Ricerc@Sapienza

Introduction: Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is a REM sleep parasomnia characterized by dream enacting behaviors allowed by the loss of physiological atonia during REM sleep. This disorder is recognized as a prodromal stage of neurodegenerative disease, in particular Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB). Therefore, a timely identification of biomarkers able to predict an early conversion into neurodegeneration is of utmost importance.

Introduction: Alpha-synuclein (α-syn) aggregation is the pathological hallmark of Parkinson's Disease (PD). In this study, we measured α-syn total (α-syn total ), oligomeric α-syn (α-syn olig ) and α-syn olig /α-syn total ratio in the saliva of patients affected by PD and in age and sex-matched healthy subjects. We also compared salivary α-syn total measured in PD with those detected in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), in order to assess whether salivary α-syn can be used as a biomarker for PD and for the differential diagnosis between PD and PSP.

Treatments for gynecological cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. However, overall survival is not improved, and novel approaches are needed. Immunotherapy has been proven efficacious in various types of cancers and multiple approaches have been recently developed. Since numerous gynecological cancers are associated to human papilloma virus (HPV) infections, therapeutic vaccines, targeting HPV epitopes, have been developed.

Osteosarcoma is the most common malignant bone tumor in children and young adults.
The identification of proteins which exhibit different subcellular localization in low- versus
high-risk osteosarcoma can be instrumental to obtain prognostic information and to
develop innovative therapeutic strategies. Beside the well-characterized membrane and
cytoplasmic localization of Src protein, this study evaluated the prognostic relevance of its
so-far unknown nuclear compartmentalization. We analyzed the subcellular distribution

The most common subtype of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is clear cell RCC (ccRCC).
It accounts for 70-80% of all renal malignancies representing the third most common
urological cancer after prostate and bladder cancer. The identification of non-invasive
biomarkers for the diagnosis and responsiveness to therapy of ccRCC may represent
a relevant step-forward in ccRCC management. The aim of this study is to evaluate
whether specific miRNAs deregulated in ccRCC tissues present altered levels also

Neurodegenerative diseases (ND) are among the leading causes of disability and mortality. Considerable sex differences exist in the occurrence of the various manifestations leading to cognitive decline. Alzheimer's disease (AD) exhibits substantial sexual dimorphisms and disproportionately affects women. Women have a higher life expectancy compared to men and, consequently, have more lifespan to develop AD.

Auditory "oddball" event-related potentials (aoERPs), resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) connectivity, and electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms were tested as longitudinal functional biomarkers of prodromal Alzheimer's disease (AD). Data were collected at baseline and four follow-ups at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months in amnesic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients classified in two groups: "positive" (i.e., "prodromal AD"; n = 81) or "negative" (n = 63) based on a diagnostic marker of AD derived from cerebrospinal samples (Aβ42/P-tau ratio).

It is an open issue whether blood biomarkers serve to diagnose Alzheimer's disease (AD) or monitor its progression over time from prodromal stages. Here, we addressed this question starting from data of the European FP7 IMI-PharmaCog/E-ADNI longitudinal study in amnesic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients including biological, clinical, neuropsychological (e.g., ADAS-Cog13), neuroimaging, and electroencephalographic measures.

The Precision Neurology development process implements systems theory with system biology and neurophysiology in a parallel, bidirectional research path: a combined hypothesis-driven investigation of systems dysfunction within distinct molecular, cellular, and large-scale neural network systems in both animal models as well as through tests for the usefulness of these candidate dynamic systems biomarkers in different diseases and subgroups at different stages of pathophysiological progression.

BACKGROUND:
Early Alzheimer's disease (AD) detection using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers has been recommended as enrichment strategy for trials involving mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients.

OBJECTIVE:
To model a prodromal AD trial for identifying MRI structural biomarkers to improve subject selection and to be used as surrogate outcomes of disease progression.