Different Impact of Definitions of Sarcopenia in Defining Frailty Status in a Population of Older Women with Early Breast Cancer.

Sarcopenia is a geriatric syndrome characterized by losses of quantity and quality of skeletal muscle, which is associated with negative outcomes in older adults and in cancer patients. Different definitions of sarcopenia have been used, with quantitative data more frequently used in oncology, while functional measures have been advocated in the geriatric literature. Little is known about the correlation between frailty status as assessed by comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) and sarcopenia in cancer patients.

The validation of the Italian version of the COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity (COST).

Purpose: Financial toxicity (FT) is the unintended, potential economic harm or damage of oncologic treatments that has become a medical problem with political implications. To assess FT, the COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity (COST) questionnaire was developed. Since an Italian version is not available yet, we aimed to validate the Italian version of the COST questionnaire in a population of cancer patients during oncologic treatments or follow-up.

Update on mitochondria and muscle aging: all wrong roads lead to sarcopenia.

Sarcopenia is a well-known geriatric syndrome that has been endorsed over the years as a biomarker allowing for the discrimination, at a clinical level, of biological from chronological age. Multiple candidate mechanisms have been linked to muscle degeneration during sarcopenia. Among them, there is wide consensus on the central role played by the loss of mitochondrial integrity in myocytes, secondary to dysfunctional quality control mechanisms.

Three dimensional myocardial deformation and diagnosis of stable coronary artery disease.

To date, only one third of patients, with stable angina, undergoing coronary angiography demonstrated obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Thus, identifying high sensitivity and specificity, low-cost, non invasive tests is crucial. Here we present the case of a patient, at a high risk of CAD, undergoing coronary angiography because of positive exercise test and stress imaging results, with non obstructive coronary artery disease at angiography, confirmed by FFR.

Adrenal adrenoceptors in heart failure.

Heart failure (HF) is a chronic clinical syndrome characterized by the reduction in left ventricular (LV) function and it represents one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite considerable advances in pharmacological treatment, HF represents a severe clinical and social burden. Sympathetic outflow, characterized by increased circulating catecholamines (CA) biosynthesis and secretion, is peculiar in HF and sympatholytic treatments (as β-blockers) are presently being used for the treatment of this disease.