Despite the wide amount of scientific contributions published on alien plant species, their diffusion dynamics, and their interactions with native taxa, it is increasingly difficult to slow down ...their spreading and their negative impact on habitats. Last recent years, in fact, a sharp rise in the number of new alien plant taxa introduced in Italy and Europe has been recorded. The aim of this work is to investigate most of the Italian territory in order to verify whether this alarming trend is still underway. Specimen collections and/or observations of alien plants have been performed in as many as 12 Italian regions. All the collected specimens are stored in public or private herbaria. Taxa have been identified according to the literature from the countries of origin of the investigated taxa, while the nomenclature followed the current international references. Updates on 106 taxa are reported. In particular, among 117 new records, 89 are first records, 27 are changes to status and there is 1 extinction. Seven new taxa for Italian alien flora are reported, two of which are new to Europe. The administrative regions with the highest number of records are Calabria (48), Sardegna (17) and Sicilia (15). Five of the surveyed taxa, for the first time, have been considered invasive aliens to Italian territory. The unfrequent amount of original results provided by this work, over the simple importance of data itself, proves how floristic investigation, still today, represents one of the most effective tools in broadening the current knowledge about alien taxa and their dynamics.
In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of vascular flora alien to Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, and status changes for Italy or for Italian ...administrative regions. Nomenclatural and distribution updates, published elsewhere, and corrections are provided as Suppl. material 1.
In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of vascular flora alien to Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, and status changes for Italy or for Italian ...administrative regions. Nomenclatural and distribution updates, published elsewhere, and corrections are provided as Suppl. material 1.
The treatment options for Fabry disease (FD) are enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with agalsidase alfa or beta, and the oral pharmacological chaperone migalastat. Since few data are available on the ...effects of switching from ERT to migalastat, we performed a single-center observational study on seven male Fabry patients (18-66 years) to assess the effects of the switch on renal, cardiac, and neurologic function, health status, pain, lyso-Gb3, α-Gal A activity and adverse effects. Data were retrospectively collected at time of diagnosis of FD (baseline, T0), and after 12 months of ERT (T1), and prospectively after 1 year of therapy with migalastat (T2). No patient died or reported renal, cardiac, or cerebrovascular events during the study period. The predefined measures for cardiac, renal and neurologic function, and FD-related symptoms and questionnaires were stable between baseline and the switch, and remained unchanged with migalastat. However, a significant improvement was observed in left ventricular mass index from baseline to T2 (p = 0.016), with a significative difference between the treatments (p = 0.028), and in median proteinuria from T2 vs T1 (p = 0.048). Moreover, scores of the BPI improved from baseline to T1, and remained stable with migalastat. Plasma lyso-Gb3 levels significantly decreased from baseline to T1 (P = 0.007) and T2 (P = 0.003), while did not significantly differ between the two treatments. α-Gal A activity increased from T0 to T2 (p < 0.0001). The frequency of adverse effects under migalastat and ERT was comparable (28% for both drugs). In conclusion, switching from ERT to migalastat is valid, safe and well tolerated.
We report an imported case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant P.1 detected in an asymptomatic traveler who arrived in Italy on an indirect flight from Brazil. ...This case shows the risk for introduction of SARS-CoV-2 variants from indirect flights and the need for continued SARS-CoV-2 surveillance.
Background:
Little is known about COVID-19 course and outcomes after a third booster dose of mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 (mRNA-Vax) in patients with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) treated with ...ocrelizumab (OCR) and fingolimod (FNG), which showed a weakened immune response to mRNA-vax.
Objectives:
The aim of this study was to evaluate COVID-19 course and outcomes in pwMS on OCR and FNG after receiving the third dose of mRNA-Vax and to compare it with pwMS on natalizumab (NTZ).
Methods:
Inclusion criteria: >18 years of age, being treated with OCR/FNG/NTZ since the first mRNA-Vax dose; COVID-19 after a third booster dose of mRNA-Vax; no steroids use.
Results:
Overall, 290 pwMS (79 NTZ, 126 OCR, and 85 FNG) from 17 Italian MS centers were included. Age, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score, MS phenotype, disease, and treatment duration were significantly different across groups. PwMS who had COVID-19 on OCR and FNG compared with those on NTZ were slightly more symptomatic with higher hospitalization rates (11.1% vs 7.1% vs 1.3%, respectively). Regression models showed that the majority of the differences observed were not related to the disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) used. No fatal cases were observed.
Conclusion:
Our results support the effectiveness of the third booster dose of mRNA-Vax against severe forms of COVID-19 in pwMS treated with OCR and FNG.
Little is known about the development of psychosis during hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) treatment, especially in elderly patients affected by rheumatic diseases, with multiple comorbidities and ...treatments. To summarize the available evidence on HCQ-induced psychosis in elders, we performed a literature review. Additionally, individual case safety reports sent to the European Pharmacovigilance database (EudraVigilance) with HCQ as suspected drug and related to adverse events belonging to the System Organ Class ‘Psychiatric disorders’ were shown. Over the years, evidence was published about the risk of neuropsychiatric clinical manifestations during HCQ treatment for rheumatic diseases, but few of them were related to elderly patients. These adverse events can include less severe clinical manifestations such as affect lability and nervousness or more severe conditions such as actual psychosis and suicidal tendencies, which frequency are actually unknown. The presence of risk factors in these patients may precipitate HCQ-induced psychosis and their precocious detection could be associated with a risk minimization. Among predisposing risk factors, there are the co-exposure to interacting drugs, alcohol intake, familial history of psychiatric diseases, female gender, and the concomitant use of low-dose glucocorticoids. In some cases it was possible to reverse psychotic behaviour with the antipsychotic treatment or with HCQ suspension.
The development of innovative and reliable techniques for devices miniaturization are enabling the massive growth of lab on chip (LOC) applications. In this article, we briefly review the ...technological options for LOC microfabrication, then we present the optimization of a process for the realization of tridimensional multi-layered structures and buried channels in a microfluidic network using a photo-patternable dry film, with a potential for LOC manufacturing. The tuning of all the fabrication parameters is widely discussed and micrographs and optical profiler images are reported to show fabrication results. The fabrication process is used for a Split-flow-thin (SPLITT) fractionation cell configuration. SPLITT is a particle fractionation technique based on the combined effect of two laminar streams (the sample containing the particles and a carrier) flowing inside a thin microchannel and the action of a vertical driving force for particle displacement. Since the SPLITT implemented in this work is electrically driven, patterned electrodes (thickness: 100 nm) are also integrated in the flow cell walls. The functionality of the cell was tested first verifying the presence of proper flow conditions for microfluidic SPLITT (absence of mixing between the streams) and then proving electrical fractionation with two different proteins (BSA and β-lactoglobulin) at different levels of ionic strength. The flow of the streams within the microfluidic channel was also simulated by a numerical 2-D model exactly reproducing the cell geometry, with a good accordance with experimental results.
To date, four vaccines have been authorised for emergency use and under conditional approval by the European Medicines Agency to prevent COVID-19: Comirnaty, COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen, Spikevax ...(previously COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna) and Vaxzevria (previously COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca). Although the benefit-risk profile of these vaccines was proven to be largely favourable in the general population, evidence in special cohorts initially excluded from the pivotal trials, such as pregnant and breastfeeding women, children/adolescents, immunocompromised people and persons with a history of allergy or previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, is still limited. In this narrative review, we critically overview pre- and post-marketing evidence on the potential benefits and risks of marketed COVID-19 vaccines in the above-mentioned special cohorts. In addition, we summarise the recommendations of the scientific societies and regulatory agencies about COVID-19 primary prevention in the same vaccinee categories.
General and local anaesthetics are widely used during surgery. These drugs have peculiar safety profiles, being commonly associated with mild and reversible local adverse drug reactions (ADRs), but ...also with more severe and systemic ADRs, including respiratory and cardiovascular depression and anaphylaxis.
We carried out a descriptive analysis of Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSRs) sent to the Campania Regional Centre of Pharmacovigilance (Southern Italy) from 2001 to 2021 that reported general or local anaesthetics as suspected drugs, with the aim of describing their overall characteristics, focussing on the ADRs' seriousness and distribution by System Organ Class (SOC) and Preferred Term (PT).
A total of 110 ICSRs documenting general or local anaesthetics were sent to the Italian pharmacovigilance database during 20 years of spontaneous reporting activities in the Campania region. ADRs mainly occurred in patients with a median age of 48 years and in a slightly higher percentage of men. ADRs were more commonly classified as not serious and had a favourable outcome. In terms of ADRs' distribution by SOC and PT, both general and local anaesthetics were associated with general and cutaneous disorders, with common ADRs that included lack of efficacy, rash, and erythema. In addition, general anaesthetics were associated with the occurrence of respiratory ADRs, while local anaesthetics were associated with the occurrence of nervous ADRs.
Even though a limited number of ICSRs documenting anaesthetics-induced ADRs were retrieved from the Italian spontaneous reporting database in the Campania region, we believe that the continuous monitoring of these drugs is highly recommended, especially among the frail population.
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