Brugada Syndrome and Exercise Practice: Current Knowledge, Shortcomings and Open Questions

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Arundo mediterranea Danin (Poaceae) en la Península Ibérica

Arundo mediterranea Danin (Poaceae) in the Iberian Peninsula Palabras clave. Poaceae, Arundo mediterranea, flora vascular, Península Ibérica. Key words. Poaceae, Arundo mediterranea, vascular flora, Iberian Peninsula

Tipificación del nombre Lavatera triloba subsp. pallescens (Moris) Nyman y revaluación de L. minoricensis Cambess. (L. triloba subsp. minoricensis comb. nov.)

The taxonomic identity of two poorly known taxa of the Lavatera triloba aggregate (Malvaceae) is clarified. The name L. triloba subsp. pallescens (Moris) Nyman is reassessed, and a new combination, L. triloba subsp. minoricensis, is proposed. Both taxa were originally described as species, and later either regarded as synonymous or alternatively subsumed as mere formae within subsp. pallescens. The extreme rarity of the plants led to insufficient knowledge and subsequent misinterpretation of the basionyms, L. minoricensis Cambess. from Minorca (Balearic Islands, Spain) and L. pallescens Moris from southwestern Sardinia (Italy). The combination L. triloba subsp. pallescens (Moris) Nyman was used to refer the Minorcan plants despite their clear differences in morphology and ecology. The rediscovery of two Sardinian populations of L. triloba subsp. pallescens in nature, after more than 110 years without reports or collections, has allowed for re-evaluation and typification of the misused names.El presente artículo clarifica la identidad de dos táxones escasamente conocidos pertenecientes al complejo Lavatera triloba (Malvaceae). Se tipifica el nombre Lavatera triloba subsp. pallescens (Moris) Nyman y se propone una combinación nueva, Lavatera triloba subsp. minoricensis. Ambos táxones fueron originalmente descritos como especies, para posteriormente ser considerados sinónimos o ser incluidos como meras formas dentro de la subespecie pallescens. La extrema rareza de estas plantas en la naturaleza y la consiguiente falta de materiales para su estudio ha obstaculizado la correcta interpretación de los basiónimos, L. pallescens Moris de Cerdeña (Italia) y L. minoricensis Cambess. de Menorca (Islas Baleares, España). La combinación L. triloba subsp. pallescens se ha usado habitualmente para referir tanto las plantas sardas como las menorquinas, pese a la existencia de diferencias morfológicas y ecológicas sustanciales entre ellas. El redescubrimiento de dos poblaciones de L. triloba subsp. pallescens Moris en Cerdeña, tras más de 110 años sin referencias ni recolecciones, ha permitido la reevaluación y tipificación de estos dos nombres malinterpretados

Alien Plant Diversity in Mediterranean Wetlands: A Comparative Study within Valencian, Balearic and Sardinian Floras

Although wetlands provide an important range of environmental, social and economic services, they are increasingly subjected to anthropogenic erturbations, amongst which invasion by alien plants is particularly alarming. This paper focuses on the alien flora of wetlands from three territories belonging to the western Mediterranean area: one continental (Valencian Community) and two insular (Balearic Islands and Sardinia), providing a complete checklist for the three territories and a general comparison. In total, 380 alien taxa from 89 families have been reported, being the Valencian Community the area richer in taxa (312), followed by the Balearic Islands (151) and Sardinia (134). The invasive component includes 77 taxa, of which nine are common to the three territories - and have been recognised as the most invasive ones in Mediterranean islands -and six are considered invasive worldwide (Ailanthus altissima, Arundo donax, Cortaderia selloana, Oxalis pes-caprae, Ricinus communis and Eichhornia crassipes). Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) revealed that the three territories do not show statistically relevant differences in relation to the alien species present in wetlands and their characteristics. The information on the characteristics of plants in similar habitats of the same biogeographic region provides a portrait of the current dimensions of the phenomenon in Western Mediterranean wetlands and is especially useful from the management perspective: its predictive value can be applied in establishing a prioritization of control measures of those most invasive species and will help screening new introductions with invasive potential. Keywords: continent; environmental impact; invasions; islands

Increase in 20–50 Hz (gamma frequencies) power spectrum and synchronization after chronic vagal nerve stimulation

Objective: Though vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an important option in pharmacoresistant epilepsy, its mechanism of action remains unclear. The observation that VNS desynchronised the EEG activity in animals suggested that this mechanism could be involved in VNS antiepileptic effects in humans. Indeed VNS decreases spiking bursts, whereas its effects on the EEG background remain uncertain. The objective of the present study is to investigate how VNS affects local and inter regional syncronization in different frequencies in pharmacoresistent partial epilepsy. Methods: Digital recordings acquired in 11 epileptic subjects 1 year and 1 week before VNS surgery were compared with that obtained 1 month and 1 year after VNS activation. Power spectrum and synchronization were then analyzed and compared with an epileptic group of 10 patients treated with AEDs only and with 9 non-epileptic patients. Results: VNS decreases the synchronization of theta frequencies (P!0.01), whereas it increases gamma power spectrum and synchronization (!0.001 and 0.01, respectively). Conclusions: The reduction of theta frequencies and the increase in power spectrum and synchronization of gamma bands can be related to VNS anticonvulsant mechanism. In addition, gamma modulation could also play a seizure-independent role in improving attentional performances. Significance: These results suggest that some antiepileptic mechanisms affected by VNS can be modulated by or be the reflection of EEG changes.2026-2036Pubblicat

Efficacy and safety of niacin/laropiprant therapy in familial hypercholesterolemic patients with coronary artery disease

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the principal cause of premature mortality and morbidity in Europe. Patients with familial hypercholesterolemia are at particularly increased risk and, despite lipid-lowering therapy, continue to experience cardiovascular events. Currently, for these patients a new treatment option is represented by extended-release niacin/laropiprant (ERN/LRPN). Material and Methods: We followed-up for 16 weeks a group of 23 familial hypercholesterolemic patients (mean age 61?7 years, 74% male) with chronic coronary artery disease and ERN/LRPN added on top of maximally tolerated lipid-lowering therapy. ERN/LRPN was administered at the dose of 1 gr/day for the first 4 weeks and then at 2 gr/day for the remaining period. Clinical examination and blood sampling (including lipid profile, renal and hepatic function) were performed at baseline, after 4 weeks, at the end of follow-up, and in the case of eventual clinical manifestations. Results: During follow-up, 14 patients discontinued therapy due to side effects (headache, asthenia, and gastrointestinal disorders in 4 patients, muscle aches and CK increase in 3 patients, eruptive skin rash in 2 patients, onset of diabetes mellitus in 2 patients, dizziness associated with inability to drive in 1 patient, acute hepatitis in 1 patient and palpitations in 1 patient) and 2 patients voluntarily interrupted the therapy. In the remaining 7 patients, an improvement in lipid profile was observed (total cholesterol -14%, HDL cholesterol +7%, LDL cholesterol -16%, Triglycerides -53%, Apolipoprotein A1 +8%, Apolipoprotein B -21%, Apolipoprotein E -31%) in the absence of substantial changes in other laboratory analyses (with the exception of a non-significant increase in uric acid). Intolerable skin flushing was not observed in any patient. In addition, among patients who did report flushing, a reduction in the incidence of the episodes was observed after the first month of therapy

Dendritic cells in blood and urine samples from bladder cancer patients undergoing BCG immunotherapy

Objectives: Immunotherapy with BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guérin) after transurethral resection of the bladder tumor represents a highly effective primary treatment for intermediate and high-risk superficial bladder cancer. The effectiveness of this therapy has been documented, but its mechanism of action is not clear yet. In the present study, we investigated the changes of dendritic cells (DC) numbers in peripheral blood and urine of patients with superficial bladder cancer undergoing BCG intravescical therapy Material and method: We have enumerated plasmacytoid and myeloid DCs in the peripheral blood and in the urine of patients with bladder cancer in order to clarify the role of these cells in the evolution of the disease and the effect of therapy. DCs in blood and urine samples were assessed using the single-platform TruCOUNT assay with monoclonal antibodies. The study population included 37 healthy donors and 13 patients with diagnosis of primitive superficial bladder cancer. Results: At the time of diagnosis a reduction of blood DCs was found in patients as opposed to healthy donors, while DCs were not found in the urine in the same way as in healthy subjects. Six of these patients were followed before and after weekly and monthly instillations of BCG. In the peripheral blood, we observed an immunological recovery of DCs from the third weekly instillation up to the sixth. In the urine of patients, we didn't find mDCs or pDCs at T0, but we found a statistically significant change from the third instillation up to the sixth. On the contrary, we didn't find mDCs in urine during monthly instillation. Conclusions: DC Count could be used in the monitoring of patients undergoing BCG therapy. Immunological restoration of mDC numbers in peripheral blood and the efflux in urine could be important for confirming the effectiveness of BCG instillation