Ricerc@Sapienza

Migraine remains one of the biggest clinical case to be solved among the non-communicable diseases, second to low back pain for disability caused as reported by the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. Despite this, its genetics roots are still unknown. Its evolution in chronic forms hits 2-4% of the population and causes a form so far defined Medication Overuse Headache (MOH), whose pathophysiological basis have not been explained by many dedicated studies. The Global Burden of Disease Study 2016 has not recognized MOH as independent entity, but as a sequela of Chronic Migraine.

Primary mitochondrial myopathies (PMM) are a group of mitochondrial disorders characterized by a predominant skeletal muscle involvement. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the biochemical profile determined by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic technique would allow to distinguish among patients affected by progressive external ophthalmoplegia (PEO), the most common PMM presentation, oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD), and healthy controls. Thirty-four participants were enrolled in the study.

Aims: People with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes (T2DM) often delay initiating and titrating basal insulin. Patient-managed titration may reduce such deferral. The Italian Titration Approach Study (ITAS) compared the efficacy and safety of insulin glargine 300 U/mL (Gla-300) initiation and titration using patient- (nurse-supported) or physician-management in insulin-naïve patients with uncontrolled T2DM. Materials and methods: ITAS was a multicentre, phase IV, 24-week, open-label, randomized (1:1), parallel-group study.

Molecular medicine has gained clinical relevance for the detection and staging of oncological diseases, to guide therapy decision making and for therapy follow-up due to the availability of new highly sensitive hybrid imaging camera systems and the development of new tailored radiopharmaceuticals that target specific molecules. The knowledge of the expression of different receptors on the primary tumor and on metastases is important for both therapeutic and prognostic purposes and several approaches are available aiming to achieve personalized medicine in different oncological diseases.

Recently, nanomedicine emerged as one of the most promising branches in biomedical field with the development of new tools for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes such as functionalized nanoparticles for the detection and prevention of cancer.

Vascular graft infection (VGI) is a rare but severe complication of vascular surgery that is associated with a bad prognosis and high mortality rate. An accurate and prompt identification of the infection and its extent is crucial for the correct management of the patient. However, standardized diagnostic algorithms and a univocal consensus on the best strategy to reach a diagnosis still do not exist. This review aims to summarize different radiological and Nuclear Medicine (NM) modalities commonly adopted for the imaging of VGI.

Background and aim: Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder in old age. Neurotoxicity of dopaminergic neurons triggered by aggregation of misfolded α-synuclein is a major pathogenic trait of PD. However, growing evidence indicates that peripheral processes, including metabolic changes, may precede and contribute to neurodegeneration. The present study was undertaken to identify a metabolic signature of PD through the quantification of serum amino acids and derivatives.

Diabetes and frailty are highly prevalent conditions that impact the health status of older adults. Perturbations in protein/amino acid metabolism are associated with both functional impairment and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In the present study, we compared the concentrations of a panel of circulating 37 amino acids and derivatives between frail/pre-frail older adults with T2DM and robust non-diabetic controls. Sixty-six functionally impaired older persons aged 70+ with T2DM and 30 age and sex-matched controls were included in the analysis.

The gut microbiota is now considered as a symbiotic organ playing an important role in human health and disease
development and has been recently recognized as a modulator of drug metabolism and toxicity. Here, we briefly
discuss new findings describing how the gut microbiota is now considered to be a central player in drug metabolism
and personalized medicine.