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Pterygium, an ultraviolet radiation (UV)-related disease, is a relatively benign process, but since it displays tumor-like features, it has been proposed to be a neoplastic- like growth disorder. Vitamin D performs a number of functions in addition to calcium homeostasis, as inhibition of cell proliferation, activation of apoptotic pathways, and inhibition of angiogenesis. Since the antitumor actions of vitamin D are mediated primarily through the nuclear vitamin D receptor (VDR), the aim of the present study was to investigate vitamin D status in patients with pterygium and in control subjects, and VDR immunohistochemical expression in samples of pterygium and normal conjunctiva in order to evaluate a possible role of vitamin D pathway in the pathogenesis of the disease. Serum vitamin D concentration was measured among 41 patients with pterygium and 47 volunteers by an automated chemiluminescence immunoassay. Moreover, 23 formalin- fixed and paraffin-embedded pterygium biopsy samples and 24 conjunctiva specimens were treated for the immunohistochemical demonstration of VDR using the streptavidin-biotin alkaline phosphatase method. No differences were observed about vitamin D level between patient with pterygium and control group, but significant differences between VDR immunolocalization in pterygium and normal conjunctiva were observed (P=0.00001). In conjunctiva, the immunoreactivity, localized mainly in cytoplasm of epithelial cells, may probably demonstrate VDR regulation of cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis, while in pterygium VDR co-localization in the nucleus and cytoplasm of epithelial cells may indicate alternative nuclear pathways by which vitamin D might exert its antiinflammatory and anti-proliferative effects by the regulation of gene expression.

PER3 gene polymorphisms have been associated with differences in human sleep-wake phenotypes, and sensitivity to light. The aims of this study were to assess: i) the frequency of allelic variants at two PER3 polymorphic sites (rs57875989 length polymorphism: PER34, PER35; rs228697 SNP: PER3C, PER3G) in relation to sleep-wake timing; ii) the effect of morning light on behavioural/circadian variables in PER34/PER34 and PER35/PER35 homozygotes. 786 Caucasian subjects living in Northern Italy donated buccal DNA and completed diurnal preference, sleep quality/timing and sleepiness/mood questionnaires. 19 PER3 4 /PER3 4 and 11 PER3 5 /PER3 5 homozygotes underwent morning light administration, whilst monitoring sleep-wake patterns and the urinary 6-sulphatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) rhythm. No significant relationship was observed between the length polymorphism and diurnal preference. By contrast, a significant association was observed between the PER3G variant and morningness (OR = 2.10), and between the PER3G-PER34 haplotype and morningness (OR = 2.19), for which a mechanistic hypothesis is suggested. No significant differences were observed in sleep timing/aMT6s rhythms between PER35/PER35 and PER34/PER34 subjects at baseline. After light administration, PER34/PER34 subjects advanced their aMT6s acrophase (p PER3 polymorphic variants/their combinations and both diurnal preference and the response to light.

A considerable proportion of patients with cirrhosis exhibit insomnia, delayed sleep habits, and excessive daytime sleepiness. These have been variously attributed to hepatic encephalopathy and impaired hepatic melatonin metabolism, but the understanding of their pathophysiology remains limited and their treatment problematic. Sleep is regulated by the interaction of a homeostatic and a circadian process. The homeostatic process determines sleep propensity in relation to sleep-wake history, thus the need to sleep increases with the duration of the waking period. The circadian process, which is marked by the 24-hour rhythm of the hormone melatonin, is responsible for the alternation of high/low sleep propensity in relation to dark/light cues. Circadian sleep regulation has been studied in some depth in patients with cirrhosis, who show delays in the 24-hour melatonin rhythm, most likely in relation to reduced sensitivity to light cues. However, while melatonin abnormalities are associated with delayed sleep habits, they do not seem to offer a comprehensive explanation to the insomnia exhibited by these patients. Fewer data are available on homeostatic sleep control: it has been recently hypothesized that patients with cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy might be unable, due to excessive daytime sleepiness, to accumulate the need/ability to produce restorative sleep. This review will describe in some detail the features of sleep-wake disturbances in patients with cirrhosis, their mutual relationships, and those, if any, with hepatic failure/hepatic encephalopathy. A separate section will cover the available information on their pathophysiology. Finally, etiological treatment will be briefly discussed. © 2013 by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

Background Providing structured information for the understanding of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) might be relevant to the prevention and management of the syndrome. The aim of our study was to design a brief, structured educational intervention and evaluate its usefulness in preventing HE-related hospitalisation over time. Methods Thirty-nine cirrhotic outpatients with a history of HE were enrolled and randomly assigned to an intervention (group A; n=20) or control group (group B; n=19). All of them underwent evaluation of HE (clinical and quantitative neuropsychiatric assessment) and completed the Questionnaire on the Awareness of Encephalopathy. A 15 min educational session was then provided to patients in group A, including basic information on the pathophysiology, hygienic and medical management of HE. Results No demographic/clinical differences were observed at baseline between the two groups. Similarly, there were no significant differences in HE-related information available at baseline between the two groups; knowledge of HE was limited in both. The intervention was highly effective in increasing patients’ understanding of treatment of the condition (from 5% to 80%). The educational intervention also reduced the risk of developing an episode of HE over a period of 12 months. Conclusion The educational intervention confirmed the poor knowledge of patients with previous HE about their condition, served as a tool to increase patients’ awareness, and minimised HE-related readmission rates over a period of 1 year.

Introduction: Sleep–wake disturbances are common in hospitalized patients but few studies have assessed them systematically. The aim of the present study was to assess sleep quality in a group of medical inpatients, in relation to environmental factors, and the switch to daylight-saving time. Methods: Between March and April 2013, 118 consecutive inpatients were screened and 99 (76 ± 11 years; hospitalization: 8 ± 7 days) enrolled. They slept in double or quadruple rooms, facing South/South-East, and were qualified as sleeping near/far from the window. They underwent daily sleep assessment by standard questionnaires/diaries. Illuminance was measured by a luxmeter at each patient’s eye-level, four times per day. Noise was measured at the same times by a phonometer. Information was recorded on room lighting, position of the rolling shutters and number/type of extra people in the room. Results: Compliance with sleep-wake assessment was poor, with a range of completion of 2–59%, depending on the questionnaires. Reported sleep quality was sufficient and sleep timing dictated by hospital routine; 33% of the patients reported one/more sleepless nights. Illuminance was generally low, and rolling shutters half-way down for most of the 24 h. Patients who slept near the window were exposed to more light in the morning (i.e., 222 ± 72 vs. 174 ± 85 lux, p

ObjectiveThe purpose of the study was to examine whether the insertion (I) and/or deletion (D) polymorphism of ACE confers susceptibility to primary pterygium in Sardinian patients in a case–control study.Methods and resultsPolymorphism genotyping was performed by nested PCR using genomic DNA extracted from the whole peripheral blood of participants with (n=251) and without (n=260) pterygium. DD, ID and II genotype frequencies were: 48%, 39% and 13%, respectively, for patients with pterygium, and 15%, 40% and 44%, respectively, for the control group. A statistically significant difference was found between the pterygium and control groups for the ACE I/D polymorphism (pConclusionsStatistical analysis showed that the DD genotype is associated with an increased risk of developing pterygium, and with a good chance that the D allele may play an important role in the development of disease.

An early event in melanocytic tumor growth is the upregulation of Notch signaling. When an active form of Notch1 is overexpressed in primary human melanocytes, it increases cell growth, survival and invasive properties, promoting melanoma progression. Recent evidence suggested that tumor initiation and growth are driven by a subset of tumor-initiating cells termed cancer stem cells. Notch1 plays a predominant role in the maintenance of melanoblasts, including melanocyte stem cells, by preventing initiation of apoptosis. Moreover, the importance of Notch1 in the regulation of tumor angiogenesis is supported by growing evidence in various cancers. Nestin has been widely used as a marker for melanocyte stem cells as well as an angiogenic marker to evaluate neovascularity of endothelial cells in tumors. To gain an insight into the impact of Notch1 activation on the maintenance of melanocyte stem cells and angiogenesis in melanoma, the expression levels of activated Notch1 and nestin were analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 114 primary cutaneous melanomas and 35 lymph node metastases. Activated Notch1 and nestin expression was also evaluated in four dysplastic melanocytic nevi. This study provides evidence that activated Notch1 is overexpressed in cutaneous melanoma, in tumor cells as well as in microvessel endothelium, and that it can promote tumor angiogenesis. Indeed, the overexpression of activated Notch1 in both tumor and vascular endothelial cells was significantly associated with microvascular density in melanoma samples. Thus, activated Notch1 inhibitors may provide a therapeutic strategy in the treatment of melanoma by blocking tumor-associated vascularization.

Circadian rhythmicity and non-visual sensitivity to light can be assessed, in healthy subjects, by measuring the rhythm of the urinary melatonin metabolite 6-sulphatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) and by determining the response of plasma melatonin to nocturnal retinal light exposure, respectively. However, the validity of these techniques has not been assessed in disease states in which disruption of the circadian rhythm is known or suspected to occur. Thus, the aims of this study were as follows: (i) to assess the reliability of circadian aMT6s profile estimates derived from 36 h versus 56 h urine collections and (ii) to test different models for calculating melatonin suppression in response to light in healthy volunteers and patients with cirrhosis. Twenty patients with biopsy-proven cirrhosis and 10 matched healthy volunteers undertook: (i) separate 36 - and 56-h urine collections, under controlled conditions, for cosinor analysis of the urinary aMT6s profile; (ii) a melatonin suppression test, comprising of a baseline night, during which subjects were woken and asked to sit in front of a switched off light sphere, and an experimental night, identically executed, except that the light sphere was switched on and the subjects were exposed to white light (4.1 × 10(14) photons/cm(2)/s) for 30 min. Alternative approaches to the calculation of melatonin suppression were taken, with/without inclusion of the baseline night. Eighteen patients and eight healthy volunteers had matched analysable 36 - and 56-h urinary samples. Cosinor analysis showed a significant fit in 88% of the remaining 56 h collections, and 48% of the remaining 36-h collections. Thus, eight patients and five healthy volunteers had matched analysable samples for cosinor analysis. In the healthy volunteers, aMT6s profile indices obtained using the 36 - and the 56-h collections did not differ significantly. In contrast, considerably more variability was observed in patients [i.e. the difference in the aMT6s peak time was 0.5 ± 1.7 h (limits of agreement: -3.9; +2.9 h)]. No difficulties were encountered in obtaining suppression estimates by use of the experimental night only. In contrast, suppression estimates obtained by use of both nights were considered inaccurate in one (11%) healthy volunteer and in 5 (28%) patients, primarily because: (i) melatonin concentrations at the beginning of light administration were significantly different on baseline and experimental night; (ii) the rise in melatonin was inconsistent on baseline night; and (iii) the shape of the rising phase of melatonin was different on baseline and experimental night. In conclusion, shorter urine collections lead to a higher number of profiles with no significant cosinor fit, and differences in cosinor indices obtained from the 36 - and 56-h collections were considerable, especially in patients. Thus, 56-h collections are probably advisable. Use of both baseline and experimental nights to calculate melatonin suppression often resulted in increased variation and confounding, due to point oscillations in melatonin concentration and lack of repeatability of the melatonin profiles on the two nights. Thus, use of the experimental night only is probably advisable.

The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) has been utilized for the diagnosis of hepatic encephalopathy (HE). However, its threshold of abnormality has not been formally tested in patients with cirrhosis and its diagnostic/prognostic validity remains unknown. The aim of this study was to assess it in a large group of well-characterized outpatients with cirrhosis and no overt HE.One-hundred-and-ninety-one patients underwent clinical assessment, MMSE, electroencephalography (EEG) and paper-and-pencil psychometry (PHES); 117 were followed up for 8 ± 5 months in relation to the occurrence of HE-related hospitalizations.On the day of study, 81 patients (42%) had abnormal EEG and 67 (35%) abnormal PHES; 103 (60%) had a history of HE. Average MMSE was 26.6 ± 3.5; 22 (19%) patients had abnormal MMSE based on the standard threshold of 24. Patients with abnormal EEG/PHES/history of HE had worse MMSE performance than their counterparts with normal tests/negative history (25.7 ± 4.2 vs. 27.3 ± 2.7; P 0.01; 25.5 ± 3.2 vs. 27.9 ± 1.8, P 0.0001; 26.3 ± 3.7 vs. 27.4 ± 2.6, P 0.05, respectively). Based on the above results, MMSE thresholds of 26 and 27 were tested against abnormalities in clinical/EEG/PHES indices and significant associations were observed. An MMSE threshold of 26 was also a predictor of HE-related hospitalization (Cox-Mantel: P = 0.001); patients with MMSE 26 were significantly older than those with MMSE ≥26 but comparable in terms of liver dysfunction and ammonia levels. When MMSE items were considered separately, those which correlated most significantly with standard HE indices where spatial orientation and writing.In conclusion, an MMSE 26 identifies older patients with cirrhosis who are more prone to manifest HE signs.