An open-label, one-arm, dose-escalation study to evaluate safety and tolerability of extremely low frequency magnetic fields in acute ischemic stroke

Extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF) could be an alternative neuroprotective approach for ischemic stroke because preclinical studies have demonstrated their effects on the mechanisms underlying ischemic damage. The purpose of this open-label, one arm, dose-escalation, exploratory study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of ELF-MF in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Within 48 hours from the stroke onset, patients started ELF-MF treatment, daily for 5 consecutive days. Clinical follow-up lasted 12 months. Brain MRI was performed before and 1 month after the treatment. The distribution of ELF-MF in the ischemic lesion was estimated by dosimetry. Six patients were stimulated, three for 45 min/day and three for 120 min/day. None of them reported adverse events. Clinical conditions improved in all the patients. Lesion size was reduced in one patient stimulated for 45 minutes and in all the patients stimulated for 120 minutes. Magnetic field intensity within the ischemic lesion was above 1 mT, the minimum value able to trigger a biological effect in preclinical studies. Our pilot study demonstrates that ELF-MF are safe and tolerable in acute stroke patients. A prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study will clarify whether ELF-MFs could represent a potential therapeutic approach

Reduced sleep duration affects body composition, dietary intake and quality of life in obese subjects.

Purpose Sleep duration has emerged as a crucial factor affecting body weight and feeding behaviour. The aim of our study was to explore the relationship among sleep duration, body composition, dietary intake, and quality of life (QoL) in obese subjects. Methods Body composition was assessed by DXA. ‘‘Sensewear Armband’’ was used to evaluate sleep duration. SF-36 questionnaire was used to evaluate quality of life (QoL). A 3-day dietary record was administered. Subjects were divided into 2 groups: sleep duration[and B300 min/day. Results 137 subjects (105 women and 32 men), age: 49.8 ± 12.4 years, BMI: 38.6 ± 6.7 kg/m2, were enrolled. Sleep duration was B300 min in 30.6 % of subjects. Absolute and relative fat mass (FM) (40.5 ± 9 vs. 36.5 ± 9.1 kg; 40.2 ± 4.7 vs. 36.9 ± 5.6 %), and truncal fat mass (19.2 ± 6.1 vs. 16.6 ± 5 kg; 38.6 ± 5.3 vs. 35.2 ± 5.5 %) were higher in subjects sleeping B300 min when compared to their counterparts (all p.05), whereas just a tendency towards a higher BMI was observed (p = 0.077). Even though energy intake was not different between groups, subjects sleeping B300 min reported a higher carbohydrate consumption per day (51.8 ± 5.1 vs. 48.4 ± 9.2 %, p = 0.038). SF-36 total score was lower in subjects sleeping B300 min (34.2 ± 17.8 vs. 41.4 ± 12.9, p = 0.025). Sleep duration was negatively associated with FM (r = -0.25, p = 0.01) and SF-36 total score (r = -0.31, p.001). The inverse association between sleep duration and SF-36 total score was confirmed by the regression analysis after adjustment for BMI and fat mass (R = 0.43, R2 = 0.19, p = 0.012). Conclusion Reduced sleep duration negatively influences body composition, macronutrient intake, and QoL in obese subjects

Patient semi-specific computational modeling of electromagnetic stimulation applied to neuroprotective treatments in acute ischemic stroke

Neuroprotective effects of pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) have been demonstrated both in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, preliminary clinical studies have been conducted and suggested PEMFs as a possible alternative therapy to treat acute ischemic stroke. In this work, we show that it’s possible to build-up a patient semi-specific head model, where the 3D reconstruction of the ischemic lesion of the patient under treatment is inserted in the head of the human body model “Duke” (v.1.0, Zurich MedTech AG). The semi-specific model will be used in the randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study currently ongoing. Three patients were modelled and simulated, and results showed that each ischemic lesion experiences a magnetic flux density field comparable to the one for which biological effects have been attested. Such a kind of dosimetric analysis reveals a reliable tool to assess the correlation between levels of exposure and the beneficial effect. Thus, once the on-going double blind study is complete it will prove if PEMFs treatment triggers a clinical effect, and we will then be able to characterize a dose-response curve with the methodology arranged in this study

An open-label, one-arm, dose-escalation study to evaluate safety and tolerability of extremely low frequency magnetic fields in acute ischemic stroke

Extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF) could be an alternative neuroprotective approach for ischemic stroke because preclinical studies have demonstrated their effects on the mechanisms underlying ischemic damage. The purpose of this open-label, one arm, dose-escalation, exploratory study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of ELF-MF in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Within 48 hours from the stroke onset, patients started ELF-MF treatment, daily for 5 consecutive days. Clinical follow-up lasted 12 months. Brain MRI was performed before and 1 month after the treatment. The distribution of ELF-MF in the ischemic lesion was estimated by dosimetry. Six patients were stimulated, three for 45 min/day and three for 120 min/day. None of them reported adverse events. Clinical conditions improved in all the patients. Lesion size was reduced in one patient stimulated for 45 minutes and in all the patients stimulated for 120 minutes. Magnetic field intensity within the ischemic lesion was above 1 mT, the minimum value able to trigger a biological effect in preclinical studies. Our pilot study demonstrates that ELF-MF are safe and tolerable in acute stroke patients. A prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study will clarify whether ELF-MFs could represent a potential therapeutic approach

GEN-O-MA project: an Italian network studying clinical course and pathogenic pathways of moyamoya disease—study protocol and preliminary results

Background: GENetics of mOyaMoyA (GEN-O-MA) project is a multicenter observational study implemented in Italy aimed at creating a network of centers involved in moyamoya angiopathy (MA) care and research and at collecting a large series and bio-repository of MA patients, finally aimed at describing the disease phenotype and clinical course as well as at identifying biological or cellular markers for disease progression. The present paper resumes the most important study methodological issues and preliminary results. Methods: Nineteen centers are participating to the study. Patients with both bilateral and unilateral radiologically defined MA are included in the study. For each patient, detailed demographic and clinical as well as neuroimaging data are being collected. When available, biological samples (blood, DNA, CSF, middle cerebral artery samples) are being also collected for biological and cellular studies. Results: Ninety-eight patients (age of onset mean ± SD 35.5 ± 19.6 years; 68.4% females) have been collected so far. 65.3% of patients presented ischemic (50%) and haemorrhagic (15.3%) stroke. A higher female predominance concomitantly with a similar age of onset and clinical features to what was reported in previous studies on Western patients has been confirmed. Conclusion: An accurate and detailed clinical and neuroimaging classification represents the best strategy to provide the characterization of the disease phenotype and clinical course. The collection of a large number of biological samples will permit the identification of biological markers and genetic factors associated with the disease susceptibility in Italy

Contributi alla flora vascolare di Toscana. VII (357-439)

New localities and/or confirmations concerning 83 specific and subspecific plant taxa of Tuscan vascular flora, belonging to 71 genera and 33 families are presented: Carpobrotus (Aizoaceae), Alternanthera (Amaranthaceae), Leucojum (Amaryllidaceae), Anacyclus, Andryala, Carduus, Centaurea, Cichorium, Erigeron, Helichrysum, Helminthotheca, Hieracium, Limbarda, Pilosella, Scolymus, Sonchus, Tagetes, Urospermum, Xanthium (Asteraceae), Mahonia (Berberidaceae), Myosotis (Boraginaceae), Biscutella, Ionopsidium, Raphanus, Rapistrum (Brassicaceae), Buxus (Buxaceae), Vaccaria (Caryophyllaceae), Cistus (Cistaceae), Calystegia, Cuscuta (Convolvulaceae), Cymodocea (Cymodoceaceae), Cyperus (Cyperaceae), Amorpha, Emerus, Lathyrus, Lotus, Ononis, Trifolium, Vicia (Fabaceae), Quercus (Fagaceae), Geranium (Geraniaceae), Myriophyllum (Haloragaceae), Malva (Malvaceae), Epipogium, Himantoglossum (Orchidaceae), Orobanche (Orobanchaceae), Osyris (Santalaceae), Oxalis (Oxalidaceae), Pinus (Pinaceae), Anisantha, Avellinia, Avena, Corynephorus, Crypsis, Cutandia, Elytrigia, Lolium, Panicum, Polypogon, Sporobolus (Poaceae), Rumex (Polygonaceae), Lysimachia (Primulaceae), Eranthis, Ranunculus (Ranunculaceae), Rubus (Rosaceae), Crucianella, Galium (Rubiaceae), Verbascum (Scrophulariaceae), Solanum (Solanaceae), Tamarix (Tamaricaceae), Viola (Violaceae). In the end, the conservation status of the units and eventual protection of the cited biotopes are discussed

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged jet production in root s(NN)=2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions

We present measurements of the azimuthal dependence of charged jet production in central and semi-central root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions with respect to the second harmonic event plane, quantified as nu(ch)(2) (jet). Jet finding is performed employing the anti-k(T) algorithm with a resolution parameter R = 0.2 using charged tracks from the ALICE tracking system. The contribution of the azimuthal anisotropy of the underlying event is taken into account event-by-event. The remaining (statistical) region-to-region fluctuations are removed on an ensemble basis by unfolding the jet spectra for different event plane orientations independently. Significant non-zero nu(ch)(2) (jet) is observed in semi-central collisions (30-50% centrality) for 20 <p(T)(ch) (jet) <90 GeV/c. The azimuthal dependence of the charged jet production is similar to the dependence observed for jets comprising both charged and neutral fragments, and compatible with measurements of the nu(2) of single charged particles at high p(T). Good agreement between the data and predictions from JEWEL, an event generator simulating parton shower evolution in the presence of a dense QCD medium, is found in semi-central collisions. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe

Forward-central two-particle correlations in p-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=5.02 TeV

Two-particle angular correlations between trigger particles in the forward pseudorapidity range (2.5 2GeV/c. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B. V.Peer reviewe

Event-shape engineering for inclusive spectra and elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV

Peer reviewe