Variations in Circulating Levels of Angiopoietin-2 Over Time Are Predictive of Ramucirumab-Paclitaxel Therapy Outcome in Advanced Gastric Cancer: Results of Prospective Study.

The combination of paclitaxel and ramucirumab is the second-line therapy of choice in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer. To date, no biomarkers are available in gastric cancer to predict the outcome of antiangiogenic therapy. The present prospective study included 35 patients undergoing second-line therapy with ramucirumab and paclitaxel.

Proteoglycans in Cancer: Friends or Enemies? A Special Focus on Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Proteoglycans are a class of highly glycosylated proteins expressed in virtually all tissues, which are localized within membranes, but more often in the pericellular space and extracellular matrix (ECM), and are involved in tissue homeostasis and remodeling of the stromal microenvironment during physiological and pathological processes, such as tissue regeneration, angiogenesis, and cancer. In general, proteoglycans can perform signaling activities and influence a range of physical, chemical, and biological tissue properties, including the diffusivity of small electrolytes and nutrients and the bioavailability of growth factors. While the dysregulated expression of some proteoglycans is observed in many cancers, whether they act as supporters or limiters of neoplastic progression is still a matter of controversy, as the tumor promoting or suppressive function of some proteoglycans is context dependent.

Public Health Response to the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: Concern about Ultra-Processed Food Consumption.

There is scientific consistency in the concept of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) as a descriptor of an unhealthy diet. The most recent literature points to troubling evidence that policies adopted to address the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic may have contributed to diverting eating habits toward a poorer diet. Considering the historically unique SARS-CoV-2 pandemic lockdown scenario, and the health burden imposed by UPFs on human health, it is critical to investigate how the epidemic has influenced UPF intake directly.

Overall Sexual Function in Dysmetabolic Obese Men with Low Testosterone Levels Treated with Clomiphene Citrate.

Background: Sexual disorders are the most common clinical manifestations of hypogonadism. Functional hypogonadism is the most frequent form, and clomiphene citrate (CC) has been recently introduced as a possible off-label therapeutic option for these patients.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of CC on the overall sexual function in dysmetabolic obese men with low testosterone (T) levels.

Laparoscopic partial splenectomy for symptomatic benign cystic lesions: technical notes.

The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of laparoscopic partial splenectomy in patients with symptomatic benign lesions. During the period from April 2017 to February 2020, a single surgeon performed 7 LPS for benign lesions. As primary endpoint, we retrospectively analyzed the patient's short-term outcome and the operative results.

Processed meat consumption and the risk of incident late-onset depression: a 12-year follow-up of the Salus in Apulia Study.

Background: the possible relationship between dietary habits and the incidence of late-onset depression (LOD), defined as first depression onset at later age, is unclear.

Objective: to investigate the relationship between consumption of different food groups and incident LOD.

Design: longitudinal population-based study with a 12-year follow-up.

Neuroendocrine Modulation of Food Intake and Eating Behavior.

Background: In the first section of this review, we examined the neuroanatomical and neurochemical data on hunger and satiety centers, glucose receptors, sensorial influences on eating behavior, and regulation of energy requirements. The second section is devoted to orexigenic and anorexigenic hormones.

Objective: This paper aimed to overview and summarize data regarding the role of neuroendocrine regulation of food intake and eating behavior.

Validation of a Lab-on-Chip Assay for Measuring Sorafenib Effectiveness on HCC Cell Proliferation.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly lethal cancer, and although a few drugs are available for treatment, therapeutic effectiveness is still unsatisfactory. New drugs are urgently needed for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. In this context, reliable preclinical assays are of paramount importance to screen the effectiveness of new drugs and, in particular, measure their effects on HCC cell proliferation.

Signal Transduction of Mineralocorticoid and Angiotensin II Receptors in the Central Control of Sodium Appetite: A Narrative Review.

Sodium appetite is an innate behavior occurring in response to sodium depletion that induces homeostatic responses such as the secretion of the mineralocorticoid hormone aldosterone from the zona glomerulosa of the adrenal cortex and the stimulation of the peptide hormone angiotensin II (ANG II). The synergistic action of these hormones signals to the brain the sodium appetite that represents the increased palatability for salt intake. This narrative review summarizes the main data dealing with the role of mineralocorticoid and ANG II receptors in the central control of sodium appetite.

One-year effectiveness and safety of ustekinumab in ulcerative colitis: a multicenter real-world study from Italy.

Background: Efficacy and safety of ustekinumab for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) has been demonstrated in clinical trials, but few real-world data are available so far. The aim of this study was to assess effectiveness and safety of ustekinumab in a cohort of refractory UC patients.

Methods: Data of patients with moderate to severe UC treated with ustekinumab were retrospectively collected.

FISSIT (Fistula Surgery in Italy) study: A retrospective survey on the surgical management of anal fistulas in Italy over the last 15 years.

Background: Surgical treatment of anal fistulas is still a challenge. The aims of this study were to evaluate the adoption and healing rates for the different surgical techniques used in Italy over the past 15 years.

Methods: This was a multicenter retrospective observational study of patients affected by simple and complex anal fistulas of cryptoglandular origin who were surgically treated in the period 2003-2017.

Oral frailty and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease.

Frailty is a critical intermediate status of the aging process with a multidimensional and multisystem nature and at higher risk for adverse health-related outcomes, including falls, disability, hospitalizations, institutionalization, mortality, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease. Among different frailty phenotypes, oral frailty has been recently suggested as a novel construct defined as a decrease in oral function with a coexisting decline in cognitive and physical functions. We briefly reviewed existing evidence on operational definitions of oral frailty, assessment and screening tools, and possible relationships among oral frailty, oral microbiota, and Alzheimer's disease neurodegeneration.

Physical Frailty, Multimorbidity, and All-Cause Mortality in an Older Population From Southern Italy: Results from the Salus in Apulia Study.

Objectives: We first estimated the prevalence of physical frailty in older subjects from the population-based Salus in Apulia Study (Apulia, Southern Italy), and its impact on all-cause mortality. Second, we explored the relationship between multimorbidity and physical frailty.

Design: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses from a population-based study.

Vitamin D in the development and progression of alzheimer's disease: implications for clinical management.

Introduction: Although the pathophysiological bases of Alzheimer's disease (AD) remain incompletely understood and disease-modifying therapies are not available, intervention on modifiable risk factors is warranted. Research on nutrition and dietary components is challenging and controversies still persist about the role of micro- and macronutrients and health outcomes in dementia. Importantly, results of preclinical investigations have shown that vitamin D triggers different neural pathways that may be protective against these neurodegenerative mechanisms, including the deposition of amyloid plaques, inflammatory processes, neurofibrillary degeneration, glutamatergic excitotoxicity, excessive intraneuronal calcium influx, and oxidative stress, although its relationship with AD still needs to be fully understood.

Late-onset depression is associated to age-related central auditory processing disorder in an older population in Southern Italy.

The association between late-life depression (LLD) and age-related hearing loss (ARHL) was suggested by preliminary studies, but reliance on LLD subtypes may introduce significant bias. We examined the association between ARHL and LLD according to the age of onset (early-onset depression (EOD) and late-onset depression (LOD)). We investigated the association between ARHL and LLD diagnosed according to the Semi-structured Clinical Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV-TR in 1749 Italian community-dwelling older subjects from the population-based GreatAGE Study, Southern Italy.

Higher Muscle Mass Implies Increased Free-Thyroxine to Free-Triiodothyronine Ratio in Subjects With Overweight and Obesity.

Unlabelled: Thyroid hormones control both metabolic pathways and body composition, whereas little knowledge is available about the possible influence of skeletal muscle mass (MM) on thyroid hormone metabolism and circulating levels. This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the Population Health Unit of the National Institute of Gastroenterology IRCCS "S. de Bellis" (Italy) and investigating the extent to which skeletal MM affects thyroid function in obesity.

Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet and Thyroid Function in Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Apulian Survey.

Much research suggests that Mediterranean eating habits and lifestyle contribute to counteract the risk of chronic diseases while promoting longevity, but little information is available on the effects of the Mediterranean diet (Med-Diet) on thyroid function, particularly among overweight/obese subjects. Nevertheless, consistent data reported a slight increase in serum levels of the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and a higher rate of conversion of thyroxine (T4) to triiodothyronine (T3) in obesity. This cross-sectional study was aimed at investigating the relationship between adherence to the Med-Diet and circulating thyroid hormones in a cohort of overweight/obese subjects from Apulia (Southern Italy).

The Modified Five-Point Test (MFPT): normative data for a sample of Italian elderly.

Introduction: Non-verbal figural fluency is related to executive functions and specifically to the ability to create as many unique designs as possible, while minimizing their repetitions. An Italian version of figural fluency is the Modified Five-Point Test (MFPT), which is highly employed in the clinical practice of neuropsychologists. To date, reference data of Italian population are limited to a sample aged between 16 and 60 years old.

The relationship between epigenetics and microbiota in neuropsychiatric diseases.

Microbiota might be considered as a pool for environmental epigenetic factors. Evidence is accumulating that environmental exposures - including microbes, diet, drugs - play a role in the pathogenesis of many neuropsychiatric disorders. Underlying mechanisms are complex, involving the sensitive interplay of genetics with epigenetics, neuroinflammation and the innate immune system.

Liver fibrosis score, physical frailty, and the risk of dementia in older adults: The Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Introduction: Liver fibrosis increases progressively with aging and has been associated with poorer cognitive performance in middle-aged and older adults. We investigated the relationships between a non-invasive score for advanced liver fibrosis (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease [NAFLD] fibrosis score [NFS]) and dementia risk. We also assessed physical frailty, a common geriatric condition which is associated to dementia.

Anti-amyloid-β protein agents for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease: an update on emerging drugs.

Introduction: Currently available Alzheimer's disease (AD) therapeutics are only symptomatic, targeting cholinergic and glutamatergic neurotransmissions. Several putative disease-modifying drugs in late-stage clinical development target amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide and tau protein, the principal neurophatological hallmarks of the disease.

Areas Covered: Phase III randomized clinical trials of anti-Aβ drugs for AD treatment were searched in US and EU clinical trial registries and principal biomedical databases until May 2020.