Drug Development.

Background: Small, soluble oligomers, rather than mature fibrils, are the major neurotoxic agents in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the last few years, Aprile and co-workers designed and purified a single-domain antibody (sdAb), called DesAb-O, with high specificity for Aβ oligomeric conformers. Recently, Cascella and co-workers showed that DesAb-O can selectively detect synthetic Aβ oligomers both in vitro and in cultured cells, neutralizing their associated neuronal dysfunction.

Drug Development.

Background: Cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) correlates with hyperphosphorylated tau (pTau) propagating between neurons along networks connected by synapses. It has been hypothesized this transcellular transmission occurs partially by extracellular vesicles (EVs). Both genetic and pharmacological inhibition of nSMase2 has been found to inhibit EV biogenesis and pTau propagation.

Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors.

Background: Increasing findings have proven that virtual reality (VR) is a promising approach for improving knowledge, self-efficacy, and empathy in educational programs (Dhar, DigitHealth. 2023). The purpose of an ongoing randomised clinical trial is to enhance mental wellbeing of dementia patients' informal caregivers (iCGs) by including a VR-based empathy training into an online psychoeducation program.

Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors.

Background: Dysphagia is an important feature of neurodegenerative diseases and potentially life-threatening in primary progressive aphasia (PPA), but remains poorly characterised in these syndromes. We hypothesised that dysphagia would be more prevalent in nonfluent/agrammatic variant (nfv)PPA than other PPA syndromes, predicted by accompanying motor features and associated with atrophy affecting regions implicated in swallowing control.

Methods: In a retrospective case-control study at our tertiary referral centre, we recruited 56 patients with PPA (21 nfvPPA, 22 semantic variant (sv)PPA, 13 logopenic variant (lv)PPA).

Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors.

Background: Social restrictions and closures of services due to COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the social inclusion and well-being of older people. In fact, older adults present risk factors both in terms of health - such as frailty or multimorbidity - and in terms of quality of life - for example institutionalization - and poor social support. The main objective is to evaluate whether social support had the role of an effect modifier on the incidence of cognitive frailty.

Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors.

Background: Low-middle income countries in Latin America, including Brazil, face a higher prevalence of cognitive decline compared to high-income countries, leading to social-economic and healthcare implications. Several studies have showed an association between reduced physical function and cognitive decline. However, there remains a gap in the understanding of this relationship within the older Brazilian population.

Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors.

Background: Up to 40% of current AD cases may have been preventable through protective factors, such as physical and cognitive activities, preventing neurodegeneration. Reserve, resilience, and resistance are key concepts in cognitive neuroscience of aging, and they share common adaptive mechanisms. In this paper we propose a development and validation of a new scale, called dynamic Neurocognitive Adaptation (dNA).

Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors.

Background: Writing is a cortical function studied by the human science of Graphology, which allows the personal knowledge of the subject, and psychophysical conditions, both in healthy older people and in those affected by dementia. Graphologists and geriatricians can successfully cooperate with this.

Method: Five volunteers aged between 60 and 80 years old (3 women and 2 men) were enrolled after signing an informed consent.

Dementia Care Practice.

Background: Nonpharmacological approaches have been identified as first line treatments for the behavioral and psychological symptoms (NPS) of persons living with dementia (PLWD).

Methods: This is a single-arm study to evaluate the feasibility of the TAP approach to promote continuity of care between hospital (S. Gerardo hospital - Italy) and community.

Dementia Care Practice.

Background: Prescription for inappropriate drugs can be dangerous to very old people, due to the increased risk of adverse drug reactions.

Case Report: We report the consequences of inappropriate prescriptions in a 99-year-old woman. She had a clinical history of vascular dementia, diabetes, hypothyroidism, heart failure, osteoarthritis, chronic renal failure, and hypoacusia, and was admitted to our attention for asthenia and loss of appetite.

Dementia Care Practice.

Dementia is a global public health challenge, impacting > 55 million individuals worldwide. However, widespread dissemination of efficacious non-pharmacologic interventions remains limited. A key implementation barrier is workforce preparation and support for healthcare professionals (HPs) and administrators when being trained in, implementing, and sustaining programs.

BACE-1 and ADAM-10 as Potential Peripheral Biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease.

Amyloid beta (Aβ) dyshomeostasis is considered the main biological aberration in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) pathology. The interplay between Aβ formation and clearance is predominantly modulated by a disintegrin and a metalloproteinase 10 (ADAM10, α-secretase) and β-site APP Cleaving Enzyme 1 (BACE1), the two pivotal enzymes in both non-amyloidogenic/amyloidogenic and amyloidolytic pathways. Emerging evidence suggests that aberrations in ADAM10 and BACE1 expression, activity, and function in the brain of AD patients also manifest in peripheral fluids, suggesting their potential as blood-based biomarkers for AD diagnosis.

Hand Enchondromas Treated with Curettage: a Single Institution Experience and Literature Review.

Purpose Of The Study: Hand enchondromas are benign cartilage bone tumors. Curettage represents the actual gold standard for hand enchondromas. Little has been written about the effectiveness of curettage on hand functionality.

Evolution of autoimmune diagnostics over the past 10 years: lessons learned from the UK NEQAS external quality assessment EQA programs.

Objectives: External quality assessment (EQA) programs play a pivotal role in harmonizing laboratory practices, offering users a benchmark system to evaluate their own performance and identify areas requiring improvement. The objective of this study was to go through and analyze the UK NEQAS "Immunology, Immunochemistry and Allergy" EQA reports between 2012 and 2021 to assess the overall level of harmonization in autoimmune diagnostics and identify areas requiring improvement for future actions.

Methods: The EQA programs reviewed included anti-nuclear (ANA), anti-dsDNA, anti-centromere, anti-extractable nuclear antigen (ENA), anti-phospholipids, anti-neutrophil cytoplasm (ANCA), anti-proteinase 3 (PR3), anti-myeloperoxidase (MPO), anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM), rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA), mitochondrial (AMA), liver-kidney-microsomal (LKM), smooth muscle (ASMA), APCA, and celiac disease antibodies.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitor discontinuation in non-allografted Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients: a Campus ALL real-life study.

Not available.

Statin therapy in ischemic stroke patients with atrial fibrillation: Efficacy and safety outcomes.

Introduction: The efficacy and safety of statins for secondary prevention in patients who have experienced a cardioembolic stroke are not well-defined. However, previous observational data reported hyperlipidemia as a risk factor for both ischemic and bleeding complications in patients with AF and previous stroke. Based on these premises, we conducted a sub-analysis of the RAF and RAF-NOAC studies to evaluate the efficacy and safety of statins in secondary prevention in patients with acute ischemic stroke and AF.

Efficacy of myo-inositol and zinc on insulin resistance in a paediatric population with obesity.

Aim: To assess the efficacy of the combined administration of myo-inositol and zinc, a mineral involved in the insulin pathway, in paediatric obesity with insulin resistance on HOMA-IR, glucose-insulin metabolism, and lipid profile.

Materials And Methods: Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study conducted in North Italy. Fifty-six patients (10-18 years, Tanner stage ≥3) with obesity and insulin resistance were randomized to myo-inositol (2000 mg), zinc gluconate (5 mg), and galactooligosaccharides (GOS) from plant-based origin (1000 mg) (TRT) or placebo (PLC) containing only GOS from plant-based origin (1000 mg).

Evaluation of a point-of-care test for quantitative determination of total thyroxine in feline serum.

Objectives: Total thyroxine (TT4) evaluation is the most commonly used first-line test for the diagnosis and monitoring of cats with hyperthyroidism. Vcheck T4 is a point-of-care immunoassay that measures TT4 using a Vcheck V200 analyser. This study aimed to evaluate the analytic performance of the Vcheck T4 assay in feline sera and the agreement in the classification of normal, high and low TT4 concentrations of Vcheck T4 with those measured by an enzyme immunoassay (EIA).

Perceptions of Obesity Among Healthcare Professionals and Policy Makers in 2023: Results of the Global OPEN Survey.

Objective: Obesity is a disease with severe health impacts on individuals and economic impacts on society, yet healthcare practitioners (HCPs) and policy makers often fail to address it. This survey was conducted to examine current global obesity care and perceptions influencing care delivery among HCPs and healthcare decision makers (HC DMs).

Methods: A survey with a cross-sectional design was conducted among 1200 HCPs (primary care providers, endocrinologists, cardiologists, and nurses) and 414 HC DMs from eight countries across five continents.

Differences in association between hypoalbuminaemia and mortality among younger versus older patients on haemodialysis.

Background: Ageing often affects biomarker production. Yet, clinical/optimal thresholds to guide clinical decisions do not consider this. Serum albumin decreases with age, but hypoalbuminaemia is defined as serum albumin <4.

Stylometry and forensic science: A literature review.

The article focuses on a careful description of literature on stylometry and on its potential use in forensic science. The state of the art of stylometry is summarized to illustrate the history and the scientific foundation of this discipline. However, the study conducted reveals that there are still some key unresolved aspects that require a response from the academic world.

Dehydrogenase oxidase function: the interplay between substrate binding and flavin microenvironment.

Redox enzymes, mostly equipped with metal or organic cofactors, can vary their reactivity with oxygen by orders of magnitudes. Understanding how oxygen reactivity is controlled by the protein milieu remains an open issue with broad implications for mechanistic enzymology and enzyme design. Here, we address this problem by focusing on a widespread group of flavoenzymes that oxidize phenolic compounds derived from microbial lignin degradation, using either oxygen or a cytochrome c as electron acceptors.