L-DOPA Test in the Diagnosis of Childhood Short Stature: Evaluation of Growth Hormone Peaks Over Time.

Introduction: In childhood, growth hormone (GH) deficiency (GHD) diagnosis is based on auxological assessment and biochemical provocative tests, whose reliability remains disputed. Recently, several papers have been published on standardising the duration of some tests. The aim of our study was to analyse the possible length reduction of the L-DOPA provocative test.

Nasal polyposis in pediatric patients with Cornelia de Lange syndrome: endoscopic diagnosis, treatment and follow up in two case reports.

Background: Cornelia de Lange syndrome is a rare genetic disease with otolaryngological involvement. The classic phenotype is characterized by distinctive facial features, intellectual disability, growth delay, hirsutism, and upper-limb reduction. Nasal polyposis was previously reported in association with chronic rhinosinusitis, however data about prevalence, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis are lacking for this cohort of patients, affected by rare disease.

Spike mutation resilient scFv76 antibody counteracts SARS-CoV-2 lung damage upon aerosol delivery.

The uneven worldwide vaccination coverage against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and emergence of variants escaping immunity call for broadly effective and easily deployable therapeutic agents. We have previously described the human single-chain scFv76 antibody, which recognizes SARS-CoV-2 Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants. We now show that scFv76 also neutralizes the infectivity and fusogenic activity of the Omicron BA.

Human inhalable antibody fragments neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 variants for COVID-19 therapy.

As of December 2021, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), remains a global emergency, and novel therapeutics are urgently needed. Here we describe human single-chain variable fragment (scFv) antibodies (76clAbs) that block an epitope of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein essential for ACE2-mediated entry into cells. 76clAbs neutralize the Delta variant and other variants being monitored (VBMs) and inhibit spike-mediated pulmonary cell-cell fusion, a critical feature of COVID-19 pathology.

Ten Years of Pediatric Lung Ultrasound: A Narrative Review.

Lung diseases are the most common conditions in newborns, infants, and children and are also the primary cause of death in children younger than 5 years old. Traditionally, the lung was not thought to be a target for an ultrasound due to its inability to penetrate the gas-filled anatomical structures. With the deepening of knowledge on ultrasound in recent years, it is now known that the affected lung produces ultrasound artifacts resulting from the abnormal tissue/gas/tissue interface when ultrasound sound waves penetrate lung tissue.

Evaluating best evidence in occupational therapy for patients with hip replacement: guidelines.

Object. The following study was carried out in order to evaluate through guidelines the best evidence in occupational therapy for daily activities and quality of life of patients with hip prostheses. Methods.

Delayed presentation of children to the emergency department during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: Area-based cohort study.

Aim: To ascertain a delay in attendances to the emergency department (ED) during 2020 lockdown.

Methods: Area-based cohort study on paediatric (0-15 years) attendances resulting in hospital admission in Tuscany, Italy, in February-May 2020, and the corresponding periods in 2018-19. We analysed times from symptom onset to arrival, the odds of arriving late (>90th centile of time) and paediatricians' judgements of a late presentation by logistic models.

Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the Scale A-ONE: An Italian Cross-Sectional Study.

Purpose: This study is aimed at validating the A-ONE scale in an Italian population with Central Nervous System (CNS) dysfunction. . Between May and November 2018, people aged between 60 and 90 with CNS dysfunction were recruited in a hospital in Rome, Italy.

Antibody drug conjugates with hydroxamic acid cargos for histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition.

Antitumor hydroxamates SAHA and Dacinostat have been linked to cetuximab and trastuzumab through a non-cleavable linker based on the p-mercaptobenzyl alcohol structure. These antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) were able to inhibit HDAC in several tumour cell lines. The cetuximab based ADCs block human lung adenocarcinoma cell proliferation, demonstrating that bioconjugation with antibodies is a suitable approach for targeted therapy based on hydroxamic acid-containing drugs.

Chest Computed Tomography and Lung Ultrasound Findings in COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Pocket Review for Non-radiologists.

COVID-19 is an infectious disease that has quickly spread worldwide, causing a pandemic. The main clinical manifestation is pneumonia. The most important test for the diagnosis is represented by RT-PCR, but, given the limited sensitivity, further radiological examinations are necessary.

The clinical course of SARS-CoV-2 positive neonates.

The COVID-19 pneumonia was firstly reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease had a rapid spread all over the word becoming an international public health emergency. Limited data were available on COVID-19 positive neonates.

A randomized controlled study of immediate versus delayed umbilical cord clamping in infants born by elective caesarean section.

Background: Delayed umbilical cord clamping is associated with greater haemoglobin concentration and iron storage between 3 and 6 months of life and with less need of blood transfusion and lower incidence of neonatal hypotension compared to early umbilical cord clamping.

Methods: The aim was to test the hypothesis that delayed cord clamping is better than early cord clamping in term infants born by elective caesarean section. Group A was subjected to immediate cord clamping while in the Group B, the umbilical cord was clamped 1 min after birth.

Anti-ErbB2 immunotherapeutics: struggling to make better antibodies for cancer therapy.

Over the past 3 decades, monoclonal antibodies and their related derivatives, including recently approved antibody-drug conjugates, conquered a central role in cancer therapy because of their contribution to improve survival, time to progression and quality of life of patients compared to chemotherapy protocols. This review summarizes information on approved original and biosimilar products, as well as investigational antibody-based therapeutics, targeting ErbB2. This target has been selected as a paradigmatic example because of its relevant role in sustaining the malignancy of major cancer diseases including, breast, gastric and other chemotherapy-resistant solid tumors.

Predict respiratory distress syndrome by umbilical cord blood gas analysis in newborns with reassuring Apgar score.

Background: Neonatal acidaemia at birth can increase neonatal morbidity and mortality and it is predictive of neonatal asphyxia. The umbilical blood gas analysis is a valid tool for the evaluation of neonatal acidaemia. However, umbilical cord blood gas analysis is commonly performed in high-risk situations or in the setting of Apgar scores < 7 at 5 min.

ErbB2 Targeted Epigenetic Modulation: Anti-tumor Efficacy of the ADC Trastuzumab-HDACi ST8176AA1.

Targeted therapy using monoclonal antibodies conjugated to toxins is gaining space in the treatment of cancer. Here, we report the anti-tumor effect of a new antibody drug conjugate (ADC) delivering a HDAC inhibitor to ErbB2+ solid tumors. Trastuzumab was partially reduced with tris [2-carboxyethyl] phosphine (TCEP) and conjugated to ST7464AA1, the active form of the prodrug HDAC inhibitor ST7612AA1, through a maleimide-thiol linker to obtain the Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) ST8176AA1.

Validation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Volitional Questionnaire in an Italian Population with Psychiatric Disorders: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The aims of this study were to translate and culturally adapt the Volitional Questionnaire (VQ) into Italian and to evaluate its psychometric properties in an Italian population of patients with psychiatric disorders. The translation process from English into Italian was carried out in agreement with the authors of the original scale. The study was carried out in three psychiatric facilities, with 33 patients with psychiatric diagnoses, who were older than 18 years, and two raters (6 total) for each facility in Rome, Italy.

Construct validity, test-retest reliability, and the ability to detect change of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure in a spinal cord injury population.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To examine the construct validity and the ability to detect change, of the Italian version of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) in a spinal cord injury (SCI) population.

Settings: Rehabilitation service of the Paraplegic Center of Ostia, Italy.

Synthesis and preliminary in vitro evaluation of DOTA-Tenatumomab conjugates for theranostic applications in tenascin expressing tumors.

Tenatumomab is an anti-tenascin murine monoclonal antibody previously used in clinical trials for delivering radionuclides to tumors by both pre-targeting (biotinylated Tenatumomab within PAGRIT) and direct Iodine labeling approaches. Here we present the synthesis and in vitro characterization of three Tenatumomab conjugates to bifunctional chelating agents (NHS-DOTA, NCS-DOTA and NCS-DTPA). Results indicate ST8198AA1 (Tenatumomab-DOTAMA, derived by conjugation of NHS-DOTA), as the most promising candidate in terms of conjugation rate and yield, stability, antigen immunoreactivity and affinity.

Pseudo Prune Belly syndrome: a case report with unilateral abdominal defect.

Prune Belly syndrome occurs in 1/40,000 live births and predominantly in males. It is characterized by triad: cryptorchidism, abdominal wall, and urinary tract abnormalities. Patients with partial or unilateral abdominal wall deficiency, unilateral undescended testis, and female neonates with abdominal wall laxity are classified as Pseudo Prune Belly syndrome.

Italian Version of the Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test for the Assessment of Hand Disorders: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Importance: Having a test to evaluate hand function is fundamental to occupational therapy practice.

Objective: To assess the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test (JTHFT).

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Old treatments for new genetic conditions: Sirolimus therapy in a child affected by mosaic overgrowth with fibroadipose hyperplasia.

PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum (PROS) are overgrowth diseases involving mesenchymal tissues caused by postzygotic variants in the PIK3CA gene. Fibro-Adipose hyperplasia or Overgrowth (FAO) belongs to PROS. We reported the beneficial effect of oral low-dose sirolimus therapy in a child affected by progressive FAO in term of stabilization of the disease, good tolerability, and easy management.

Therapeutic efficacy of intra-tumor AvidinOX and low systemic dose biotinylated cetuximab, with and without cisplatin, in an orthotopic model of head and neck cancer.

In a previous study, the efficacy of low intraperitoneal doses of biotinylated cetuximab (bCet) in mice with subcutaneous tumor xenografts of human head and neck cancer (HNC) treated intra-tumors with AvidinOX was reported. Taking into account that the current standard treatment for HNC is the combination of cetuximab and cisplatin, the present study investigated the activity of AvidinOX-targeted bCet with and without cisplatin in an orthotopic model. The results confirmed that administration of intra-tumor AvidinOX makes an otherwise inactive dose of bCet effective in reducing tumor growth, and the addition of a low dose of cisplatin further improved tumor growth inhibition.

Exploring Validity, Reliability, and Factor Analysis of the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology in an Italian Population: A Cross-Sectional Study.

This study explores validity, reliability, and factor analysis of the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology (IT-QUEST) for users of assistive technology devices in an Italian population. It was administered to 75 people to determine which of the 24 original items were relevant to the Italian context using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFAs and CFAs) were conducted with internal consistency and test-retest reproducibility also evaluated. The EFA and CFA showed that the 24-item survey may have limited relevance to the Italian context.