Publications by authors named "Voci A"

Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates coping strategies in adolescents with primary migraines, focusing on their responses to stress and how these relate to migraine characteristics like frequency and intensity.
  • It highlights that school and socialization are common stressors, with high-frequency headache patients using less effective coping methods, leading to increased anxiety and depression.
  • The findings suggest a connection between the maladaptive coping strategies and psychological symptoms, indicating the need for tailored interventions for young migraine sufferers.
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Article Synopsis
  • * The study involved a literature review of existing research on the use of mTOR inhibitors for managing TSC during pregnancy, focusing on case reports and studies of pregnant women and prenatal mouse models.
  • * Preliminary findings suggest that mTOR inhibitors could effectively reduce cardiac rhabdomyomas, but more research is necessary to understand their potential in preventing neurological issues while ensuring safety for fetal development.
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The way emotions and thoughts affect each other in daily life deeply impacts an individual's well-being. This experience sampling study (N = 132, 24 random-schedule signals in 6 days) aimed to (a) test the bidirectionality of within-person concurrent (simultaneous) and prospective (from time t-1 to time t) associations between real-life emotions and thoughts; (b) explore the moderator roles of dispositions involving the ability to take an aware and detached perspective on inner experience (i.e.

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Study Objectives: Sleep disorders are a frequent comorbidity among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Among sleep-related issues of ASD, restless sleep is a common complaint. In recent years, restless sleep disorder (RSD) has been proposed as a new clinical entity, characterized by agitated sleep as its predominant manifestation.

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Introduction: Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant neurocutaneous disease with central nervous system (CNS) involvement. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the CNS characterized by symptomatic episodes that occur months or years apart and affect different anatomic locations. In the absence of symptomatic episodes, radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS) could be diagnosed.

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Background: COVID-19 pandemic has drastically increased the exposure to electronic devices in children, influencing their lifestyle and their sleep. This study was conducted to explore the relationship between the augmented screen exposure and sleep habits in children during and after the pandemic.

Methods: Using the "Google Forms" tool, we created an online questionnaire addressed to parents of children and adolescents aged 2-18 years.

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Migraine is a complex neurological disorder with partially unknown pathophysiological mechanisms. The prevalence in childhood ranges from 7.7% to 17.

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Background And Objective: Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) is a rare systemic disease with a high prevalence of sleep disorders (SD), although they are still largely under-recognized. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of SD in adult patients with TSC, and to evaluate the relationship between sleep, epilepsy, and TSC associated neuropsychiatric disorders (TAND).

Materials And Methods: We administered Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) to 114 adult patients referring to different Italian centers.

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Objective And Background: Sleep disorders (SD) are very common in childhood, especially in certain genetic syndromes. Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) is a genetic syndromesassociated with a high rate of SD, although these are still under-recognized. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of SD in TSC, and to evaluate the relationship between sleep, epilepsy and TSC-associated neuropsychiatric disorders (TAND).

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Background And Aims: Several chronic multifactorial diseases originate from energy unbalance between food intake and body energy expenditure, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), diabetes, and cardiovascular disorders. Vascular endothelium plays a central role in body homeostasis, and NAFLD is often associated with endothelial dysfunction (ED), the first step in atherosclerosis. Both sugars and fatty acids (FAs) are fuel sources for energy production, but their excess leads to liver steatosis which may trigger ED through a network of mechanisms which need to be clarified.

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There is a high comorbidity between migraine and sleep disorders (SD), with a mutual dependence between sleep and headache. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between headache features (migraine frequency and severity, migraine equivalents, use and efficacy of treatments) and sleep in pediatric migraine. Parents of children and adolescents with migraine completed the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale for Children and Adolescents (ESS-CHAD) and answered questions about headache characteristics.

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COVID-19 represents a multidimensional threat with the potential to worsen intergroup relations, but perceiving a common belonging with various outgroups may prevent intergroup tensions. During the Italian lockdown, we conducted an online survey with 685 Italian participants investigating whether perceptions of common belonging (belonging to a common group, sharing a common destiny, perceiving the difficulties faced by other groups) with disadvantaged and national outgroups were associated with perceived COVID-19 threat and prejudice-related individual differences, namely social dominance orientation (SDO), need for cognitive closure (NFC), deprovincialization, pre-lockdown positive and negative face-to-face contact with immigrants. We also explored the moderating roles of individual differences in the link between perceived threat and perceptions of common belonging.

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Aims: Adipocyte hypertrophy is the main cause of obesity. A deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating adipocyte dysfunction may help to plan strategies to treat/prevent obesity and its metabolic complications. Here, we investigated in vitro the molecular alterations associated with early adipocyte hypertrophy, focusing on mitochondrial dysfunction.

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S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) is an endogenous methyl donor derived from ATP and methionine that has pleiotropic functions. Most SAMe is synthetized and consumed in the liver, where it acts as the main methylating agent and in protection against the free radical toxicity. Previous studies have shown that the administration of SAMe as a supernutrient exerted many beneficial effects in various tissues, mainly in the liver.

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Thyme-like plants including . are widely used as food and folk medicinal remedies in the Mediterranean area. This study aimed to explore the in vitro antitumor potential of polyphenol-enriched extracts from aerial parts of .

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Background: Endocrine therapy (ET) significantly reduces the risk of breast cancer development in high-risk patients diagnosed with lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). However, the variables impacting recommendation and use of ET in young adults (YAs) is not well-studied. We examined the role of provider recommendation and patient acceptance for ET for YAs with LCIS.

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Hepatic steatosis is the hallmark of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance with potential evolution towards non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Key roles of autophagy and oxidative stress in hepatic lipid accumulation and NAFLD progression are recognized. Here, we employed a rat hepatoma cell model of NAFLD progression made of FaO cells exposed to oleate/palmitate followed or not by TNFα treatment to investigate the molecular mechanisms through which silybin, a lipid-lowering nutraceutical, may improve hepatic lipid dyshomeostasis.

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Introduction: The role of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) when ductal carcinoma in situ with microinvasion (DCISM) is identified on core biopsy is unclear.

Objective: Our aim was to assess the upstage rate to invasive cancer and axillary lymph node metastasis in patients diagnosed with DCISM, and whether predictive variables could be identified that may help inform who would most likely benefit from a surgical axillary evaluation.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of 70 patients diagnosed with DCISM on core biopsy.

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Objectives: Balance impairment is very common in multiple sclerosis (MS) but its causes are still unclear. Some studies suggest that balance deficit originates mainly from damage in specific locations of the central nervous system such as cerebellum and spinal cord, that are involved in transmission and integration of sensory inputs and motor outputs. The aim of this study is to investigate the contribution of spinal cord to MS-related imbalance, by combining neurophysiologic and neuroimaging techniques.

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Overconsumption of fats and sugars is a major cause of development of non‑alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The main objectives of the present study were to explore the pathways sustaining the interfering metabolic effects of excess fructose and fatty acids in hepatocytes, and to clarify the mechanisms through which the nutraceutical silybin rescues the functional and metabolic alterations that are associated with the NALFD progression. Cultured hepatocytes were exposed to fructose and fatty acids, alone or in combination, to induce different grades of steatosis in vitro.

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Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic liver disease often associated with overnutrition. Number and morphometry of lipid droplets (LDs) define micro vs macrovesicular steatosis, influence the morphology and function of hepatocytes and possibly their stiffness. The link between grade and features of steatosis and biomechanical properties of single hepatocytes requires deeper investigations.

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Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Thymbra spicata, a member of the Lamiaceae family, is native to eastern Mediterranean area. Leaves of this plant are rich in phenolic compounds and are a popular remedy of traditional medicine in Lebanon to prevent and/or counteract hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia.

Aim Of The Study: To evaluate the antisteatotic and antioxidant activities of extracts from leaves of Thymbra spicata L.

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Purpose: Radial scars (RS) commonly present mammographically as architectural distortions, but these lesions may be associated with non-invasive and invasive breast cancer. Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) has resulted in higher detection rates of architectural distortion particularly in patients with dense breast tissue. We hypothesized that rates of clinically relevant lesions confirmed surgically would be lower in patients who received DBT imaging compared with those who received standard digital breast imaging.

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Purpose: As the number of survivors continues to increase with improvements in breast cancer treatment, greater emphasis has been placed on the aesthetic outcome following breast surgery. Effort is made to minimize scarring on the breast, yet patients who require a port for treatment inevitably have a scar on the upper chest from the port itself. We hypothesized that patients with breast cancer are conscious of their port scars, and if given a choice would prefer placement of the port in the arm rather than the chest.

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NCCN guidelines recommend tamoxifen (TAM) for adjuvant treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). TAM has side effects that can potentially complicate treatment recommendations and patient acceptance. It is unknown how well-accepted this recommended therapy is for the adolescent and young adult (AYA) patient population with DCIS.

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