Multiple antimicrobial and immune-modulating activities of cysteamine in infectious diseases.

Infectious diseases are a major threat to global health and cause millions of deaths every year, particularly in developing countries. The emergence of multidrug resistance challenges current antimicrobial treatments, inducing uncertainty in therapeutic protocols. New compounds are therefore necessary.

Bioinformatics, RNA sequencing, and targeted bisulfite sequencing analyses identify the role of PROM2 as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker.

Objectives: Prominin 2 (PROM2) gene has been reported as a molecular biomarker of human cancers; however, its role is still controversial. This study was therefore arranged to seek the role of PROM2 in different cancers with Bioinformatics and in vitro analyses.

Methods: A combination of bioinformatics and molecular experiments.

Age at Menopause and the Risk of Stroke: Observational and Mendelian Randomization Analysis in 204 244 Postmenopausal Women.

Background Observational studies have shown that women with an early menopause are at higher risk of stroke compared with women with a later menopause. However, associations with stroke subtypes are inconsistent, and the causality is unclear. Methods and Results We analyzed data of the UK Biobank and EPIC-CVD (European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition-Cardiovascular Diseases) study.

Phenotypic Variability in Acquired and Idiopathic Dystonia.

Background: To date, a few studies have systematically investigated differences in the clinical spectrum between acquired and idiopathic dystonias.

Objectives: To compare demographic data and clinical features in patients with adult-onset acquired and idiopathic dystonias.

Methods: Patients were identified from among those included in the Italian Dystonia Registry, a multicenter Italian dataset of patients with adult-onset dystonia.

Association of Intima-Media Thickness Measured at the Common Carotid Artery With Incident Carotid Plaque: Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis of 20 Prospective Studies.

Background The association between common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT) and incident carotid plaque has not been characterized fully. We therefore aimed to precisely quantify the relationship between CCA-IMT and carotid plaque development. Methods and Results We undertook an individual participant data meta-analysis of 20 prospective studies from the Proof-ATHERO (Prospective Studies of Atherosclerosis) consortium that recorded baseline CCA-IMT and incident carotid plaque involving 21 494 individuals without a history of cardiovascular disease and without preexisting carotid plaque at baseline.

Minimally Invasive Versus Open Liver Resections for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients With Metabolic Syndrome.

Objective: To compare minimally invasive (MILR) and open liver resections (OLRs) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with metabolic syndrome (MS).

Background: Liver resections for HCC on MS are associated with high perioperative morbidity and mortality. No data on the minimally invasive approach in this setting exist.

The STING/TBK1/IRF3/IFN type I pathway is defective in cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. The most common mutation is F508del-CFTR (ΔF) which leads the encoded ion channel towards misfolding and premature degradation. The disease is characterized by chronic bronchopulmonary obstruction, inflammation and airways colonization by bacteria, which are the major cause of morbidity and mortality.

Perampanel as precision therapy in rare genetic epilepsies.

Objective: Perampanel, an antiseizure drug with α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor antagonist properties, may have a targeted effect in genetic epilepsies with overwhelming glutamate receptor activation. Epilepsies with loss of γ-aminobutyric acid inhibition (e.g.

High-Resolution Transthoracic Echocardiography Accurately Detects Pulmonary Arterial Pressure and Decreased Right Ventricular Contractility in a Mouse Model of Pulmonary Fibrosis and Secondary Pulmonary Hypertension.

Background To date, assessment of right ventricular (RV) function in mice has relied extensively on invasive measurements. Echocardiographic advances have allowed adaptation of measures used in humans for serial, noninvasive RV functional assessment in mice. We evaluated the diagnostic performance of tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), RV peak systolic myocardial velocity (s'), RV myocardial performance index (MPI), and RV fractional area change (FAC) in a mouse model of pulmonary hypertension.

Quality of Life in osteoporotic patients.

Background: Osteoporosis is responsible for fragility fractures, which are associated with impaired quality of life (QoL) and disability.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the QoL in patients affected by osteoporosis and possible determinants.

Methods: One-hundred thirty-four subjects followed at the osteoprosis outpatient clinic at our institution completed the QUALEFFO-41 questionnaire for quality of life.

Diagnostic Performance of Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio, Monocyte to Lymphocyte Ratio, Platelet to Lymphocyte Ratio, and Platelet to Mean Platelet Volume Ratio in Periprosthetic Hip and Knee Infections: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The current literature on the diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection provides controversial evidence on the diagnostic accuracy of MLR, NLR, PVR, and PLR. Therefore, this critical literature search and meta-analysis was aimed to summarize the diagnostic accuracy of these biomarkers for the diagnosis of hip and knee prosthetic infection. According to the PRISMA flowchart, we searched MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science, for studies on these ratios for diagnosing PJI.

The Diagnostic Performance of Multi-Detector Computed Tomography (MDCT) in Depiction of Acute Spondylodiscitis in an Emergency Department.

Background: The diagnosis of acute spondylodiscitis can be very difficult because clinical onset symptoms are highly variable. The reference examination is MRI, but very often the first diagnostic investigation performed is CT, given its high availability in the acute setting. CT allows rapid evaluation of other alternative diagnoses (e.

Levels of Neurofilament Light at the Preataxic and Ataxic Stages of Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 1.

Background And Objectives: Neurofilament light (NfL) appears to be a promising fluid biomarker in repeat-expansion spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs), with piloting studies in mixed SCA cohorts suggesting that NfL might be increased at the ataxic stage of SCA type 1 (SCA1). We here hypothesized that NfL is increased not only at the ataxic stage of SCA1, but also at its (likely most treatment-relevant) preataxic stage.

Methods: We assessed serum NfL (sNfL) and CSF NfL (cNfL) levels in both preataxic and ataxic SCA1, leveraging a multicentric cohort recruited at 6 European university centers, and clinical follow-up data, including actually observed (rather than only predicted) conversion to the ataxic stage.

Carotid Atherosclerosis Predicts Blood Pressure Control in Patients With Hypertension: The Campania Salute Network Registry.

Background The 2018 European Society of Cardiology/European Society of Hypertension arterial hypertension guidelines do not recommend routine carotid ultrasound as a tool to identify hypertension-mediated organ damage, unless clinically indicated. However, carotid plaque (CP) is a strong correlate of increased arterial stiffness, which influences blood pressure (BP) control over time. Thus, we assessed whether evidence of CP at first visit could predict BP control during follow-up.

Intracranial Hemorrhage from Dural Arteriovenous Fistulas: What Can We Find with CT Angiography?

(1) Background: Dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVF) represent a rare acquired intracranial vascular malformation, with a variety of clinical signs and symptoms, which make their diagnosis difficult. Intracranial hemorrhage is one of the most serious clinical manifestations. In this paper the authors' goal was to verify the accuracy and utility of contrast-enhanced brain CT angiography (CTA) for the identification and the characterization of dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) in patients who presented with brain hemorrhage compared to 3D digital subtraction angiography (3D DSA); (2) a retrospective study of 26 patients with DAVFs who presented with intracranial hemorrhage to our institution was performed.

Hypertension in Women: Should There be a Sex-specific Threshold?

Conventionally, hypertension is defined by the same blood pressure (BP) threshold (systolic BP ≥140 and/or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg) in both women and men. Several studies have documented that women with hypertension are more prone to develop BP-associated organ damage and that high BP is a stronger risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women than men. While healthy young women have lower BP than men, a steeper increase in BP is found in women from the third decade of life.

Beneficial effects on body weight of group vs individual care in adults with type 1 diabetes on advanced technologies.

Rationale And Aims: Outpatient group visits in diabetes care have several potential advantages and can be simplified by the new technologies. The aim of this study was to assess feasibility and effectiveness of group visits vs individual visits in adults with type 1 diabetes on insulin pump therapy (continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion, CSII) and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM).

Methods: Outpatient setting for group visits (2-hour duration, quarterly, 6-8 patients) was the projection on giant screen of each patient's CGM and insulin pump data, with interactive discussion moderated by a diabetologist.

Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) clinical practice guideline on immunotherapy for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have historically had few options and faced extremely poor prognoses if their disease progressed after standard-of-care tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Recently, the standard of care for HCC has been transformed as a combination of the immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) atezolizumab plus the anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibody bevacizumab was shown to offer improved overall survival in the first-line setting. Immunotherapy has demonstrated safety and efficacy in later lines of therapy as well, and ongoing trials are investigating novel combinations of ICIs and TKIs, in addition to interventions earlier in the course of disease or in combination with liver-directed therapies.

The evaluation of global cognitive and emotional status of older patients with chronic tinnitus.

Objectives: Tinnitus is a common symptom largely impactful on quality of life, especially in the elderly. Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy of self-administered screening tests to correlate the severity of subjective perception of tinnitus with emotional disorders and the overall cognitive status.

Methods: Patients aged ≥ 55 years with chronic tinnitus were recruited and submitted to a complete audiological evaluation; Tinnitus Handicap inventory (THI); Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-A and HADS-D) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).

The role of D-dimer in periprosthetic joint infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: The current literature on diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) provides controversial evidence on the diagnostic accuracy of D-dimer. Therefore, this critical literature search and meta-analysis was aimed to summarize the diagnostic accuracy of D-dimer for diagnosing PJI.

Content: We searched MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science, for studies on D-dimer for diagnosing PJI, according to the PRISMA flowchart.