Publications by authors named "Castronovo V"
Article Synopsis
- This study investigates how K-complexes (KC), a specific type of brainwave, relate to the effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), which is the main treatment for chronic insomnia.
- Researchers conducted a multicenter study with 98 insomnia patients undergoing a 6-8 week CBT-I program, evaluating their sleep using polysomnography and an insomnia severity index before and after treatment.
- The results indicate that KC density, particularly its change after treatment, can predict how well patients respond to CBT-I and significantly correlates with improved sleep pressure, suggesting KC is an important biomarker for insomnia treatment.
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigates Sleep State Misperception (SSM) in Insomnia Disorder (ID) patients, who tend to misjudge their sleep latency (how long it takes to fall asleep) and total sleep time compared to healthy individuals.
- - The research involved twenty ID patients and eighteen healthy controls undergoing polysomnography (PSG) and analyzing their sleep diaries, with a focus on alterations in brain wave patterns during sleep onset and throughout the night.
- - Results indicated significant differences in brain wave activity, with ID patients showing a low delta/beta ratio and distinctive power changes in certain brain regions, suggesting a relationship between sleep misperception and altered sleep EEG topography.
Article Synopsis
- - Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder with low diagnosis and treatment rates, and Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP/PAP) is the main therapy, although many patients struggle to stick with it.
- - A network meta-analysis of 50 randomized control trials explored how different types of interventions—Behavioral, Educational, Supportive, and Mixed—impact adherence to CPAP/PAP therapy among OSA patients.
- - The findings indicate that Supportive interventions are the most effective for improving CPAP adherence, highlighting the need for collaboration among clinicians and a multidisciplinary approach to OSA treatment using a biopsychological framework.
Article Synopsis
- Diagnostic manuals describe insomnia disorder (ID) as leading to daytime fatigue and sleepiness, but patients rarely report sleepiness in clinical settings.
- A study assessed subjective sleepiness in ID using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and evaluated the impact of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) on daytime functioning and fatigue.
- Results showed that ID patients had similar sleepiness levels to healthy controls and significantly less than those with excessive daytime sleepiness, indicating a disconnect between daytime functioning and sleepiness in ID, while insomnia severity correlated with fatigue.
Objective: In this Italian population-based study, we aimed to evaluate the neurological complications after the first and/or second dose of COVID-19 vaccines and factors potentially associated with these adverse effects.
Methods: Our study included adults aged 18 years and older who received two vaccine doses in the vaccination hub of Novegro (Milan, Lombardy) between 7 and 16 July 2021. The NEURO-COVAX questionnaire was able to capture the neurological events, onset and duration.
Article Synopsis
- Sleep issues like difficulty falling or staying asleep are common in kids, and while behavioral treatments are suggested, their effectiveness hasn't been thoroughly tested in clinical trials.
- The study reviewed 30 previous studies and performed a meta-analysis on 15, analyzing the effects of non-drug treatments and melatonin on sleep problems in healthy children, focusing on aspects like how long it took to fall asleep, waking up after falling asleep, and total sleep time.
- Results indicated that light therapy and melatonin were more effective for falling asleep compared to behavioral methods, while a mix of behavior approaches and light therapy worked best for minimizing wake times and maximizing total sleep time, highlighting inconsistencies in study methods and calling for more structured future research.
Article Synopsis
- Aerobic glycolysis, linked to the Warburg effect, boosts metastatic potential in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) via methylglyoxal (MG), a reactive by-product of glycolysis.
- * GLO1, an enzyme that detoxifies MG, was depleted in TNBC cells, leading to DNA hypermethylation, increased DNMT3B expression, and the loss of tumor suppressor genes.
- * The study highlights MG as a key epigenetic regulator in cancer and suggests that MG scavengers may help restore normal gene expression patterns, potentially improving patient outcomes in TNBC.
Benzodiazepine (BDZ) misuse is a growing health problem, with 1-2% of patients under BDZ treatment meeting the criteria for use disorder or dependence. Although BDZ addiction potential has been known for decades, much remains unknown its effects on brain functions. The aim of this study was to assess the neuropsychological and neurophysiological profile of a group of chronic insomniacs taking long-term high doses of benzodiazepine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Whether adjuvant therapy with aromatase inhibitors (AIs) causes sleep disturbances or not in postmenopausal women with early breast cancer (EBC) is still a controversial issue.
Methods: Between March 2014 and November 2017, validated questionnaires for assessing insomnia, anxiety, depression, quality of life (QoL) and restless legs syndrome (RLS) were administered to 160 EBC patients at baseline and after 3, 6, 12, and 24 months of AI therapy.
Results: AI therapy significantly decreased the patients' QoL, but did not influence insomnia, anxiety or depression.
Primary cilia (PC) are important signaling hubs, and we here explored their role in colonic pathology. In the colon, PC are mostly present on fibroblasts, and exposure of mice to either chemically induced colitis-associated colon carcinogenesis (CAC) or dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced acute colitis decreases PC numbers. We generated conditional knockout mice with reduced numbers of PC on colonic fibroblasts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Colorectal cancer remains a public health issue and most colon cancer patients succumb to the development of metastases. Using a specific protocol of pressure-assisted interstitial fluid extrusion to recover soluble biomarkers, we identified paladin as a potential colon cancer liver metastases biomarker.
Methods: Using shRNA gene knockdown, we explored the biological function of paladin in colon cancer cells and investigated the phospho-proteome within colon cancer cells.
Myoferlin, an emerging oncoprotein, has been associated with a low survival in several cancer types including pancreas ductal adenocarcinoma where it controls mitochondria structure and respiratory functions. Owing to the high susceptibility of KRAS-mutated cancer cells to iron-dependent cell death, ferroptosis, and to the high iron content in mitochondria, we investigated the relation existing between mitochondrial integrity and iron-dependent cell death. We discovered that myoferlin targeting with WJ460 pharmacological compound triggered mitophagy and ROS accumulation culminating with lipid peroxidation and apoptosis-independent cell death.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) are important constituents of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and are major drivers of tumorigenesis. Yet, therapies aiming at eliminating CAF have failed to cure patients. This setback has raised questions regarding whether CAF exclusively favour cancer progression, or if they may also assume tumor-suppressor functions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetacognition is defined as the ability to reflect on one's mental state and to govern thoughts and beliefs. Metacognitive dysfunctions are typical of several psychopathologic conditions, and also a feature of insomnia disorder, possibly playing a crucial role in its genesis and maintenance. In the context of insomnia, metacognition describes how individuals react to their own sleep-related thoughts and beliefs, boosting the hyperarousal state experienced by these patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudy Objectives: We tested the hypothesis that patients with extreme sleep state misperception display higher levels of psychopathology and reduced quantitative estimation abilities compared to other patients with insomnia. Secondary aims included the evaluation of group differences in subjective self-reported quality of life and sleep quality and objective sleep parameters.
Methods: In this cross-sectional, observational study, 249 patients with insomnia underwent a video-polysomnography with a subsequent morning interview to assess self-reported sleep estimates and filled in a large battery of questionnaires.
Visually appreciable white matter (WM) changes have been described in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, few data exist on the involvement of silent WM abnormalities. This prospective study investigated the microstructural integrity of normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) in male OSA patients before and after continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment, using a neuroimaging approach.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Insomnia Disorder is characterized by high degree of phenotypic heterogeneity, that might influence treatment response.
Methods: 123 of 294 insomnia patients initially recruited (66.7% females, age=40.
Background: Despite insomnia diagnosis is based only on subjective sleep assessment, recent literature suggested the usefulness of objective sleep duration for the identification of two insomnia phenotypes based on objective total sleep time (oTST). In particular, insomnia with short sleep duration (SS) (oTST<6 h) seems to receive less benefit from Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) compared to patients with normal sleep duration (NS) (oTST≥6 h). The aim of this study is to evaluate CBT-I response of patients previously divided into SS and NS and to assess the agreement between oTST measured by polysomnography (PSG) and by actigraphy in identifying the two subgroups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Several evidences demonstrate that pre-sleep habits may negatively impact adolescent sleep, yet few data exist on Italian population. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between pre-sleep habits, use of technology/activity and sleep in Italian adolescents.
Methods: Self-report questionnaires including Italian version of School Sleep Habits Survey and use of technology/activity (eg smartphone, PC) at bedtime were administered to 972 adolescents (13-19 years) from Lombardia.
Background And Purpose: Insomnia is a common and debilitating disorder that is frequently associated with important consequences for physical health and well-being.
Methods: An international expert group considered the current state of knowledge based on the most relevant publications in the previous 5 years, discussed the current challenges in the field of insomnia and identified future priorities.
Results: The association of trajectories of insomnia with subsequent quality of life, health and mortality should be investigated in large populations.