A HGF/cMET Autocrine Loop Is Operative in Multiple Myeloma Bone Marrow Endothelial Cells and May Represent a Novel Therapeutic Target

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the angiogenic role of the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/cMET pathway and its inhibition in bone marrow endothelial cells (EC) from patients with multiple myeloma versus from patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) or benign anemia (control group). Experimental Design: The HGF/cMET pathway was evaluated in ECs from patients with multiple myeloma (multiple myeloma ECs) at diagnosis, at relapse after bortezomib- or lenalidomide-based therapies, or on refractory phase to these drugs; in ECs from patients with MGUS (MGECs); and in those patients from the control group. The effects of a selective cMET tyrosine kinase inhibitor (SU11274) on multiple myeloma ECs' angiogenic activities were studied in vitro and in vivo. Results: Multiple myeloma ECs express more HGF, cMET, and activated cMET (phospho (p)-cMET) at both RNAand protein levels versus MGECs and control ECs. Multiple myeloma ECs are able to maintain the HGF/cMET pathway activation in absence of external stimulation, whereas treatment with anti-HGF and anti-cMET neutralizing antibodies (Ab) is able to inhibit cMET activation. The cMET pathway regulates several multiple myeloma EC activities, including chemotaxis, motility, adhesion, spreading, and whole angiogenesis. Its inhibition by SU11274 impairs these activities in a statistically significant fashion when combined with bortezomib or lenalidomide, both in vitro and in vivo. Conclusions: An autocrine HGF/cMET loop sustains multiple myeloma angiogenesis and represents an appealing new target to potentiate the antiangiogenic management of patients with multiple myeloma

Rapid E-learning

Definition The word “Rapid e-Learning” appeared for the first time in “2004 in a research of Bersin and Associates with the title “Rapid E-Learning: What Works. Market Tools and Techniques and Best Practices for Building E-Learning Programs in Weeks” (Bersin and Associates 2004). Bersin and Associates in a later work defined rapid e-learning as follows: “It is Generally defined as Web-based training that can be created in weeks and is Typically authored by subject-matter experts (SMEs)” (Bersin 2005). A wider definition would be “the word rapid e-learning is a whole of methods, tools, and technologies to build e-learning courses and learning objects quickly.

VoxTester, software for digital evaluation of speech changes in Parkinson disease

Patients with Parkinson's disease may have difficulties in speaking because of the reduced coordination of the muscles that control breathing, phonation, articulation and prosody. Symptoms that may occur because of changes are weakening of the volume of the voice, voice monotony, changes in the quality of the voice, speed of speech, uncontrolled repetition of words. The evaluation of some of the disorders mentioned can be achieved through measuring the variation of parameters in an objective manner. It may be done to evaluate the response to the treatments with intra-daily frequency pre / post-treatment, as well as in the long term. Software systems allow these measurements also by recording the patient's voice. This allows to carry out a large number of tests by means of a larger number of patients and a higher frequency of the measurements. The main goal of our work was to design and realize Voxtester, an effective and simple to use software system useful to measure whether changes in voice emission are sensitive to pharmacologic treatments. Doctors and speech therapists can easily use it without going into the technical details, and we think that this goal is reached only by Voxtester, up to date

Childhood maltreatment and clinical response to mood stabilizers in patients with bipolar disorder

The association between childhood maltreatment (CM) and clinical response to mood stabilizers has been scarcely investigated in bipolar disorder (BD). Therefore, we assessed whether CM affects the response to lithium or anticonvulsant treatments in BD patients

Childhood maltreatment and clinical response to mood stabilizers in patients with bipolar disorder

The association between childhood maltreatment (CM) and clinical response to mood stabilizers has been scarcely investigated in bipolar disorder (BD). Therefore, we assessed whether CM affects the response to lithium or anticonvulsant treatments in BD patients

Clinical and Neuroendocrine Correlates of Childhood Maltreatment History in Adults with Bipolar Disorder

Childhood maltreatment has been associated to an increased risk of developing bipolar disorder (BD). A role of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in mediating the trauma-related risk for adult psychopathology has been suggested but scarcely investigated in BD. Therefore, we explored the impact of childhood maltreatment on clinical features of BD and on the activity of the HPA axis

Psychoeducational Intervention for Perinatal Depression: Study Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Perinatal depression (PD) is a severe and disabling condition impacting negatively on children in terms of adverse neonatal outcomes and on the well-being of women and their families. All pregnant women attending the unit of Gynecology and Obstetrics Service of the University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli" will be screened for PD using the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS). Women with a score ≥10 at the EPDS will be invited to receive a full psychiatric assessment. The required sample size is of 126 women with PD which will be randomly allocated to either an experimental group, receiving a uni-familiar psychoeducational intervention, or to a control group, receiving the Best Treatment Option (BTO). Patients will be evaluated through several assessment instruments: Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), Clinical Global Impression (CGI), Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life (MANSA), Family Assessment Device (FAD), Family Coping Questionnaire (FCQ), and Pattern of Care Schedule (PCS). Patients will be evaluated at baseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-randomization. The severity of depressive symptoms at the HAM-D scale has been selected as primary outcome. Other outcome measures include improvement in the severity of anxiety symptoms, of global and personal functioning, an improvement in family members' coping strategies and in the level of quality of life. It has been highlighted the importance of developing screening and treating programs for PD, and our study will use rigorous study design to evaluate the efficacy of the adaption of a well-known family psychoeducational model to the treatment of PD. The aims of present trial are to: (1) develop an informative package for pregnant women with PD; (2) promote a screening programme for PD; (3) identify those (socio-demographic and pregnancy-related environmental) factors associated with a higher risk to develop a perinatal or postnatal depression; (4) evaluate the efficacy of a new experimental psychoeducational intervention in reducing the depressive symptoms during pregnancy compared to the BTO