97 research outputs found
The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on patients with chronic plaque psoriasis being treated with biologic therapy: the Northern Italy experience
No full textThe “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2” (SARS-CoV-2) has spread over the four continents, causing the respiratory manifestations of Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) and satisfying the epidemiological criteria for a pandemic [1]. As of April 1, 2020, more than one million COVID-19 positive cases have been identified and more than 54,000 deaths have occurred worldwide [2]. In Italy, 110,574 positive cases, 49,285 hospitalized patients and 13,155 deaths out of a population of 60,359,546 inhabitants, have been reported, respectively [3]. The highest number of deaths occurred in the northern Italian regions, i.e. Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto and Piedmont [3]
The translational revolution in atopic dermatitis. the paradigm shift from pathogenesis to treatment
No full textAtopic dermatitis (AD) is the most common inflammatory skin disease, and it is considered a complex and heterogeneous condition. Different phenotypes of AD, defined according to the patient age at onset, race, and ethnic background; disease duration; and other disease characteristics, have been recently described, underlying the need for a personalized treatment approach. Recent advancements in understanding AD pathogenesis resulted in a real translational revolution and led to the exponential expansion of the therapeutic pipeline. The study of biomarkers in clinical studies of emerging treatments is helping clarify the role of each cytokine and immune pathway in AD and will allow addressing the unique immune fingerprints of each AD subset. Personalized medicine will be the ultimate goal of this targeted translational research. In this review, we discuss the changes in the concepts of both the pathogenesis of and treatment approach to AD, highlight the scientific rationale behind each targeted treatment and report the most recent clinical efficacy data
High-impact Routines to Ameliorate Trunk and Lower Limbs Flexibility in Women
No full textSeveral types of routines and methods have been experimented to gain neuro/muscular advantages, in terms of overall range of motion, in athletes and fitness enthusiasts. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of different routines on trunk-and lower limbs flexibility in a sample of young women. In a randomized-crossover fashion, eleven subjects underwent to: hamstrings stretching [S]; hamstrings stretching plus whole-body vibration [S+WBV]; partial-body cryotherapy [Cryo]; rest [Control]. Standing hamstrings stretch performance and sit-And-reach amplitude resulted to be improved with [S+WBV] compared to all other protocols (p<0.05). [Cryo] ameliorated the active knee extension performance with respect to all other interventions (p<0.05). These flexibility improvements were obtained without a loss in the trunk position sense proprioception. These results represent the first evidence that a single session of either vibration or cryotherapy can ameliorate flexibility without losing the trunk position sense proprioception in young wome
Association between restless legs syndrome and hypertension: a preliminary population-based study in South Tyrol, Italy
No full textRestless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sleep-related movement disorder characterized by an irresistible urge to move the legs accompanied by paresthesia and/or dysesthesia that begins or worsens in the evening and night and that is partially or totally relieved by movement. Many studies have investigated the association between RLS and cardiovascular risk factors, particularly hypertension, leading to conflicting results. The aim of this study was to assess the association between RLS and hypertension considering also other cardiovascular risk factors that could act as confounders
The evolving landscape of biologic therapies for atopic dermatitis. present and future perspective
No full textAtopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the most common, chronic inflammatory skin diseases with a significant physical, emotional and socioeconomic burden. In recent years the understanding of AD pathogenesis has expanded from the Th2-centred perspective, with the recognition of the involvement of other immune axes. In different AD endotypes, influenced by environment, genetics and race, transcriptomic profiles have identified differing contributions of multiple immune axes such as, Th17, Th22 and Th1. The enriched pathogenic model of AD has catalysed the development of numerous biologic therapies targeting a range of key molecules implicated in disease progression. Currently, dupilumab and tralokinumab, which both target the Th2 pathway, are the only approved biologic therapies for AD in the United States and Europe. New biologic therapies in development, however, target different Th2-pathway molecules along with cytokines in other immune axes, including Th17 and Th22, offering promise for varied treatments for this heterogeneous disease. As the biologic pipeline advances, the integration into clinical practice and approval of these experimental biologics may provide more effective, tailored therapeutic solutions and illuminate on the pathologic processes of AD across a broader, more diverse patient population
Fusion of Multispectral and SAR images by Intensity Modulation
No full textThis paper presents a novel multi-sensor image fusion algorithm, which extends pan-sharpening of multispectral (MS) data through intensity modulation to the integration of MS and SAR imagery. The method relies on SAR texture, extracted by ratioing the despeckled SAR image to its lowpass approximation. SAR texture is used to modulate the generalized intensity (GI) of the MS image, which is given by a linear transform extending Intensity-Hue-Saturation (IHS) transform to an arbitrary number of bands. Before modulation, the GI is enhanced by injection of highpass details extracted from the available Pan image by means of the "à-trous" wavelet decomposition. The texture-modulated pan-sharpened GI replaces the GI calculated from the resampled original MS data; then the inverse transform is applied to obtain the fusion product. Experimental results are presented on Landsat-7/ETM+ and ERS-2 images of an urban area. The results demonstrate accurate spectral preservation on vegetated regions, bare soil, and also on textured areas (buildings and road network) where SAR texture information enhances the fusion product, which can be usefully applied for both visual analysis and classification purposes
Copy number variation and association over T-cell receptor genes-influence of DNA source
No full textGenomic copy number variants (CNVs) are a common, heritable source of inter-individual differences in genomic sequence. Their influence on phenotypic variability and their involvement in the pathogenesis of several common diseases is well established and the object of many current studies. In the course of examining CNV association to various quantitative traits in a general population, we have detected a strong association of CNVs over the four TCR genes to lymphocyte and neutrophil numbers in blood. In a small replication series, we have further characterized the nature of these CNVs and found them not to be germline, but dependent on the origin of analysed DNA. Germline deletion and rearrangement around the T-cell receptor (TCR) genes naturally occurs in white blood cells. Blood DNA derived from persons with high lymphocyte counts generates variable intensity signals which behave like germline CNVs over these genes. As DNA containing a relative high proportion of these CNV-like events involving the TCR genes has the ability to influence genotype counts of SNPs in the regions of these genes, care should be taken in interpreting and replicating association signals on variants within these genes when blood-derived DNA is the only source of data
Association between restless legs syndrome and migraine: a population-based study
No full textBACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: A higher prevalence of restless legs syndrome (RLS) in migraineurs has been reported in clinical samples and in two large-scale clinical trials performed on healthcare workers but general population-based studies on this topic are lacking. The aim of this study was to assess the association between migraine and RLS in an Italian rural adult population-based setting. METHODS: The presence of migraine and RLS was assessed via a computer-assisted personal interview and self-administered questionnaires according to current
diagnostic criteria in 1567 participants of a preliminary phase of an adult
population-based study performed in South Tyrol, Italy. RESULTS: Migraineurs had an increased risk of having RLS also after adjustment
for confounding factors such as age, sex, major depression, anxiety and sleep quality (odds ratio 1.79; confidence interval 1.00-3.19; P = 0.049). This association was not modified by aura status and possible causes of secondary RLS. RLS was not significantly associated with tension-type headache. CONCLUSIONS: Restless legs syndrome and migraine were associated in our rural adult population. This association could be explained by a possible shared pathogenic pathway which would implicate new management strategies of these two disorders
Effectiveness and safety of a thermal insulating coverage on the top of the cryo-cabin during a partial-body cryostimulation
No full textPartial Body Cryostimulation (PBC) consists of exposing minimally dressed participants to very cold air, in a specially designed cabin (cryo-cabin), for a short period of time. In recent years, cryo-cabins have been launched with a coverage to limit thermo-dispersion, however a validation study is lacking. The aim of this study was to compare thermal responses after a PBC protocol in an open cryo-cabin or into a cryo-cabin closed at the top with a polyurethane-made lid. Eighteen young male adults completed the two 150 s PBC sessions in a cross-over fashion. Temperature of the inner cabin and thermal responses were measured prior and 1, 5, 10, 20 min after completing each PBC session. When covered, cryo-cabins maintained a lower temperature in the front with respect to the back. There was a significant interaction regarding coverage*time*position with a main effect of coverage. Body surfaces were significantly colder under covered condition compared to open PBC. Subjects perceived a greater thermal discomfort during a covered PBC rather than during an open condition. For the first time, the use of a coverage placed on the top of the cabin was demonstrated to maintain lower temperatures of the inner environment and the users’ skin with respect to a standard PBC. This evidence indicates that practitioners and clinicians making use of PBC can successfully and safely cover cryo-cabins with an insulating lid so to improve the effectiveness of their treatments
Determination of propofol by GC/MS and fast GC/MS-TOF in two cases of poisoning
No full textTwo cases of suspected acute and lethal intoxication caused by propofol were delivered by the judicial authority to the Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother-Child Care in Palermo, Sicily. In the first case a female nurse was found in a hotel room, where she lived with her mother; four 10 mg/mL vials and two 20 mg/mL vials of propofol were found near the decedent along with syringes and needles. In the second case a male nurse was found in the operating room of a hospital, along with a used syringe. In both cases a preliminary systematic and toxicological analysis indicated the presence of propofol in the blood and urine. As a result, a method for the quantitative determination of propofol in biological fluids was optimized and validated using a liquid-liquid extraction protocol followed by GC/MS and fast GC/MS-TOF. In the first case, the concentration of propofol in blood was determined to be 8.1 μg/mL while the concentration of propofol in the second case was calculated at 1.2 μg/mL. Additionally, the tissue distribution of propofol was determined for both cases. Brain and liver concentrations of propofol were, respectively, 31.1 and 52.2 μg/g in Case 1 and 4.7 and 49.1 μg/g in Case 2. Data emerging from the autopsy findings, histopathological exams as well as the toxicological results aided in establishing that the deaths were due to poisoning, however, the manner of death in each were different: homicide in Case 1 and suicide in Case 2
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