CHARACTERISTICS OF INTERNET USE AMONGST ITALIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Background: Problematic Internet use (PIU), that may be defined as the inability to control one’s use of Internet with negative consequences in daily life, is an emerging problem involving primarily, but not only young generations. Different studies have shown that students are particularly vulnerable to PIU. Given the paucity of information on PIU in our country, the aim of this paper was at investigating the characteristics of PIU amongst Italian University students. Subjects and methods: A self-assessment questionnaire, referred by the acronym QUNT (“Questionario sull’Utilizzo delle Nuove Tecnologie”), composed by 101 items grouped together to identify a series of factors, was developed and sent through e-mail invitation to several students from three Italian Universities. Results: The returned questionnaires were 3324, out of a total of 51,304 sent, with no difference between the two sexes. On the contrary, the distribution of the QUNT factors was different in the two sexes, in people living alone and in overweight subjects. Men resulted to be more involved in online recreational activities, whereas women seemed more attracted to instant messaging and generally to social networks. PIU was significantly more present in men than women. The comparisons of QUNT factor scores in the four BMI categories showed that the greater the BMI the greater the score of some factors. Conclusions: The findings of the present study indicate that the use of Internet through new technologies may exceed its real utility amongst Italian university student, with some sex-related differences. Men seem more prone to use Internet for passing time and women for social relationships. Men are also at risk of developing PIU. Again, Internet use might be a basic vulnerability factor of increasing weight gain and obesity amongst young people

Assessment of lifestyle and eating habits among undergraduate students in northern Italy

Aim and methodology. Dietary habits of university students were analyzed in order to investigate any differences between students living at and away from home. Two hundred and fifty-eight undergraduate students attending University of Ferrara completed a self-administered questionnaire on demographic characteristics, food frequency consumption habits and body weight perception. Results. Students living at home practiced more sport and consumed more frequently raw and cooked vegetables, fish, meat and poultry, fresh fruit, eggs, bread/cereals. Conversely, students living away from home consumed more often packaged/ready food, beer and spirits, milk and chips. The majority of students living alone reported a modification of dietary habits since leaving family. Furthermore they perceived to have a weight condition different from normal in a greater extent than students living with family. Discussion. Students living alone encountered more difficulties in adopting a healthy diet so it would be desirable to adopt nutritional educational interventions on university students, usually neglected by these measures

Assessment of lifestyle and eating habits among undergraduate students in northern Italy

Dietary habits of university students were analyzed in order to investigate any differences between students living at and away from home. Two hundred and fifty-eight undergraduate students attending University of Ferrara completed a self-administered questionnaire on demographic characteristics, food frequency consumption habits and body weight perception

The glutamate and the immune systems: new targets for the pharmacological treatment of OCD

In the last decades the pharmacological treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been significantly promoted by the effectiveness of selective serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and the subsequent development of the 5-HT hypothesis of OCD. However, since a large majority of patients (between 40% and 60 %) do not respond to SSRIs or strategies based on the modulation of the 5-HT system, it is now essential to search for other possible therapeutic targets

Effectiveness of nalmefene in binge eating disorder: A case report

Letters to the Editor

Covid-19 outbreak: A challenge calling for early intervention on contamination obsessive fears?

The present Covid-19 outbreak is an international public health emergency that has imposed to people strict mobility/activity restrictions and changes in the hygiene habits, essential to limit/delay virus diffusion. Early identification of and intervention on contamination obsessive fear, a core symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), are always of paramount importance, and in critical periods, such as the present one, should be imperative. OCD is generally associated with a delay in the correct diagnosis and first professional management of several years after symptom onset. A longer duration of untreated illness is in turn associated with a worst prognosis, higher treatment resistance and other clinical complications, as well as increased societal costs. It seems to be crucial to promote research efforts devoted to the early identification of subgroups at risk of developing clinically relevant contamination symptoms, to understand more deeply the vulnerability and protective mechanisms involved in this pathophysiological process in order to plan evidence-based early intervention strategies

Effectiveness of a clozapine-aripiprazole combination in Tourette syndrome and bipolar spectrum disorder.

Antipsychotic combination is a common strategy used in both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, although just a few trials are available exploring its effectiveness. We report herein the case of a patient suffering from severe Tourette syndrome (TS) and bipolar spectrum disorder who benefited from a combination of clozapine and aripiprazole

Nuovi sviluppi dell’ipotesi serotoninergica della depressione: shunt del triptofano

RIASSUNTO. A partire dalla fine degli anni Sessanta, il deficit di serotonina, ampiamente dimostrato nella depressione maggiore, fu messo in relazione con un aumento dell’attività dell’enzima triptofano-pirrolasi epatica stimolato dall’eccesso di corticosteroidi circolanti, che avrebbe deviato il metabolismo del triptofano dalla produzione di serotonina verso quella della chinurenina. La scoperta che la chinurenina provocava diversi effetti a livello del sistema nervoso centrale suggerì che una up-regulation della via che dal triptofano porta alla chinurenina determinava non solo un deficit di serotonina, ma poteva essere implicata nello sviluppo di ansia, sintomi psicotici e deterioramento cognitivo associati alla depressione. Questa review si propone di passare in rassegna i vari fattori ormonali e genetici che regolano il metabolismo del triptofano lungo la via della chinurenina, e di evidenziare come tale via metabolica possa essere coinvolta nell’eziopatogenesi della depressione. Gli enzimi limitanti la formazione di chinurenina sono due: la triptofano 2,3-diossigenasi (TDO), attivata dagli ormoni dello stress, e l’indolammina 2,3-diossigenasi (IDO), attivata da citochine pro-infiammatorie. L’aumentata espressione dei geni che producono citochine pro-infiammatorie (interferone-gamma e fattore di necrosi tumorale alfa) potrebbe determinare una predisposizione genetica a sviluppare la depressione mediante una up-regulation della via della IDO, mentre gli stressor ambientali attivano la via ormonale della TDO. Si potrebbe quindi ipotizzare che la via della triptofano-chinurenina rappresenti uno dei principali punti di incontro dell’interazione tra fattori genetici e ambientali coinvolti nella fisiopatologia della depressione e anche un nuovo target per strategie terapeutiche innovative

Nalmefene: A Novel Drug for an Old Disorder

Alcoholism is an increasing problem all over the world, and nowadays especially amongst teenagers. Although several drug treatments have been proposed for this condition, only a few have demonstrated a significant efficacy. Nalmefene, a novel compound that combines opioids mu-receptors antagonism and kappa-receptors partial agonism, was recently approved by the European Medicine Agency for the treatment of alcoholism. This drug can be very helpful in reducing the alcohol intake, and, as such, it can be considered one of the first and fundamental steps towards alcohol abstinence. The aim of this review is to discuss and comment on the available literature on nalmefene, as well as on novel treatment strategies of this condition (and perhaps of other addictions) opened by this latest pharmacological approach