MOTOR DYSFUNCTION OF THE "NON AFFECTED" LOWER LIMB: A KINEMATIC COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN HEMIPARETIC STROKE AND TOTAL KNEE PROSTHESIZED PATIENTS

In patients with hemispheric stroke, abnormal motor performances are described also in the ipsilateral limbs. They may be due to a cortical reorganization in the unaffected hemisphere; moreover, also peripheral mechanisms may play a role. To explore this hypothesis, we studied motor performances in 15 patients with hemispheric stroke and in 14 patients with total knee arthroplasty, which have a reduced motility in the prosthesized leg. Using the unaffected leg, they performed five superimposed circular trajectories in a prefixed pathway on a computerized footboard, while looking at a marker on the computer screen. The average trace error was significantly different between the groups of patients and healthy subjects [F ((2,25)) = 7.9; p = 0.003]; on the contrary, the test time execution did not vary significantly. In conclusion, both groups of patients showed abnormal motor performances of the unaffected leg; this result suggests a likely contribution of peripheral mechanisms

DVWA gene polymorphisms and osteoarthritis

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joints disorder influenced by genetic predisposition. We reported that rs11718863 DVWA SNP was represented in Sicilian with a more severe Kellgren and Lawrence (KL) radiographic grade, displaying its predictive role as OA marker progression. Here, we describe the DVWA SNPs: rs11718863, rs7639618, rs7651842, rs7639807 and rs17040821 probably able to induce protein functional changes. Findings: Sixty-one Sicilian patients with knee OA and 100 healthy subjects were enrolled. Clinical and radiographic evaluation was performed using AKSS scores and KL. Linkage Disequilibrium (LD) analyses were performed in order to verify whether the SNPs segregate as haplotype. All DVWA SNPs’MinorAllele Frequencies (MAF) were greater than in the European. The rs7639618 SNP showed a statistical association with KL. Our analyses show that a LD exists among rs11718863 and rs7639618, as well as between rs7651842, rs7639807 and rs17040821 SNPs. We also observed that three out of the 161 individuals investigated were simultaneously homozygous carriers of the rs7651842, rs7639807 and rs17040821 MAF alleles. Conclusions: In summary, the purpose of this preliminary research was to highlight possible associations between DVWA SNPs and OA clinical and radiographic data. This work represents a multidisciplinary medicine approach to study OA where clinical, radiological and genetic evaluation could contribute to better define OA grading

Le parole della psicologia di comunit\ue0

recenti avvenimenti dovuti all\u2019emergenza sanitaria hanno portato all\u2019at-tenzione di tutti parole come comunit\ue0, partecipazione, solidariet\ue0, legami sociali e responsabilit\ue0. Nel momento in cui i rapporti diretti tra persone sono stati fortemente limitati dalla misura del lockdown, sono state utilizzate le stesse parole in diverse occasioni comunicative ed operative, quasi per ten-tare di dare un senso e una forma di richiamo a dimensioni comuni per fare fronte a quanto \ue8 accaduto.L\u2019uso di alcune parole \ue8 ricaduto in una narrazione non sempre appro-priata. Queste parole rappresentano per la psicologia di comunit\ue0 dimensioni e costrutti centrali per i paradigmi teorici sviluppati da tempo e sui quali si fondano i percorsi di ricerca e di intervento. Pertanto abbiamo reputato op-portuno ripartire da queste e altre parole che durante la recente emergenza sono state utilizzate in maniera massiccia in molteplici contesti, per riportarle ai loro significati sedimentati in anni di dibattito scientifico

Genetic, clinical and radiographic signs in knee osteoarthritis susceptibility

Introduction. Osteoarthritis (OA) is considered to be a multifactorial and polygenic disease and diagnosis is mainly clinical and radiological. Correlation between radiographic data and clinical status has been reported. However, very few studies, especially in Caucasian people, describe the association between the Kellgren and Lawrence OA grading scale (KL) and genetic alterations to better understand OA etiopathogenesis and susceptibility. In order to update the knee OA grading, in this study we assessed the associations between KL grade, clinical features such as American Knee Society Score (AKSS), age, and polymorphisms in the principal osteoarthritis susceptibility (OS) genes in Sicilian individuals. Methods. In 66 Sicilian individuals affected by primary knee OA, the clinical and radiographic evaluation was performed using 2 sub-scores of AKSS (knee score (KS) and function score (FS)) and KL. The patients were also classified according to age. Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) and Database of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (dbSNP) Short Genetic Variations databases were used to select gene regions containing the following polymorphisms to analyze: FRZB rs288326 and rs7775, MATN3 rs77245812, ASPN D14 repeats, PTHR2 rs76758470, GDF5 rs143383 and DVWA rs11718863. Patient genotypes were obtained using Sanger DNA sequencing analysis. Results. In our cohort of patients a statistical association between the variables analyzed was reported in all associations tested (KL versus KS, FS and age). We observed that a mild to severe OA radiographic grade is related to severe clinical conditions and loss of articular function and that the severity of symptoms increases with age. Concerning the genotyping analysis, our results revealed a significant statistical association between KL grading and GDF5 rs143383 and DVWA rs11718863 genetic alterations. The latter was also associated with a more severe radiographic grade, displaying its predictive role as OA marker progression. Statistically significant association between clinical, radiographic and genetic signs observed, suggests extending the actual grading of knee OA based mainly on X-ray features. Conclusions. This work represents a multidisciplinary and translational medicine approach to study OA where clinical, radiological, and OS5 and OS6 SNPs evaluation could contribute to better define grading and progression of OA and to the development of new therapies