Postpartum Depression and Inflammatory Biomarkers of Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio, Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratio, and Monocyte-Lymphocyte Ratio: A Prospective Observational Study.

Objectives: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a severe mental health disorder affecting a significant proportion of mothers, often undiagnosed and untreated, with potential long-term effects. While numerous studies have identified risk factors for PPD, the relationship between inflammatory markers and PPD remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the potential correlation between indirect inflammatory markers, specifically neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and monocyte-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and the risk of developing PPD, assessed by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS).

Thermoresponsive M1 macrophage-derived hybrid nanovesicles for improved in vivo tumor targeting.

Despite the efforts and advances done in the last few decades, cancer still remains one of the main leading causes of death worldwide. Nanomedicine and in particular extracellular vesicles are one of the most potent tools to improve the effectiveness of anticancer therapies. In these attempts, the aim of this work is to realize a hybrid nanosystem through the fusion between the M1 macrophages-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs-M1) and thermoresponsive liposomes, in order to obtain a drug delivery system able to exploit the intrinsic tumor targeting capability of immune cells reflected on EVs and thermoresponsiveness of synthetic nanovesicles.

Nanocarriers overcoming biological barriers induced by multidrug resistance of chemotherapeutics in 2D and 3D cancer models.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is currently a big challenge in cancer therapy and limits its success in several patients. Tumors use the MDR mechanisms to colonize the host and reduce the efficacy of chemotherapeutics that are injected as single agents or combinations. MDR mechanisms are responsible for inactivation of drugs and formbiological barriers in cancer like the drug efflux pumps, aberrant extracellular matrix, hypoxic areas, altered cell death mechanisms, etc.

Alginate-Based Composites for Corneal Regeneration: The Optimization of a Biomaterial to Overcome Its Limits.

For many years, corneal transplantation has been the first-choice treatment for irreversible damage affecting the anterior part of the eye. However, the low number of cornea donors and cases of graft rejection highlighted the need to replace donor corneas with new biomaterials. Tissue engineering plays a fundamental role in achieving this goal through challenging research into a construct that must reflect all the properties of the cornea that are essential to ensure correct vision.

A comparison between silicone-free and silicone-based emulsions: Technological features and in vivo evaluation.

Objective: Nowadays, the use of silicones in cosmetic formulation is still controversial, given that "natural" or "biodegradable" components are preferred. Often, the exclusion and/or the discrimination of these excipients from cosmetic field are unmotivated because all things cannot be painted with the same brush. Hence, we want to bring to light and underline the advantages of including silicones in cosmetic emulsions, refuting and debunking some myths related to their use.

Macrophage-Derived Extracellular Vesicles: A Promising Tool for Personalized Cancer Therapy.

The incidence of cancer is increasing dramatically, affecting all ages of the population and reaching an ever higher worldwide mortality rate. The lack of therapies' efficacy is due to several factors such as a delay in diagnosis, tumor regrowth after surgical resection and the occurrence of multidrug resistance (MDR). Tumor-associated immune cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME) deeply affect the tumor's progression, leading to several physicochemical changes compared to physiological conditions.

Ammonium Glycyrrhizinate and Bergamot Essential Oil Co-Loaded Ultradeformable Nanocarriers: An Effective Natural Nanomedicine for In Vivo Anti-Inflammatory Topical Therapies.

Bergamot essential oil (BEO) and Ammonium glycyrrhizinate (AG), naturally derived compounds, have remarkable anti-inflammatory properties, thus making them suitable candidates for the treatment of skin disorders. Despite this, their inadequate physicochemical properties strongly compromise their topical application. Ultradeformable nanocarriers containing both BEO and AG were used to allow their passage through the skin, thus maximizing their therapeutic activity.

Multidrug Idebenone/Naproxen Co-loaded Aspasomes for Significant in vivo Anti-inflammatory Activity.

The use of proper nanocarriers for dermal and transdermal delivery of anti-inflammatory drugs recently gained several attentions in the scientific community because they pass intact and accumulate payloads in the deepest layers of skin tissue. Ascorbyl palmitate-based vesicles (aspasomes) can be considered a promising nanocarrier for dermal and transdermal delivery due to their skin whitening properties and suitable delivery of payloads through the skin. The aim of this study was the synthesis of multidrug Idebenone/naproxen co-loaded aspasomes for the development of an effective anti-inflammatory nanomedicine.

Biomaterials and nanomedicine for bone regeneration: Progress and future prospects.

Bone defects pose a heavy burden on patients, orthopedic surgeons, and public health resources. Various pathological conditions cause bone defects including trauma, tumors, inflammation, osteoporosis, and so forth. Auto- and allograft transplantation have been developed as the most commonly used clinic treatment methods, among which autologous bone grafts are the golden standard.

EtoGel for Intra-Articular Drug Delivery: A New Challenge for Joint Diseases Treatment.

Ethosomes have been proposed as potential intra-articular drug delivery devices, in order to obtain a longer residence time of the delivered drug in the knee joint. To this aim, the conventional composition and preparation method were modified. Ethosomes were prepared by using a low ethanol concentration and carrying out a vesicle extrusion during the preparation.

Influence of Materials Properties on Bio-Physical Features and Effectiveness of 3D-Scaffolds for Periodontal Regeneration.

Periodontal diseases are multifactorial disorders, mainly due to severe infections and inflammation which affect the tissues (i.e., gum and dental bone) that support and surround the teeth.

Association between low C-peptide and fragility fractures in postmenopausal women without diabetes.

Purpose: C-peptide has been shown to exert several, previously unknown, biological effects. A recent cross-sectional study demonstrated an association between low C-peptide serum levels and low lumbar bone density of postmenopausal women not affected by diabetes. To date, very little research attention has been directed toward the association between C-peptide and osteoporotic fractures.

Association between low C-peptide and low lumbar bone mineral density in postmenopausal women without diabetes.

Unlabelled: In this population-based, cross-sectional study in Italian postmenopausal females not affected by diabetes, we showed a link between serum C-peptide and lumbar bone mineral density, suggesting that C-peptide exerts an insulin-independent effect on bone mass.

Introduction: It is well known that type 1 (T1) diabetes, characterized by insulin and C-peptide deficiency, is associated with a low lumbar bone mineral density and an increased risk for fracture. While a role for insulin in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis has been demonstrated, the association between C-peptide and the bone mineral density has not been investigated.

Blink reflex recovery cycle distinguishes essential tremor with resting tremor from de novo Parkinson's disease: an exploratory study.

An increased R2 recovery component of the blink reflex (R2-BRrc) has been observed in Parkinson's disease (PD), cranio-cervical dystonia, dystonic tremor and essential tremor with associated resting tremor (rET), while the BRrc was reported normal in patients with essential tremor (ET). Distinguishing rET from tremor dominant PD (tPD) may be challenging especially in the first stages of the diseases, in the absence of DAT-SPECT investigation. We evaluated the possible usefulness of BRrc for differentiating subjects with de novo tPD from those with rET.

Functional characterization of a rare germline mutation in the gene encoding the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1 (CDKN1B) in a Spanish patient with multiple endocrine neoplasia-like phenotype.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of germline mutations in the CDKN1B gene that encodes the cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) inhibitor p27 in multiple endocrine neoplasia 1 (MEN1)-like Spanish index patients. The CDKN1B gene has recently been identified as a tumor susceptibility gene for MEN4, with six germline mutations reported so far in patients with a MEN-like phenotype but negative for MEN1 mutations.

Design And Methods: Fifteen Spanish index cases with MEN-like symptoms were screened for mutations in the CDKN1B gene and the mutant variant was studied functionally by transcription/translation assays in vitro and in transiently transfected HeLa cells.

Hippocampal and thalamic atrophy in mild temporal lobe epilepsy: a VBM study.

Background: Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) often have mild drug-responsive epilepsy which is frequently associated with MRI detectable mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS), indicating that MTS is not necessarily related to seizure severity. To better define the anatomic substrates associated with TLE, we applied voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis to patients with mild TLE.

Methods: Optimized VBM was applied to the MRI brain images of 95 consecutive unrelated patients who were diagnosed with mild TLE and to 37 healthy controls.

Pathophysiology of insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance is a feature of a number of clinical disorders, including type 2 diabetes/glucose intolerance, obesity, dyslipidaemia and hypertension clustering in the so-called metabolic syndrome. Insulin resistance in skeletal muscle manifests itself primarily as a reduction in insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis due to reduced glucose transport. Ectopic lipid accumulation plays an important role in inducing insulin resistance.

Specific changes in the proteomic pattern produced by the BRCA1-Ser1841Asn missense mutation.

BRCA1 is a nuclear phosphoprotein that plays a key role in many cell functions, including DNA repair, control of transcription, recombination and cell cycle homeostasis. Inherited missense mutations in the BRCA1 gene may predispose to breast and ovarian cancer, but the molecular mechanisms underlying BRCA1-induced tumorigenesis are still to be elucidated. Functional studies performed so far have contributed to the characterization of several single-nucleotide variants, mostly located at the BRCT domain, but very little is known about modifications in the protein pattern occurring in cells carrying these mutations.

Missense mutations of BRCA1 gene affect the binding with p53 both in vitro and in vivo.

Women with BRCA1 gene mutations have an increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer (BOC). Classification of missense variants as neutral or disease causing is still a challenge and has major implications for genetic counseling. BRCA1 is organized in an N-terminal ring-finger domain and two BRCT (breast cancer C-terminus) domains, involved in protein-protein interaction.