Publications by authors named "Papa A"

Vulvodynia is a chronic pain condition that affects the vulvar area, often resulting in significant discomfort and a reduced quality of life. Current treatments for vulvodynia are limited, and there is a need for more effective therapeutic options. Acmella oleracea, known for its spilanthol content, and Boswellia serrata, rich in boswellic acids, have been explored for their potential analgesic properties in pain management.

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Ustekinumab (UST) is an interleukin-12/interleukin-23 receptor antagonist approved for the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD). Only limited real-life data on the long-term outcomes of CD patients treated with UST are available. This study assessed UST's long-term effectiveness and safety in a large population-based cohort of moderate to severe CD patients.

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Over the last 20 years, spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has seen the development of various paresthesia-free paradigms. Recently, a novel modality has emerged (Fast-Acting Sub-perception Therapy, FAST) that engages the surrounding inhibition mechanism of action. We evaluated long-term, real-world outcomes of preferential FAST-SCS use in patients with chronic pain.

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Background: Risk stratification of patients with right bundle branch block (RBBB) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) remains challenging.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) criteria for risk stratification of RBBB patients undergoing TAVI.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed prospectively enrolled patients with preexisting RBBB undergoing TAVI between 2011 and 2023.

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  • Neurologic symptoms can sometimes signal celiac disease (CD), and two children with ocular paroxysmal non-epileptic events (PNEEs) were diagnosed with CD.
  • A review of 12 patients showed that 25% were also diagnosed with CD after presenting with similar symptoms.
  • Screening for CD in patients displaying PNEEs may be beneficial in order to avoid unnecessary testing and to quickly implement a gluten-free diet, potentially improving their condition.
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Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a widely distributed and potentially fatal tick-borne viral disease with no licensed specific treatments or vaccines. In 2019, WHO published an advanced draft of a research and development roadmap for CCHF that prioritised the development and deployment of the medical countermeasures most needed by CCHF-affected countries. This Personal View presents updated CCHF research and development priorities and is the product of broad consultation with a working group of 20 leading experts in 2023-24.

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Background: It is known that the subcutaneous (SC) route administration of biologic drugs has several potential benefits for patient and the healthcare system. Since few real-world data are available yet about the rate of transition from intravenous (IV) to SC Vedolizumab (VDZ) in the Italian population, we assessed this rate in a large cohort of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients under remission receiving IV VDZ as standard of care in a real-world setting.

Methods: Searching who was asked to switch from IV VDZ To SC VDZ, and assessing the rate of acceptance.

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  • Extended-spectrum-β-lactamase (ESBL) and carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales in hospital kitchens are associated with antibiotic resistance, presenting risks for patient infections.
  • This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of β-lactam-resistant strains from kitchen environments and hospital staff in two Greek hospitals.
  • Findings show a notable prevalence of resistant strains in kitchens and a connection between kitchen and patient strains, indicating that kitchen environments may act as reservoirs for these harmful pathogens.
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In this paper, we have modified the workflow of the traditional light transmission aggregometry (LTA) protocol to characterize tumor cell clusters in vitro in a quantifiable and multifaceted manner. Circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters have high metastatic potential compared to single tumor cells traveling in the bloodstream. Thus, engineering new therapeutic strategies that specifically target this CTC population is essential.

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Objective: Providing health care during the COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with a high mental health burden for health care providers. This study examined patterns of responses and correlates of class membership across commonly assessed mental health symptoms, psychosocial functioning, and moral injury for providers in the United States in Fall 2022.

Method: A convenience sample of 1,504 primary care physicians, pediatricians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants who had been in practice for three or more years ( = 46.

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Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with a significant burden in terms of quality of life and health care costs. It is frequently associated with several complications, including the development of intestinal strictures. Stricturing CD requires a careful multidisciplinary approach involving medical therapy and surgery, still posing a continuous management challenge; in this context, endoscopic treatment represents a valuable, in-between opportunity as a minimally invasive strategy endorsed by extensive yet heterogeneous evidence and evolving research and techniques.

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  • * The study focuses on analyzing how different proposed shapes of viral shedding rates from infected individuals influence the estimation of SARS-CoV-2 spread in Thessaloniki during 2022, particularly during the Omicron variant surge.
  • * Findings indicate that the timing of the maximum viral shedding rate relative to infection reporting is critical for estimating infection rates, while factors like the duration of shedding and the specific shape of the distribution are less significant.
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Background: Chronic pain significantly impacts quality of life and poses substantial public health challenges. Buprenorphine, a synthetic analog of thebaine, is recognized for its potential in managing moderate to severe chronic pain with fewer side effects and a lower incidence of tolerance compared to traditional opioids.

Objective: This retrospective study aimed to assess the long-term efficacy and safety of buprenorphine transdermal patches in patients with moderate and severe chronic pain, with a focus on pain relief sustainability and tolerance development.

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Background & Objectives: Worry and loss-related secondary stressors appear to be important correlates of problematic grief responses. However, the relative importance of these variables in the context of established correlates of grief responding, ranging from indicators of identity disruption and demographic characteristics of the bereaved to characteristics of the loss of quality of the relationship with the deceased, is unknown. Modeling the relative associations of these factors can be problematic, given the high degree of collinearity between these variables.

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Atrial arrhythmias are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD). In acquired heart disease, the left atrial (LA) strain has been shown to predict supraventricular tachyarrhythmias (SVT). This study aimed to investigate whether reduced LA strain is associated with SVT in ACHD patients.

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  • The study looked at patients with diverticular disease (DD) and how their bowel movements, like constipation and diarrhea, relate to the seriousness of their condition.
  • Researchers measured the severity using different tools and checked how changes in bowel habits might predict future health problems.
  • They found that people with worse constipation or diarrhea had more severe DD and were more likely to develop a serious illness called acute diverticulitis over three years.
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  • The study aimed to assess how common vasodepressor (VD) responses are during head-up tilt tests (HUTT) in patients with a history of fainting (syncope) over a six-year period.
  • Out of 1,780 patients, 7% exhibited a VD response, with higher rates observed in males and those over 69 years old.
  • Age was found to be the only significant predictor of VD response, while factors like smoking and atypical fainting presentations reduced the likelihood of this response.
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During metastasis, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can travel in the bloodstream as individual cells or clusters, associated with fibrin and platelets. Clusters have a higher metastatic potential due to their increased ability to withstand shear stress and arrest in small vessels. Moreover, CTC-platelet interaction protects CTCs from shear stress and immune detection.

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Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic, progressive inflammatory condition, involving primarily the bowel, characterized by a typical remitting-relapsing pattern. Despite endoscopy representing the reference standard for the diagnosis and assessment of disease activity, radiological imaging has a key role, providing information about mural and extra-visceral involvement. Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging are the most frequently used radiological techniques in clinical practice for both the diagnosis and staging of CD involving the small bowel in non-urgent settings.

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Inherited retinal diseases, which include retinitis pigmentosa, are a family of genetic disorders characterized by gradual rod-cone degeneration and vision loss, without effective pharmacological treatments. Experimental approaches aim to delay disease progression, supporting cones' survival, crucial for human vision. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) mediate the activation of epigenetic and nonepigenetic pathways that modulate cone degeneration in RP mouse models.

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ticks are vectors of a plethora of pathogens. The purpose of this study was to screen 398 ticks for a variety of pathogens. Following the pooling, homogenization, and extraction of total nucleic acids, a real-time PCR was applied for the detection of a panel of tick-borne pathogens, while additional conventional PCRs combined with Sanger sequencing were applied for the detection of viruses and typing of and species.

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The estrogen receptor-α (ER) is thought to function only as a homodimer but responds to a variety of environmental, metazoan, and therapeutic estrogens at subsaturating doses, supporting binding mixtures of ligands as well as dimers that are only partially occupied. Here, we present a series of flexible ER ligands that bind to receptor dimers with individual ligand poses favoring distinct receptor conformations-receptor conformational heterodimers-mimicking the binding of two different ligands. Molecular dynamics simulations showed that the pairs of different ligand poses changed the correlated motion across the dimer interface to generate asymmetric communication between the dimer interface, the ligands, and the surface binding sites for epigenetic regulatory proteins.

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Background: Differentiation of syncope from seizure is challenging and has therapeutic implications. Cardioinhibitory reflex syncope typically affects young patients where permanent pacing should be avoided whenever possible. Cardioneuroablation may obviate the need for a pacemaker in well-selected patients.

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  • Mucosal healing (MH) is the primary goal in treating ulcerative colitis (UC), but some patients still experience relapses despite achieving MH.
  • A study analyzed UC patients who reached MH, discovering that histologic activity (HA) beyond MH might explain these relapses and found specific lesions that increase relapse risk.
  • Key findings showed that higher baseline histological lesions, particularly basal plasmacytosis and surface irregularity, are significant risk factors for relapse, indicating that HA remains an important concern even with MH.
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