STUDIO DEGLI ADDOTTI CATECOLAMMINE-PROTEINE IN SOSTANZA NERA E NEL PUTAMEN UMANI

Parkinson\u2019s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that results primarily from the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and locus coeruleus. Neurons of both areas contain a melanic pigment called neuromelanin. This pigment accumulates linearly during aging and originates from an excess of free cytosolic dopamine. Dopamine, like other catecholamines, can easily oxidize to its corresponding quinone when free in the cytosol. Dopamine-quinone is very reactive and can either polymerize to form the neuromelanin core, or react with nucleophilic species like free cysteine, glutathione, or cysteine residues of proteins. Since cysteine residues are often localized in the active site of the enzyme, the adduct between dopamine-quinone and cysteine may alter the protein function and thus become a potential neurotoxic factor for the cellular life. In order to verify if dopamine-protein adducts are present in human cerebral tissue, the protein fractions from human substantia nigra and putamen were extracted and analysed. The extracted proteins were incubated with a amino-phenyl boronate resin that selectively binds the cis-diol group of dopamine, a reaction that is reversible at acidic pH. By using this system, dopaminated proteins can be isolated from the protein fraction. The elutes from the resin were hydrolysed and analysed by HPLC for the presence of cysteine-dopamine adducts. For both brain areas 3 different subjects of ages ranging from 52 to 89 years old were analyzed. In neither brain area the presence of cysteinyl-dopamine has been observed. Possible explanations for these results are: 1) excess of dopamine in human brain tissue is stored in neuromelanin and is therefore not able to react with proteins; 2) dopamine reacts with proteins but the adducts are either removed by the ubiquitin-proteasome system or included in the neuromelanin structure, thereby forming the peptidic component of the pigment

Editoriale / Editorial

Nelle Alpi centrali e orientali la cultura architettonica ha giocato in anni recenti un ruolo fondamentale nello sviluppo locale e regionale, diventando un vettore determinante per il rafforzamento culturale e socio-economico dei territori. Una cultura portatrice di istanze di sostenibilità e di un nuovo rapporto con l’ambiente, tassello di filiere produttive locali, luogo di sperimentazione tecnica e linguistica, ed infine strumento per le pratiche di risignificazione del patrimonio costruito, nonché elemento cardine nei processi di innovazione sociale. Il numero, nel presentare una rassegna di architetture e di progettisti che hanno lavorato in questi luoghi, illustra altrettante idee di architettura, modi di esplorare i luoghi, di studiare le condizioni del passato, di interpretare il cambiamento e le ragioni della contemporaneità. In the central and eastern Alps, architectural culture has been playing a key role in local and regional development, as it has become a determining factor in the strengthening of the cultural and socio-economic context of these territories. This culture bears demands for sustainability and has contributed to building a new relationship with the environment. It is one of the pieces that make up the local production chains, a place for technical and linguistic experimentation, a tool for the resignification of the built legacy, as well as a key player in processes of social innovation. By presenting a selection of projects and architects that are connected to these territories, this issue illustrates several ideas of architecture and ways of exploring places, studying the past, and understanding change and the reasons behind contemporaneity

Risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalization, and death for COVID-19 in people with Parkinson disease or parkinsonism over a 15-month period: A cohort study

Background and purpose: The patterns of long-term risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalization for COVID-19, and related death are uncertain in people with Parkinson disease (PD) or parkinsonism (PS). The aim of the study was to quantify these risks compared to a control population cohort, during the period March 2020–May 2021, in Bologna, Northern Italy. Methods: ParkLink Bologna cohort (759 PD, 192 PS) and controls (9226) anonymously matched (ratio = 1:10) for sex, age, district, and comorbidity were included. Data were analysed in the whole period and in the two different pandemic waves (March–May 2020 and October 2020–May 2021). Results: Adjusted hazard ratio of SARS-CoV-2 infection was 1.3 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.04–1.7) in PD and 1.9 (95% CI = 1.3–2.8) in PS compared to the controls. The trend was detected in both the pandemic waves. Adjusted hazard ratio of hospitalization for COVID-19 was 1.1 (95% CI = 0.8–1.7) in PD and 1.8 (95% CI = 0.97–3.1) in PS. A higher risk of hospital admission was detected in PS only in the first wave. The 30-day mortality risk after hospitalization was higher (p = 0.048) in PS (58%) than in PD (19%) and controls (26%). Conclusions: Compared with controls, after adjustment for key covariates, people with PD and PS showed a higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection throughout the first 15 months of the pandemic. COVID-19 hospitalization risk was increased only in people with PS and only during the first wave. This group of patients was burdened by a very high risk of death after infection and hospitalization