Criteri per la formulazione di una dieta equilibrata nel paziente obeso

In Italia, negli ultimi 20 anni, la prevalenza del sovrappeso è passata dal 27% al 34% e quella dell’obesità dall’8% al 9%, tra i soggetti di età ≥18 anni (1, 2) e ha raggiunto il 36% in età pediatrica (3). Tra gli adulti seguono una dieta il 13,3% dei soggetti in sovrappeso ed il 18,1% degli obesi (4); nonostante un decremento ponderale del 5-10% comporti una significativa riduzine della morbilità e mortalità correlate all’obesità (5), la maggior parte dei pazienti considera questo obiettivo del tutto insoddisfacente: le aspettative sono almeno 2 volte maggiori, e se tale obiettivo non è raggiunto o il decremento ponderale avviene troppo lentamente, i pazienti sperimentano emozioni negative e abbandonano la dieta (6). Poiché la motivazione è associata all’aspetto fisico più che alla salute, i soggetti in sovrappeso tendono a scegliere programmi che promettono risultati rapidi, in linea con le loro aspettative, piuttosto che seguire le linee guida delle società scientifiche

Orthorexia nervosa: A preliminary study with a proposal for diagnosis and an attempt to measure the dimension of the phenomenon

Aim: To propose a diagnostic proceeding and to try to verify the prevalence of orthorexia nervosa (ON), an eating disorder defined as "a maniacal obsession for healthy foods". Materials and Methods: 404 subjects were enrolled. Diagnosis of ON was based on both the presence of a disorder with obsessive-compulsive personality features and an exaggerated healthy eating behaviour pattern. Results: Of the 404 subjects examined, 28 were found to suffer from ON (prevalence of 6.9%). The analysis of the physiological characteristics, the social-cultural and the psychological behaviour that characterises subjects suffering from ON shows a higher prevalence in men and in those with a lower level of education. The orthorexic subjects attribute characteristics that show their specific "feelings" towards food ("dangerous" to describe a conserved product, "artificial" for industrially produced products, "healthy" for biological produce) and demonstrate a strong or uncontrollable desire to eat when feeling nervous, excited, happy or guilty

Helicobacter pylori and Epstein-Barr virus infection in gastric diseases: Correlation with IL-10 and IL1RN polymorphism.

Introduction: Helicobacter pylori and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection have recently 23 been shown to be associated with gastric diseases. Polymorphisms in genes encoding 24 cytokines such as interleukin 10 (IL-10) and interleukin 1 Receptor (IL-1RN) influence 25 cytokine secretion levels and appear to contribute to the risk of developing gastroduodenal 26 diseases. 27 To our knowledge, this is the first preliminary study to address the association of 28 coinfection with H. pylori and EBV and their correlation with genetic predisposition in the 29 development of gastric diseases. 30 Methods: Gastric biopsy samples of 96 patients with different gastric diseases were used. 31 Results: Our results showed that the rate of co-infection was higher in patients with 32 gastric cancer than in patients with normal gastric mucosa, active chronic gastritis and 33 MALT lymphoma. As regards the characterization of H. pilory strains, the 34 polymorphism s1m1i1 of vacA gene was more frequent in patients with MALT 35 Lymphoma in comparison to others, while the polymorphism s2m2i2 was most 36 frequent in patients with normal gastric mucosa. In addition, patients who tested 37 positivefor the cagA gene were more frequently those affected with gastric cancer than 38 those with inactive chronic gastritis. Similarly, the patients with oipA gene ON were more 39 frequently those with gastric cancer than those with inactive chronic gastritis. 40 Conclusion: According to our analysis, there was no correlation between coinfection 41 and polymorphisms in genes encoding IL-10 and IL-1RN. We conclude that various 42 factors can be involved in the development of gastric diseases

Modulation of Gut Microbiota and Neuroprotective Effect of a Yeast‐Enriched Beer

Beer is the most consumed alcoholic beverage worldwide. It is rich in nutrients, and with its microbial component it could play a role in gut microbiota modulation. Conflicting data are currently available regarding the consequences of alcohol and alcohol‐containing beverages on dementia and age‐associated disorders including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a neurodegeneration characterized by protein aggregation, inflammatory processes and alterations of components of the gut–brain axis. The effects of an unfiltered and unpasteurized craft beer on AD molecular hallmarks, levels of gut hormones and composition of micro/mycobiota were dissected using 3xTg‐AD mice. In addition, to better assess the role of yeasts, beer was enriched with the same Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain used for brewing. The treatment with the yeast‐enriched beer ameliorated cognition and favored the reduction of A(1‐42) and pro‐inflammatory molecules, also contributing to an increase in the concentration of anti‐inflammatory cytokines. A significant improvement in the richness and presence of beneficial taxa in the gut bacterial population of the 3xTg‐AD animals was observed. In addition, the fungal order, Sordariomycetes, associated with gut inflammatory conditions, noticeably decreased with beer treatments. These data demonstrate, for the first time, the beneficial effects of a yeast‐enriched beer on AD signs, suggesting gut microbiota modulation as a mechanism of action

Role of Nociceptin/Orphanin FQ-NOP Receptor System in the Regulation of Stress-Related Disorders

Nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) is a 17-residue neuropeptide that binds the nociceptin opioid-like receptor (NOP). N/OFQ exhibits nucleotidic and aminoacidics sequence homology with the precursors of other opioid neuropeptides but it does not activate either MOP, KOP or DOP receptors. Furthermore, opioid neuropeptides do not activate the NOP receptor. Generally, activation of N/OFQ system exerts anti-opioids effects, for instance toward opioid-induced reward and analgesia. The NOP receptor is widely expressed throughout the brain, whereas N/OFQ localization is confined to brain nuclei that are involved in stress response such as amygdala, BNST and hypothalamus. Decades of studies have delineated the biological role of this system demonstrating its involvement in significant physiological processes such as pain, learning and memory, anxiety, depression, feeding, drug and alcohol dependence. This review discusses the role of this peptidergic system in the modulation of stress and stress-associated psychiatric disorders in particular drug addiction, mood, anxiety and food-related associated-disorders. Emerging preclinical evidence suggests that both NOP agonists and antagonists may represent a effective therapeutic approaches for substances use disorder. Moreover, the current literature suggests that NOP antagonists can be useful to treat depression and feeding-related diseases, such as obesity and binge eating behavior, whereas the activation of NOP receptor by agonists could be a promising tool for anxiety

Acid sensing ion channel 2: A new potential player in the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are proton-gated channels involved in multiple biological functions such as: pain modulation, mechanosensation, neurotransmission, and neurodegeneration. Earlier, we described the genetic association, within the Nuoro population, between Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and rs28936, located in ASIC2 3′UTR. Here we investigated the potential involvement of ASIC2 in MS inflammatory process. We induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in wild-type (WT), knockout Asic1 −/− and Asic2 −/− mice and observed a significant reduction of clinical score in Asic1 −/− mice and a significant reduction in the clinical score in Asic2 −/− mice in a limited time window (i.e., at days 20–23 after immunization). Immunohistochemistry confirmed the reduction in adaptive immune cell infiltrates in the spinal cord of EAE Asic1 −/− mice. Analysis of mechanical allodynia, showed a significant higher pain threshold in Asic2 −/− mice under physiological conditions, before immunization, as compared to WT mice and Asic1 −/−. A significant reduction in pain threshold was observed in all three strains of mice after immunization. More importantly, analysis of human autoptic brain tissue in MS and control samples showed an increase of ASIC2 mRNA in MS samples. Subsequently, in vitro luciferase reporter gene assays, showed that ASIC2 expression is under possible miRNA regulation, in a rs28936 allele-specific manner. Taken together, these findings suggest a potential role of ASIC2 in the pathophysiology of MS

Preoperative imaging findings in patients undergoing transcranial magnetic resonance imaging-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy

The prevalence and impact of imaging findings detected during screening procedures in patients undergoing transcranial MR-guided Focused Ultrasound (tcMRgFUS) thalamotomy for functional neurological disorders has not been assessed yet. This study included 90 patients who fully completed clinical and neuroradiological screenings for tcMRgFUS in a single-center. The presence and location of preoperative imaging findings that could impact the treatment were recorded and classified in three different groups according to their relevance for the eligibility and treatment planning. Furthermore, tcMRgFUS treatments were reviewed to evaluate the number of transducer elements turned off after marking as no pass regions the depicted imaging finding. A total of 146 preoperative imaging findings in 79 (87.8%) patients were detected in the screening population, with a significant correlation with patients' age (rho = 483, p < 0.001). With regard of the group classification, 119 (81.5%), 26 (17.8%) were classified as group 1 or 2, respectively. One patient had group 3 finding and was considered ineligible. No complications related to the preoperative imaging findings occurred in treated patients. Preoperative neuroradiological findings are frequent in candidates to tcMRgFUS and their identification may require the placement of additional no-pass regions to prevent harmful non-targeted heating

Mitigating cellular aging and enhancing cognitive functionality: visual arts-mediated Cognitive Activation Therapy in neurocognitive disorders

The growing phenomenon of population aging is redefining demographic dynamics, intensifying age-related conditions, especially dementia, projected to triple by 2050 with an enormous global economic burden. This study investigates visual arts-mediated Cognitive Activation Therapy (CAT) as a non-pharmacological CAT intervention targets both biological aging [leukocyte telomere length (LTL), DNA methylation age (DNAmAge)] and cognitive functionality. Aligning with a broader trend of integrating non-pharmacological approaches into dementia care. The longitudinal study involved 20 patients with mild to moderate neurocognitive disorders. Cognitive and functional assessments, and biological aging markers -i.e., LTL and DNAmAge- were analyzed before and after CAT intervention. Change in LTL was positively correlated with days of treatment (p =0.0518). LTL significantly elongated after intervention (p =0.0269), especially in men (p =0.0142), correlating with younger age (p =0.0357), and higher education (p =0.0008). DNAmAge remained instead stable post-treatment. Cognitive and functional improvements were observed for Copy of complex geometric figure, Progressive Silhouettes, Position Discrimination, Communication Activities of Daily Living—Second edition, Direct Functional Status (p < 0.0001) and Object decision (p =0.0594), but no correlations were found between LTL and cognitive gains. Visual arts-mediated CAT effectively mitigates cellular aging, especially in men, by elongating LTL. These findings underscore the potential of non-pharmacological interventions in enhancing cognitive and functional status and general well-being in dementia care. Further research with larger and longer-term studies is essential for validation