Assessing the extent and timing of chemosensory impairments during COVID-19 pandemic

Chemosensory impairments have been established as a specific indicator of COVID-19. They affect most patients and may persist long past the resolution of respiratory symptoms, representing an unprecedented medical challenge. Since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic started, we now know much more about smell, taste, and chemesthesis loss associated with COVID-19. However, the temporal dynamics and characteristics of recovery are still unknown. Here, capitalizing on data from the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research (GCCR) crowdsourced survey, we assessed chemosensory abilities after the resolution of respiratory symptoms in participants diagnosed with COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic in Italy. This analysis led to the identification of two patterns of chemosensory recovery, partial and substantial, which were found to be associated with differential age, degrees of chemosensory loss, and regional patterns. Uncovering the self-reported phenomenology of recovery from smell, taste, and chemesthetic disorders is the first, yet essential step, to provide healthcare professionals with the tools to take purposeful and targeted action to address chemosensory disorders and their severe discomfort

Assessing the extent and timing of chemosensory impairments during COVID-19 pandemic

Chemosensory impairments have been established as a specific indicator of COVID-19. They affect most patients and may persist long past the resolution of respiratory symptoms, representing an unprecedented medical challenge. Since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic started, we now know much more about smell, taste, and chemesthesis loss associated with COVID-19. However, the temporal dynamics and characteristics of recovery are still unknown. Here, capitalizing on data from the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research (GCCR) crowdsourced survey, we assessed chemosensory abilities after the resolution of respiratory symptoms in participants diagnosed with COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic in Italy. This analysis led to the identification of two patterns of chemosensory recovery, partial and substantial, which were found to be associated with differential age, degrees of chemosensory loss, and regional patterns. Uncovering the self-reported phenomenology of recovery from smell, taste, and chemesthetic disorders is the first, yet essential step, to provide healthcare professionals with the tools to take purposeful and targeted action to address chemosensory disorders and their severe discomfort

Early impairment in left ventricular longitudinal systolic function is associated with an increased risk of incident atrial fibrillation in patients with type 2 diabetes

It is known that type 2 diabetic patients are at high risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the early echocardiographic determinants of AF vulnerability in this patient population remain poorly known

Serum Albumin Is Inversely Associated With Portal Vein Thrombosis in Cirrhosis

We analyzed whether serum albumin is independently associated with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in liver cirrhosis (LC) and if a biologic plausibility exists. This study was divided into three parts. In part 1 (retrospective analysis), 753 consecutive patients with LC with ultrasound-detected PVT were retrospectively analyzed. In part 2, 112 patients with LC and 56 matched controls were entered in the cross-sectional study. In part 3, 5 patients with cirrhosis were entered in the in vivo study and 4 healthy subjects (HSs) were entered in the in vitro study to explore if albumin may affect platelet activation by modulating oxidative stress. In the 753 patients with LC, the prevalence of PVT was 16.7%; logistic analysis showed that only age (odds ratio [OR], 1.024; P = 0.012) and serum albumin (OR, -0.422; P = 0.0001) significantly predicted patients with PVT. Analyzing the 112 patients with LC and controls, soluble clusters of differentiation (CD)40-ligand (P = 0.0238), soluble Nox2-derived peptide (sNox2-dp; P < 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (P = 0.0078) were higher in patients with LC. In LC, albumin was correlated with sCD4OL (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient [r(s)], -0.33; P < 0.001), sNox2-dp (r(s), -0.57; P < 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (r(s), -0.48; P < 0.0001) levels. The in vivo study showed a progressive decrease in platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and urinary 8-iso prostaglandin F2 alpha-III formation 2 hours and 3 days after albumin infusion. Finally, platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and isoprostane formation significantly decreased in platelets from HSs incubated with scalar concentrations of albumin. Conclusion: Low serum albumin in LC is associated with PVT, suggesting that albumin could be a modulator of the hemostatic system through interference with mechanisms regulating platelet activation

Transthoracic three-dimensional echocardiography visualization of functional anatomy of double-orifice mitral valve

none5nononeErmacora, Davide; Muraru, Denisa; Cecchetto, Antonella; Cucchini, Umberto; Badano, LuigiErmacora, Davide; Muraru, Denisa; Cecchetto, Antonella; Cucchini, Umberto; Badano, Luig

5° Convegno Nazionale sulla Lingua dei Segni Italiana

Dopo gli storici convegni nazionali sulla Lingua dei Segni Italiana (LIS) tenutisi a Trieste (1995), Genova (1998), Verona (2007), Roma (2018) l’Università della Calabria e l’Ente Nazionale Sordi organizzano il 5° Convegno Nazionale sulla Lingua dei Segni Italiana. Il tema del #5ConvegnoLIS sarà“La LIS: patrimonio culturale o capitale umano?”. Obiettivo del Convegno è delineare il quadro attuale degli studi narrandolo mediante diverse prospettive e approcci interdisciplinari e costituire ulteriore dimensione di visibilità e consapevolezza del prezioso patrimonio linguistico della comunità sorda italiana e non solo. Infatti, come si legge sull’Enciclopedia Treccani alla voce “Lingua e Dialetti” scritta dal grande linguista Federico Albano Leoni, “il repertorio linguistico italiano comprende ormai anche la LIS, che ha visto riconosciuto il suo status di lingua di recente”

Impact of vendor-independent versus vendor-specific software packages on left ventricular volume measurements performed on 3D echo data sets obtained from different echo systems

none9nononeCecchetto, Antonella; Muraru, Denisa; Ermacora, Davie; Romeo, Gabriella; Maddalozzo, Anna; Onciul, S; Cucchini, U; Iliceto, S; Badano, LuigiCecchetto, Antonella; Muraru, Denisa; Ermacora, Davie; Romeo, Gabriella; Maddalozzo, Anna; Onciul, S; Cucchini, Umberto; Iliceto, Sabino; Badano, Luig