Platelet Pathogen Reduction Technology-Should We Stay or Should We Go…?

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has significantly challenged blood transfusion services (BTS) for providing blood products and for keeping blood supplies available. The possibility that a similar pandemic event may occur again has induced researchers and transfusionists to investigate the adoption of new tools to prevent and reduce these risks. Similarly, increased donor travelling and globalization, with consequent donor deferral and donor pool reduction, have contributed to raising awareness on this topic.

Adaptive Responding to Stimulus-Outcome Associations Requires Noradrenergic Transmission in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex.

A dynamic environment, such as the one we inhabit, requires organisms to continuously update their knowledge of the setting. While the prefrontal cortex is recognized for its pivotal role in regulating such adaptive behavior, the specific contribution of each prefrontal area remains elusive. In the current work, we investigated the direct involvement of two major prefrontal subregions, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC, A32D + A32V) and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC, VO + LO), in updating pavlovian stimulus-outcome (S-O) associations following contingency degradation in male rats.

Liver Disease and Sickle Cell Disease: Auto-Immune Hepatitis more than a Coincidence; A Systematic Review of the Literature.

In patients with SCD, chronic liver damage is a common manifestation. More than 50% of SCD patients have elevated liver enzymes. Common underlying aetiologies include sickle cell hepatic crisis, viral hepatitis, sickle cell intrahepatic cholestasis and hepatic sequestration in the acute setting, and cholelithiasis and iron overload in the chronic setting.

Diverticular Disease and Rifaximin: An Evidence-Based Review.

There have been considerable advances in the treatment of diverticular disease in recent years. Antibiotics are frequently used to treat symptoms and prevent complications. Rifaximin, a non-absorbable antibiotic, is a common therapeutic choice for symptomatic diverticular disease in various countries, including Italy.

Inhibition of noradrenergic signalling in rodent orbitofrontal cortex impairs the updating of goal-directed actions.

In a constantly changing environment, organisms must track the current relationship between actions and their specific consequences and use this information to guide decision-making. Such goal-directed behaviour relies on circuits involving cortical and subcortical structures. Notably, a functional heterogeneity exists within the medial prefrontal, insular, and orbitofrontal cortices (OFC) in rodents.

Contribution of natural killer cells in innate immunity against colorectal cancer.

Natural killer cells are members of the innate immune system and promote cytotoxic activity against tumor or infected cells independently from MHC recognition. NK cells are modulated by the expression of activator/inhibitory receptors. The ratio of this activator/inhibitory receptors is responsible for the cytotoxic activity of NK cells toward the target cells.

Utility of serum indices in a particular case of serum protein electrophoresis.

Screening and measurement of monoclonal (M) proteins are commonly performed using capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). The identification of M-protein or monoclonal component (CM) is an essential requirement for diagnosis and monitoring of monoclonal gammopathies. The detection of CM has been largely improved by CZE.

Morphine reduces the interest for natural rewards.

Rationale: Alongside a pathological, excessive, motivation for substances of abuse, substance use disorder (SUD) patients often show a dramatic loss of interest for naturally rewarding activities, such as positive peer social interaction and food intake. Yet, pre-clinical evidence of the latter SUD features remains scarce and inconsistent.

Objectives: In the current study, we investigated the effect of non-rewarding and rewarding doses of morphine upon social behaviour, motivation for and intake of palatable food, in male and female C57BL/6J mice.

Autoimmune disease and sickle cell anaemia: 'Intersecting pathways and differential diagnosis'.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited disorder, which occurs due to a single gene mutation. It has multisystemic manifestations, affecting millions of people worldwide. The effect of SCD on joints and musculature can overlap with clinical features of autoimmune disease (AD).

Comparison of Freelite and N-Latex serum free light chain assays: a critical review.

Introduction: The measurement of serum free light chain (FLC) represents a fundamental aspect on the assessment of patients with monoclonal gammopathies (MG). Different analytical methods for FLC have become available with the possibility to obtain different value with a substantial impact on the assessment of patients with MG. This study aimed to evaluate FLC results obtained with two different assays and how the difference value obtained can impact in the patient's assessment.

Food and Nutrition in the Pathogenesis of Liver Damage.

The liver is an important organ and plays a key role in the regulation of metabolism and in the secretion, storage, and detoxification of endogenous and exogenous substances. The impact of food and nutrition on the pathophysiological mechanisms of liver injury represents a great controversy. Several environmental factors including food and micronutrients are involved in the pathogenesis of liver damage.

Involvement of Autophagy in Levodopa-Induced Dyskinesia.

Background: Autophagy is intensively studied in cancer, metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases, but little is known about its role in pathological conditions linked to altered neurotransmission. We examined the involvement of autophagy in levodopa (l-dopa)-induced dyskinesia, a frequent motor complication developed in response to standard dopamine replacement therapy in parkinsonian patients.

Methods: We used mouse and non-human primate models of Parkinson's disease to examine changes in autophagy associated with chronic l-dopa administration and to establish a causative link between impaired autophagy and dyskinesia.

Exosome-mediated delivery of functionally active miRNA-375-3p mimic regulate epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) of colon cancer cells.

Aims: EMT is the process by which a polarized epithelial cell undergoes several changes leading to highly invasive and fibroblast-like morphology. It has been described that miR-375 is inversely associated with EMT in cancerous patients and can effectively inhibit invasion and migration of tumor cells. Here, we investigate whether miR-375 mimic delivered by tumor-derived exosomes could reverse EMT process.

The role of elastography in alcoholic liver disease: fibrosis staging and confounding factors, a review of the current literature.

Introduction: Alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) was estimated to have a prevalence of 2% among the USA population. Since severe fibrosis in compensated patients is the main predictor of long-term survival, it is of utmost importance to early detect patients with severe fibrosis before decompensation occurs. Liver elastography has been used to stage liver fibrosis.

Efficacy of allogeneic cord blood platelet gel on wounds of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa patients after pseudosyndactyly surgery.

Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by the formation of blisters and wounds in skin and mucous membranes; it is classified into four types and has various methods of treatment. Management of previous wounds and prevention of formation of new lesions are the most important strategies in the course of therapy to improve patient's quality of life; lack of wound management can lead to further complications such as infection. The current study investigated the therapeutic effects of allogeneic platelet gel (prepared from umbilical cord blood) in a group of children diagnosed with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB) eligible for surgical correction of pseudosyndactyly in the hand.

Transfusion-associated circulatory overload in gastroenterology.

Background: Transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO) is a rare life-threatening event associated with transfusion. This study aimed to identify any case of TACO in a large cohort of highly transfused patients with gastrointestinal tract (GI) bleeding.

Materials And Methods: Data from patients who underwent an oesophago-gastro-duodenoscopy (OGD) were collected over one year from the gastroenterology service of a regional hospital.

Preliminary assessment of the new Sysmex XN parameter Iron-Def for identifying iron deficiency.

Background: Although the clinical assessment of iron status is usually based on iron stores, a rapid and accurate diagnosis of iron deficiency is challenging since ferritin is often unavailable as an urgent test and its value is frequently increased in acute phase conditions. This study was therefore aimed at evaluating the diagnostic performance of the new Sysmex XN "Iron Deficiency?" (Iron-Def) parameter for identifying patients with iron deficiency.

Materials And Methods: The study population consisted of 688 consecutive patients (median age: 71 years; 341 women and 347 men), referred for routine diagnostics to the Laboratory of Clinical Pathology of Lecco Hospital, Italy.

The CRF receptor mediates social behavior deficits induced by opiate withdrawal.

Poor sociability and aggressive behavior are key clinical features of opioid use disorders. The corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system may mediate behavioral effects of substances of abuse but its implication in substance-induced social behavior deficits and outward-directed hostility remains largely unknown. CRF signaling is mediated by two receptor types, termed CRF and CRF .

Dendritic Cell-Based Therapy Using LY6E Peptide with a Putative Role Against Colorectal Cancer.

Introduction: Albeit early stage gastrointestinal (GI) carcinomas have a good prognosis if treated with surgery, diagnosis is often confirmed at a late stage and efficacious drugs are lacking. Recent progress in immune-based therapies has focused on dendritic cells (DCs), aiming to elicit tumor-specific responses by inducing immunological memory. Our previous microarray study indicated that a biomarker, termed lymphocyte antigen-6E (LY6E), is commonly overexpressed in two potentially lethal GI cancers: those of colon and stomach.

Sex-linked roles of the CRF and the CRF receptor in social behavior.

Dysfunctional social behavior is a major clinical feature of mood, anxiety, autism spectrum, and substance-related disorders, and may dramatically contribute to the poor outcome of these diseases. Nevertheless, the mechanisms underlying social behavior deficits are still largely unknown. The corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system, a major coordinator of the stress response, has been hypothesized to modulate social behavior.

A retrospective study of myeloid leukaemia in children with Down syndrome in Ireland.

Background: Acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia (AMKL) is a subtype of myeloid leukaemia and is the most common leukaemia type in children with Down syndrome (DS) under 4 years of age. AMKL is often preceded by a transient neonatal pre-leukaemic syndrome, transient myeloproliferative disorder (TMD). Although TMD often spontaneously resolves, 20-30% of these patients subsequently develop AMKL within the first 4 years of life.

Long-lasting pseudo-social aggressive behavior in opiate-withdrawn mice.

Poor sociability and aggressive behavior are major clinical features of opiate use disorders that may contribute to the establishment and maintenance of these harmful diseases. The present study investigated the long-term effects of chronic morphine administration and withdrawal upon social and aggressive behavior as well as the interrelationship between these two behaviors. Thus, social behavior was measured in C57BL/6J male mice 7, 21, 35 and 49 days after cessation of escalating morphine doses (20-100 mg/kg, i.

mutations and disruptions are poor prognostic biomarkers in mantle cell lymphoma receiving high-dose therapy: a FIL study.

In recent years, the outcome of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) has improved, especially in younger patients, receiving cytarabine-containing chemoimmunotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation. Nevertheless, a proportion of MCL patients still experience early failure. To identify biomarkers anticipating failure of intensive chemotherapy in MCL, we performed target resequencing and DNA profiling of purified tumor samples collected from patients enrolled in the prospective (high-dose chemoimmunotherapy followed by autologous transplantation and randomized lenalidomide maintenance).