Shared multisensory experience affects Others' boundary: The enfacement illusion in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia has been described as a psychiatric condition characterized by deficits in one's own and others' face recognition, as well as by a disturbed sense of body-ownership. To date, no study has integrated these two lines of research with the aim of investigating Enfacement Illusion (EI) proneness in schizophrenia. To accomplish this goal, the classic EI protocol was adapted to test the potential plasticity of both Self-Other and Other-Other boundaries. Results showed that EI induced the expected malleability of Self-Other boundary among both controls and patients. Interestingly, for the first time, the present study demonstrates that also the Other-Other boundary was influenced by EI. Furthermore, comparing the two groups, the malleability of the Other-Other boundary showed an opposite modulation. These results suggest that, instead of greater Self-Other boundary plasticity, a qualitative difference can be detected between schizophrenia patients and controls in the malleability of the Other-Other boundary. The present study points out a totally new aspect about body-illusions and schizophrenia disorder, demonstrating that EI is not only confined to self-sphere but it also affects the way we discriminate others, representing a potential crucial aspect in the social domain

Autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for treatment of multiple sclerosis

Autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) is a multistep procedure that enables destruction of the immune system and its reconstitution from haematopoietic stem cells. Originally developed for the treatment of haematological malignancies, the procedure has been adapted for the treatment of severe immune-mediated disorders. Results from ~20 years of research make a compelling case for selective use of AHSCT in patients with highly active multiple sclerosis (MS), and for controlled trials. Immunological studies support the notion that AHSCT causes qualitative immune resetting, and have provided insight into the mechanisms that might underlie the powerful treatment effects that last well beyond recovery of immune cell numbers. Indeed, studies have demonstrated that AHSCT can entirely suppress MS disease activity for 4–5 years in 70–80% of patients, a rate that is higher than those achieved with any other therapies for MS. Treatment-related mortality, which was 3.6% in studies before 2005, has decreased to 0.3% in studies since 2005. Current evidence indicates that the patients who are most likely to benefit from and tolerate AHSCT are young, ambulatory and have inflammatory MS activity. Clinical trials are required to rigorously test the efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness of AHSCT against highly active MS drugs

Conversation analysis, psychopathology and subjective experience in patients with schizophrenia

INTRODUCTION: Patients with schizophrenia show severe difficulties in interpersonal communication, including impairments in conversation skills, like the turn-taking. To our knowledge, very few studies to date have taken into account conversation analysis in order to investigate turn-taking in schizophrenia patients. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the conversational patterns in schizophrenia patients; to assess possible associations between dialogic features, abnormal subjective experiences and symptom dimensions. METHODS: Thirty-six patients with Schizophrenia underwent an interview, subsequently analyzed with an innovative semi-automatic analysis. Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was adopted for the investigation of psychopathology and Examination of Anomalous Self Experience (EASE) for Self-Disorders. RESULTS: Dialogic exchanges are graphically represented in Figure 1. An inverse correlation was found between participant speaking time and PANSS negative symptoms score (r = -0.44, p value < 0.05; Figure 2), whereas no associations were found between conversational variables and PANSS positive or disorganization dimensions. Finally, a positive correlation was found between the EASE item “spazialization of thought” and average pause duration (r = 0.42, p value < 0.05). [Figure: see text] [Figure: see text] CONCLUSIONS: The finding of a relationship between negative symptoms and conversational patterns suggest that conversational features in schizophrenia are expression of the “core” negative dimension of the disorder. The association with the phenomenon of thought spatialization seems to suggest that the disturbances of the stream of consciousness impact on natural dialogic interactions. Ultimately, conversation analysis seems a promising tool to study dialogic exchanges of patients with schizophrenia. DISCLOSURE: No significant relationships

Posture, gait and self-disorders: An empirical study in individuals with schizophrenia

Aim: In schizophrenia, subjectively perceived disruptions of the sense of the Self (also referred to as “self-disorders”) seem to be intimately associated with a perturbation of the implicit awareness of one's own body. Indeed, an early impairment of the motor system, including posture and gait, is now considered a marker of schizophrenia neurodevelopmental substrate and appears more pronounced in early-onset schizophrenia. Therefore, the present study was aimed at: (1) investigating a possible relationship between self-disorders, symptom dimensions and postural and gait profile in schizophrenia; (2) identifying a specific motor profile in early-onset conditions. Methods: A total of 43 schizophrenia outpatients and 38 healthy controls underwent an exhaustive investigation of posture and gait pattern. The positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS), the examination of anomalous self experience scale (EASE) and the abnormal involuntary movement scale (AIMS) were administered to the schizophrenia group. Subsequently, schizophrenia patients were divided into early and adult-onset subgroups and compared with respect to their motor profile. Results: We found an association between specific postural patterns (impaired sway area), a general disruption of the gait cycle and subjective bodily experiences (concerning the loss of bodily integrity, cohesion and demarcation). Only motor parameters (increased sway area and gait cadence reduction) differentiated between early and adult-onset patients. Conclusion: The results of the present study hint at a link between motor impairment and self-disturbances in schizophrenia and candidate a specific motor profile as a possible marker of early-onset forms

CONSERVATIVE MANAGEMENT OF CHYLOUS ASCITES AFTER ONCOLOGICAL SURGERY FOR PERIPHERAL NEUROBLASTIC TUMORS IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS

Chylous ascites may complicate the postoperative course of abdominal surgery mainly due to the iatrogenic disruption of the lymphatic channels during extensive retroperitoneal dissection. Sparse data are available regarding treatment; however, in many cases a recommended first-line treatment approach is by way of enteral feeding, consisting of a formula high in medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) together with a complete total parenteral nutrition teamed with somatostatin (or an equivalent). Nonetheless, the ligation of chylous fistulae, together with the application of Fibrin glue, as well as the creation of peritoneal-venous shunts have also been documented. The aims of this study are to document incidence of postoperative chylous ascites following resection of abdominal peripheral neuroblastic tumors, evaluate efficacy of the management of chylous ascites, and investigate the main risk factors. A survey was carried out over a span of six years, from March 2010 to March 2016 at Giannina Gaslini Children's Hospital involving seventy-seven children with resections of peripheral neuroblastic tumors. Incidence rate of postoperative chylous ascites following a normal diet was 9% (n=7). Treatment using total parenteral nutrition with octreotide resulted in a complete recovery from chylous ascites within a 20 day period without recurrence. Length of operative time, nephrectomy, and the extension of lymphadenectomy were all significantly associated with a higher incidence of postoperative chylous ascites (p&lt;0.05) which also lengthened hospital stay (p&lt;0.05) and possibly delayed beginning adjuvant chemotherapy

Molecular characterization of three novel splicing mutations causing factor V deficiency and analysis of the F5 gene splicing pattern

BACKGROUND: Factor V deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive hemorrhagic disorder, associated with bleeding manifestations of variable severity. In the present study, we investigated the molecular basis of factor V deficiency in three patients, and performed a comprehensive analysis of the factor V gene (F5) splicing pattern. DESIGN AND METHODS: Mutational screening was performed by DNA sequencing. Wild-type and mutant F5 mRNA were expressed by transient transfection in COS-1 cells, followed by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. Real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was used to evaluate degradation of mRNA carrying premature termination codons. RESULTS: Mutational screening identified three hitherto unknown splicing mutations (IVS8+6T>C, IVS21+1G>A, and IVS24+1_+4delGTAG). Production of mutant transcripts in COS-1 cells demonstrated that both IVS21+1G>A and IVS24+1_+4delGTAG cause the activation of cryptic donor splice sites, whereas IVS8+6T>C causes exon-8 skipping (F5-Delta 8-mRNA). Interestingly, F5-Delta 8-mRNA was also detected in wild-type transfected samples, human liver, platelets, and HepG2 cells, demonstrating that F5 exon-8 skipping takes place physiologically. Since F5-Delta 8-mRNA bears a premature termination codons, we investigated whether this transcript is subjected to nonsense-mediated mRNA decay degradation. The results confirmed the involvement of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay in the degradation of F5 PTC(+) mRNA. Moreover, a comprehensive analysis of the F5 splicing pattern led to the identification of two in-frame splicing variants resulting from skipping of exons 3 and 5-6. CONCLUSIONS: The functional consequences of three splicing mutations leading to FV deficiency were elucidated. Furthermore, we report the identification of three alternatively spliced F5 transcripts