Polymyalgia rheumatica.

Polymyalgia rheumatica is an inflammatory disease producing pain and stiffness, mainly in the shoulders and pelvic girdle, in people older than 50 years. Elevation of acute phase reactants is common due to the inflammatory nature of the disease. Since there are no specific diagnostic tests, diagnosis requires the exclusion of other diseases with similar presentations.

Words hurt: common and distinct neural substrates underlying nociceptive and semantic pain.

Introduction: Recent studies have shown that processing semantic pain, such as words associated with physical pain, modulates pain perception and enhances activity in regions of the pain matrix. A direct comparison between activations due to noxious stimulation and processing of words conveying physical pain may clarify whether and to what extent the neural substrates of nociceptive pain are shared by semantic pain. Pain is triggered also by experiences of social exclusion, rejection or loss of significant others (the so-called social pain), therefore words expressing social pain may modulate pain perception similarly to what happens with words associated with physical pain.

The value of serum creatinine as biomarker of disease progression in spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA).

Serum creatinine has been indicated as a potential marker of motor function in SBMA and results form previous longitudinal studies pointed to its decline over time. This is a longitudinal retrospective study investigating creatinine changes over a 36-month-period in 73 patients with SBMA. Severity and progression of the disease was assessed according to serum creatine kinase (CK) values, manual muscle testing (MMT), SBMA functional rating scale (SBMAFRS) score, 6-min-walk test (6MWT) value, and spirometry (forced vital capacity, fVC%) obtained at the baseline and at each of the annual follow-up visits.

Caregiver's quality of life in advanced cancer: validation of the construct in a real-life setting of early palliative care.

Introduction: Early palliative care (EPC) improves the quality of life (QoL) of advanced cancer patients and their caregivers. The increasingly widespread use of this care model requires the development of measures supporting its interventions. Although the construct of patient's QoL has been extensively investigated and several QoL measures have been further validated, there is a paucity of data concerning the QoL of the caregiver.

Comparison of the status epilepticus severity score and the epidemiology-based mortality score in predicting 30-day mortality and status epilepticus cessation.

Objective: To evaluate the role of the Status Epilepticus Severity Score (STESS) and the Epidemiology-based Mortality score (EMSE) in predicting 30-day mortality and SE (Status epilepticus) cessation, and their prognostic performance in subgroups of patients with specific characteristics.

Methods: We reviewed consecutive episodes of SE occurring in patients aged ≥14 years at Baggiovara Civil Hospital (Modena, Italy) from 2013 to 2021. We evaluated the predictive accuracy of EMSE and STESS for 30-day mortality and SE cessation through stepwise regression binary logistic models adjusted for possible univariate clinical confounders.

Midostaurin plus daunorubicin or idarubicin for young and older adults with FLT3-mutated AML: a phase 3b trial.

The pivotal RATIFY study demonstrated midostaurin (50 mg twice daily) with standard chemotherapy significantly reduced mortality in adult patients (<60 years) with newly diagnosed (ND) FLT3mut acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Considering that AML often present in older patients who show poor response to chemotherapy, this open-label, multicenter phase 3b trial was designed to further assess safety and efficacy of midostaurin plus chemotherapy in induction, consolidation, and maintenance monotherapy in young (≤60 years) and older (>60 years) patients with FLT3mut ND-AML. Compared with RATIFY, this study extended midostaurin treatment from 14 days to 21 days, substituted anthracyclines (idarubicin or daunorubicin), and introduced variation in standard combination chemotherapy dosing ("7+3" or "5+2" in more fragile patients).

Fluid Biomarkers of Neuro-Glial Injury in Human Status Epilepticus: A Systematic Review.

As per the latest ILAE definition, status epilepticus (SE) may lead to long-term irreversible consequences, such as neuronal death, neuronal injury, and alterations in neuronal networks. Consequently, there is growing interest in identifying biomarkers that can demonstrate and quantify the extent of neuronal and glial injury. Despite numerous studies conducted on animal models of status epilepticus, which clearly indicate seizure-induced neuronal and glial injury, as well as signs of atrophy and gliosis, evidence in humans remains limited to case reports and small case series.

Stigma of Palliative Care among Patients with Advanced Cancer and Their Caregivers on Early Palliative Care.

The early referral to palliative care (PC) represents a successful value-based model with proven benefits regarding the quality of life and clinical outcomes for advanced cancer patients and their caregivers. Yet, its provision remains typically confined to the last weeks of life as per the historical, late PC model. The stigma according to which PC represents end-of-life care has been identified as the root of the problem.

Mechanical thrombectomy in patients with heart failure: the Italian registry of Endovascular Treatment in Acute Stroke.

Background: Heart failure (HF) is the second most important cardiac risk factor for stroke after atrial fibrillation (AF). Few data are available on mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients with HF.

Methods: The source of data is the multicentre Italian Registry of Endovascular Treatment in Acute Stroke (IRETAS).

Elements Characterising Multicomponent Interventions Used to Improve Disease Management Models and Clinical Pathways in Acute and Chronic Heart Failure: A Scoping Review.

This study aimed to summarise different interventions used to improve clinical models and pathways in the management of chronic and acute heart failure (HF). A scoping review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement. MEDLINE (via PubMed), Embase, The Cochrane Library, and CINAHL were searched for systematic reviews (SR) published in the period from 2014 to 2019 in the English language.

Electrographic seizure duration and inter-seizure intervals in focal status epilepticus.

Objective: To characterize the duration of seizures and inter-seizure intervals in focal status epilepticus (SE).

Methods: We reviewed consecutive scalp EEG recordings from adult patients who were admitted for a first episode of focal status epilepticus. We identified electrographic seizure duration and inter-seizure intervals in the first diagnostic pretreatment EEG.

A systematic review and meta-analysis on the optimal treatment duration of checkpoint inhibitoRS in solid tumors: The OTHERS study.

No clear evidence supports the advantage of fixed (up to two years (2yICI)) or continuous treatment (more than two years (prolonged ICI)) in cancer patients achieving stable disease or response on immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials reporting the duration of ICIs (alone or in combination with standard of care (SoC)) across various solid tumors. Overall, we identified 28,417 records through database searching.

Persistent SARS-CoV-2 infection with multiple clinical relapses in two patients with follicular lymphoma treated with bendamustine and obinutuzumab or rituximab.

Purpose: People with hematologic malignancies have a significantly higher risk of developing severe and protracted forms of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to immunocompetent patients, regardless of vaccination status.

Results: We describe two cases of prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infection with multiple relapses of COVID-19 pneumonia in patients with follicular lymphoma treated with bendamustine and obinutuzumab or rituximab. The aim is to highlight the complexity of SARS-CoV-2 infection in this fragile group of patients and the necessity of evidence-based strategies to treat them properly.

Predicting risk of metastases and recurrence in soft-tissue sarcomas via Radiomics and Formal Methods.

Objective: Soft-tissue sarcomas (STSs) of the extremities are a group of malignancies arising from the mesenchymal cells that may develop distant metastases or local recurrence. In this article, we propose a novel methodology aimed to predict metastases and recurrence risk in patients with these malignancies by evaluating magnetic resonance radiomic features that will be formally verified through formal logic models.

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective study based on a public dataset evaluating MRI scans T2-weighted fat-saturated or short tau inversion recovery and patients having "metastases/local recurrence" (group B) or "no metastases/no local recurrence" (group A) as clinical outcomes.

Early palliative care for solid and blood cancer patients and caregivers: Quantitative and qualitative results of a long-term experience as a case of value-based medicine.

Introduction: Cancer patients and their caregivers have substantial unmet needs, that negatively impact the clinical outcome and quality of life. However, interventions aimed to address such needs are still suboptimal, failing to answer the recent healthcare call for the adoption of value-based models of care. In the case of incurable oncologic and hematologic cancers, a value-based model of care should plan advanced care on patients' needs and include the quality of death as an outcome.

Cardiovascular Reasons for Access to a Tertiary Oncological Emergency Service: The CARILLON Study.

Background: The prevalence of acute cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in cancer patients is steadily increasing and represents a significant reason for admission to the emergency department (ED).

Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study, enrolling consecutive patients with cancer presenting to a tertiary oncological ED and consequently admitted to the oncology ward. Two groups of patients were identified based on main symptoms that lead to ED presentation: symptoms potentially related to CVD vs.

Safety and effectiveness of 8 weeks of Glecaprevir/Pibrentasvir in challenging HCV patients: Italian data from the CREST study.

Introduction: Glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (G/P) has demonstrated high rates (>95%) of sustained virologic response at posttreatment Week 12 (SVR12) in treatment-naïve (TN) patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and compensated cirrhosis (CC). Here, in a key real-world subset of TN Italian patients with CC, we evaluated the effectiveness and safety of 8-week G/P treatment, including subgroups of interest such as those with genotype 3 (GT3) infection, elderly patients, and those with more advanced liver disease.

Methods: Subanalysis of Italian patients enrolled in the CREST study.

PARP-inhibitors for BRCA1/2-related advanced HER2-negative breast cancer: A meta-analysis and GRADE recommendations by the Italian Association of Medical Oncology.

Background: Approximately 5-10% of unselected breast cancer (BC) patients retain a hereditary predisposition related to a germline mutation in BRCA1/2 genes. The poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP)-inhibitors olaparib and talazoparib have been granted marketing authorization by both FDA and EMA for adults with BRCA1/2 germline mutations and HER2-negative (HER2-) advanced BC based on the results from the phase III OlympiAd and EMBRACA trials.

Methods: The panel of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM) Clinical Practice Guidelines on Breast Cancer addressed two critical clinical questions, adopting the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach and the Evidence to Decision framework (EtD), to develop recommendations on the use of PARP-inhibitors, with respect to single-agent chemotherapy, in patients with BRCA-related triple-negative (clinical question 1) and hormone receptor-positive (HR+)/HER2- (clinical question 2) advanced BC.

Gratitude among advanced cancer patients and their caregivers: The role of early palliative care.

Objective: A cancer diagnosis represents a unique trauma, given its life-threatening, multidimensional, and uncertain nature. Gratitude is a construct representing the emotional state that arises when individuals recognize that a benefit has been received as a result of someone else's action or a spiritual entity's intervention. Based on the positive psychological wellbeing, gratitude has been associated with improved health outcomes even in the disease setting.

Predicting the progression to super-refractory status epilepticus: A machine-learning study.

Aim: Super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE) is a status epilepticus (SE) that continues or recurs ≥24 h after the onset of anesthesia. We aimed to identify the predictors of progression to SRSE and the risk of 30-day mortality in patients with SRSE by using a machine learning technique.

Methods: We reviewed consecutive SE episodes in patients aged ≥14 years at Baggiovara Civil Hospital (Modena, Italy) from 2013 to 2021.