Study protocol-Evoked craving in high-dose benzodiazepine users.

Benzodiazepine (BDZ) abuse, especially concerning high doses of BDZs, is an impairing substance use disorder (SUD) that is often difficult to treat. Craving and cue reactivity (CR) are two important phenomena that have a prominent role in maintaining addiction and triggering relapses in BDZ abuse; nevertheless, they have rarely been addressed in scientific literature. The present study aims to fill these gaps by implementing a highly innovative virtual reality (VR) design to assess the impact of substance-related environmental cues on BDZ craving, as well as their influence on patients' affective states.

A virtual reality craving study in tobacco addiction: The role of non-pharmacological support in tobacco detox therapy.

Nicotine addiction is a widespread, worldwide epidemic, causing six million deaths per year. A large variety of treatments for smoking cessation are currently available, including Cytisine, which is a promising drug due to its low cost and high safety levels. Notwithstanding the important amount of research on tobacco addiction treatments, smoking remains one of the most difficult substance use disorders to treat, probably also due to the fact that pharmacological treatment often overlooks other maintaining factors in this addiction, such as sensory impact and cue reactivity.

Polysubstance Use Patterns Among High Dose Benzodiazepine Users: A Latent Class Analysis and Differences Between Male and Female Use.

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) represent one of the most widely used groups of pharmaceuticals, but if used for long periods of time they are associated with dependence and an increased risk of harmful effects. High-dose (HD) BZD dependence is a specific substance use disorder associated with a poor quality of life. It is especially important to pinpoint differences in HD BZD addict subgroups in order to tailor treatment to the individual's specific needs, also considering possible comorbidities with other substance use disorders.

ASRS Questionnaire and Tobacco Use: Not Just a Cigarette. A Screening Study in an Italian Young Adult Sample.

Young adults exhibit greater sensitivity than adults to nicotine reinforcement, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) increases the risk for early-onset smoking. We investigated the correlation between ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) scores and smoking, evaluated the prevalence of ADHD symptomatology (not diagnoses) in smokers and non-smokers and its comorbidity with benzodiazepine and gambling addictions. A total of 389 young adults from 14 schools in Northern Italy fill out a survey and the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS).

Ibrutinib in association with venetoclax for the treatment of mantle-cell lymphoma: a multicenter case series.

Introduction: Mantle-cell lymphoma (MCL) with relapsed/refractory (R/R) disease after intensive chemotherapy have few effective treatment options. Ibrutinib showed a promising median progression-free survival (PFS) with manageable toxicity. The BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax showed encouraging results in R/R MCL patients and preclinical models suggest a potential synergistic effect of dual BTK and BCL2 inhibition.

Internet Addiction and Related Clinical Problems: A Study on Italian Young Adults.

The considerable prominence of internet addiction (IA) in adolescence is at least partly explained by the limited knowledge thus far available on this complex phenomenon. In discussing IA, it is necessary to be aware that this is a construct for which there is still no clear definition in the literature. Nonetheless, its important clinical implications, as emerging in recent years, justify the lively interest of researchers in this new form of behavioral addiction.

Lenalidomide plus R-CHOP21 in newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL): long-term follow-up results from a combined analysis from two phase 2 trials.

Lenalidomide-RCHOP (R2-CHOP21) has been shown to be safe and effective in patients with untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The aim of this analysis is to report long-term outcome and toxicities in newly diagnosed DLBCL patients who received R2-CHOP21 in two independent phase 2 trials, conducted by Mayo Clinic (MC) and Fondazione Italiana Linfomi (FIL). All patients received R-CHOP21 plus lenalidomide.

An increase in myocardial 18-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake is associated with left ventricular ejection fraction decline in Hodgkin lymphoma patients treated with anthracycline.

Background: Doxorubicin (DOX)-based chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) yields excellent disease-free survival, but poses a substantial risk of subsequent left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and heart failure, typically with delayed onset. At the cellular level, this cardiotoxicity includes deranged cardiac glucose metabolism.

Methods: By reviewing the hospital records from January 2008 through December 2016, we selected HL patients meeting the following criteria: ≥ 18 year-old; first-line DOX-containing chemotherapy; no diabetes and apparent cardiovascular disease; 18-fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scans before treatment (PET), after 2 cycles (PET) and at the end of treatment (PET); at least one echocardiography ≥ 6 months after chemotherapy completion (ECHO).

CNS relapse in patients with DLBCL treated with lenalidomide plus R-CHOP (R2CHOP): analysis from two phase 2 studies.

Central nervous system (CNS) relapse of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a devastating event occurring in ~ 5% of patients treated with R-CHOP. We hypothesized that adding lenalidomide to R-CHOP (R2CHOP) may decrease the risk of CNS relapse. We analyzed records for patients with DLBCL from two R2CHOP trials.

B-IGEV (bortezomib plus IGEV) versus IGEV before high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation in relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma: a randomized, phase II trial of the Fondazione Italiana Linfomi (FIL).

This randomized, multicenter study evaluates the addition of bortezomib (13 mg/m(2)) to IGEV (B-IGEV) in patients with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL). Patients received either four courses of IGEV alone (n = 40) or B-IGEV (n = 40). The primary endpoint was the complete response (CR) proportion, evaluated by FDG-PET, after induction chemotherapy.

Vertical ordering sensitivity of solid supported DPPC membrane to alamethicin and the related loss of cell viability.

Background: Experimental studies of antimicrobial peptides interacting with lipid membranes recently attracted growing interest due to their numerous biomedical applications. However, the influence of such peptides on the structural organisation of lipid membranes in connection with the actual cell response still remains an elusive issue.

Methods: X-ray diffraction was employed on detecting the sensitivity of the periodical spacing of dipalmitoyl-phosphatidyl-choline stacked as solid-supported bilayers to the presence of varying amounts of the peptide alamethicin in a wide range of peptide-to-lipid molar ratios.

Ultra-low power laser stimulation impairs the adhesion of Staphylococcus aureus to primary human cells, and interferes with the expression of staphylococcal pathogenic factors.

Lasers are commonly used in several fields of medicine as a complementary therapy for internal medicine, surgery and also diagnostics. The efficacy of ultra-low level laser therapy (ULLLT) at power levels around 0.15 mW/cm(2) has been demonstrated both in in vitro experiments and in the clinical environment.

Lenalidomide plus R-CHOP21 in elderly patients with untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: results of the REAL07 open-label, multicentre, phase 2 trial.

Background: Up to 40% of elderly patients with untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) given a regimen of rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone every 21 days (R-CHOP21) relapse or develop refractory disease. Lenalidomide has high activity in relapsed or refractory aggressive B-cell lymphomas. In phase 2 of the REAL07 trial, we aimed to establish the safety and efficacy of the combination of lenalidomide and R-CHOP21 in elderly patients with untreated DLBCL.

Online databases for mtDNA and Y chromosome polymorphisms in human populations.

This study presents an overview of online databases for mtDNA and Y chromosome polymorphisms in human populations. In order to provide readers with information which may help optimize their use, we focus on: (i) type, quantity and source of data contained; (ii) possibilities of downloading and uploading; (iii) availability of data filters and population genetics tools. We show that some of these databases offer a useful complement to the primary databases by giving access to additional data and making it possible to perform queries which exploit some specific metadata.

Mine, yours, ours? Sharing data on human genetic variation.

The achievement of a robust, effective and responsible form of data sharing is currently regarded as a priority for biological and bio-medical research. Empirical evaluations of data sharing may be regarded as an indispensable first step in the identification of critical aspects and the development of strategies aimed at increasing availability of research data for the scientific community as a whole. Research concerning human genetic variation represents a potential forerunner in the establishment of widespread sharing of primary datasets.

Temperature-dependent structural changes on DDAB surfactant assemblies evidenced by energy dispersive X-ray diffraction and dynamic light scattering.

Cationic amphiphile DDAB (dimethyl-dioctadecyl-ammonium-bromide) can spontaneously form water-dispersed and solid supported mimicking biomembrane structures as well as valuable DNA delivery vehicles whose shape, stability and transfection efficiency can be easily optimized on varying temperature, water content and chemical composition. In this framework, disclosing the thermotropic behavior of DDAB assemblies can be considered as an essential step in conceiving and developing new non-viral vector systems. Our work has been focused primarily on understanding the mesophase structure of silicon supported DDAB thin film on varying temperature at constant relative humidity by energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXD).

Silicon supported lipid-DNA thin film structures at varying temperature studied by energy dispersive X-ray diffraction and neutron reflectivity.

Non-viral gene transfection by means of lipid-based nanosystems, such as solid supported lipid assemblies, is often limited due to their lack of stability and the consequent loss of efficiency. Therefore not only a detailed thermo-lyotropic study of these DNA-lipid complexes is necessary to understand their interaction mechanisms, but it can also be considered as a first step in conceiving and developing new transfection biosystems. The aim of our study is a structural characterization of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DOPC)-dimethyl-dioctadecyl-ammonium bromide (DDAB)-DNA complex at varying temperature using the energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXD) and neutron reflectivity (NR) techniques.

Erythropoietin plus granulocyte colony-stimulating factor is better than erythropoietin alone to treat anemia in low-risk myelodysplastic syndromes: results from a randomized single-centre study.

Haemopoietic growth factors (HGF), i.e. erythropoietin [recombinant human erythropoietin (rHEPO)] or granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), alone or in combination, have largely been used to treat anemia in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), but whether combined rHEPO and G-CSF is really superior to rHEPO alone is still under debate.

Upfront high-dose sequential therapy (HDS) versus VACOP-B with or without HDS in aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: long-term results by the NHLCSG.

Background: There is not univocal concordance for using high-dose sequential therapy (HDS) as first-line treatment for aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). We designed this study to evaluate the usefulness of HDS followed by high-dose therapy (HDT) with autologous stem cell transplantation as front-line treatment in different subsets of aggressive NHL.

Patients And Methods: Among 223 patients aged 15-60 years with aggressive, advanced stage NHL, 106 patients were randomized to VACOP-B (etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisone, bleomycin) for 12 weeks (plus HDS/HDT in case of persistent disease) (arm A), and 117 patients to VACOP-B for 8 weeks plus upfront HDS/HDT (arm B).

Fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and mitoxantrone for untreated follicular lymphoma: a report from the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma co-operative study group.

The aim of the study was to determine the safety and efficacy of the combination of fludarabine (FLU), cyclophosphamide (CY) and mitoxantrone (FLU/CY/MITO) in untreated follicular lymphomas (FL), Sixty patients with newly diagnosed stage II bulky to IV FL, median age 59 years (range 36-70), received FLU/CY/MITO regimen (FLU 25 mg/m2 days 1-3, CY 300 mg/m2 days 1-3, Mito 10 mg/m2 day 1). Patients received antibiotic oral prophylaxis during all treatments, and growth factors (G-CSF) when grade III granulocytopenia (WHO) occurred. The overall response rate was 87%: 46 patients achieved complete response (CR) (77%), 6 a partial response (10%) and 8 were non-responders.

Correlation between structure and transfection efficiency: a study of DC-Chol--DOPE/DNA complexes.

The supramolecular structural nature of some cationic liposomes-DNA complexes, currently used as vehicles in non-viral gene delivery, has been elucidated by recent X-ray diffraction experiments. The relationship between the chemico-physical properties of these self-assembled structures and their transfection efficiency is extensively studied. Here we report a first comprehensive structural study by using energy dispersive X-ray diffraction, of the complex DC-Chol--DOPE/DNA (3beta[N-(N',N'-dimethylaminoethane)-carbamoyl]cholesterol dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine/DNA), which has been classified as one of the most effective in in-vivo experiments.

An ESR study of titanium-silicalite in presence of H2O2.

The interaction of H2O2 with TS-1 has been investigated by the ESR technique. A well manufactured TS-1 has been considered, where the presence of extra-structural titanium can be excluded. The two main signals observed are attributed to oxygen radical species co-ordinated on structural titanium sites, and the relevant effect of water presence in the paramagnetic complex is discussed.

Cemp, a mitoxantrone containing combination, in the treatment of intermediate and high grade non-hodgkin's lymphoma: an effective and non toxic therapeutic alternative for adult and elderly patients.

Here we report the results of a randomised multicenter phase III clinical trial which assesses the therapeutic efficacy and tolerability of a chemotherapy protocol CEMP (cyclophosphamide, etoposide, mitoxantrone and prednisone) in adult and elderly patients with advanced intermediate and high-grade NHL. Between October 1991 and October 1995, 139 patients, aged 55 to 79 years, with diffuse intermediate and high-grade lymphoma, were enrolled. A considerable percentage of patients had clinically aggressive disease: 32.