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Background The most common diagnostic technique for the detection of malignant/atypical urothelial cells (m/AUC) is urinary cytology (Ucytol). Urinary sediment (Used) examination, often prescribed for asymptomatic, healthy subjects, can incidentally identify suspicious/AUC (s/AUC) in routine daily practice. Methods Unstained, unfixed and uncentrifuged urine samples were analyzed with an automated intelligent microscopy (AIM) system. From January 2010, any incidental identification of s/AUC through expert revision of unclassified cell images was reported, according to internal protocols, as an additional note on the patients’ laboratory report. Patients' symptomatology or previous history was unknown to the pathologist. All referrals from January 2010 to December 2014, with the s/AUC note, were reviewed and cross-referenced with Ucytol and histology data from a central database. Results Of the 162 patients identified with s/AUC (0.1/1000 samples), 84% (n = 136) performed further Ucytol and/or histological examinations. The sensitivity of the identification of non-transitory AUC at Used was 87.5%. Positive histological examinations were 91.2% classified as high-grade urothelial carcinoma. Conclusions Routine Used examination, with an AIM and expert revision, can identify the presence of AUC in a clinical laboratory setting, and for some subjects, may anticipate bladder carcinoma diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epileptogenesis is defined as the latent period at the end of which spontaneous recurrent seizures occur. This concept has been recently re-evaluated to include exacerbation of clinically-manifested epilepsy. Thus, in patients affected by pharmacoresistant seizures, the progression toward a worse condition may be viewed as the result of a durable epileptogenic process. However, the mechanism potentially responsible for this progression remains unclear. Neuroinflammation has been consistently detected both in the latent period and in the chronic phase of epilepsy, especially when brain damage is present. This phenomenon is accompanied by glial cell reaction, leading to gliosis. We have previously described rats presenting an increased expression of the cytochrome P450 cholesterol side-chain cleavage ( P450scc) enzyme, during the latent period, in glial cells of the hippocampus. The P450scc enzyme is critically involved in the synthesis of neurosteroids and its up-regulation is associated with a delayed appearance of spontaneous recurrent seizures in rats that experienced status epilepticus induced by pilocarpine. Moreover, by decreasing the synthesis of neurosteroids able to promote inhibition, such as allopregnanolone, through the administration of the 5α-reductase blocker finasteride, it is possible to terminate the latent period in pilocarpine-treated rats. Finasteride was also found to promote seizures in the chronic period of epileptic rats, suggesting that neurosteroids are continuously produced to counteract seizures. In humans, exacerbation of epilepsy has been also described in patients occasionally exposed to finasteride. Overall, these findings suggest a major role of neurosteroids in the progression of epilepsy and a possible antiepileptogenic role of allopregnanolone and cognate molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]