20 research outputs found
Brain Plasticity and Disease: A Matter of Inhibition
One major goal in Neuroscience is the development of strategies promoting neural plasticity in the adult central nervous system, when functional recovery from brain disease and injury is limited. New evidence has underscored a pivotal role for cortical inhibitory circuitries in regulating plasticity both during development and in adulthood. This paper summarizes recent findings showing that the inhibition-excitation balance controls adult brain plasticity and is at the core of the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, Down syndrome, and Rett syndrome
Randomized trial on the effects of a combined physical/cognitive training in aged MCI subjects: the Train the Brain study
Age-related cognitive impairment and dementia are an increasing societal burden. Epidemiological studies indicate that lifestyle factors, e.g. physical, cognitive and social activities, correlate with reduced dementia risk; moreover, positive effects on cognition of physical/cognitive training have been found in cognitively unimpaired elders. Less is known about effectiveness and action mechanisms of physical/cognitive training in elders already suffering from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a population at high risk for dementia. We assessed in 113 MCI subjects aged 65-89 years, the efficacy of combined physical-cognitive training on cognitive decline, Gray Matter (GM) volume loss and Cerebral Blood Flow (CBF) in hippocampus and parahippocampal areas, and on brain-blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) activity elicited by a cognitive task, measured by ADAS-Cog scale, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) and fMRI, respectively, before and after 7 months of training vs. usual life. Cognitive status significantly decreased in MCI-no training and significantly increased in MCI-training subjects; training increased parahippocampal CBF, but no effect on GM volume loss was evident; BOLD activity increase, indicative of neural efficiency decline, was found only in MCI-no training subjects. These results show that a non pharmacological, multicomponent intervention improves cognitive status and indicators of brain health in MCI subjects
Review Article Brain Plasticity and Disease: A Matter of Inhibition
One major goal in Neuroscience is the development of strategies promoting neural plasticity in the adult central nervous system, when functional recovery from brain disease and injury is limited. New evidence has underscored a pivotal role for cortical inhibitory circuitries in regulating plasticity both during development and in adulthood. This paper summarizes recent findings showing that the inhibition-excitation balance controls adult brain plasticity and is at the core of the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, Down syndrome, and Rett syndrome
When magmas do not interact: paired Roman-age activity revealed by tephra studies at Stromboli volcano
Detailed stratigraphic and geochemical studies were carried out on remnants of the partially collapsed Pizzo-o-Sopra-la-Fossa (Pizzo) scoria cone, which represents the best viewpoint for observing the present-day activity on top of the Stromboli volcano, Italy. The main outcrop is above the active craters and is strongly altered by acid fumarolic gases; for this reason, the Pizzo activity has previously been poorly studied (for age and composition).We focus mainly on the well-preserved Le Croci fallout succession. We show that the Pizzo activity occurred in the Roman age ( 3c2.4\u20131.8 ka) and was fed by two compositionally and genetically distinct magma groups, each occupying a separate reservoir. Shoshonitic basalts (Pizzo-SHO) were stored at lower depths than high-K basalts to high-K basaltic andesites (Pizzo-HKCA). Although Pizzo-
SHO and Pizzo-HKCA magmas were affected by multiple mafic magma inputs (with different dynamics as reflected in variable mineral zoning), they did not interact with each other. They were, however, erupted simultaneously suggesting they were emitted by two unconnected conduits and vents located in the summit area. Stromboli historic activity was thus quite different from present-day activity. In the Roman age, the volcano was characterised by paired activity taking place on the summit with similar explosive characteristics, from two
coeval vents each fed by different and non-parental magmas. While the Pizzo-SHO magmas still persist in the present-day
shallow reservoir, the Pizzo-HKCA magmas could be quiescent and re-activated in the future, possibly from an eccentric
vent/fissure
The complex link between severity of asthma and rhinitis in mite allergic patients
AIM:
The aim of the study was to evaluate the link between the severity of upper and lower airways diseases in mite allergic patients with respiratory allergy.
PATIENTS AND METHOD:
A multicentre, observational, cross-sectional study was carried out in 556 consecutively enrolled mite allergic patients with rhinitis and asthma comorbidity attending a specialist unit. Severity assessment of rhinitis and asthma was evaluated in accordance with ARIA and GINA guidelines.
RESULTS:
Reliable data were available for 518 patients. The distribution of rhinitis severity was: 15.6% mild intermittent rhinitis, 4.4% moderate-severe intermittent rhinitis, 30.3% mild persistent rhinitis and 49.6% moderate persistent rhinitis. The distribution of asthma severity was: 41.3% mild intermittent asthma, 14.3% mild persistent asthma, 19.1% moderate persistent asthma and 25.3% severe persistent asthma. In patients with moderate-severe persistent rhinitis (49.5%) a significant trend (p = 0.005) was found pointing to an increased link with asthma severity.
CONCLUSION:
A link between respective severities of rhinitis and asthma was found in only half of mite allergic patients with rhinitis and asthma
Development of a Short Questionnaire for the Screening for Vitamin D Deficiency in Italian Adults: The EVIDENCe-Q Project
Abstract: Background: To develop and validate a questionnaire for the screening of Vitamin D in
Italian adults (Evaluation Vitamin D dEficieNCy Questionnaire, EVIDENCe-Q). Methods: 150 participants,
attending the 11Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics Operative Unit, Internal Medicine and
Endocrinology, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, of Pavia were enrolled. Demographic
variables and serum levels of vitamin D were recorded. The EVIDENCe-Q included information
regarding factors affecting the production, intake, absorption and metabolism of Vitamin D. The
EVIDENCe-Q score ranged from 0 (the best status) to 36 (the worst status). Results: Participants
showed an inadequate status of Vitamin D, according to the current Italian reference values. A
significant difference (p < 0.0001) in the EVIDENCe-Q score was found among the three classes
of vitamin D status (severe deficiency, deficiency and adequate), being the mean score higher in
severe deficiency and lower in the adequate one. A threshold value for EVIDENCe-Q score of 23 for
severe deficiency, a threshold value of 21 for deficiency and a threshold value of 20 for insufficiency
were identified. According to these thresholds, the prevalence of severe deficiency, deficiency and
insufficiency was 22%, 35.3% and 43.3% of the study population, respectively. Finally, participants
with EVIDENCe-Q scores <20 had adequate levels of vitamin D. Conclusions: EVIDENCe-Q can be a
useful and easy screening tool for clinicians in their daily practice at a reasonable cost, to identify
subjects potentially at risk of vitamin D deficiency and to avoid unwarranted supplementation and/or
costly blood testing