Long-term Memory of Sensory Experiences from the First Pregnancy, its Peri-partum and Post-partum in Women with Autism Spectrum Disorders without Intellectual Disabilities: A Retrospective Study

Purpose: To explore the recalled experience of pregnancy and motherhood in women diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) without intellectual disabilities, focusing on sensory perceptions and mood. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated, through an ad-hoc structured interview, the sensory sensitivity during the pre-partum, the peri-partum, and the post-partum of thirty-three mothers with ASD and thirty-two neurotypical mothers. Participants also underwent a psychometric assessment about autistic traits, general sensory sensitivity, and post-partum depressive symptomatology. Results: Mothers with ASD recalled a higher sensitivity than the comparison group across the three time-points; however, during the peri-partum their recalled hypersensitivity decreases, and in the post-partum it returned as high as before childbirth. The difference in the length of recall between groups did not statistically influence our results. Higher levels of autistic traits correlated with higher depressive post-partum symptomatology. Conclusions: Mothers with ASD seem to recall their experience of pregnancy, childbirth, and post-partum period differently from neurotypical mothers, particularly in terms of hypersensitivity. The correlation with depressive symptoms and the potential role of oxytocin and of long-term memory (encoding and recollection) are discussed. Further exploring these aspects might give fundamental hints to provide tailored support to mothers with ASD during pregnancy and motherhood

Axillary Ectopic Carcinoma of the Breast. Report of Two Cases with Different Clinical Presentation and Review of the Literature.

Aims: Primary ectopic breast cancer (PEBC) is a rare and often misdiagnosed condition. Through the discussion of two clinical cases, we want to focus on clinical presentation, outcomes and treatment of PEBC, to lead clinicians to awareness and optimal management. Methods: We present the case of a 47-year-old patient, with a 30 mm axillary mass, that was diagnosed as a PEBC (infiltrating lobular carcinoma, triple negative). The patient underwent systemic staging: diffuse metastatic bone lesions and leptomeningeal metastasis were found. The second patient is a 73-year-old woman with personal history of right breast tumor. She came to our attention for a 9 mm left axillary mass, suspicious for a metastatic lymph node. A fine-needle cytology revealed the absence of lymphoid cells but the presence of atypical epithelial cells, as in a primary breast carcinoma. She was treated with local excision and sentinel node biopsy. Results: The first patient presented with metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis and she deceased after three months from the diagnosis, despite systemic chemotherapy. The diagnosis was performed at an early stage in the second patient. She underwent surgery, complementary endocrine therapy and radiotherapy. She has no evident disease after two years from surgery. Conclusion: Primary ectopic breast cancer is a rare clinical entity, often misdiagnosed or diagnosed with a long delay. The treatment of PEBC is analogous to that of orthotopic breast cancer, but we strongly recommend to approach the patient with a multidisciplinary team to provide the best staging workout and therapie

Anterior Segment-Optical Coherence Tomography Bleb Morphology Comparison in Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery: XEN Gel Stent vs. PreserFlo MicroShunt

Background: The purpose of this study is to compare the morphology of six-month follow-up blebs created by a subconjunctival glaucoma surgical device (XEN45) to those created by a PreserFlo MicroShunt with a sub-Tenon insertion, utilizing AS-OCT. Methods: A retrospective study of 29 eyes who underwent XEN45 implantation and 29 eyes who underwent PreserFlo MicroShunt implantation. The patients were analyzed at 24 h, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months. At each visit, the maturation and morphological alterations of the blebs were observed, as well as connections with the IOP. Results: In both groups, IOP showed significant reduction at all follow ups (p < 0.0001). In XEN group, the most common bleb morphology in the immediate postoperative was the subconjuntival separation type (42%) followed by the uniform type (34%), with a trend inversion at 6 month follow up (51% of uniform type). On the contrary, the most common morphology after PreserFlo was the multiple internal layer (55%), which showed a tendency to reduce over time and was substituted by the microcystic multiform, whose percentage increased over time (17% at day 1 vs. 44% at month 6). Uniform appearance was associated by the posterior episcleral fluid (PEF) lake presence. Both horizontal and vertical diameters significantly increased over time. Conclusion: XEN and PreserFlo implantation resulted in the production of diffuse blebs with different characteristics, which may influence IOP lowering capacity and bleb revisions necessity over time

Correlation between visual field index and quality of life in glaucoma patients: a new tool to screen quality of life perception?

PurposeTo evaluate the correlation between the visual field index (VFI) and vision-related quality of life (QoL) considering several confounding variables that may have a positive or negative effect.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional, mono-centric study on glaucoma patients. Quality of life was examined with the NEI-VFQ 25 and the Glaucoma Symptom Scale (GSS). The visual field was examined with the Humphrey Field Analyzer. The variables considered were age, gender, comorbidities, years (at diagnosis and duration of the illness), treatment and related active principles, intraocular pressure, and visual acuity. The analysis was performed on both the better and the worse eye. The linear regression univariate analysis and the multivariate analyses were performed.ResultsIn total, 193 patients enrolled in the study. The mean age was 70.8 ± 10.4 years. The mean follow-up period since diagnosis 11.4 ± 9.2 years. Approximately 50% of the patients suffered from primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and 45% were on monotherapy. The mean VFI was 81.3 ± 26. Regarding QoL, the NEI-VFQ total mean was 80.4 ± 17.8 and the GSS total score was 77.2 ± 21. Regarding NEI-VFQ 25, the single linear regression analysis found the following relations: age at time of visit (r = −0.30, p = 0.016), years of illness (r = −0.32, p = 0.020), the minimum and maximal visual acuity (r = 2.04 and r = 3.96, p < 0.001), the IOP min (r = 1.13, p = 0.002) and max (r = −0.52, p = 0.017), and the number of previous surgeries (r = −3.94, p < 0.001). The multivariate analysis found the following relations: gender (r = 5.13, p = 0.019), visual acuity max (r = 3.16, p < 0.001), and previous surgeries (r = −1.80, p = 0.032). Regarding GSS, the single linear regression analysis found relations with visual acuity (r = 2.37, p < 0.001), VFI (r = 0.41, p < 0.001), previous surgeries in the eye considered (r = −7.27, p < 0.001), and number of instillations (r = −3.67, p = 0.031). Data confirmed that a higher VFI has a positive impact on the score of both the NEI-VFQ 25 (r = 0.22, p = < 0.001) and the GSS questionnaire (r = 0.36, p < 0.001).ConclusionsThe study demonstrated a correlation between the VFI and QoL of patients and their visual and non-visual ocular symptoms and function both in the worst and in the better eye, even when accounting for several clinical and demographic confounding variables. Our data support that the visual field index is an important metric instrument in the follow up of patients with glaucoma

Prediction of morbidity and mortality after early cholecystectomy for acute calculous cholecystitis : results of the SPRi.MACC study

Peer reviewe

COVID-19 atypical Parsonage-Turner syndrome: a case report

Background Neurological manifestations of Sars-CoV-2 infection have been described since March 2020 and include both central and peripheral nervous system manifestations. Neurological symptoms, such as headache or persistent loss of smell and taste, have also been documented in COVID-19 long-haulers. Moreover, long lasting fatigue, mild cognitive impairment and sleep disorders appear to be frequent long term neurological manifestations after hospitalization due to COVID-19. Less is known in relation to peripheral nerve injury related to Sars-CoV-2 infection. Case presentation We report the case of a 47-year-old female presenting with a unilateral chest pain radiating to the left arm lasting for more than two months after recovery from Sars-CoV-2 infection. After referral to our post-acute outpatient service for COVID-19 long haulers, she was diagnosed with a unilateral, atypical, pure sensory brachial plexus neuritis potentially related to COVID-19, which occurred during the acute phase of a mild Sars-CoV-2 infection and persisted for months after resolution of the infection. Conclusions We presented a case of atypical Parsonage-Turner syndrome potentially triggered by Sars-CoV-2 infection, with symptoms and repercussion lasting after viral clearance. A direct involvement of the virus remains uncertain, and the physiopathology is unclear. The treatment of COVID-19 and its long-term consequences represents a relatively new challenge for clinicians and health care providers. A multidisciplinary approach to following-up COVID-19 survivors is strongly advised

The Psychological Impact of COVID-19 among a Sample of Italian Adults with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Follow-Up Study

The strict lockdowns imposed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic brought an increase in levels of stress, anxiety, and depression in the general population. However, in a previous study, our group found that individuals with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders (HF-ASD) reported an increase in their psychological wellbeing and a decrease in their daily tiredness, in relation to the social distancing measures imposed during the first Italian lockdown (between March and May 2020). In this follow-up study, conducted during the “second wave” of COVID-19, we included the same group of individuals with HF-ASD and evaluated their levels of stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD-related symptoms, tiredness, and perceived wellbeing; moreover, we compared our results to the ones we obtained during the first lockdown on the same population. We found that individuals with HF-ASD experienced higher levels of the aforementioned psychiatric symptoms during the second lockdown, with respect to the first one. These levels positively correlated with their scores at the Autism Quotient subscale Attention Switching: hence, we speculated that these symptoms might be due not only to the prolonging of the social distancing measures, but also to the uncertainty that HF-ASD participants started experiencing at the end of the first lockdown

Early OCT Angiography Variations in Macular and Peripapillary Area after Uncomplicated Cataract Surgery and Correlation with Intraoperative Parameters

Background: We evaluated changes in both macular and peripapillary vascular parameters, evaluated by OCT angiography (OCTA), after uncomplicated cataract surgery, as well as the influence of effective phacoemulsification time (EPT) and cumulative dissipated energy (CDE). Methods: This is prospective study on 130 eyes of 65 individuals who underwent unilateral phacoemulsification, with fellow eyes data taken as control group. We collected cataract grading, EPT and CDE. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), superficial vessel density, deep vessel density, foveal avascular zone (FAZ) parameters and peripapillary capillary density were measured at baseline, one week and one month following surgery. Results: When compared to baseline, there was a significant increase in both superficial and deep foveal density at last follow up (from 42.9 ± 4.2 and 37.3 ± 7.4 to 45.6 ± 5.4 and 43.7 ± 9.0%, p = 0.002 and p = 0.0001, respectively). Both foveal avascular zone’s area and perimeter showed a significant decrease compared to the preoperative value (p p = 0.01), which returned to preoperative values at last follow up (49.3 ± 4.0%, p = 0.95). We found no significant differences when dividing the cohort for cataract severity. Moreover, no significant effect of the EPT and CDE on vascular changes were reported. Conclusions: We found a significant increase in the vascular parameters of the macular area after cataract surgery, while peripapillary vascular density only experienced a transient increase, suggesting an adaptative metabolic mechanism in response to increased light exposure after surgery