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Background: The increased interest in social interaction in Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) is evident from infancy onwards, together not only with increased empathy, positive interpersonal bias, but also with social disinhibition. Previous studies have described behavioural and emotional problems as being widely represented in WBS. There is limited scope for comparisons between literature data because of the variety of instruments used to assess behaviour. Method: Forty-one children and young adults with WBS were enrolled and underwent general cognitive assessment. In order to compare our data with the literature, we used standardised questionnaires used in previous studies (Developmental Behaviour Checklist: DBC-P). General cognitive abilities, gender and age were included in the analysis. Results: Behavioural problems were more relevant than expected according to intellectual impairment. Some features were present at any age: inattention, anxiety, disruptive behaviours. Antisocial conduct was almost absent; perseverative conduct, a poor sense of danger and, more generally, self-absorbed behaviours tended to diminish along with age and to be linked to more pronounced cognitive impairment. Conclusion: As previously described for other countries, behaviour disturbances occur frequently in the Italian WBS population. Our data could support the existence of some "intrinsic" behavioural characteristics in WBS such as inattention and anxiety, which are detectable and important at any age; both learning and social exposure to a structured context such as school could help diminish self-absorbed behaviour.

A best practice guide for improving the computer skills of the elderly and disabled is presented. A set of user devices was made available to old and disabled people attending computer science courses and a Web site specifically designed for such users was presented. The analysis targeted the learners' perception of organizational and didactical aspects and the teachers' assessment of skill improvement. Participant satisfaction feedback showed that environment, aids and teaching methods are important in facilitating an individual's interaction with technology. Correlations showed that those better educated are more satisfied and more receptive. Appropriate teaching methods designed to promote computer literacy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA) is a rare and progressive cardiomyopathy caused by amyloid fibril deposition in myocardial tissue. Diagnostic challenges have historically hampered timely detection. Recent advances in noninvasive diagnostic techniques have facilitated ATTR-CA diagnosis. We aimed to examine the development of a regional network for the diagnosis and management of ATTR-CA and describe a cohort of patients with ATTR-CA, investigate diagnostic pathways and assess clinical outcomes according to diagnosis periods., Methods: We performed a survey study analyzing answers from 11 cardiology centers and we conducted a retrospective study including patients with ATTR-CA attending a referral center between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2022, and categorized by the period of diagnosis (2012-2016 and 2017-2022)., Results: Over the years, a growing number of patients reached a diagnosis and were treated in the surveyed nonreferral centers of the region. The retrospective study showed a more significant diagnostic delay in the earlier period rather than the later one [13.4 (5-30.2) vs. 10.6 (5.0-17.9) months, P = 0.04]. Patients diagnosed after 2017 showed a greater survival rate than those diagnosed earlier ( P = 0.02). In the multivariate analysis, the year of diagnosis from 2017 remained independently associated with mortality [hazard ratio (HR) 0.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.28-0.79; P = 0.005]., Conclusion: This study emphasized the shift toward noninvasive diagnostic criteria. It revealed a positive impact on patient survival and disease management with the use of disease-modifying therapies and diagnostic developments in more recent years. The findings underscore the importance of disease awareness and networking to reduce diagnostic delays and enhance patient journeys for ATTR-CA., (Copyright © 2024 Italian Federation of Cardiology - I.F.C. All rights reserved.)

Background: Hereditary transthyretin (ATTRv, v for variant) amyloidosis with polyneuropathy is a rare disease caused by mutations in the transthyretin gene. In ATTRv amyloidosis, multisystem extracellular deposits of amyloid cause tissue and organ dysfunction. Patisiran is a small interfering RNA molecule drug that reduces circulating levels of mutant and wild-type TTR proteins. Prior to its regulatory approval, patisiran was available in Italy through a compassionate use programme (CUP). The aim of this study was to analyse the long-term outcomes of patients who entered into the CUP., Methods: This was a multicentre, observational, retrospective study of patients with ATTRv amyloidosis treated with patisiran. The analysis included change from baseline to 12, 24, 36 and 48 months in familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) stage, polyneuropathy disability (PND) class, neuropathy impairment score (NIS), modified body mass index (mBMI), Compound Autonomic Dysfunction Test (CADT), Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) scale and Norfolk Quality of Life-Diabetic Neuropathy (QoL-DN) questionnaire. Safety data were also analysed., Results: Forty patients from 11 Italian centres were enrolled: 23 in FAP 1 (6 in PND 1 and 17 in PND 2) and 17 in FAP 2 (8 in PND 3a and 9 in PND 3b) stage. In this population, the mean NIS at baseline was 71.4 (± 27.8); mBMI, 917.1 (± 207) kg/m 2 ; KPS, 67.1 (± 14.0); Norfolk QoL-DN, 62.2 (± 25.2); and CADT, 13.2 (± 3.3). Statistical analysis showed few significant differences from baseline denoting disease stability. No new safety signals emerged., Conclusions: Patisiran largely stabilised disease in patients with ATTRv amyloidosis., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Aims: Hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv) is one of the leading aetiologies of systemic amyloidosis with more than 135 mutations described and a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations. We aimed to provide a systematic description of a population of individuals carrying pathogenic mutations of transthyretin (TTR) gene and to investigate the major clinical events during follow-up., Methods and Results: This was an observational, retrospective, cohort study including consecutive patients with mutations of TTR gene, admitted to a tertiary referral centre in Bologna, Italy, between 1984 and 2022. Three hundred twenty-five patients were included: 106 asymptomatic carriers, 49 cardiac phenotype, 49 neurological phenotype, and 121 mixed phenotype. Twenty-two different mutations were found, with Ile68Leu (41.8%), Val30Met (19%), and Glu89Gln (10%) being the most common. After a median follow-up of 51 months, 111 patients (38.3%) died and 9 (11.5%) of the 78 asymptomatic carriers developed ATTRv. Carriers had a prognosis comparable with healthy population, while no significant differences were seen among the three phenotypes adjusted by age. Age at diagnosis, New York Heart Association class III, left ventricular ejection fraction, modified polyneuropathy disability score IV, and disease-modifying therapy were independently associated with survival., Conclusion: This study offers a wide and comprehensive overview of ATTRv from the point of view of a tertiary referral centre in Italy. Three main phenotypes can be identified (cardiac, neurological, and mixed) with specific clinical and instrumental features. Family screening programmes are essential to identify paucisymptomatic affected patients or unaffected carriers of the mutation, to be followed through the years. Lastly, disease-modifying therapy represents an evolving cornerstone of the management of ATTRv, with a great impact on mortality., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: none declared., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objectives: To investigate pregnancy outcomes in women with autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD) in the Italian prospective cohort study P-RHEUM.it., Methods: Pregnant women with different ARD were enrolled for up to 20 gestational weeks in 29 Rheumatology Centres for 5 years (2018-2023). Maternal and infant information were collected in a web-based database., Results: We analysed 866 pregnancies in 851 patients (systemic lupus erythematosus was the most represented disease, 19.6%). Maternal disease flares were observed in 135 (15.6%) pregnancies. 53 (6.1%) pregnancies were induced by assisted reproduction techniques, 61 (7%) ended in miscarriage and 11 (1.3%) underwent elective termination. Obstetrical complications occurred in 261 (30.1%) pregnancies, including 2.3% pre-eclampsia. Two cases of congenital heart block were observed out of 157 pregnancies (1.3%) with anti-Ro/SSA. Regarding treatments, 244 (28.2%) pregnancies were treated with glucocorticoids, 388 (44.8%) with hydroxychloroquine, 85 (9.8%) with conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and 122 (14.1%) with biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. Live births were 794 (91.7%), mostly at term (84.9%); four perinatal deaths (0.5%) occurred. Among 790 newborns, 31 (3.9%) were small-for-gestational-age and 169 (21.4%) had perinatal complications. Exclusive maternal breast feeding was received by 404 (46.7%) neonates. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was compiled by 414 women (52.4%); 89 (21.5%) scored positive for emotional distress., Conclusions: Multiple factors including preconception counselling and treat-to-target with pregnancy-compatible medications may have contributed to mitigate disease-related risk factors, yielding limited disease flares, good pregnancy outcomes and frequency of complications which were similar to the Italian general obstetric population. Disease-specific issues need to be further addressed to plan preventative measures., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Introduction: Falls are a major worldwide health problem in older people. Several physical rehabilitation programs with home-based technologies, such as the online DigiRehab platform, have been successfully delivered. The PRECISE project combines personalized training delivered through the application with an artificial intelligence-based predictive model (AI-DSS platform) for fall risk assessment. This new system, called DigiRehab, will enable early identification of significant risk factors for falling and propose an individualized physical training plan to attend to these critical areas., Methods: The study will test the usability of the DigiRehab platform in generating personalized physical rehabilitation programs at home. Fifty older adults participants will be involved, 20 of them testing the beta version prototype, and 30 participants testing the updated version afterwards. The inclusion criteria will be age ≥65, independent ambulation, fall risk (Tinetti test), Mini Mental State Examination ≥24, home residents, familiarity with web applications, ability and willingness to sign informed consent. Exclusion criteria will be unstable clinical condition, severe visual and/or hearing impairment, severe impairment in Activities of Daily Living and absence of primary caregiver., Discussion: The first part of the screening consists in a structured questionnaire of 10 questions regarding the user's limitations, including the risk of falling, while the second consists in 10 physical tests to assess the functional status. Based on the results, the program will help define the user's individual profile upon which the DSS platform will rate the risk of falling and design the personalized exercise program to be carried out at home. All measures from the initial screening will be repeated and the results will be used to optimize the predictive algorithms in order to prepare the tool in its final version. For the usability assessment, the System Usability Scale will be administered. The follow-up will take place after the 12-week intervention at home. A semi-structured satisfaction questionnaire will also be administered to verify whether the project will meet the needs of older adults and their family caregiver., Conclusion: We expect that personalized training prescribed by DigiRehab platform could help to reduce the need for care in older adults subjects and the care burden. Clinical trial registration : [https://clinicaltrials.gov/], identifier [NCT05846776]., Competing Interests: MH and NH were employed by DigiRehab A/S. AR is employed by DigiRehab Benelux, B.V. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 D’Ambrosio, Harbo, Contiero, Bonfigli, Cicconi, Heuer, Roos, Fischer Pedersen, Fabbietti and Gagliardi.)

Caregiving can be burdensome for both family caregivers and older care recipients (i.e., adults 75 years or older with care needs). This study aimed to determine dyadic associations between caregivers' and care recipients' perceived social support from others (e.g., family and friends) and psychological well-being as a dyad. Caregivers and care recipients ( N = 215 dyads) in this cross-sectional study were recruited by pensioner trade unions in Italy. Both members of the dyad completed the World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5). Social support was measured with the Carers of Older People in Europe Index for caregivers and the Oslo-3 Scale for care recipients. Dyadic data were analyzed with the actor-partner interdependence model. Caregivers' and care recipients' well-being was moderately correlated ( r = 0.41, p < .01), with care recipients reporting significant lower well-being ( M CR = 30.95 vs. M < .001) and with the care recipients' well-being (partner effect; β = 0.58, p < .001). No significant care recipient actor and partner effects were detected. This study provided evidence on crossover effects between social support and well-being in caregiving dyads. Findings have implications for research and clinical practice in familial aged care. Family interventions targeted at the caregivers' broader social environment might enhance both dyad members' well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).CG = 46.45). Social support perceived by the caregivers was positively associated with their own well-being (actor effect; β = 3.31, p < .001) and with the care recipients' well-being (partner effect; β = 0.58, p < .001). No significant care recipient actor and partner effects were detected. This study provided evidence on crossover effects between social support and well-being in caregiving dyads. Findings have implications for research and clinical practice in familial aged care. Family interventions targeted at the caregivers' broader social environment might enhance both dyad members' well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Aims: The use of beta-blocker therapy in cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is debated. We aimed at describing patterns of beta-blocker prescription through a nationwide survey., Methods and Results: From 11 referral centres, we retrospectively collected data of CA patients with a first evaluation after 2016 (n = 642). Clinical characteristics at first and last evaluation were collected, with a focus on medical therapy. For patients in whom beta-blocker therapy was started, stopped, or continued between first and last evaluation, the main reason for beta-blocker management was requested. Median age of study population was 77 years; 81% were men. Arterial hypertension was found in 58% of patients, atrial fibrillation (AF) in 57%, and coronary artery disease in 16%. Left ventricular ejection fraction was preserved in 62% of cases, and 74% of patients had advanced diastolic dysfunction. Out of the 250 CA patients on beta-blockers at last evaluation, 215 (33%) were already taking this therapy at first evaluation, while 35 (5%) were started it, in both cases primarily because of high-rate AF. One-hundred-nineteen patients (19%) who were on beta-blocker at first evaluation had this therapy withdrawn, mainly because of intolerance in the presence of heart failure with advanced diastolic dysfunction. The remaining 273 patients (43%) had never received beta-blocker therapy. Beta-blockers usage was similar between CA aetiologies. Patients taking vs. not taking beta-blockers differed only for a greater prevalence of arterial hypertension, coronary artery disease, AF, and non-restrictive filling pattern (P < 0.01 for all) in the former group., Conclusions: Beta-blockers prescription is not infrequent in CA. Such therapy may be tolerated in the presence of co-morbidities for which beta-blockers are routinely used and in the absence of advanced diastolic dysfunction., (© 2021 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Due to population aging worldwide, it is important for Health Care Systems to design new services fostering Active Aging dimensions (e.g., physical health, psychological well-being, social engagement, and lifelong learning). The aim of this pilot study was to develop new services fostering Active Aging dimensions by means of a 12-month green care informal learning program targeting 112 individuals among community-dwelling older people and day care center users. The impact of the intervention was assessed through three rounds of focus groups. Individuals' perception of the training benefits depended on their health and social condition at baseline. The program improved the social participation and learning attitudes of community-dwelling older people and the perceived well-being and health of day care center users. Green care activities triggered an Active Aging virtuous spiral where learning new practical and relational competencies helped older people recognize their value. Thus, it is recommendable to include green care therapy within the practice of services for older people, especially day care centers.

The objective of this pilot study was to investigate the feasibility of an environmental volunteering program involving park restoration and social activities for older people. Older people face a series of challenges, ranging from social isolation and depression to a lack of exercise, as well as the difficult task of creating new meaning to deal with a decrease in vitality and new social relationships, interests, and commitments. From this perspective, this pilot study aimed to contribute to highlighting if or how these aspects can be positively correlated with organized activities associated with caring for public green spaces. A single-group, pre-test/post-test design was used, and baseline and post-participation measurements were recorded. The data were collected using a questionnaire aimed at evaluating variations in physical activity, positive and negative emotions, life satisfaction, and perceived social support. Through focus group interviews with participants at the baseline and after one year of participating in the program, the participants' motivations and experienced effects were explored. The sample was composed of a group of 19 healthy people who joined the program. The quantitative results showed that the participants' level of physical activity, subjective life satisfaction, and positive feelings were significantly increased at the follow-up. Positive correlations were found between increasing moderate physical activities, walking, and The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) positive feelings. A pro-environmental attitude of the elderly emerged from the qualitative data. The results, limitations, and improvements of the study are discussed., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Aims: We aimed to assess carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) prevalence in transthyretin (TTR)-related and light-chain amyloidosis (AL), comparing it to the general population, adjusted for age and gender. In TTR-related amyloidosis (ATTR) we investigated (i) CTS prevalence in relation to genotype, cardiac amyloidosis (CA), age and gender; (ii) CTS role as an incremental risk factor for CA; (iii) temporal relationship between CTS and CA; and (iv) CTS prognostic role., Methods and Results: Data from 538 subjects (166 hereditary ATTR, 107 wild-type ATTR, 196 AL amyloidosis, and 69 TTR mutation carriers; 64% male, median age 62.4 years), evaluated at our centre (Bologna, Italy), were analysed and compared to a published cohort of 14.9 million people, in which incidence rates of CTS had been estimated. CTS prevalence was highest in ATTR patients with CA (20.3% vs. 4.1% in the general population), while it was comparable to the general population when CA was absent and in AL patients. CTS standardized incidence rates were markedly elevated in ATTR males in the eighth decade of life (13.08 in hereditary ATTR, 15.5 in wild-type ATTR). The risk of developing CA was greater in ATTR patients with CTS; the probability of having CTS was highest 5-9 years prior to CA diagnosis. CTS was an independent mortality risk factor in ATTR., Conclusions: Compared to general population the adjusted prevalence of CTS is higher among elderly men with ATTR; CTS is a prognostic marker in ATTR, independently of cardiac involvement, and precedes CA diagnosis by 5-9 years. The awareness of this association and time delay offers the possibility of an early pre-clinical ATTR-CA diagnosis., (© 2020 The Authors. European Journal of Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

The aim of this study was to evaluate a 1-year social farming programme conducted between 2014 and 2015, including horticultural and occupational activities on six agricultural farms for older people in good general health. Social farming is a practice that uses agricultural resources to provide health, social or educational services to vulnerable groups of people. Activity participation, social relationships, physical activity, and the quality of life of the participants were assessed using a pretest, posttest design. A total of 112 subjects were interviewed at baseline, though only 73 participants were retained through the end of the follow-up, resulting in a dropout rate of 34%. Data analysis revealed significant improvements in both social relationships and overall occupational engagement at the end of the programme, with significant increases in the frequency of contact with friends or relatives as well as the number of activities performed by the participants. This work adds to the literature on the effects of social farming and indicates that farming may provide opportunities for older people to engage in activities that stimulate social behaviours., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aims: Cardiac amyloidosis remains a great challenge for the cardiologist. One of the three main aetiological forms, transthyretin-related hereditary amyloidosis (ATTRm), can present with several phenotypes, depending mainly on the specific mutation. We aimed to characterize the phenotype of patients with ATTRm due to Ile68Leu mutation, comparing them to patients with wild-type transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRwt)., Methods and Results: Data of 67 Ile68Leu ATTRm patients from two Italian referral centres (Bologna and Florence) were retrospectively analysed and compared to those of 82 ATTRwt patients. Fifty-five unaffected mutation carriers were also analysed. Cumulative disease onset was 50% at age 71. A total of 56/67 (84%) patients had a predominantly cardiac phenotype at presentation with concentric increase in left ventricular wall thickness [median 17 mm], and normal or near normal left ventricular ejection fraction (79% of patients). Low QRS voltages were present only in 29% of patients but voltage/mass ratio was low (0.5). Carpal tunnel syndrome was noted in 43%. The overall phenotypic profile was similar to ATTRwt but Ile68Leu ATTRm patients typically presented younger (median 71 vs. 78 years) and were more likely to have (mild) symptomatic neurological involvement (19% vs. 2%). Male prevalence was 44% in unaffected mutation carriers and 78% in affected patients. Age-adjusted survival was comparable between groups., Conclusions: Ile68Leu ATTRm is a cause of familial amyloidotic cardiomyopathy endemic in central-northern Italy and presents as hypertrophic/restrictive cardiomyopathy quite similar to ATTRwt. Male preponderance is present in affected patients but not in unaffected mutation carriers. Age-adjusted survival is similar to ATTRwt., (© 2018 The Authors. European Journal of Heart Failure © 2018 European Society of Cardiology.)

Background: Although atrial fibrillation (AF) is a known complication of amyloidotic cardiomyopathy (AC), a precise pathophysiological and prognostic characterization is not available. We therefore aimed to assess prevalence, incidence, risk factors and prognostic significance of AF in light-chain (AL), hereditary transthyretin-related (m-ATTR) and non-mutant transthyretin-related (wt-ATTR) AC., Methods: Retrospective study of 262 patients with AC (123 AL, 94 m-ATTR, 45 wt-ATTR) from a single center., Results: AF prevalence was 15% (AL 9%, m-ATTR 11%, wt-ATTR 40%). During a median follow-up of 1.2 years 11 patients developed AF (2.1% person-years). Age, heart failure (HF), left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, renal involvement, left atrial size and right atrial pressure were independently associated with AF. AF was associated with incident HF but not with increased mortality. All AF patients were prescribed warfarin and none suffered thromboembolic events., Conclusions: In AC the prevalence of AF varies widely according to etiology with a mean value of 15% that reaches 40% in wt-ATTR amyloidosis. Age, HF, LV ejection fraction, left atrial size and right atrial pressure were the main independent risk factors, while wall thickness and etiology were not the main independent risk factors. AF does not seem to impact all-cause mortality but was strongly associated with prevalent and incident HF.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the patterns of associations of personal and mobility resources with positive well-being in two sample populations of older adults from Germany (n=1518) and Italy (n=600). A correlation study showed which variables correlated the closest with the well-being components, then four logistic regression analyses were performed, one for each well-being component such as the positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS) positive scale, mobility satisfaction, health satisfaction and life satisfaction. High positive scores of PANAS and satisfaction scales were found both for Germany and Italy. As expected and in accordance with previous studies, components utilized as a measure of subjective well-being correlated significantly with each other in both countries, confirming their validity as instruments of evaluation for several different life domains. A considerable result of this study was that the driving car is an important predictor of well-being in both countries. The findings underlined a variety of associations among the mobility resources and the subjective perception of well-being. Our work supports the importance of being aware of the main variables influencing the positive dimension of well-being for creating a better understanding the needs and goals of older people. Moreover, the present study shows that individual-environment interaction should be considered in evaluating personal well-being, especially in older people.

Urban and rural living environments play a key role in social gerontology. The aim of this paper is to examine urban-rural differences in Italy against some influencing key factors as well as to analyse whether these differences can be explained by the environmental setting or the age and, in some cases, the education of its elderly population. The study is based on data collected from the European funded MOBILATE 2000 project, which was carried out in Finland, The Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, and Italy. The Italian sample (600 subjects) was divided into rural and urban areas, and stratified according to gender and age. Older people living in rural areas were always significantly less well educated than those in urban areas. The average rural household size was larger than its urban counterpart. In general, Italian elderly people living in rural areas were less likely to live alone than their European peers. The social network was usually located close to the respondents' houses. Investigation of leisure activities and the use of new technologies revealed that elderly urban dwellers were not only more active than their rural peers, but also more technologically minded. A regression analysis (R(2)=0.551) of the number of new technologies used by subjects, yielded living area, age, years of education (the strongest explanatory variable), and number of leisure activities performed as predictors.

The study of the interactions among biological factors and psychosocial conditions is a very innovative field, because data are lacking in the scientific literature. Among biological aspects, zinc is an essential element in the elderly, especially in relation to one of the proteins, such as albumin, involved in zinc transport into the cells. In this study, the aim is the assessment of the interrelationship between albumin value (used as an index of the body zinc status) and some psychosocial dimensions in elderly Italian sample recruited for ZINCAGE project, supported by the European Commission in the "Sixth Framework Programme". Some tests and questionnaires were administered to older people included in the trial: the "life-style questionnaire"; the mini mental state examination (MMSE); the geriatric depression scale (GDS-15 items). On the basis of the Senieur Protocol for gerontological studies, a sample of 291 Italian healthy old subjects has been recruited in Central Italy and divided into 3 age groups: (a) 125 subjects aged from 65 to 74 years, (b) 89 subjects aged from 75 to 84 years, (c) 77 subjects aged >or=85 years (classified like successful old people). No cognitive impairment assessed by MMSE was observed in 67.5% of the sample; 64.0% had GDS score less than 5, indicating no depression, whereas the prevalence of biological albumin deficiency (<3.5 g/dl) found in Italian old people was 21.0%. Sixty one percent of subjects with albumin deficiency displayed higher values of GDS (>or=5). These preliminary results showed an interrelationship among serum albumin value and psychosocial aspects in Italian old population, suggesting that low albumin values may be involved in impaired psychological dimensions.

Important claims have been made regarding the contrasting profiles of linguistic and cognitive performance observed in two genetically based syndromes, Williams syndrome (WS) and Down syndrome (DS). Earlier studies suggested a double dissociation, with language better preserved than nonverbal cognition in children and adults with WS, and an opposite profile in children and adults with DS. More recent studies show that this initial characterization was too simple, and that qualitatively different patterns of deficit observed within both language and visual-spatial cognition, in both groups. In the present study, large samples of children and adolescents with WS and age-matched DS are compared with typically developing (TD) controls matched to WS in mental age, on receptive and expressive lexical and grammatical abilities, semantic and phonological fluency, digit span and nonverbal visual-spatial span, and on 2 visual-spatial construction tasks. Study 1 confirmed distinct profiles of sparing and impairment for the 2 groups, within as well as between language and nonlinguistic domains, even after IQ variations were controlled. In Study 2 we compared performance of the children, adolescents and young adults with DS and WS included in the first study, divided on the basis of the chronological age of the participants (under 8 years; over 12 years). Although it is important to stress that these are cross-sectional rather than longitudinal data, the results demonstrated that the profile of younger children is different in respect to those of the older children; initial states of the system cannot be inferred by the final state. Possible neural substrates for these profiles and trajectories are discussed.

EAI test were performed on both adult and infantile population of the Hospital area of Fucecchio. The results confirmed well known data. The most used vaccines were examinated: the conclusion was drown that a larger diffusion of vaccination with RA-27/3 vaccine, followed by a recall after some years, is recommended.