Recommendations for a Better Understanding of Sex and Gender in the Neuroscience of Mental Health.

There are prominent sex/gender differences in the prevalence, expression, and life span course of mental health and neurodiverse conditions. However, the underlying sex- and gender-related mechanisms and their interactions are still not fully understood. This lack of knowledge has harmful consequences for those with mental health problems.

The Italian validation of the Death and Dying Distress Scale.

Objectives: Death anxiety (DA), a condition characterized by fear, angst, or panic related to the awareness of one's own death, is commonly observed in advanced cancer patients. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Death and Dying Distress Scale (DADDS-IT) in a sample of patients with advanced cancer.

Methods: The sample included 200 Italian advanced cancer patients meeting eligibility criteria to access palliative care.

Changes of consultation-liaison psychiatry practice in Italian general hospitals: A comparative 20-year multicenter study.

Introduction: Conducted under the auspices of the Italian Society of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry (SIPC) the aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry (CLP) activity in Italy (SIPC-2-2018) over the past 20 years by comparing with data from the first Italian nation-wide study (SIPC-1-1998).

Methods: We collected data on CLP visits of 3,943 patients from 10 Italian hospitals over a period of 1 year. Data were compared with those from the SIPC-1 1998 study (4,183 participants).

Poor sleep quality may contribute to dysfunctional illness perception, physical and emotional distress in hospitalised patients: results of a national survey of the Italian Society of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry.

Distress associated with physical illness is a well-known risk factor for adverse illness course in general hospitals. Understanding the factors contributing to it should be a priority and among them dysfunctional illness perception and poor sleep quality may contribute to it. As poor sleep quality is recognised as a major risk factor for health problems, we aimed to study its association with illness perception and levels of distress during hospitalisation.

Association between Type-D Personality and Affective (Anxiety, Depression, Post-traumatic Stress) Symptoms and Maladaptive Coping in Breast Cancer Patients: A Longitudinal Study.

Background: Type-D (distressed) personality has not been prospectively explored for its association with psychosocial distress symptoms in breast cancer patients.

Objective: The objective of the study was to test the hypothesis that Type-D personality can be associated with psychosocial distress variables in cancer over a 2-point period (6 month-follow-up).

Aims: The aim of the study was to analyze the role of Type-D personality in relation to anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress symptoms, general distress, and maladaptive coping among cancer patients.

Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms and Serotonin Transporter (5-HTTLPR) Polymorphism in Breast Cancer Patients.

Post-traumatic Symptoms (PTSS) and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) have been reported to affect a quite significant proportion of cancer patients. No study has examined the relationship between serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) and cancer, including Gene-Environment interactions between this polymorphism and specific causes of distress, such as cancer related problems (CRP) or life stressful events (SLE). One hundred and forty five breast cancer outpatients participated in the study and were assessed using the Impact of Event Scale (IES), the Problem List (PL) developed by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Distress Management Guidelines and the Paykel's Life Events Interview to evaluate the exposure to SLE during the year before the cancer diagnosis.

Identification and molecular characterization of Subramaniula asteroides causing human fungal keratitis: a case report.

Background: Keratitis due to by filamentous fungi are not easy to diagnose thus causing a delay in correct therapy. There are many descriptions of keratitis due to Candida, Fusarium and Aspergillus genera. Subramaniula genus has only recently been reported to cause human infections and there are few descriptions of eye infections due to this filamentous fungus.

Effectiveness of a brief manualized intervention, Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM), adapted to the Italian cancer care setting: Study protocol for a single-blinded randomized controlled trial.

Patients with advanced cancer suffer from psychosocial distress that may impair quality of life and that may be ameliorated by psychotherapeutic treatment. We describe here the methodology of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to assess the effectiveness of a novel, brief, semi-structured psychotherapeutic intervention to reduce distress and increase well-being in patients with advanced or metastatic cancer. The intervention, called Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM), was originally developed in Canada and we are now testing its Italian adaptation (CALM-IT).

Ceftolozane/Tazobactam and Ceftazidime/Avibactam for Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Infections in Immunocompetent Patients: A Single-Center Retrospective Study.

Complicated infections from multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (MDR-GNB) represent a serious problem presenting many challenges. Resistance to many classes of antibiotics reduces the probability of an adequate empirical treatment, with unfavorable consequences, increasing morbidity and mortality. Readily available patient medical history and updated information about the local microbiological epidemiology remain critical for defining the baseline risk of MDR-GNB infections and guiding empirical treatment choices, with the aim of avoiding both undertreatment and overtreatment.

Exploring and assessing demoralization in patients with non-psychotic affective disorders.

Background: Demoralization, as assessed through the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research-Demoralization (DCPR/D) interview or the Demoralization Scale (DS), has been found to affect about 30% of patients with medical disorders, while few studies have been done in patients with psychiatric disorders.

Methods: A convenience sample of 377 patients with ICD-10 diagnoses of mood, anxiety, stress-related disorders or other non-psychotic disorders was recruited from two Italian university psychiatry centers. The DCPR/D interview and the Italian version of the DS (DS-IT) were used to assess demoralization and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to assess depression.

The factor structure and use of the Demoralization Scale (DS-IT) in Italian cancer patients.

Objective: Demoralization is a commonly observed syndrome in cancer patients, deserving to be carefully assessed in cross-cultural contexts.

Aims: To examine the factor structure and concurrent and divergent validity of the Italian version of the Demoralization Scale (DS-IT) in cancer patients.

Methods: The sample included 194 Italian cancer outpatients who were assessed by using the DS-IT and the Diagnostic Criteria of Psychosomatic Research-Demoralization module to examine demoralization.

Dignity and Psychosocial-Related Variables in Advanced and Nonadvanced Cancer Patients by Using the Patient Dignity Inventory-Italian Version.

Context: The Patient Dignity Inventory (PDI) is a valid and reliable instrument to measure dignity, as a state of physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being in palliative care patients and an essential dimension for a comprehensive patient-centered approach.

Objectives: We examined the factor structure and correlation of the Italian version of the PDI (PDI-IT) with psychosocial variables among advanced and nonadvanced cancer outpatients in two Italian centers.

Methods: In a sample of 194 patients, principal component analysis, reliability analysis (Cronbach's coefficient alpha), and correlation analysis of the PDI-IT were performed.

Expression of the immunoglobulin superfamily cell membrane adhesion molecule Cd146 in acute leukemia.

Background: The expression of the immunoglobulin superfamily cell membrane adhesion molecule CD146 has been reported on several normal and pathological cell types in human. The aim of this study was to investigate CD146 expression in acute leukemia using a multiparametric cytofluorimetric approach.

Methods: Cytofluorimetric and cytogenetic studies were performed on peripheral blood and bone marrow samples from 162 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML, n = 121) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL, n = 41).

Cytogenetic and molecular cytogenetic profile of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells in chronic and acute lymphoproliferative disorders.

The possibility that human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSC) may derive from the malignant clone in hematological malignancies (HM) is a controversial issue. In order to clarify hMSC origin and disclose possible cytogenetic heterogeneity in hMSC belonging to different patients, bone marrow (BM)-derived hMSC samples from chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were expanded in culture, characterized by flow cytometry, and screened by conventional cytogenetic analysis and fluorescent in situ hybridization for the presence of possible cytogenetic aberrations, related or not to the hematopoietic neoplastic clone. Our data showed that the presence of cytogenetic aberrations in successfully expanded HM-MSC stromal layers derives from the persistence of contaminating hemopoietic cells (HC), which is greatly supported by in vitro culture conditions that could mimic in vivo microenvironmental niche.

Psychosocial morbidity and its correlates in cancer patients of the Mediterranean area: findings from the Southern European Psycho-Oncology Study.

Background: A few and partial data are available on psychosocial morbidity among cancer patients in Mediterranean countries. As a part of a more general investigation (Southern European Psycho-Oncology Study-SEPOS), the rate of psychosocial morbidity and its correlation with clinical and cultural variables were examined in cancer patients in Italy, Portugal and Spain.

Methods: A convenience sample of cancer outpatients with good performance status and no cognitive impairment were approached.