Gut Mycobiome in Atopic Dermatitis and in Overweight Young Children: A Prospective Cohort Study in Finland.

Gut bacterial alterations have been previously linked to several non-communicable diseases in adults, while the association of mycobiome is not well understood in these diseases, especially in infants and children. Few studies have been conducted on the association between gut mycobiome and non-communicable diseases in children. We investigated gut mycobiome composition using 194 faecal samples collected at birth, 6 months after birth, and 18 months after birth in relation to atopic dermatitis (AD) and overweight diagnoses at the age of 18 or 36 months.

Facilitating Factors and Barriers to Physical Activity among Undergraduate Medical Students in North India: A Qualitative Study.

Background: Medical undergraduate students are the doctors of the future. Evidence supports that medical students who practice physical activity (PA) regularly will continue to perform PA in the future and are more likely to counsel patients about it in their practice. This study was planned to understand the facilitating factors and barriers to PA among Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) students using a qualitative approach.

Machine-learning analysis of cross-study samples according to the gut microbiome in 12 infant cohorts.

There are challenges in merging microbiome data from diverse research groups due to the intricate and multifaceted nature of such data. To address this, we utilized a combination of machine-learning (ML) models to analyze 16S sequencing data from a substantial set of gut microbiome samples, sourced from 12 distinct infant cohorts that were gathered prospectively. Our initial focus was on the mode of delivery due to its prior association with changes in infant gut microbiomes.

Child type 1 diabetes associated with mother vaginal bacteriome and mycobiome.

Mother vaginal microbes contribute to microbiome of vaginally delivered neonates. Child microbiome can be associated with autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes (T1D). We collected vaginal DNA samples from 25 mothers with a vaginally delivered child diagnosed with T1D and samples from 24 control mothers who had vaginally delivered a healthy child and analyzed bacteriome and mycobiome of the samples.

Microbiota of the first-pass meconium and subsequent atopic and allergic disorders in children.

Background: Some cohort studies have suggested that gut microbiota composition is associated with allergic diseases in children. The microbiota of the first-pass meconium, which forms before birth, represents the first gut microbiota that is easily available for research and little is known about any relationship with allergic disease development.

Objective: We investigated whether the bacterial composition of the first-pass meconium is associated with the development of allergic diseases before 4 years of age.

Delivery mode and perinatal antibiotics influence the predicted metabolic pathways of the gut microbiome.

Delivery mode and perinatal antibiotics influence gut microbiome composition in children. Most microbiome studies have used the sequencing of the bacterial 16S marker gene but have not reported the metabolic function of the gut microbiome, which may mediate biological effects on the host. Here, we used the PICRUSt2 bioinformatics tool to predict the functional profiles of the gut microbiome based on 16S sequencing in two child cohorts.

Levodopa-Carbidopa Intestinal Gel Reduces Dyskinesia in Parkinson's Disease in a Randomized Trial.

Background: There are limited data regarding the effectiveness of levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) for dyskinesia.

Objective: Compare the effectiveness of LCIG versus oral optimized medical treatment (OMT) for dyskinesia in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) using the Unified Dyskinesia Rating Scale (UDysRS).

Methods: This phase 3b, open-label, multicenter, 12-week, interventional study (NCT02799381) randomized 63 LCIG naïve patients with advanced PD (UDysRS ≥30) to LCIG (N = 30) or OMT (N = 33) treatment.

Impulsivity traits and awareness of motor intention in Parkinson's disease: a proof-of-concept study.

Introduction: In patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), impulsivity is still a matter of investigation. It has been hypothesized that impulsive personality traits may favour impulse control disorder (ICD) onset during dopaminergic therapy. In healthy subjects, a relationship between the awareness of motor intention and impulsive personality traits assessed by the Barratt impulsivity scale (BIS-11) has been reported.

Antibiotics at birth and later antibiotic courses: effects on gut microbiota.

Background: Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) is widely used, but the evidence of the long-term effects on the gut microbiota and subsequent health of children is limited. Here, we compared the impacts of perinatal antibiotic exposure and later courses of antibiotic courses on gut microbiota.

Methods: This was a prospective, controlled cohort study among 100 vaginally delivered infants with different perinatal antibiotic exposures: control (27), IAP (27), postnatal antibiotics (24), and IAP and postnatal antibiotics (22).

Tonsil Mycobiome in PFAPA (Periodic Fever, Aphthous Stomatitis, Pharyngitis, Adenitis) Syndrome: A Case-Control Study.

Periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis and adenitis syndrome (PFAPA) is the most common periodic fever syndrome in children with unknown etiology, effectively treated with tonsillectomy. Earlier we have shown that tonsil microbiome is different in patients with PFAPA as compared to that in controls. Recently, fungal microbiome, mycobiome, has been linked to the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases.

Impact of Streptococcus salivarius K12 on Nasopharyngeal and Saliva Microbiome: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Probiotic lactobacilli have been ineffective in preventing acute otitis media. In contrast to lactobacilli, alpha-hemolytic streptococci belong to the core microbiome of nasopharynx.

Methods: We investigated the effects of Streptococcus salivarius K12 probiotic on the saliva and nasopharyngeal microbiome in 121 children attending daycare.

Prevalence and impact of COVID-19 in Parkinson's disease: evidence from a multi-center survey in Tuscany region.

Background: If Parkinson's Disease (PD) may represent a risk factor for Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is debated and there are few data on the direct and indirect effects of this pandemic in PD patients.

Objective: In the current study we evaluated the prevalence, mortality and case-fatality of COVID-19 in a PD cohort, also exploring possible risk factors. We also aimed to investigate the effect of lockdown on motor/non-motor symptoms in PD patients as well as their acceptability/accessibility to telemedicine.

Microbiome of the first stool and overweight at age 3 years: A prospective cohort study.

Background: Several reports have revealed that the first-pass meconium hosts a diverse microbiome, but its clinical significance is not known.

Objective: We designed a prospective population-based cohort study to evaluate whether the meconium microbiome predicts subsequent growth in children.

Methods: The study comprised 212 consecutive newborns with a meconium sample and a follow-up sample at 1 year of age.

Microbiome of the first stool after birth and infantile colic.

Background: Recent studies have shown a diverse microbiome in the first stool after birth. The clinical significance of the microbiome of the first stool is not known. Infantile colic has earlier been associated with the composition of the intestinal microbiome.

Microbial orchestra in juvenile idiopathic arthritis: Sounds of disarray?

The role of the microbiota in multiple autoimmune diseases, including juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) has earned substantial attention in the last 10 years. Increasing evidence suggests that the microbiota's link to JIA begins in early childhood, as early life events that influence the nature of the microbiota also appear to influence disease risk. In this review, we discuss these early life events including mode of delivery, infant feeding practice, antibiotics exposure, and other events and their impacts on the microbiota and on disease risk; reported abnormalities of the microbiota in children with JIA; mechanisms by which an altered microbiota at birth and later on in childhood may influence disease risk; and the prospects for therapeutic alteration of the microbiota in children with JIA.

Combining olfactory test and motion analysis sensors in Parkinson's disease preclinical diagnosis: a pilot study.

Objectives: Preclinical diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) is nowadays a topic of interest as the neuropathological process could begin years before the appearance of motor symptoms. Several symptoms, among them hyposmia, could precede motor features in PD. In the preclinical phase of PD, a subclinical reduction in motor skills is highly likely.

Analysis of facial expressions in parkinson's disease through video-based automatic methods.

Background: The automatic analysis of facial expressions is an evolving field that finds several clinical applications. One of these applications is the study of facial bradykinesia in Parkinson's disease (PD), which is a major motor sign of this neurodegenerative illness. Facial bradykinesia consists in the reduction/loss of facial movements and emotional facial expressions called hypomimia.

The validity and reliability of the Italian Olfactory Identification Test (IOIT) in healthy subjects and in Parkinson's disease patients.

Background: Olfactory function can be rapidly evaluated by means of standardized olfactory tests. Multiple-choice smell identification tests can be conditioned by cultural background. To investigate a new tool for detecting olfactory deficit in Italian subjects we developed a multiple-choice identification test prepared with odorants belonging to the Italian culture.

Louis Appia (1818-98): military surgeon and member of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

From Appia's writings we compose a view on his contribution to international medical relief in warfare, to the establishment of the Red Cross and the Geneva Convention, and to surgical procedures on the battlefield. Much information comes from his work on the Battle of San Martino e Solferino in June 1859 on the subject of which he wrote seven letters. We report also on his role during the Garibaldinian Campaign in 1866 and his work in Europe as a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).