Cognitive Impairment and Age-Related Vision Disorders: Their Possible Relationship and the Evaluation of the Use of Aspirin and Statins in a 65 Years-and-Over Sardinian Population

Neurological disorders (Alzheimer’s disease, vascular and mixed dementia) and visual loss (cataract, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy) are among the most common conditions that afflict people of at least 65 years of age. An increasing body of evidence is emerging, which demonstrates that memory and vision impairment are closely, significantly, and positively linked and that statins and aspirin may lessen the risk of developing age-related visual and neurological problems. However, clinical studies have produced contradictory results. Thus, the intent of the present study was to reliably establish whether a relationship exist between various types of dementia and age-related vision disorders, and to establish whether statins and aspirin may or may not have beneficial effects on these two types of disorders. We found that participants with dementia and/or vision problems were more likely to be depressed and displayed worse functional ability in basic and instrumental activities of daily living than controls. Mini mental state examination scores were significantly lower in patients with vision disorders compared to subjects without vision disorders. A closer association with macular degeneration was found in subjects with Alzheimer’s disease than in subjects without dementia or with vascular dementia, mixed dementia, or other types of age-related vision disorders. When we considered the associations between different types of dementia and vision disorders and the use of statins and aspirin, we found a significant positive association between Alzheimer’s disease and statins on their own or in combination with aspirin, indicating that these two drugs do not appear to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease or improve its clinical evolution and may, on the contrary, favor its development. No significant association in statin use alone, aspirin use alone, or the combination of these was found in subjects without vision disorders but with dementia, and, similarly, none in subjects with vision disorders but without dementia. Overall, these results confirm the general impression so far; namely, that macular degeneration may contribute to cognitive disorders (Alzheimer’s disease in particular). In addition, they also suggest that, while statin and aspirin use may undoubtedly have some protective effects, they do not appear to be magic pills against the development of cognitive impairment or vision disorders in the elderly

Genetic susceptibility to Candida infection: A new look at an old entity

In recent years, several studies have shed light on the pathogenesis of many novel immune defects associated with narrow susceptibility to bacterial, viral and fungal infections. Genetically determined forms of susceptibility to Candida species infection, which had been elusive for a long time, have been recognized. Refractory or recurrent infections of skin, nails and the mucous membranes are clinical signs of chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis, frequently associated with immunological defects in the Th17 subset, which is crucial for host response against infections at mucosal and epithelial sites. Here we review the main clinical features and the mechanisms of diseases which share CMC as main phenotype

The combined cartilage growth – calcification patterns in the wing-fins of Rajidae (Chondrichthyes): A divergent model from endochondral ossification of tetrapods

The relationship between cartilage growth – mineralization patterns were studied in adult Rajidae with X-ray morphology/morphometry, undecalcified resin-embedded, heat-deproteinated histology and scanning electron microscopy. Morphometry of the wing-fins, nine central rays of the youngest and oldest specimens documented a significant decrement of radials mean length between inner, middle and outer zones, but without a regular progression along the ray. This suggests that single radial length growth is regulated in such a way to align inter-radial joints parallel to the wing metapterygia curvature. Trans-illumination and heat-deproteination techniques showed polygonal and cylindrical morphotypes of tesserae, whose aligned pattern ranged from mono-columnar, bi-columnar, and multi-columnar up to the crustal-like layout. Histology of tessellated cartilage allowed to identify of zones of the incoming mineral deposition characterized by enhanced duplication rate of chondrocytes with the formation of isogenic groups, whose morphology and topography suggested a relationship with the impending formation of the radials calcified column. The morphotype and layout of radial tesserae were related to mechanical demands (stiffening) and the size/mass of the radial cartilage body. The cartilage calcification pattern of the batoids model shares several morphological features with tetrapods' endochondral ossification, that is, (chondrocytes' high duplication rate, alignment in rows, increased volume of chondrocyte lacunae), but without the typical geometry of the metaphyseal growth plates

Purification and Characterization of Proteinaceous Thermostable α-Amylase Inhibitor from Sardinian Common Bean Nieddone Cultivar (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

The increasing need for new treatments for obesity and diabetes has led to the development of new drugs and food supplements that could reduce carbohydrate absorption. Many starch blockers, based on common bean proteinaceous inhibitors against α-amylase (α-AI), are already present on the market. The extraction and purification of α-amylase inhibitor from a promising common bean cultivar from Sardinia (Nieddone) is described, highlighting the unique value of the Nieddone cultivar, particularly for its inhibitory activity on digestive enzymes and its complete lack of a hemagglutination effect on human red blood cells. The purification of α-AI involved two chromatographic steps (IEC and SEC) and was essential for revealing certain properties of the inhibitor. The purified inhibitor has a tetrameric structure (α2β2) and a molecular weight of approximately 42 kDa, as determined by SEC and SDS-PAGE, confirming it as a lectin-like inhibitor. The identification of the α-AI sequence was obtained by bottom-up high-resolution mass spectrometry, which allowed us to identify a unique peptide from the α chain and six unique peptides from the β chains. α-AI exhibited an optimum temperature of around 40 °C and two pH optima at 5 and 6.5, respectively. Its remarkable stability at high temperatures was measured (approximately 25% of activity retained even after 5 h at 100 °C), whereas the raw extract lost its activity entirely after just 10 min at 90 °C. Thus, the purification process significantly enhances the thermal stability of α-AI. The demonstrated effectiveness of the purified α-AI against the α-amylase enzyme in pigs, humans and insects underscores the protein’s potential for treating obesity and diabetes, as well as for managing insect pests

Brief Communication: On the rapid and efficient monitoring results dissemination in landslide emergency scenarios: the Mont de La Saxe case study

Abstract. Straightforward communication of monitoring results is of major importance in emergency scenarios relevant to large slope instabilities. Here we describe the communication strategy developed for the Mont de La Saxe rockslide threatening La Palud and Entrèves hamlets in the Courmayeur municipality (Aosta Valley, Italy). Starting from the definition of actions and needs of the landslide management team, including scientists, technicians, civil protection operators, decision makers, and politicians, we show that sharing and disseminating ad hoc information simplifies the understanding of the landslide evolution, as well as the correct communication of the level of criticality

Identification of two new repetitive elements and chromosomal mapping of repetitive DNA sequences in the fish Gymnothorax unicolor (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae)

Muraenidae is a species-rich family, with relationships among genera and species and taxonomy that have not been completely clarified. Few cytogenetic studies have been conducted on this family, and all of them showed the same diploid chromosome number (2n=42) but with conspicuous karyotypic variation among species. The Mediterranean moray eel Gymnothorax unicolor was previously cytogenetically studied using classical techniques that allowed the characterization of its karyotype structure and the constitutive heterochromatin and argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (Ag-NORs) distribution pattern. In the present study, we describe two new repetitive elements (called GuMboI and GuDdeI) obtained from restricted genomic DNA of G. unicolor that were characterized by Southern blot and physically localized by in situ hybridization on metaphase chromosomes. As they are highly repetitive DNA sequences, they map in heterochromatic regions. However, while GuDdeI was localized in the centromeric regions, the GuMboI fraction was distributed on some centromeres and was co-localized with the nucleolus organizer region (NOR). Comparative analysis with other Mediterranean species such as Muraena helena pointed out that these DNA fractions are species-specific and could potentially be used for species discrimination. As a new contribution to the karyotype of this species, we found that the major ribosomal genes are localized on acrocentric chromosome 9 and that the telomeres of each chromosome are composed of a tandem repeat derived from a poly-TTAGGG DNA sequence, as it occurs in most vertebrate species. The results obtained add new information useful in comparative genomics at the chromosomal level and contribute to the cytogenetic knowledge regarding this fish family, which has not been extensively studied

Levodopa-induced dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease: sleep matters

OBJECTIVE: The spectrum of clinical symptoms changes during the course of Parkinson's disease. Levodopa therapy, while offering remarkable control of classical motor symptoms, causes abnormal involuntary movements as the disease progresses. These levodopa-induced dyskinesias (LIDs) have been associated with abnormal cortical plasticity. Since slow wave activity (SWA) of nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep underlies adjustment of cortical excitability, we sought to elucidate the relationship between this physiological process and LIDs. METHODS: Thirty-six patients at different stages of Parkinson's disease (PD) underwent whole-night video polysomnography-high-density EEG (vPSG-hdEEG), preceded by 1 week of actigraphy. To represent the broad spectrum of the disease, patients were divided into three groups by disease stage, (i) de novo (DNV; n = 9), (ii) advanced (ADV; n = 13), and (iii) dyskinetic (DYS; n = 14) and were compared to an age-matched control group (CTL; n = 12). The SWA-NREM content of the PSG-hdEEG was then temporally divided into 10 equal parts, from T1 to T10, and power and source analyses were performed. T2-T3-T4 were considered early sleep and were compared to T7-T8-T9, representing late sleep. RESULTS: We found that all groups, except the DYS group, manifested a clear-cut SWA decrease between early and late sleep. INTERPRETATION: Our data demonstrate a strong pathophysiological association between sleep and PD. Given that SWA may be a surrogate for synaptic strength, our data suggest that DYS patients do not have adequate synaptic downscaling. Further analysis is needed to determine the effect of drugs that can enhance cortical SWA in LIDs

Preparation of gellan-cholesterol nanohydrogels embedding baicalin and evaluation of their wound healing activity

[EN] In the present work, the preparation, characterization and therapeutic potential of baicalin-loaded nanohydrogels are reported. The nanohydrogels were prepared by sonicating (S nanohydrogel) or autoclaving (A nanohydrogel) a dispersion of cholesterol-derivatized gellan in phosphate buffer. The nanohydrogel obtained by autoclave treatment showed the most promising results: smaller particles ( similar to 362 nm vs. similar to 530 nm), higher homogeneity (polydispersity index = similar to 0.24 vs. similar to 0.47), and lower viscosity than those obtained by sonication. In vitro studies demonstrated the ability of the nanohydrogels to favour the deposition of baicalin in the epidermis. A high biocompatibility was found for baicalin-loaded nanohydrogels, along with a great ability to counteract the toxic effect induced by hydrogen peroxide in cells, as the nanohydrogels re-established the normal conditions (similar to 100% viability). Further, the potential of baicalin-loaded nanohydrogels in skin wound healing was demonstrated in vivo in mice by complete skin restoration and inhibition of specific inflammatory markers (i.e., myeloperoxidase, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and oedema.Financial support from University "Sapienza" - Progetti di Ricerca: grant RP116154C2EF9AC8 and grant RM11715C1743EE89 are acknowledged.Manconi, M.; Manca, M.; Caddeo, C.; Cencetti, C.; Di Meo, C.; Zoratto, N.; Nácher Alonso, A.... (2018). Preparation of gellan-cholesterol nanohydrogels embedding baicalin and evaluation of their wound healing activity. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics. 127:244-249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpb.2018.02.015S24424912

A New Multi-Index Method for the Eutrophication Assessment in Transitional Waters: Large-Scale Implementation in Italian Lagoons

Eutrophication represents one of the most impacting threats for the ecological status and related ecosystem services of transitional waters; hence, its assessment plays a key role in the management of these ecosystems. A new multi-index method for eutrophication assessment, based on the ecological index MaQI (Macrophyte Quality Index), the trophic index TWQI (Transitional Water Quality Index), and physicochemical quality elements (sensu Dir. 2000/60/EC), was developed including both driver and impact indicators. The study presents a large-scale implementation of the method, which included more than 100 Italian lagoon sites, covering a wide variability of lagoon typologies and conditions. Overall, 35% of sites resulted in eutrophic status, 45% in mesotrophic, and 25% in oligotrophic status