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High-grade gliomas are the most common and aggressive malignant primary brain tumors. Current therapeutic schemes include a combination of surgical resection, radiotherapy and chemotherapy; even if major advances have been achieved in Progression Free Survival and Overall Survival for patients harboring high-grade gliomas, prognosis still remains poor; hence, new therapeutic options for malignant gliomas are currently researched. Sonodynamic Therapy (SDT) has proven to be a promising treatment combining the effects of low-intensity ultrasound waves with various sound-sensitive compounds, whose activation leads to increased immunogenicity of tumor cells, increased apoptotic rates and decreased angiogenetic potential. In addition, this therapeutic technique only exerts its cytotoxic effects on tumor cells, while both ultrasound waves and sensitizing compound are non-toxic per se. This review summarizes the present knowledge regarding mechanisms of action of SDT and currently available sonosensitizers and focuses on the preclinical and clinical studies that have investigated its efficacy on malignant gliomas. To date, preclinical studies implying various sonosensitizers and different treatment protocols all seem to confirm the anti-tumoral properties of SDT, while first clinical trials will soon start recruiting patients. Accordingly, it is crucial to conduct further investigations regarding the clinical applications of SDT as a therapeutic option in the management of intracranial gliomas.

Extraesophageal reflux symptoms are increasingly common in the Western population and their clinical management is still controversial. Although therapy with proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) represents the gold standard, to date, many patients are refractory to this treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate, in patients with a recent diagnosis of GERD experiencing extraesophageal symptoms, the efficacy and safety of a 6-week treatment with PPI acid suppression in combination with Gerdoff® (a hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulphate-based medical device) compared to PPI monotherapy. The trial verified the reduction in symptom frequency and severity by evaluating the proportion of Responders and Non-Responder patients after 6 weeks of treatment, compared to baseline. The effects of Gerdoff® + PPI treatment on extraesophageal symptoms were also evaluated after a 12-week follow up only in Responder patients. The analysis of the change in total Reflux Symptoms Index (RSI) score from baseline to the other time points showed that the extent of the decrease from baseline was higher in the Gerdoff® + PPI group than in the PPI group at any time point. However, the comparison between groups did not show statistically significant differences at any time point. A statistically significant difference, in favor of the Gerdoff® + PPI group, was observed for individual RSI items. Even if the trial showed some limitations, this is the first published study on the efficacy of a medical device containing hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulphate with antacid in the treatment of extraesophageal reflux symptoms.

Evaluating changes induced by immunotherapies (IT) on conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is difficult because those treatments may produce inflammatory responses. To explore the potential contribution of advanced MRI to distinguish pseudoprogression (PsP) and true tumor progression (TTP), and to identify patients obtaining therapeutic benefit from IT, we examined aMRI findings in newly diagnosed glioblastoma treated with dendritic cell IT added to standard treatment. We analyzed longitudinal MRIs obtained in 22 patients enrolled in the EUDRACT N&deg, 2008-005035-15 trial. According to RANO criteria, we observed 18 TTP and 8 PsP. Comparing MRI performed at the time of TTP/PsP with the previous exam performed two months before, a difference in cerebral blood volume &Delta, rCBVmax &ge, 0.47 distinguished TTP from PsP with a sensitivity of 67% and specificity of 75% (p = 0.004). A decrease in minimal apparent diffusion coefficient rADCmin (1.15 vs. 1.01, p = 0.003) was observed after four vaccinations only in patients with a persistent increase of natural killer cells (response effectors during IT) in peripheral blood. Basal rADCmin &gt, 1 was independent predictor of longer progression free (16.1 vs. 9 months, p = 0.0001) and overall survival (32.8 vs. 17.5 months, p = 0.0005). In conclusion, rADC predicted response to immunotherapy and survival, Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) and Cerebral Blood Volume (CBV) modifications over time help differentiating PsP from TTP at onset.

Chronic idiopathic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIIPO) is a disease characterized by symptoms and signs of small bowel obstruction in the absence of displayable mechanical obstruction. Due to the known neuropathic capacity of several viruses, and their localization in the intestine, it has been hypothesized that such viruses could be involved in the pathogenesis of CIIPO. The most frequently involved viruses are John Cunningham virus, Herpesviridae, Flaviviruses, Epstein–Barr virus and Citomegalovirus. Therefore, the present narrative review aims to sum up some new perspectives in the etiology and pathophysiology of CIIPO.

Low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-c) is the most remarkable lipid trait both in mild-to-moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients as well as in advanced renal disease stages, and we have previously shown that reduced lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) concentration is a major determinant of the low HDL phenotype. In the present study, we test the hypothesis that reduced LCAT concentration in CKD contributes to the progression of renal damage. The study includes two cohorts of subjects selected from the PLIC study: a cohort of 164 patients with CKD (NefroPLIC cohort) and a cohort of 164 subjects selected from the PLIC participants with a basal estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) &gt, 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 (PLIC cohort). When the NefroPLIC patients were categorized according to the LCAT concentration, patients in the 1st tertile showed the highest event rate at follow-up with an event hazard ratio significantly higher compared to the 3rd LCAT tertile. Moreover, in the PLIC cohort, subjects in the 1st LCAT tertile showed a significantly faster impairment of kidney function compared to subjects in the 3rd LCAT tertile. Serum from subjects in the 1st LCAT tertile promoted a higher reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in renal cells compared to serum from subjects in the third LCAT tertile, and this effect was contrasted by pre-incubation with recombinant human LCAT (rhLCAT). The present study shows that reduced plasma LCAT concentration predicts CKD progression over time in patients with renal dysfunction, and, even more striking, it predicts the impairment of kidney function in the general population.