0000000000283252
AUTHOR
Astrid Thomas
Yersinia pestis DNA from Skeletal Remains from the 6th Century AD Reveals Insights into Justinianic Plague
Yersinia pestis, the etiologic agent of the disease plague, has been implicated in three historical pandemics. These include the third pandemic of the 19th and 20th centuries, during which plague was spread around the world, and the second pandemic of the 14th–17th centuries, which included the infamous epidemic known as the Black Death. Previous studies have confirmed that Y. pestis caused these two more recent pandemics. However, a highly spirited debate still continues as to whether Y. pestis caused the so-called Justinianic Plague of the 6th–8th centuries AD. By analyzing ancient DNA in two independent ancient DNA laboratories, we confirmed unambiguously the presence of Y. pestis DNA in…
A Critical Review of Alien Limb-Related Phenomena and Implications for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies
Consensus criteria on corticobasal degeneration (CBD) include alien limb (AL) phenomena. However, the gist of the behavioral features of AL is still “a matter of debate.” CBD-related AL has so far included the description of involuntary movements, frontal release phenomena (frontal AL), or asomatognosia (posterior or “real” AL). In this context, the most frequent symptoms are language and praxis deficits and cortical sensory misperception. However, asomatognosia requires, by definition, intact perception and cognition. Thus, to make a proper diagnosis of AL in the context of CBD, cognitive and language dysfunctions must be carefully verified and objectively assessed. We reviewed the current…
Drug Prescription and Delirium in Older Inpatients: Results From the Nationwide Multicenter Italian Delirium Day 2015-2016
Objective This study aimed to evaluate the association between polypharmacy and delirium, the association of specific drug categories with delirium, and the differences in drug-delirium association between medical and surgical units and according to dementia diagnosis. Methods Data were collected during 2 waves of Delirium Day, a multicenter delirium prevalence study including patients (aged 65 years or older) admitted to acute and long-term care wards in Italy (2015-2016); in this study, only patients enrolled in acute hospital wards were selected (n = 4,133). Delirium was assessed according to score on the 4 "A's" Test. Prescriptions were classified by main drug categories; polypharmacy w…
"Delirium Day": a nationwide point prevalence study of delirium in older hospitalized patients using an easy standardized diagnostic tool
Background To date, delirium prevalence in adult acute hospital populations has been estimated generally from pooled findings of single-center studies and/or among specific patient populations. Furthermore, the number of participants in these studies has not exceeded a few hundred. To overcome these limitations, we have determined, in a multicenter study, the prevalence of delirium over a single day among a large population of patients admitted to acute and rehabilitation hospital wards in Italy. Methods This is a point prevalence study (called “Delirium Day”) including 1867 older patients (aged 65 years or more) across 108 acute and 12 rehabilitation wards in Italian hospitals. Delirium wa…
A Stage-Based Approach to Therapy in Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that features progressive, disabling motor symptoms, such as bradykinesia, rigidity, and resting tremor. Nevertheless, some non-motor symptoms, including depression, REM sleep behavior disorder, and olfactive impairment, are even earlier features of PD. At later stages, apathy, impulse control disorder, neuropsychiatric disturbances, and cognitive impairment can present, and they often become a heavy burden for both patients and caregivers. Indeed, PD increasingly compromises activities of daily life, even though a high variability in clinical presentation can be observed among people affected. Nowadays, symptomatic drugs and non-phar…
The predictive power of transcranial sonography in movement disorders: a longitudinal cohort study.
Transcranial sonography (TCS) is a noninvasive, easily performed, and commonly available neuroimaging technique useful for the study of brain parenchyma in movement disorders. This tool has been increasingly used in the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and atypical parkinsonism. The aim of the study was to evaluate the applicability of this technique as supportive tool in the early diagnosis of movement disorders. We performed TCS on 315 individuals which were diagnosed as healthy controls or affected by idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, monogenetic subtypes of Parkinson’s disease, atypical parkinsonism, and Dementia with Lewy bodies. Five TCS diagnostic patterns were defined on the basis of …