Progressive encephalopathy in m.3243A > G/MT-TL1 mutation carriers: a quantitative EEG analysis.

Objective: The m.3243A > G/MT-TL1 mutation underlies a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations, varying from the mitochondrial encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) syndrome to incomplete phenotypes without stroke-like episodes (SLE), termed MELAS-Spectrum Syndrome (MSS). We systematically analyzed the longitudinal EEG changes in individuals carrying the m.

Lessons learned in 20 years of endoscopic endonasal surgery for pterygopalatine and infratemporal fossae lesions: analysis of a patient series and systematic review of literature.

Introduction: Recently, the endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) has been proposed as a possible surgical option for benign and malignant tumors, located in the infratemporal (ITF) and pterygopalatine fossae (PPF). The aim of this study is to analyze the surgical outcome of the EEA for these lesions, identifying the preoperative factors affecting tumor resection.

Materials And Methods: All consecutive cases of PPF and ITF tumors operated through an EEA have been retrospectively collected.

Quantitative dried blood spot microsampling for therapeutic drug monitoring of -antiseizure medications by design of experiment and UHPLC-MS/MS.

Background: Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of Antiseizure Medications (ASMs) is an essential tool for persons with epilepsy (PwE). Compared to traditional venipuncture, microsampling requires lower blood volume through less painful and invasive fingerprick offering a sampling methodology potentially performed at-home. This study aimed to validate the extraction method of ASMs from Capitainer®-qDBS microsampling.

Municipal breast and colorectal-anal cancer mortality in Sardinia, Italy from 2012 to 2020: application of a hierarchical Bayesian method.

Background: Excess mortality rates for breast cancer and colorectal-anal cancer in Sardinia are reported in the literature. The aim of the study is to analyse mortality for both cancer entities in Sardinian at municipality level.

Methods: Sex-specific mortality rates by region and municipality of residence were computed using data from the Italian National Institute of Statistics for the years 2012-2020.

Causes of hospitalization and mortality in persons with epilepsy: The EpiLink Bologna cohort, Italy.

Background: Epilepsy significantly impacts on morbidity and mortality. Understanding hospitalization and mortality risks in persons with epilepsy (PWE) is essential for improving healthcare strategies. We aimed to investigate the risk and causes of hospitalization and mortality in PWE compared to a matched general population cohort.

Valproate discontinuation in girls and women of childbearing age with epilepsy: An Italian multicenter retrospective study on prescribing patterns and outcomes.

Objective: This study aimed to identify prescribing behaviors in women of childbearing potential (WOCP) with epilepsy already taking valproate (VPA), and to investigate the relationship between VPA maintenance, substitution, reduction, or withdrawal as part of polytherapy, and seizure worsening or relapse.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the prescription behaviors and seizure outcomes in WOCP (16-50 years of age) with epilepsy, referred to eight Italian epilepsy centers, who were taking VPA for at least 1 year between 2014 and 2019.

Results: Among 750 women (~12% of all WOCP), 528 (70.

Community-onset pediatric status epilepticus: Barriers to care and outcomes in a real-world setting.

Objective: Status epilepticus (SE) is a neurological emergency in childhood, often leading to neuronal damage and long-term outcomes. The study aims to identify barriers in the pre-hospital and in-hospital management of community-onset pediatric SE and to evaluate the effectiveness of pediatric scores on outcomes prediction.

Methods: This monocentric observational retrospective cohort study included patients treated for community-onset pediatric SE in a tertiary care hospital between 2010 and 2021.

Tuberous sclerosis complex in adulthood: focus on epilepsy prognosis.

Objective: Typically diagnosed in early childhood or adolescence, TSC is a chronic, multisystemic disorder with age-dependent manifestations posing a challenge for transition and for specific surveillance throughout the lifetime. Data on the clinical features and severity of TSC in adults and on the prognosis of epilepsy are scarce. We analyzed the clinical and genetic features of a cohort of adult patients with TSC, to identify the prognostic predictors of seizure remission after a long follow-up.

Factors affecting 30-day mortality in poor-grade aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a 10-year single-center experience.

Background: The management of patients with poor-grade aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is burdened by an unfavorable prognosis even with aggressive treatment. The aim of the present study is to investigate the risk factors affecting 30-day mortality in poor-grade aSAH patients.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected database of poor-grade aSAH patients (World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies, WFNS, grades IV and V) treated at our institution from December 2010 to December 2020.

Fingerprick volumetric absorptive microsampling for therapeutic drug monitoring of antiseizure medications: Reliability and real-life feasibility in epilepsy patients.

Volumetric absorptive microsampling (VAMS) is increasingly proposed as a clinically reliable therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) sampling methodology. The study aimed to establish the reliability and real-life feasibility of patient self-collected capillary VAMS for TDM of antiseizure medication (ASMs), using plasma ASMs concentrations from venous blood as a reference standard. Nurses collected venous and capillary blood samples using VAMS.

Magnetic resonance imaging scoring system of the lower limbs in adult patients with suspected idiopathic inflammatory myopathy.

Purpose: We aim to propose a visual quantitative score for muscle edema in lower limb MRI to contribute to the diagnosis of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM).

Material And Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 85 consecutive patients (mean age 57.4 ± 13.

Validation of Administrative Health Data Algorithms for Identifying Persons with Parkinson's Disease and the 10-Year Prevalence Trend in Bologna, Italy.

Introduction: Health administrative databases are widely used for the estimation of the prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD). Few in general, and none used in Italy, have been validated by testing their diagnostic accuracy. The primary objective was to validate two algorithms for the identification of persons with PD using clinical diagnosis as the reference standard on an Italian sample of people with PD.

Magnetic Resonance-Based Assessment of Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study on Inter- and Intra-Rater Agreement.

Background: The measurement of optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) as a non-invasive method of estimating intracranial pressure has been widely reported in the literature. However, few studies have evaluated the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in assessing ONSD measurements, although it is considered a very reliable method, it is not easily repeatable, expensive and is not readily available bedside. Herein, an assessment of the intra- and inter-rater reliability of ONSD assessment using MRI was conducted.

Impact of regulatory restrictions on the use of valproic acid in women of childbearing age: An Italian study.

Objective: Due to significant risks to the offspring after intrauterine exposure, the European Medicines Agency issued recommendations in 2014 and 2018 restricting the use of valproate (VPA) in women of childbearing age (WOCA). We aimed to evaluate their impact in the Emilia-Romagna region (ERR) of Northern Italy.

Methods: Using administrative databases, we identified all the ERR residents who received antiseizure medication (ASM) prescriptions from 2010 to 2020.

The CLOSED protocol to assess optic nerve sheath diameter using color-Doppler: a comparison study in a cohort of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus patients.

Background: Sonographic assessment of the optic nerve sheath diameter represents a promising non-invasive technique for estimation of the intracranial pressure. A wide inter-observer variability, along with a lack of a standardized protocol for the optic nerve sheath diameter measurements, could lead to over- or under-estimation. The present study was aimed at evaluating feasibility of color-Doppler for better delineating optic nerve sheath borders, comparing it to B-mode imaging, using the magnetic resonance measurements as a comparison.

Brivaracetam add-on treatment in pediatric patients with severe drug-resistant epilepsy: Italian real-world evidence.

Purpose: To report the efficacy and tolerability of brivaracetam (BRV) in add-on therapy in pediatric patients with severe drug-resistant epilepsy. Prognostic factors of clinical outcome were also analyzed.

Methods: This Italian multicenter retrospective observational study was conducted on 45 pediatric patients with severe drug-resistant epilepsy, treated with BRV for at least 1 month and with a follow-up >6 months.

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

Background: The patterns of long term risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalization for COVID-19 and related death are uncertain in people with Parkinson's 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.

Method: ParkLink Bologna cohort (759 PD; 192 PS) and controls (9,226) anonymously matched (ratio 1:10) for sex, age, district, comorbidity were included.

The Indirect Impact of COVID-19 on Major Clinical Outcomes of People With Parkinson's Disease or Parkinsonism: A Cohort Study.

Background: The indirect impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on major clinical outcomes of people with Parkinson's disease (PD) or other parkinsonism is unknown.

Objectives: The study aimed to (1) describe changes in healthcare services during the first epidemic bout in people with PD or parkinsonism; (2) compare the occurrence of hospitalization for any PD-related major clinical outcomes in 2020 with 2019; (3) investigate the factors, including changes in healthcare services, associated with major clinical outcomes and death.

Methods: All healthcare services of the province of Bologna and major clinical outcomes were assessed through a record linkage study (ParkLink Bologna) using clinical data and health databases.

Cardiac device therapy in patients with left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure: 'real-world' data on long-term outcomes (mortality, hospitalizations, days alive and out of hospital).

Background: The impact on long-term outcomes of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and biventricular defibrillators for cardiac resynchronization (CRT-D) devices in 'real world' patients with heart failure (HF) needs to be assessed in terms of clinical effectiveness.

Methods And Results: A registry including consecutive HF patients who underwent a first implant of an ICD (891 patients) or a CRT-D device (709 patients) in 2006-2010 was followed (median 1487 days and 1516 days, respectively), collecting administrative data on survival, all-cause hospitalizations, cardiovascular or HF hospitalizations, and days alive and out of hospital (DAOH). Survival free from death/cardiac transplant was 61.

Risk of Adverse Cardiac and Bleeding Events Following Cardiac and Noncardiac Surgery in Patients With Coronary Stent: How Important Is the Interplay Between Stent Type and Time From Stenting to Surgery?

Background: Epidemiology and consequences of surgery in patients with coronary stents are not clearly defined, as well as the impact of different stent types in relationship with timing of surgery.

Methods And Results: Among 39 362 patients with previous coronary stenting enrolled in a multicenter prospective registry and followed for 5 years, 13 128 patients underwent 17 226 surgical procedures. The cumulative incidence of surgery at 30 days, 6 months, 1 year, and 5 years was 3.

New-generation drug-eluting stents reduce stent thrombosis and myocardial infarction: a propensity-score-adjusted analysis from the multicenter REAL registry (REgistro Regionale AngiopLastiche Dell'Emilia-Romagna).

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare long-term clinical outcomes in patients treated with new-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) or early-generation DES in a real-world registry.

Background: New-generation DESs have proved to be more effective and safer than early-generation DES in randomized trials. However, the effects of new-generation DES versus early-generation DES in everyday clinical practice deserve further verification.