Case report: Applied behavior analysis in a case of anomic aphasia in post-acute myocardial infarction with cardiac arrest and brain hypoxia: results of tact-training.

Purpose: Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) tact-training was provided to an adult with post-stroke anomic aphasia, with the main purposes to improve naming of pictures, with a possible generalization to another different setting, through telehealth sessions. Method: The Multiple probe experimental design across behaviors was used. Two sets of stimuli were used (SET 1 and SET 2), including 60 laminated photos, belonging to three different categories for each set. Procedure included the baseline, the intervention phases (face-to-face and telehealth sessions), and the follow-up (1 month after the end of a tact training). Results: For both, SET 1 and SET 2, the mastery criterion (80% correct stimulus tacts, for three consecutive times, simultaneously for all categories) was achieved. No increased percentage of correct picture tacts was found for untrained items. At follow-up, the patient provided 70 to 100% correct responses. For both SET 1 and SET 2, telehealth did not modify the correct response trends. Conclusion: The results of our study seem to suggest that specific tact-training procedures might be successfully carried out in adult and elderly people with post-stroke aphasia. It also appears necessary to arrange protocols providing telehealth sessions, with benefits for both families and the health system.

Microbiota and Hematological Diseases.

The microbiota is directly involved in the host metabolic process, as well as in immune response modulation and recruitment of different cells typology in the inflammatory site. Human microbiota modification (dysbiosis) is a condition which could be correlated with various pathologies. The short-chain fatty acids produced by the metabolic process have an important role as immune mediators. In hematology field, dysbiosis can represent a predisposing condition for triggering and/or conditioning both non-neoplastic (iron deficiency anemia, thrombosis, thrombocytosis or thrombocytopenia) and neoplastic disorders (lymphomas, leukemias, myeloma). Dysbiosis may also interfere on therapy efficacy (iron supplementation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation), impacting on patient's outcome.

Relative preferences for edible and leisure stimuli in children with autism: A replication in Italy.

Several studies have found that edible items tend to displace leisure items in multiple-stimulus preference assessments for individuals with developmental disabilities. One recent study (Conine & Vollmer, 2019) included screen-based technology devices in assessments and found that food items were less likely to displace leisure items and in some cases leisure items totally displaced edible items. The purpose of our study was to conduct a replication of Conine and Vollmer in Italy to evaluate cultural differences in food and leisure preferences. Results of our study were similar: For 44% of participants, at least one leisure item ranked above all edible items and leisure items displaced all edible items for 28% of participants. Participants in the present study showed a higher preference for leisure items or toys that were not screen-based technology devices, suggesting there may be cultural variation in the types of leisure items that are preferred.

Role of hepcidin in the pathophysiology and diagnosis of anemia.

This review summarizes the central role of hepcidin in the iron homeostasis mechanism, the molecular mechanism that can alter hepcidin expression, the relationship between hepcidin and erythropoiesis, and the pathogenetic role of hepcidin in different types of anemia. In addition, the usefulness of hepcidin dosage is highlighted, including the problems associated with analytical methods currently used as well as the measures of its molecular isoforms. Considering the central role of hepcidin in iron arrangement, it is reasonable to ponder its therapeutic use mainly in cases of iron overload. Further clinical trials are required before implementation.

Ethnic and genetic causes of neutropenia: clinical and therapeutic implications.

The white blood cell count represents clinical data linked with different pathologic conditions, as well as with lifestyle. Another very important condition that affects the number of leukocytes is race and ethnic group-the geographic zone of origin. Genetic studies have identified the gene that controls the expression of the Duffy antigen receptor for chemokine (DARC), which is associated with the ethnic group to which individuals belong. The single-nucleotide polymorphism strongly associated with race is DARC rs2814778. Currently, it is the only condition that can explain the difference in white blood cell count between different ethnic groups. In a society increasingly characterized by multiracial issues, the leukopenia and/or neutropenia in ethnic groups must be known and accurately assessed clinically. Improved knowledge of this association may help in optimizing therapeutic approaches, mainly for African patients with severe diseases, cancer in particular. Recently, preclinical data have also suggested a link between the Duffy antigen and coagulation. This review also discusses the main causes of genetic neutropenia.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia with hypereosinophilia and 9p21 deletion: case report and review of the literature.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) associated with eosinophilia is very rare, with approximately 44 reported cases. We are reporting this case not only because of the rarity of ALL with peripheral blood eosinophilia, but also because we observed a homozygous deletion of the 9p21 locus corresponding to the p16 gene, a cytogenetic abnormality that was not reported in other documented cases. ALL with eosinophilia must be considered a distinct clini-copathologic entity. It is very important for clinicians to be aware of this specific manifestation of ALL within the context of a persistent peripheral eosinophilia, particularly if no lymphoblasts are present in the peripheral blood.

Refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia: myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative disease.

Here is reported the case of an elderly woman that, after surgical intervention, showed an important anemia, leucocytosis and thrombocytopenia. The leucocytosis was accompanied with clean increase of the monocytes. The morphological appearances, both peripheral blood and bone marrow, showed an evident overlapping of myelodysplastic and myeloproliferative picture, characterized from the presence of refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts (RARS) and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). The case has been reported because it is not frequent, besides, the CMML, until from the beginning of French-American-British (FAB) classification application, has raised problems of classification. Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has given an arrangement to the hematological picture with myelodysplastic and myeloproliferative morphological appearances, including this pathology in a new category: myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative diseases (MDS/MPD).

Transient myeloproliferative syndrome/transient acute myeloid leukemia in a newborn with Down syndrome: a case report and literature review.

We report the case of a newborn with Down syndrome (DS) associated with transient acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The leukemic presentation resolved spontaneously without treatment just 4 weeks after birth. An abnormal hematopoietic function is a well-known characteristic of DS; however, acute leukemia is rare in newborns with this genetic disorder. The presence of peripheral blast cells matched generally by an equivalent quantity in the bone marrow may be considered a true leukemia that, although transient, may predict the development of a generally megakaryoblastic AML within the first few years of life. This leukemia is not transient and must be treated accordingly. The cytogenetic and molecular abnormalities involving DS chromosome 21 in leukemogenesis in these patients are not well understood. In DS, AML, transient or not, generally shows cytogenetic and molecular aspects that differ from those of adult acute leukemias.