The Mediating Role of Trait Mindfulness in Academic Stress: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Italian University Students.

Background: Stress is a significant factor influencing the mental well-being of students, and mindfulness strategies have been associated with reduced academic stress. Nevertheless, there is a limited body of research investigating stress and trait mindfulness in a sample of Italian university students. This study aims to explore the relationship between academic stress, effort-reward imbalance, and trait mindfulness.

Clinical evaluation of the efficacy of pivagabine in the treatment of mood and adjustment disorders.

Depression and distress have in common hypercortisolism, a high turn-over of cerebral monoamines and a wide clinical variability. Results of a clinical open trial with pivagabine (4-[(2,2-dimethyl-1-oxopropyl) amino]butanoic acid, CAS 69542-93-4, Tonerg) on 22 young patients affected by dysthymic disorders and on 38 older patients affected by adjustment disorders following different stressors (mourning, retirement and recovery in institutions of assistance) are reported. Oral treatment with 1800 mg pivagabine lasting 30 days showed in both groups a significant improvement of the psychic state with variations from 50 to 80% of the criteria reported in the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HDRS) and for anxiety (HARS) and in the Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS).

[Preliminary approach to the mental component in dermatologic patients].

The aim of this study was to approach on a psychical point of view 27 patients suffering from chronic idiopathic urticaria (14), pruritus sine materia (6), alopecia areata (3), pathomimia (4), in order to examine the possibility that psychic disorders could act as triggering or aggravating the dermatological affection. Psychical assessment was evaluated by colloquy and by the administration of some psychodiagnostic tests: EPI, MMPI, Zung. The role of psychogenic factors in skin diseases is emphasized and the results obtained from the use of antidepressant and minor tranquilizer drugs are discussed.

[S-adenosylmethionine as a regulator of protein synthesis. Influence on plasmatic fibrinogen].

S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) is a physiological compound which plays an important role in numerous biological processes, such as transmethylations, transulphurations and aminopropylations. Starting from a study about the usefulness of the SAMe to normalize protein synthesis in old age, the drug was found to have an interesting action with respect to fibrinogen. Later research regarding a large number of patients, led us to discover after treatment for 40 days with 60 mg/die of SAMe, highly significant variations in fibrinogen values with constant normalization of this parameter, in both hypo- and hyper-fibrinogenemia.