Real-World Effectiveness of PCSK9 Inhibitors in Reducing LDL-C in Patients With Familial Hypercholesterolemia in Italy: A Retrospective Cohort Study Based on the AIFA Monitoring Registries.

Background Information on the real-world use of proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin 9 inhibitors (PCKS9is) in familial hypercholesterolemia are limited. We evaluated the pattern of prescription and the long-term efficacy of alirocumab and evolocumab in Italian patients with familial hypercholesterolemia in clinical practice. Methods and Results The data set for analysis was extracted from the PCKS9i Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) registry and included 2484 patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) and 62 patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) who were prescribed PCKS9is from February 2017 to December 2021.

Implications of Clinical Risk Phenotypes on the Management and Natural History of Atrial Fibrillation: A Report From the GLORIA-AF.

Background Clinical risk factors are common among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), but there are still limited data on their association with oral anticoagulant (OAC) treatment patterns and major outcomes. We aim to analyze the association between clinical risk phenotypes on AF treatment patterns and the risk of major outcomes. Methods and Results The GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation) phase 2 and 3 registries enrolled patients with a recent diagnosis of AF between 2011 and 2016.

Tackling local ecological homogeneity: Finding intraspecific trait variability in local populations of Mediterranean plants.

Local homogeneity, in ecology, is the often undisclosed assumption that variability within populations is negligible or mostly distributed evenly. In large areas, this can lead to the aggregation of different populations without regard for their unique needs and characteristics, such as drought sensitivity and functional trait distributions. Here, we discuss whether this assumption can be justified, and we hypothesize that discerning the source of variation between plasticity and adaptation could be a feasible approach to formulate an informed decision.

Laterocervical lymph node metastases from suspected thyroidal primary site that turned out to be metastases of lung cancer: A case report.

Incidental sonographic discovery of thyroid nodules is an increasingly common event in clinical practice. Less frequently, patients with cytological benign thyroid nodules have suspicious cervical lymph nodes detected by ultrasound examination or by cytological exam. Here, we discuss an intriguing case of cervical lymph node metastasis with a probable thyroid origin in a 65-year-old asymptomatic male smoker.

Phenotypic Variability in Acquired and Idiopathic Dystonia.

Background: To date, a few studies have systematically investigated differences in the clinical spectrum between acquired and idiopathic dystonias.

Objectives: To compare demographic data and clinical features in patients with adult-onset acquired and idiopathic dystonias.

Methods: Patients were identified from among those included in the Italian Dystonia Registry, a multicenter Italian dataset of patients with adult-onset dystonia.

Trigger-Associated Clinical Implications and Outcomes in Takotsubo Syndrome: Results From the Multicenter GEIST Registry.

Background Takotsubo syndrome is usually triggered by a stressful event. The type of trigger seems to influence the outcome and should therefore be considered separately. Methods and Results Patients included in the GEIST (German-Italian-Spanish Takotsubo) registry were categorized according to physical trigger (PT), emotional trigger (ET), and no trigger (NT) of Takotsubo syndrome.

Cognitive and Motor Decline in Dementia with Lewy Bodies and Parkinson's Disease Dementia.

Background: There is a need to better understand the rate of cognitive and motor decline of Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease Dementia (PDD).

Objectives: To compare the rate of cognitive and motor decline in patients with DLB and PDD from the E-DLB Consortium and the Parkinson's Incidence Cohorts Collaboration (PICC) Cohorts.

Methods: The annual change in MMSE and MDS-UPDRS part III was estimated using linear mixed regression models in patients with at least one follow-up (DLB  = 837 and PDD  = 157).

JC polyomavirus: a short review of its biology, its association with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, and the diagnostic value of different methods to manifest its activity or presence.

Introduction: JC polyomavirus is the causative agent of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a demyelinating disease resulting from the lytic infection of oligodendrocytes that may develop in immunosuppressed individuals: HIV1 infected or individuals under immunosuppressive therapies. Understanding the biology of JCPyV is necessary for a proper patient management, the development of diagnostic tests, and risk stratification.

Areas Covered: The review covers different areas of expertise including the genomic characterization of JCPyV strains detected in different body compartments (urine, plasma, and cerebrospinal fluid) of PML patients, viral mutations, molecular diagnostics, viral miRNAs, and disease.

Two years of COVID-19 pandemic: The Italian experience of Statgroup-19.

The amount and poor quality of available data and the need of appropriate modeling of the main epidemic indicators require specific skills. In this context, the statistician plays a key role in the process that leads to policy decisions, starting with monitoring changes and evaluating risks. The "what" and the "why" of these changes represent fundamental research questions to provide timely and effective tools to manage the evolution of the epidemic.

Clinical Features of Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus: Critical Review of Objective Findings.

Background: Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is characterized by the classic clinical triad of gait, cognitive, and urinary dysfunction, albeit incomplete in a relevant proportion of patients. The clinical findings and evolution of these symptoms have been variably defined in the literature.

Objectives: To evaluate how the phenomenology has been defined, assessed, and reported, we performed a critical review of the existing literature discussing the phenomenology of iNPH.

The refused interpretation in Freud, Jung and beyond: what if the patient says "no".

The paper attempts to illustrate how refusing an interpretation can lead to very different consequences within Freudian, Jungian, and other psychotherapeutic models. In some cases, a "no" may refute the model of reference, while in others it may have less radical meanings. Refusing an interpretation (if it is consistent with the model and the patient's history) within a Freudian environment can also challenge the validity of the model.

Performance of the HAS-BLED, ORBIT, and ATRIA Bleeding Risk Scores on a Cohort of 399 344 Hospitalized Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Cancer: Data From the French National Hospital Discharge Database.

Background The association between cancer types and specific bleeding events in patients with atrial fibrillation has been scarcely investigated. Also, the performance of bleeding risk scores in this high-risk subgroup of patients is unclear. We investigated the rate of any bleeding, intracranial hemorrhage, major bleeding, and gastrointestinal bleeding according to cancer types in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Tremor and Movement Slowness Are Two Unrelated Adverse Effects Induced by Valproate Intake.

Background: To date, only a few clinical and neurophysiological studies have assessed the features of valproate-induced tremor (VIT), and whether valproate (VPA) affects voluntary movements is underinvestigated.

Objective: To better characterize the clinical and neurophysiological features of VIT in patients with epilepsy and the effect of VPA on the execution of voluntary movement.

Methods: We tested 29 patients with VIT (13 taking VPA alone and 16 taking VPA plus other antiepileptics).

The Influence of Roughness on Experimental Fault Mechanical Behavior and Associated Microseismicity.

Fault surfaces are rough at all scales, and this significantly affects fault-slip behavior. However, roughness is only occasionally considered experimentally and then often in experiments imposing a low-slip velocity, corresponding to the initiation stage of the earthquake cycle. Here, the effect of roughness on earthquake nucleation up to runaway slip is investigated through a series of dry load-stepping biaxial experiments performed on bare rock surfaces with a variety of roughnesses.

Measurement Properties of Clinical Scales Rating the Severity of Blepharospasm: A Multicenter Observational Study.

Background: Several scales have been proposed to clinically evaluate the Motor Severity of Blepharospasm (BSP) but information about their measurement properties as a multicenter instrument is limited.

Objective: To compare the measurement properties of four clinical scales in rating the severity of BSP in a large sample of patients from multiple sites.

Methods: The Burke-Fahn-Marsden Scale (BFMS), the Global Dystonia Severity Rating Scale (GDRS), the Jankovic Rating Scale (JRS), and the Blepharospasm Severity Rating Scale (BSRS) were administered to 211 patients across 10 sites who were also requested to self-complete the Blepharospasm Disability Index (BDI).

Responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency: The usefulness of an online brief psychological intervention with Italian university students.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about new stressors on university students, with a negative impact on their mental health and well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine the usefulness of a brief psychodynamically oriented intervention on general functioning by investigating changes in symptoms of depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and burnout. The sample was comprised of 67 university students (22.

A subgroup analysis of the ODYSSEY APPRISE study: Safety and efficacy of alirocumab in the Italian cohort.

Background And Aims: ODYSSEY APPRISE trial evaluated efficacy and safety of alirocumab in 994 patients with hypercholesterolemia and high CV risk in a real-life setting. The aim of the present report is to detail on the Italian cohort enrolled and treated in the trial.

Methods And Results: The methodology of the of the multinational, single-arm, Phase 3b open-label ODYSSEY APPRISE (Clinicaltrials.

Recreational Cannabis Use: Regulatory Aspects, Public Opinion and Concerns for Public Health.

Cannabis represents the most used substance in the young population after alcohol and tobacco. The consumption of the substance undoubtedly represents an emerging public health issue, and the regulatory aspects are quite heterogeneous. Alternatives to drug prohibition, such as legalization or decriminalization, are a topic of growing debate among researchers, policy makers and the public.

School wellbeing and psychological characteristics of online learning in families of children with and without hearing loss during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This study investigated the psychological characteristics of online learning on Italian students with and without hearing loss (HL) and on their parents, who were forced into isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic. An online survey collected information on socio-demographic data and opinions concerning online learning from 61 children (mean age 11; 25 males, 36 females), including 43 with HL and also from their parents; additionally, school wellbeing and anxiety were assessed. The results showed that, in both the student and parent groups, no significant effect of HL on school wellbeing and anxiety was found.

Central mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the mandible deriving from odontogenic cyst: A case report and review of the literature.

Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma (MEC) it can origin from a mandibular odontogenic cyst. We report the case of a 63-year-old man with MEC of the right retromolar trigonum of the mandibula. We performed a wide mandibular excision and immediate reconstruction with a fibula bone free flap.

Distance decay 2.0 - A global synthesis of taxonomic and functional turnover in ecological communities.

Aim: Understanding the variation in community composition and species abundances (i.e., β-diversity) is at the heart of community ecology.