Axiography and MRI in the diagnosis of temporomandibular joint pathology

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Risk Factors of Cystoid Macular Edema After Pars Plana Vitrectomy for Pseudophakic Retinal Detachment

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of cystoid macular edema after pars plana vitrectomy for the treatment of pseudophakic rhegmatogenous retinal detachment and identify possible related risk factors. Methods: A retrospective monocentric study was conducted within a cohort of pseudophakic patients undergoing vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment between January 2019 and December 2022. Demographic data, initial and intraoperative characteristics of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, and postoperative data were analyzed. Cystoid macular edema was defined on optical coherence tomography exclusively. Results: A total of 164 eyes of 164 patients were included for analysis. The mean age of the patients at surgery was 65.7 ± 12.0 years. The mean best-corrected visual acuity was 2.1 ± 1.0 logMAR preoperatively and 1.0 ± 0.7 logMAR postoperatively. The mean follow-up was 13.4 ± 7.7 months. The prevalence of cystoid macular edema was 17.1% [9.8–26.4]. In multivariate analysis, severe proliferative vitreoretinopathy (relative risk 3.6 [1.3–9.7]) and laser retinopexy (relative risk 8.4 [1.1–64.7]) were independently and significantly associated with cystoid macular edema. Conclusion: The prevalence of cystoid macular edema in pseudophakic rhegmatogenous retinal detachment after pars plana vitrectomy was 17.1%. Severe proliferative vitreoretinopathy stage and the use of endolaser retinopexy were independent risk factors for development of cystoid macular edema

Age- and sex-related variations in platelet count in Italy: a proposal of reference ranges based on 40987 subjects' data

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although several studies demonstrated that platelet count is higher in women, decreases with age, and is influenced by genetic background, most clinical laboratories still use the reference interval 150-400×10(9) platelets/L for all subjects. The present study was to identify age- and sex-specific reference intervals for platelet count. METHODS: We analysed electronic records of subjects enrolled in three population-based studies that investigated inhabitants of seven Italian areas including six geographic isolates. After exclusion of patients with malignancies, liver diseases, or inherited thrombocytopenias, which could affect platelet count, reference intervals were estimated from 40,987 subjects with the non parametric method computing the 2.5° and 97.5° percentiles. RESULTS: Platelet count was similar in men and women until the age of 14, but subsequently women had steadily more platelets than men. The number of platelets decreases quickly in childhood, stabilizes in adulthood, and further decreases in oldness. The final result of this phenomenon is that platelet count in old age was reduced by 35% in men and by 25% in women compared with early infancy. Based on these findings, we estimated reference intervals for platelet count ×10(9)/L in children (176-452), adult men (141-362), adult women (156-405), old men (122-350) and, old women (140-379). Moreover, we calculated an extended reference interval that takes into account the differences in platelet count observed in different geographic areas. CONCLUSIONS: The age-, sex-, and origin-related variability of platelet count is very wide, and the patient-adapted reference intervals we propose change the thresholds for diagnosing both thrombocytopenia and thrombocytosis in Italy

Insulin pump failures in Italian children with Type 1 diabetes: retrospective 1-year cohort study

AimsInsulin pump failure and/or malfunction requiring replacement have not been thoroughly investigated. This study evaluated pump replacement in children and adolescents with Type 1 diabetes using insulin pump therapy.MethodsData were collected for all participants younger than 19 years, starting insulin pump therapy before 31 December 2013. For each child, age, disease duration, date of insulin pump therapy initiation, insulin pump model, failure/malfunction/replacement yes/no and reason were considered for the year 2013.ResultsData were returned by 40 of 43 paediatric centres belonging to the Diabetes Study Group of the Italian Society of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology. In total, 1574 of 11 311 (13.9%) children and adolescents with Type 1 diabetes were using an insulin pump: 29.2% Animas VIBE, 9.4% Medtronic MiniMed 715/515, 34.3% Medtronic MiniMed VEO, 24.3% Accu-Check Spirit Combo and 2.8% other models. In 2013, 0.165 insulin pump replacements per patient-year (11.8% due to pump failure/malfunction and 4.7% due to accidental damage) were recorded. Animas VIBE (22.1%) and Medtronic MiniMed VEO (17.7%) were the most replaced.ConclusionsIn a large cohort of Italian children and adolescents with Type 1 diabetes, insulin pump failure/malfunction and consequent replacement are aligned with rates previously reported and higher in more sophisticated pump models

Epidemiological surveillance of West Nile neuroinvasive diseases in Italy, 2008 to 2011.

Binary file ES_Abstracts_Final_ECDC.txt matche

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Improve the Management of Immune-Checkpoint Inhibitor-Related Pneumonitis

Purpose: Treatment with immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can be associated with a wide spectrum of immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Among irAEs, immune-mediated pneumonitis (im-PN) is a rare but potentially life-threatening side effect. TPrompt multidisciplinary diagnosis and effective management of im-PN may be essential to avoid severe complications and allowing resumation of therapy. Patients and Methods: We collected a case series of skin (melanoma, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma-CSCC), lung, and mesothelioma cancer patients (pts), treated with ICI at the Center for Immuno-Oncology University Hospital of Siena, Italy, and diagnosed with im-PN. Clinical and radiologic data were thoroughly collected, as well as bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples; imPN was graded using CTCAE v. 5.0. Radiological patterns were reported according to the Fleischner Society classification. Results: From January 2014 to February 2023, 1004 patients with melanoma (522), CSCC (42), lung (342) or mesothelioma (98) were treated with ICI (619 monotherapy; 385 combination). Among treated patients, 24 (2%) developed an im-PN and 58% were symptomatic. Im-PN were classified as grades G1 (10) and G2 (14). Prompt steroid treatment led to complete resolution of im-PN in 21 patients, with a median time to resolution of 14 weeks (range: 0.4-51). Twelve patients resumed ICI therapy once fully-recovered and 2 experienced a recurrence that completely resolved with steroids after resumption of treatment. Three radiologic patterns were identified: organizational pneumonia-like (67%), pulmonary eosinophilia (29%), and hypersensitivity pneumonitis (4%). Furthermore, BAL analysis performed in 8 (33%) patients showed an inflammatory lymphocytic infiltrate, predominantly consisting of foam celllike macrophage infiltrates in 6 cases. Notably, transmission electron microscopy evaluation performed in 2 patients revealed a scenario suggestive of a drug-mediated toxicity. Conclusion: Im-PN is a rare but challenging side effect of ICI therapy, with variable time of onset and with heterogeneous clinical and radiological presentations. A multidisciplinary assessment is mandatory to optimize the clinical management of im-PN

Maturity-Onset Diabetes of the Young in Children With Incidental Hyperglycemia:: A multicenter Italian study of 172 families

OBJECTIVE - To investigate the prevalence of maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) in Italian children With incidental hyperglycemia. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - Among 748 subjects age 1-18 years with incidental hyperglycemia, minimal diagnostic criteria for MODY were met by 172 families. Mutational analyses of the glucokinase (GCK) and hepatocyte nuclear factor lot (HNF1A) genes were performed. RESULTS - We identified 85 GCK gene mutations in 109 probands and 10 HNF1A mutations in 12 probands. In GCK patients, the median neonatal weight and age at the first evaluation were lower than those found in patients with HNF1A mutations. Median fasting plasma glucose and impaired fasting glucose/impaired glucose tolerance frequency after oral glucose tolerance testing were higher in GCK patients, who also showed a lower frequency of diabetes than HNF1A patients. CONCLUSIONS - GCK mutations are the prevailing cause of MODY (63.4%) when the index case is recruited in Italian children with incidental hyperglycemia

Geomorphology and sedimentology of Porto Pino, SW Sardinia, Western Mediterranean

This paper presents a detailed (1:4000) geomorphological, sedimentological and ecological map of a Mediterranean microtidal wave-dominated beach system and adjacent inner shelf. This map is an innovative cartographic product that integrates a range of processes of present and past timeframes. It is part of a larger cartography on the coastal geomorphology of Sardinia (Italy) aiming to facilitate coastal management practices and future scientific research. The study area is located in SW Sardinia (Italy), and focuses on Porto Pino beach, an important tourist destination of semi-pristine nature, facing environmental pressures common to many coastal Mediterranean settings. In this context, the main human impact on coastal dune habitats is described and a full environmental characterization of the beach system is presented

Age-Period-Cohort Analysis of 1990–2003 Incidence Time Trends of Childhood Diabetes in Italy: The RIDI Study

OBJECTIVE - To investigate age-period-cohort effects on the temporal trend of type 1 diabetes in children age 0-14 years in Italian registries. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - This report is based on 5,180 incident cases in the period 1990-2003 from the Registry for Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in Italy (RIDI). Multilevel (random intercept) Poisson regression models were used to model the effects of sex, age, calendar time, and birth cohorts on temporal trends, taking into account the registry-level variance component. RESULTS - The incidence rate was 12.26 per 100,000 personyears and significantly higher in boys (13.13 [95% CI 12.66-13.62]) than in girls (11.35 [10.90-11.82]). Large geographical variations in incidence within Italy were evident; incidence was highest in Sardinia, intermediate in Central-Southern Italy, and high in Northern Italy, particularly in the Trento Province, where the incidence rate was 18.67 per 100,000 person-years. An increasing temporal trend was evident (2.94% per year [95% CI 2.22-3.67]). With respect to the calendar period 1990-1992, the incidence rates increased linearly by 15, 27, 35, and 40% in the following time periods (P for trend < 0.001). With respect to the 1987-1993 birth cohort, the incidence rate ratio increased approximately linearly from 0.63 (95% CI 0.54-0.73) in the 1975-1981 cohort to 1.38 (1.06-1.80) in the 1999-2003 cohort. The best model, however, included sex, age, and a linear time trend (drift). CONCLUSIONS - Large geographical variations and an increasing temporal trend in diabetes incidence are evident among type 1 diabetic children in Italy. Age-period-cohort analysis shows that the variation over time has a linear component that cannot be ascribed to either the calendar period or the birth cohort

Different trajectories in upper limb and gross motor function in spinal muscular atrophy

INTRODUCTION: The Hammersmith Functional Motor Scale Expanded (HFMSE) and the Revised Upper Limb Module (RULM) have been widely used in natural history studies and clinical trials. Our aim was to establish how the scales relate to each other at different age points in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 2 and 3, and to describe their coherence over 12 mo. METHODS: The study was performed by cross-sectional and longitudinal reanalysis of previously published natural history data. The longitudinal analysis of the 12-mo changes also included the analysis of concordance between scales with changes grouped as stable (±2 points), improved (>+2) or declined (>−2). RESULTS: Three hundred sixty-four patients were included in the cross-sectional analysis, showing different trends in score and point of slope change for the two scales. For type 2, the point of slope change was 4.1 y for the HFMSE and 5.8 for the RULM, while for type 3, it was 6 y for the HFMSE and 7.3 for the RULM. One-hundred-twenty-one patients had at least two assessments at 12 mo. Full concordance was found in 57.3% of the assessments, and in 40.4% one scale remained stable and the other changed. Each scale appeared to be more sensitive to specific age or functional subgroups. DISCUSSION: The two scales, when used in combination, may increase the sensitivity to detect clinically meaningful changes in motor function in patients with SMA types 2 and 3