1,721,004 research outputs found
Emerging role of vitamin D in autoimmune diseases: An update on evidence and therapeutic implications
No full textVitamin D plays a key role in in calcium homeostasis and, thus, provides an important support in bone growth by aiding in the mineralization of the collagen matrix. However, vitamin D performs various immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-fibrotic actions. Autoimmune diseases result from an aberrant activation of the immune system, whereby the immune response is directed against harmless self-antigens. Does vitamin D play a role in the pathophysiology of autoimmune diseases? And, if so, what is its role? In the last decade, researchers' interest in vitamin D and its correlations with autoimmune diseases has considerably increased. We conducted a literature review, covering the period January 1, 2009 through March 30, 2019, in PubMed. We analyzed more than 130 studies in order to find a correlation between vitamin D levels and its effect upon several autoimmune diseases. The analysis demonstrated an inverse association between vitamin D and the development of several autoimmune diseases, such as SLE, thyrotoxicosis, type 1 DM, MS, iridocyclitis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis vulgaris, seropositive RA, polymyalgia rheumatica. International multicenter study could allow us to confirm the data already present in the literature in the single clinical studies and to evaluate when to effectively supplement vitamin D in patients who do not take corticosteroids
Olfaction in autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review
No full textOlfactory function is a well-known early biomarker for neurodegeneration and neural functioning in the adult population, being supported by a number of brain structures that could be dysfunctioning in neurodegenerative processes. Evidence has suggested that atypical sensory and, particularly, olfactory processing is present in several neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). In this paper, we present data obtained by a systematic literature review, conducted according to PRISMA guidelines, regarding the possible association between olfaction and ASDs, and analyze them critically in order to evaluate the occurrence of olfactory impairment in ASDs, as well as the possible usefulness of olfactory evaluation in such conditions. The results obtained in this analysis suggested a possible involvement of olfactory impairment in ASDs, underlining the importance of olfactory evaluation in the clinical assessment of ASDs. This assessment could be potentially included as a complementary evaluation in the diagnostic protocol of the condition. Methods for study selection and inclusion criteria were specified in advance and documented in PROSPERO protocol #CRD42014013939
Neurovegetative and Emotional Modulation Induced by Mozart's Music
No full textIntroduction: Since decades, the "Mozart effect" has been studied. However, the diverse effects of Mozart's music components have not been yet defined. Authors aimed to identify a differential response to short-term exposure to Mozart's music, or to its rhythmic signature only, on subjective and objective measures. Methods: The Mozart Sonata in A major K 331 (Mozart), the same piece consisting only of beat (Destructured), and duration-matched silence were administered to 25 healthy young adults, stood supine in a relaxing setting. The Italian Mood Scale questionnaire was administered before and after each listening. Heart rate variability (HRV) metrics were calculated from ECG recording, and breath flow was registered during experiments. Results: After Destructured, there was no change of fatigue and tension. After Mozart, fatigue was significantly reduced (and a tendency appeared for tension), whereas vigor was not. Breathing rate tended to be higher during Mozart. The nonlinear parameter HFD of HRV analysis, even though not significantly, was slightly lower during Destructured; Poincaré plots SD1 and SD2 tended to be lower during Mozart. Discussion/conclusion: Mozart's music may allow to maintain arousal during relaxing condition. Psychological response of music and physiological dynamics were not necessarily entangled. Musical pieces based on individual physiological signature may lead musical psychological interventions
AUTISM AND LACK OF D3 VITAMIN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
No full textutism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social communication deficits and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior. Several medical conditions including gastrointestinal (GI) problems, asthma and allergies have been associated with ASD, and multiple risk factors, both genetic and environmental, have been proposed. Among them, vitamin D (VD) deficiency is probably associated with ASD, and may play a role in the condition.
We conducted a systematic review of the literature for the period January 1, 2010 through June 15, 2014, according to PRISMA guidelines, aiming to investigate the complex biological interplay between VD, metabolism, immune system and nervous system in ASD.
Different trends in the association between ASD and VD deficiency have been observed, and factors such as gender, ethnicity, sampling, and methodology play a role in the results and outcomes.
At present, for at least a subgroup of ASD individuals, an imbalance in VD metabolism probably exists and may be associated with the condition. In this cohort, VD replacement in these individuals might contribute to improving ASD symptoms and/or associated conditions. This topic is an important challenge for future research, and could lead to a new tailored therapeutic approach for VD in ASD
Wearable sensors to measure the influence of sonic seasoning on wine consumers in a live context: a preliminary proof‐of‐concept study
No full textBACKGROUND: Any action capable of creating expectations about product quality would be able to modulate experienced pleasantness. In this context, during the 2022 edition of the Internet Festival (Pisa, Italy) a ‘social experiment’ was promoted to set up an affordable and reliable methodology based on wearable sensors to measure the emotions aroused in a live context on consumers by different kinds of wines. Therefore, five wines (two faulty ones and three high-quality samples) were proposed to 50 non-selected consumers in an arousing context with live jazz music as background. Both explicit (questionnaires) and two different approaches for implicit methods (electrocardiogram (ECG) recorded by wearable sensors vs. smartphones), the latter performed on a subgroup of 16, to measure the emotions aroused by wines and music were utilized synergistically. RESULTS: According to our findings: (i) wine undoubtedly generates a significant emotional response on consumers; (ii) this answer is multifaceted and attributable to the quality level of the wine tasted. In fact, all things being equal, while drinking wine even untrained consumers can perfectly recognize good wines compared to products of lower quality; (iii) high-quality wines are able to induce a spectrum of positive emotions, as observed by the analysis of ECG signals, especially when they are coupled with background music. CONCLUSION: The framework has certainly played to the advantage of good-quality wines, fostering their positive emotional characteristics on the palate even of some less experienced consumers, thanks to a dragging effect towards a positive mood generated by the surrounding conditions (good music in a beautiful location). © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry
Algorithms for epilepsy monitoring
No full textEpilepsy is a neurological disorder (Engel and Pedley, 2008), whose main clinical sign are the so-called “epileptic seizures, " having a significant social and sanitary impact, both due to its quite high incidence and chronicity. In fact, it is estimated that the lifetime prevalence of epilepsy is around 7.60 per 1000 persons, whereas its incidence rate appears to be of 61.44 per 100, 000 person years (Fiest et al., 2017). Seizures are unpredictable events so disability caused by epilepsy can be significant, due to uncertainty and consequences of the fits
Sympathetic arousal in children with oppositional defiant disorder and its relation to emotional dysregulation
No full textBackground: Emotional dysregulation (ED) is a trans-nosographical condition characterized by mood instability, severe irritability, aggression, temper outburst, and hyper-arousal. Pathophysiology of emotional dysregulation and its potential biomarkers are an emerging field of interest. A Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) profile, defined as Dysregulation Profile (DP), has been correlated to ED in youth. We examined the association between the CBCL-DP and indices of sympathetic arousal in children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and healthy controls. Method: The current study sought to compare the arousal level measured via electrodermal activity in response to emotional stimuli in three non-overlapping groups of children: (1) ODD+CBCL-DP (n = 28), (2) ODD without CBCL-DP (n = 35), and (3) typically developing controls (n = 25). Results: Analyses revealed a distinct electrodermal activity profile in the three groups. Specifically, children with ODD+CBCL-DP presented higher levels of sympathetic arousal for anger and sadness stimuli compared to the other two groups. Limitations: The relatively small sample and the lack of assessing causality limit the generalizability of this study which results need to be replicated in larger, different samples. Conclusion: The CBCL-DP was associated to higher levels of arousal for negative emotions, consistently with previous reports in individuals with depression and anxiety. Further work may identify potential longitudinal relationships between this profile and clinical outcomes
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Neurophysiological and Behavioural Variables in Cognitive Impairment: Towards a Personalised Monitoring System
No full textThe social changes and the population aging process increase the incidence of problems ranging from simple para-physiological reduction of psycho-physical and sensorial capacities to the cognitive impairment of different degrees. In this scenario, telemonitoring and telemedicine are useful tools for support, care and prevention. This paper shows how several clinical data can be acquired by personalized monitoring and used to evaluate in the follow up possible therapeutical results. Sleep modification that arises with the physiological aging process and in the presence of neurodegeneration were correlated to a dramatic reduction of the Slow Wave Sleep (SWS). These results improved the knowledge regarding the relation between sleep and wellbeing. Different ICT tools can be in perspectives considered within diagnostic and therapeutic personalized programs, i.e. Surface ElectroMyoGraphy, olfactory tests, wearable devices, sleep monitoring and metabolic characterization
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