Application of Microsponge Drug Platform to Enhance Methotrexate Administration in Rheumatoid Arthritis Therapy.

Background/objectives: This study aimed to develop a novel nanotechnological slow-release drug delivery platform based on hyaluronic acid Microsponge (MSP) for the subcutaneous administration of methotrexate (MTX) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by joint inflammation and damage, while MTX is a common disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD), the conventional use of which is limited by adverse effects and the lack of release control.

Methods: MSP were synthesized as freeze-dried powder to increase their stability and allow for a facile reconstitution prior to administration and precise MTX dosing.

Understanding metabolic plasticity at single cell resolution.

It is increasingly clear that cellular metabolic function varies not just between cells of different tissues, but also within tissues and cell types. In this essay, we envision how differences in central carbon metabolism arise from multiple sources, including the cell cycle, circadian rhythms, intrinsic metabolic cycles, and others. We also discuss and compare methods that enable such variation to be detected, including single-cell metabolomics and RNA-sequencing.

The immune and microbial homeostasis determines the -mast cells cross-talk in celiac disease.

Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune enteropathy resulting from an interaction between diet, genome, and immunity. Although many patients respond to a gluten-free diet, in a substantive number of individuals, the intestinal injury persists. Thus, other factors might amplify the ongoing inflammation.

Technologies for frailty, comorbidity, and multimorbidity in older adults: a systematic review of research designs.

Background: Frailty, neurodegeneration and geriatric syndromes cause a significant impact at the clinical, social, and economic level, mainly in the context of the aging world. Recently, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), virtual reality tools, and machine learning models have been increasingly applied to the care of older patients to improve diagnosis, prognosis, and interventions. However, so far, the methodological limitations of studies in this field have prevented to generalize data to real-word.

The Adult Neurogenesis Theory of Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease starts in neural stem cells (NSCs) in the niches of adult neurogenesis. All primary factors responsible for pathological tau hyperphosphorylation are inherent to adult neurogenesis and migration. However, when amyloid pathology is present, it strongly amplifies tau pathogenesis.

The STING/TBK1/IRF3/IFN type I pathway is defective in cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. The most common mutation is F508del-CFTR (ΔF) which leads the encoded ion channel towards misfolding and premature degradation. The disease is characterized by chronic bronchopulmonary obstruction, inflammation and airways colonization by bacteria, which are the major cause of morbidity and mortality.

Diencephalic versus Hippocampal Amnesia in Alzheimer's Disease: The Possible Confabulation-Misidentification Phenotype.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is clinically heterogeneous, including the classical-amnesic (CA-) phenotype and some variants.

Objective: We aim to describe a further presentation we (re)named confabulation-misidentification (CM-) phenotype.

Methods: We performed a retrospective longitudinal case-series study of 17 AD outpatients with the possible CM-phenotype (CM-ADs).

Signs and symptoms method in neuropsychology: A standardized observational examination of cognitive functions can be effective in detecting mild cognitive impairment.

Objective: The present study aimed at investigating the sensitivity and specificity of the NeuroPsychological Examination (NPE), a systematic collection of cognitive signs and symptoms based on the observation of the patient's behavior during a clinical interview, in detecting Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).

Method: 475 participants, 208 suffering from MCI, 188 suffering from dementia and 79 subjective cognitive decline (SCD), have been assessed using NPE for the presence of signs and symptoms of cognitive impairment. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and the Youden's test were used to determine the more appropriate cutoff points for the number of neuropsychological signs at the NPE that enabled to discriminate SCD from MCI, SCD from dementia and MCI from dementia.

Autonomic function predicts cognitive decline in mild cognitive impairment: Evidence from power spectral analysis of heart rate variability in a longitudinal study.

Background: Despite the emerging clinical relevance of heart rate variability (HRV) as a potential biomarker of cognitive decline and as a candidate target for intervention, there is a dearth of research on the prospective relationship between HRV and cognitive change. In particular, no study has addressed this issue in subjects with a diagnosis of cognitive status including cognitive impairment.

Objective: To investigate HRV as a predictor of cognitive decline in subjects with normal cognition (NC) or Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).

Crystal Ball Health Policies: A Case Against Preventive Testing For Alzheimer's Disease.

After the recent approval of a new drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, the first in almost twenty years, it is useful to consider what are the real possibilities to make a preclinical diagnosis of dementia and to treat its symptoms. The scientific community widely agrees that the drugs available today can only slow down the progression of the disease; it, therefore, seems helpful to warn against encouraging the spread of preventive testing. In fact, faced with the prospect of drugs that promise to act in the first stage of Alzheimer's, there might be an incentive to invest in the research on biomarkers and even healthy adults could be encouraged to increasingly resort to such prediction tests.

Autism genes converge on asynchronous development of shared neuron classes.

Genetic risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with hundreds of genes spanning a wide range of biological functions. The alterations in the human brain resulting from mutations in these genes remain unclear. Furthermore, their phenotypic manifestation varies across individuals.

Extensive Assessment of Underlying Etiological Factors in Primary Infertile Men Reduces the Proportion of Men With Idiopathic Infertility.

Objective: Up to 40% of infertile men remain without a recognized cause (i.e., idiopathic infertility).

Socially desirable responding in geriatric outpatients with and without mild cognitive impairment and its association with the assessment of self-reported mental health.

Background: Socially desirable responding is a potentially relevant issue in older adults and can be evaluated with the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MCSDS). However, the eight-item MCSDS has never been specifically administered to geriatric subjects, and there is a dearth of literature on the relationship between social desirability and cognitive impairment. Also, the connection between social desirability and subjective measures of psychological well-being is a matter of controversy.

Infertile couples still undergo assisted reproductive treatments without initial andrological evaluation in the real-life setting: A failure to adhere to guidelines?

Background: The EAU guidelines on male sexual and reproductive health state that both partners of the infertile couple should undergo simultaneous investigation.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence and the characteristics of infertile men who were referred for an andrological evaluation after failed attempts of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) with those who were evaluated at the beginning of their infertility pathway at a single academic centre over a 17-year period.

Materials And Methods: Data of 3213 primary infertile couples assessed between 2003 and 2020 were analysed.

Molecular logic of cellular diversification in the mouse cerebral cortex.

The mammalian cerebral cortex has an unparalleled diversity of cell types, which are generated during development through a series of temporally orchestrated events that are under tight evolutionary constraint and are critical for proper cortical assembly and function. However, the molecular logic that governs the establishment and organization of cortical cell types remains unknown, largely due to the large number of cell classes that undergo dynamic cell-state transitions over extended developmental timelines. Here we generate a comprehensive atlas of the developing mouse neocortex, using single-cell RNA sequencing and single-cell assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing.

Correlation among isolated teratozoospermia, sperm DNA fragmentation and markers of systemic inflammation in primary infertile men.

Aim: To assess the prevalence of isolated teratozoospermia (iTZS) in a cohort of infertile and fertile men; explore the relationship between iTZS, inflammatory parameters and sperm DNA fragmentation index (SDF) in the same cohort.

Materials And Methods: 1824 infertile men and 103 fertile controls. Semen analysis, the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and serum hormones were investigated.

Substances of abuse consumption among patients seeking medical help for uro-andrological purposes: a sociobehavioral survey in the real-life scenario.

Substances of abuse (SoA), as well as smoking and alcohol consumption, are well known for their impact on male fertility status, erectile function, and ejaculation. We assessed SoA consumption habits in a cohort of men seeking medical attention for uro-andrological purposes. Data from 7447 men seeking medical attention for the first time for uro-andrological purposes were analyzed.

Can We Rely Solely on the International Prostate Symptoms Score to Investigate Storage Symptoms in Men with Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Associated with Benign Prostatic Enlargement? Findings from a Cross-sectional Study.

Background: Discrepancies exist between patient-reported storage phase symptoms severity and International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) scores.

Objective: To investigate whether the Overactive Bladder questionnaire (OABq) can detect further storage phase lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) among patients complaining solely of voiding LUTS based on the IPSS questionnaire, and to address the real-life impact of voiding LUTS towards patients' quality of life (QoL).

Design, Setting, And Participants: Data from 233 consecutive men seeking medical help for LUTS/benign prostate enlargement for the first time were analysed.

Testicular volume in infertile versus fertile white-European men: a case-control investigation in the real-life setting.

Testicular volume (TV) is considered a good clinical marker of hormonal and spermatogenic function. Accurate reference values for TV measures in infertile and fertile men are lacking. We aimed to assess references values for TV in white-European infertile men and fertile controls.