Evaluation of retinal, choroidal and peripapillary vascular flow in patients with Thyroid Associated Ophthalmopathy (TAO) using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCT-A)

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in choroidal thickness and in choroidal vascular blood flow in patients with TAO and their relationship with clinical features and disease activity using SD-OCT and Angio-OCT technology. Methods: Eighteen patients and control subjects underwent a complete eye examination, OCT and angio - OCT. We also obtained angiographic scans at 3 different consecutive levels (L1, L2 and L3) below the choriocapillary. Results: The subfoveal choroid was significantly thicker in TAO patients than the control eyes (285.6275 \ub1 32.5 \u3bcm compared to 135.89 \ub1 19.8 \u3bcm, respectively, p = 0.0089). The correlation analysis in the TAO group showed a significant correlation between the choroidal thickness and EUGOGO clinical score (r = 0.84, p = 8.44032E - 07). Vascular flow of choriocapillary was markedly reduced in subjects with TAO compared to healthy subjects (49.78 \ub1 4.5 vs. 53.36 \ub1 1.07; p = 2.5105E - 07) and vascular flow of the deeper layer L3 resulted higher in subjects with TAO than in healthy subjects (46.9 \ub1 20.23 and 41.475 \ub1 3.06; p = 0.01168). Conclusions: Subfoveal choroidal thickness and choroidal blood flow were significantly different in patients with TAO compared to healthy subjects.Purpose The aim of this study is to evaluate the changes in macular blood flow index (BFI) in patients with moderate to severe thyroid-associated orbitopathy (TAO) before and after pulse therapy and their relationship with clinical features and disease activity using angio-OCT technology. Methods We analyzed twenty-four eyes. Every patient underwent a complete eye examination and angio-OCT analysis (OCT Topcon ImageNet 6; DRI OCT Triton, Topcon Corporation) before (T0) and two months (T2) after pulse therapy. We analyzed macular vascular blood flow in four angiographic levels: superficial plexus (SP), deep plexus (DP), external retina (ER), and choriocapillaris (CC). We used the clinical activity score (CAS) score to define TAO as moderate or severe. Results Macular BFI significantly increased at T2 in the DP, ER, and CC (p\u2009<\u20090.01). CAS score (5.8\u2009\ub1\u20090.8 vs. 3.9\u2009\ub1\u20090.9, p\u2009<\u20090.01) and Hertel exophthalmometry values (22.6\u2009\ub1\u20092.3 mm vs. 21.2\u2009\ub1\u20092,5 mm, p\u2009<\u20090.01) improved for all patients at T2 compared T0. Mean IOP increased from 13.3\u2009\ub1\u20092.8 mmHg to 14.3\u2009\ub1\u20092.1 mmHg (p\u2009<\u20090.01). No correlation was found between CAS score and macular BFI in all the analyzed levels. Conclusions Pulse therapy treatment can change macular BFI. In particular, two months alter pulse therapy, all the patients show an increase in macular vascular blood flow in each angiographic level. According to our results, angio-OCT analysis of the macular BFI may be a useful tool in the follow-up of TAO patients after pulse therapy.Purpose To evaluate changes in peripapillary vascular blood flow indices (PVBFI) in patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) using OCT angiography (OCTA) technology. Methods Patients with TAO and control subjects matched for age and sex were included in the study. Eye examination, Clinical Activity Score (CAS) evaluation and OCTA scan analysis (Topcon ImageNet 6; DRI OCT Triton, Topcon Corporation) were performed. In particular, PVBFI of the superficial capillary plexus (SCP), deep capillary plexus (DCP), outer retina (OR) and choriocapillaris (CC) layers were obtained by OCTA and extracted from 8-bit greyscale OCT images using the ImageJ software package. Results Twenty-six patients with TAO (19 females, mean age 54.7\u2009\ub1\u20095.2 and 7 males, mean age 51.4\u2009\ub1\u200916.3) were compared with 26 healthy subjects (15 females, mean age 48.2\u2009\ub1\u200914.1 and 11 males, mean age 53.1\u2009\ub1\u200915.2). Both DCP-PVBF and CC-PVBFI were significantly reduced in TAO patients compared to control eyes (28.6\u2009\ub1\u20092.1 vs. 29.7\u2009\ub1\u20090.93, p\u2009=\u20090.002; 46.5\u2009\ub1\u20091.72 vs. 47.2\u2009\ub1\u20091.2, p\u2009=\u20090.019 respectively); on the other hand, no statistically significant differences were found in SCP-PVBFI and OR-PVBFI in TAO patients compared to healthy subjects (p\u2009>\u20090.05). Also, CC-PVBFI was associated with elevated values of CAS (p\u2009=\u20090.018) and ROC curve showed that patients with elevated CC-PVBFI were correlated with active TAO (CAS\u2009>\u20093) (p\u2009=\u20090.012). Conclusions TAO disease may be associated with changes in DCP-PVBFI and CC-PVBFI; also, CC-PVBFI seems to correlate with disease activity

Angelo Mangini (1905-1988). Inventario analitico dell'Archivio.

Il volume contiene l'inventario analitico dell'Archivio del Prof. Angelo Mangini, Direttore incaricato dell'Istituto di Chimica industriale dell'Ateneo di Bologna dall'a.a. 1940-41 e Direttore (poi Preside) della Facoltà di Chimica Industriale dal 1945 al 1946 e dal 1948 al 1969. L'inventario è corredato da: scheda e storia archivistica, nota biografica ricostruita dalla documentazione dell'Archivio, bibliografia e indice analitico dei nomi

Swollen Optic Disc and Sinusitis

Purpose: To present a case of optic disc swelling caused by sinusitis. Methods: Ocular symptoms were investigated using computed tomography imaging of the facial bones to detect the relationship between the sinus inflammation and the optic nerve. Results: A particular configuration of the optic nerve was detected. Optic nerve course through the inflamed sphenoidal sinus is a condition associated with a greater risk of inflammation. Conclusion: Sinusitis is a rare but treatable cause of optic neuritis. The choice of the correct radiological investigation to be done to set up a proper treatment of the sinus pathological condition is also essential for the resolution of ocular symptoms

Overexpression of the vitronectin v10 subunit in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: Implications for noninvasive diagnosis of NASH

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the critical stage of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The persistence of necroinflammatory lesions and fibrogenesis in NASH is the leading cause of liver cirrhosis and, ultimately, hepatocellular carcinoma. To date, the histological examination of liver biopsies, albeit invasive, remains the means to distinguish NASH from simple steatosis (NAFL). Therefore, a noninvasive diagnosis by serum biomarkers is eagerly needed. Here, by a proteomic approach, we analysed the soluble low-molecular-weight protein fragments flushed out from the liver tissue of NAFL and NASH patients. On the basis of the assumption that steatohepatitis leads to the remodelling of the liver extracellular matrix (ECM), NASH-specific fragments were in silico analysed for their involvement in the ECM molecular composition. The 10 kDa C-terminal fragment of the ECM prote in vitro nectin (VTN) was then selected as a promising circulating biomarker in discriminating NASH. The analysis of sera of patients provided these major findings: the circulating VTN fragment (i) is overexpressed in NASH patients and positively correlates with the NASH activity score (NAS); (ii) originates from the disulfide bond reduction between the V10 and the V65 subunits. In conclusion, V10 determination in the serum could represent a reliable tool for the noninvasive discrimination of NASH from simple steatosi

Coalescing binary systems of compact objects: Dynamics of angular momenta

The end state of a coalescing binary of compact objects depends strongly on the final total mass M and angular momentum J. Since gravitational radiation emission causes a slow evolution of the binary system through quasi-circular orbits down to the innermost stable one, in this paper we examine the corresponding behavior of the ratio J/M^2 which must be less than 1(G/c) or about 0.7(G/c) for the formation of a black hole or a neutron star respectively. The results show cases for which, at the end of the inspiral phase, the conditions for black hole or neutron star formation are not satisfied. The inclusion of spin effects leads us to a study of precession equations valid also for the calculation of gravitational waveforms.Comment: 22 pages, AASTeX and 13 figures in PostScrip

Fine mapping of loci on BTA8 associated to antibody response to Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis in cattle

Paratuberculosis (ParaTB) or Johne's disease, caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis commonly known as MAP in cattle, is a chronic gastroenteritis characterized by diarrhoea, decreased milk production and ultimately death. MAP is responsible for huge economic losses, particularly in dairy cattle herds. Susceptibility to MAP infection has been found to be heritable with heritability estimates ranging from 0.06 to 0.102. The definition of an infected animal can be based either on the presence of anti-MAP antibodies in the serum, or by direct demonstration of MAP in tissue or faeces by culture or PCR. Several studies have addressed the identification of genetic loci associated with MAP susceptibility. The objective of this study was to refine a locus associated with antibody response to Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosi (MAP). Using a genome- wide association analysis, a single nucleotide polymorphism on Bos taurus autosome BTA8 namely the SNP rs43161947 at posi- tion 35398490 with a p-value of 7.02 e-05, has previously been identified by the authors as associated with MAP infection. Fine mapping of the region was conducted with 100 single nucleotide polymorphisms spanning a region between BTA8: 34422912 and BTA8: 364553881 covering 2 Mega bases (Mb) designed in to cover 1 Mb ahead and after the SNP identified on BTA8. The 2 Mb region on BTA8 was evaluated within a group of 966 Holstein cows collected from routine ParaTB screening in the province of Lodi in Italy, in an area with a high prevalence of ParaTB. Animals were defined as ParaTB positive based on the detection of serum antibodies produced in response to MAP infection using the ID-screen\uae ELISA test (ID VET Montpellier, France). Of the 966 samples, 483 were MAP antibody positive (cases) and 483 MAP antibody negative (MAP negative controls). All animals were female, and cases and MAP negative controls were from the same farm tested on the same day.Using a single marker associ- ation analysis, conducted within the R statistical environment, we identified 3 different QTLs within the 2 Mega base region, under the main QTL on BTA8 associated with antibody response to MAP, in position 34.700.000, 35.800.000 and 36.400.000 bp. This reveals the complexity of the genetic architecture of thetrait and confirms the need to further explore the genome with fine mapping approaches, or by the use of whole genome sequencing to investigate complex traits, such as disease resistance

Resting state electroencephalographic rhythms are affected by immediately preceding memory demands in cognitively unimpaired elderly and patients with mild cognitive impairment

Experiments on event-related electroencephalographic oscillations in aged people typically include blocks of cognitive tasks with a few minutes of interval between them. The present exploratory study tested the effect of being engaged on cognitive tasks over the resting state cortical arousal after task completion, and whether it differs according to the level of the participant’s cognitive decline. To investigate this issue, we used a local database including data in 30 healthy cognitively unimpaired (CU) persons and 40 matched patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). They had been involved in 2 memory tasks for about 40 min and underwent resting-state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) recording after 5 min from the task end. eLORETA freeware estimated rsEEG alpha source activity as an index of general cortical arousal. In the CU but not aMCI group, there was a negative correlation between memory tasks performance and posterior rsEEG alpha source activity. The better the memory tasks performance, the lower the posterior alpha activity (i.e., higher cortical arousal). There was also a negative correlation between neuropsychological test scores of global cognitive status and alpha source activity. These results suggest that engagement in memory tasks may perturb background brain arousal for more than 5 min after the tasks end, and that this effect are dependent on participants global cognitive status. Future studies in CU and aMCI groups may cross-validate and extend these results with experiments including (1) rsEEG recordings before memory tasks and (2) post-tasks rsEEG recordings after 5, 15, and 30 minThis study was supported by grants from the Spanish Government, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (PSI2017- 89389-C2-R and PID2020-114521RB-C21/C22); the Galician Government (Xunta de Galicia), Axudas para a Consolidación e Estruturación de Unidades de Investigación Competitivas do Sistema Universitario de Galicia: GRC (GI-1807- USC); Ref: ED431-2017/27 and ED431C-2021/04; all with ERDF/FEDER funds. DP was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) grant with reference SFRH/BPD/120111/2016. AF was supported by an FPI grant from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación with reference PRE2018-085514S

Patients with Alzheimer's disease dementia show partially preserved parietal 'hubs' modeled from resting-state alpha electroencephalographic rhythms

IntroductionGraph theory models a network by its nodes (the fundamental unit by which graphs are formed) and connections. 'Degree' hubs reflect node centrality (the connection rate), while 'connector' hubs are those linked to several clusters of nodes (mainly long-range connections). MethodsHere, we compared hubs modeled from measures of interdependencies of between-electrode resting-state eyes-closed electroencephalography (rsEEG) rhythms in normal elderly (Nold) and Alzheimer's disease dementia (ADD) participants. At least 5 min of rsEEG was recorded and analyzed. As ADD is considered a 'network disease' and is typically associated with abnormal rsEEG delta (<4 Hz) and alpha rhythms (8-12 Hz) over associative posterior areas, we tested the hypothesis of abnormal posterior hubs from measures of interdependencies of rsEEG rhythms from delta to gamma bands (2-40 Hz) using eLORETA bivariate and multivariate-directional techniques in ADD participants versus Nold participants. Three different definitions of 'connector' hub were used. ResultsConvergent results showed that in both the Nold and ADD groups there were significant parietal 'degree' and 'connector' hubs derived from alpha rhythms. These hubs had a prominent outward 'directionality' in the two groups, but that 'directionality' was lower in ADD participants than in Nold participants. DiscussionIn conclusion, independent methodologies and hub definitions suggest that ADD patients may be characterized by low outward 'directionality' of partially preserved parietal 'degree' and 'connector' hubs derived from rsEEG alpha rhythms

Poor reactivity of posterior electroencephalographic alpha rhythms during the eyes open condition in patients with dementia due to Parkinson's disease

Here, we hypothesized that the reactivity of posterior resting-state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) alpha rhythms during the transition from eyes-closed to -open condition might be lower in patients with Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) than in patients with Alzheimer's disease dementia (ADD). A Eurasian database provided clinical-demographic-rsEEG datasets in 73 PDD patients, 35 ADD patients, and 25 matched cognitively unimpaired (Healthy) persons. The eLORETA freeware was used to estimate cortical rsEEG sources. Results showed substantial (greater than −10%) reduction (reactivity) in the posterior alpha source activities from the eyes-closed to the eyes-open condition in 88% of the Healthy seniors, 57% of the ADD patients, and only 35% of the PDD patients. In these alpha-reactive participants, there was lower reactivity in the parietal alpha source activities in the PDD group than in the healthy control seniors and the ADD patients. These results suggest that PDD patients show poor reactivity of mechanisms desynchronizing posterior rsEEG alpha rhythms in response to visual inputs. That neurophysiological biomarker may provide an endpoint for (non) pharmacological interventions for improving vigilance regulation in those patients.European Consortium of Dementia ; IRCCS San Raffaele Rome ; World Medical Association ; Ministero della Salute ; Sapienza Università di Rom

The role of autophagy in resistance to targeted therapies

Autophagy is a self-degradative cellular process, involved in stress response such as starvation, hypoxia, and oxidative stress. This mechanism balances macro-molecule recycling to regulate cell homeostasis. In cancer, autophagy play a role in the development and progression, while several studies describe it as one of the key processes in drug resistance. In the last years, in addition to standard anti-cancer treatments such as chemotherapies and irradiation, targeted therapy became one of the most adopted strategies in clinical practices, mainly due to high specificity and reduced side effects. However, similar to standard treatments, drug resistance is the main challenge in most patients. Here, we summarize recent studies that investigated the role of autophagy in drug resistance after targeted therapy in different types of cancers. We highlight positive results and limitations of pre-clinical and clinical studies in which autophagy inhibitors are used in combination with targeted therapies. Refereed/Peer-reviewe