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Background: Migrants present high rates of psychosis. A better understanding of this phenomenon is needed., Methods: We conducted a multicentre First-Episode Psychosis (FEP) prospective study over two years (January 2012-December 2013) to evaluate first-generation migrants presenting with FEP at the participating Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs)., Results: 109 FEP migrants were identified. Almost half of them were highly educated, employed and in a stable affective relationship. The average age was 32.8 (± 9.8) years, and the average length of stay in Italy was 8.6 (± 8.8) years. About 2/3 of patients were referred to CMHCs following Emergency Department access or psychiatric admission., Conclusions: Our finding of a "high functioning portrait" of FEP migrants allow us to hypothesize that a high burden of negative psychosocial factors is likely to be needed for the FEP onset. Furtherly, mental health services should implement more appropriate resources and organizational methods to respond to migrants' health needs.

Data concerning the treatment of lipoprotein disturbances in patients with cerebrovascular disease (CVD) are less robust than those for coronary heart disease (CHD), raising clinical questions as to which is the appropriate therapeutic approach to stroke patients. Although observational cohort studies have failed to demonstrate an association between lipoprotein disorders and stroke incidence, recently completed trials of subjects at risk for CHD have shown that statins reduce not only the risk of myocardial infarction and death, but also that of brain infarction and transient ischemic attacks. At present, it seems reasonable to conclude that stroke patients with undesirable lipid profiles who have a history of CHD should receive specific treatment for the lipid disorder. Recommendations are more problematic for stroke patients with lipid disorder but no history of CHD. Furthermore, many of the risk factors for CVD and vascular dementia (VaD), including serum total cholesterol (TC), lipoprotein(a), diabetes, atrial fibrillation, hypertension, apolipoprotein E levels, and atherosclerosis, have also been shown to increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In a recent study, we estimated the prevalence, incidence and rate of progression of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) to dementia, and correlated vascular risk factors with incident MCI and its progression to dementia. We evaluated 2963 individuals from the population-based sample of 5632 subjects 65-84 years old of the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging, with a 3.5-year follow-up. We found a progression rate to dementia (all causes) of 3.8/100 person-years. Furthermore, age was a risk factor for incident MCI, while education was protective, and serum TC evidenced a non-significant borderline trend for a protective effect. There was a non-significant trend for stroke as a risk factor of progression of MCI to dementia. In conclusion, in our population, among MCI patients who progressed to dementia, 60% progressed to AD and 33% to VaD. Vascular risk factors and CVD may influence the development of MCI and the rate of progression to dementia.