Immune Control of Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) Infection in HCMV-Seropositive Solid Organ Transplant Recipients: The Predictive Role of Different Immunological Assays.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection remains a major complication for solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs). The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of HCMV-specific T cell immunity measured at the time of the HCMV-DNA peak in predicting the spontaneous clearance of infection. The performance of cytokine flow cytometry using infected dendritic cells (CFC-iDC), infected cell lysate (CFC-iCL) and pp65 peptide pool (CFC-pp65 pool) as stimuli, as well as ELISPOT assays using infected cell lysate (ELISPOT-iCL) and the pp65 peptide pool (ELISPOT-pp65 pool), was analysed.

Admixture Analysis of Age of Onset in Bipolar Disorder and Impact of Anxiety Comorbidity.

Background:  The present study aimed to examine clinical differences between subjects with early-onset (<21 years) and adult-onset (>30 years) bipolar I disorder, in particular, in relation to anxiety comorbidity.

Method: Subjects were selected from a cohort of 161 consecutive patients with bipolar disorder type I as diagnosed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorder (SCID-I). Clinical characteristics and axis I comorbidity were compared between those whose illness first emerged before the age of 21 years (n=58) and those whose first episode occurred after the age of 30 years (n=27).

Binge eating disorder, impulsivity and bipolar spectrum features in a sample of obese candidates for bariatric surgery.

Aims: Candidates for bariatric surgery are routinely screened for psychiatric disorders because abnormal eating behaviors are considered common among these patients. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency and persistence, in terms of one month-to-lifetime prevalence ratio, of binge eating disorder (BED) and the potential association with impulsivity features and bipolar spectrum comorbidity in a sample of obese patients undergoing a psychiatric evaluation for bariatric intervention.

Methods: Overall, 80 candidates to bariatric surgery were assessed consecutively over 12 months within the framework of a collaboration between the University of Pisa Psychiatry and Internal Medicine Departments.

The relationship of separation anxiety with the age of onset of panic disorder.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate whether separation anxiety (SA) constitutes a dimension related to age at onset of panic disorder (PD), in homogeneous subgroups of outpatients with PD, based on their age of onset and symptom severity.

Methods: A sample of 232 outpatients with PD was assessed with the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS) and the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) for functional impairments. Separation anxiety was evaluated using structured interviews and questionnaires.

Impediments to Heart Transplantation in Adults With MELAS Cardiomyopathy.

Background: The heart is commonly involved in maternally inherited mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) syndrome caused by the MT-TL1 m.3243A>G mutation of the mitochondrial DNA. Heart transplantation (HTx) is controversial and has rarely been performed with conflicting results.