Sleep-disordered breathing, impaired cardiac adrenergic innervation and prognosis in heart failure.

Objective: Unfavourable effects of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in heart failure (HF) are mainly mediated by impaired sympathetic activity. Few data are available on SDB and cardiac adrenergic impairment evaluated at myocardial level. The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between SDB, cardiac sympathetic innervation assessed by I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (I-MIBG) imaging and prognosis in HF.

Mental simulation of drawing actions enhances delayed recall of a complex figure.

Motor simulation implies that the same motor representations involved in action execution are re-enacted during observation or imagery of actions. Neurofunctional data suggested that observation of letters or abstract paintings can elicit simulation of writing or drawing gestures. We performed four behavioural experiments on right-handed healthy participants to test whether observation of a static and complex geometrical figure implies re-enactment of drawing actions.

Subclinical Hypothyroidism and Cognitive Impairment: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: The association between subclinical hypothyroidism (sHT) and cognitive impairment or risk of dementia is not well-defined, especially in the elderly, where the assessment of central nervous system function is challenging. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the possible effect of sHT on cognitive decline and the risk of dementia.

Methods: Cognitive function was the primary outcome, evaluated as composite endpoint of incidence or prevalence of dementia or difference of Mini Mental State Examination, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, and Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised scores.

The closing-in phenomenon in Parkinson's disease.

Introduction: Closing-in (CI) is a peculiar phenomenon consisting in the tendency to copy drawings close to or superimposed on a model. Recent findings showed that CI can be associated with frontal/executive dysfunctions, likely determining a failure in high-level monitoring of attention-action circuits. CI has been often observed in demented patients, but scarce data are available about CI in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Insulin resistance is associated with impaired cardiac sympathetic innervation in patients with heart failure.

Aims: Insulin resistance (IR) represents, at the same time, cause and consequence of heart failure (HF) and affects prognosis in HF patients, but pathophysiological mechanisms remain unclear. Hyperinsulinemia, which characterizes IR, enhances sympathetic drive, and it can be hypothesized that IR is associated with impaired cardiac sympathetic innervation in HF. Yet, this hypothesis has never been investigated.

Cholinesterase inhibitors for Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative movement disorder frequently associated with a wide variety of non-motor symptoms related to non-dopaminergic pathways. Although the depletion of dopamine is the key neurochemical impairment in PD and anticholinergic medications are used for symptomatic treatment, significant deficits in cholinergic transmission are also present and have been associated with cognitive decline and gait dysfunction. Therefore, use of a cholinesterase inhibitor (ChI) might improve cognitive function and reduce the risk of falls in patients with PD, although it could plausibly worsen motor features.

Sudden onset of coma in a 70-year-old woman with cryoglobulinemia.

Patient: Female, 70 FINAL DIAGNOSIS: Chronic Heaptitis C Symptoms: Coma Medication: - Clinical Procedure: Plamapheresis Specialty: Neurology.

Objective: Unusual clinical course.

Background: Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)-related chronic hepatitis can be associated with mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC).

The role of embodied simulation in mental transformation of whole-body images: evidence from Parkinson's disease.

It has been repeatedly demonstrated that mentally performing an action and mentally transforming body-parts entail simulation of one's own body movements, consistent with predictions of embodied cognition theories. However, the involvement of embodied simulation in mental transformation of whole-body images is still disputed. Here, we assessed own body transformation in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with symptoms most affecting the left or the right body side.

Vascular endothelial growth factor blockade prevents the beneficial effects of β-blocker therapy on cardiac function, angiogenesis, and remodeling in heart failure.

Background: Impaired angiogenesis in the post-myocardial infarction heart contributes to the progression to heart failure. The inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling has been shown to be crucial for the transition from compensatory hypertrophy to cardiac failure. Importantly, β-adrenergic receptor blocker therapy has been also shown to improve myocardial perfusion by enhancing neoangiogenesis in the failing heart.

Instruments for geriatric assessment: new multidimensional assessment approaches.

During the last century the considerable increase in life expectancy has led to important demographic changes and, consequently, to new clinical scenarios. Nowadays, chronic conditions, comorbidities and socio-economic factors constitute a relevant health management issue. In particular, the definition of frail elderly individuals has proven to have a strong role in the identification of high-risk patients, their clinical management and prognosis.