Autoimmune Encephalitis in Catatonic and Treatment-Resistant Psychotic Patients Referred to Electroconvulsive Therapy: Two Case Reports and Systematic Review.

Autoimmune encephalitis (AE) tends to manifest as a mixture of neuropsychiatric and somatic symptoms, either of which may predominate, and often shows a progressive clinical course sometimes leading to life-threatening conditions. Catatonic and psychotic syndromes, regardless of whether associated with dysautonomia, are common manifestations of AE, especially concerning the anti-NMDAR subtype. Several autoantibodies targeting different neuronal epitopes have been linked to specific clinical manifestations and their detection is embedded in some of the diagnostic criteria for AE.

Absence of Viral Replication Is Associated With Improved Outcome in Anti-HCV-Positive Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background And Aims: Presence of active hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection may influence the outcome of patients treated for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), although this issue has never been adequately assessed in a large series of patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the presence of active HCV affects the survival of patients treated for HCC.

Methods: This study assessed the outcome of 3123 anti-HCV-positive patients with HCC, subdivided according to the presence of active HCV infection or previous sustained virological response (SVR).

Osteoporosis in Older Men: Informing Patient Management and Improving Health-Related Outcomes.

Osteoporosis has been usually considered a female disease, generally causing more fracture risk and complications in adult and older women compared to older men. While vertebral fractures occur in a small proportion of men during middle age, men generally fracture about 10 years later than women, with significant increases in fracture risk after about age 75. Independent of age, men experiencing fragility fractures have a higher risk of life-threatening events compared to women, but the risk of secondary fragility fracture overlaps between men and women.

HBV and HCV testing outcomes among marginalized communities in Italy, 2019-2024: a prospective study.

Background: The health of the marginalized populations is crucial for public health and inequalities. The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Hepatitis Report 2024 stated that over 304 million people were living with Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)/Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection in 2022. We performed HBV/HCV screenings among marginalized communities to reveal hidden infections and link-to-care positive participants.

Ocular surface disease index in Graves' orbitopathy: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Graves' Orbitopathy (GO) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by inflammation of orbital tissues, leading to various ocular manifestations, including ocular surface disease. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the presence of ocular surface disease using the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) in patients with Graves' disease (GD) and moderate-to-severe active GO compared to those with GD and mild non-active GO. Additionally, we aimed to investigate the correlation between ocular surface disease and the eye features of GO.

Clinical characteristics of EGFR-ctDNA shedders in EGFR-mutant NSCLC patients.

Background: Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) revolutionized the molecular diagnostics of lung cancer by enabling non-invasive, sensitive identification of actionable mutations. However, ctDNA analysis may be challenging due to tumor shedding variability, leading to false negative results. This study aims to understand the determinants for ctDNA shedding based on clinical characteristics of lung cancer patients, for a better interpretation of false negative results to be considered when ordering ctDNA analysis for clinical practice.

Reply to Treasure et al. Comment on "Ambrogi et al. Lung Metastasectomy: Where Do We Stand? Results from an Italian Multicentric Prospective Database. 2024, , 3106".

We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the thoughtful reflections on our recent study regarding pulmonary metastasectomy, and we greatly appreciate the constructive dialog that our work has sparked [...

Effects of oral hygiene motivation strategies in paediatric patients with autism.

Aim: This study assessed the effectiveness of technological aids (video modelling) versus verbal and demonstrative motivation for improving oral hygiene in paediatric patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Materials: Consecutive patients with ASD were enrolled. Data on brushing frequency, snack intake frequency, plaque index, gum index, and Frankl scale were collected at baseline.

Non-invasive assessment of portal hypertension in patients with primary biliary cholangitis is affected by severity of cholestasis.

Background&aims: Non-invasive tests (NITs) for ruling-out clinical significant portal hypertension (CSPH) and high-risk varices (HRV) in patients with primary biliary cholangitis(PBC) and compensated advanced chronic liver disease (cACLD) are lacking. We evaluated NITs in these patients and the influence of cholestasis on their performance.

Methods: Consecutive patients from the "Italian PBC registry" and two UK large-volume PBC referral centres with upper endoscopy within 6 months from biochemical evaluation and transient elastography were included.

Outcome and management of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who achieved a complete response to immunotherapy-based systemic therapy.

Background And Aims: The outcome of patients with HCC who achieved complete response (CR) to immune-checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based systemic therapies is unclear.

Approach And Results: Retrospective study of patients with HCC who had CR according to modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (CR-mRECIST) to ICI-based systemic therapies from 28 centers in Asia, Europe, and the United States. Of 3933 patients with HCC treated with ICI-based noncurative systemic therapies, 174 (4.

Effects of Pancreatic Fistula After Minimally Invasive and Open Pancreatoduodenectomy.

Importance: Postoperative pancreatic fistulas (POPF) are the biggest contributor to surgical morbidity and mortality after pancreatoduodenectomy. The impact of POPF could be influenced by the surgical approach.

Objective: To assess the clinical impact of POPF in patients undergoing minimally invasive pancreatoduodenectomy (MIPD) and open pancreatoduodenectomy (OPD).

Early onset metastatic colorectal cancer patients as a distinctive clinical and molecular phenomenon.

Background: Despite a reduction of both incidence and mortality from CRC, recent studies have shown an increase in the incidence of early-onset CRC (EO-CRC). Data on this setting are limited. The aim of our study was to evaluate the clinical and molecular profiles of metastatic EO-CRC patients in order to identify differences compared to a late-onset CRC (LO-CRC) control group.

Stroke thrombectomy in the elderly: A propensity score matched study on a nationwide real-world registry.

Introduction: Data on safety and efficacy of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke in older patients are limited and controversial, and people aged 80 or older were under-represented in randomized trials. Our aim was to assess EVT effect for ischemic stroke patients aged ⩾80 at a nationwide level.

Patients And Methods: The cohort included stroke patients undergoing EVT from the Italian Registry of Endovascular Treatment in Acute Stroke (IRETAS).

IL-17 in serum and cerebrospinal fluid of pediatric patients with acute neuropsychiatric disorders: Implications for PANDAS and PANS.

Background: Acute neuropsychiatric disorders are heterogeneous conditions resulting from interaction between genetic and environmental features. Among these, post infectious forms like Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) and Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) are common. Preclinical studies suggest a role of CNS T-helper-17/interleukin-17 (IL-17) inflammatory mediated response in the pathogenesis of these disorders.

Skeletal phenotypes in postmenopausal women affected by primary hyperparathyroidism.

Purpose: The current primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) presents as a mild disease. We explored skeletal phenotypes in postmenopausal women affected by PHPT, focusing on fracture prevalence.

Methods: PHPT women were retrospectively evaluated at four Italian centers for osteoporosis management (two centers in Milan, = 244; Cuneo, = 128; Pisa, = 131).

Prospective study on Oncotype DX® assay to assess recurrence risk in early ER-positive HER2-negative breast cancer patients with uncertain biological behavior by standard parameters and its impact on treatment recommendation: The POST trial.

Background: Data published in 2015 showed that patients with early breast cancer (EBC) and a low-risk (LR) Recurrence Score® (RS) result by the 21-gene Oncotype DX® assay ("the test") did not derive benefit from adding chemotherapy (CT) to endocrine therapy (HT), while those with a high-risk (HR) RS result did. However, the role of CT remained uncertain in patients with intermediate-risk (IR) cancers. We designed a study to assess the test's ability to categorize patients with EBC with uncertain biological behavior into the groups (LR and HR) for which the value of additional chemotherapy was defined.

DNA methylation analysis of multiple genes in thymic epithelial tumors.

To investigate DNA methylation levels of a panel of genes in thymic epithelial tumors (TETs). We selected 15 genes among the most promising epigenetic biomarkers of TETs and evaluated their methylation levels in 71 TET samples. thymic carcinomas (TCs) showed hypermethylation of and genes and reduced methylation levels compared with thymomas (TMs) and healthy thymic tissues.