Modulation of gut microbiota: The effects of a fruits and vegetables supplement.

The consumption of an optimal amount of fruits and vegetables is known to improve physical fitness and physiological body functions. Healthy eating habits, including intake of fruits and vegetables, can modify gut microbiota. This study aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of a formulated fruit and vegetable supplement (FVS) in modulating the antioxidant capacity and the gut microbiota composition.

Interaction between polyphenols intake and PON1 gene variants on markers of cardiovascular disease: a nutrigenetic observational study.

Background: Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) gene polymorphisms and polyphenols intake have been reported independently associated to lipid profile and susceptibility to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. However, the interaction between these factors remains to be investigated. We performed an observational nutrigenetic study to examine whether the interaction between polyphenols and anthocyanins intake and PON1 genetic variants can modulate biomarkers of cardiovascular health in an Italian healthy population.

Intrathecal synthesis of onconeural antibodies in patients with paraneoplastic syndromes.

Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes (PNSs) are a group of immune-mediated neurological disorders occurring in patients with systemic cancers which are associated with the presence of anti-neuronal antibodies. In this retrospective study, serum and cerebrospinal fluid of 489 patients were analyzed for the presence of well characterized onconeural antibodies. The 18 PNS patients positive for onconeural antibodies were reanalyzed to evaluate possible intrathecal synthesis.

An integrated Diet Monitoring Solution for nutrigenomic research.

The emergence of evidence pointing at diet as key risk factor for chronic diseases and at gene-diet interactions as key elements in the interplay between an individual genetic background and his/her lifestyle, pave the way for studies in nutrigenomics. Such studies need an integrated solution to collect, monitor and analyse a large set of data. In the frame of ATHENA, a European Commission FP7 project, we developed an integrated platform, called Dietary Monitoring Solution enabling the collection of phenotypic, genetic and lifestyle information, linked to a mHealth application tool.

An autoinflammatory neurological disease due to interleukin 6 hypersecretion.

Autoinflammatory diseases are rare illnesses characterized by apparently unprovoked inflammation without high-titer auto-antibodies or antigen-specific T cells. They may cause neurological manifestations, such as meningitis and hearing loss, but they are also characterized by non-neurological manifestations. In this work we studied a 30-year-old man who had a chronic disease characterized by meningitis, progressive hearing loss, persistently raised inflammatory markers and diffuse leukoencephalopathy on brain MRI.