Transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair in atrial functional mitral regurgitation: insights from the multi-center MITRA-TUNE registry.

Background: A-FMR is considered a specific sub-type of secondary MR in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and preserved left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF). Aim of the study was to investigate the acute and mid-term outcomes of transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair (TMVr) with the MitraClip in atrial functional mitral regurgitation (A-FMR).

Methods: The study included patients with A-FMR and concomitant AF who underwent to the MitraClip at 7 Italian Centers.

GITMO Registry Study on Allogeneic Transplantation in Patients Aged ≥60 Years from 2000 to 2017: Improvements and Criticisms.

Today, allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) can be offered to patients up to age 70 to 72 years and represents one of the most effective curative treatments for many hematologic malignancies. The primary objective of the study was to collect data from the allo-SCTs performed in Italy between 2000 and 2017 in patients aged ≥60 years to evaluate the changes in safety and efficacy outcomes, as well as their distribution and characteristics over time. The Italian Group for Bone Marrow Transplantation, Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Cell Therapy (GITMO) AlloEld study (ClinicalTrials.

Real-world experience with the Sydney System on 1458 cases of lymph node fine needle aspiration cytology.

Introduction: Lymph node (LN) fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a safe, quick, inexpensive, reliable, and minimally invasive technique for the diagnosis of lymphadenopathies. Recently, an international committee of experts proposed guidelines for the performance, classification, and reporting of LN-FNAC: the Sydney System. We set out to analyse the diagnostic performance of the Sydney System in a retrospective study.

Infectious Agents and Bone Marrow Failure: A Causal or a Casual Connection?

Acquired bone marrow failure (BMF) syndromes are considered immune-mediated disorders because hematological recovery after immunosuppressive therapies is the strongest indirect evidence of the involvement of immune cells in marrow failure development. Among pathophysiology hypotheses, immune derangement after chronic antigen exposure or cross-reactivity between viral particles and cellular components are the most accepted; however, epitopes against whom these lymphocytes are directed to remain unknown. In this study, we showed that BMF-associated immunodominant clones, namely the most represented T cells carrying an antigen-specific T-cell receptor (TCR) sequence in a random pool, were frequently associated with those described in various infectious diseases, such as cytomegalovirus (CMV) and infection.

Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, and Clinical Course of Takotsubo Syndrome.

Takotsubo syndrome is an acute reversible heart failure syndrome, most frequently seen in postmenopausal women and precipitated generally by significant emotional stress or physical illness. A sudden sympathetic activation seems to play a key role in the pathophysiology, but growing evidence is emerging about the role of inflammation in the subacute and chronic phases. An incidence of life-threatening complications occurring in the acute phase and at long-term follow-up has been demonstrated, comparable with the acute coronary syndrome.

Endovascular treatment beyond 24 hours from the onset of acute ischemic stroke: the Italian Registry of Endovascular Thrombectomy in Acute Stroke (IRETAS).

Background: Clinical trials and observational studies have demonstrated the benefit of thrombectomy up to 16 or 24 hours after the patient was last known to be well. This study aimed to evaluate the outcome of stroke patients treated beyond 24 hours from onset.

Methods: We analyzed the outcome of 34 stroke patients (mean age 70.

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis with Hydroxychloroquine Does Not Prevent COVID-19 nor Virus Related Venous Thromboembolism.

Different and several public health strategies have been planned to reduce transmission of pandemic due to SARS-CoV-2 since it started. None drugs have been confirmed as able to prevent viral transmission. Hydroxychloroquine with its immunomodulatory properties has been proposed as potential anti-viral drug in particular for prevention once viral exposure has been happen or in first phases of infection.

Skin Manifestations and Coeliac Disease in Paediatric Population.

Celiac disease (CD) is an immune-mediated enteropathy caused by gluten ingestion, affecting approximately 1% of the worldwide population. Extraintestinal symptoms may be present as the first signs of CD, years before the CD diagnosis is made. A great variety of extraintestinal manifestations may be associated with CD.

Pathophysiology of Takotsubo syndrome - a joint scientific statement from the Heart Failure Association Takotsubo Syndrome Study Group and Myocardial Function Working Group of the European Society of Cardiology - Part 2: vascular pathophysiology, gender and sex hormones, genetics, chronic cardiovascular problems and clinical implications.

While the first part of the scientific statement on the pathophysiology of Takotsubo syndrome was focused on catecholamines and the sympathetic nervous system, in the second part we focus on the vascular pathophysiology including coronary and systemic vascular responses, the role of the central and peripheral nervous systems during the acute phase and abnormalities in the subacute phase, the gender differences and integrated effects of sex hormones, genetics of Takotsubo syndrome including insights from microRNA studies and inducible pluripotent stem cell models of Takotsubo syndrome. We then discuss the chronic abnormalities of cardiovascular physiology in survivors, the limitations of current clinical and preclinical studies, the implications of the knowledge of pathophysiology for clinical management and future perspectives and directions of research.

INCB84344-201: Ponatinib and steroids in frontline therapy for unfit patients with Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors have improved survival for patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However, prognosis for old or unfit patients remains poor. In the INCB84344-201 (formerly GIMEMA LAL 1811) prospective, multicenter, phase 2 trial, we tested the efficacy and safety of ponatinib plus prednisone in newly diagnosed patients with Ph+ ALL ≥60 years, or unfit for intensive chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation.

A prognostic model for patients with lymphoma and COVID-19: a multicentre cohort study.

Lymphoma represents a heterogeneous hematological malignancy (HM), which is characterized by severe immunosuppression. Patients diagnosed of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the course of HM have been described to have poor outcome, with only few reports specifically addressing lymphoma patients. Here, we investigated the clinical behavior and clinical parameters of a large multicenter cohort of adult patients with different lymphoma subtypes, with the aim of identifying predictors of death.

Stem Cell and Macrophage Roles in Skeletal Muscle Regenerative Medicine.

In severe muscle injury, skeletal muscle tissue structure and functionality can be repaired through the involvement of several cell types, such as muscle stem cells, and innate immune responses. However, the exact mechanisms behind muscle tissue regeneration, homeostasis, and plasticity are still under investigation, and the discovery of pathways and cell types involved in muscle repair can open the way for novel therapeutic approaches, such as cell-based therapies involving stem cells and peripheral blood mononucleate cells. Indeed, peripheral cell infusions are a new therapy for muscle healing, likely because autologous peripheral blood infusion at the site of injury might enhance innate immune responses, especially those driven by macrophages.

Microsurgical clipping versus newer endovascular techniques in treatment of unruptured anterior communicating artery-complex aneurysms: a meta-analysis and systematic review.

The aim of this study is to compare occlusion rate, complication rate, and clinical outcome of microsurgical clipping (MC) and advanced endovascular techniques (EVT) in unruptured anterior communicating artery-complex aneurysms (ACoCAs). We reviewed the scientific literature reporting occlusion rate, time of occlusion assessment, and clinical outcome of MC and EVT in patients with unruptured ACoCAs, from January 2009 to December 2019. We included in our analysis 25 studies and 872 patients with unruptured ACoCAs (434 treated with endovascular techniques and 438 with MC).

Cone-beam CT angiography to assess the microvascular anatomy of intracranial arterial dissections.

Background: Intracranial artery dissection is a rare and generally under-recognized cause of ischaemic stroke or subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyse the efficacy of cone-beam computed tomography angiography (CBCT-A) to detect arterial ultrastructural alterations in intracranial artery dissection.

Method: This is an observational and retrospective case series.

Longitudinal randomized study to evaluate the long-term outcome of endoscopic primary dacryocystorhinostomy with or without silicone tube.

Objective: Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) is indicated for the treatment of nasolacrimal obstruction with some authors suggesting the use of a silicone tube (stent) to maintain rhinostomy patency a long time. This study aims at comparing the results of endoscopic-DCR (En-DCR) with and without silicone stenting.

Methods: A randomized prospective study was conducted from January 2013 to January 2018, following patients for up to 72 months.

Frozen Elephant Trunk Technique in Acute Type A Aortic Dissection: Is It for All?

Acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) is an indisputable emergency with very poor outcomes without surgical treatment. Although the aortic arch is often involved in the aortic dissection, its optimal management during surgical therapy remains uncertain. A conservative tear-oriented approach has traditionally been adopted, limiting the procedure to the ascending aorta (or hemiarch) replacement.

3D Biomimetic Scaffold for Growth Factor Controlled Delivery: An In-Vitro Study of Tenogenic Events on Wharton's Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

The present work described a bio-functionalized 3D fibrous construct, as an interactive teno-inductive graft model to study tenogenic potential events of human mesenchymal stem cells collected from Wharton's Jelly (hWJ-MSCs). The 3D-biomimetic and bioresorbable scaffold was functionalized with nanocarriers for the local controlled delivery of a teno-inductive factor, i.e.

The Value of Flow Cytometry Clonality in Large Granular Lymphocyte Leukemia.

Large granular lymphocyte (LGL) leukemia is a lymphoproliferative disorder of mature T or NK cells frequently associated with autoimmune disorders and other hematological conditions, such as myelodysplastic syndromes. Immunophenotype of LGL cells is similar to that of effector memory CD8 T cells with T-cell receptor (TCR) clonality defined by molecular and/or flow cytometric analysis. Vβ usage by flow cytometry can identify clonal TCR rearrangements at the protein level, and is fast, sensitive, and almost always available in every Hematology Center.

Adherence to ruxolitinib, an oral JAK1/2 inhibitor, in patients with myelofibrosis: interim analysis from an Italian, prospective cohort study (ROMEI).

ROMEI, a prospective, observational study in patients with myelofibrosis receiving the oral JAK1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib in real-world practice, assesses treatment adherence based on the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8). Here, we present MMAS-8 results at week 24. Overall, 101 of 188 evaluable patients completed the questionnaire at every visit (full completers).

Melatonin and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: The present evidence.

Introduction: Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a multifactorial condition with genetic predisposing factors, and several causes have been put forward for its aetiopathogenesis, including possible hormonal dysfunction. Melatonin seems to play significant role in AIS.

Methods: A systematic search in different database, to July 2021, was performed to define the role of melatonin in the pathophysiology of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.