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Objective: Narcolepsy is a lifelong disease, manifesting with excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy, arising between childhood and young adulthood. The diagnosis is typically made after a long delay that burdens the disease severity. The aim of the project, promoted by the "Associazione Italiana Narcolettici e Ipersonni" is to develop Red Flags to detect symptoms for early referral, targeting non-sleep medicine specialists, general practitioners, and pediatricians.Materials and Methods: A multidisciplinary panel, including patients, public institutions, and representatives of national scientific societies of specialties possibly involved in the diagnostic process of suspected narcolepsy, was convened. The project was accomplished in three phases. Phase 1: Sleep experts shaped clinical pictures of narcolepsy in pediatric and adult patients. On the basis of these pictures, Red Flags were drafted. Phase 2: Representatives of the scientific societies and patients filled in a form to identify barriers to the diagnosis of narcolepsy. Phase 3: The panel produced suggestions for the implementation of Red Flags.Results: Red Flags were produced representing three clinical pictures of narcolepsy in pediatric patients ((1) usual sleep symptoms, (2) unusual sleep symptoms, (3) endocrinological signs) and two in adult patients ((1) usual sleep symptoms, (2) unusual sleep symptoms). Inadequate knowledge of symptoms at onset by medical doctors turned out to be the main reported barrier to diagnosis.Conclusions: This report will hopefully enhance knowledge and awareness of narcolepsy among non-specialists in sleep medicine in order to reduce the diagnostic delay that burdens patients in Italy. Similar initiatives could be promoted across Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to describe the taxonomical aspects, the biology and ecology of P. vaihiriae collected from Italy. This species was sampled from a pond of “Bosco di Policoro” (South of Italy), and a tropical fish farm (Central Italy). In the pond of Policoro the Plumatella vaihiriae colonies grew with those of P. fungosa and of a Victorellidae. In the glass tank of the fish farm was found only P. vaihiriae, while in the sedimentation pond large colonies of P. casmiana and Plumatella sp were also present. Many mites of two species, which belong to Oribatidae and Halacaridae, were found only on the colonies collected in the glass tank, and in the same tubules seriously damaged statoblasts were present. During the maturation of the damaged immature statoblasts, the remaining material has been organized in an aberrant way. The two species are both predators. Although there are few findings, Plumatella vaihiriae has a widespread distribution. The finding of P. vaihiriae in Italy is of great importance, because it expands the distribution area of the species to include the European zone. This species has wide ecological valency for salinity, pH and transparency, but appears to be a stenothermic species. The presence of P. vaihiriae in the Italian habitats could be due to importations by migratory birds at Policoro and by tropical fish in the fish farm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies in humans volunteers have shown that dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplied as triacylglycerol can increase DHA levels in blood lipids but often strongly decreases those of arachidonic acid (AA). The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of dietary supplementation with egg-yolk powder enriched in DHA, corresponding to the French recommended dietary allowance for DHA, on the blood lipid status of an elderly population. Institutionalised elderly individuals aged between 63 and 93 years consumed an egg product enriched in DHA (150 mg/d) once daily for 9 months. Plasma lipids and the fatty acid composition of erythrocyte membranes were determined every 3 months. The supplementation induced an increase in the PUFA content of plasma and erythrocyte membranes which was +14??5 and +25??3 %, respectively, at 9 months. This effect was mainly due to the level of DHA and, unexpectedly, to that of AA which continuously increased. This increase in AA was the result of an increased dietary intake (+50 mg/d) and very probably of an increased biosynthesis as demonstrated by the behaviour of di-homo-??-linolenic acid. The supplementation resulted in a blood PUFA status comparable with that of young healthy controls. The data are consistent with a strong regulatory action of the dietary treatment on the subjects' lipid metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In diabetes, the activity of Delta-6 desaturase, which converts linoleic acid (LA) into gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), the first step of arachidonic acid (AA) synthesis, is decreased, leading to alterations in membrane phospholipid composition. On the other hand, 12 wk after the onset of diabetes, Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity is reduced in many organs, including the kidney. The medullary thick ascending limb (MTAL) reduced Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity, whereas the sodium load secondary to glomerular hyperfiltration was increased. The aim of our study was to examine whether the changes in membrane fatty acid composition resulting from the inhibition of Delta-6 desaturase may be involved in the decreased Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity observed in the outer MTAL after 12 wk of diabetes. GLA is a fatty acid that by-passes the Delta-6 desaturase step. We measured the membrane fatty acid composition and the Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity in the renal outer medulla of control and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats 12 wk after the induction of diabetes. Measurements were performed after supplementation of control rats with sunflower oil (SO) or GLA for 12 wk, and supplementation of 12 wk diabetic rats with SO for 12 wk or with GLA for 6 or 12 wk. Supplementation with GLA not only prevented the decrease in Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity observed after 12 wk of diabetes but also time dependently stimulated Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity in the outer medulla. The changes in Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity were related to parallel changes in the amount of Na(+),K(+)-ATPase alpha(1) subunit protein. In addition, in diabetic rats only, Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity was positively correlated with the amount of AA present in cell membranes (r = 0.92, P < 0.05). Our results indicate that nutritional GLA supplementation increases Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity and expression in diabetic rats. In addition, the positive correlation between AA content and Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity suggests that in diabetic rats, alterations in membrane fatty acid composition contribute to the decreased Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity in outer medulla. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The extraction process applied on egg yolk by the Laboratoire de Micronutrition Appliquée (LMA laboratory) allows recovery of three lipidic compounds in an ethanolic solution: triacylglycerides, phospholipids and cholesterol. Our work consists in separating these three lipidic compounds. First cholesterol is separated from the other two lipids by nanofiltration, as this technique is generally able to separate compounds whose molecular weights range between 200 and 2000gmol−1. A feasibility study performed on a variety of nanofiltration membranes with different characteristics shows that for this membrane range the separation is poorly influenced by the membrane cut-off but greatly influenced by the membrane chemistry. Then the most appropriate membrane is selected and the best experimental procedure determined. The relationship between cholesterol levels in foods and the development of coronary diseases is a very controversial issue, and therefore the possibility of separating cholesterol by using the appropriate nanofiltration membrane would be a breakthrough in the domain of nutraceutics and nutritional supplements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]