Publications by authors named "L Mazzarella"

Article Synopsis
  • Microglia play a crucial role in regulating synaptic function in the brain, but their behavior in acute brain slices may be influenced by the slicing and maintenance process.
  • In this study, researchers found that after 4 hours of slicing, microglia show morphological and functional changes, including becoming more reactive and altering their signaling capabilities.
  • The study suggests that these changes in microglia correspond to a decrease in synaptic transmission in pyramidal neurons, highlighting the importance of considering time factors in ex vivo experiments involving microglia and synaptic function.
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Neuroendocrine neoplasms incidence has been increasing, arising the need for precise and early diagnostic tools. Liquid biopsy (LB) offers a less invasive alternative to tissue biopsy, providing real-time molecular information from circulating tumour components in body fluids. The aim of this review is to analyse the current evidence concerning LB in NENs and its role in clinical practice.

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Clinical Bioinformatics is a knowledge framework required to interpret data of medical interest via computational methods. This area became of dramatic importance in precision oncology, fueled by cancer genomic profiling: most definitions of Molecular Tumor Boards require the presence of bioinformaticians. However, all available literature remained rather vague on what are the specific needs in terms of digital tools and expertise to tackle and interpret genomics data to assign novel targeted or biomarker-driven targeted therapies to cancer patients.

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Background: Interpreting the clinical consequences of genetic variants is the central problem in modern clinical genomics, for both hereditary diseases and oncology. However, clinical validation lags behind the pace of discovery, leading to distressing uncertainty for patients, physicians and researchers. This "interpretation gap" changes over time as evidence accumulates, and variants initially deemed of uncertain (VUS) significance may be subsequently reclassified in pathogenic/benign.

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