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Background: Supportive Care is a person-centred approach encompassing non-pharmacological interventions targeted towards persons with dementia to contain the effects of their behavioural disorders, improving their quality of life., Aims: To investigate the effects of lockdown restrictions during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic on behavioural symptoms of patients involved in a Supportive Care programme in an Italian nursing home., Methods: Analysis is based on Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) scores and related symptoms data collected before (October/November 2019) and after (July 2020) the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions on a non-random sample of 75 patients living in two units of the facility: 38 involved in a Supportive Care programme and 37 receiving standard care (Control). Group performances were compared over time according to univariate statistics and Latent Class Analysis (LCA)., Results: NPI scores and number of reported symptoms in NPI evaluations increased over time among Supportive Care patients with dementia and decreased in the Control group. Differences are statistically significant. LCA resulted in 3-classes and 5-classes specifications in the two time-occasions., Discussion: Supportive Care patients showed a worsening in behavioural and psychological symptoms after the first pandemic wave, as opposed to the elderly not involved in the programme. LCA showed that patients in the two groups differed according to the combinations of NPI symptoms., Conclusions: The discontinuation of a Supportive Care programme due to COVID-19 restrictions had strong negative effects on nursing home persons with dementia involved in the programme: Supportive Care interventions are important in controlling the psycho-behavioural symptoms associated with dementia., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2024 Paccagnella, Miele, Guzzon, Neresini, Rebba, Rigon and Boniolo.)

Background: Almost 44 million people are currently living with dementia worldwide. This number is set to increase threefold by 2050, posing a serious threat to the sustainability of healthcare systems. Overuse of antipsychotic drugs for the management of the symptoms of dementia carries negative consequences for patients while also increasing the health expenditures for society. Supportive care (SC) interventions could be considered a safer and potentially cost-saving option. In this paper we provide a systematic review of the existing evidence regarding the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of SC interventions targeted towards persons living with dementia and their caregivers., Methods: A systematic literature review was performed between February 2019 and December 2021 through searches of the databases PubMed (MEDLINE), Cochrane Library, CENTRAL, Embase and PsycINFO. The search strategy was based on PRISMA 2020 recommendations. We considered studies published through December 2021 with no lower date limit. We distinguished between five categories of SC strategies: cognitive therapies, physical activity, indirect strategies (organisational and environmental changes), interventions primarily targeted towards family caregivers, and multicomponent interventions., Results: Of the 5,479 articles retrieved, 39 met the inclusion criteria. These studies analysed 35 SC programmes located at different stages of the dementia care pathway. Eleven studies provided evidence of high cost-effectiveness for seven interventions: two multicomponent interventions; two indirect interventions; two interventions aimed at caregivers of community-dwelling persons with dementia; one community-based cognitive stimulation and occupational programme., Conclusion: We find that the most promising SC strategies in terms of cost-effectiveness are multicomponent interventions (targeted towards both nursing home residents and day-care service users), indirect strategies (group living and dementia care management at home), some forms of tailored occupational therapy, together with some psychosocial interventions for caregivers of community-dwelling persons with dementia. Our results suggest that the adoption of effective SC interventions may increase the economic sustainability of dementia care., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Guzzon et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The role of a journal like HPLS during the novel coronavirus pandemic should serve as a means for scholars in different fields and professions to consider historically and critically what is happening as it unfolds. Surely it cannot tackle all the possible issues related to the pandemic, in particular to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it does have a responsibility to foster the best possible dialogue about the various issues related to the history and philosophy of the life sciences, and thus to solicit contributions from potential authors working in different parts of the world and belonging to different cultural traditions. Only a real plurality of perspectives should allow for a better, large-scale comprehension of what the COVID-19 pandemic is.

Mitochondria are key organelles inside the cell that house a wide range of molecular pathways involved in energy metabolism, ions homeostasis, and cell death. Several databases characterize the different mitochondrial aspects and thus support basic and clinical research. Here we present MitopatHs, a web-based data set that allows navigating among the biochemical signaling pathways (PatHs) of human (H) mitochondria (Mito). MitopatHs is designed to visualize and comprehend virtually all types of pathways in two complementary ways: a logical view , where the sequence of biochemical reactions is presented as logical deductions, and an intuitive graphical visualization , which enables the examination and the analysis of each step of the pathway. MitopatHs is a manually curated, open access and collaborative tool, whose goal is to enable the visualization and comprehension of complicated molecular routes in an easy and fast way., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2021 The Authors.)

In the paper, after clarifying terms such as 'identity', 'self' and 'personhood', I propose an empirical account of identity based on the notion of "whole phenotype". This move allows one to claim the persistence of the individuals before and after their being affected by dementia. Furthermore, I show how this account permits us to address significant questions related to demented individuals' loss of the capacity of moral decisions.

The relation between philosophy and biomedicine has been reassessed and rethought in the last few years: on the one hand, philosophy of science has paid increasing attention to actual modes of biomedical research and clinical practice; on the other, classes in philosophy, and more generally, in the humanities, have started entering medical curricula. However, the role of philosophy in medical education is not yet unanimously recognized, with situations differing significantly in various national and international contexts. In line with the tradition in Italy and other countries of reflecting on clinical methodology and with the recent initiatives at the crossroads between medicine and philosophy, this contribution aims to argue for the mutual relevance of medicine and philosophy in educational processes, and to suggest some possible forms of implementation of their interactions.

In August 2016, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Central Italy, starting a devastating seismic sequence, aggravated by other two events of magnitude 5.9 and 6.5, respectively. After the first mainshock, four Italian institutions installed a dense temporary network of 50 seismic stations in an area of 260 km 2 . The network was registered in the International Federation of Digital Seismograph Networks with the code 3A and quoted with a Digital Object Identifier ( https://doi.org/10.13127/SD/ku7Xm12Yy9 ). Raw data were converted into the standard binary miniSEED format, and organized in a structured archive. Then, data quality and completeness were checked, and all the relevant information was used for creating the metadata volumes. Finally, the 99 Gb of continuous seismic data and metadata were uploaded into the INGV node of the European Integrated Data Archive repository. Their use was regulated by a Memorandum of Understanding between the institutions. After an embargo period, the data are now available for many different seismological studies.

Traditional Informed Consent is becoming increasingly inadequate, especially in the context of research biobanks. How much information is needed by patients for their consent to be truly informed? How does the quality of the information they receive match up to the quality of the information they ought to receive? How can information be conveyed fairly about future, non-predictable lines of research? To circumvent these difficulties, some scholars have proposed that current consent guidelines should be reassessed, with trust being used as a guiding principle instead of information. Here, we analyse one of these proposals, based on a Participation Pact, which is already being offered to patients at the Istituto Europeo di Oncologia, a comprehensive cancer hospital in Milan, Italy., (© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The article contains some recollections on Werner Callebaut highlighting his personal character and his role in the community of historians, philosophers and sociologists of the life sciences. Werner Callebaut (1952-2014) was a real European philosopher. He was the Scientific Director of the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research (KLI, Klosterneuburg, Austria) and the President of the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology.

We know that around 30% of all cancers are preventable. We also know that there is clear evidence of the causal relations between obesity and cancer. This means that there could be lifestyles that could prevent obesity and, thus, cancer. Yet, who legitimises these lifestyles and on which ground? Should citizens be free to accept or not to accept policies concerning them? This is a problem faced within what has been named libertarian paternalism. We discuss it, also proposing a version that we call deliberative libertarian paternalism, showing how important this problem is for a proper framing of the lifestyle policies concerning obesity and, thus, cancer prevention.

Purpose: This article offers physicians a tool for structured ethical reflection on challenging situations surrounding oocyte cryopreservation in young healthy women., Methods: A systematic literature review offers a comprehensive overview of the ethical debate surrounding the practice. Ethical Counseling Methodology (ECM) offers a practical approach for addressing ethical uncertainties. ECM consists of seven steps: (i) case presentation; (ii) analysis of possible implications; (iii) presentation of ethical question(s); (iv) explanation of ethical terms; (v) presentation of the ethical arguments in favor of and against the procedure; (vi) examination of the individual patient's beliefs and wishes; and (vii) conclusive summary., Results: The most problematic aspects in the ethical debate include the distinction between medical and non-medical use of oocyte cryopreservation, safety and efficiency of the procedure, and marketing practices aimed at healthy women. Female empowerment and enhanced reproductive choices (granted oocyte cryopreservation is a safe and efficient technique) are presented as ethical arguments supporting the practice, while ethical reservations towards oocyte cryopreservation are based on concerns about maternal and fetal safety and wider societal implications., Conclusions: Oocyte cryopreservation is gaining popularity among healthy reproductive age women. However, despite promised benefits it also involves risks that are not always properly communicated in commercialized settings. ECM offers clinicians a tool for structured ethical analysis taking into consideration a wide range of implications, various ethical standpoints, and patients' perceptions and beliefs.

The suggestion that deliberative democratic approaches would suit the management of bioethical policymaking in democratic pluralistic societies has triggered what has been called the "deliberative turn" in health policy and bioethics. Most of the empirical work in this area has focused on the allocation of healthcare resources and priority setting at the local or national level. The variety of the more or less articulated theoretical efforts behind such initiatives is remarkable and has been accompanied, to date, by an overall lack of method specificity. We propose a set of methodological requirements for online deliberative procedures for bioethics. We provide a theoretical motivation for these requirements. In particular, we discuss and adapt an "epistocratic" proposal and argue that, regardless of its merits as a general political theory, a more refined version of its normative claims can generate a useful framework for the design of bioethical forums that combine maximal inclusiveness with informed and reasonable deliberation.