Reintroductions of the Corsican Red Deer (Cervus elaphus corsicanus): Conservation Projects and Sanitary Risk

Reintroductions are important tools to achieve the long-term conservation of endangered species; however, these projects are dangerous for translocated animals. Reintroduced animals face novel habitats where food availability and secure resting sites are unknown, and in this context, such animals likely engage in long exploratory movements. Furthermore, reintroductions can be dangerous for domestic and wild animals inhabiting the reintroduction site due to the potential risk of catching diseases carried by reintroduced animals. Our study aimed to evaluate the spatial behavior of reintroduced Corsican red deer in central-eastern Sardinia and, on the basis of the obtained results, build a species distribution model to forecast the expansion of reintroduced deer and plan future reintroduction projects. Furthermore, we evaluated the sanitary risk for domestic animals (sheep) linked to Bluetongue virus potentially carried by deer. Our results highlighted the great habitat suitability of central–eastern Sardinia for Corsican red deer. However, deer are healthy carriers of Bluetongue virus, as confirmed by health analyses we performed on captured animals in the source areas. Particular attention in reintroduction planning is needed to avoid any negative impacts on domestic or wild animals of conservation measures

PERINATAL DEPRESSION: A STUDY OF PREVALENCE AND OF RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS

Background: International literature has shown that Postpartum Depression (PPD) has a significant social and relational impact on mothers and their partners, on the interaction between mother and child, as well as on the cognitive and emotional development of the child. The goal of this study is to increase the epidemiological knowledge of PPD and to evaluate both risk and protective factors. Subjects and methods: Our study is based on the administration of three tests, Paykel’s Life Events Scale, EPDS and MMPI-2, at three distinct time point (during the third trimester, 72 hours after delivery, and three months after delivery, respectively) to a sample of women recruited in the Prenatal Medicine Clinic at the Hospital of Perugia. The data collected was statistically analyzed. Results: The prevalence of PPD 72 hours after delivery was 11%, while the prevalence of PPD three months after delivery was 16.7%. Antepartum Depression (APD), measured using EPDS cut-offs scores of 9 and 14, was found to be a statistically significant risk factor for the development of PPD, while desired life-events during pregnancy can represent a protective factor. Conclusions: The prevalence of PPD that we measured, in agreement with that found in the literature, demonstrates that despite the fact that the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-IV refer to PPD only if it develops within 4 weeks after delivery, PPD can also develop after this period. Furthermore, it appears that monitoring APD and encouraging a psycho-socially serene pregnancy are important for prevention of PPD. In the case of APD it was shown that monitoring women with even light depressive symptoms is important, because these women are more likely to then develop PPD

PERINATAL DEPRESSION: A STUDY OF PREVALENCE AND OF RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS

Background: International literature has shown that Postpartum Depression (PPD) has a significant social and relational impact on mothers and their partners, on the interaction between mother and child, as well as on the cognitive and emotional development of the child. The goal of this study is to increase the epidemiological knowledge of PPD and to evaluate both risk and protective factors. Subjects and methods: Our study is based on the administration of three tests, Paykel’s Life Events Scale, EPDS and MMPI-2, at three distinct time point (during the third trimester, 72 hours after delivery, and three months after delivery, respectively) to a sample of women recruited in the Prenatal Medicine Clinic at the Hospital of Perugia. The data collected was statistically analyzed. Results: The prevalence of PPD 72 hours after delivery was 11%, while the prevalence of PPD three months after delivery was 16.7%. Antepartum Depression (APD), measured using EPDS cut-offs scores of 9 and 14, was found to be a statistically significant risk factor for the development of PPD, while desired life-events during pregnancy can represent a protective factor. Conclusions: The prevalence of PPD that we measured, in agreement with that found in the literature, demonstrates that despite the fact that the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-IV refer to PPD only if it develops within 4 weeks after delivery, PPD can also develop after this period. Furthermore, it appears that monitoring APD and encouraging a psycho-socially serene pregnancy are important for prevention of PPD. In the case of APD it was shown that monitoring women with even light depressive symptoms is important, because these women are more likely to then develop PPD

EFFECTS OF MUSIC ON SEIZURE FREQUENCY IN INSTITUTIONALIZED SUBJECTS WITH SEVERE/PROFOUND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY AND DRUG-RESISTANT EPILEPSY

Background: Approximately one-third of patients with epilepsy continue to experience seizures despite adequate therapy with antiepileptic drugs. Drug-resistant epilepsy is even more frequent in subjects with intellectual disability. As a result, several nonpharmacological interventions have been proposed to improve quality of life in patients with intellectual disability and drug-resistant epilepsy. A number of studies have demonstrated that music can be effective at reducing seizures and epileptiform discharges. In particular, Mozart’s sonata for two pianos in D major, K448, has been shown to decrease interictal EEG discharges and recurrence of clinical seizures in patients with intellectual disability and drug-resistant epilepsy as well. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of Mozart\u27s music on seizure frequency in institutionalized epileptic subjects with profound/severe intellectual disability. Subjects and methods: Twelve patients (10 males and 2 females) with a mean age of 21.6 years were randomly assigned to two groups in a cross-over design; they listened to Mozart K448 once a day for six months. Results: A statistically significant difference was observed between the listening period and both baseline and control periods. During the music period, none of the patients worsened in seizure frequency; one patient was seizure-free, five had a greater than 50% reduction in seizure frequency and the remaining showed minimal (N=2) or no difference (N=4). The average seizure reduction compared to the baseline was 20.5%. Our results are discussed in relation to data in the literature considering differences in protocol investigation. Conclusions: Music may be considered a useful approach as add-on therapy in some subjects with profound intellectual disability and drug-resistant epilepsy and can provide a new option for clinicians to consider, but further large sample, multicenter studies are needed to better understand the characteristics of responders and non-responders to this type of non-pharmacological intervention

Delay and inequalities in the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis : the case of two Nordic countries

Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterized by progressive loss of lung function with high mortality within the first 5 years from diagnosis. In 2011-2014, two drugs, pirfenidone and nintedanib, have been approved worldwide for prevention of IPF progression. National IPF-registries have been established in both Finland and Sweden. Our study explored potential differences in the care of IPF in these two countries. Methods: Patients included consecutively in the Finnish and Swedish IPF-registries from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2016 were included in the study. Data on demographics and lung function at the time of inclusion were collected. Access to antifibrotic drugs and data on disease outcomes, mortality and the proportion of patients who underwent lung transplantation, was collected during a 3-year follow up. Results: One-hundred and fifty-two patients from the Finnish and 160 patients from the Swedish IPF-cohorts were included in the study. At inclusion, Finnish patients were significantly older than the Swedish patients (74.6 years vs 72.5 years, p = 0.017). The proportion of non-smokers was significantly higher in the Finnish cohort (41.7% vs 26.9%, p = 0.007). Forced vital capacity (FVC), % of predicted (78.2 vs 71.7 for Finnish and Swedish patients, respectively, p = 0.01) and diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO), % of predicted (53.3 vs 48.2 for Finnish and Swedish patients, respectively, p = 0.002) were significantly higher in the Finnish cohort compared to the Swedish cohort at the time of inclusion. During the 3-year follow up period, 45 (29.6%) Finnish and 111 (69.4%) Swedish patients, respectively, were initiated on treatment with an antifibrotic drug (pirfenidone or nintedanib) (p <0.001). When comparing possible determinants of treatment, patients with higher FVC % were less likely to start antifibrotic drugs (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.93-1.00, p <0.024). To be resident in Sweden was the main determinant for receiving antifibrotic drugs (OR 5.48, 95% CI 2.65-11.33, p <0.0001). No significant difference in number of deaths and lung transplantation during the follow up period was found. Conclusions: This study highlights differences concerning how IPF patients are treated in Finland and Sweden. How these differences will influence the long-term outcome of these patients is unknown.Peer reviewe

Metabolic profile of patients with severe endometriosis: a prospective experimental study

Endometriosis is a common disease affecting women in reproductive age. There are several hypotheses on the pathogenesis of this disease. Often, its lesions and symptoms overlap with those of many other medical and surgical conditions, causing a delay in diagnosis. Metabolomics represents a useful diagnostic tool for the study of metabolic changes during a different physiological or pathological status. We used 1H-NMR to explore metabolic alteration in a cohort of patients with endometriosis in order to contribute to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease and to suggest new useful biomarkers. Thirty-seven patients were recruited for the metabolomic analysis: 22 patients affected by symptomatic endometriosis and 15 not affected by it. Their serum samples were collected and analyzed with 1H-NMR. Multivariate statistical analysis was conducted, followed by univariate and pathway analyses. Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) was performed to determine the presence of any differences between the non-endometriosis and endometriosis samples (R2X = 0.596, R2Y = 0.713, Q2 = 0.635, and p &lt; 0.0001). β-hydroxybutyric acid and glutamine were significantly increased, whereas tryptophan was significantly decreased in the endometriosis patients. ROC curves were built to test the diagnostic power of the metabolites (β-hydroxybutyric acid: AUC = 0.85 CI = 0.71–0.99; glutamine: AUC = 0.83 CI = 0.68–0.98; tryptophan: AUC = 0.75 CI = 0.54–0.95; β-hydroxybutyric acid + glutamine + tryptophan AUC = 0.92 CI = 0.81–1). The metabolomic approach enabled the identification of several metabolic alterations occurring in women with endometriosis. These findings may provide new bases for a better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of the disease and for the discovery of new biomarkers. Trial registration number NCT0233781

Effects of Pregnancy and Breastfeeding on Clinical Outcomes and MRI Measurements of Women with Multiple Sclerosis: An Exploratory Real-World Cohort Study

Pregnancy represents an important event for women with multiple sclerosis (MS) and is often accompanied by post-partum disease reactivation. To date, the influence of this reproductive phase on long-term MS outcomes is still largely unexplored. The objective of the study was characterise a large real-world cohort of women with MS to evaluate the effects of pregnancy and breastfeeding on short- and long-term clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outcomes while exploring the relationships with MRI measurements of brain atrophy

Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) Metabolites Analysis in Endometriosis Patients: A Prospective Observational Translational Study

Background: Endometriosis affects women of reproductive age, and its pathogenesis is still unclear. Typically, it overlaps other similar medical and surgical conditions, determining a delay in early diagnosis. Metabolomics allows studying metabolic changes in different physiological or pathological states to discover new potential biomarkers. We used the gas chromatography–mass spectrometer (GC–MS) to explore metabolic alterations in endometriosis to better understand its pathophysiology and find new biomarkers. Methods: Twenty-two serum samples of patients with symptomatic endometriosis and ten without it were collected and subjected to GC–MS analysis. Multivariate and univariate statistical analyses were performed, followed by pathway analysis. Results: Partial least squares discriminant analysis was performed to determine the differences between the two groups (p = 0.003). Threonic acid, 3-hydroxybutyric acid, and proline increased significantly in endometriosis patients, while alanine and valine decreased. ROC curves were built to test the diagnostic power of metabolites. The pathway analysis identified the synthesis and degradation of ketone bodies and the biosynthesis of phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan as the most altered pathways. Conclusions: The metabolomic approach identifies metabolic alterations in women with endometriosis. These findings may improve our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of disease and the discovery of new biomarkers

Gastritis and gastroesophageal reflux disease are strongly associated with non-allergic nasal disorders

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has been reported to be significantly associated with chronic rhinosinusitis, but the strength of the association is still debated