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Summary: Background: Despite numerous studies, the true scenario of hearing loss in beta‐thalassaemia remains rather nebulous. Materials and methods: Pure tone audiometry, chelation therapy, demographics and laboratory data of 376 patients (mean age 38.5 ± 16.6 years, 204 females, 66 non‐transfusion‐dependent) and 139 healthy controls (mean age 37.6 ± 17.7 years, 81 females) were collected. Results: Patient and control groups did not differ for age (p = 0.59) or sex (p = 0.44). Hypoacusis rate was higher in patients (26.6% vs. 7.2%; p < 0.00001), correlated with male sex (32.6% in males vs. 21.8% in females; p = 0.01) and it was sensorineural in 79/100. Hypoacusis rate correlated with increasing age (p = 0.0006) but not with phenotype (13/66 non‐transfusion‐dependent vs. 87/310 transfusion‐dependent patients; p = 0.16). Sensorineural‐notch prevalence rate did not differ between patients (11.4%) and controls (12.2%); it correlated with age (p = 0.01) but not with patients' sex or phenotype. Among adult patients without chelation therapy, the sensorineural hypoacusis rate was non‐significantly lower compared to chelation‐treated patients while it was significantly higher compared to controls (p = 0.003). Conclusions: Sensorineural hypoacusis rate is high in beta‐thalassaemia (about 21%) and it increases with age and in males while disease severity or chelation treatment seems to be less relevant. The meaning of sensorineural‐notch in beta‐thalassaemia appears questionable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is associated with distinct clinical and biological characteristics in people with eating disorders (EDs). The measurement of local gyrification index (lGI) may help to better characterize the impact of CM on cortical structure. Thus, the present study investigated the association of CM with lGI in women with EDs. Twenty‐six women with anorexia nervosa (AN) and 24 with bulimia nervosa (BN) underwent a 3T MRI scan. All participants filled in the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. All neuroimaging data were processed by FreeSurfer. LGI maps underwent a general linear model to evaluate differences between groups with or without CM. People with AN and BN were merged together. Based on the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire cutoff scores, 24 participants were identified as maltreated and 26 as non‐maltreated. Maltreated people with EDs showed a significantly lower lGI in the left middle temporal gyrus compared with non‐maltreated people, whereas no differences emerged in the right hemisphere between groups. The present study showed that in people with EDs, CM is associated with reduced cortical folding in the left middle temporal gyrus, an area that could be involved in ED psychopathology. This finding corroborates the hypothesis of a 'maltreated ecophenotype', which argues that CM may allow to biologically, other than clinically, distinguish individuals with the same psychiatric disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Emergent carotid artery stenting (eCAS) is performed during mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke due to tandem occlusion. However, the optimal management strategy in this setting is still unclear. Objective To carry out a systematic review and metaanalysis to investigate the safety and efficacy of eCAS in patients with tandem occlusion. Methods Systematic review followed the PRISMA guidelines. Medline, EMBASE, and Scopus were searched from January 1, 2004 to March 7, 2022 for studies evaluating eCAS and no-stenting approach in patients with stroke with tandem occlusion. Primary endpoint was the 90-day modified Rankin Scale score 0-2; secondary outcomes were (1) symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH), (2) recurrent stroke, (3) successful recanalization (Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score 2b-3), (4) embolization in new territories, and (5) restenosis rate. Meta-analysis was performed using the Mantel-Haenszel method and random-effects modeling. Results Forty-six studies reached synthesis. eCAS was associated with higher good functional outcome compared with the no-stenting approach (OR=1.52, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.95), despite a significantly increased risk of sICH (OR=1.97, 95% CI 1.23 to 3.15), and higher successful recanalization rate (OR=1.91, 95% CI 1.29 to 2.85). Restenosis rate was lower in the eCAS group than in the no-stenting group (2% vs 9%, p=0.001). Recanalization rate was higher in retrograde than antegrade eCAS (OR=0.51, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.93). Intraprocedural antiplatelets during eCAS were associated with higher rate of good functional outcome (60% vs 46%, p=0.016) and lower rate of sICH (7% vs 11%; p=0.08) compared with glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors. Conclusions In observational studies, eCAS seems to be associated with higher good functional outcome than no-stenting in patients with acute ischemic stroke due to tandem occlusion, despite the higher risk of sICH. Dedicated trials are needed to confirm these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Childhood maltreatment is a non-specific risk factor for eating disorders (EDs). However, so far, no study has assessed the impact of childhood maltreatment on brain structure of adults with EDs. Therefore, we investigated brain area volumes and fibre tract integrity of childhood maltreated (Mal) and non-maltreated (noMal) patients with EDs. Methods: Thirty-six ED women and 16 healthy women underwent an MRI scan, including acquisition of a diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) sequence and a high-resolution T1-weighted scan. ED participants were classified as Mal (18 patients) or noMal (18 patients) according to their childhood exposure to traumatic events assessed by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Results: Significantly reduced grey matter volume was detected in the right paracentral lobule and in the left inferior temporal gyrus of Mal patients. DTI analyses revealed reduced white matter integrity in the corpus callosum, internal capsule, posterior thalamic radiation, longitudinal fasciculus and corona radiata of Mal patients. Negative correlations emerged between white/grey matter changes and CTQ emotional and physical neglect scores. Conclusions: These results show that childhood trauma affects the integrity of brain structures modulating brain processes, such as reward, taste and body image perception, which play a fundamental role in the psychopathology of EDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]