Publications by authors named "Ferraro L"

Robotic surgery has become a popular method for treating ventral hernias due to its promising peri-operative outcomes. However, the long-term results of this approach are still unclear. In this study, 120 patients underwent robotic trans-abdominal retromuscular mesh placement (r-TARM) with a mean follow-up period of 18.

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Background: Multiple genetic and environmental risk factors play a role in the development of both schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and affective psychoses. How they act in combination is yet to be clarified.

Methods: We analyzed 573 first episode psychosis cases and 1005 controls, of European ancestry.

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Background: The association between cannabis and psychosis is established, but the role of underlying genetics is unclear. We used data from the EU-GEI case-control study and UK Biobank to examine the independent and combined effect of heavy cannabis use and schizophrenia polygenic risk score (PRS) on risk for psychosis.

Methods: Genome-wide association study summary statistics from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and the Genomic Psychiatry Cohort were used to calculate schizophrenia and cannabis use disorder (CUD) PRS for 1098 participants from the EU-GEI study and 143600 from the UK Biobank.

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Background: Rebound pain is believed to involve both nociceptive pain due to insufficient analgesia and hyperalgesia induced by regional anesthesia. Adjuvant's addition could prevent rebound pain. This study aimed to determine if the addition of dexamethasone or clonidine to local anesthetic when performing interscalene block could prevent rebound pain.

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Background: Cannabis use and familial vulnerability to psychosis have been associated with social cognition deficits. This study examined the potential relationship between cannabis use and cognitive biases underlying social cognition and functioning in patients with first episode psychosis (FEP), their siblings, and controls.

Methods: We analyzed a sample of 543 participants with FEP, 203 siblings, and 1168 controls from the EU-GEI study using a correlational design.

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We examined the feasibility of using the neofunctional deep breathing (NDB) technique to reduce the allostatic load following the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Forty-four healthy subjects were randomised into experimental and control groups. Following the TSST procedure, participants underwent either a single session of NDB or an attention control intervention.

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During fetal life the right valve of the sinus venosus directs oxygenated blood from the inferior vena cava to the left atrium through the foramen ovale, until the regression of the right valve which usually occurs within the 15th week of pregnancy. Incomplete regression of the right venous valve in varying degrees can lead to different types of remnants such as the Eustachian valve, the Chiari Network and Cor Triatriatum Dexter. Prenatal diagnosis of remnants of right venous valve has only rarely been reported in the literature.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates the link between urban living conditions (urbanicity) and schizotypy, a potential precursor to psychosis, suggesting this relationship varies significantly between North-western and Southern Europe.
  • - Researchers assessed 1080 individuals across 14 sites in both regions, measuring urbanicity through local population density and controlling for factors like age and childhood experiences.
  • - Findings reveal that higher population density is strongly associated with increased schizotypy in North-western Europe, while the effect is notably weaker in Southern Europe, indicating that urbanization’s impact on mental health is not uniform across different contexts.
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Childhood adversity is associated with various clinical dimensions in psychosis; however, how genetic vulnerability shapes the adversity-associated psychopathological signature is yet to be studied. We studied data of 583 First Episode Psychosis (FEP) cases from the EU-GEI FEP case-control study, including Polygenic risk scores for major depressive disorder (MDD-PRS), bipolar disorder (BD-PRS) and schizophrenia (SZ-PRS); childhood adversity measured with the total score of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ); and positive, negative, depressive and manic psychopathological domains from a factor model of transdiagnostic dimensions. Genes and environment interactions were explored as a departure from a multiplicative effect of PRSs and total CTQ on each dimension.

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Cells are complex systems whose behavior emerges from a huge number of reactions taking place within and among different molecular districts. The availability of bulk and single-cell omics data fueled the creation of multi-omics systems biology models capturing the dynamics within and between omics layers. Powerful modeling strategies are needed to cope with the increased amount of data to be interrogated and the relative research questions.

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  • Several studies have explored the neural correlates of trans individuals, revealing inconsistent findings. This particular study focused on comparing functional connectivity, cognitive profiles, and hormone levels among trans men with gender dysphoria, cisgender men, and cisgender women.
  • A total of 42 participants underwent resting state fMRI and hormonal analysis, revealing that trans men showed reduced functional connectivity in various brain regions and performed worse in certain cognitive tasks compared to cisgender men, but similarly to cisgender women.
  • The study found significant correlations between testosterone and specific brain areas in trans men, indicating potential neural differences that challenge binary gender models and highlight the unique neural characteristics present in those with gender dysphoria.
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  • The study investigates how current cannabis use and high-potency cannabis affect DNA methylation patterns in individuals experiencing first-episode psychosis (FEP), comparing them to non-users.
  • Researchers analyzed blood samples from 682 participants, identifying a significant CpG site associated with cannabis use that could influence mental health through epigenetic changes.
  • Findings suggest cannabis use affects genes related to immune and mitochondrial functions, with implications for understanding how cannabis may impact mental health, especially in those with psychosis.
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Objectives: Steroid 5α-reductase type 2 deficiency (5α-RD2) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the gene. This condition is characterized by reduced enzymatic activity of the 5α-reductase type 2 enzyme. Individuals with mutations in the gene may exhibit various symptoms of under-masculinization in 46, XY individuals.

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: The primary objective of this study was to compare the incidence of antipsychotic use in those with venous thromboembolism (VTE) resulting in hospital admission. This study expands upon current knowledge regarding VTE risk and antipsychotic use and investigates potential risk factors and lab values that may precede antipsychotic-induced coagulopathy. : This retrospective, case-control, chart review investigated patients admitted to an acute care hospital with either a VTE or non-VTE diagnosis.

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Mitochondrial trifunctional protein (TFP) deficiency is an inherited metabolic disorder leading to a block in long-chain fatty acid β-oxidation. Mutations in HADHA and HADHB, which encode the TFP α and β subunits, respectively, usually result in combined TFP deficiency. A single common mutation, HADHA c.

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Background: - Alcohol-induced pro-inflammatory activation might influence cellular and synaptic pathology, thus contributing to the behavioral phenotypes associated with alcohol use disorders. In the present study, the possible anti-inflammatory properties of N-[(4-trifluoromethyl)-benzyl]4-methoxybutyramide (GET73), a promising therapeutic agent for alcohol use disorder treatment, were evaluated in primary cultures of rat cortical microglia.

Methods: - Primary cultures of cerebral cortex microglial cells were treated with 100 ng/ml lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 8 h, 37 °C) or 75 mM ethanol (EtOH; 4 days, 37 °C) alone or in the presence of GET73 (1-30 µM).

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Benznidazole (BNZ) serves as the primary drug for treating Chagas Disease and is listed in the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children. Herein, a new child-friendly oral BNZ delivery platform is developed in the form of supramolecular eutectogels (EGs). EGs address BNZ's poor oral bioavailability and provide a flexible twice-daily dose in stick-pack format.

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Ferulic acid (Fer) and geraniol (Ger) are natural compounds whose antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity confer beneficial properties, such as antibacterial, anticancer, and neuroprotective effects. However, the short half-lives of these compounds impair their therapeutic activities after conventional administration. We propose, therefore, a new prodrug (Fer-Ger) obtained by a bio-catalyzed ester conjugation of Fer and Ger to enhance the loading of solid lipid microparticles (SLMs) designed as Fer-Ger delivery and targeting systems.

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Background: Elevated brain levels of kynurenic acid (KYNA), a metabolite in the kynurenine pathway, are associated with cognitive dysfunctions, which are nowadays often considered as fundamental characteristics of several psychopathologies; however, the role of KYNA in mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, is not fully elucidated. This study aimed to assess KYNA levels in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of rats prenatally treated with methylazoxymethanol (MAM) acetate, i.e.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the relationship between setting-level deprivation and cannabis use in affecting the incidence of first-episode psychotic disorders (FEP).
  • Researchers used data from 14 settings in the EU-GEI study to analyze how factors like owner-occupancy and daily cannabis use correlate with FEP incidence among individuals aged 18-64.
  • Findings revealed that lower owner-occupancy rates were linked to higher rates of psychosis, while daily cannabis use was specifically associated with affective psychoses, suggesting environmental factors play a significant role in psychotic disorder incidence.
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Bioluminescence and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (BRET and FRET) together with the proximity ligation method revealed the existence of G-protein-coupled receptors, Ionotropic and Receptor tyrosine kinase heterocomplexes, e.g., A2AR-D2R, GABAA-D5R, and FGFR1-5-HT1AR heterocomplexes.

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Coastal areas have historically thrived as centers of human activities due to their resources, economic opportunities, and natural allure. The rapid growth of coastal populations has however brought forth a multitude of challenges to tackle, with pollution emerging as a significant and far-reaching issue. Our study focuses on the Mar Piccolo of Taranto (Ionian Sea, Southern Italy), a lagoon-like coastal basin (separated in two sub-basins) that, since decades, has been heavily affected by human activities and aquaculture, leading to environmental deterioration.

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Treatment of incisional hernia is a rapidly evolving field of surgery, with actual trends being oriented toward retromuscular/preperitoneal mesh placement. The diffusion of robotic surgery is constantly growing in different surgical specialties and is gaining widespread acceptance for abdominal wall reconstruction. Recently, novel robotic platforms have entered into the market.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates the variation of subclinical psychosis (SP) measures, such as schizotypy and psychotic-like experiences (PLEs), across different geographic regions and how this correlates with the incidence of first-episode psychosis (FEP) in those areas.
  • - Through analysis of data from 1497 controls in 16 sites across 6 countries, researchers found that schizotypy showed significant variation related to site characteristics, while PLEs exhibited less variation; local incidences of FEP were associated with reduced unexplained variance in schizotypy.
  • - Findings highlight that younger, migrant, unmarried, unemployed, and less educated individuals, along with factors like cannabis use and childhood adversity, are linked to SP
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Paraoxonase (PON) enzymes (PON1, PON2 and PON3) exert antioxidant properties through arylesterase, lactonase and paraoxonase activities. Increasing findings suggested their potential involvement, particularly PON1 and PON2, in Alzheimer's disease (AD), a neurodegenerative pathology characterized by early oxidative stress. Specifically, decreased serum PON1-arylesterase and lactonase activities seem to be associated with an increased brain oxidative damage in early AD, leading to hypothesize that PON activity alterations might be an early event in AD.

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