Does presbygeusia really exist? An updated narrative review.

This review critically assessed the existence of presbygeusia, i.e., the impairment in taste perception occurring in the elderly, as a natural part of the aging process and its potential clinical implications.

Variation in Body Mass and Skeletal Muscle Indices in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Undergoing (Chemo)Radiotherapy and Nutritional Intervention.

The aim of this study was to analyze variation in body mass index (BMI) and skeletal muscle index (SMI) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients who underwent exclusive radiotherapy (RT) or concurrent chemo-radiotherapy (RT-CHT). We enrolled 73 HNSCC pts treated with definitive or post-operative RT (14 pts) or RT-CHT (59 pts). At the time of diagnosis (t0) and 3 months after treatment completion (t3), CT scans were retrieved to measure skeletal muscle at the level of the C3 vertebra.

A Telehealth Intervention for Nutritional Counseling in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients.

Nutritional status is one of the most relevant prognostic factors in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and close monitoring can help avoid severe weight loss over the disease course. We describe the impact of a Chatbot webapp on improving the communications between physicians, patients, and/or caregivers for dietary monitoring. We developed a chatbot that provides patients with a tool to register their meals through an intuitive and carefully designed conversational interface.

Clinical nutrition in internal medicine: An Italian survey by the scientific societies FADOI and SINPE.

Objectives: Patients hospitalized in internal medicine are frequently malnourished or at risk for malnutrition. The aim of this study, conducted by the Federation of Associations of Hospital Internists (FADOI) and the Italian Society of Artificial Nutrition and Metabolism (SINPE) was to assess the nutritional management of internal medicine inpatients in Italy, to identify critical issues and formulate practical proposals to improve nutritional treatment.

Methods: From February to April 2021, FADOI and SINPE conducted a national web-based survey, including a 13 multiple-choice item questionnaire related to three key areas: screening and assessment of malnutrition and associated/overlapping sarcopenia and dysphagia; specialist consultations; and management of nutritional support.

Study protocol on the safety and feasibility of a normocaloric ketogenic diet in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Objectives: This study evaluates the safety and feasibility of a normocaloric ketogenic diet (KD) in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for reducing hyperexcitability levels and modulating neuroinflammation.

Methods: This is a prospective, open-label pilot study involving men and women diagnosed with ALS, ages 18 to 75 y. The primary outcome is the safety and reproducibility of the KD in people with ALS.

The Role of Nutritional Support for Cancer Patients in Palliative Care.

The role of nutritional support for cancer patients in palliative care is still a controversial topic, in part because there is no consensus on the definition of a palliative care patient because of ambiguity in the common medical use of the adjective palliative. Nonetheless, guidelines recommend assessing nutritional deficiencies in all such patients because, regardless of whether they are still on anticancer treatments or not, malnutrition leads to low performance status, impaired quality of life (QoL), unplanned hospitalizations, and reduced survival. Because nutritional interventions tailored to individual needs may be beneficial, guidelines recommend that if oral food intake remains inadequate despite counseling and oral nutritional supplements, home enteral nutrition or, if this is not sufficient or feasible, home parenteral nutrition (supplemental or total) should be considered in suitable patients.

Risk factors for type 1 diabetes, including environmental, behavioural and gut microbial factors: a case-control study.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a common autoimmune disease that is characterized by insufficient insulin production. The onset of T1D is the result of gene-environment interactions. Sociodemographic and behavioural factors may contribute to T1D, and the gut microbiota is proposed to be a driving factor of T1D.

Obesity, malnutrition, and trace element deficiency in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic: An overview.

The world is currently facing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic which places great pressure on health care systems and workers, often presents with severe clinical features, and sometimes requires admission into intensive care units. Derangements in nutritional status, both for obesity and malnutrition, are relevant for the clinical outcome in acute illness. Systemic inflammation, immune system impairment, sarcopenia, and preexisting associated conditions, such as respiratory, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases related to obesity, could act as crucial factors linking nutritional status and the course and outcome of COVID-19.

Noninvasive diagnosis of fibrosis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: diagnostic accuracy of different scores.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a spectrum of pathologies characterized by liver damage without history of excessive alcohol intake. Advanced fibrosis, generally detected by transient elastography (TE), is the most significant predictor of poor prognosis and mortality among these patients. This study aimed at assessing the accuracy of five noninvasive methods, compared to TE, for the evaluation of severity of liver fibrosis in patients with NAFLD.

Nutritional management of celiac crisis in an elderly adult: A case report of the rare presentation of celiac disease in a 75-y-old woman.

In adults, a very uncommon presentation of celiac disease (CD) is a celiac crisis, a life-threatening and severe form of the disease having a dramatic onset with diarrhea and metabolic acidosis with electrolyte and fluid imbalance. Treatment of celiac crisis requires a gluten-free diet; however, the risk for refeeding syndrome (RFS) should be considered in patients showing marked malabsorption symptoms and important unintentional weight loss. Therefore, to avoid metabolic and potentially fatal complications of re-nutrition, nutritional management is crucial for a safe recovery after a celiac crisis.

Microbiota, epidemiological and nutritional factors related to ketoacidosis at the onset of type 1 diabetes.

Aims: The incidence of type 1 diabetes has increased over the last decades. The pathological pathway is not yet clear, even if genetic and environmental risk factors are known. An early diagnosis can avoid ketoacidosis and its complications.

Nutritional behavior in Italian and immigrant children.

Background: There are 1.2 million of immigrant children living in Italy. However, data on their nutritional habits are limited.

Efficacy and safety of long-term entecavir therapy in a European population.

Background: Therapy in chronic hepatitis B (chronic hepatitis B) patients aims at improving their survival by preventing disease progression to cirrhosis and its complications. Entecavir (ETV) is currently a first line therapeutic agent recommended for the treatment of CHB. Our aim was to evaluate the long term outcome of a cohort of CHB patients treated with ETV.

Short term variation in NTproBNP after lifestyle intervention in severe obesity.

Aim: Natriuretic peptides are not only involved in cardiovascular adaption to various conditions, but also in metabolic diseases. We performed this study to assess the effect of a very short time of lifestyle inpatient intervention on NTproBNP values in normotensive subjects with severe obesity and normal cardiac function.

Methods: We recruited 14 consecutive obese normotensive subjects with normal cardiac function who were aged 30 years and more and were referred to inpatient rehabilitation in an academic clinic over a two months period.

Design and evaluation of an actuated knee implant for postoperative ligament imbalance correction.

In Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA), the collateral ligament tensioning stage cannot be standardised for all patients and relies heavily on the surgeon's experience and perception. Intraoperative inaccuracies are practically unavoidable and may give rise to severe postoperative complications, leading to the need for revision surgery already a few years after primary TKA. This work proposes a novel instrumented tibial component able to detect collateral ligament laxity conditions right after primary TKA and, if needed, to compensate for them in the postoperative period.

A miniaturised actuation system embedded in an instrumented knee implant for postoperative ligament imbalance correction.

During Total Knee Arthroplasty surgery, the orthopaedic surgeon has to set up proper balance conditions for the two lateral ligaments of the knee. Such ligament tensioning procedure is performed manually and mainly depends on the surgeon's experience. Unfortunately, inaccuracies are unavoidable and may give rise to serious postoperative complications.

Gender specific medicine in liver diseases: a point of view.

Gender medicine focuses on the patho-physiological, clinical, prevention and treatment differences in diseases that are equally represented in men and women. The purpose of gender medicine is to ensure that each individual man and woman receives the best treatment possible based on scientific evidence. The concept of "gender" includes not only the sexual characteristics of individuals but also physiological and psychological attributes of men and women, including risk factors, protective/aggravating effects of sexual hormones and variances linked to genetics and corporal structures that explain biological and physiological differences between men and women.

Variations of serum levels of adiponectin and resistin in chronic viral hepatitis.

Background And Aims: Several studies investigated the possible role of adipokines during chronic viral hepatitis, not producing defined results neither clearly establishing their behavior in course of anti-viral treatment. Our study evaluated blood concentrations of adiponectin and resistin in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC), B (CHB), and D (CHD) receiving anti-viral treatment, at baseline and after therapy.

Methods: We examined 122 subjects, divided into two groups: 64 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (38 males and 26 females, mean age 47.

Focus on therapeutic strategies of nonalcoholic Fatty liver disease.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in the Western world (it affects 30% of the general adult population). The NAFLD encompasses a histological spectrum ranging from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), defined by steatosis, hepatocellular damage, and lobular inflammation in individuals without significant alcohol consumption and negative viral, congenital, and autoimmune liver disease markers. Currently, NAFLD is considered an emerging epidemic in light of the dramatic increase in obesity rates.