Sleep quality relates to emotional reactivity via intracortical myelination

A good quality and amount of sleep are fundamental to preserve cognition and affect. New evidence also indicates that poor sleep is detrimental for brain myelination. In this study, we test the hypothesis that sleep quality and/or quantity relate to variability in cognitive and emotional function via the mediating effect of inter-individuals differences in proxy neuroimaging measures of white-matter integrity and intra-cortical myelination. By employing a demographically and neuropsychologically well-characterized sample of healthy people drawn from the Human Connectome Project (n=974), we found that quality and amount of sleep were only marginally linked to cognitive performance. In contrast, poor quality and short sleep increased negative affect (i.e., anger, fear, and perceived stress) and reduced life satisfaction and positive emotionality. At the brain level, poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep duration related to lower intra-cortical myelin in the mid-posterior cingulate cortex (p=0.038), middle temporal cortex (p=0.024), and anterior orbitofrontal cortex (OFC, p=0.034) but did not significantly affect different measures of white-matter integrity. Finally, lower intra-cortical myelin in the OFC mediated the association between poor sleep quality and negative emotionality (p<0.05). We conclude that intra-cortical myelination is an important mediator of the negative consequences of poor sleep on affective behaviour

Decline in macrolide resistance rates among Streptococcus pyogenes causing pharyngitis in children isolated in Italy

Macrolides are often used to treat group A streptococcus (GAS) infections, but their resistance rates reached high proportions worldwide. The aim of the present study was to give an update on the characteristics and contemporary prevalence of macrolide-resistant pharyngeal GAS in Central Italy. A total of 592 isolates causing pharyngitis in children were collected in the period 2012-2013. Clonality was assessed by emm typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) for all macrolide-resistant strains and for selected susceptible isolates. Genetic determinants of resistance were screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Forty-four GAS were erythromycin-resistant (7.4 %). Among them, 52.3 % and 50 % were clindamycin- and tetracycline-resistant, respectively. erm(B)-positive isolates (52.3 %) expressed the constitutive cMLSB phenotype. mef(A) and its associated M phenotype were recorded in 40.9 % of the cases. The remaining erm(A)-positive isolates expressed the iMLSB phenotype. Seventeen tetracycline-resistant isolates carried tet(M) and five isolates carried tet(O). Twenty-five emm types were found among all strains, with the predominance of emm types 12, 89, 1, and 4. Eleven emm types and 12 PFGE clusters characterized macrolide-resistant strains, with almost two-thirds belonging to emm12, emm4, and emm11. Macrolide-susceptible and -resistant emm types 12, 89, 11, and 4 shared related PFGE profiles. There was a dramatic decline in macrolide resistance in Central Italy among pharyngeal GAS isolates in 2012-2013 when compared to previous studies from the same region (p < 0.05), although macrolide consumption remained stable over the past 15 years. We observed a decrease in the proportion of macrolide-resistant strains within emm types commonly associated with macrolide resistance in the past, namely emm12, 1, and 89

Combined Flow Cytometry and Molecular Monitoring of Central Nervous System Relapse in a Patient with FLT3-ITD and NPM1 Positive AML

We here describe a 58 years-old male patient diagnosed in September 2019 with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in another hematological center and referred to us to receive allogeneic stem cell transplantation..

SNPs in DNA repair or oxidative stress genes and late subcutaneous fibrosis in patients following single shot partial breast irradiation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential association between single nucleotide polymorphisms related response to radiotherapy injury, such as genes related to DNA repair or enzymes involved in anti-oxidative activities. The paper aims to identify marker genes able to predict an increased risk of late toxicity studying our group of patients who underwent a Single Shot 3D-CRT PBI (SSPBI) after BCS (breast conserving surgery).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 57 breast cancer patients who underwent SSPBI were genotyped for SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) in XRCC1, XRCC3, GST and RAD51 by Pyrosequencing technology. Univariate analysis (ORs and 95% CI) was performed to correlate SNPs with the risk of developing ≥ G2 fibrosis or fat necrosis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A higher significant risk of developing ≥ G2 fibrosis or fat necrosis in patients with: polymorphic variant <it>GSTP1 </it>(Ile105Val) (OR = 2.9; 95%CI, 0.88-10.14, <it>p </it>= 0.047).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The presence of some SNPs involved in DNA repair or response to oxidative stress seem to be able to predict late toxicity.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01316328">NCT01316328</a></p

Sleep quality relates to emotional reactivity via intracortical myelination.

A good quality and amount of sleep are fundamental to preserve cognition and affect. New evidence also indicates that poor sleep is detrimental to brain myelination. In this study, we test the hypothesis that sleep quality and/or quantity relate to variability in cognitive and emotional function via the mediating effect of interindividual differences in proxy neuroimaging measures of white matter integrity and intracortical myelination. By employing a demographically and neuropsychologically well-characterized sample of healthy people drawn from the Human Connectome Project (n = 974), we found that quality and amount of sleep were only marginally linked to cognitive performance. In contrast, poor quality and short sleep increased negative affect (i.e. anger, fear, and perceived stress) and reduced life satisfaction and positive emotionality. At the brain level, poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep duration related to lower intracortical myelin in the mid-posterior cingulate cortex (p = 0.038), middle temporal cortex (p = 0.024), and anterior orbitofrontal cortex (OFC, p = 0.034) but did not significantly affect different measures of white matter integrity. Finally, lower intracortical myelin in the OFC mediated the association between poor sleep quality and negative emotionality (p < 0.05). We conclude that intracortical myelination is an important mediator of the negative consequences of poor sleep on affective behavior

CHANGING PATTERNS IN MACROLIDE RESISTANCE AND emm-TYPES IN Streptococcus pyogenes ISOLATED IN ITALY DURING 2012

Objectives. Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance and global dissemination of clones with specific emm-types is an important issue in GAS epidemiology also in relation to the design of a vaccine against the M protein. Methods. We have collected 218 GAS isolates, mainly from pharyngotonsillitis, in the Centre of Italy during winter-spring 2012 and determined their emm-type by sequencing. Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested by disc diffusion towards benzylpenicillin, erythromycin, telithromycin, clindamycin, tetracycline, linezolid, and rifampicin following the EUCAST guidelines. All resistant isolates were screened by PCR for the presence of the main corresponding genetic determinants of resistance. Results. The most frequent emm-types were emm-4, -1, -12, -89, -6, -44, -18, -29, -5, and -28 accounting for 80% of the isolates. Resistance towards erythromycin and telithromycin was observed in 10% of the isolates, clindamycin in 6%, and tetracycline in 4.6%. The 9 macrolide-ketolide resistant isolates were positive to mef(A), while the 12 macrolide-lincosamide-ketolide resistant isolates were positive to erm(B). In the latter group, one tetracycline susceptible and 9 resistant isolates were positive to tetM, which was present in another isolate resistant to tetracycline only. Macrolide resistance was mainly associated with emm-types 4, 11, and 12. Conclusion. The distribution and frequencies of the emm-types in contemporary Italian GAS have changed to the point that the vaccine coverage of the 26-valent formulation under development, which would have been about 77% ten years ago, would be 65% today (p<0.05). Against the slight decrease in macrolide consumption registered since the last ten years, the prevalence of macrolide resistance lowered consistently from 25-30% to 10%. This phenomenon may correlate to the disappearance or lower prevalence of some emm-types, such as emm2, emm77, and emm89

Two Years Surveillance of emm-types and Macrolide Resistance of Pediatric Group A Streptococcal Pharyngitis Isolates in the Central Part of Italy

Objectives. Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance and global dissemination of clones with specific emm-types is an important issue in GAS epidemiology especially in relation to the design of a vaccine against the M protein. Methods. 584 GAS isolates were collected in the centre of Italy during winter-spring 2012 and 2013, mainly from pharyngotonsillitis. We determined their emm-type by sequencing. Benzylpenicillin, erythromycin, telithromycin, clindamycin, tetracycline, linezolid, rifampicin, quinupristin/dalfopristin, and levofloxacin susceptibilities were tested by disc diffusion following the EUCAST guidelines. Results. 25 emm-types were recorded, nine of which accounted for almost 75% of the isolates (emm12, 89, 1, 4, 6, 3, 44, 5, 29). The overall distribution of emm-types between 2012 and 2013 was significantly different (2-test P < 0.001) with major contributions given by emm-types 1, 3, and 89 (Fisher’s exact test P < 0.05). Resistance towards erythromycin, clindamycin, and tetracycline was observed in 8%, 4.8%, and 4.6% of cases, respectively. Macrolide resistance was mainly associated with emm-types 2, 4, 11, and 12. An important decrease in prevalence of macrolide resistance from 9.6% to 6% was recorded between 2012 and 2013. Conclusion. The 26-valent vaccine would have covered 75% of the emm-types, while the 30-valent form would have approached 98% of coverage. Despite the slight decrease in macrolide consumption registered in the last ten years in Italy, the prevalence of macrolide resistance lowered consistently from 25-30% to less than 10%. The lower prevalence of some emm-types or a decrease in the level of association of erythromycin resistance with some emm-types may have well contributed to the overall drop in the observed prevalence of erythromycin resistance

The Role of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in the Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant Setting

Microbiota changes during allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has several known causes: conditioning chemotherapy and radiation, broad-spectrum antibiotic administration, modification in nutrition status and diet, and graft-versus-host disease. This article aims to review the current knowledge about the close link between microbiota and allogeneic stem cell transplantation setting. The PubMed search engine was used to perform this review. We analyzed data on microbiota dysbiosis related to the above-mentioned affecting factors. We also looked at treatments aimed at modifying gut dysbiosis and applications of fecal microbiota transplantation in the allogeneic stem cell transplant field, with particular interest in fecal microbiota transplantation for graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), multidrug-resistant and clostridium difficile infections, and microbiota restoration after chemotherapy and antibiotic therapy