Fabry-Stroke Italian Registry (FSIR): a nationwide, prospective, observational study about incidence and characteristics of Fabry-related stroke in young-adults. Presentation of the study protocol.

Background: TIA and stroke, both ischemic and hemorrhagic, may complicate Fabry disease at young-adult age and be the first manifestation that comes to the clinician's attention. No definite indications have yet been elaborated to guide neurologists in Fabry disease diagnostics. In current practice, it is usually sought in case of cryptogenic strokes (while Fabry-related strokes can also occur by classical pathogenic mechanisms) or through screening programs in young cerebrovascular populations.

Efficacy of a Single Intra-Articular HYMOVIS ONE Injection for Managing Symptomatic Hip Osteoarthritis: A 12-Month Follow-Up Retrospective Analysis of the ANTIAGE Register Data.

Purpose: The use of ultrasound (US) guidance has allowed hip osteoarthritis to be treated with intra-articular (IA) injections. HYMOVIS ONE (HYADD4-G) is a new hyaluronic acid (HA) derivative product with unusual characteristics, and it has been used with good results in knee osteoarthritis (OA). This study assessed the efficacy and safety of a single HYMOVIS ONE injection in patients affected by symptomatic hip OA.

"MySweetGestation": A novel smartphone application for women with or at risk of diabetes during pregnancy.

Mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps) have been recently introduced as an easily accessible tool for providing information to pregnant women with diabetes. Despite the growing number of apps on the topic "diabetes & pregnancy", a smartphone app offering comprehensive and individualized information to both women (before and during gestation) and their healthcare professionals was still missing. To overcome this lack, the Italian Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Group conceived and realized in 2016 a novel mobile app called "MySweetGestation".

Distinct HR expression patterns significantly affect the clinical behavior of metastatic HER2+ breast cancer and degree of benefit from novel anti-HER2 agents in the real world setting.

We analyzed data from 738 HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (mbc) patients treated with pertuzumab-based regimens and/or T-DM1 at 45 Italian centers. Outcomes were explored in relation to tumor subtype assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The median progression-free survival at first-line (mPFS1) was 12 months.

Clinical Management of Chronic Kidney Disease Patients in Italy: Results from the IRIDE Study.

Background: Lack of adequate management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) often results in delayed diagnosis and inadequate treatment. This study assessed the clinical management and outcome of stages 1-5 CKD patients.

Methods: Patients were prospectively followed for 3 years in 25 nephrology centers across Italy.

Italian Nivolumab Expanded Access Program in Nonsquamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients: Results in Never-Smokers and EGFR-Mutant Patients.

Introduction: Nivolumab is the first checkpoint inhibitor approved for the treatment of nonsquamous NSCLC. We report results from the nivolumab Italian expanded access program focusing on never-smokers and patients with EGFR-mutant nonsqamous NSCLC.

Methods: Nivolumab (3 mg/kg intravenously every 2 weeks) was administered upon physicians' request to patients who had relapsed after one or more prior systemic treatments for stage IIIB/IV nonsquamous NSCLC.

Preventing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in women with gestational diabetes - The evidence and potential strategies.

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus is a condition strongly related to the development of type 2 diabetes later in life, although the risk and the onset have not been fully identified yet. Although glucose tolerance returns to normal levels after delivery in the majority of women with GDM, this condition represents an early stage in the natural history of T2DM. In addition, women with previous GDM exhibit an increased cardiovascular risk profile and a raised incidence of cardiovascular diseases.

Different perception of chronic constipation between patients and gastroenterologists.

Background: There is a certain number of subjects that consider themselves to be constipated (self diagnosed constipation; SDC). The Rome Criteria separate FC from IBS-C, but some SDC patients do not meet the Rome criteria (no Rome Constipation; NRC). Our aims were to evaluate the percentage of SDC subjects with a diagnosis of FC and IBS-C and to compare demographic and clinical features, symptoms, and quality of life in the different SDC groups (FC, IBS-C, NRC).

Serenoa repens + selenium + lycopene vs tadalafil 5 mg for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic obstruction: a Phase IV, non-inferiority, open-label, clinical study (SPRITE study).

Objective: To compare in a randomised, open-label, non-inferiority clinical study, the efficacy and tolerability of Serenoa repens (SeR) + selenium (Se) + lycopene (Ly) (SeR-Se-Ly) therapy vs tadalafil 5 mg in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).

Patients And Methods: From May 2015 to January 2017, 427 patients were enrolled in 21 different centres (International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number Register [ISRCTN] 73316039). Inclusion criteria included: age between 50 and 80 years, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) ≥12, maximum urinary flow rate (Q ) ≤ 15 mL/s, and post-void residual (PVR) <100 mL.

The impact of biologic therapy in chronic plaque psoriasis from a societal perspective: an analysis based on Italian actual clinical practice.

Objective: Psoriasis is one of the most common forms of chronic dermatitis, affecting 2-3% of the worldwide population. It has a serious effect on the way patients perceive themselves and others, thereby prejudicing their quality of life and giving rise to a significant deterioration in their psycho-physical well-being; it also poses greater difficulties for them in leading a normal social life, including their ability to conduct a normal working life. All the above-mentioned issues imply a cost for the society.

Self-Inserted Needles in the Heart.

Cardiac injuries due to penetration by sharp foreign bodies usually have a clear clinical presentation. A case of a 38-year-old man with self-inserted cardiac lesions and a misleading presentation is reported. The patient was admitted to the emergency room because of chest pain, with increase in biomarkers of myocardial necrosis, and electrocardiographic and echocardiographic abnormalities inducing initial diagnostic and therapeutic workup of acute coronary syndrome.

Dual imaging stress echocardiography versus computed tomography coronary angiography for risk stratification of patients with chest pain of unknown origin.

Background: Dual imaging stress echocardiography, combining the evaluation of wall motion and coronary flow reserve (CFR) on the left anterior descending artery (LAD), and computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) are established techniques for assessing prognosis in chest pain patients. In this study we compared the prognostic value of the two methods in a cohort of patients with chest pain having suspected coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: A total of 131 patients (76 men; age 68 ± 9 years) with chest pain of unknown origin underwent dipyridamole (up to 0.

High-volume online haemodiafiltration improves erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) resistance in comparison with low-flux bicarbonate dialysis: results of the REDERT study.

Background: In haemodialysis (HD) patients, anaemia is associated with reduced survival. Despite treatment with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), a large number of patients with chronic kidney disease show resistance to this therapy and require much higher than usual doses of ESAs in order to maintain the recommended haemoglobin (Hb) target, and recent studies suggest that hepcidin (HEP) may mediate the ESA resistance index (ERI). High-volume online haemodiafiltration (HV-OL-HDF) has been shown to improve anaemia and to reduce the need for ESAs in HD patients; this effect is associated with a reduced inflammatory state in these patients.

Post-dilution on line haemodiafiltration with citrate dialysate: first clinical experience in chronic dialysis patients.

Background: Citrate has anticoagulative properties and favorable effects on inflammation, but it has the potential hazards of inducing hypocalcemia. Bicarbonate dialysate (BHD) replacing citrate for acetate is now used in chronic haemodialysis but has never been tested in postdilution online haemodiafiltration (OL-HDF).

Methods: Thirteen chronic stable dialysis patients were enrolled in a pilot, short-term study.

Comparison of prognostic value of pharmacologic stress echocardiography in chest pain patients with versus without diabetes mellitus and positive exercise electrocardiography.

The aim of this study was to compare the prognostic value of pharmacologic stress echocardiography in diabetic and nondiabetic patients with chest pain and intermediate- to high-threshold positive exercise electrocardiographic results. A total of 935 patients with chest pain (131 diabetic patients) with ST-segment depression > or =1 mm on exercise electrocardiography at > or =75-W workload underwent dipyridamole (n = 786) or dobutamine (n = 149) stress echocardiography and were followed up for the occurence of hard (death and infarction) and major events (death, infarction, and late revascularization). During a median follow-up of 26 months, 158 events (51 deaths, 28 myocardial infarctions, and 79 late revascularizations) occurred: 34 in diabetic and 124 in nondiabetic patients (26% vs 15%, p = 0.

Prognostic implications of dipyridamole or dobutamine stress echocardiography for evaluation of patients > or =65 years of age with known or suspected coronary heart disease.

This study investigated the value of pharmacologic stress echocardiography for risk stratification of patients > or =65 years of age. The study cohort consisted of 2,160 patients > or =65 years of age (1,257 men, mean +/- SD 71 +/- 5 years of age) undergoing dipyridamole (n = 1,521) or dobutamine (n = 639) stress echocardiography for evaluation of known (n = 913) or suspected (n = 1,247) coronary artery disease. Of 2,160 patients, 753 (35%) had a normal test result, whereas 772 (36%) showed a myocardial ischemic pattern and 635 (29%) a scar pattern.

Prognostic value of pharmacological stress echocardiography in diabetic and nondiabetic patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease.

Objectives: We sought to compare the prognostic value of pharmacological stress echocardiography (SE) in diabetic and nondiabetic patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease.

Background: Although SE is a useful tool for risk stratification of patients with diabetes, it has not been established whether it retains the same prognostic information in diabetic patients compared with nondiabetic patients.

Methods: A total of 5,456 patients (749 diabetics) undergoing dipyridamole (n = 3,306) or dobutamine (n = 2,150) SE were prospectively followed up for the occurrence of hard events (death and/or nonfatal myocardial infarction).

Prognostic value of a multiparametric risk score in patients undergoing dipyridamole stress echocardiography.

To set up a prognostic score including clinical data and stress echocardiographic findings, the data of 3,969 patients who underwent dipyridamole stress were analyzed. Age (hazard ratio [HR] 3.21), peak wall motion score index (HR 2.

Clinical, resting echo and dipyridamole stress echocardiography findings for the screening of renal transplant candidates.

Background: Preoperative screening for coronary artery disease is recommended in high-risk renal transplant candidates. Aim of this study was to prospectively assess the value of a comprehensive risk stratification strategy including clinical, resting echo, and dipyridamole stress echo findings before renal transplantation.

Methods: The study group consisted of 71 renal transplant candidates (47 men; age 54+/-11 years) fulfilling one or more of the following high-risk clinical criteria: history of coronary artery disease, wall motion abnormalities at resting echo, dialysis dependency lasting >5 years, presence of 2 or more risk factors.

Prediction of mortality in patients with right bundle branch block referred for pharmacologic stress echocardiography.

Right bundle branch block (RBBB) is independently associated with all-cause mortality in patients referred for noninvasive evaluation of coronary artery disease. However, further stratification of risk in these patients has not been specifically addressed. The aim of this study was to risk stratify patients with RBBB who were referred for stress echocardiography.

Diagnostic value of exercise electrocardiography and dipyridamole stress echocardiography in hypertensive and normotensive chest pain patients with right bundle branch block.

Objectives: Studies on the diagnostic value of exercise electrocardiography in right bundle branch block produced controversial results, and data on the accuracy of stress echo are still lacking. The aim of the study was to compare the diagnostic value of exercise electrocardiography and dipyridamole stress echo in chest pain patients with right bundle branch block, and to verify whether stress testing accuracy is affected by history of hypertension.

Methods: The study group was made up of 71 patients (56 men, aged 63 +/- 8 years) with chest pain of unknown origin and complete right bundle branch block.

Prognostic implications of intraventricular conduction defects in patients undergoing stress echocardiography for suspected coronary artery disease.

Purpose: To investigate the prognostic implications of conduction defects in subjects without proven coronary artery disease who had been referred for stress echocardiography.

Methods: The study sample consisted of 1230 patients (574 men and 656 women; mean [+/- SD] age, 63 +/- 10 years) who underwent stress echocardiography with dipyridamole (n = 780) or dobutamine (n = 450) to evaluate suspected coronary artery disease. A summary wall motion score (on a 1 to 4 scale) was calculated.

Prognostic value of pharmacologic stress echocardiography in patients with left bundle branch block.

Purpose: Although coronary artery disease is a frequent cause of left bundle branch block, the prognostic value of myocardial ischemia in patients with this conduction abnormality has not been defined. We investigated the value of pharmacologic stress echocardiography in risk stratification of patients with left bundle branch block.

Patients And Methods: Three hundred eighty-seven patients [230 men and 157 women, mean (+/- SD) age, 64 +/- 9 years] with complete left bundle branch block on the resting electrocardiogram underwent dobutamine (n = 217) or dipyridamole (n = 170) stress echocardiography to evaluate suspected or known coronary artery disease.

Risk stratification by pharmacological stress echocardiography in a primary care cardiology centre. Experience in 1082 patients.

Aim: In this study we sought to determine the safety, feasibility and prognostic value of pharmacological stress echocardiography performed in a primary care cardiology centre, populated by unselected patients evaluated with the aid of limited financial and technological resources.

Methods And Results: The study population was 1082 patients undergoing pharmacological stress echocardiography with either dipyridamole (n=714) or dobutamine (n=368) for the evaluation of known or suspected coronary artery disease. The echocardiogram was positive in 284 (26%) patients.