Publications by authors named "Giovagnoli A"

Patients affected by Parkinson's disease (PD) display a tendency toward making risky choices in value-based conditions. Possible causes may encompass the pathophysiologic characteristics of PD that affect neural structures pivotal for decision making (DM) and the dopaminergic medications that may bias choices. Nevertheless, excluding patients with concurrent impulse control disorders, results are few and mixed.

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This work describes a simple, inexpensive, and robust method to prepare a flexible "all in one" integrated hydrogel supercapacitors (HySCs). Preparing smart hydrogels with high electrical conductivity, ability to stretch significantly, and excellent mechanical properties is the last challenge for tailored wearable devices. In this paper, we employed a physical crosslinking process that involves consecutive freezing and thawing cycles to prepare a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based hydrogel.

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Objectives: Sensitivity to moral and conventional rules (SMCR) is supported by bilateral brain networks and psychosocial input both of which may be altered in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). This study evaluated the components of SMCR in patients with TLE, aiming to clarify their preservation and link to psychopathological and cognitive aspects.

Methods: Adult patients with unilateral TLE and healthy controls were evaluated using neuropsychological tests for SMCR, memory, language, and executive functions, the Empathy Questionnaire (EQ), and the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R).

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: Dapagliflozin has shown efficacy in clinical trials in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, real-world data on its use and outcomes in routine clinical practice are limited. We aimed to evaluate the utilisation and safety profile of dapagliflozin in a real-world population of HFrEF patients within the Marche region.

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Handedness, a complex human aspect that reflects the functional lateralization of the hemispheres, also interacts with the immune system. This study aimed to expand the knowledge of the lateralization of hand, foot, and eye activities in patients with immune-mediated (IM) or other (noIM) neurological diseases and to clarify the properties of the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI) in an Italian population. Three hundred thirty-four patients with IM or noIM diseases affecting the brain or spine and peripheral nervous system were interviewed about stressful events preceding the disease, subjective handedness, and familiarity for left-handedness or ambidexterity.

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In the past decade, hydrogels have attracted growing interest for emerging applications in flexible electronic devices, human-machine interactions, energy supply, or energy storage. Developing a multifunctional gel architecture with superior ionic conductivity and good mechanical flexibility is a bottleneck to overcome. Herein, poly(vinyl alcohol)/sulfuric acid (PVA-HSO) hydrogels were prepared via a freeze-thaw method.

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Background: Impaired processing speed (PS) can affect patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). However, it is usually considered a nonspecific clinical feature and is not measured, but this raises lexical and methodological problems. This review aims to evaluate the existing terminology and assessment methods of PS in patients with TLE.

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Aim: To compare neuropsychological function in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) and frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) since frontal circuitry is involved in both conditions. By drawing on previously theory-guided hypotheses and findings, a particular emphasis is placed on the way different cognitive-pathophysiological mechanisms act upon to produce frontal dysfunction in JME (frontal-executive and attention-related problems: vigilance, reaction times, processing speed, and response inhibition) and in FLE (reflecting the coproduct of the functional deficit zone), respectively.

Methods: A total of 16 patients with JME, 34 patients with FLE, and 48 normal controls, all matched for age and education, were administered a comprehensive battery of tests to assess frontal-executive functions, as well as attention, memory, and learning domains.

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Article Synopsis
  • Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is a rare brain disorder caused by improperly folded prion proteins, with different strains linked to genetic variations and outcomes.
  • Diagnosis of sCJD typically occurs post-mortem through brain analysis, but new techniques like Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) have shown prion proteins can also be found in the olfactory mucosa (OM) of living patients.
  • An optimized method called protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) successfully detected prion proteins in OM samples with high sensitivity (79.3%) and specificity (100%), although it didn't differentiate sCJD subtypes from living patients
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Personality disorders can influence and, along with cognitive deficits, compromise the quality of life of patients with epilepsy. This study evaluated personality traits and disorders in patients with frontal (FLE) or temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) using the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III with the aim to determine prevalent personality profiles. The results demonstrate the presence of particularly pronounced personality traits and disorders with prevalence of histrionic and obsessive-compulsive personality profiles, respectively, in FLE and TLE.

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Background: Rapidly progressive cognitive impairment is a diagnostic criterion in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), but the diagnosis is usually reached when an analysis of cognitive aspects is no longer possible.

Objective: This study aims to delineate the cognitive phenotypes preceding severe dementia in CJD compared to secondary metabolic encephalopathies (SME) with rapid cognitive impairment.

Methods: Patients with rapidly progressive neurological symptoms underwent neuropsychological evaluation, analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and codon 129 polymorphism of the prion protein gene (PRNP), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and single positron emission computed tomography (SPECT).

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Objective: In patients with brain lesion, awareness of cognitive deficits is an important aspect of disease awareness. Glioblastoma (GBM) and anaplastic astrocytoma (AA) can cause cognitive deficits, but, to date, awareness of these deficits has not been documented. This study aimed to test cognitive awareness in these patients after the end of treatment.

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Objectives: In an integrated model of social cognition (SC), the theory of mind (ToM), the recognition of behavior in social situations (RBSS), empathy, and sensitivity to moral and conventional rules (SMCR) cooperate in generating mental representations of the interpersonal relationships. The aim of this study was to extend our knowledge of the SC of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients by characterizing its various aspects and predictors.

Materials And Methods: Fifty adult patients with TLE and 50 healthy controls were assessed using ToM, RBSS and SMCR neuropsychological tests, the Empathy Questionnaire, and the psychopathology Symptoms Check List 90R (SCL90-R).

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The Bayesian Design of Adaptive Clinical Trials.

Int J Environ Res Public Health

January 2021

This paper presents a brief overview of the recent literature on adaptive design of clinical trials from a Bayesian perspective for statistically not so sophisticated readers. Adaptive designs are attracting a keen interest in several disciplines, from a theoretical viewpoint and also-potentially-from a practical one, and Bayesian adaptive designs, in particular, have raised high expectations in clinical trials. The main conceptual tools are highlighted here, with a mention of several trial designs proposed in the literature that use these methods, including some of the registered Bayesian adaptive trials to this date.

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Purpose: This study was aimed to evaluate the impact of frontal (FLE) and temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) on graphic creativity.

Methods: A hundred and six patients with FLE (n = 32) or TLE (n = 74) and 38 healthy subjects underwent a design fluency (DF) test constituted by a free and a fixed condition. For each condition, the number of correct designs, as an index of creativity, and unacceptable nonperseveration or perseveration designs were calculated.

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Objective: Previous studies of frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) have documented different impairments of theory of mind (ToM), while the study of frontal lobe (FL) lesion without seizures has produced inconsistent results. Given the role played by the FLs in ToM, we evaluated this and other functions in patients with FLE with and without FL lesions. The main objective was to clarify the salience of ToM impairment in the cognitive pattern of FLE and its capacity to discriminate these patients from healthy subjects.

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Purpose: Unlike temporal lobe lesions, temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) has no definite effects on visuospatial functions. This retrospective study evaluated these functions in patients with TLE, aiming to clarify their relationships to TLE laterality and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-detected brain lesions.

Methods: The Raven Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM), Attentive Matrices (AM), Trail Making Test A (TMTA), Street Completion Test (SCT), Rey Complex Figure Copying (RCFC) and Delayed Reproduction (RCFDR), and Corsi Blocks Span (CBS) and Supraspan Learning (CBSSL) were used to assess different visuospatial functions in 198 patients with TLE and 90 healthy subjects.

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In recent years, clinical and neuropsychological assessment of patients with epilepsy has dedicated increasing attention to social cognition (SC), which is relevant to interpersonal relations, psychological well-being, and autonomy. The components of SC are supported by distinct but interlinked brain regions that may be affected by focal and generalized epilepsy. This special issue sought to describe some of the societal, clinical, and pathophysiological correlates of SC in patients with epilepsy and healthy subjects, highlighting some of the questions key to clinical care and research.

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