Biologically-Based Mathematical Modeling of Tumor Vasculature and Angiogenesis via Time-Resolved Imaging Data.

Tumor-associated vasculature is responsible for the delivery of nutrients, removal of waste, and allowing growth beyond 2-3 mm. Additionally, the vascular network, which is changing in both space and time, fundamentally influences tumor response to both systemic and radiation therapy. Thus, a robust understanding of vascular dynamics is necessary to accurately predict tumor growth, as well as establish optimal treatment protocols to achieve optimal tumor control.

Impact of Previous Nephrectomy on Clinical Outcome of Metastatic Renal Carcinoma Treated With Immune-Oncology: A Real-World Study on Behalf of Meet-URO Group (MeetUro-7b).

Background: Immune-Oncology (IO) improves Overall Survival (OS) in metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma (mRCC). The prognostic impact of previous Cytoreductive Nephrectomy (CN) and radical nephrectomy (RN), with curative intent, in patients treated with IO is not well defined. The aim of our paper is to evaluate the impact of previous nephrectomy on outcome of mRCC patients treated with IO.

The plasma membrane-associated Ca -binding protein, PCaP1, is required for oligogalacturonide and flagellin-induced priming and immunity.

Early signalling events in response to elicitation include reversible protein phosphorylation and re-localization of plasma membrane (PM) proteins. Oligogalacturonides (OGs) are a class of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) that act as endogenous signals to activate the plant immune response. Previous data on early phosphoproteome changes in Arabidopsis thaliana upon OG perception uncovered the immune-related phospho-regulation of several membrane proteins, among which PCaP1, a PM-anchored protein with actin filament-severing activity, was chosen for its potential involvement in OG- and flagellin-triggered responses.

Three vs. Four Cycles of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Localized Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer Undergoing Radical Cystectomy: A Retrospective Multi-Institutional Analysis.

Background: Three or four cycles of cisplatin-based chemotherapy is the standard neoadjuvant treatment prior to cystectomy in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Although NCCN guidelines recommend 4 cycles of cisplatin-gemcitabine, three cycles are also commonly administered in clinical practice. In this multicenter retrospective study, we assessed a large and homogenous cohort of patients with urothelial bladder cancer (UBC) treated with three or four cycles of neoadjuvant cisplatin-gemcitabine followed by radical cystectomy, in order to explore whether three vs.

Clinical Outcomes of Platinum-ineligible Patients with Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma Treated With First-line PD1/L1 Inhibitors.

Background: PD1/L1 inhibitors are approved by FDA as first-line therapy for patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma (aUC) who are cisplatin-ineligible with high tumor PD-L1 expression or are platinum-ineligible regardless of PD-L1 expression. However, the outcomes when employing PD1/L1 inhibitors for platinum-ineligible patients are unclear. This retrospective analysis evaluates the clinical outcomes of first-line PD1/L1 inhibitors in patients with aUC deemed to be platinum-ineligible.

Off-label Uses of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs).

Psychiatric drugs have primacy for off-label prescribing. Among those, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are highly versatile and, therefore, widely prescribed. Moreover, they are commonly considered as having a better safety profile compared to other antidepressants.

Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation and impulsivity in Parkinson's disease: a descriptive review.

Standard treatment of Parkinson's disease involves the dopaminergic medications. Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) is an important neurosurgical intervention often used as alternative treatment to drug therapy; however, it can be associated with increase of impulsive behaviors. This descriptive review focused on studies investigating the correlation between Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus and impulsivity in Parkinson's disease patients, arguing, the action's mechanism and the specific role of the subthalamic nucleus.

Pathophysiological Bases of Comorbidity in Migraine.

Despite that it is commonly accepted that migraine is a disorder of the nervous system with a prominent genetic basis, it is comorbid with a plethora of medical conditions. Several studies have found bidirectional comorbidity between migraine and different disorders including neurological, psychiatric, cardio- and cerebrovascular, gastrointestinal, metaboloendocrine, and immunological conditions. Each of these has its own genetic load and shares some common characteristics with migraine.

Assessment of Total, PTEN, and AR-V7 Circulating Tumor Cell Count by Flow Cytometry in Patients with Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Receiving Enzalutamide.

Introduction: Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is a deadly disease. Enzalutamide is an oral second-generation anti-androgen that is active in mCRPC. Circulating tumor cells (CTC) count correlates with overall survival (OS) in mCRPC, whereas detection of the androgen-receptor splice variant 7 (AR-V7) in CTC predicts poor response to oral second-generation anti-androgens.

The impact of SARS-COV2 infection on people in residential care with Parkinson Disease or parkinsonisms: Clinical case series study.

On March 2019 the World Health Organization declared Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Several recent reports disclose that the outcome of the infection is related to age, sex and can be influenced by underlying clinical conditions. Parkinson's disease (PD) and other parkinsonisms are the most common chronic disease which can cause, directly or indirectly, the patient to be more exposed to other diseases, mostly respiratory system's ones.

Efficacy and safety of a new vaginal gel for the treatment of symptoms associated with vulvovaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women: A double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study.

Objective: The aim of the present randomized placebo-controlled single-center study was to assess the efficacy and safety of a new vaginal gel (Meclon Idra - Alfasigma) in the treatment of vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA). The gel is composed of sea buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides) oil, aloe vera, 18β-glycyrrhetic acid, hyaluronic acid and glycogen. The study assessed whether the gel can reduce VVA symptoms (vaginal dryness, itching, burning sensation) and improve sexual function in postmenopausal women over 12 weeks.

Evaluation of Directed Graph-Mapping in Complex Atrial Tachycardias.

Objectives: Directed graph-mapping (DGM) is a novel operator-independent automatic tool that can be applied to the identification of the atrial tachycardia (AT) mechanism. In the present study, for the first time, DGM was applied in complex AT cases, and diagnostic accuracy was evaluated.

Background: Catheter ablation of ATs still represents a challenge, as the identification of the correct mechanism can be difficult.

Stressful Life Events and Resilience During the COVID-19 Lockdown Measures in Italy: Association With Mental Health Outcomes and Age.

The COVID-19 pandemic, due to its disproportionated higher morbidity and mortality rates in the older age, has been considered to be a "geropandemic." Several studies, however, have found that older age is associated with lower psychological distress in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak and related lockdown measures. To explore the role of Resilience as a mediator between stressful COVID-19 related life events and depressive and, anxiety symptoms and perceived stress, and to ascertain the role of age as a moderator of the mediator's effect.

Computed-Tomography-Structured Reporting in Middle Ear Opacification: Surgical Results and Clinical Considerations From a Large Retrospective Analysis.

The aim of the study is to compare the accuracy of unstructured preoperative Computed Tomography (CT) reports from non-tertiary diagnostic centers with intraoperative findings in a large cohort of patients with Chronic Otitis Media (COM) undergone surgery. From 2012 to 2019, a total number of 301 patients were considered for our purposes. All patients with clinical evidence of COM had preoperative non-contrast high resolution CT scan of the temporal bone in non-tertiary diagnostic centers, performed within 3 months before surgery.

Clinical Outcomes of Metastatic Renal Carcinoma Following Disease Progression to Programmed Death (PD)-1 or PD-L1 Inhibitors (IO): A Meet-URO Group Real World Study (Meet-Uro 7).

Objectives: The aim of our study was to collect data about of the outcome of metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients who progressed after immune checkpoint inhibitors in order to enhance data about efficacy and safety of treatment beyond immune-oncology (IO).

Materials And Methods: A total of 162 eligible patients, progressing to IO, were enrolled from 16 Italian referral centers adhering to the Meet-Uro association. Baseline characteristics, outcome data and toxicities were retrospectively collected.

Transgenic inhibition of interleukin-6 trans-signaling does not prevent skeletal pathologies in mucolipidosis type II mice.

Severe skeletal alterations are common symptoms in patients with mucolipidosis type II (MLII), a rare lysosomal storage disorder of childhood. We have previously reported that progressive bone loss in a mouse model for MLII is caused by an increased number of bone-resorbing osteoclasts, which is accompanied by elevated expression of the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the bone microenvironment. In the present study we addressed the question, if pharmacological blockade of IL-6 can prevent the low bone mass phenotype of MLII mice.

Genetics Influences Drug Consumption in Medication Overuse Headache, Not in Migraine: Evidence From Wolframin His611Arg Polymorphism Analysis.

The Wolframin His611Arg polymorphism can influence drug consumption in psychiatric patients with impulsive addictive behavior. This cross-sectional study aims to assess the prevalence of the Wolframin His611Arg polymorphism in MOH, a secondary headache belonging to the spectrum of addictive disorders, episodic migraine (EM), and healthy subjects (HS), and its influence on drug consumption. One-hundred and seventy-two EM, 107 MOH, and 83 HS were enrolled and genotyped for the Wolframin His611Arg polymorphism.

An anti-CD6 antibody for the treatment of COVID-19 patients with cytokine-release syndrome: report of three cases.

In COVID-19, the inflammatory cytokine-release syndrome is associated with the progression of the disease. Itolizumab is a monoclonal antibody that recognizes human CD6 expressed in activated T cells. The antibody has shown to be safe and efficacious in the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis.

Personal and contextual components of resilience mediate risky family environment's effect on psychotic-like experiences.

Background: Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) index an increased risk for subsequent psychotic disorders. A risky family environment is a well-established risk factor for PLEs; however, different contextual and personal resiliency factors may differentially mediate its effect on PLEs.

Objective: In this study, we propose a two-dimensional model of resilience.