Imaging the invasion of rice roots by the bakanae agent Fusarium fujikuroi using a GFP-tagged isolate

Altres ajuts: Generalitat de Catalunya/CERCA Programme, AGER Foundation (Grant 2010-2369)Fusarium fujikuroi (teleomorph Gibberella fujikuroi) is the main seed-borne pathogen of rice, the causal agent of bakanae, a disease that in the last years has become of increasing economical concern in many Italian rice growing areas. A virulent F. fujikuroi isolate was tagged with the green fluorescent protein (gfp) gene using Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation, and the virulence of the GFP isolate has been confirmed. Little is known about the early interaction of the pathogen with its host, in this work fungal development during the F. fujikuroi/root interaction was analysed by Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy (LSCM), by using the GFP isolate obtained. The infection of rice roots was investigated from 48 h to 8 days post-inoculation both in resistant and susceptible cultivars. Roots of resistant genotype seem to trigger a hypersensitive response at the infection site and LSCM analysis of root sections allowed the visualization of fungal growth within host tissues. Fungal growth occurred both in the resistant and the susceptible cultivar, even if it was less abundant in the resistant one. Expression analysis of Chitinase1, a gene involved in fungal pathogenesis, was investigated by qPCR on the F. fujikuroi infected rice roots. Chitinase1 expression increased greatly upon infection in the resistant cultivar Selenio

The Management of Dry Eye Disease: Proceedings of Italian Dry Eye Consensus Group Using the Delphi Method

Dry eye disease (DED) is a highly prevalent, chronic and progressive condition that affects 5–33% of the world’s adult population [1]. The 1995 definition of DED only considered patient-reported symptoms (ocular discomfort) and damage to the inter-palpebral ocular surface [2]. However, as it became apparent that this failed to reflect the complexity of the disease and its impact on visual function, inducing a risk of under-diagnosis, the 2007 International Dry Eye WorkShop (DEWS) redefined it as follows: “A multifactorial disease of the tears and ocular surface that results in symptoms of discomfort, visual disturbance, and tear film instability with potential damage to the ocular surface. It is accompanied by increased osmolarity of the tear film and inflammation of the ocular surface” [3]. This introduced the concept that the ocular surface is a single system, added visual disturbances to the symptoms of ocular discomfort and drew attention to the key concepts of inflammation and tear hyperosmolarity. Subsequently, as it is not unusual in everyday clinical practice to encounter patients with moderate–severe symptoms who have no pathological signs on the ocular surface or, conversely, patients with severe signs who are asymptomatic because of decreased corneal sensitivity, DEWS II revised its definition to read “Dry eye is a multifactorial disease of the ocular surface characterized by a loss of homeostasis of the tear film, and accompanied by ocular symptoms, in which tear film instability and hyperosmolarity, ocular surface inflammation and damage, and neurosensory abnormalities play etiological roles” [4] in order to indicate the occurrence of corneal nerves impairment, too. The symptoms characterizing the disease can severely affect the patients’ quality of life and everyday activities such as reading, driving or working on a computer [5–8] and are also associated with high levels of anxiety and depression [9]. Consequently, it is not only important to prescribe the appropriate treatment, but also to monitor its effects over time in order to ensure long-term relief and prevent disease chronicity [10,11]. Clinicians are clearly aware of the need to adopt a standardized approach to diagnose and treat DED that includes counselling, patient education and the establishment of a medical alliance to promote effective treatment [12,13]. The aim of this paper is to describe the process used by a group of Italian ophthalmologists (“Italian Dry Eye Consensus Group”) focused on DED for identifying four major statements related to the disease aimed at improving overall DED patient care [14]. Given the complexity of the disease and the different clinical contexts in which it may occur, the method used was based on real-life experience, as well as scientific data, and allowed the consideration of areas of still uncertain or unproven knowledge that may nevertheless help to guide everyday clinical practice and future research

Development and implementation of the AIDA International Registry for patients with Periodic Fever, Aphthous stomatitis, Pharyngitis, and cervical Adenitis syndrome

Objective: Aim of this paper is to illustrate the methodology, design, and development of the AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance (AIDA) International Registry dedicated to patients with the Periodic Fever, Aphthous stomatitis, Pharyngitis, and cervical Adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome. Methods: This is a physician-driven, non-population- and electronic-based registry proposed to gather real-world demographics, clinical, laboratory, instrumental and socioeconomic data from PFAPA patients. Data recruitment is realized through the on-line Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) tool. This registry is thought to collect standardized information for clinical research leading to solid real-life evidence. The international scope and the flexibility of the registry will facilitate the realization of cutting-edge study projects through the constant updating of variables and the possible merging and transfer of data between current and future PFAPA registries. Results: A total of 112 centers have already been involved from 23 countries and 4 continents starting from August 24th, 2021, to April 6th, 2022. In total 56/112 have already obtained the formal approval from their local Ethics Committees. The platform counts 321 users (113 principal investigators, 203 site investigators, two lead investigators, and three data managers). The registry collects retrospective and prospective data using 3,856 fields organized into 25 instruments, including PFAPA patient's demographics, medical histories, symptoms, triggers/risk factors, therapies, and impact on the healthcare systems. Conclusions: The development of the AIDA International Registry for PFAPA patients will enable the on-line collection of standardized data prompting real-life studies through the connection of worldwide groups of physicians and researchers. This project can be found on NCT 05200715

Risk for cancer development in familial Mediterranean fever and associated predisposing factors: an ambidirectional cohort study from the international AIDA Network registries

Objective: Inflammation has been associated with an increased risk for cancer development, while innate immune system activation could counteract the risk for malignancies. Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a severe systemic inflammatory condition and also represents the archetype of innate immunity deregulation. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the risk for cancer development in FMF. Methods: The risk ratio (RR) for malignancies was separately compared between FMF patients and fibromyalgia subjects, Still's disease patients and Behçet's disease patients. Clinical variables associated with cancer development in FMF patients were searched through binary logistic regression. Results: 580 FMF patients and 102 fibromyalgia subjects, 1012 Behçet's disease patients and 497 Still's disease patients were enrolled. The RR for the occurrence of malignant neoplasms was 0.26 (95% Confidence Interval [CI.] 0.10-0.73, p=0.006) in patients with FMF compared to fibromyalgia subjects; the RR for the occurrence of malignant cancer was 0.51 (95% CI. 0.23-1.16, p=0.10) in FMF compared to Still's disease and 0.60 (95% CI. 0.29-1.28, p=0.18) in FMF compared to Behçet's disease. At logistic regression, the risk of occurrence of malignant neoplasms in FMF patients was associated with the age at disease onset (β1 = 0.039, 95% CI. 0.001-0.071, p=0.02), the age at the diagnosis (β1 = 0.048, 95% CI. 0.039-0.085, p=0.006), the age at the enrolment (β1 = 0.05, 95% CI. 0.007-0.068, p=0.01), the number of attacks per year (β1 = 0.011, 95% CI. 0.001- 0.019, p=0.008), the use of biotechnological agents (β1 = 1.77, 95% CI. 0.43-3.19, p=0.009), the use of anti-IL-1 agents (β1 = 2.089, 95% CI. 0.7-3.5, p=0.002). Conclusions: The risk for cancer is reduced in Caucasic FMF patients; however, when malignant neoplasms occur, this is more frequent in FMF cases suffering from a severe disease phenotype and presenting a colchicine-resistant disease

Risk for cancer development in familial Mediterranean fever and associated predisposing factors: an ambidirectional cohort study from the international AIDA Network registries

Objective: Inflammation has been associated with an increased risk for cancer development, while innate immune system activation could counteract the risk for malignancies. Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a severe systemic inflammatory condition and also represents the archetype of innate immunity deregulation. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the risk for cancer development in FMF. Methods: The risk ratio (RR) for malignancies was separately compared between FMF patients and fibromyalgia subjects, Still's disease patients and Beh & ccedil;et's disease patients. Clinical variables associated with cancer development in FMF patients were searched through binary logistic regression. Results: 580 FMF patients and 102 fibromyalgia subjects, 1012 Beh & ccedil;et's disease patients and 497 Still's disease patients were enrolled. The RR for the occurrence of malignant neoplasms was 0.26 (95% Confidence Interval [CI.] 0.10-0.73, p=0.006) in patients with FMF compared to fibromyalgia subjects; the RR for the occurrence of malignant cancer was 0.51 (95% CI. 0.23-1.16, p=0.10) in FMF compared to Still's disease and 0.60 (95% CI. 0.29-1.28, p=0.18) in FMF compared to Beh & ccedil;et's disease. At logistic regression, the risk of occurrence of malignant neoplasms in FMF patients was associated with the age at disease onset (beta 1 = 0.039, 95% CI. 0.001-0.071, p=0.02), the age at the diagnosis (beta 1 = 0.048, 95% CI. 0.039-0.085, p=0.006), the age at the enrolment (beta 1 = 0.05, 95% CI. 0.007-0.068, p=0.01), the number of attacks per year (beta 1 = 0.011, 95% CI. 0.001- 0.019, p=0.008), the use of biotechnological agents (beta 1 = 1.77, 95% CI. 0.43-3.19, p=0.009), the use of anti-IL-1 agents (beta 1 = 2.089, 95% CI. 0.7-3.5, p=0.002).Conclusions: The risk for cancer is reduced in Caucasic FMF patients; however, when malignant neoplasms occur, this is more frequent in FMF cases suffering from a severe disease phenotype and presenting a colchicine-resistant disease

A patient-driven registry on Behçet’s disease: the AIDA for patients pilot project

IntroductionThis paper describes the creation and preliminary results of a patient-driven registry for the collection of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and patient-reported experiences (PREs) in Behçet’s disease (BD).MethodsThe project was coordinated by the University of Siena and the Italian patient advocacy organization SIMBA (Associazione Italiana Sindrome e Malattia di Behçet), in the context of the AIDA (AutoInflammatory Diseases Alliance) Network programme. Quality of life, fatigue, socioeconomic impact of the disease and therapeutic adherence were selected as core domains to include in the registry.ResultsRespondents were reached via SIMBA communication channels in 167 cases (83.5%) and the AIDA Network affiliated clinical centers in 33 cases (16.5%). The median value of the Behçet’s Disease Quality of Life (BDQoL) score was 14 (IQR 11, range 0–30), indicating a medium quality of life, and the median Global Fatigue Index (GFI) was 38.7 (IQR 10.9, range 1–50), expressing a significant level of fatigue. The mean Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ) necessity-concern differential was 0.9 ± 1.1 (range – 1.8–4), showing that the registry participants prioritized necessity belief over concerns to a limited extent. As for the socioeconomic impact of BD, in 104 out of 187 cases (55.6%), patients had to pay from their own pocket for medical exams required to reach the diagnosis. The low family socioeconomic status (p < 0.001), the presence of any major organ involvement (p < 0.031), the presence of gastro-intestinal (p < 0.001), neurological (p = 0.012) and musculoskeletal (p = 0.022) symptoms, recurrent fever (p = 0.002), and headache (p < 0.001) were associated to a higher number of accesses to the healthcare system. Multiple linear regression showed that the BDQoL score could significantly predict the global socioeconomic impact of BD (F = 14.519, OR 1.162 [CI 0.557–1.766], p < 0.001).DiscussionPreliminary results from the AIDA for Patients BD registry were consistent with data available in the literature, confirming that PROs and PREs could be easily provided by the patient remotely to integrate physician-driven registries with complementary and reliable information