Mean speed in professional cycling: No evidence of decline

Abstract The aim of this article was to evaluate the mean speed progression of the three major cycling stage races in order to empirically establish whether excellent in performance in professional cycling is to some extent correlated with the trend of blood doping and anti-doping throughout more than a century of official cycling competitions. We retrieved data about the mean speed of the winners of the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana, since their beginning. A linear correlation has then been calculated between the years and the mean speed in km/h for each single major cycling stage race, as well as for the mean speed of the winners of the three major cycling stage races …

Association between climate and new daily diagnoses of COVID-19

AbstractBackgroundAlthough evidence is accumulating that climate conditions may positively or negatively influence the scale of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks, uncertainty remains concerning the real impact of climate factors on viral transmission. Methods. The number of new daily cases of COVID-19 diagnosed in Verona (Italy) was retrieved from the official website of Veneto Region, while information on daily weather parameters in the same area was downloaded from IlMeteo website, a renowned Italian technological company specialized in weather forecasts. The search period ranged between March 1 to November 11, 2020. The number of new daily COVID-19 cases and meteorological da…

Updated overview on interplay between physical exercise, neurotrophins, and cognitive function in humans

Highlights • Physical exercise maintains or improves cognitive functions, and neurotrophin receptor signaling may play an important role. • A positive relationship exists between physical exercise and circulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels. • Less clear evidence has been found for a relationship between physical exercise and other neurotrophin levels, such as nerve growth factor, neurotrophin-3, and neurotrophin-4. • The postexercise variation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor might be associated with improvement of neurocognitive functioning. • Physical exercise may be an inexpensive and safe strategy for boosting brain-derived neurotrophic factor release, thus preserving …

Routine cardiac troponin assessment after percutaneous coronary intervention

: Although the angiographic and procedural success of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is now very high, some severe complications may still develop, including periprocedural myocardial infarction (MI). An accurate diagnosis of this condition is essential for guiding the clinical management, as these patients may need a tailored management. The current recommendations for diagnosing periprocedural myocardial infarction based on the fourth universal definition appear at first sight straightforward, but the clinical and prognostic significance of routine periprocedural cardiac troponin (cTn) assessment remains uncertain. The current scientific evidence suggests that the likelihood of …

Worldwide burden of LDL cholesterol: Implications in cardiovascular disease

Abstract Background and aim an increased value of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is now universally considered a major cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor. LDL-C is included in the vast majority of worldwide cardiovascular risk prediction algorithms, as well as in the guidelines for cardiovascular risk prevention. We aimed to provide an overview of the worldwide adverse healthcare impact of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Methods and results Data on the epidemiologic burden of LDL-C >1.3 mmol/L were retrieved from Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx) registry. The current burden is 94.92 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), with an exponential increas…

Large-scale epidemiological data on vascular disorders of the intestine

Objectives: This article aims to provide updates on the worldwide epidemiology of vascular disorders of the intestine.Methods: A comprehensive search for obtaining worldwide epidemiologic informati...

Clinical and demographic characteristics of patients dying from COVID-19 in Italy vs China.

Abstract Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), an infectious outbreak caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2),1 has now progressed to global pandemic.2 Besides the compelling need to understand the novel biological pathways underlying the virulence and pathogenicity of SARS‐CoV‐2 in humans to enable the development of appropriate interventions and therapies,3,4 the noticeable difference in mortality rates between Asian and European populations is one of the most significant issues demanding the attention of biologists, epidemiologists and clinicians around the world. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Searching for a clinically validated definition of “asymptomatic” COVID‐19 infection

Google Searches for Taste and Smell Loss Anticipate Covid-19 Epidemiology

AbstractBackgroundAs evidence emerged that loss of taste and/or loss of smell is frequently triggered by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, we investigated whether Google searches volume for these two disease-specific symptoms could be associated with disease epidemiology in United States (US).Materials and MethodsWe performed an electronic search in Google Trends using the keywords “taste loss” and “smell loss” within the US. The Google searches volume was correlated with the number of new weekly cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country.ResultsThe weekly Google searches for taste and smell loss exhibited a trend similar to that of new…

Concise update on colorectal cancer epidemiology

Colorectal cancer is a type of gastrointestinal malignancy originating from either the colon or rectum. In this short report we provide a concise update on recent colorectal cancer statistics, especially concerning frequency, mortality, life expectancy and risk factors. Overall, colorectal cancer is the third more frequent malignant disease around the world (1.85 million of new cases/years; 10.2% of total malignancies), with 2.27% cumulative risk of onset between 0–74 years. The age-standardized rate increases by over 10-fold before the age of 50 up to ≥85 years, whilst men have ~50% enhanced risk compared to women (the 0–74 years risk is 2.75% in men and 1.83% in women, respectively). Alth…