Real-life use of BRAF-V600E mutation analysis in thyroid nodule fine needle aspiration: consequences on clinical decision-making

PURPOSE

This study aimed to evaluate the real-life use of BRAF-V600E mutation analysis in washout liquid from thyroid nodule fine needle aspiration (FNA), and the consequences of genetic result on clinical decision-making.

METHODS

We retrospectively considered subjects tested for BRAF-V600E among those attending the Endocrinology Unit of Modena for FNA between 2014 and 2018. Washing fluid was collected together with cytological sample and stored at -20 °C. If the clinician deemed it necessary, the sample was thawed, DNA extracted, and genetic test performed by high-resolution melting technique. We collected data on cytology according to the Italian Consensus for the cytological classification of thyroid nodules, type of surgery (when performed), histology, and adverse events.

RESULTS

Out of 7112 subjects submitted to FNA, BRAF analysis was requested for 683 (9.6%). Overall, 896 nodules were analyzed: 74% were indeterminate at cytology, mainly TIR3A (low risk). Twenty-two nodules were mutant (BRAF+). Only 2% of indeterminate, mainly TIR3B, were BRAF+. Based on final histological diagnosis, BRAF test had high specificity (100%) but poor sensitivity (21%), also in indeterminate nodules. Mutant subjects underwent more extensive surgery compared to wild type (p = 0.000), with frequent prophylactic central lymph node dissection. One third had local metastases. Higher prevalence of hypoparathyroidism was found in BRAF+ compared to wild type (p = 0.018).

CONCLUSIONS

The analysis of BRAF-V600E outside of gene panels has low sensitivity, especially in indeterminate nodules, and a positive result could lead to more extensive surgery with greater risk of hypoparathyroidism and questionable clinical utility.

Pervasive refusal syndrome or anorexia nervosa: a case report with a successful behavioural treatment

PURPOSE

Pervasive refusal syndrome (PRS) is a rare psychiatric disease that affects children. It was first described by Lask in 1991 (Arch Dis Child 66:866-869, 1991). Recently, Otasowie and Collaborators reported a systematic review about PRS. Despite this, PRS has not yet been classified in DSM-5 and ICD-11 and the lack of evidence-based treatment makes this syndrome a real challenge for clinicians. The aim of this paper is to present our experience through the description of a case report and its treatment.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The case reported is a girl aged 11 years that fits the clinical picture described in the literature of PRS. In previous reports, behavioural treatment was not used or appreciated; our case adds new knowledge regarding the PRS diagnosis and the successful behavioural treatment during hospitalization, which we describe in all its phases.

CONCLUSION

PRS is a rare, life-threatening syndrome; it would be extremely important to have an official and evidence-based treatment guide.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level V, case report.

Conductivity Tensor Imaging of the Human Brain Using Water Mapping Techniques

Conductivity tensor imaging (CTI) has been recently proposed to map the conductivity tensor in 3D using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at the frequency range of the brain at rest, i.e., low-frequencies. Conventional CTI mapping methods process the trans-receiver phase of the MRI signal using the MR electric properties tomography (MR-EPT) technique, which in turn involves the application of the Laplace operator. This results in CTI maps with a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), artifacts at tissue boundaries and a limited spatial resolution. In order to improve on these aspects, a methodology independent from the MR-EPT method is proposed. This relies on the strong assumption for which electrical conductivity is univocally pre-determined by water concentration. In particular, CTI maps are calculated by combining high-frequency conductivity derived from water maps and multi b-value diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data. Following the implementation of a pipeline to optimize the pre-processing of diffusion data and the fitting routine of a multi-compartment diffusivity model, reconstructed conductivity images were evaluated in terms of the achieved spatial resolution in five healthy subjects scanned at rest. We found that the pre-processing of diffusion data and the optimization of the fitting procedure improve the quality of conductivity maps. We achieve reproducible measurements across healthy participants and, in particular, we report conductivity values across subjects of 0.55 ± 0.01Sm, 0.3 ± 0.01Sm and 2.15 ± 0.02Sm for gray matter (GM), white matter (WM), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), respectively. By attaining an actual spatial resolution of the conductivity tensor close to 1 mm in-plane isotropic, partial volume effects are reduced leading to good discrimination of tissues with similar conductivity values, such as GM and WM. The application of the proposed framework may contribute to a better definition of the head tissue compartments in electroencephalograpy/magnetoencephalography (EEG/MEG) source imaging and be used as biomarker for assessing conductivity changes in pathological conditions, such as stroke and brain tumors.

Detection of Germline Variants in 450 Breast/Ovarian Cancer Families with a Multi-Gene Panel Including Coding and Regulatory Regions

With the progress of sequencing technologies, an ever-increasing number of variants of unknown functional and clinical significance (VUS) have been identified in both coding and non-coding regions of the main Breast Cancer (BC) predisposition genes. The aim of this study is to identify a mutational profile of coding and intron-exon junction regions of 12 moderate penetrance genes (ATM, BRIP1, CDH1, CHEK2, NBN, PALB2, PTEN, RAD50, RAD51C, RAD51D, STK11, TP53) in a cohort of 450 Italian patients with Hereditary Breast/Ovarian Cancer Syndrome, wild type for germline mutation in BRCA1/2 genes. The analysis was extended to 5′UTR and 3′UTR of all the genes listed above and to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 known regulatory regions in a subset of 120 patients. The screening was performed through NGS target resequencing on the Illumina platform MiSeq. 8.7% of the patients analyzed is carriers of class 5/4 coding variants in the ATM (3.6%), BRIP1 (1.6%), CHEK2 (1.8%), PALB2 (0.7%), RAD51C (0.4%), RAD51D (0.4%), and TP53 (0.2%) genes, while variants of uncertain pathological significance (VUSs)/class 3 were identified in 9.1% of the samples. In intron-exon junctions and in regulatory regions, variants were detected respectively in 5.1% and in 32.5% of the cases analyzed. The average age of disease onset of 44.4 in non-coding variant carriers is absolutely similar to the average age of disease onset in coding variant carriers for each proband’s group with the same cancer type. Furthermore, there is not a statistically significant difference in the proportion of cases with a tumor onset under age of 40 between the two groups, but the presence of multiple non-coding variants in the same patient may affect the aggressiveness of the tumor and it is worth underlining that 25% of patients with an aggressive tumor are carriers of a PTEN 3′UTR-variant. This data provides initial information on how important it might be to extend mutational screening to the regulatory regions in clinical practice.

The diagnostic performance of PIVKA-II in metabolic and viral hepatocellular carcinoma: a pilot study

OBJECTIVE

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary liver tumor derived from metabolic or viral chronic hepatitis, with few treatment options in advanced cases. New biomarkers that allow improving diagnosis and staging are widely desired. Here, we aim to evaluate the performance of Protein Induced by Vitamin K Absence or Antagonist-II (PIVKA-II) in combination with α-fetoprotein (AFP), in the diagnosis of HCC in patients with metabolic or viral hepatitis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We enrolled 60 HCC patients (20 metabolic and 40 viral) and 20 healthy subjects (HS) as negative controls. PIVKA-II, AFP, Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) serum levels were assessed by immunoassays.

RESULTS

AFP and PIVKA-II levels were obviously higher in patients than in HS. AFP displayed a better diagnostic performance than PIVKA-II for viral HCC while PIVKA-II was better for metabolic HCC. The combination of the two biomarkers did not improve the discriminating ability.

CONCLUSIONS

PIVKA-II may be considered an independent predictor of macrovascular invasion from HCC cells and it can be used to better stratify HCC patients and should be evaluated in prospective studies for early detection of advanced HCC in metabolic subjects.

Automated capture-based NGS workflow: one thousand patients experience in a clinical routine framework

OBJECTIVES

The Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) based mutational study of hereditary cancer genes is crucial to design tailored prevention strategies in subjects with different hereditary cancer risk. The ease of amplicon-based NGS library construction protocols contrasts with the greater uniformity of enrichment provided by capture-based protocols and so with greater chances for detecting larger genomic rearrangements and copy-number variations. Capture-based protocols, however, are characterized by a higher level of complexity of sample handling, extremely susceptible to human bias. Robotics platforms may definitely help dealing with these limits, reducing hands-on time, limiting random errors and guaranteeing process standardization.

METHODS

We implemented the automation of the CE-IVD SOPHiA Hereditary Cancer Solution™ (HCS) libraries preparation workflow by SOPHiA GENETICS on the Hamilton's STARlet platform. We present the comparison of results between this automated approach, used for more than 1,000 DNA patients' samples, and the performances of the manual protocol evaluated by SOPHiA GENETICS onto 240 samples summarized in their HCS evaluation study.

RESULTS

We demonstrate that this automated workflow achieved the same expected goals of manual setup in terms of coverages and reads uniformity, with extremely lower standard deviations among samples considering the sequencing reads mapped onto the regions of interest.

CONCLUSIONS

This automated solution offers same reliable and affordable NGS data, but with the essential advantages of a flexible, automated and integrated framework, minimizing possible human errors and depicting a laboratory's walk-away scenario.

Detection of Resting-State Functional Connectivity from High-Density Electroencephalography Data: Impact of Head Modeling Strategies

Recent technological advances have been permitted to use high-density electroencephalography (hdEEG) for the estimation of functional connectivity and the mapping of resting-state networks (RSNs). The reliable estimate of activity and connectivity from hdEEG data relies on the creation of an accurate head model, defining how neural currents propagate from the cortex to the sensors placed over the scalp. To the best of our knowledge, no study has been conducted yet to systematically test to what extent head modeling accuracy impacts on EEG-RSN reconstruction. To address this question, we used 256-channel hdEEG data collected in a group of young healthy participants at rest. We first estimated functional connectivity in EEG-RSNs by means of band-limited power envelope correlations, using neural activity estimated with an optimized analysis workflow. Then, we defined a series of head models with different levels of complexity, specifically testing the effect of different electrode positioning techniques and head tissue segmentation methods. We observed that robust EEG-RSNs can be obtained using a realistic head model, and that inaccuracies due to head tissue segmentation impact on RSN reconstruction more than those due to electrode positioning. Additionally, we found that EEG-RSN robustness to head model variations had space and frequency specificity. Overall, our results may contribute to defining a benchmark for assessing the reliability of hdEEG functional connectivity measures.

Immunonutrition in elective colorectal surgery and early inflammatory response

BACKGROUND

Immunonutrition has gained increasing interest over years, enough to be recommended in several international guidelines and to be included in the ERAS protocol for colorectal surgery. Although clinical advantages have been proved for malnourished cancer-affected patients, its role is more controversial in other settings. We have evaluated the impact of immunonutrition in major colorectal elective surgery for benign and malignant diseases, regardless of the preoperative nutritional status.

METHODS

We conducted a single center retrospective analysis of a database of patients who underwent elective major colon-rectal surgery for benign and malignant diseases between January 2018 and February 2020. In January 2019 we started a protocol to define which patients should receive preoperative immunonutrition, regardless of their nutritional status. We compared early postoperative outcomes and laboratory data of this group (IMN) to those of patients who met all the characteristics to be included in the protocol, but who did not receive immunonutrition (CTRL).

RESULTS

The IMN group showed significantly lower total leukocytes and neutrophils values and a lower pathological leukocytosis rate on 1st postoperative day compared to the CTRL group (p=0.004). Although differences in early postoperative clinical outcomes were not significant, patients belonging to the IMN group needed less postoperative antibiotic treatment (p = 0.047).

CONCLUSIONS

Immunonutrition could affect granulocytopoiesis and neutrophils recruitment in damaged tissues. This could lead to better and faster tissue healing and, consequently, to a reduction in postoperative complications even in normo-nourished patients. The lower need for antibiotic treatment could reflect a reduced susceptibility to postoperative infections.

Lack of association between Vitamin D status and free light chains profile with different chronic HCV-related liver and extrahepatic disorders

OBJECTIVE

A still uncertain association between vitamin D levels and HCV chronic liver diseases has been reported. Increased levels of serum-free light chains (FLCs) and an altered k/λ FLC ratio correlate with Mixed Cryoglobulinemia (MC) vasculitis and/or B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in HCV-positive patients. We aimed to investigate the possible role of vitamin D, vitamin D Binding Protein (DBP), and FLCs levels as a tool for discriminating different stages of HCV- related MC and chronic liver diseases.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Sixty-five untreated patients were retrospectively enrolled and 21 healthy blood donors (HBD) were used as controls. Vitamin D, DBP, FLCs, and cryoglobulins levels were measured. Based on cryoglobulins, patients were divided in three subgroups (without cryoglobulins, type II, and type III).

RESULTS

We didn't find any significant differences in vitamin D and DBP levels between HCV patients' main groups and HBD. Serum FLCs levels were significantly higher in HCV patients than in HBD. FLCs ratio among patients' subgroups did not reveal differences.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results confirm the presence of an increased serum level of FLCs in HCV patients and suggest that nor vitamin D and DBP or FLC levels can be considered reliable biomarkers for discriminating different stages of HCV-associated chronic liver diseases and/or HCV-associated extrahepatic manifestation. We confirm that serological FLCs levels are significantly higher in patients than in HBD as a signature of B cell activation in course of HCV infection.

Is mexiletine ready for prime time in patients with Type 2 Long QT Syndrome?

Background

Mexiletine has been proven effective in shortening the duration of ventricular repolarization and reducing the arrhythmic events in type 3 Long QT Syndrome (LQT3). Initial reports indicate that mexiletine might also be effective in patients with type 2 Long QT Syndrome (LQT2, caused by loss-of-functions variants on KCNH2 gene, coding for HERG potassium channel), but this issue has not been investigated in detail.

Purpose

We quantified the electrocardiographic (ECG) effects of mexiletine in a cohort of LQT2 patients.

Methods

Twelve-lead ECGs were collected before and after the administration of mexiletine to evaluate the drug's effect on the heart rate-corrected QT interval (QTc). QTc intervals were classified as being (1) at “high-risk” if >500 ms or (2) “normal” if <460 ms, before and after the administration of the drug. KCNH2 variants were defined as (1) trafficking-deficient or (2) non-trafficking-deficient, based on functional studies.

Results

We tested the maximum tolerated dose of mexiletine in 20 patients (11 males, 55%), who were 17±16 years old at diagnosis, affected by genetically established LQT2. The mean age at the beginning of mexiletine administration was 23±15 years and the mean daily dose administered was 9±2 mg/kg/day.

Before mexiletine, the mean QTc interval was 527±53 ms and 10/20 (50%) patients had high-risk QTc values (i.e. QTc >500 ms).

After mexiletine, the mean QTc interval shortened to 484±47 ms in the overall population (p=0.001). In the majority of patients (18/20, 90%; Figure 1) QTc interval shortened, with a mean shortening of 42±28 ms, and a high-interindividual variability (range of shortening from 86 ms to 8 ms). Just 2 (10%) patients did not show any reduction of the QTc, despite receiving the highest adult dosages of mexiletine in our cohort (up to 10 mg/kg/day).

As compared to baseline conditions, after mexiletine the proportion of patients with high risk QTc values (>500 ms) decreased non-significantly from 50% to 35% (p=0.52). Furthermore, in only 6/20 (30%) patients the QTc normalized (i.e. QTc <460 ms) after the initiation of treatment.

The effect of mexiletine was not influenced by gender (p=0.89) or by the functional effect of the KCNH2 mutation (trafficking-deficient vs. non-trafficking-deficient variants, p=0.41).

The effect of mexiletine in LQT2 patients was inferior to the one previously observed in a cohort of 34 LQT3 patients, who had similar QTc values at baseline and received similar dosages of mexiletine, but showed a significantly higher reduction of the average QTc interval (63±37 ms in LQT3 vs. 42±28 ms in LQT2, p=0.02).

Conclusions

Mexiletine induces a reduction of the QTc interval in most LQT2 patients, but many patients remain with high-risk QTc values after receiving the drug. The demonstration that an average QTc shortening of 42 ms is enough to reduce arrhythmic events is necessary, before the introduction of mexiletine in clinical practice for LQT2.

Figure 1

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): Italian Ministry of Research and University Dipartimenti di Eccellenza 2018–2022 grant to the Molecular Medicine Department (University of Pavia)

Automated screening tool for Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator in Brugada syndrome has a high eligibility rate which is predicted by simple electrocardiographic parameters

Background

Manual electrocardiographic (ECG) screening tools for the use of subcutaneous cardiac defibrillator (S-ICD) have been associated with high ineligibility rates in Brugada syndrome patients (BrS). Although recent works identified ECG parameters for S-ICD eligibility in general population, automated screening tool (AST) for S-ICD eligibility have not even been assessed in large series of patients with BrS.

Purpose

This study evaluates the AST-derived eligibility rates for an S-ICD in patients with BrS, and ECG parameters associated with S-ICD eligibility.

Methods

Screening for S-ICD eligibility was performed using AST in 194 consecutive patients with BrS. Eligibility was defined when at least one of the three vectors was acceptable both in supine and standing position. Twelve-lead ECGs were registered during the screening. ECG parameters associated with AST eligibility were identified using multivariable logistical regression.

Results

Our study population consisted of 194 patients, with male preponderance (n=165/194; 85%); and were 43±12 years old at the time of screening. Majority of patients presented a spontaneous type 1 pattern during screening (n=128/194; 66%), with an average pattern height of 3±3 mm.

Remarkably, 93% of patients passed the screening with AST. No differences in eligibility rates in terms of gender (93% males vs. 93% females eligible; p=1) and age (48±9 years non-eligible vs. 42±12 eligible; p=0.07) existed. Notably, our eligibility rate was 2.5 times higher than rates reported in literature when using manual screening tools (p=0.023). Independent 12-lead ECG parameters (Table) associated with AST eligibility were duration of S wave <80 ms in aVF and R/T ratio ≥3 in lead II (Figure), which have a high positive predictive value (97% and 99%, respectively) for screening eligibility.

Conclusions

Most BrS patients (93%) are eligible for S-ICD when AST is used. S wave <80 ms in aVF, and R/T ratio ≥3 in lead II have a high positive predictive value for S-ICD eligibility.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): The Italian Ministry of Research and University Dipartimenti di Eccellenza 2018–2022 grant to the Molecular Medicine Department (University of Pavia)

Characterization of arrhythmic presentation in patients with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy

Background/Introduction

Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is one of the most arrhythmogenic conditions known to man. ACM is caused by desmosomal mutations in most cases, resulting in progressive replacement of the myocardium by adipose and fibrous tissue. It comes as no surprise that ACM is one of the leading causes of sudden cardiac death (SCD). Nonetheless, the characteristics of arrhythmic manifestations have not dissected after the release of most recent criteria.

Purpose

This study investigates different types of ventricular tachyarrhythmias which had occurred at first arrhythmic event in patients with ACM.

Methods

We investigated 91 consecutive patients with documented evidence of sustained ventricular tachyarrhythmias from 291 ACM patients followed at our center up to this date. Diagnosis of ACM was made using 2010 Task Force Criteria, and patients were defined as having an advanced disease if they had more than 4 TFC points at diagnosis. Presenting ventricular tachyarrhythmias were divided into (1) life-threatening arrhythmic event (LAE; ventricular fibrillation or hemodynamically unstable polymorphic ventricular tachycardia) and (2) hemodynamically stable monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (MMVT). Right ventricular (RV) involvement was defined as a presence of RV wall motion abnormalities and RV dilation at transthoracic echocardiography or cardiac magnetic resonance.

Results

Our study population was constituted of a predictably higher number of males (n=68; 75%), with an average age at the first arrhythmic event of 38±15 years of age.

At first documented arrhythmia, majority of patients studied experienced a stable MMVT (n=53; 58%), while 38 patients experienced an LAE (n=38; 42%). The patients suffering an LAE as first arrhythmic event were slightly younger than the patients who experienced a stable MMVT (35±14 years vs. 40±15 years; p=0.076) but there were no statistically significant gender differences (28/38 males with LAE vs. 40/53 males with stable MMVT; p= n.s.).

Interestingly, patients who presented with stable MMVT were more likely to have an advanced disease at diagnosis (OR=6.52; 95% CI 2.02–20.99; p=0.002). This is supported by the fact that RV involvement was significantly more common in patients presenting with stable MMVT (OR=4.38; 95% CI 1.26–15.26; p=0.021). Additionally, patients with stable MMVT were more commonly carriers of variants on PKP2 gene (OR=3.6; 95% CI 1.1–11.91; p=0.021).

Conclusions

Our data suggest that two types of arrhythmia reflect the two different stages of the disease. The early stage of the ACM is characterized by LAE in absence of RV structural involvement; while, stable MMVT is typical of PKP2 carriers and advanced stage of ACM with RV involvement.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): The Italian Ministry of Research and University Dipartimenti di Eccellenza 2018–2022 grant to the Molecular Medicine Department (University of Pavia)

Mutation site-specific risk profile in patients with Type 1 Long QT Syndrome

Background

Type 1 Long QT Syndrome (LQT1) is an arrhythmogenic disorder, caused by loss-of-function mutations on KCNQ1 gene, coding for Kv7.1 potassium channel. Although LQT1 is described as the most benign form of LQTS, patients still experience arrhythmic events and there is an unmet need for personalized risk stratification. Attempts have been made to correlate the location of mutations with outcome, but the results are unequivocal.

Purpose

We provide in the present study a new mutation site-specific risk profile obtained from a large cohort of LQT1 patients.

Methods

We gathered data on 963 patients with the diagnosis of LQT1 and divided the Kv7.1 channel into 5 functional regions: the N-terminus (NT), the voltage sensor (VS, including transmembrane segments S1 to S4), the cytoplasmic loops (CL), the pore (PO, including the transmembrane segments S5, S6 and the S5-S6 extracellular linker), the C-terminus (CT).

Results

We studied 963 LQT1 patients: 518 (54%) females; average age 20±17 years; mean QTc at baseline ECG 465±38ms. During a mean follow-up of 8±7 years, 172 (18%) patients experienced arrhythmic events: 31 (3%) experienced one or more cardiac arrests, while 141 (15%) experienced one or more syncopal spells. We identified 188 different variants in the KCNQ1 gene, with the following distribution: 15 (8%) in the NT, 33 (18%) in the VS, 27 (14%) in the CL, 43 (23%) in the PO, 70 (37%) in the CT. The frequency of pathogenic variants per number of amino acids (a.a.) was higher in the CL region, as compared to the other domains (1 mutation every 1.4 a.a.). The duration of QTc interval was significantly longer for patients with mutations in the PO region (473±40 ms) and in the CL region (468±38 ms) as compared to the other regions (p<0.01).

Importantly, in a multivariate analysis PO and CL regions were associated with a higher probability of experiencing arrhythmic events (OR 2.89, 95% CI 1.95–4.29, p=0.019 and OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.0–2.49, p=0.05, respectively. Figure) than the other regions. Interestingly, the risk was independent from QTc interval duration.

Conclusions

Mutations affecting the PO and the CL region of the Kv7.1. channel are associated with a higher probability of experiencing arrhythmic events. This finding is clinically relevant, because it will allow for a more personalized, mutation site-specific risk stratification.

Mutation site and arrhythmic events

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): Italian Ministry of Research and University Dipartimenti di Eccellenza 2018–2022 grant to the Molecular Medicine Department (University of Pavia)

Characterisation of Haemodynamic Activity in Resting State Networks by Fractal Analysis

Intrinsic brain activity is organized into large-scale networks displaying specific structural-functional architecture, known as resting-state networks (RSNs). RSNs reflect complex neurophysiological processes and interactions, and have a central role in distinct sensory and cognitive functions, making it crucial to understand and quantify their anatomical and functional properties. Fractal dimension (FD) provides a parsimonious way of summarizing self-similarity over different spatial and temporal scales but despite its suitability for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signal analysis its ability to characterize and investigate RSNs is poorly understood. We used FD in a large sample of healthy participants to differentiate fMRI RSNs and examine how the FD property of RSNs is linked with their functional roles. We identified two clusters of RSNs, one mainly consisting of sensory networks (C1, including auditory, sensorimotor and visual networks) and the other more related to higher cognitive (HCN) functions (C2, including dorsal default mode network and fronto-parietal networks). These clusters were defined in a completely data-driven manner using hierarchical clustering, suggesting that quantification of Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) signal complexity with FD is able to characterize meaningful physiological and functional variability. Understanding the mechanisms underlying functional RSNs, and developing tools to study their signal properties, is essential for assessing specific brain alterations and FD could potentially be used for the early detection and treatment of neurological disorders.

A novel biomarker score for the screening and management of patients with plasma cell proliferative disorders

OBJECTIVE

Monoclonal plasma cell proliferative disorders comprise a wide spectrum of diseases associated to clonal B-cell expansion. Serum protein electrophoretic profile (SPEP) and circulating free light chains (FLCs) levels are the mainstay of diseases management. Recently, soluble (s) Syndecan-1 (SDC1, CD138) produced by myeloma plasma cells has been suggested in the monitoring and follow-up of patients with myeloma. The aim of our study is to evaluate sCD138 in addition with FLCs and SPEP for the screening of patients with different evolutive disease pathways.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Sera from 73 patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), 120 smoldering and 42 multiple myeloma (SMM and MM, respectively), 70 HCV-related mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC), 35 B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (B-NHL) and sera from 50 healthy donors (HD), were tested for sCD138, FLCs (assessed by means of ELISA and turbidimetric assay, respectively) and electrophoresis pattern (performed on Capillarys system) for the generation of a novel biomarker score (BS).

RESULTS

Our results were grouped according to the two main lines of disease progression (vs. MM or B-NHL): in one group we found BS mean values of 0.2, 3.4, 5.3, 7.1 for HD, MGUS, SMM and MM, respectively; in the other group of 0.2, 4.4, 6.7 for HD, MC and B-NHL.

CONCLUSIONS

We showed that BS mean values follow the ingravescence disease status towards the two main lines of progression to cancerous conditions; it could represent an additional useful tool in the management of screening and/or follow-up.

Frequency-dependent functional connectivity in resting state networks

Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have documented the resting human brain to be functionally organized in multiple large‐scale networks, called resting‐state networks (RSNs). Other brain imaging techniques, such as electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG), have been used for investigating the electrophysiological basis of RSNs. To date, it is largely unclear how neural oscillations measured with EEG and MEG are related to functional connectivity in the resting state. In addition, it remains to be elucidated whether and how the observed neural oscillations are related to the spatial distribution of the network nodes over the cortex. To address these questions, we examined frequency‐dependent functional connectivity between the main nodes of several RSNs, spanning large part of the cortex. We estimated connectivity using band‐limited power correlations from high‐density EEG data collected in healthy participants. We observed that functional interactions within RSNs are characterized by a specific combination of neuronal oscillations in the alpha (8–13 Hz), beta (13–30 Hz), and gamma (30–80 Hz) bands, which highly depend on the position of the network nodes. This finding may contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms through which neural oscillations support functional connectivity in the brain.

Biomarkers in HCV-related mixed cryoglobulinemia patients withnon-Hodgkin lymphoma

OBJECTIVE

Chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can cause severe extrahepatic manifestations, such as mixed cryoglobulins (MC), up to the development of B cell nonHodgkin's lymphoma (B-NHL). Mechanisms transforming of HCV infection into lymphoproliferative and/or autoimmune disorders are still poorly understood. In course of HCV infection, the sustained virus-driven antigenic stimulation may probably induce a B-cell clonal expansion. Measurements of serum free light chains (FLCs) levels, considered as a direct marker of B cell activity, are analyzed with increasing interest in clinical practice, for diagnosis, monitoring and follow-up of plasma cell dyscrasia. Syndecan-1 (CD138) is a transmembrane heparan sulfate proteoglycan expressed and actively shed by most myeloma cells. Membrane CD138 represents the major receptor protein for HCV attachment to the hepatocyte surface and high levels of circulating sCD138 levels are detected in patients at early stage of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia. This study is aimed to evaluate sCD138 and FLC levels as diagnostic biomarkers of HCV-related MC with B-NHL.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We enrolled 35 HCV-MC-NHL patients, characterized for the specific type of cryoglobulins, and 25 healthy blood donors (HBD) as negative control. Serum sCD138 levels were determined using ELISA kits specific for human sCD138. Serum FLCs were assessed by means of the turbidimetric assay.

RESULTS

We found that serum levels of sCD138, as well as FLCs, were significantly higher in patients than in HBD (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

In agreement with the definition of HCV-driven lymphoproliferative disorders as the consequence of a multifactorial and multistep pathogenetic process, we suggest that sCD138 and FLCs could be considered putative independent markers of worsening progression of the disease.

The PRECEDE-PROCEED model as a tool in Public Health screening: a systematic review

OBJETCTIVE

The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the scientific literature concerning the use of the Precede-Proceed model (PPM) applied to educational programs and health screenings contextsV.

STUDY DESIGN

Systematic review.

METHODS

The search process was based on a selection of publications listed in Medline and Scopus. The keywords used were "Precede-Proceed" AND ("screening" OR "educational programs"). Studies included in the systematic review were subdivided into those applying the model in a screening context, and those applying it within educational programs.

RESULTS

Twenty-seven studies were retrieved, mostly performed in the USA and, generally, the promoting center was the University. In the context of cancer screening, the PPM model was most of all applied to Mammography Screening (5 of 13 studies in cancer screening), and Cervical Cancer Screening (5 of 13). Another three studies within the cancer field investigated Menopause-Inducing Cancer Treatments, Oral cancer prevention, and cancer screening in general. In the remaining studies, the model was applied in various screening areas, particularly chronic and degenerative diseases. There were many different study designs, most of which cross-sectional (8), though several RTCs (8) and focus groups (5) were also found. For the cross-sectional studies the methodological quality varied between 3/10 and 9/10, whilst for the RCTs it ranged from 2/5 to 3/5.

CONCLUSIONS

The PPM provides an excellent framework for health intervention programs especially in screening contexts, and could improve the understanding of the relationship between variables such as knowledge and screening. Given the complexity of a behavioral change process, certain important predisposing factors could be measured in future studies, and during health intervention planning.

Pearls and pitfalls in brain functional analysis by event-related potentials: a narrative review by the Italian Psychophysiology and Cognitive Neuroscience Society on methodological limits and clinical reliability-part I

Event-related potentials (ERPs) are obtained from the electroencephalogram (EEG) or the magnetoencephalogram (MEG, event-related fields (ERF)), extracting the activity that is time-locked to an event. Despite the potential utility of ERP/ERF in cognitive domain, the clinical standardization of their use is presently undefined for most of procedures. The aim of the present review is to establish limits and reliability of ERP medical application, summarize main methodological issues, and present evidence of clinical application and future improvement. The present section of the review focuses on well-standardized ERP methods, including P300, Contingent Negative Variation (CNV), Mismatch Negativity (MMN), and N400, with a chapter dedicated to laser-evoked potentials (LEPs). One section is dedicated to proactive preparatory brain activity as the Bereitschaftspotential and the prefrontal negativity (BP and pN). The P300 and the MMN potentials have a limited but recognized role in the diagnosis of cognitive impairment and consciousness disorders. LEPs have a well-documented usefulness in the diagnosis of neuropathic pain, with low application in clinical assessment of psychophysiological basis of pain. The other ERP components mentioned here, though largely applied in normal and pathological cases and well standardized, are still confined to the research field. CNV, BP, and pN deserve to be largely tested in movement disorders, just to explain possible functional changes in motor preparation circuits subtending different clinical pictures and responses to treatments.

Visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue as markers of local and systemic inflammation: a comparison between celiac and obese patients using MRI

BACKGROUND

Celiac disease (CD) is a systemic inflammatory disease, which primarily affects the gastrointestinal tract. It has been recently demonstrated that adipose-tissue infiltration by proinflammatory immune cells causes a chronic low-grade inflammation in obese patients. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has already proved to be useful in evaluation of inflammatory states. The aim of the present study was to determine whether alterations of visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue, identified with MRI, could serve as markers of local and systemic inflammation in patients with CD.

METHODS

A pilot study was conducted comparing alterations in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) in CD patients vs obese patients and healthy controls. Fifty patients were enrolled and assigned to one of the following groups: Group A: 11 active CD patients; Group B: 11 CD patients in remission; Group C: 16 obese patients; Group D: 12 healthy controls. A 3-T MRI unit was used and T2-weighted TSE images of VAT and SAT were obtained in specific regions of interest. Serum cytokine concentrations (TNF-α, IL-6, adiponectin, leptin, IL-2, IFN-γ) were determined.

RESULTS

There was a significant difference in VAT T2 relaxation time between Group A and B (p < 0.001), A and D (p < 0.01), B and C (p < 0.001). There was a statistically significant difference in SAT T2 relaxation time between Group A and B (p < 0.001), A and C (p < 0.05), A and D (p < 0.001), B and C (p < 0.01). In addition, VAT/SAT T2 relaxation time ratio showed a statistically significant difference between Group A and C (p < 0.05) and between Group B and C (p < 0.01). Only TNF-α and IL-6 significantly correlated with both VAT and VAT/SAT ratio in active CD.

CONCLUSIONS

MRI showed similar increased visceral inflammatory signals in patients with active CD and obese patients. However, subcutaneous inflammatory signals were higher in active CD than in all the other groups. These data show that there is a systemic inflammatory state in active CD, whereas chronic inflammation appears confined to VAT in obesity. These data were only partially confirmed by serological cytokine profiles, which showed less specificity than MRI.

Hand, foot and lip representations in primary sensorimotor cortex: a high-density electroencephalography study

The primary sensorimotor cortex plays a major role in the execution of movements of the contralateral side of the body. The topographic representation of different body parts within this brain region is commonly investigated through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However, fMRI does not provide direct information about neuronal activity. In this study, we used high-density electroencephalography (hdEEG) to map the representations of hand, foot, and lip movements in the primary sensorimotor cortex, and to study their neural signatures. Specifically, we assessed the event-related desynchronization (ERD) in the cortical space. We found that the performance of hand, foot, and lip movements elicited an ERD in beta and gamma frequency bands. The primary regions showing significant beta- and gamma-band ERD for hand and foot movements, respectively, were consistent with previously reported using fMRI. We observed relatively weaker ERD for lip movements, which may be explained by the fact that less fine movement control was required. Overall, our study demonstrated that ERD based on hdEEG data can support the study of motor-related neural processes, with relatively high spatial resolution. An interesting avenue may be the use of hdEEG for deeper investigations into the pathophysiology of neuromotor disorders.

Injury narratives in occupational safety and health prevention in Italy

BACKGROUND

Storytelling is an effective information source when coupled with technical-scientific evidence. It can promote a structured relationship between evidence-based knowledge and field experience of workplace safety and prevention services (WSPS) inspectors. This is key to identifying the causes of workplace injuries and to set priorities for prevention strategies.

AIMS

The main aim was to describe and report how story collection can be used for deriving validated indications for injury prevention. The specific objectives were to report the results of the creation and dissemination on the web of the story collection and the experience of setting up a community of practice (CoP) to develop preventive recommendations.

METHODS

WSPS inspectors from local health boards in Piedmont (northwest Italy) were asked to write injury stories. They identified the key elements of their stories and developed a narrative of witness accounts to explore the critical issues identified during the investigation. In sessions with the CoP, the inspectors validated the indications for prevention elaborated in each story to reduce bias and standardize recommendations.

RESULTS

Between 2012 and 2017, 60 WSPS inspectors wrote 53 injury stories which were collected and published on the institutional website. Twenty-two stories were selected for discussion during peer review sessions in the CoP and the indications for prevention were transformed as preventive solutions.

CONCLUSIONS

Occupational safety and health prevention can benefit from a narrative-based approach that provides a more comprehensive look at health and safety by facilitating knowledge improvement and sharing.

Customer satisfaction survey in Friuli Venezia Giulia university canteens

Background

Customer satisfaction represents an innovative approach to measure strengths and weaknesses of an organization and is useful for a customer-focused management and culture development. Our survey’s aim was to investigate perceived quality and needs of customers in the university canteen sector.

Methods

Between April and June 2018, an anonymous online questionnaire was distributed by “agenzia regionale per il diritto agli studi superiori” (ARDISS) among university students in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy. The questions covered 3 thematic areas: attendance of the service, quality of services and opinions on new initiatives. Furthermore, there was an open question to collect students’ suggestions or proposals to improve the service. Satisfaction about the service was evaluated through five topics: environments, hygiene, staff, meals, global satisfaction. Collected data were analyzed with descriptive, univariate and multivariate analyses. Statistical analyses were performed using 9.4 SAS software.

Results

Response rate was 20.5% (1933/9404). Multiple logistic regression analyses showed a difference in meal choice (entire vs reduced) between institutional canteen and partner cafeterias users (p &lt; 0.0001) and that male (p &lt; 0.0001) and foreign students (p 0.0003) prefer entire meal instead of reduced. Percentage of students who prefer entire meal is reduced (p &lt; 0.0001) if price range increases. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that high quality perception is associated with lower price range and no suggestions about food and environments (p &lt; 0.0001); multivariate analyses also showed an association between high quality perception and high canteen attendance (p &lt; 0.05).

Conclusions

The survey showed an association between meal choice and students’ profile and between perceived quality and customer’s features. These data and further analyses may help to select areas where an intervention could improve service quality and, therefore, customer satisfaction.

Key messages

Customer satisfaction is an important tool to measure and improve university canteen service quality. These results helped us to identify services’ strengths and weaknesses according to students’ opinions; this could be useful to select improvement areas.

Vaccination of classmates for an immunosuppressed child’s protection in a school in the LHA Roma 1

Issue/problem

One of the duty of a State is to guarantee the protection of the health of all citizens, both safeguarding the sick individual needing care and protecting the healthy individual. An important objective of the vaccination prevention programs is to protect people most at risk of contracting infections because of their health conditions.

Description of the problem

In April 2019 the District 14 of Local Health Autority Roma 1 was asked by a father of an immunosuppressed child (6 years old), worried about infectious diseases, to verify the safeness of his child school attendance (the first class of primary school). First, a list of the class mates was asked to the school, in order to check their vaccination status by interrogating the web based regional vaccination register. Then, the District asked to the school to plan a meeting with classmates’ parents and teachers, in order to inform about the importance of a complete immunization both for the classmates and the immunosuppressed child protection.

Results

Preliminary results show that, among 18 classmates, 77.8% had full vaccination coverage for the second dose measles and fourth dose whooping cough (not mandatory for children aged less than 7 years), 22.2% were immunized for chicken pox. Among the parents attending the meeting, 15 agreed to complete their children vaccination cycle, all the teachers agreed to undergo whooping cough and chicken pox vaccination in order to allow a safe school attendance to the immunosuppressed child. Parents and teachers were given an appointment in a vaccination center for the week following the meeting.

Lessons

It is important to promote a real ’vaccination culture’ starting from the school, in order to develop greater citizenship awareness about the potential of vaccinations and to contrast fake news and ignorance leading to dangerous prejudices.

Key messages

The active collaboration between institutions (sanitary and school) allows, through the integration between different competences, to achieve health objectives to protect the community. Talking to pupils’ parents about infectious diseases and their prevention makes it possible to increase knowledge and therefore awareness of the importance of adult and children health protection.

A vaccination campaign in a Roma community in Rome: an experience of the Local Health Autority Roma1

Issue/problem

About 8,000 Roma and Sinti live in the city of Rome, distributed in 33 settlements. This population is particularly at risk of health problems, due to social marginality and reduced access to health and social services. An important challenge for public health is therefore to guarantee and improve the right to health and the availability of health care. In Italy, a new vaccination law was approved in July 2017 and 10 vaccinations became mandatory for minors attending schools.

Description of the problem

In 2018 the District 14 of the Local Health Authority Rome1 (LHA Rome1) organized a vaccination campaign for the Roma and Sinti community being in its area. The aim of the campaign was to analyse the vaccination status of children under-18 living in the camp, based on the local police census data, crossed with the web based regional vaccination registry, to offer free vaccination for those without a regular status, in order to allow school attendance.

Results

Among 109 children living in the targeted Roma and Sinti camp, only 6 (5.5%) had a regular vaccination status according to the Italian law. Two different vaccination opportunity were offered to the community during 2018: a dedicated vaccination session in the local vaccination center, during which 6 children were vaccinated; four vaccination days offered directly at the Roma camp (a total of 53 children were vaccinated). At the end of 2018, the new Police census identified 114 minors resident in the camp instead of 109; of these, 48 (42.1%) had reached a regular vaccination status.

Lessons

Addressing hard-to-reach communities in order to improve the access to health and social services is one of the LHA objectives. The intervention performed in the Roma camp was also an opportunity to promote the importance of vaccination and to inform the target community about various LHA services, in particular maternal and infant services, including those for Temporarily Present Foreigners.

Key messages

The interventions performed straight into communities living in unfavorable health and social conditions are useful to improve the access to health and social services. Vaccination of people living in a social marginality is an important challenge for public health in order to guarantee specific protection measures and promoting the right to health.