The long non-coding RNA GAS5 contributes to the suppression of inflammatory responses by inhibiting NF-κB activity.

Introduction: Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) is a key regulator of immune and inflammatory responses. Glucocorticoid drugs (GC) act through the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) as immunosuppressant also in pediatric patients inhibiting NF-κB activity. The long non-coding RNA GAS5 interacts with the GR, influencing GC activity.

Responses of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis to methotrexate: a genomic outlook.

Introduction: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a chronic disease characterized by persistent joint inflammation. JIA is the most common pediatric chronic rheumatic disease and no curative therapy is currently available. Methotrexate (MTX) is an important treatment for JIA even though a high inter-individual variability in response is observed in patients.

Influence of a High-Impact Multidimensional Rehabilitation Program on the Gut Microbiota of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative inflammatory condition mediated by autoreactive immune processes. Due to its potential to influence host immunity and gut-brain communication, the gut microbiota has been suggested to be involved in the onset and progression of MS. To date, there is no definitive cure for MS, and rehabilitation programs are of the utmost importance, especially in the later stages.

Managing chronic disease in the COVID-19 pandemic: an e-learning application to promote a healthy lifestyle for persons with multiple sclerosis.

E-health applications can support continuing care for persons with chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). We have developed a web-based mobile app called VIOLA to be used at home by persons with MS (pwMS) who previously participated in an innovative multidisciplinary rehab program. The purpose of VIOLA is to reinforce what participants have learned about a healthy lifestyle and to keep them motivated to adhere to rehabilitation programs.

A Systematic Review of Cerebral Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy in Chronic Neurological Diseases-Actual Applications and Future Perspectives.

Background: The management of people affected by age-related neurological disorders requires the adoption of targeted and cost-effective interventions to cope with chronicity. Therapy adaptation and rehabilitation represent major targets requiring long-term follow-up of neurodegeneration or, conversely, the promotion of neuroplasticity mechanisms. However, affordable and reliable neurophysiological correlates of cerebral activity to be used throughout treatment stages are often lacking.

Alterations in Circulating Fatty Acid Are Associated With Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis and Inflammation in Multiple Sclerosis.

Butyric acid (BA) is a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) with anti-inflammatory properties, which promotes intestinal barrier function. Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA), including caproic acid (CA), promote TH1 and TH17 differentiation, thus supporting inflammation. Since most SCFAs are absorbed in the cecum and colon, the measurement of BA in peripheral blood could provide information on the health status of the intestinal ecosystem.

Role of tristetraprolin phosphorylation in paediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: Intestinal inflammation and epithelial injury are the leading actors of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), causing an excessive pro-inflammatory cytokines expression. Tristetraprolin (TTP), an mRNA binding protein, plays a role in regulating the inflammatory factors, recognizing specific sequences on the 3' untranslated region of cytokine mRNAs. TTP activity depends on its phosphorylation state: the unphosphorylated TTP degrades pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNAs; on the contrary, the phosphorylated TTP fails to destabilize mRNAs furthering their expression.

Long Non-Coding RNA GAS5 and Intestinal MMP2 and MMP9 Expression: A Translational Study in Pediatric Patients with IBD.

Background: The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) growth arrest-specific transcript 5 () seems to be involved in the regulation of mediators of tissue injury, in particular matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We investigated the role of in regulating and expression in pediatric patients with IBD and in vitro.

Methods: In total, 25 IBD patients were enrolled: For each patient paired inflamed and non-inflamed biopsies were collected.

Cerebrovascular reactivity and its correlation with age in patients with multiple sclerosis.

We assessed cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) within gray matter (GM), normal appearing white matter (NAWM) and white matter (WM) lesions in a group of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Furthermore, correlations between CBF, CVR and age were investigated. 31 MS patients and 25 healthy controls (HC) were examined on a 1.

Brain networks construction using Bayes FDR and average power function.

Brain functional connectivity is a widely investigated topic in neuroscience. In recent years, the study of brain connectivity has been largely aided by graph theory. The link between time series recorded at multiple locations in the brain and the construction of a graph is usually an adjacency matrix.

Are Cerebral Perfusion and Atrophy Linked in Multiple Sclerosis? Evidence for a Multifactorial Approach to Assess Neurodegeneration.

Background: Grey Matter (GM) atrophy has been extensively described in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients, while cerebral hypoperfusion has been less consistently reported. Since hypoperfusion might be related to atrophy, we evaluated the presence of both damages.

Objective: We aimed to assess if the regions of altered perfusion and atrophy overlapped with one another and if the two parameters were locally related.

Pharmacogenetics of treatments for inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic inflammation of the gut whose pathogenesis is still unclear. Although no curative therapy is currently available, a number of drugs are used in induction and maintenance therapy; however, for most of these drugs, a high inter-individual variability in response is observed. Among the factors of this variability, genetics plays an important role.

Online meditation training for people with multiple sclerosis: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) has a relevant impact on quality of life (QOL) and is associated with increased risks of psychological morbidity. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are among the most studied interventions, although few well-conducted studies have tested them in this field. Furthermore, the participation in typical MBIs may be impaired by time and logistics.

Sympathetic skin response in multiple sclerosis: a meta-analysis of case-control studies.

The usefulness of sympathetic skin responses (SSR) in multiple sclerosis (MS) has been advocated by several studies in the last 20 years; however, due to a great heterogeneity of findings, a comprehensive meta-analysis of case-control studies is in order to pinpoint consistencies and investigate the causes of discrepancies. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane databases for case-control studies comparing SSR absence frequency and latency between patients with MS and healthy controls. Thirteen eligible studies including 415 MS patients and 331 healthy controls were identified.

Performance comparison between wrist and chest actigraphy in combination with heart rate variability for sleep classification.

The concurrent usage of actigraphy and heart rate variability (HRV) for sleep efficiency quantification is still matter of investigation. This study compared chest (CACT) and wrist (WACT) actigraphy (actigraphs positioned on chest and wrist, respectively) in combination with HRV for automatic sleep vs wake classification. Accelerometer and ECG signals were collected during polysomnographic studies (PSGs) including 18 individuals (25-53 years old) with no previous history of sleep disorders.

Hypnotism as a Function of Trance State Effects, Expectancy, and Suggestibility: An Italian Replication.

Previous research using stepwise regression analyses found self-reported hypnotic depth (srHD) to be a function of suggestibility, trance state effects, and expectancy. This study sought to replicate and expand that research using a general state measure of hypnotic responsivity, the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory: Hypnotic Assessment Procedure (PCI-HAP). Ninety-five participants completed an Italian translation of the PCI-HAP, with srHD scores predicted from the PCI-HAP assessment items.

A telemedicine meditation intervention for people with multiple sclerosis and their caregivers: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Mindfulness-based interventions, modified and shortened versions of meditation teachings, have proved to be effective in the improvement of quality of life in many clinical conditions, including chronic diseases. Preliminary results available in the literature and in clinical experience indicate a high potential for this treatment for the reduction of psychological suffering in people with chronic diseases.

Methods/design: This randomized controlled trial will investigate the impact of a multiple sclerosis (MS) specific telemedicine meditation intervention on the quality of life of people with multiple sclerosis and their caregivers.

The EP-score to assess treatment efficacy in RRMS patients: a preliminary study.

Aim Of The Study: The aim of this retrospective study was to preliminarily assess whether the EP-score, a summary score derived from multimodal evoked potentials tests, might be used as a measure of treatment efficacy in multiple sclerosis (MS).

Materials And Methods: A sample of 56 relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) patients who at diagnosis started treatment with interferon β (INFβ, n = 19), glatiramer acetate (GA, n = 15) or refused any chronic treatment were assessed at baseline (before treatment) and at a median of 1.7 and 3.

The evoked potentials score improves the identification of benign MS without cognitive impairment.

Background And Purpose: The presence of cognitive impairments (CI) among Benign MS (BMS) patients has challenged actual BMS criteria. We hypothesized that a low evoked potentials score (EP-score) at first neurological evaluation would help identify BMS patients without CI.

Methods: The EP-score was retrospectively computed in 29 putative BMS patients who were then tested for CI during 2012.

Exploring the predictive value of the evoked potentials score in MS within an appropriate patient population: a hint for an early identification of benign MS?

Background: The prognostic value of evoked potentials (EPs) in multiple sclerosis (MS) has not been fully established. The correlations between the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) at First Neurological Evaluation (FNE) and the duration of the disease, as well as between EDSS and EPs, have influenced the outcome of most previous studies. To overcome this confounding relations, we propose to test the prognostic value of EPs within an appropriate patient population which should be based on patients with low EDSS at FNE and short disease duration.

Altered and asymmetric default mode network activity in a "hypnotic virtuoso": an fMRI and EEG study.

Very highly hypnotizable subjects are rare, easily induced, and able to manifest the whole spectrum of hypnotic phenomena, including post-hypnotic amnesia. The aim of this study was to detect and localize by means of quantitative functional MRI and EEG changes in cortical activity during hypnosis induction and deep "pure hypnosis" in a hypnotic "virtuoso" subject. We focused on areas forming the default mode network (DMN), since previous studies found that very highly suggestible subjects in hypnosis showed decreased activity in anterior DMN.

Sensory evoked potentials to predict short-term progression of disability in multiple sclerosis.

To devise a multivariate parametric model for short-term prediction of disability using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and multimodal sensory EP (mEP). A total of 221 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who underwent repeated mEP and EDSS assessments at variable time intervals over a 20-year period were retrospectively analyzed. Published criteria were used to compute a cumulative score (mEPS) of abnormalities for each of 908 individual tests.

EEG evidence of posterior cortical disconnection in PD and related dementias.

Electroencephalogram (EEG) reactivity to eyes opening and 12-Hz photic stimulation was investigated in 14 healthy elderly subjects, 21 parkinsonian patients (PD), 7 demented parkinsonian patients (PDD), and 10 patients with Lewy body dementia (LBD) using global field synchronization (GFS). During eyes closed Theta GFS was increased in Parkinson's disease and patients and alpha1 GFS was decreased in LBD subjects. During 12-Hz intermittent photic stimulation (IPS), reactivity of posterior electrodes was decreased in PD and LBD patients.