Publications by authors named "Costi S"
Background: The renin angiotensin system (RAS) is implicated in various cognitive processes relevant to anxiety. However, the role of the RAS in pattern separation, a hippocampal memory mechanism that enables discrete encoding of similar stimuli, is unclear. Given the proposed role of this mechanism in overgeneralization and the maintenance of anxiety, we explored the influence of the RAS on mnemonic discrimination i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To assess the lung involvement in patients with Still's disease, an inflammatory disease assessing both children and adults. To exploit possible associated factors for parenchymal lung involvement in these patients.
Methods: A multicentre observational study was arranged assessing consecutive patients with Still's disease characterized by the lung involvement among those included in the AIDA (AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance) Network Still's Disease Registry.
Purpose: The Core Set for Vocational Rehabilitation (CS-VR), a checklist based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), captures the work functioning of individuals requiring VR. By listening to cancer survivors' experiences and stakeholders' perspectives, the CS-VR-Onco of 85 ICF-based categories was obtained. The aim of this study was to assess the concurrent validity of the CS-VR-Onco by measuring this tool's ability to detect differences among cancer survivors in terms of perceived return to work (RTW)-related difficulties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Advances in cancer detection and treatment have extended cancer survivors' (CSs) life expectancy, but their evolving health needs remain unmet. This study analyzes 14 patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for CSs with non-cutaneous cancers using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework. These 14 PROMs are derived from a recent review focusing on the implementation of the routine assessment of unmet needs in cancer survivors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Incurable cancer is a major contributor to societal suffering and disability, and palliative rehabilitation is recommended to be integrated within and between cancer services at all healthcare levels. However, little knowledge exists on how integration of palliative rehabilitation in cancer is understood and achieved in clinical practice. INSPIRE (Integrated short-term palliative rehabilitation to improve quality of life and equitable care access in incurable cancer) is a large European-funded project that aims to promote quality of life through a novel rehabilitation model for people disabled by advanced cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study aimed to explore gender differences in the phenotypical expression of Behçet's disease (BD) using data from the International AIDA Network Registry, focusing on damage index, disease manifestations, and cardiovascular risk.
- A total of 1024 patients (567 males and 457 females) were examined, revealing that males had a significantly higher overall damage index and more frequent occurrences of uveitis and vascular involvement, while females showed higher instances of arthralgia, arthritis, and CNS involvement.
- Key factors associated with major organ involvement included male gender, treatment with biologic agents, origin from endemic regions, and longer disease duration, indicating a more severe course of BD in males compared to females.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to explore the frequency and characteristics of tenosynovitis in young patients with new-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) who have active ankle disease and whether its detection impacts the likelihood of achieving inactive disease status.
- It involved 45 children, showing that 62.2% had tenosynovitis detected via ultrasound (US), while 37.8% had isolated arthritis, with no significant differences in achieving inactive disease between those with and without tenosynovitis.
- The findings suggest that even though tenosynovitis is common at the onset of JIA, it does not negatively affect the chances of reaching clinically inactive disease early in the treatment process.
Purpose: To synthesise evidence evaluating non-pharmacological interventions targeting mobility among people with advanced cancer, considering the type, efficacy and contextual factors that may influence outcome.
Methods: Systematic review of studies of non-pharmacological interventions in adults (≥ 18 years) with advanced (stage III-IV) cancer, and assessing mobility using clinical or patient-reported outcome measures. Searches were conducted across three electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL) up to June 2024.
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted healthcare organizations, necessitating a rapid transition from in-person to virtual care. Our study explored the feasibility of a mixed in-person/telerehabilitation intervention for cancer patients and its effects on cancer-related fatigue (CRF), quality of life (QoL), physical function, patient satisfaction, and perceived usefulness.
Methods: TRACE 2020 is an observational prospective study that enrolled adult cancer patients, between January 2021 and March 2023, who were eligible for a rehabilitation program to be provided also in telerehabilitation.
Needs of breast cancer survivors: a systematic review of quantitative data.
Crit Rev Oncol Hematol
September 2024
This systematic review aimed to update the perceived needs of individuals with breast cancer (BC). Databases were searched for studies reporting quantitative data collected through validated assessment tools. Needs of adults with BC were reported by survivorship phase.
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- Gain-of-function mutations in STING lead to STING-associated vasculopathy with onset in infancy (SAVI), which is marked by systemic inflammation, skin issues, and lung disease.
- A new STING variant (F269S) was discovered in a SAVI patient; this variant causes abnormal activation of immune pathways and an increase in circulating naïve T cells in the patient's bone marrow.
- The STING F269S variant enhances protein signaling and protects against viral infections but disrupts immune function, contributing to inflammation and damage in endothelial cells, thereby linking immune and lung diseases.
Article Synopsis
- The ELEKT-D trial explored whether intravenous ketamine is as effective as ECT for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), finding that ketamine is noninferior to ECT in this group.
- This secondary analysis aimed to identify which clinical features might predict better outcomes with either ketamine or ECT in treating TRD.
- The study involved 365 participants from five U.S. medical centers, comparing treatment responses based on various baseline factors, such as depression severity and cognitive function, using advanced statistical methods.
Article Synopsis
- Pyogenic granuloma (PG) is a benign growth on the skin or mucosa that appears as a painful red nodule and can lead to complications like bleeding and infections.
- Its exact cause is not well understood, but multiple lesions can arise from systemic conditions or certain medications, including cancer treatments and hormone therapies.
- A specific case involves a 21-year-old woman with juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus who developed multiple PGs during treatment with belimumab, suggesting that PG can be induced by rheumatologic medications.
Background: Action observation treatment (AOT) is an innovative therapeutic approach consisting in the observation of actions followed by their subsequent repetition. The standard version of AOT consists in the observation/imitation of a typically developed individual, which is proposed as model (TDM-AOT).
Aim: This study aims to compare the effectiveness of AOT based on a pathological ameliorative model (PAM-AOT) versus TDM-AOT in improving upper limb ability in children with unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP).
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the relationship between Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), a severe inflammatory condition, and the risk of cancer development compared to other diseases like fibromyalgia, Still's disease, and Behçet's disease.
- Results show that FMF patients have a significantly lower risk for malignancies compared to fibromyalgia patients, with a risk ratio (RR) of 0.26; however, this risk is less clear when comparing with the other conditions.
- Factors influencing cancer risk in FMF patients include age at onset and diagnosis, frequency of disease attacks, and treatment with specific biotechnological agents.
The diagnosis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is often entrusted to the pediatric rheumatologist specialist. Timely referral to a specialized center is crucial. This study aims to assess the consultation and investigation patterns of patients with joint complaints before rheumatology referral.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The clinical relevance of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) subtypes such as HLA-B51 on Behçet's disease (BD)-related uveitis and non-infectious uveitis (NIU) unrelated to BD remains largely unknown.
Methods: Data were prospectively collected from the International AIDA Network Registry for BD and for NIU. We assessed differences between groups (NIU unrelated to BD and positive for HLA-B51, BD-related uveitis positive for HLA-B51 and BD-related uveitis negative for HLA-B51) in terms of long-term ocular complications, visual acuity (VA) measured by best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), anatomical pattern, occurrence of retinal vasculitis (RV) and macular edema over time.
Article Synopsis
- - The study aimed to establish and validate specific cutoff values for the systemic Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score 10 (sJADAS10) to differentiate between various disease activity levels in children with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
- - Researchers used data from 400 patients across multiple countries, applying different methods to determine these cutoffs, ensuring robust validation through comparison of physician assessments.
- - The identified cutoffs were found to effectively separate inactive disease, minimal disease activity, moderate disease activity, and high disease activity, making them reliable for clinical use and research purposes.
Background: In juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (j-SLE) with neuropsychiatric (NP) symptoms, there is a lack of diagnostic biomarkers. Thus, we study whether PET-FDG may identify any metabolic dysfunction in j-NPSLE.
Methods: A total of 19 FDG-PET exams were consecutively performed using PET-MRI system in 11 non-sedated patients presenting with j-NPSLE (11-18y) for less than 18 months (m) and without any significant lesion at MRI.
Introduction: This study aims to characterize ocular manifestations of juvenile Behçet's disease (jBD).
Methods: This was a registry-based observational prospective study. All subjects with jBD from the Autoinflammatory Diseases Alliance (AIDA) Network BD Registry showing ocular manifestations before 18 years were enrolled.
Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of JAK inhibitors (JAKi) in a monocentric cohort of adult patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).
Methods: Patients attending a rheumatology transition clinic were retrospectively included in case of: i) JIA diagnosis according to current classification criteria (1); ii) age ≥18 years and iii) treatment with JAKi for at least 3 months.
Results: Seventeen adult patients with JIA were treated with JAKi (as first JAKi, 9 patients (52.
Article Synopsis
- This study evaluated the effectiveness of a systemic score in predicting severe outcomes in patients with Still disease, including the risk of mortality and severe complications like macrophage activation syndrome.
- Involving 597 patients, the study found that a higher systemic score significantly correlated with life-threatening outcomes, with scores of 7 or above indicating a greater risk.
- Key components that were most predictive of severe outcomes included liver and lung involvement, emphasizing the importance of these factors in managing Still disease.