Publications by authors named "Alessandra Benedetti"

Fungi are an alternative source to animal-based chitin. In fungi, chitin fibrils are strongly interconnected and bound with glucans that justify the unique matrix. The present study aimed to extract chitin and glucans from the mycelium of several wood decay fungal strains in order to obtain flexible materials and to check correlations between chitin content and the mechanical properties of these materials.

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Breast implants are extensively employed for both reconstructive and esthetic purposes. However, the safety of breast implants with textured surfaces has been questioned, owing to a potential correlation with anaplastic large-cell lymphoma and the recurrence of breast cancer. This study investigates the immune response elicited by different prosthetic surfaces, focusing on the comparison between macrotextured and microtextured breast implants.

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Objective: This study aims to describe the prescription patterns of the mood stabilizers most commonly used for the treatment of bipolar I and II disorders (lithium, valproate, and carbamazepine) and to analyze the treatment outcomes.

Methods: Two hundred and thirty-four outpatients with bipolar disorders receiving prophylactic treatment with lithium, valproate, carbamazepine, or their combination were followed up for at least 18 months in two Italian psychiatric centers specialized in mood disorders.

Results: The combination of lithium and valproate or carbamazepine was the most common prophylactic treatment (54.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study examined how demographic and clinical factors affect recurrence rates of bipolar disorder (BD) in a group of 266 outpatients over four years, finding that episode frequency decreased for many patients.
  • - Key predictors of recurrence included the number of previous depressive episodes, female gender, older age, and a history of mixed episodes, with about one-third of patients experiencing no recurrences during the follow-up.
  • - It concluded that long-term evidence-based treatment and regular follow-ups can improve patient outcomes, and appropriate use of antidepressants may not negatively impact the illness.
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Several studies investigating bipolar disorders have shown that polarity of onset can predict differences in symptomatology, course, and prognosis. Frequently, however, research on the topic has examined only bipolar I inpatients and has not included patients with mixed onset. The aim of the present naturalistic study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and illness course of a consecutive sample (407 outpatients, 58.

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Emerging evidence from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) support the association of polymorphisms in the alpha 1C subunit of the L-type voltage-gated calcium channel gene (CACNA1C) with bipolar disorder. These studies extend a rich prior literature implicating dysfunction of L-type calcium channels (LTCCs) in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders. Moreover, calcium channel blockers reduce Ca(2+) flux by binding to the α1 subunit of the LTCC and are used extensively for treating hypertension, preventing angina, cardiac arrhythmias and stroke.

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Aim: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the augmentation of clozapine with aripiprazole in patients with treatment-resistant schizoaffective and psychotic bipolar disorders in a retrospective manner. Pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions between the two drugs were also investigated.

Patients: Three men and 4 women (median age 36 and 40 years, respectively) who had mean scores at BPRS and CGI-Severity of 59.

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Over the last years, there has been an increasing awareness and knowledge about bipolar spectrum disorders. However, descriptive data on bipolar I disorder with psychotic features (BPI-p) in comparison with schizophrenia (SCH) and schizoaffective disorder (SA) in mental health community services are scanty in the literature. We conducted a study with the aim of assessing the prevalence, clinical characteristics and levels of functioning of SCH, SA and BPI-p in a random sample of patients with psychotic symptoms recruited in nine departments of mental health.

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Background: Although manic episodes in older adults are not rare, little published data exist on late-life manic episodes. Resistance to treatment and concomitant neurological lesions are frequent correlates of elderly mania. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of hospitalizations due to mania in patients older than 64 years through a period of 5 years in an Italian public psychiatric ward.

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Objectives: The aim of this preliminary open-label trial was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of oxcarbazepine (OXC) as adjunctive therapy in 18 patients with bipolar disorder who did not respond satisfactorily to lithium.

Methods: Eighteen patients with bipolar I (n=16) and bipolar II (n=2) disorder were treated openly with OXC for a 8-week period as add-on treatment to the existing lithium regimen. After the 8-week trial, all patients continued the treatment with OXC, and were followed-up prospectively.

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Background: Tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) as well as benzodiazepines have been shown to be effective for the treatment of panic disorder. The introduction of SSRIs has enabled a greater understanding of the role of serotonin in the etiology of panic disorder; however, the role of norepinephrine has been more challenging to ascertain. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy and tolerability of reboxetine, a novel selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, in patients with panic disorder with and without agoraphobia.

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