The effects of oral supplements with sambucus nigra, Zinc, Tyndallized Lactobacillus acidophilus (H122), Arabinogalactans, Vitamin D, vitamin E and Vitamin C in otitis media with effusion in children: a randomized controlled trial

– OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the ability of oral supplements with immune-stimulating molecules (Sambucus nigra, Zinc, Tyndallized Lactobacillus acidophilus (H122), Arabinogalactans, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin C) to reduce the inflammation of the upper airway tract and improve the outcome of otitis media with effusion (OME) in children. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Randomized controlled trial. One-hundred ninety-eight children (CI 95%: 12-96 months) were divided into four groups. Group 1 (48 subjects) received 10 ml of oral supplements (OS) with immune-stimulating molecules for three months (20 days consecutively, then 10 days of suspension – the therapeutic scheme was repeated three times); Group 2 (54 children) underwent treatment with 10 ml of OS for 90 consecutive days; Group 3 (48 subjects) received 15 ml of OS for 45 consecutive days; a control group (48 children) underwent the standard treatment for rhinitis and OME. Outcome measures included otoscopy, tympanometry, fibroendoscopy, and the pure tone audiometry (PTA) at T0 (before treatment), T1 (45 days after treatment), and T2 (90 days after treatment). RESULTS: All children treated with OS showed a reduction of Upper Airway Infection (UAI) episodes and OME compared to the control group independent of the administration method and posology. The three groups treated with OS showed statistically significant differences between T0 and T2 for otoscopy, tympanometry, fibroendoscopy, and PTA. In Group 2, the otoscopy and the tympanometry scores improved at T1. Group 2 and 3 had better PTA results than Group 1. CONCLUSIONS: OS with immune-stimulating molecules should be considered as a supporting therapy in children affected by recurrent episodes of UAI associated with OME due to their capacity to improve the immune response and reduce the inflammatory phenomena. OS can improve the fibroendoscopic findings by restoring middle ear ventilation, in addition to their ability to reduce inflammation in the middle ear

A night of sleep deprivation alters brain connectivity and affects specific executive functions

Sleep is a fundamental physiological process necessary for efficient cognitive functioning especially in relation to memory consolidation and executive functions, such as attentional and switching abilities. The lack of sleep strongly alters the connectivity of some resting-state networks, such as the default mode network and attentional network. In this study, by means of magnetoencephalography (MEG) and specifc cognitive tasks, we investigated how brain topology and cognitive functioning are affected by 24 h of sleep deprivation (SD). Thirty-two young men underwent resting-state MEG recording and evaluated in letter cancellation task (LCT) and task switching (TS) before and after SD. Results showed a worsening in the accuracy and speed of execution in the LCT and a reduction of reaction times in the TS, evidencing thus a worsening of attentional but not of switching abilities. Moreover, we observed that 24 h of SD induced large-scale rearrangements in the functional network. These findings evidence that 24 h of SD is able to alter brain connectivity and selectively affects cognitive domains which are under the control of different brain network

Cell based therapeutic approach in vascular surgery: application and review

Multipotent stem cells - such as mesenchymal stem/stromal cells and stem cells derived from different sources like vascular wall are intensely studied to try to rapidly translate their discovered features from bench to bedside. Vascular wall resident stem cells recruitment, differentiation, survival, proliferation, growth factor production, and signaling pathways transduced were analyzed. We studied biological properties of vascular resident stem cells and explored the relationship from several factors as Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs) and regulations of biological, translational and clinical features of these cells. In this review we described a translational and clinical approach to Adult Vascular Wall Resident Multipotent Vascular Stem Cells (VW-SCs) and reported their involvement in alternative clinical approach as cells based therapy in vascular disease like arterial aneurysms or peripheral arterial obstructive disease

CHEWING GUM SIDE-PREFERENCE TEST CORRELATES WITH ASYMMETRY IN MASSETER MUSCLES VOLUMES

Abstract - Several studies demonstrated the involvement of GABA and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in trigeminal pain transmission [1, 2, 3, 4]; anyway, there are still poorly understood mechanisms modulating pain, resulting, for instance, in hypoalgesia in hypertensive patients [4]. One possibility is that the activity of afferent neurons during mastication modulates ROS production in second-order sensory neurons [5]. An ongoing research project is aimed to reveal such mechanisms in humans with fMRI; here the preliminary results of the methodological approach to show an asymmetrical mastication will be reported, demonstrating that the chewing gum side-preference test correlates with anatomical features

Hemophilia, how will end the story? [Emofilia, come si concluderà la storia?]

Hemophilia A (HA) and B (HB) are the most frequent inherited bleeding disorders caused by defects in the F8C and F9 genes that encode coagulation factor VIII and factor IX, respectively. Both HA and HB are X-linked recessive diseases and have an incidence of 1:5000 and 1:30,000 males, respectively. The diagnosis is based on normal prothrombin time, altered activated partial thromboplastin time and reduced activity of factor VIII or factor IX in plasma. Furthermore, laboratory contributes to identify the inhibitor (an immunoglobulin against the factor that some hemophilic patients develop during therapy) and to reveal acquired hemophilia. Carrier females of HA and HB are tipically asymptomatic and can be identified only by molecular analysis; their evaluation is important, as one third of cases of hemophilia is due to novel mutations and in these cases the mother (and consanguineous females) of the proband have no risk to be carrier. Both diseases are due to a myriad of different mutations (mostly private), so that the molecular diagnosis is based on scanning techniques or gene sequencing. Given the number of hemophilic patients that experience severe perinatal complications, high-risk couples usually require prenatal diagnosis. We revise here our experience on 50 prenatal diagnoses of hemophilia. The clinical heterogeneity of hemophilic patients prompted many groups to study prothrombotic gene variants in these subjects to investigate whether such variants modify the clinical expression of disease. Finally, therapy (using recombinant factors) and, in a near future, gene therapy will change the natural history of hemophilic patients

Alcohol increases spontaneous BOLD signal fluctuations in the visual network.

Brain activity during resting wakefulness is characterized by slow (<0.1Hz) fluctuations of blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals that are topographically organized in discrete functional connectivity networks (resting-state networks, RSNs). The present study aimed at revealing possible network-specific alcohol-induced changes in resting-state fMRI (RS-fMRI) signals. RS-fMRI was carried out on eight healthy subjects in four consecutive 6-min sessions, one before and three after a 0.7 g/kg dose of ethyl alcohol. Control experiments were carried out in different days without alcohol administration. Independent component analysis (ICA) was performed on all experimental and control scans to extract individual and group-level RSN maps in a dynamic network analysis. Alcohol administration significantly increased the overall strength of the visual network ICA component, reaching the peak at 90 min. Within the visual network, the alcohol-induced increase was more pronounced in the primary regions of the occipital cortex and less pronounced in the secondary regions of the occipito-temporal cortex. Other major RSN components, such as the default-mode, the fronto-parietal, the sensori-motor, the self-referential and the auditory components, did not exhibit alcohol-induced changes during the same time window. Alcohol-induced effects on the resting-state functional connectivity of the visual network observed in the present study demonstrate that the visual system is a selective and primary target of acute alcohol administration. The strong enhancement of spontaneous BOLD fluctuations in the primary visual cortex in an acute alcoholic state may impair the normal activation response to visual stimuli and affect visual perception

Rhythm-specific modulation of the sensorimotor network in drug-naive patients with Parkinson's disease by levodopa.

Brain activity during rest is characterized by slow (0.01-0.1 Hz) fluctuations of blood oxygenation level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging signals. These fluctuations are organized as functional connectivity networks called resting-state networks, anatomically corresponding to specific neuronal circuits. As Parkinson's disease is mainly characterized by a dysfunction of the sensorimotor pathways, which can be influenced by levodopa administration, the present study investigated the functional connectivity changes within the sensorimotor resting-state network in drug-naïve patients with Parkinson's disease after acute levodopa administration. Using a double-blind placebo-controlled design, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was carried out in 20 drug-naïve patients with Parkinson's disease, immediately before and 60 min after, oral administration of either levodopa or placebo. Control resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were recorded in 18 age-and sex-matched healthy volunteers. Independent component analysis was performed to extract resting-state network maps and associated time-course spectral features. At the anatomical level, levodopa enhanced the sensorimotor network functional connectivity in the supplementary motor area, a region where drug-naïve patients with Parkinson's disease exhibited reduced signal fluctuations compared with untreated patients. At the spectral frequency level, levodopa stimulated these fluctuations in a selective frequency band of the sensorimotor network. The reported effects induced by levodopa on sensorimotor network topological and spectral features confirm that the sensorimotor system is a target of acute levodopa administration in drug-naïve patients with Parkinson's disease. Moreover, while the regional changes in supplementary motor area reflect the functional improvement in motor function, the rhythm-specific modulation induced by the dopamine precursor discloses a novel aspect of pharmacological stimulation in Parkinson's disease, adding further insight to the comprehension of levodopa action

Rhythm-specific modulation of the sensorimotor network in drug-naive patients with Parkinson's disease by levodopa.

Brain activity during rest is characterized by slow (0.01–0.1 Hz) fluctuations of blood oxygenation level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging signals. These fluctuations are organized as functional connectivity networks called resting-state networks, anatomically corresponding to specific neuronal circuits. As Parkinson’s disease is mainly characterized by a dysfunction of the sensorimotor pathways, which can be influenced by levodopa administration, the present study investigated the functional connectivity changes within the sensorimotor resting-state network in drug-naı¨ve patients with Parkinson’s disease after acute levodopa administration. Using a double-blind placebo-controlled design, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was carried out in 20 drug-naı¨ve patients with Parkinson’s disease, immediately before and 60 min after, oral administration of either levodopa or placebo. Control resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were recorded in 18 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers. Independent component analysis was performed to extract resting-state network maps and associated time-course spectral features. At the anatomical level, levodopa enhanced the sensorimotor network functional connectivity in the supplementary motor area, a region where drug-naı¨ve patients with Parkinson’s disease exhibited reduced signal fluctuations compared with untreated patients. At the spectral frequency level, levodopa stimulated these fluctuations in a selective frequency band of the sensorimotor network. The reported effects induced by levodopa on sensorimotor network topological and spectral features confirm that the sensorimotor system is a target of acute levodopa administration in drug-naı¨ve patients with Parkinson’s disease. Moreover, while the regional changes in supplementary motor area reflect the functional improvement in motor function, the rhythm-specific modulation induced by the dopamine precursor discloses a novel aspect of pharmacological stimulation in Parkinson’s disease, adding further insight to the comprehension of levodopa actio