Melatonin as a master regulator of cell death and inflammation: molecular mechanisms and clinical implications for newborn care.

Melatonin, more commonly known as the sleep hormone, is mainly secreted by the pineal gland in dark conditions and regulates the circadian rhythm of the organism. Its intrinsic properties, including high cell permeability, the ability to easily cross both the blood-brain and placenta barriers, and its role as an endogenous reservoir of free radical scavengers (with indirect extra activities), confer it beneficial uses as an adjuvant in the biomedical field. Melatonin can exert its effects by acting through specific cellular receptors on the plasma membrane, similar to other hormones, or through receptor-independent mechanisms that involve complex molecular cross talk with other players.

Ten daily fractions for partial breast irradiation. Long-term results of a prospective phase II trial.

Partial breast irradiation (PBI) is an effective adjuvant treatment after breast conservative surgery for selected early-stage breast cancer patients. However, the best fractionation scheme is not well defined. Hereby, we report the 5-year clinical outcome and toxicity of a phase II prospective study of a novel regimen to deliver PBI, which consists in 40 Gy delivered in 10 daily fractions.

Type II odontoid fracture in elderly patients treated conservatively: is fracture healing the goal?

Purpose: Analysis of functional outcome of elderly patients with type II odontoid fractures treated conservatively in relation to their radiological outcome.

Methods: A total of 50 geriatric patients with type II odontoid fractures were treated with Aspen/Vista collars. On admission, each patient was assessed assigning ASA score, modified Rankin Scale (mRS-pre) and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI).

Complications and risk factors for severe outcome in children with measles.

Objective And Design: Risk factors for severe measles are poorly investigated in high-income countries. The Italian Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases conducted a retrospective study in children hospitalised for measles from January 2016 to August 2017 to investigate the risk factors for severe outcome defined by the presence of long-lasting sequelae, need of intensive care or death.

Results: Nineteen hospitals enrolled 249 children (median age 14.

Matched cohort study of therapeutic strategies to prevent preschool wheezing/asthma attacks.

Background: An inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) or leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA) may prevent wheezing/asthma attacks in preschoolers with recurrent wheeze when added to short-acting β-agonist (SABA).

Objective: The aim of this historical matched cohort study was to assess the effectiveness of these treatments for preventing wheezing/asthma attacks.

Methods: Electronic medical records from the Optimum Patient Care Research Database were used to characterize a UK preschool population (1-5 years old) with two or more episodes of wheezing during 1 baseline year before first prescription (index date) of ICS or LTRA, or repeat prescription of SABA.

Gene Variant (V34L) and Residual Circulating FXIIIA Levels Predict Short- and Long-Term Mortality in Acute Myocardial Infarction after Coronary Angioplasty.

Factor XIIIA (FXIIIA) levels are independent predictors of early prognosis after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and the Valine-to-Leucine (V34L) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) seems associated with lower AMI risk. Since the long-term AMI prognosis merits deeper investigation, we performed an observational study evaluating relationships between FXIIIA residual levels, cardiovascular risk-factors, and inherited genetic predispositions. FXIIIA V34L was genotyped in 333 AMI patients and a five-year follow-up was performed.

FDG PET in response evaluation of bulky masses in paediatric Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) patients enrolled in the Italian AIEOP-LH2004 trial.

Purpose: We present the results of an investigation of the role of FDG PET in response evaluation of bulky masses in paediatric patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) enrolled in the Italian AIEOP-LH2004 trial.

Methods: We analysed data derived from 703 patients (388 male, 315 female; mean age 13 years) with HL and enrolled in 41 different Italian centres from March 2004 to September 2012, all treated with the AIEOP-LH2004 protocol. The cohort comprised 309 patients with a bulky mass, of whom 263 were evaluated with FDG PET at baseline and after four cycles of chemotherapy.

A New 3p14.2 Microdeletion in a Patient with Intellectual Disability and Language Impairment: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Interstitial deletions of chromosome 3p are rare, and specific genotype-phenotype correlations cannot always be assessed. We report the case of a 3p14.2 proximal microdeletion in a 60-year-old female patient with mild intellectual disability, severe speech delay, and mild dysmorphism.

Non-invasive fetal sex diagnosis in plasma of early weeks pregnants using droplet digital PCR.

Background: Fetal sex determination is useful for families at risk of X-linked disorders, such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy, adrenal hypoplasia, hemophilia. At first, this could be obtained through invasive procedures such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling, having a 1% risk of miscarriage. Since the discovery of cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) in maternal plasma, noninvasive prenatal testing permits the early diagnosis of fetal sex through analysis of cffDNA.

Double Interstitial Deletion of the Long Arm of Chromosome 6 in a Patient with Pierre Robin Sequence, Dysmorphisms, and Severe Developmental Delay.

Reported here is the case of a 1.8-year-old boy with a 9.6- Mb deletion in 6q13q14.

Learning curve of endoscopic pituitary surgery: Experience of a neurosurgery/ENT collaboration.

For neurosurgeons, who are accustomed to the binocular microscope, there is a new learning curve that must be overcome for monocular endoscopic pituitary surgery. Different studies describe a learning curve between 15 and 200 procedures, after which both operative time and complications stabilize. In this retrospective study, we evaluate the endoscopic learning curve of our group, already trained in microsurgical transsphenoidal surgery, with the assistance of ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgeons.

Extrafine Versus Fine Inhaled Corticosteroids in Relation to Asthma Control: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Real-Life Studies.

Background: The particle size of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) may affect airway drug deposition and effectiveness.

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of extrafine ICSs (mass median aerodynamic diameter, <2 μm) versus fine-particle ICSs administered as ICS monotherapy or ICS-long-acting β-agonist combination therapy by conducting a meta-analysis of observational real-life asthma studies to estimate the treatment effect of extrafine ICSs.

Methods: MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were reviewed for asthma observational comparative effectiveness studies from January 2004 to June 2016.

Clinical predictors of response and discontinuation of belimumab in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus in real life setting. Results of a large, multicentric, nationwide study.

Objective: To investigate efficacy, safety and survival of belimumab and to identify predictors of drug response and drug discontinuation in patients with active SLE in clinical practice.

Patients And Methods: Data of SLE patients, treated with belimumab, from 11 Italian prospective cohorts were analyzed. SLEDAI-2K, anti-dsDNA, C3, C4, prednisone daily dose, DAS-28, 24-h proteinuria, CLASIa (Cutaneous LE Disease Area and Severity Index Activity) were recorded at baseline and every 6 months.

De novo exonic duplication of ATP1A2 in Italian patient with hemiplegic migraine: a case report.

Background: Sporadic Hemiplegic Migraine is a rare form of migraine headache. Mutations in three different genes, two ion-channel genes and one encoding an ATP exchanger, CACNA1A, ATP1A2 and SCN1A are all responsible for the FHM phenotype, thus indicating a genetic heterogeneity for this disorder. Here, we described a de novo exonic duplication of ATP1A2 in an Italian patient with Hemiplegic Migraine.

Seven fractions to deliver partial breast irradiation: the toxicity is Low.

Purpose: To assess toxicity and clinical outcome, in breast cancer patients treated with external beam partial breast irradiation (PBI) consisting of 35 Gy in 7 daily fractions (5 Gy/fraction).

Materials And Methods: Patients affected by early-stage breast cancer were enrolled in this phase II trial. Patients had to be 60 years old or over and treated with breast conservative surgery for early stage invasive carcinoma.

Postnatal and non-invasive prenatal detection of β-thalassemia mutations based on Taqman genotyping assays.

The β-thalassemias are genetic disorder caused by more than 200 mutations in the β-globin gene, resulting in a total (β0) or partial (β+) deficit of the globin chain synthesis. The most frequent Mediterranean mutations for β-thalassemia are: β039, β+IVSI-110, β+IVSI-6 and β0IVSI-1. Several molecular techniques for the detection of point mutations have been developed based on the amplification of the DNA target by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), but they could be labor-intensive and technically demanding.

Ultrasound Characteristics of Calf Deep Vein Thrombosis and Residual Vein Obstruction After Low Molecular Weight Heparin Treatment.

Objective/background: Calf deep vein thrombosis (CDVT) is frequently found in symptomatic outpatients, but CDVT ultrasound diagnostic criteria are still debated. It has been proposed that only clots with ≥5 mm maximum diameter can be considered as CDVT.

Aims: To assess clot diameters and characteristics of CDVT, and to assess the recanalization rate of CDVT after anticoagulant treatment.

Sleep-time blood pressure: Unique sensitive prognostic marker of vascular risk and therapeutic target for prevention.

Correlation between blood pressure (BP) and target organ damage, vascular risk, and long-term patient prognosis is stronger for measurements derived from around-the-clock ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) than in-clinic daytime ones. Numerous studies consistently substantiate the asleep BP mean is both an independent and much better predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk than either the awake or 24 h means. Elevated sleep-time BP, i.