) and serum alpha 2-Macroglobulin (alpha 2M) was studied in patients affected by Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and other neurological diseases (OND) using Isoelectric Focusing followed by direct immunofixation. In the serum a simple broad band has always been observed; inside it several more stained subfractions were sometimes detected. In 74.3% of MS patients and in 65.7% of OND patients the CSF alpha 2-M was divided in two major bands. One corresponded to that observed in serum and the other was more anodal. The significance of this finding is discussed.
Atti della Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze fisiche e naturali, Dec 1, 2002
Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, Dec 1, 1993
Collezione di Patologia Generale
Giulio Bizzozero: a pioneer of cell biology
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, Oct 1, 2001
The Italian pathologist Giulio Bizzozero began his haematological investigations more than 130 ye... more The Italian pathologist Giulio Bizzozero began his haematological investigations more than 130 years ago. Among his outstanding achievements was the discovery of the role of platelets in haemostasis and the identification of the bone marrow as the site of production of blood cells. One hundred years after his untimely death, the significance of these, and many more of his findings, is still recognized.
Camillo Golgi and Santiago Ramón y Cajal: netz and knots at the origin of neuroscience
Brief Profile of the Neurological Sciences in Italy From the End of the Nineteenth to the First Half of the Twentieth Century
Medicina nei secoli, Mar 1, 2018
Following the political unification of Italy, neurology was considered either as a subsection of ... more Following the political unification of Italy, neurology was considered either as a subsection of internal medicine or as a field which was, in part, a “companion” to psychiatry. Indeed it was only at the end of the 19th century that neurology began to develop into a more distinctive field and, accordingly, this paper outlines the various academic roots of Italian neurology and includes a brief description of the scientific activity of some of the most well-known names in this field from the end of the 19th to the first half of the 20th century. Key words: History of Medicine - Neurology/history - Neuroscience - Scientific Biography - Italy
Camillo Golgi – premio Nobel per la Medicina
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papers by paolo mazzarello
in June of the following year. The human and scientific story of this young medical student is fascinating. He left Pavia, the city of his youth and where he had begun his medical studies, and went to complete
them in Vienna, where he graduated. He then continued his studies in several European cities – in Bern, Paris, London, Utrecht, and Würzburg – before completely cutting all his ties with the scientific world to
which he had been so dedicated when he was just 32 years of age. The name of Corti quickly became known throughout the world, and synonymous with the organ of hearing, thanks to Joseph Hyrtl and Albert Kölliker, who had been his teachers and mentors. Almost nothing was known about Alfonso Corti as a scholar, however, until the publication of biographical articles by Gottfried Brückner (1913) and Josef Schaffer (1914), and especially the monograph by Bruno Pincherle published in 1932. With this paper coinciding with the bicentenary of Corti’s birth, we wanted to explore this man’s human and scientific history.