Esteem® Active Middle Ear Implant versus Conventional Hearing Aids: Long-Term Performance.

Introduction: The totally implantable active middle ear implant Esteem® may be considered an effective alternative to conventional hearing aids (cHAs) to manage moderate-to-severe forms of sensorineural hearing loss. This study aimed to provide long-term comparative data of Esteem performances with those achieved by cHA.

Methods: From a total of 46 subjects who received unilateral application of Esteem®, and were followed up over the years, ten underwent an audiological assessment that compared the outcomes with those achieved in the contralateral ear by a cHA, considering the initially symmetric auditory thresholds in both ears.

Molecular Genotyping of Circulating Enterovirus in the Lazio Region from 2012 to 2023.

Enteroviruses (EVs) are ubiquitous viruses that circulate worldwide, causing sporadic or epidemic infections, typically during the summer and fall. They cause a broad spectrum of illnesses, ranging from an unspecified febrile clinical presentation to a severe illness. EVs are recognized to be the most frequent etiological agents of aseptic meningitis in children.

Effect of Cigarette Smoking on Clinical and Molecular Endpoints in COPD Patients.

Cigarette smoking is a primary contributor to mortality risks and is associated with various diseases. Among these, COPD represents a significant contributor to global mortality and disability. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of smoking on a selected battery of variables, with an emphasis on DNA damage.

Workflow and Outcome of Thrombectomy in Late Time Window: A Pooled Multicenter Analysis.

Background: We investigated the impact of workflow times on the outcomes of patients treated with endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) in the late time window.

Methods: Individual patients' data who underwent EVT in the late time window (onset to imaging >6 hours) were pooled from seven registries and randomized clinical trials. Multiple time intervals were analyzed.

The Epidemiology of Anal Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in HIV-Positive and HIV-Negative Women and Men: A Ten-Year Retrospective Observational Study in Rome (Italy).

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) commonly infect the anogenital mucosa; most infections are transient, but a fraction of those caused by high-risk (HR) types persist and may lead to anogenital cancer. The epidemiology of HPV genotypes in anal infections in groups at different risk for anal cancer has not been well described in Italy. This retrospective study reports the results of HPV DNA testing and complete genotyping performed on anal swabs from 691 female and male patients attending proctology clinics in Rome during 2012-2021; one-third had repeated testing.

Nerve Growth Factor and the Role of Inflammation in Tumor Development.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) plays a dual role both in inflammatory states and cancer, acting both as a pro-inflammatory and oncogenic factor and as an anti-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic mediator in a context-dependent way based on the signaling networks and its interaction with diverse cellular components within the microenvironment. This report aims to provide a summary and subsequent review of the literature on the role of NGF in regulating the inflammatory microenvironment and tumor cell growth, survival, and death. The role of NGF in inflammation and tumorigenesis as a component of the inflammatory system, its interaction with the various components of the respective microenvironments, its ability to cause epigenetic changes, and its role in the treatment of cancer have been highlighted in this paper.

Risk factors for in-hospital mortality after emergency colorectal surgery in octogenarians: results of a cohort study from a referral center.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate predictive factors of mortality in emergency colorectal surgery in octogenarian patients.

Methods: It is a retrospective cohort study conducted at a single-institution tertiary referral center. Consecutive patients who underwent emergency colorectal surgery between January 2015 and January 2020 were identified.

SARS-CoV-2 pre-exposure prophylaxis with tixagevimab/cilgavimab (AZD7442) provides protection in inborn errors of immunity with antibody defects: a real-world experience.

Background: Preventive strategies against severe COVID-19 in Inborn Errors of Immunity (IEI) include bivalent vaccines, treatment with SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), early antiviral therapies, and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of the PrEP with tixagevimab/cilgavimab (AZD7442) in IEI with primary antibody defects during the COVID-19 Omicron wave.

Methods: A six-month prospective study evaluated the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate and the COVID-19 severity in the AZD7442 group, in the no-AZD7442 group, and in a group of patients with a recent SARS-CoV-2 infection (< three months).

Urine Dipstick Analysis on Automated Platforms: Is a Reliable Screening Tool for Proteinuria? An Experience from Umberto I Hospital in Rome.

Urinalysis is commonly used as a screening tool for kidney disease. In many cases, the dipstick urine assay includes the assessment of albumin/protein and creatinine; consequently, the value of their ratio is available on the urine section report. Identification of albuminuria/proteinuria at early stages is an important issue to prevent or at least delay the onset of chronic kidney disease (CKD), kidney failure, and the progression of cardiovascular damage linked to the kidney's loss of function.

Outcomes with Endovascular Treatment of Patients with M2 Segment MCA Occlusion in the Late Time Window.

Background And Purpose: Randomized trials in the late window have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of endovascular thrombectomy in large-vessel occlusions. Patients with M2-segment MCA occlusions were excluded from these trials. We compared outcomes with endovascular thrombectomy in patients with M2-versus-M1 occlusions presenting 6-24 hours after symptom onset.

Torque teno virus (TTV): A gentle spy virus of immune status, predictive marker of seroconversion to COVID-19 vaccine in kidney and lung transplant recipients.

To date, no comprehensive marker to monitor the immune status of patients is available. Given that Torque teno virus (TTV), a known human virome component, has previously been identified as a marker of immunocompetence, it was retrospectively investigated whether TTV viral load may also represent a marker of ability to develop antibody in response to COVID-19-BNT162B2 vaccine in solid organ transplant recipients (SOT). Specifically, 273 samples from 146 kidney and 26 lung transplant recipients after successive doses of vaccine were analyzed.

Nirmatrelvir and COVID-19: development, pharmacokinetics, clinical efficacy, resistance, relapse, and pharmacoeconomics.

Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (N/R) is one of the most effective antiviral drugs against SARS-CoV-2. The preclinical development, pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of N/R are reviewed herein. Randomized clinical trials have been conducted exclusively with pre-Omicron variants of concern, but in vitro studies show that efficacy against all Omicron sublineages is preserved, as confirmed by post-marketing observational studies.

Common Microbial Genital Infections and Their Impact on the Innate Immune Response to HPV in Cervical Cells.

The persistence of high-risk (HR) human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes is a prerequisite of cervical cancer. It is not clear whether and how bacterial vaginosis (BV) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) cause higher rates of persistent HPV infection. This study aimed to characterize mucosal innate immunity to HPV, comparing different conditions.

Prokineticin 2/PROK2 and Male Infertility.

Male infertility represents about 50% of the causes of infertility in couples. The diagnosis process represents an important procedure for defining, when possible, the causes and approaching treatments (pharmacological, surgical) aimed at overcoming the problem. Several scientific studies have set out to discover early and indicative markers capable of providing information on the biological origin of infertility and increase current knowledge in the context of new potential therapeutic approaches.

Characteristic Hallmarks of Aging and the Impact on Carcinogenesis.

Evidence shows that there is a synergistic, bidirectional association between cancer and aging with many shared traits. Age itself is a risk factor for the onset of most cancers, while evidence suggests that cancer and its treatments might accelerate aging by causing genotoxic and cytotoxic insults. Aging has been associated with a series of alterations that can be linked to cancer: i) genomic instability caused by DNA damage or epigenetic alterations coupled with repair errors, which lead to progressive accumulation of mutations; ii) telomere attrition with possible impairment of telomerase, shelterin complex, or the trimeric complex (Cdc13, Stn1 and Ten1 - CST) activities associated with abnormalities in DNA replication and repair; iii) altered proteostasis, especially when leading to an augmented proteasome, chaperon and autophagy-lysosome activity; iv) mitochondrial dysfunction causing oxidative stress; v) cellular senescence; vi) stem cells exhaustion, intercellular altered communication and deregulated nutrient sensing which are associated with microenvironmental modifications which may facilitate the subsequential role of cancer stem cells.

Neuroimmune Dysregulation in Prepubertal and Adolescent Individuals Affected by Klinefelter Syndrome.

Background: The syndrome Klinefelter syndrome (KS) is a genetic disorder due to an extra X chromosome in males. Many cases remain undiagnosed until the onset of major manifestations, which include hypergonadotropic hypogonadism and infertility. This condition is associated with many comorbidities that involve the cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune systems.

WHO standards-based tools to measure service providers' and service users' views on the quality of hospital child care: development and validation in Italy.

Objectives: Evidence showed that, even in high-income countries, children and adolescents may not receive high quality of care (QOC). We describe the development and initial validation, in Italy, of two WHO standards-based questionnaires to conduct an assessment of QOC for children and young adolescents at inpatient level, based on the provider and user perspectives.

Design: Multiphase, mixed-methods study.

The Antimicrobial Peptide Esc(1-21) Synergizes with Colistin in Inhibiting the Growth and in Killing Multidrug Resistant Strains.

Multidrug-resistant microbial infections and the scarce availability of new antibiotics capable of eradicating them are posing a serious problem to global health security. Among the microorganisms that easily acquire resistance to antibiotics and that are the etiological cause of severe infections, there is . Carbapenems are the principal agents used to treat infections.

Stroke imaging prior to thrombectomy in the late window: results from a pooled multicentre analysis.

Background And Purpose: Collateral assessment using CT angiography is a promising modality for selecting patients for endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) in the late window (6-24 hours). The outcome of these patients compared with those selected using perfusion imaging is not clear.

Methods: We pooled data from seven trials and registries of EVT-treated patients in the late-time window.

Alcohol and Head and Neck Cancer: Updates on the Role of Oxidative Stress, Genetic, Epigenetics, Oral Microbiota, Antioxidants, and Alkylating Agents.

Head and neck cancer (HNC) concerns more than 890,000 patients worldwide annually and is associated with the advanced stage at presentation and heavy outcomes. Alcohol drinking, together with tobacco smoking, and human papillomavirus infection are the main recognized risk factors. The tumorigenesis of HNC represents an intricate sequential process that implicates a gradual acquisition of genetic and epigenetics alterations targeting crucial pathways regulating cell growth, motility, and stromal interactions.