A top-down proteomic approach reveals a salivary protein profile able to classify Parkinson's disease with respect to Alzheimer's disease patients and to healthy controls

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease with motor and non-motor symptoms. Diagnosis is complicated by lack of reliable biomarkers. To individuate peptides and/or proteins with diagnostic potential for early diagnosis, severity and discrimination from similar pathologies, the salivary proteome in 36 PD patients was investigated in comparison with 36 healthy controls (HC) and 35 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. A top-down platform based on HPLC-ESI-IT-MS allowed characterizing and quantifying intact peptides, small proteins and their PTMs (overall 51). The three groups showed significantly different protein profiles, PD showed the highest levels of cystatin SA and antileukoproteinase and the lowest of cystatin SN and some statherin proteoforms. HC exhibited the lowest abundance of thymosin & beta;4, short S100A9, cystatin A, and dimeric cystatin B. AD patients showed the highest abundance of & alpha;-defensins and short oxidized S100A9. Moreover, different proteoforms of the same protein, as S-cysteinylated and S-glutathionylated cystatin B, showed opposite trends in the two pathological groups. Statherin, cystatins SA and SN classified accurately PD from HC and AD subjects. & alpha;-defensins, histatin 1, oxidized S100A9, and P-B fragments were the best classifying factors between PD and AD patients. Interestingly statherin and thymosin & beta;4 correlated with defective olfactory functions in PD patients. All these outcomes highlighted implications of specific proteoforms involved in the innate-immune response and inflammation regulation at oral and systemic level, suggesting a possible panel of molecular and clinical markers suitable to recognize subjects affected by PD

Sinovite villonodulare-pigmentosa (PVNS) e borsite villonodulare-pigmentosa (PVNB): imaging e review della letteratura

OBIETTIVI DIDATTICI: Rivedere le basi patologiche della “Sinovite Villonodulare Pigmentosa” (PVNS) e della “Borsite Villonodulare Pigmentosa” (PVNB). Descriverne le caratteristiche alla radiografia convenzionale (RX), all’ecografia (US) ed alla risonanza magnetica (RM). INTRODUZIONE: La PVNS è un raro disordine proliferativo della sinovia articolare che si manifesta in forma diffusa o focale; può insorgere anche nelle borse peri-articolari (PVNB). Entrambe le forme interessano principalmente i giovani adulti e si manifestano con sintomi aspecifici che mimano altre patologie, anche di natura traumatica, ritardando spesso la diagnosi corretta. DESCRIZIONE: Il quadro RX può essere normale o rivelare una massa di significato aspecifico nei tessuti molli. L’US può evidenziare versamento articolare, noduli iperecogeni o un ispessimento della sinovia. La RM dimostra l’estensione della patologia (particolarmente nei casi di coinvolgimento bursale) e la caratteristica ipointensità di segnale sia nelle sequenze T1 che T2-pesate. Inoltre, le sequenze gradient-echo mostrano un segno patognomonico di questa patologia che è rappresentato dall’artefatto di “blooming”, causato dalla suscettibilità magnetica dovuto ai depositi di emosiderina intracellulare. CONCLUSIONI: Per la diagnosi e per il corretto trattamento dei pazienti con PVNS e/o PVNB l’imaging, in particolare la RM, ha un ruolo fondamentale nell’identificare la sede e dimostrare l’estensione della patologia. Inoltre, la presenza di depositi di emosiderina nei noduli aumenta la confidenza diagnostica della RM

Pigmented villonodular synovitis and pigmented villonodular bursitis: Imaging findings and review of the literature

Learning Objectives: To review the pathologic basis of pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) and bursitis (PVNB). To describe the imaging appearances of PVNS and PVNB using conventional radiography (CR), ultrasonography (US) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Background: PVNS is a rare proliferative disorder of the synovial membrane that may occur diffusely or focally. PVNB is the same pathology with the difference that the synovial involvement occurs in an extra-articular site, as a bursa. They primarily involve young adults and appear with non-specific symptoms (swelling, pain) which mimic other pathologies, including traumatic injuries, thus often delaying the correct diagnosis. Imaging Findings: CR imaging may appear normal or reveal a non-specific soft-tissue mass; visible calcifications are rare. US imaging may detect joint effusion, complex heterogeneous echogenic masses, and a markedly thickened hypoechoic synovium. MR imaging may demonstrate the disease extension (particularly in case of bursal involvement) to best advantage, and the predominant low signal intensity of the lesions on T2-weighted images is a characteristic sign of the disease. Moreover, the “blooming artifact” seen on gradient-echo images, caused by the magnetic susceptibility artifact from hemosiderin deposition in these lesions, is a nearly pathognomonic sign of this disease. Conclusion: Detection of disease location and extension are important both for diagnosis and to guide treatment. MR is the best diagnostic imaging tool to identify the presence of haemosiderin deposition within the nodules, thus characterizing the lesion. This information is crucial to guide treatment and to achieve complete surgical resection

Vigilance States: Central Neural Pathways, Neurotransmitters And Neurohormone

Bakground and objective: The sleep-wake cycle is characterized by a circadian rhythm involving neurotransmitters and neurohormones that are released from brainstem nuclei and hypothalamus. Aim of this review is to analyze the role played by central neural pathways, neurotrasmitters and neurohormones in the regulation of vigilance states

The mapping competences of the nurse Case/Care Manager in the context of Intensive Care

Since the recent introduction of the Case/Care Manager's professional figure, it is quite difficult to identify properly his/her own particular features, which could be mainly be found revising mainly in American studies. Therefore, the present study intended to identify the Case/Care Manager's skills and professional profile in an Intensive Care Unit experience, taking into consideration the staff's activities, perception and expectations towards the Case/Care Manager. In particular, it has been compared the experience of an Intensive Care Units where the Case/Care Manager's profile is operational to a different Unit where a Case/Care Manager is not yet in force

The Role of Neurohypophyseal Hormones Vasopressin and Oxytocin in Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Although the neurohypophyseal hormones vasopressin and oxytocin are mostly known for their role respectively in antiduresis the former and in labour, lactation and maternal behavior the latter, both might exert widespread influences either on emotion and cognition in healthy subjects, showing some gender-related differences. They interact one each other facilitating shifts between positive socially- oriented and defensive states. In fact, vasopressin amplifies the reactivity to stressors showing also beneficial effects on attention, verbal learning as well as memory, whereas oxytocin reduces the amplitude of the stress response, improves emotion processing, and can play a negative effect on memory and verbal learning in healthy individuals. Several data indicate the possible involvement of this neuropeptides in the pathophysiology of psychiatric conditions involving social interactions, such as autism, as well as in schizophrenia and depression. Aim of this paper is to review the literature dealing with the role played by neurohypophyseal hormones in neuropsychiatric disorders

Neuroendocrine modulation of food intake and eating behavior

In the first section of this review, we examined the neuroanatomical and neurochemical data of hunger and satiety centers, glucose receptors, sensorial influences on eating behavior, and regulation of energy requirements. The second section is devoted to orexigenic and anorexigenic hormones