Resting-state electroencephalographic rhythms depend on sex in patients with dementia due to Parkinson's and Lewy Body diseases: An exploratory study.

Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are more prevalent in males than females. Furthermore, they typically showed abnormally high delta (< 4 Hz) and low alpha (8-10 Hz) rhythms from resting-state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) activity. Here, we hypothesized that those abnormalities may depend on the patient's sex.

Resting-State EEG Alpha Rhythms Are Related to CSF Tau Biomarkers in Prodromal Alzheimer's Disease.

Patients with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease (ADMCI) typically show abnormally high delta (<4 Hz) and low alpha (8-12 Hz) rhythms measured from resting-state eyes-closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) activity. Here, we hypothesized that the abnormalities in rsEEG activity may be greater in ADMCI patients than in those with MCI not due to AD (noADMCI). Furthermore, they may be associated with the diagnostic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid-tau biomarkers in ADMCI patients.

Neurobiological Changes Induced by Mindfulness and Meditation: A Systematic Review.

Meditation and mindfulness, rooted in ancient traditions, enhance mental well-being by cultivating awareness and emotional control. It has been shown to induce neuroplasticity, increase cortical thickness, reduce amygdala reactivity, and improve brain connectivity and neurotransmitter levels, leading to improved emotional regulation, cognitive function, and stress resilience. This systematic review will synthesize research on neurobiological changes associated with mindfulness and meditation practices.

Progression trajectories from prodromal to overt synucleinopathies: a longitudinal, multicentric brain [F]FDG-PET study.

The phenoconversion trajectory from idiopathic/isolated Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) towards either Parkinson's Disease (PD) or Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) is currently uncertain. We investigated the capability of baseline brain [F]FDG-PET in differentiating between iRBD patients eventually phenoconverting to PD or DLB, by deriving the denovoPDRBD-related pattern (denovoPDRBD-RP) from 32 de novo PD patients; and the denovoDLBRBD-RP from 30 de novo DLB patients, both with evidence of RBD at diagnosis. To explore [F]FDG-PET phenoconversion trajectories prediction power, we applied these two patterns on a group of 115 iRBD patients followed longitudinally.

Exploring divergent kinematics in autism across social and non-social vitality forms.

Vitality Forms (VFs) constitute the dynamic essence of human actions, providing insights into how individuals engage in activities. The ability to perceive and express VFs during interpersonal interactions is pivotal for understanding others' intentions, behaviors, and fostering effective social communication. Despite their ubiquity in all actions, research exploring the role of VFs in neurodivergent conditions related to social and communicative skills, particularly in autism, remains limited.

Automatic quantification of REM sleep without atonia reliably identifies patients with REM sleep behavior disorder: a possible screening tool?

Background: REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD) is characterized by absence of physiological muscle atonia during REM sleep (REM sleep without atonia, RWA). Nigro-striatal dopaminergic impairment is a feature of Parkinson disease (PD) and can be identified in prodromal stages as well, such as idiopathic RBD (iRBD). Aims of this study are to explore the efficacy of an automatic RWA quantification in identifying RBD patients and the correlation between RWA and nigro-striatal dopaminergic function.

Resting state electroencephalographic alpha rhythms are sensitive to Alzheimer's disease mild cognitive impairment progression at a 6-month follow-up.

Are posterior resting-state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) alpha rhythms sensitive to the Alzheimer's disease mild cognitive impairment (ADMCI) progression at a 6-month follow-up? Clinical, cerebrospinal, neuroimaging, and rsEEG datasets in 52 ADMCI and 60 Healthy old seniors (equivalent groups for demographic features) were available from an international archive (www.pdwaves.eu).

A Case of Myiasis Caused by Cordylobia anthropophaga (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in an Italian Traveler Returning from Senegal.

Purpose: Myiases are infestations of human and animal tissues by fly larvae. These conditions are widespread in tropical countries and travelers in those areas are at risk of becoming infested. Although Cordylobia anthropophaga (Blanchard & Berenger-Feraud, 1872) is one of the most common myiasis-causing species, few high-quality images and molecular sequences are available for this fly.

EEG-based machine learning models for the prediction of phenoconversion time and subtype in isolated rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder.

Study Objectives: Isolated rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is a prodromal stage of α-synucleinopathies and eventually phenoconverts to overt neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and multiple system atrophy (MSA). Associations of baseline resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) with phenoconversion have been reported. In this study, we aimed to develop machine learning models to predict phenoconversion time and subtype using baseline EEG features in patients with iRBD.

Tracking the progression of Alzheimer's disease: Insights from metabolic patterns of SOMI stages.

Background: SOMI (Stages of Objective Memory Impairment) is a novel classification that identifies six stages of memory decline in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) using the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT). However, the relationship between SOMI stages and brain metabolism remains unexplored. This study aims to investigate the metabolic correlates of SOMI stages using FDG-PET in Mild Cognitive Impairment due to AD (MCI-AD) and early AD patients.

Prognostic significance of the wall to lumen ratio of retinal arterioles evaluated by adaptive optics.

Objective: Microvascular structural alterations may be considered an important form of hypertension-mediated organ damage. An increased media-to-lumen ratio of subcutaneous small arteries evaluated with locally invasive techniques (micromyography) predicts the development of cardiovascular (CV) events. However, it is not known whether retinal arteriole structural alterations evaluated with a noninvasive approach (Adaptive Optics) may have a prognostic significance.

Parathyroid Retrospective Analysis of Neoplasms Incidence (pTRANI Study): An Italian Multicenter Study on Parathyroid Carcinoma and Atypical Parathyroid Tumour.

Background: Parathyroid cancer (PC) is a rare sporadic or hereditary malignancy whose histologic features were redefined with the 2022 WHO classification. A total of 24 Italian institutions designed this multicenter study to specify PC incidence, describe its clinical, functional, and imaging characteristics and improve its differentiation from the atypical parathyroid tumour (APT).

Methods: All relevant information was collected about PC and APT patients treated between 2009 and 2021.

Food Selectivity in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Statistical Analysis in Southern Italy.

This paper focuses on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and food selectivity, both of which are prevalent in the pediatric population. In this context, the authors paid attention to food selectivity and its possible correlation with the atypicality of sensory processes, outlining the useful rehabilitation treatments to draw on. This research included the parents or caregivers of pediatric patients diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and placed within a therapeutic clinic.

Low glomerular filtration rate values are associated with higher TSH in an elderly population at high cardiovascular disease risk.

Background: Hypothyroidism is associated with impaired glomerular filtration rate (GFR), a recognized cardiovascular disease (CVD), and mortality risk factor. In older adults, this association remains unexplored. We aimed to determine the relationship of elevated TSH with GFR in an elderly population at high CVD risk.

Relationship between default mode network and resting-state electroencephalographic alpha rhythms in cognitively unimpaired seniors and patients with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease.

Here we tested the hypothesis of a relationship between the cortical default mode network (DMN) structural integrity and the resting-state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms in patients with Alzheimer's disease with dementia (ADD). Clinical and instrumental datasets in 45 ADD patients and 40 normal elderly (Nold) persons originated from the PDWAVES Consortium (www.pdwaves.

Psycho-Emotional Well-Being in Caregivers of People with Acquired Brain Injury: An Exploratory Study on the Human Immersion Model during the Omicron Wave.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a "human immersion model" (HIM) in improving psychological well-being in caregivers of patients with acquired brain injury (ABI) during the Omicron wave in Italy. Fifteen subjects affected by ABI, who attended our intensive neurorehabilitation unit from January to March 2022 and their caregivers were submitted to the HIM. This novel approach consisted of "real" long-lasting meetings between the patients and their careers in a hospital setting (1-72 h meeting per week for 8 weeks).

Relationships between serum levels of vitamins and papillary thyroid cancer: a single center case-control study.

Background: Vitamins are involved in various human physiological and biochemical mechanisms due to their antioxidant properties and their ability to enhance the immune response. Deficiency of some serum vitamins has been reported to be associated with an increased risk of developing cancer, including thyroid cancer. However, medical literature dealing with cholecalciferol supplementation was not able to show the potential of this intervention in cancer prevention.

Drug resistant tuberculosis in Italy through a global health lens.

Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) is a major global health challenge. In 2021, about one third of DR-TB patients worldwide were enrolled in treatment. In order to reach the targets set during by the 2018 UN General Assembly (UNGA) Political Declaration on Tuberculosis, a global effort must be made by both high- and low-incidence countries.

Validation of the REM behaviour disorder phenoconversion-related pattern in an independent cohort.

Background: A brain glucose metabolism pattern related to phenoconversion in patients with idiopathic/isolated REM sleep behaviour disorder (iRBDconvRP) was recently identified. However, the validation of the iRBDconvRP in an external, independent group of iRBD patients is needed to verify the reproducibility of such pattern, so to increase its importance in clinical and research settings. The aim of this work was to validate the iRBDconvRP in an independent group of iRBD patients.

Thyroid Metastasis from Primary Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer (BC), the most commonly diagnosed malignancy, frequently metastasizes to the bone, lungs, brain and liver at advanced stages, whereas the thyroid gland represents a rare target site for secondary disease. We examined the most recent literature about thyroid metastasis (TM) from BC after we encountered a peculiar case of a 71-year-old woman who developed sudden dysphagia, severe hypothyroidism and hypoparathyroidism due to TM 18 years after the diagnosis of her primary cancer. Based on published data, the prevalence of TM in BC ranges from 3% to 34%, with a median onset time of 48.

Patients with Alzheimer's disease dementia show partially preserved parietal 'hubs' modeled from resting-state alpha electroencephalographic rhythms.

Introduction: Graph theory models a network by its nodes (the fundamental unit by which graphs are formed) and connections. 'Degree' hubs reflect node centrality (the connection rate), while 'connector' hubs are those linked to several clusters of nodes (mainly long-range connections).

Methods: Here, we compared hubs modeled from measures of interdependencies of between-electrode resting-state eyes-closed electroencephalography (rsEEG) rhythms in normal elderly (Nold) and Alzheimer's disease dementia (ADD) participants.