Oral lichen planus in children: An Italian case series

Oral lichen planus usually occurs in adults; there are no clear data regarding the incidence and the clinical features of oral lichen planus in children. This paper reports clinical findings, treatments, and outcomes of 13 Italian patients with oral lichen planus in childhood diagnosed between 2001 and 2021. The most common finding was keratotic lesions with reticular or papular/plaque-like patterns, confined to the tongue in seven patients. Although oral lichen planus in childhood is rare and the malignant transformation index is unknown, specialists must be aware of its characteristics and oral mucosal lesions must be correctly diagnosed and managed

Lithuania

This report is part of the project The Factbook on the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products(henceforth ITTP)

The association between insight and depressive symptoms in schizophrenia: Undirected and Bayesian network analyses

Background. Greater levels of insight may be linked with depressive symptoms among patients with schizophrenia, however, it would be useful to characterize this association at symptom-level, in order to inform research on interventions. Methods. Data on depressive symptoms (Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia) and insight (G12 item from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale) were obtained from 921 community-dwelling, clinically-stable individuals with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia, recruited in a nationwide multicenter study. Network analysis was used to explore the most relevant connections between insight and depressive symptoms, including potential confounders in the model (neurocognitive and social-cognitive functioning, positive, negative and disorganization symptoms, extrapyramidal symptoms, hostility, internalized stigma, and perceived discrimination). Bayesian network analysis was used to estimate a directed acyclic graph (DAG) while investigating the most likely direction of the putative causal association between insight and depression. Results. After adjusting for confounders, better levels of insight were associated with greater self-depreciation, pathological guilt, morning depression and suicidal ideation. No difference in global network structure was detected for socioeconomic status, service engagement or illness severity. The DAG confirmed the presence of an association between greater insight and self-depreciation, suggesting the more probable causal direction was from insight to depressive symptoms. Conclusions. In schizophrenia, better levels of insight may cause self-depreciation and, possibly, other depressive symptoms. Person-centered and narrative psychotherapeutic approaches may be particularly fit to improve patient insight without dampening self-esteem

Association of Variants in the SPTLC1 Gene With Juvenile Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Importance: Juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare form of ALS characterized by age of symptom onset less than 25 years and a variable presentation.Objective: To identify the genetic variants associated with juvenile ALS.Design, Setting, and Participants: In this multicenter family-based genetic study, trio whole-exome sequencing was performed to identify the disease-associated gene in a case series of unrelated patients diagnosed with juvenile ALS and severe growth retardation. The patients and their family members were enrolled at academic hospitals and a government research facility between March 1, 2016, and March 13, 2020, and were observed until October 1, 2020. Whole-exome sequencing was also performed in a series of patients with juvenile ALS. A total of 66 patients with juvenile ALS and 6258 adult patients with ALS participated in the study. Patients were selected for the study based on their diagnosis, and all eligible participants were enrolled in the study. None of the participants had a family history of neurological disorders, suggesting de novo variants as the underlying genetic mechanism.Main Outcomes and Measures: De novo variants present only in the index case and not in unaffected family members.Results: Trio whole-exome sequencing was performed in 3 patients diagnosed with juvenile ALS and their parents. An additional 63 patients with juvenile ALS and 6258 adult patients with ALS were subsequently screened for variants in the SPTLC1 gene. De novo variants in SPTLC1 (p.Ala20Ser in 2 patients and p.Ser331Tyr in 1 patient) were identified in 3 unrelated patients diagnosed with juvenile ALS and failure to thrive. A fourth variant (p.Leu39del) was identified in a patient with juvenile ALS where parental DNA was unavailable. Variants in this gene have been previously shown to be associated with autosomal-dominant hereditary sensory autonomic neuropathy, type 1A, by disrupting an essential enzyme complex in the sphingolipid synthesis pathway.Conclusions and Relevance: These data broaden the phenotype associated with SPTLC1 and suggest that patients presenting with juvenile ALS should be screened for variants in this gene.</p

Anorexia, Oral Health and Antioxidant Salivary System: A Clinical Study on Adult Female Subjects

The aim of this study was to compare the oral health status and salivary antioxidant system between patients diagnosed with anorexia nervosa (AN) and healthy controls. A total of 25 female AN patients and 25 matched healthy controls were enrolled. Clinical parameters and saliva samples were collected for each patient. Two questionnaires to investigate oral health and hygiene were administered. Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) activity and High Reactive Oxygen Species (hROS) were evaluated. Salivary concentration of SOD was significantly higher in subjects with AN compared with control group (1.010 ± 0.462 vs. 0.579 ± 0.296 U/mL; p = 0.0003). No significant differences between groups were identified for hROS (233.72 ± 88.27 vs. 199.49 ± 74.72; p = 0.15). Data from questionnaires indicated that, although most of the patients recognized the oral hygiene importance in maintaining a good oral health, more than half of them had poor oral hygiene. Altered biochemical composition of saliva in patients with AN could be interpreted as an effective defence mechanism against oxidative stress. Moreover, despite the discrepancy between clinical findings and perception of the oral health in AN population arose, the quality of life of these patients appears not to be significantly affected by their dental condition

Long-term outcome after surgical repair of pelvic organ prolapse with Elevate Prolapse Repair System

Female pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a common condition and the correction of prolapse remains a major challenge for the surgical community. A retrospective study of women with POP undergoing pelvic reconstructive surgery with the Elevate System followed-up for 48 months. A total of 138 women with POP were included in the study. We observed an objective cure rate of 94.9% for the anterior wall after 4 years’ follow-up. The subjective cure rate was 97.1%. Improvement in the urinary symptoms was seen after the surgery: the number of asymptomatic patients increased from 14.5 to 77% after the 4 years of follow-up. We reported no cases of bleeding, haematoma, mesh infection and bowel injury, while we had four cases of bladder injury and one case of sepsis. The mesh extrusion rate was 7.3%, all cases interested the anterior compartment. Postoperative dyspareunia and pelvic pain were rare. In this cohort, the Elevate Prolapse Repair System was associated with excellent long-term results, for both anatomical corrections of prolapse, with a high objective and subjective cure rate and a functional urinary outcome.Impact statement What is already known on this subject? Female pelvic organ prolapse is a common condition and the correction of prolapse remains a major challenge for the surgical community. The optimal treatment of POP has still to be determined. What do the results of this study add? The findings from this study shows that the Elevate Prolapse Repair System had high anatomic results associated with a good durability, low morbidity and excellent subjective outcome. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that reports a follow-up up to 48 months. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? The Elevate Prolapse Repair System was associated with excellent long terms results in terms of safety, durability and tolerability during the 4 years’ follow-up. Despite the fact that the Elevate kit produced by AMS was withdrawn from the market and it is no longer available, we believe that it is helpful to have data about the outcomes of a transvaginal mesh implant

Monitoring protocols for the evaluation of the impact of wild boar ( Sus scrofa ) rooting on plants and animals in forest ecosystems

The management of wild boar (Sus scrofa) is an issue of increasing global conservation concern. Statistically robust monitoring protocols, allowing the detection of biologically relevant changes in biodiversity indices due to wild boar activities, are crucial tools for the management of wild boar populations. The goal of our study was to present a robust procedure targeted towards elaborating monitoring protocols for the evaluation of the impact of wild boar rooting on forest plants and animals. We compared two pairs of macro-areas characterized by contrasting levels of rooting activity. We then evaluated the effect of rooting on several parameters of four forest communities: understorey vascular plants, ground invertebrates, Carabid beetles and small mammals. We found that the evenness of the Carabid community was significantly higher in high-rooting macro-areas. Moreover, the diversity and evenness indices of understorey vascular plants were higher in high-rooting macroareas, while the abundance of the Etruscan shrew (Suncus etruscus) was higher in the low-rooting macro-areas, although these differences were only marginally significant. The results of the remaining tests were all non-significant. However, confidence intervals of measured effect sizes always included biologically relevant effects; therefore, these results should be considered inconclusive. The magnitude of the effect we detected on several biodiversity indices was considerably small (probably due to a certain degree of rooting affecting currently and in the past all the macro-areas), therefore high sampling effort should be required to detect such subtle differences. Researchers and practitioners should carefully consider the complexity of monitoring the impact of wild boar and the choice of the parameters to investigate since our study clearly shows that monitoring some biodiversity indices requires a substantial investment of sampling effort and a well-structured a priori-planning phase. Failing to do so will inevitably lead to a waste of resources and /or wrong management decisions

Prevalence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Latium region, Italy

Abstract Objective Prevalence estimate of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) ranged between 1.1/100,000 and 11.2/100,000 inhabitants with different design of the study (prospective or retrospective) and sample size. The aim of this study is to conduct for the first time an estimate of the ALS prevalence in the Latium region. Materials and methods The study was performed in Latium, a region located in the center of Italy, with a population, as of January 1, 2016, of 5888.472 inhabitants. In this region, a network of 15 clinical centers (of which 4 referral ALS centers are located in Rome) and 10 local health authorities involved in the diagnosis and treatment of ALS patients has been identified. Each patient was classified according to the El Escorial revised criteria. Results The prevalence study in 2016 identified 353 ALS cases (200 males). By considering population aged >=20 years, the total crude prevalence rate resulted 7.33 (CI95% 6.59–8.14) × 100,000 and 8.75 and 6.05 in males and females, respectively. Age‐specific prevalence rates did not differ among males and females in the population aged less than 49 years. The difference emerged in population aged > 50 years. This type of diagnosis was recorded for 343 patients (11 missing). 68% of these patients have a definite diagnosis, 14% likely, 11% possible, and 12% defined as suspect. Conclusions The estimate of prevalence rates observed in this study is probably in line with the values reported in the literature for prospective prevalence studies