Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 positive cases beyond health-care professionals or social and health-care facilities.

Background: During the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in Italy, infection among health-care professionals and in the context of welfare and health-care facilities was a significant concern. It is known that the elderly or those with concomitant pathologies are at greater risk of a serious evolution of the disease if affected by COVID-19 and that health workers are a category with greater exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Until now, there has been little information on the epidemiological features and transmission dynamics of the COVID-19 outbreak which did not involve health-care professionals or social and health-care facilities.

Deaths in SARS-Cov-2 Positive Patients in Italy: The Influence of Underlying Health Conditions on Lethality.

This study aims to underline the clinical characteristics of patients who died after testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection in one region of Italian and to evaluate the influence of underlying health conditions on the fatal outcome. A matched case-control study was designed by analyzing the data regarding positive subjects observed up to April 21, 2020. The case fatality rate was 7.

The impact of modifiable risk factors on lesion burden in patients with early multiple sclerosis.

Introduction: Some studies have indicated the importance of considering smoking, vitamin D deficiency and obesity as negative prognostic factors for clinical and MRI outcomes in multiple sclerosis (MS). This study aimed to evaluate the possible effects of these modifiable risk factors on brain MRI lesion burden of patients with early MS, also exploring the influence on initial clinical features.

Methods: MS patients were enrolled at diagnosis time and examined for smoking, body mass index (BMI), serum level of lipids and 25(OH) vitamin D.