Oxidative stress-induced fibrinogen modifications in liver transplant recipients: unraveling a novel potential mechanism for cardiovascular risk.

Background: Cardiovascular events represent a major cause of non-graft-related death after liver transplant. Evidence suggest that chronic inflammation associated with a remarkable oxidative stress in the presence of endothelial dysfunction and procoagulant environment plays a major role in the promotion of thrombosis. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are not completely understood.

Sex-driven factors associated with anxiety and depression in autoimmune diabetes.

Aim: To analyze the prevalence of anxiety and depression in a large cohort of adults with autoimmune diabetes, identifying sex-driven associated factors.

Materials And Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we enrolled 553 consecutive adults with Type 1 diabetes mellitus or latent autoimmune diabetes in adults who came to the Division of Endocrinology of the S.Orsola-Malpighi Polyclinic, Bologna (Italy), to receive their second dose of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

Systematic Preserflo MicroShunt Intraluminal Stenting for Hypotony Prevention in Highly Myopic Patients: A Comparative Study.

Transient hypotony is the most common early complication after Preserflo MicroShunt (PMS) implantation. High myopia is a risk factor for the development of postoperative hypotony-related complications; therefore, it is advisable that PMS implantation in patients should be performed while employing hypotony preventive measures. The aim of this study is to compare the frequency of postoperative hypotony and hypotony-related complications in high-risk myopic patients after PMS implantation with and without intraluminal 10.

Sleep quality and sex-related factors in adult patients with immune-mediated diabetes: a large cross-sectional study.

Aim: To analyze sleep quality and its relationships with clinical and biochemical features in a large cohort of adults with autoimmune diabetes.

Methods: We administered to 553 patients with autoimmune diabetes the questionnaires: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), diabetes distress scale, diabetes-related quality of life and diabetes treatment satisfaction questionnaire. We excluded patients with missing HbA1c ± 4 months from PSQI administration or incorrect PSQI compilation (n = 110).

Effectiveness and Safety of XEN45 in Eyes With High Myopia and Open Angle Glaucoma.

Prcis: XEN45 implant was an effective and safe procedure in primary open angle glaucoma (OAG) eyes with high myopia. Although the hypotony incidence rate was relatively high, it resolved with medical therapy and was of short duration.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the XEN45 stent in eyes with OAG and high myopia.

Ab-externo intraluminal stent for prolonged hypotony and choroidal detachment after Preserflo implantation.

Purpose: To describe a case of prolonged hypotony and choroidal detachment following insertion of a Preserflo™ MicroShunt in a patient with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).

Case Report: An 84-year-old Caucasian man with medically uncontrolled POAG developed refractory hypotony and choroidal detachment following a mitomycin C augmented Preserflo MicroShunt (PMS) insertion. Initial medical treatment with Dexamethasone 2 mg/mL and Atropine 1% for the hypotony (4 mmHg) and choroidal detachment was unsuccessful, BCVA decreased from the preoperative 20/28 to 20/60.

Tackling diabetes as a team: co-designing healthcare interventions to engage couples living with type 1 diabetes.

Aims: Couples living with Type 1 diabetes: co-designing interventions to support them.

Methods: This is a qualitative study comprising two phases. Phase I represents the exploratory phase, consisting of semi-structured interviews with persons with Type 1 diabetes (N = 16) and partners (N = 6).

Effectiveness of MicroShunt in Patients with Primary Open-Angle and Pseudoexfoliative Glaucoma: A Retrospective European Multicenter Study.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the Preserflo MicroShunt implant (Santen) in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (PXG).

Design: Retrospective, open-label, multicenter study.

Participants: Patients with insufficiently controlled primary POAG or PXG who underwent a standalone MicroShunt implantation procedure.

Time-Varying mHAP-III Is the Most Accurate Predictor of Survival in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Undergoing Transarterial Chemoembolization.

Introduction: The prognosis of patients undergoing transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is extremely variable, and a confounding factor is that TACE is often repeated several times. We retrospectively evaluated the accuracy of different prognostic scores and staging systems in estimating overall survival (OS) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: An analysis considering prognostic models as time-varying variables was performed, calculating OS from the time of TACE to the time of the subsequent treatment.

Association between alterations of corneal sub-basal nerve plexus analyzed with in vivo confocal microscopy and long-term glycemic variability.

Purpose: The effect of long-term glycemic variability upon corneal sub-basal nerve plexus (CSNP) morphology analyzed by in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) has been poorly investigated in the setting of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Our purpose was to analyze the association between morphometric parameters of CSNP and new markers of glycemic variability in a population of patients with T1DM.

Methods: Forty patients with T1DM underwent: assessment of diabetic neuropathy (DN); analysis of subcutaneous advanced glycated end-products; IVCM scans of CSNP.

Comparison of the effects of lockdown due to COVID-19 on glucose patterns among children, adolescents, and adults with type 1 diabetes: CGM study.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic forced the Italian government to issue extremely restrictive measures on daily activities since 11 March 2020 ('lockdown'), which may have influenced the metabolic control of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D). The aims of the study were to investigate continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) metrics in children and adults with T1D during lockdown and to identify their potentially related factors.

Research Design And Methods: We enrolled 130 consecutive patients with T1D (30 children (≤12 years), 24 teenagers (13-17 years), and 76 adults (≥18 years)) using either Dexcom or FreeStyle LibreCGM>70% during the study period, without hybrid closed-loop insulin pump.

On-treatment serum albumin level can guide long-term treatment in patients with cirrhosis and uncomplicated ascites.

Background & Aims: The ANSWER study reported that long-term albumin administration in patients with cirrhosis and uncomplicated ascites improves survival. During treatment, serum albumin increased within a month and remained stable thereafter. In this post hoc analysis, we aimed to determine whether on-treatment serum albumin levels could guide therapy.

Super-Resolution Microscopy Reveals an Altered Fibrin Network in Cirrhosis: The Key Role of Oxidative Stress in Fibrinogen Structural Modifications.

Cirrhotic patients show a reduced synthesis of both pro- and anti-coagulant factors. Recent reports indicate that they are characterized by a higher risk of thrombotic rather than hemorrhagic complications, but the mechanisms conferring this risk are not fully elucidated. Oxidative-mediated fibrinogen modifications may explain, at least in part, a prothrombotic profile.

Characterization of lymphocyte subsets in ascitic fluid and peripheral blood of decompensated cirrhotic patients with chronic hepatitis C and alcoholic liver disease: A pivotal study.

Hepatitis C virus and alcoholic liver disease are major causes of chronic liver diseases worldwide. Little is known about differences between chronic hepatitis C and alcoholic liver disease in terms of lymphocytes' sub-population. Aim of the present study was to compare the sub-populations of lymphocytes in both ascitic compartment and peripheral blood in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis due to chronic hepatitis C and alcoholic liver disease.

Altered clot formation and lysis are associated with increased fibrinolytic activity in ascites in patients with advanced cirrhosis.

Analysis of coagulation disorders and assessment of rebalanced hemostasis with the use of traditional coagulation assays is challenging in cirrhotic patients. Therefore, alternative tests are under investigation for the evaluation of coagulopathy in this specific setting. Aim of this study was to analyze the modifications of clot structure and function in cirrhotic patients with different degrees of severity.

European study of the efficacy of a cross-linked gel stent for the treatment of glaucoma.

Purpose: To investigate the efficacy and safety of a cross-linked gel stent (XEN45) with or without cataract surgery in the treatment of glaucoma patients.

Setting: Five university hospitals.

Design: Prospective multicenter clinical trial.

Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS): current indications and strategies to improve the outcomes.

Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) represents a very effective treatment of complications of portal hypertension. Established indications to TIPS in cirrhotic patients include portal hypertensive bleeding and refractory ascites. Over the years additional indications have been proposed, such as the treatment of vascular disease of the liver, hepatic hydrothorax, hepatorenal syndrome and bleeding from ectopic varices.

Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt does not affect the efficacy and safety of direct-acting antivirals in patients with advanced cirrhosis: A real-life, case-control study.

Background: Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt (TIPS) is a well-established treatment for complications of portal hypertension.

Aims: To analyze the impact of TIPS on virologic response and safety profile in patients treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs).

Methods: We analyzed data from HCV-positive cirrhotic patients treated with DAAs.

Aldoxorubicin and Temozolomide combination in a xenograft mice model of human glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is still an incurable disease. The front-line Temozolomide (TMZ)-based therapy suffers from poor efficacy, underlining the need of new therapies. Preclinically, Aldoxorubicin (Aldox), a novel prodrug of Doxorubicin (Dox), has been successfully tested against GBM, encouraging the study of its association with other agents.

Interferon-free therapy in hepatitis C virus mixed cryoglobulinaemia: a prospective, controlled, clinical and quality of life analysis.

Background: Cryoglobulinaemic vasculitis (CV) is a lymphoproliferative disorder related to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection; anti-viral therapy is the first therapeutic option. CV can be incapacitating, compromising the patients' quality of life (QoL). In a controlled study, interferon-based therapy was associated with a lower virological response in vasculitic patients than in patients without vasculitis.

Epidemiological, demographic and clinical data on chronic viral hepatitis C in Tuscany.

Background: Recent introduction of direct antiviral agents (DAAs) has completely changed the scenario regarding hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment. Certain countries' economic health programs prioritize DAAs according to specific clinical features of HCV-infected patients. The aim of this study was to define epidemiological, demographic and clinical characteristics of HCV-infected patients in the Tuscany region of central Italy.

Clinical epidemiology of chronic viral hepatitis B: A Tuscany real-word large-scale cohort study.

Aim: To build a regional database of chronic patients to define the clinical epidemiology of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected patients in the Tuscan public health care system.

Methods: This study used a cross-sectional cohort design. We evaluated chronic viral hepatitis patients with HBV referred to the outpatient services of 16 hospital units.

Under-dilated TIPS Associate With Efficacy and Reduced Encephalopathy in a Prospective, Non-randomized Study of Patients With Cirrhosis.

Background & Aims: Portosystemic encephalopathy (PSE) is a major complication of trans-jugular intrahepatic porto-systemic shunt (TIPS) placement. Most devices are self-expandable polytetrafluoroethylene-covered stent grafts (PTFE-SGs) that are dilated to their nominal diameter (8 or 10 mm). We investigated whether PTFE-SGs dilated to a smaller caliber (under-dilated TIPS) reduce PSE yet maintain clinical and hemodynamic efficacy.

Tumor response of temozolomide in combination with morphine in a xenograft model of human glioblastoma.

Despite multimodal treatments comprising, radiation therapy (RT) and chemotherapy with temozolomide (TMZ), the prognosis of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains dismal and consolidated therapy yields a median survival of 14.6 months. Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) mediated chemoresistance and high dose related toxicity make necessary the development of new therapeutic approach to sensitize GBM to TMZ.