Frog skin-derived peptides against corynebacterium jeikeium: correlation between antibacterial and cytotoxic activities

Corynebacterium jeikeium is a commensal bacterium that colonizes human skin, and it is part of the normal bacterial flora. In non-risk subjects, it can be the cause of bad body smell due to the generation of volatile odorous metabolites, especially in the wet parts of the body that this bacterium often colonizes (i.e., groin and axillary regions). Importantly, in the last few decades, there have been increasing cases of serious infections provoked by this bacterium, especially in immunocompromised or hospitalized patients who have undergone installation of prostheses or catheters. The ease in developing resistance to commonly-used antibiotics (i.e., glycopeptides) has made the search for new antimicrobial compounds of clinical importance. Here, for the first time, we characterize the antimicrobial activity of some selected frog skin-derived antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) against C. jeikeium by determining their minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations (MIC and MBC) by a microdilution method. The results highlight esculentin-1b(1-18) [Esc(1-18)] and esculentin-1a(1-21) [Esc(1-21)] as the most active AMPs with MIC and MBC of 4–8 and 0.125–0.25 µM, respectively, along with a non-toxic profile after a short-and long-term (40 min and 24 h) treatment of mammalian cells. Overall, these findings indicate the high potentiality of Esc(1-18) and Esc(1-21) as (i) alternative antimicrobials against C. jeikeium infections and/or as (ii) additives in cosmetic products (creams, deodorants) to reduce the production of bad body odor

Montelukast therapy and psychological distress in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): a preliminary report

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an alteration in which ventilatory function, exercise capacity and health status of patients progressively decline and it is characterized by an increase of inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-a, LTB4, IL-8, etc. In this study we considered twenty patients (15 males and 5 females; mean age: 72.8 6.3) with stable COPD. All patients were performed evaluation of psychological stress at enrollment and were treated with leukotriene receptor antagonists (montelukast tablets) 10 mg/day for 12 months. After 12 months we observed a significant decrease of serum levels of LTB4, IL-8 and also a decrease of the number of outpatient clinic visits, of the number of hospitalizations and of the duration of hospitalizatio

NUTRITION AND SUCCESSFUL AGING

Dieta ed attività fisica rappresentano i principali strumenti di prevenzione delle patologie cardio-vascolari. L’editoriale fa il punto sul ruolo chiave dei fitochimici, sostanze in grado di esplicare effetti positivi nel controllo dei fattori di rischio cardio-vascolare attraverso una azione anti-infiammatoria, anti-ossidante e di modulazione dell’espressione genica. Riteniamo, pertanto, utile l’impiego di queste sostanze non solo a scopo preventivo, ma anche nel trattamento dei principali fattori di rischio cardio-vascolare, purchè associati ad una dieta sana ed allo svolgimento regolare dell’attività fisic

Psychological intervention with elderly people during the COVID-19 pandemic: the experience of a nursing home in Italy

Italy has been the first European country to face the Covid-19 pandemic in all its dramatic presence. According to official national reports, based on the analysis of 32 448 patients died positive for Covid-19 in Italy; the mean age of people who died from this pandemic was 80 years.2 Furthermore, overall the 21.5% and the 59.7% of the sample presented respectively two or three comorbidities with the most frequent being cardiovascular diseases (ischaemic heart disease, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, stroke, hypertension), type-2 diabetes, dementia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Using drawings to express and represent one's emotional experience during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. a case report of a woman living in a nursing home

Here, we report the case of an elderly woman (age: 77 years old; Mini‐Mental State Examination score: 30; Geriatric Depression Scale score: 6) who spent 3 months in isolation in her room in our nursing home as a prevention strategy during COVID‐19 pandemi

Association between epicardial fat thickness and cognitive function in elderly. a preliminary study

Background: Recent studies suggested that the visceral fat could exert a predictive role in the pathogenesis of dementia. The aims of the present study were to evaluate: i) possible differences between groups with different epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) thickness on the included variables; ii) the possible predictive role of the EAT levels on cognitive functioning. Methods: 65 community-dwelling subjects were enrolled and divided into two groups: EAT < 7 mm (n = 36); EAT > 7 mm (n = 29). The metabolic profile was assessed through the evaluation of the biochemical parameters whereas the EAT thickness was measured through the transthoracic echocardiography. The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) was also administered. Results: The two EAT groups reported several significant differences, included on the MMSE scores. The multiple linear regression analysis showed that the EAT thickness levels and the hypertension had a predictive effect on the MMSE scores. Conclusions: These preliminary findings support the association between EAT thickness levels and cognitive impairment

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis in an elderly patient

Neurological disorders are a frequent cause of hospitalization in the elderly. Herein, wdescribe a case of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) in a 68-year old woman. Medical history, neurological signs, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) studies and screening for infectious agents are needed for differential diagnosis. We started treatment with high-dose intravenous corticosteroids reaching good results