Medical Information Extraction With NLP-Powered QABots: A Real-World Scenario.

The advent of computerized medical recording systems in healthcare facilities has made data retrieval tasks easier, compared to manual recording. Nevertheless, the potential of the information contained within medical records remains largely untapped, mostly due to the time and effort required to extract data from unstructured documents. Natural Language Processing (NLP) represents a promising solution to this challenge, as it enables the use of automated text-mining tools for clinical practitioners.

Does botulinum toxin affect psycho-social aspects in dystonia?

Dystonia is a movement disorder in which sustained muscle contractions give rise to abnormal postures or involuntary movements. It is a disabling and disfiguring disorder that affects activities of daily living and gives people a bizarre appearance often associated with psychological morbidity, embarrassment and social avoidance. Intramuscular injection of botulinum toxin (BoNT) is the most effective treatment for motor symptoms in focal dystonia, but little is known about its impact on the psycho-social dimension.

Circulating Non-Coding RNA Levels Are Altered in Autosomal Dominant Frontotemporal Dementia.

Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) represents a highly heritable neurodegenerative disorder. Most of the heritability is caused by autosomal dominant mutations in the Microtubule-Associated Protein Tau (), Progranulin (), and the pathologic exanucleotide expansion of genes. At the pathological level, either the tau or the TAR DNA-binding protein (TDP-43) account for almost all cases of FTD.

Caregiver Tele-Assistance for Reduction of Emotional Distress During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Psychological Support to Caregivers of People with Dementia: The Italian Experience.

Background: COVID-19 pandemic worsened vulnerability of patients with dementia (PWD). This new reality associated with government restriction and isolation worsened stress burden and psychological frailties in PWD caregivers.

Objective: To give tele-psychological support to caregivers and evaluate the effect of this intervention by quantifying stress burden and quality of life during the first COVID-19 lockdown.

Niemann-Pick Type C 1 (NPC1) and NPC2 Gene Variability in Demented Patients with Evidence of Brain Amyloid Deposition.

Background: Variants in Niemann-Pick Type C genes (NPC1 and NPC2) have been suggested to play a role as risk or disease modifying factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze NPC1 and NPC2 variability in demented patients with evidence of brain amyloid-β 1-42 (Aβ) deposition and to correlate genetic data with clinical phenotypes.

Methods: A targeted Next Generation Sequencing panel was customized to screen NPC1, NPC2, and main genes related to neurodegenerative dementias in a cohort of 136 demented patients with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) low Aβ levels or positive PET with Aβ tracer and 200 non-demented geriatric subjects.