Effect of randomised blood pressure lowering treatment and intensive glucose control on dementia and cognitive decline according to baseline cognitive function and other subpopulations of individuals with type 2 diabetes: Results from the ADVANCE trial.

Background And Aims: Accumulating evidence indicates that reducing high blood pressure (BP) prevents dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Furthermore, although diabetes is a risk factor for dementia and MCI, there is uncertainty of the effect of intensive glucose control on these endpoints. This study aimed to determine the effects of BP-lowering (vs placebo) and intensive glucose-lowering (vs standard control) treatments according to baseline cognition and other characteristics on dementia and cognitive decline (CD) in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

New Evidences About Multidimensionality of the Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS) Construct in Undergraduate Medical Students.

Background: Patient-centered care is becoming a paradigm in medicine. The Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS) is the only tool that measures the patient-centered attitude of healthcare students and professionals. Despite its spread, PPOS has had a poor process of scale modelling and validation and previous studies raised concerns about its psychometric robustness.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to mental health services and socioeconomic inequalities in Italy.

Objective: Comprehensive evidence on the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the use of mental health services is scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the access to mental health services in Italy and to assess the socioeconomic and citizenship inequalities for the same outcome.

Methods: A population-based longitudinal open cohort of residents aged ≥ 10 years was established in three large centers covering about 6 million beneficiaries (nearly 10% of the entire population) of the Italian National Health Service (NHS) from 01 January 2018 to 31 December 2021.

Exploring Quality of Life in Adults Living With Late-onset Pompe Disease: A Combined Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of Patient Perceptions from Australia, France, Italy, and the Netherlands.

Late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD) is a rare, autosomal recessive metabolic disorder that is heterogeneous in disease presentation and progression. People with LOPD report a significantly lower physical, psychological, and social quality of life (QoL) than the general population. This study investigated how individuals' self-reported LOPD status (improving, stable, declining) relates to their QoL.

Hydration in young water polo players: A bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) approach.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess hydration status before and after training using the bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) method.

Design: Pre-post quasi-experimental designs.

Method: Twenty-four young water polo players (mean age: 13.

Potential use of beet-pulp concentrate supplementation in athletic horse.

The aim of this two-phase study was to evaluate the use of beet pulp concentrate (BPC) in athletic horses. On the first trial the effects of supplementation with 820g of BPC for 12 weeks were assessed and a crossover postprandial curves of blood biomarkers were determined in five adult Arabian mares. Differences were found in T-chol, HDL-chol, TPP and MCHC (p < 0.

The impact of SMARCA4 loss in non-small cell lung cancer therapy.

This case report explores the therapeutic impact of SMARCA4 loss in a 63-year-old female patient with a history of smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and prior surgeries for breast and pancreatic carcinomas, who presented with a new pulmonary nodule. On February 23, 2024, a CT scan identified a solid pulmonary nodule in the right lower lobe. A PET scan confirmed the nodule's metabolic activity.

The influence of intentions on dream content.

Study Objectives: The "Zeigarnik effect" refers to the phenomenon where future intentions are remembered effectively only as long as they are not executed. This study investigates whether these intentions, which remain active during sleep, influence dream content.

Methods: After an adaptation night, each of the 19 participants (10 women and 9 men) received three different task plans in the evening before the experimental night, each describing how to perform specific tasks.

The impact of telemedicine on pediatric type 1 diabetes management: benefits, challenges, and future directions.

Telemedicine (TM) has emerged as a valuable tool in managing pediatric type 1 diabetes (T1D), particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic when traditional in-person visits were limited. This narrative review examines the impact of TM on patient-provider relationships, glycemic control, and overall diabetes management in children and adolescents with T1D. Studies consistently demonstrate high levels of patient and provider satisfaction with TM, citing increased consultation frequency, reduced travel burdens, and lower associated costs.

Pineal cyst in bipolar patient with normolithiaemia and positive fibromyalgic tender points.

Pineal cysts are benign, nonneoplastic lesions of the pineal gland, often identified incidentally on MRI scans. Although these cysts are usually asymptomatic, they can occasionally enlarge and compress adjacent structures, leading to neurological complications such as obstructive hydrocephalus and Parinaud's syndrome. The underlying mechanisms of pineal cyst development remain largely unclear, although inflammation - common in rheumatological conditions such as fibromyalgia - and mechanical stress have been suggested as contributing factors.

Knowledge and awareness of asbestos risk among General Practitioners: Validation of a questionnaire in an area with a high incidence of asbestos-related diseases.

Objective: Given the critical role of general practitioners (GPs) in the early diagnosis and management of asbestos-related diseases (ARDs), and the significant history of asbestos fibres pollution in Alessandria Local Health Authority (ASL AL), this project aimed to assess the knowledge and awareness of asbestos risks, as well as the experience in diagnosing ARDs among GPs working in Alessandria province, Northern Italy.

Methods: A questionnaire was administered to 216 GPs from all ASL AL territorial districts during 26 Territorial Assistance Equipes (EATs) meetings, held from September 2022 to January 2023. It contained 29 questions covering three main areas: 'knowledge and awareness', 'competence and experience', 'sociodemographic characteristics and workload'.

Palatal rugae assessment using plaster model and dental scan: a cross-sectional comparative analysis.

Objective: Due to their consistent and individualistic patterns, palatal rugae (PR) are used in forensic dentistry as an ancillary method for personal identification. This study aimed to compare the impression of the PR obtained with the classic alginate impression and casting of the plaster model with the impression of the palate made with an intraoral scanner. Both impressions were compared with each other and with the photograph of the palatal rugae.

Acceleration of spontaneous visual recovery by voluntary physical exercise in adolescent amblyopic rats.

Abnormal visual experience during development resulting from an imbalance in the activity of the two eyes can lead to permanent severe visual deficits, a pathology called amblyopia (lazy eye). While this condition is extremely difficult to treat in adults, current interventions can elicit significant amounts of visual recovery when performed in juveniles before the end of the critical period, even if the achievable results can be unsatisfactory due to the progressive decline in visual cortical plasticity. Similarly to human subjects, rodents becoming amblyopic due to early visual deprivation can display spontaneous functional recovery if the deprivation ends within the critical period time window.

Young Psoriatic Patients Respond Faster to Dimethyl Fumarate: Age-related Differences in Efficacy and Adverse Events.

Background: Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) is an oral treatment approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to treat moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis among adult patients.

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate sociodemographic, anthropometric, and medical characteristics in patients with psoriasis without previous history of traditional systemic therapy and to observe if the efficacy or AEs of dimethyl fumarate correlate to any of the patients' characteristics.

Methods: Ninety-two patients with mild-to-moderate psoriasis were enrolled.

Squamous cell carcinoma in rare case of Huriez Syndrome: The role of distant flaps.

Context: Huriez syndrome is a rare de rmatological condition characterized by severe sclerotic and atrophic changes in the extremities (hands and feet) and an increased tendency to develop squamous cell carcinomas, with no established gold standard for the surgical treatment of these patients, who are difficult to manage due to the inability to perform reconstructions using local flaps.

Clinical Case: We report the case of a patient with severe Huriez syndrome who had developed SCC in both the hands and foot over time. After multiple surgeries at other centers, all resulting in recurrences, we planned wide excisions followed by reconstruction using distant flaps.

Physical match performance of elite soccer players from the English Championship League and the English Premier League: The effects of opponent ranking and positional differences.

This study aimed to examine physical match performance and the effects of opponent ranking and positional differences in both the English Championship League (ECL) and the English Premier League (EPL) over five consecutive seasons. Fifty-four professional outfield soccer players (average age 24.6 ± 5.

Autologous Neurosensory Retinal Flap Transplantation in a Porcine Model of Retinal Hole.

Purpose: Autologous retinal transplantation has been successfully employed in the treatment of large and myopic macular holes that are refractory to standard surgical treatments. Patients transplanted with a peripheral neurosensory retinal graft have shown unexpected improvements in visual acuity. The study aims to investigate if neural integration of the graft takes place in a porcine model of retinal hole.

Comparison between Spectral-domain and Swept-source OCT Angiography Scans for the Measurement of Hyperreflective Foci in Age-related Macular Degeneration.

Purpose: Spectral-domain OCT angiography (SD-OCTA) scans were used in an algorithm developed for swept-source OCT angiography (SS-OCTA) scans to determine if SD-OCTA scans yielded similar results for the measurement of hyperreflective foci (HRF) in intermediate age-related macular degeneration (iAMD).

Design: Retrospective study.

Participants: Forty eyes from 35 patients with iAMD.

Implementing Oncologic Nursing Care Plans in Electronic Health Records With Two Taxonomies: A Pilot Study.

Background: Nursing care plans document the nursing process, displaying actions, and illustrating expected outcomes. Their integration into electronic health records (EHRs) is critical for accurate documentation, enhanced by standardized nursing terminologies that promote communication, critical reasoning, and patient safety through consistent language for information.

Objective: This study aimed to identify appropriate standardized nursing terminology tailored to the context of a Northern Italian Cancer Center and research facility for developing nursing care plans and starting their integration into institutional EHRs.

Has Muscle Power Better Discriminative Capacity Compared To Muscle Strength In Predicting Worsening Disability In Older Adults?

Background: Poor muscle strength is a risk factor for disability; nonetheless its discriminative capacity in identifying people who will become disabled is poor. We evaluated whether muscle power, which also is a risk factor for disability, has better discriminative capacity compared to muscle strength.

Methods: We used data from the population based InCHIANTI study.

Abnormal glucagon secretion contributes to a longitudinal decline in glucose tolerance.

Context: Defects in insulin secretion and action contribute to the progression of prediabetes to diabetes. However, the contribution of α-cell dysfunction to this process has been unclear.

Objective: Understand the relative contributions of α-cell and β-cell dysfunction to declining glucose tolerance.

Artificial light at night alters risk-related behaviors of the ground-dwelling isopod Porcellionids pruinosus.

Artificial light at night (ALAN) has emerged as a significant ecological disruptor, affecting various behavioral and physiological processes in numerous species. This study investigated the impact of ALAN on the risk-related behaviors and activity patterns of the ground-dwelling isopod, Porcellionides pruinosus. Isopods were exposed to three different illuminance conditions (<0.