Publications by authors named "Porcu M"

Purpose To determine the prevalence of mitral annular disjunction (MAD) in patients undergoing cardiac MRI for various clinical indications and to assess the association of MAD with arrhythmia, mitral valve prolapse (MVP), and myocardial alteration. Materials and Methods This study analyzed data from a retrospective observational registry of consecutive patients undergoing cardiac MRI for different clinical indications. Cardiac MRI examinations were performed from January 2019 to June 2019 at 13 Italian hospitals.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is crucial for assessing TS, as it can noninvasively identify distinct heart tissue characteristics and abnormalities related to the condition.
  • * Recent advances in CMR techniques are enhancing its role in diagnosing, predicting outcomes, and managing TS, with a focus on new biomarkers that improve accuracy and patient care.
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The World Health Organization indicated that around 36 million of patients in the European Region showed long COVID associated with olfactory and gustatory deficits. The precise mechanism underlying long COVID clinical manifestations is still debated. The aim of this study was to evaluate potential correlations between odor threshold, odor discrimination, odor identification, and the activation of specific brain areas in patients after COVID-19.

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Introduction: Patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) commonly experience Olfactory Dysfunction (OD). Our exploratory study examined hippocampal volumetric and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) variations in a Healthy Control (HC) group versus a cognitively normal PD group, further categorized into PD with No/Mild Hyposmia (PD-N/MH) and PD with Severe Hyposmia (PD-SH).

Methods: We calculated participants' relative Total Hippocampal Volume (rTHV) and performed Spearman's partial correlations, controlled for age and gender, to examine the correlation between rTHV and olfactory performance assessed by the Odor Stick Identification Test for the Japanese (OSIT-J) score.

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Background: This study aimed to develop and validate a computed tomography angiography based machine learning model that uses plaque composition data and degree of carotid stenosis to detect symptomatic carotid plaques in patients with carotid atherosclerosis.

Methods: The machine learning based model was trained using degree of stenosis and the volumes of 13 computed tomography angiography derived intracarotid plaque subcomponents (eg, lipid, intraplaque hemorrhage, calcium) to identify plaques associated with cerebrovascular events. The model was internally validated through repeated 10-fold cross-validation and tested on a dedicated testing cohort according to discrimination and calibration.

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Background And Purpose: Systemic lupus erythematosus is a complex autoimmune disease known for its diverse clinical manifestations, including neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus, which impacts a patient's quality of life. Our aim was to explore the relationships among brain MR imaging morphometric findings, neuropsychiatric events, and laboratory values in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, shedding light on potential volumetric biomarkers and diagnostic indicators for neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-seven patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (14 with neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus, 13 with systemic lupus erythematosus), 24 women and 3 men (average age, 43 years, ranging from 21 to 62 years) were included in this cross-sectional study, along with 10 neuropsychiatric patients as controls.

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Objectives: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the association of left atrial (LA) strain parameters with demographics, clinical data, cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) findings, and cardiac complications (heart failure and arrhythmias) in a cohort of patients with β-thalassemia major (β-TM).

Materials And Methods: We considered 264 β-TM patients (133 females, 36.79 ± 11.

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Importance: The effectiveness and safety of computed tomography (CT) and invasive coronary angiography (ICA) in different age groups is unknown.

Objective: To determine the association of age with outcomes of CT and ICA in patients with stable chest pain.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The assessor-blinded Diagnostic Imaging Strategies for Patients With Stable Chest Pain and Intermediate Risk of Coronary Artery Disease (DISCHARGE) randomized clinical trial was conducted between October 2015 and April 2019 in 26 European centers.

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Background Recent trials support the role of cardiac CT in the evaluation of symptomatic patients suspected of having coronary artery disease (CAD); however, body mass index (BMI) has been reported to negatively impact CT image quality. Purpose To compare initial use of CT versus invasive coronary angiography (ICA) on clinical outcomes in patients with stable chest pain stratified by BMI category. Materials and Methods This prospective study represents a prespecified BMI subgroup analysis of the multicenter Diagnostic Imaging Strategies for Patients with Stable Chest Pain and Intermediate Risk of Coronary Artery Disease (DISCHARGE) trial conducted between October 2015 and April 2019.

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Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have become a cornerstone in medical oncology, with evolving therapeutic strategies and applications. These monoclonal antibodies, designed to enhance immune responses, have revealed a spectrum of immune-related adverse events (irAEs). While many irAEs exhibit favorable responses to corticosteroid or immunosuppressive therapy, most ICI-related endocrinopathies necessitate lifelong replacement therapy and pose significant clinical challenges.

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Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare and challenging cancer associated with asbestos fiber exposure, which offers limited treatment options. Historically, platinum-based chemotherapy has been the primary approach, but recent developments have introduced immunotherapy as a promising alternative for the treatment of this disease. Nevertheless, the unique growth patterns and occasionally ambiguous progressive characteristics of MPM make the interpretation of radiological assessments complex.

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Cognitive reappraisal (CR) is a mechanism for emotion regulation, and the prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a central role in the regulation of emotions. We tested the hypothesis of an association between CR function and microstructural properties of forceps minor (a commissural bundle within the PFC) in healthy subjects (HS). We analyzed a population of 65 young HS of a public dataset.

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To examine the corpus callosum's (CC) integrity in terms of fractional anisotropy (FA) and how it affects resting-state hemispheric connectivity (rs-IHC) and cognitive function in healthy individuals. Sixty-eight healthy individuals were recruited for the study. The global FA (gFA) and FA values of each CC tract (forceps minor, body, tapetum, and forceps major) were evaluated using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) sequences.

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Trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-directed antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), has altered the treatment landscape in breast cancer (BC), irrespective of the HR-receptor status. The use of the agent is increasing, despite the finding that exposure to T-DXd increases the risk of interstitial lung disease (ILD), particularly in BC patients. Although T-DXd-related ILD can be potentially severe and life-threatening, most low-grade cases can be treated safely using a multidisciplinary approach comprising early and accurate diagnosis, effective management, close monitoring, and the prompt administration of steroids.

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Objectives: To explore the effects of anti-ribosomal P protein (anti-P) and anti-N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor subunit 2 (anti-NR2) autoantibodies on depression and cognitive dysfunction and their relationships with functional brain connectivity in SLE.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included adult patients who fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology/European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology 2019 SLE criteria. Anti-P and anti-NR2 were quantified using ELISA.

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Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the base-to-apex gradient strain pattern as a noncontrast cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) parameter in patients with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) and determine whether this pattern may help discriminate TTC from patients with anterior myocardial infarction (AMI).

Materials And Methods: A total of 80 patients were included in the analysis: 30 patients with apical ballooning TTC and 50 patients with AMI. Global and regional ventricular function, including longitudinal (LS), circumferential (CS), and radial strain (RS), were assessed using CMR.

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Aim: To evaluate the pulmonary transit time (PTT) and its derived parameters using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) as markers of diastolic dysfunction in Takotsubo syndrome (TS) and its relationship with transthoracic echocardiography and CMRI parameters.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-two patients with TS, who exhibited diastolic dysfunction as assessed by transthoracic echocardiography, were enrolled retrospectively and the PTT, pulmonary transit time index (PTTI), and pulmonary blood volume index (PBVI) were evaluated using first-pass CMRI. PTT was calculated as the number of cardiac cycles required for a bolus of contrast agent to move from the right ventricle (RV) to the left ventricle (LV), whereas PTTI represents the PTT interval corrected for the heart rate.

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Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of a short non-contrast CMR (ShtCMR) protocol relative to a matched standard comprehensive CMR (StdCMR) protocol in patients with myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA).

Methods: This multicenter retrospective study included patients with a working diagnosis of MINOCA who underwent a StdCMR between January 2019 and December 2020. An expert and a non-expert reader performed a blinded reading with the ShtCMR (long-axis cine images, T2w-STIR, T1- and T2-mapping).

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Intestinal bacteria establish a specific relationship with the host animal, which causes the acquisition of gut microbiota with a unique composition classified as the enterotype. As the name suggests, the Red River Hog is a wild member of the pig family living in Africa, in particular through the West and Central African rainforest. To date, very few studies have analysed the gut microbiota of Red River Hogs (RRHs) both housed under controlled conditions and in wild habitats.

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Purpose: The standard bibliometric indexes ("-quotient "-," "2-," "-," "-," "-," and "-" index) do not considered the research' position in the author list of the paper. We proposed a new methodology, System of Authorship Best Assessment (SABA), to characterize the scientific output based on authors' position.

Material And Methods: Four classes S1A, S1B, S2A, and S2B include only papers where the researcher is in first, first/last, first/second/last, and first/second/second-last/last position respectively were used for the calculation of -index and number of citations The system was tested with Noble prize winners controlled with researchers matched for -index.

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Purpose Of Review: This article aims to provide an updated overview of the indications for diagnostic breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), discusses the available and novel imaging exams proposed for breast cancer detection, and discusses considerations when performing breast MRI in the clinical setting.

Recent Findings: Breast MRI is superior in identifying lesions in women with a very high risk of breast cancer or average risk with dense breasts. Moreover, the application of breast MRI has benefits in numerous other clinical cases as well; e.

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Background: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) with late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) is a key diagnostic tool in the differential diagnosis between non-ischemic cause of cardiac chest pain. Some patients are not eligible for a gadolinium contrast-enhanced CMR; in this scenario, the diagnosis remains challenging without invasive examination. Our purpose was to derive a machine learning model integrating some non-contrast CMR parameters and demographic factors to identify Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) in subjects with cardiac chest pain.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to comprehensively compare the left and right atrium strain and strain rate (SR) parameters by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) between patients with Takotsubo (TS) and patients with acute myocarditis (AM).

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 3 groups of patients: TS (n=18), AM (n=14), and 11 healthy subjects. All the patients had complete CMR data for features tracking assessment.

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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.

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Green chemistry is a useful tool for producing valuable chemicals from biomass. However, extracted compounds need to be tested for safety and efficacy before their use in humans. Here we investigate the chemical composition and biological effects of a leaves .

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