MSJ872889_supplemental_table – Supplemental material for Treatment of multiple sclerosis with rituximab: A multicentric Italian–Swiss experience
Supplemental material, MSJ872889_supplemental_table for Treatment of multiple sclerosis with rituximab: A multicentric Italian–Swiss experience by Chiara Zecca, Francesca Bovis, Giovanni Novi, Marco Capobianco, Roberta Lanzillo, Jessica Frau, Anna Maria Repice, Bahia Hakiki, Sabrina Realmuto, Simona Bonavita, Erica Curti, Laura Brambilla, Giorgia Mataluni, Paola Cavalla, Alessia Di Sapio, Elisabetta Signoriello, Stefania Barone, Giorgia T Maniscalco, Ilaria Maietta, Isabella Maraffi, Giacomo Boffa, Simona Malucchi, Agostino Nozzolillo, Giancarlo Coghe, Claudia Mechi, Giuseppe Salemi, Antonio Gallo, Rosaria Sacco, Maria Cellerino, Maria Malentacchi, Marcello De Angelis, Lorena Lorefice, Elia…
Risk of Persistent Disability in Patients With Pediatric-Onset Multiple Sclerosis
Importance Availability of new disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) and changes of therapeutic paradigms have led to a general improvement of multiple sclerosis (MS) prognosis in adults. It is still unclear whether this improvement also involves patients with pediatric-onset MS (POMS), whose early management is more challenging. Objective To evaluate changes in the prognosis of POMS over time in association with changes in therapeutic and managing standards. Design, Setting, and Participants Retrospective, multicenter, observational study. Data were extracted and collected in May 2019 from the Italian MS Registry, a digital database including more than 59 000 patients. Inclusion criteria were…
Towards the identification of species-specific monitoring protocol for the Italian flora of Community interest
The ongoing activities for the identification of monitoring methods for the Italian flora of Community interest (FCI) are presented. The reference framework is the Directive 92/43/EEC. Monitoring is an obligation arising from Art. 11 and the results have to be reported every six years, according to Art. 17. In the last Italian National Report, covering the period 2007-2012, the status of the FCI was assessed using available knowledge and expert judgment, still revealing relevant lack of data for some plant species and, in turn, population parameters (Ercole and Giacanelli, 2014). To overcome these deficiencies, in 2015 began a project aims to set future monitoring activities and to optimize…
Are Red Lists really useful for plant conservation? The New Red List of the Italian Flora in the perspective of national conservation policies
La nuova Lista Rossa della flora Italiana comprende tutte le "policy" specie italiane e altre specie di nota conservazione e comprende 400 taxa di cui il 65% sono minacciate di estinzione. La Lista Rossa si basa su un enorme data-set georeferenziato utile per gli scopi di conservazione. - The New Red List of the Italian Flora includes all the Italian policy species and other species of known conservation concerns for a total of 400 taxa, 65% of which are threatened with extinction. The Red List is based on a huge georeferenced data-set useful for conservation purposes. -
Red Listing plants under full national responsibility: Extinction risk and threats in the vascular flora endemic to Italy
Abstract Taxa endemic to a country are key elements for setting national conservation priorities and for driving conservation strategies, since their persistence is entirely dependent on national policy. We applied the IUCN Red List categories to all Italian endemic vascular plants (1340 taxa) to assess their current risk of extinction and to highlight their major threats. Our results revealed that six taxa are already extinct and that 22.4% (300 taxa) are threatened with extinction, while 18.4% (247; especially belonging to apomictic groups) have been categorized as Data Deficient. Italian endemic vascular plants are primarily threatened by natural habitat modification due to agriculture, …
Treatment of multiple sclerosis with rituximab: A multicentric Italian–Swiss experience
Background: Rituximab, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody leading to B lymphocyte depletion, is increasingly used as an off-label treatment option for multiple sclerosis (MS). Objective: To investigate the effectiveness and safety of rituximab in relapsing–remitting (RR) and progressive MS. Methods: This is a multicenter, retrospective study on consecutive MS patients treated off-label with rituximab in 22 Italian and 1 Swiss MS centers. Relapse rate, time to first relapse, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) progression, incidence of adverse events, and radiological outcomes from 2009 to 2019 were analyzed. Results: A total of 355/451 enrolled subjects had at least one follow-up visit an…
Conservation status of the Italian flora under the 92/43/EEC ‘Habitats’ Directive
The results of the 4th National Report for the Italian flora under the 92/43/EEC ‘Habitats’ Directive are presented. The outcomes showed a general negative conservation status for plant species, with the worst situation being in the Mediterranean bioregion. At the National level, significant monitoring and conservation activities are required.
Implementation of IUCN criteria for the definition of the Red List of Ecosystems in Italy
The present work is aimed at presenting the data, methods and criteria that are being used for the assessment of ecosystem collapse risk in Italy.
Defining the course of tumefactive multiple sclerosis: A large retrospective multicentre study
Background and purpose: Tumefactive multiple sclerosis (TuMS) (i.e., MS onset presenting with tumefactive demyelinating lesions [TDLs]) is a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. We performed a multicentre retrospective study to describe the clinical characteristics and the prognostic factors of TuMS. Methods: One hundred two TuMS patients were included in this retrospective study. Demographic, clinical, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), laboratory data and treatment choices were collected. Results: TuMS was found to affect women more than men (female:male: 2.4), with a young adulthood onset (median age: 29.5 years, range: 11–68 years, interquartile range [IQR]: 38 years). At onset, 52% of …
An updated checklist of the vascular flora native to Italy
AbstractAn updated inventory of the vascular flora alien to Italy, providing details on the occurrence at regional level, is presented. The checklist includes 1597 species, subspecies, and hybrids, distributed in 725 genera and 152 families; 2 taxa are lycophytes, 11 ferns and fern allies, 33 gymnosperms, and 1551 angiosperms. 157 taxa are archaeophytes and 1440 neophytes. The alien taxa currently established in Italy are 791 (570 naturalized and 221 invasive), while 705 taxa are casual aliens, 4 are not assessed, 7 are of unknown regional distribution, 47 have not been confirmed in recent times, 3 are considered extinct or possibly extinct in the country, and 40 are doubtfully occurring in…
Clinical activity after fingolimod cessation: Disease reactivation or rebound?
Background and purpose There is debate as to whether the apparent rebound after fingolimod discontinuation is related to the discontinuation itself or whether it is due to the natural course of highly active multiple sclerosis (MS). Our aim was to survey the prevalence of severe reactivation and rebound after discontinuation of fingolimod in a cohort of Italian patients with MS. Methods Patients with relapsing-remitting MS who were treated with fingolimod for at least 6 months and who stopped treatment for reasons that were unrelated to inefficacy were included in the analysis. Results A total of 100 patients who had discontinued fingolimod were included in the study. Fourteen patients (14%…
Floristic traits and biogeographic characterization of the Gennargentu massif (Sardinia)
A study on the vascular flora of the Gennargentu Massif (Central-Eastern Sardinia) is presented. According to our results, the flora consists of 948 taxa: 686 species, 249 sub- species, 10 varieties and 3 hybrids, belonging to 97 families and 427 genera. Three taxa are new findings for the flora of Italy and eight for that of Sardinia. Life form analysis revealed, in particular, dominance of 35.65 % hemicryptophytes, 34.6 % therophytes, 12.13 % geophytes and 11.6 % (nano)-phanero- phytes. As concerns chorology, the Mediterranean element is largely prevailing (68.14%), mainly represented by circum- Medit. (29.1 %) and Euro-Medit. (23.07 %). Endemics are 14.87% of the whole flora (141 taxa), …
Global and Regional IUCN Red List Assessments: 13
In this contribution, the conservation status assessment of two vascular plants according to IUCN categories and criteria are presented. It includes the global assessment of Isoëtes todaroana Troìa & Raimondo and Moluccella bucharica (B.Fedtsch.) Ryding.
Efficacy of different rituximab therapeutic strategies in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders
Abstract Objective To evaluate disease activity according to rituximab (RTX) induction and maintenance regimens in a multicenter real-life dataset of NMOSD patients. Methods This is an observational-retrospective multicentre study including patients with NMOSD treated with RTX in 21 Italian and 1 Swiss centers. Demographics, relapse rate and adverse events over the follow-up were summarized taking into account induction strategy (two-1 g infusions at a 15-day interval (IND-A) vs. 375 mg/m2/week infusions for one month (IND-B)) and maintenance therapy (regimen A (M-A) with fixed time-points infusions vs. regimen B (M-B) based on cytofluorimetric driven reinfusion regimens, the least further …
IDPlanT: the Italian database of plant translocation
IDPlanT is the Italian Database of Plant Translocation, an initiative of the Nature Conservation Working Group of the Italian Botanical Society. IDPlanT currently includes 185 plant translocations. The establishment of a national database on plant translocation is a key step forward in data sharing and techniques improvement in this field of plant conservation. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/11263504.2021.1985004.
Preliminary results on the conservation of Lamyropsis microcephala (Moris) Dittrich & Greuter (Compositae), a threatened endemic species of the Gennargentu massif, Sardinia
Lamyropsis microcephala (Moris) Dittrich & Greuter (Compositae) es un endemismo de la isla de Cerdeña (Italia), sólo conocido de un par de localidades del macizo Gennargentu. El propósito de este trabajo es el de intentar conocer las características de la ecología y biología de la especie que puedan ser importantes de cara a su conservación. Mostramos los resultados preliminares, centrados en la abundancia y distribución de la especie, su capacidad reproductiva y sus posibles amenazas. De los datos obtenidos en el campo parece que la población original se ha fragmentado en dos subpoblaciones. La población total cubre un área de unas 12 Ha, incluyendo unos 2500 individuos. La biología reprod…
Red list of threatened vascular plants in Italy
Italy has a rich natural heritage, which is dangerously under pressure. In recent years, there is an increased awareness of the crucial role of plants in ecosystem functioning and in providing ecosystem services. Consequently, an updated Red List of the Italian vascular flora was compiled in this work, at the request of the Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea Protection, with the scientific support of the Italian Botanical Society. The IUCN Red List criteria were applied to 2,430 Italian native vascular plant taxa to assess their current extinction risk and to highlight the major threats affecting the Italian flora. Our results revealed that 54 taxa (2.2% of the assessed taxa) are extinc…
Conserving plant diversity in Europe: outcomes, criticisms and perspectives of the Habitats Directive application in Italy
Habitat Directive is the core strategy of nature conservation in Europe aiming at halting biodiversity loss. In this study the results of the third Italian assessment regarding the conservation status (CS) of plants listed in the Habitat Directive (Flora of community interest—FCI) was presented. Data was collected from several sources related to plant distribution, population data, habitats and pressures. Following the official European procedure, all parameters were evaluated and combined to give the CS of each taxon in each biogeographical region of presence. A comparison between the recent Italian IUCN and Reporting assessments was performed in order to evaluate the consistency between t…
Is legal protection sufficient to ensure plant conservation? The Italian Red List of policy species as a case study
AbstractThe conservation of species listed in the Bern Convention and European Directive 1992/43/EEC (so-called policy species) is mandatory for European Union (EU) countries. We assessed the conservation status of Italian policy species, based on the IUCN categories and criteria, to evaluate the effectiveness of existing protection measures at the national level. Among the 203 vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens evaluated, 41.9% are categorized as threatened, and one is already extinct, indicating that the protection measures for policy species are inadequate. Our results for the Italian policy species are consistent with those of an assessment at the EU level. Conservation priorities …
IDPlanT: the Italian database of plant translocation
IDPlanT is the Italian Database of Plant Translocation, an initiative of the Nature Conservation Working Group of the Italian Botanical Society. IDPlanT currently includes 185 plant translocations. The establishment of a national database on plant translocation is a key step forward in data sharing and techniques improvement in this field of plant conservation. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/11263504.2021.1985004 .