Glutathione Precursor N-Acetyl-Cysteine Modulates EEG Synchronization in Schizophrenia Patients: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Glutathione (GSH) dysregulation at the gene, protein, and functional levels has been observed in schizophrenia patients. Together with disease-like anomalies in GSH deficit experimental models, it suggests that such redox dysregulation can play a critical role in altering neural connectivity and synchronization, and thus possibly causing schizophrenia symptoms. To determine whether increased GSH levels would modulate EEG synchronization, N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), a glutathione precursor, was administered to patients in a randomized, double-blind, crossover protocol for 60 days, followed by placebo for another 60 days (or vice versa). We analyzed whole-head topography of the multivariate phase synchronization (MPS) for 128-channel resting-state EEGs that were recorded at the onset, at the point of crossover, and at the end of the protocol. In this proof of concept study, the treatment with NAC significantly increased MPS compared to placebo over the left parieto-temporal, the right temporal, and the bilateral prefrontal regions. These changes were robust both at the group and at the individual level. Although MPS increase was observed in the absence of clinical improvement at a group level, it correlated with individual change estimated by Liddle's disorganization scale. Therefore, significant changes in EEG synchronization induced by NAC administration may precede clinically detectable improvement, highlighting its possible utility as a biomarker of treatment efficacy

Esami alcoolemici nella casistica necroscopica degli istituti di medicina legale delle università dell'Emilia Romagna con particolare riferimento agli incidenti stradali (aprile 1988-marzo1989)

la presente ricerca condotta in collaborazione tra quattro istituti di medicina legale dell'Emilia Romagna si propone di contribuire alla conoscenza dei multiformi aspetti del problema legato all'abuso di alcol soprattutto da parte degli utenti della strad

Data on post-partum evaluation of women with abnormal cervical cytology in pregnancy

During pregnancy, the only diagnosis that may alter management is invasive cancer. Thus, the primary aim of the cytological screening and subsequent colposcopy performed during pregnancy should be the exclusion of invasive cancer, “Practice Bulletin No. 140: management of abnormal cervical cancer screening test results and cervical cancer precursors,” (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2013) [1]. However, the impact of the delivery on the regression of the cervical lesions is still debated.This data article concerns the post-partum evaluation of colposcopic patterns, cytological and histopathology findings in women diagnosed with abnormal cervical cytology in pregnancy, included in the paper entitled “Reliability of colposcopy during pregnancy” (Ciavattini et al., 2018). Data about the rates of persistence, progression and regression of CIN after delivery are reported

Age and heart transplantation: results from a heart failure management unit.

BACKGROUND: More evidence is needed to assess the pros and cons of maintaining age-limit policies in heart transplantation (HT). METHODS: We analyzed clinical data from a heart failure management unit to investigate the impact of age on prognosis of two distinct cohorts: (i) 309 patients (median age, 57 yr; 62% male) with severe chronic heart failure (CHF) consecutively screened for HT; (ii) 336 HT recipients (median age 56 yr, 82% male). RESULTS: In CHF patients (screened for HT), prognosis was conditioned by the underlying severity of cardiac disease (i.e., New York Heart Association class III-IV, decreasing blood pressure, presence of atrial fibrillation and severe mitral regurgitation), whereas increasing age showed no sign of predicting all-cause or cardiovascular mortality (both p > or = 0.4). In HT recipients, age did not retain significance at multivariate analysis as an independent predictor (p > or = 0.14 for both all-cause and cardiovascular death), whereas ischemic etiology of pre-existing CHF did (p < or = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Age did not appear to be a primary determinant of all-cause or cardiovascular mortality among potential HT candidates or eventual recipients (ischemic etiology of CHF turned out to be the major determinant of post-transplant outcome). These results support the concept that HT may be considered a treatment option in patients with more advanced age strata, particularly when affected by non-ischemic cardiomyopath

Brain connectivity structure in spinal cord injured: Evaluation by graph analysis

The problem of the evaluation of brain connectivity has become a fundamental one in the neurosciences during the latest years, as a way to understand the organization and the interaction of several cortical areas during the execution of cognitive or motor tasks. Following an approach that derives from the graph theory, we analyzed the architectural properties of the networks obtained by the use of DTF measures on the cortical signals estimated from the high resolution EEG recordings. The present work aims at analyse the structure of cortical connectivity during the imagination of a limb movement in spinal cord injured patients, by the computation of the characteristic path length L and the cluster indices Cin and Cout. © 2006 IEEE

Relevance of cardioverter defibrillators for the prevention of sudden cardiac death on the timing of heart transplantation.

Information on the incidence of decompensation of chronic heart failure (CHF) in heart transplantation (HT) candidates eligible for prophylactic implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) could provide insights into the influence of ICD on the timing for HT