Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and HEV antibody status: A case-control study from Lazio, Italy.

Introduction: Few studies have pointed to the possible role of infectious diseases in triggering Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP). Given the association of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) with Guillain Barrè syndrome, we conducted a case-control study to determine the possible association of HEV infection with CIDP, analyzing possible risk factors for acquiring HEV infection in both CIDP patients and controls.

Materials And Methods: 82 CIDP and 260 from the general population have provided some personal information (demographics, anamnestic data and recognized risk factors for HEV infection) and underwent venipuncture blood sampling for virological assays testing for anti-HEV IgG and IgM with ELISA and RNA-HEV performing RT-PCR.

Influence of sex in alcohol-related liver disease: Pre-clinical and clinical settings.

Alcohol-related liver disease (ArLD) is a major cause of chronic liver disease globally. Traditionally, ArLD was mostly a concern in men rather than in women; however, such a sex gap is rapidly narrowing due to increasing chronic alcohol consumption among women. Female sex is more vulnerable to the harmful effects of alcohol with a higher risk of progression to cirrhosis and development of associated complications.

Association between PaO/FiO ratio and thrombotic events in COVID-19 patients.

PaO/FiO (P/F ratio) is considered a marker of hypoxia/hypoxemia and mortality. Several prothrombotic changes are associated with the decrease of P/F ratio. The role of P/F ratio in patients with arterial and venous thrombosis remains unclear.

Precision Medicine: Determination of Ribavirin Urinary Metabolites in Relation to Drug Adverse Effects in HCV Patients.

The most commonly used antiviral treatment against hepatitis C virus is a combination of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) and ribavirin (RBV), which leads to a shortened duration of therapy and a sustained virologic response until 98%. Nonetheless, several dose-related side effects of RBV could limit its applications. This study aims to measure the urinary concentration of RBV and its main metabolites in order to evaluate the drug metabolism ability of HCV patients and to evaluate the adverse effects, such as anemia, with respect to RBV metabolite levels.

Risk of Seven-Day Worsening and Death: A New Clinically Derived COVID-19 Score.

This monocentric, retrospective, two-stage observational study aimed to recognize the risk factors for a poor outcome in patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infection, and to develop and validate a risk score that identifies subjects at risk of worsening, death, or both. The data of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection during the first wave of the pandemic were collected and analyzed as a derivation cohort. Variables with predictive properties were used to construct a prognostic score, which was tried out on a validation cohort enrolled during the second wave.

Analysis of HIV-1 integrase genotypes and polymorphisms among integrase inhibitors-based antiretroviral treatment naïve patients in South Sudan.

HIV-1 genetic diversity and drug resistance mutations remain public health challenges especially in regions where treatment is limited. The aim of this study was to characterize the HIV-1 integrase (IN) subtype and the possible occurrence of drug-resistance mutations or polymorphisms in resource-poor settings in South Sudan. Dried blood spots from integrase inhibitor treatment (Integrase strand transfer inhibitor [INSTI]) naïve HIV-1 infected patients were subjected to DNA amplification and direct sequencing of integrase genes.

The ADA (Age-D-Dimer-Albumin) Score to Predict Thrombosis in SARS-CoV-2.

Background:  Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)-related pneumonia is associated with venous and arterial thrombosis. Aim of the study was to find out a new score for predicting thrombosis in patients with SARS-CoV-2.

Methods:  We included a cohort of 674 patients affected by SARS-CoV-2, not requiring intensive care units, and followed-up during the hospitalization until discharge.

Short- and Long-Term Immunological Responses in Chronic HCV/HIV Co-Infected Compared to HCV Mono-Infected Patients after DAA Therapy.

Background: Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) treatment, although highly efficacious for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, may not completely reconstitute the HCV-mediated dysregulated immune system, especially in patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and HCV.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the impact of HCV eradication following DAA therapy on the immune system and liver disease improvement through comparative monitoring of 10 HCV mono-infected and 10 HCV/HIV co-infected patients under combined antiretroviral therapy (cART). Early and late longitudinal phenotypic changes in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) subsets, T-cell activation, differentiation and exhaustion, as well as inflammatory biomarkers, indoleamine 2-3 dioxygenase (IDO) activity, and liver stiffness, APRI and FIB-4 scores were assessed.

Comparison of Thrombotic Events and Mortality in Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia and COVID-19: A Multicenter Observational Study.

Background: It is still unclear if patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have different rate, typology, and impact of thrombosis on survival.

Methods: In this multicenter observational cohort study, 1,138 patients, hospitalized for CAP ( = 559) or COVID-19 ( = 579) from seven clinical centers in Italy, were included in the study. Consecutive adult patients (age ≥ 18 years) with confirmed COVID-19-related pneumonia, with or without mechanical ventilation, hospitalized from March 1, 2020 to April 30, 2020, were enrolled.

Treatment for COVID-19-a cohort study from Northern Italy.

Multicentre, retrospective cohort study with multivariable Cox proportional-hazards modelling and survival-time inverse-probability-weighting, evaluating the impact of different treatments on survival of proven COVID-19 patients admitted to two Hospitals in the province of Piacenza, Italy. Use of tocilizumab and of high doses of low molecular weight heparin, but not of antivirals (either alone or in combination), azithromycin, and any corticosteroid, was independently associated with lower mortality. Our results support further clinical evaluation of high doses of low molecular weight heparin and tocilizumab as COVID-19 therapeutics.

Urinary metabolomics of HCV patients with severe liver fibrosis before and during the sustained virologic response achieved by direct acting antiviral treatment.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection induces a long-term inflammatory response and oxidative-stress in the liver microenvironment, leading to hepatic fibrosis and metabolic alterations. Direct-acting-antiviral-agents (DAAs) induce HCV-clearance, even though liver damage is only partially restored. In this context, understanding the impact of viral-eradication on liver metabolic activities could allow optimizing the metabolic care of the patient.

Impact of HCV Eradication on Lipid Metabolism in HIV/HCV Coinfected Patients: Data from ICONA and HepaICONA Foundation Cohort Study.

Objectives: HCV shows complex interactions with lipid metabolism. Our aim was to examine total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) changes in HIV/HCV coinfected patients, after achieving sustained virological response (SVR), according to different HCV genotypes and specific antiretroviral use.

Methods: HIV/HCV coinfected patients, enrolled in the ICONA and HepaICONA cohorts, who achieved DAA-driven SVR were included.

The role of chest CT in deciphering interstitial lung involvement: systemic sclerosis versus COVID-19.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the main CT features that may help in distinguishing a progression of interstitial lung disease (ILD) secondary to SSc from COVID-19 pneumonia.

Methods: This multicentric study included 22 international readers grouped into a radiologist group (RADs) and a non-radiologist group (nRADs). A total of 99 patients, 52 with COVID-19 and 47 with SSc-ILD, were included in the study.

Similarities between COVID-19 and systemic sclerosis early vasculopathy: A "viral" challenge for future research in scleroderma.

Objective: To review similarities between COVID-19 and systemic sclerosis (SSc) early vasculopathy to provide novel insights into both diseases.

Methods: A narrative review of the literature supplemented with expert opinion.

Results: There is clear evidence that the endothelium is at the centre stage in SSc and COVID-19, with endothelial cell activation/injury and dysfunction creating the crucial evolving step in the pathogenesis of both diseases.

Corticosteroid use, myocardial injury and in-hospital cardiovascular events in patients with community-acquired pneumonia.

Background And Purpose: Corticosteroids are often prescribed to community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients, but the relationship with major cardiovascular events (MACEs) is unclear.

Experimental Approach: 541 CAP patients were recruited (334 males, mean age 71.9 ± 16.

Case Report: as a Rare Pathogen of Mitral Endocarditis.

complex (SBSEC) is a group of that colonizes both humans and animals. Due to gastrointestinal disease, they can switch in opportunistic pathogens passing through intestinal mucosal barrier and may cause bacteremia and distant organs damage. Despite infective endocarditis (IE), extra-cardiac manifestations of organs damage include osteoarticular infections, meningitis, and biliary infections among others; moreover, the association with colonic pathological lesions has been largely described.

Clinical impact of sexual dimorphism in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

NAFLD/NASH is a sex-dimorphic disease, with a general higher prevalence in men. Women are at reduced risk of NAFLD compared to men in fertile age, whereas after menopause women have a comparable prevalence of NAFLD as men. Indeed, sexual category, sex hormones and gender habits interact with numerous NAFLD factors including cytokines, stress and environmental factors and alter the risk profiles and phenotypes of NAFLD.

Case Report: B Lymphocyte Disorders Under COVID-19 Inflammatory Pressure.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infects humans through the angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2) receptor expressed on many cells, including lymphocytes. In Covid-19 patients IL-6 is overexpressed, and hyperactivated plasmacytoid lymphocytes are detected in peripheral blood film. We hypothesize that, due to the unpredictable interaction between the new virus and the B cell lineage of infected patients, a cascade of out of control events can ensue, capable of determining unexpected pathologic disorders involving such lineage.

SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 Testing: The Tower of Babel.

Background And Aim: Testing represents one of the main pillars of public health response to SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic. This paper shows how accuracy and utility of testing programs depend not just on the type of tests, but on the context as well.

Methods: We describe the testing methods that have been developed and the possible testing strategies; then, we focus on two possible methods of population-wide testing, i.

Glecaprevir/pibrentasvir ultra-short treatment to cure HCV infection: case report and literature review.

Shortening therapy duration with direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) is desirable to pursue the WHO target of HCV eradication by 2030. We report two cases of HCV-infected women who achieved sustained virologic response after an ultra-short treatment with glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (G/P), discontinued due to cutaneous adverse events, and analyze similar cases reported in the literature. Female gender seems to be a prevailing characteristic in this group of patients.

Cryopreserved Gamete and Embryo Transport: Proposed Protocol and Form Templates-SIERR (Italian Society of Embryology, Reproduction, and Research).

In Italy, the transport of cryopreserved biological material is controlled by several Decrees (Legislative Decree No. 191/2007 and No. 16/2010 and Health Ministry's Decree of October 10, 2012).

HCV cirrhotic patients treated with direct-acting antivirals: Detection of tubular dysfunction and resolution after viral clearance.

Background/aims: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been identified in tubular epithelial cells of infected patients; however, the presence of tubular dysfunction, which is a risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD), has never been examined in vivo. The present prospective longitudinal study aimed to estimate the prevalence of tubular dysfunction alone or with glomerular damage and its evolution after HCV clearance in cirrhotic patients.

Methods: One hundred and thirty-five consecutive Child-Pugh A cirrhotic patients were evaluated before antiviral treatment and 6 months after the end of therapy.

Systemic sclerosis and the COVID-19 pandemic: World Scleroderma Foundation preliminary advice for patient management.

Due to the frequent presence of interstitial lung disease and widespread use of immunosuppressive treatment, systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients may be considered at risk for a more severe disease course and higher mortality when they develop Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - Coronavirus - 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus infection. Therefore, with World Scleroderma Foundation endorsement, experts from different specialties including rheumatology, virology and clinical immunology gathered virtually to answer to the main practical clinical questions regarding SARS-CoV-2 infection coming from both patients and physicians. This preliminary advice is aligned with other national and international recommendations, adapted for SSc patients.

Occurrence of subtypes in patients from Italy revealed association of ST3 with a healthy gut microbiota.

An epidemiological survey on was carried out enrolling a total of 2524 subjects referred to the Umberto I Academic Hospital in Rome, for the routine parasitological exams, during 2017-2018. The studied population included a sample of immunocompromised individuals ( = 130) followed at the same hospital. DNA sequencing of the small subunit rRNA gene (SSU rDNA) locus was performed on samples positive to the coproparasitological analysis to molecular characterize the subtypes.