Stress hyperglycemia is predictive of worse outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke undergoing intravenous thrombolysis

Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis - No study investigated the possible detrimental effect of stress hyperglycemia on patients affected acute ischemic stroke (AIS) undergoing intravenous...     

Watching emotional movies: Affective reactions and gender differences

Previous studies have found that unpleasant film clips depicting mutilated bodies or injuries evoke a sustained heart rate deceleration which has been interpreted as reflecting a stimulus-specific aversive response or as increased orienting and attentional processing that varies with stimulus significance. Few studies, however, have examined cardiac changes during the viewing of high arousal pleasant films. To clarify this issue, the present study assessed evaluative, facial and autonomic reactions in both men and women during the viewing of highly arousing pleasant, as well as unpleasant, films. Results indicated a similar skin conductance increase and heart rate deceleration which were greater than those observed during the viewing of a neutral film. Compared to men, women rated both films as less pleasant and rated the unpleasant film as more arousing. The present findings suggest that sustained exposure to pleasant and unpleasant stimuli elicit similar cardiac orienting when stimuli are equated for subjective report of emotional arousal.     

Alexithymia,Verbal Ability and Emotion Recognition

Although previous studies seem to indicate that alexithymic individuals have a deficit in their ability to recognize emotional stimuli, none had studied the relationship between alexithymia and verbal and non verbal abilities and their possible role in emotion recognition. The aim of the present study is to further investigate the relationship between alexithymia and emotion recognition ability. In particular we studied whether this relationship is mediated by verbal ability. Thirty-five students were selected from a group of 91 University students previously screened for alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale; TAS-20). Participants were shown black and white slides depicting facial expression of the following emotions: anger, sadness, disgust, surprise, happiness and fear. Compared to low alexithymic participants, and, more importantly, taking verbal IQ into account, high alexithymic and low alexithymic participants did not differ in emotion recognition.     

Facial emotion recognition in trait anxiety

The study investigated the relationship between recognition of emotional facial expressions and trait anxiety. A nonclinical sample of 19 participants with high-trait anxiety was selected, using the trait version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and compared with a sample of 20 participants with low-trait anxiety on a facial expression recognition task. Visual stimuli were 42 faces, representing seven emotional expressions: anger, sadness, happiness, fear, surprise, disgust and neutral. Participants had to identify the emotion portrayed by each face. Results showed that participants with high-trait anxiety recognized fear faces significantly better while the two groups did not differ in recognition of other facial expressions.     

Clinical and neurophysiological characterization of muscular weakness in severe COVID-19

Neurological Sciences - To report clinical and electroneuromyographic (ENMG) characteristics of patients affected by severe COVID-19 infection, evaluated for muscular weakness. ENMGs performed for...     

Investigation into factors that promote adherence to a mammography screening programme

The aim of the present research was to investigate the importance of different factors in promoting women's adherence to mammography screening programmes. The research was conducted during a mammography screening programme of the Emilia‐Romagna region addressed to all women aged 50–69 years. The programme was designed to maximize women's participation by increasing their knowledge of the benefits of breast screening (invitation letter and information campaign) and by reducing barriers (e.g. free test). The research was conducted on a sample of 200 women who adhered to the programme, 65 of whom never had a mammogram in the past, and on a sample of 95 women who did not adhere to the programme, 42 of whom never had a mammogram and 53 of whom had mammograms privately. A semi‐structured interview on demographic variables (e.g. age and marital status), an evaluation of mastery and self‐esteem and an evaluation of the influence of the different information channels used during the information campaign were asked to participants. Significant differences among groups were found as regards to age, marital status and education and as regards to objective and subjective vulnerability to breast cancer. Among the information channels, the invitation letter undersigned by the family physician had the most influence. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Environmental factors associated with stress in mothers of preterm newborns

AIM: In this study the effects of environmental and structural features of two different neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) settings on the time course of psychological distress in mothers of preterm infants were investigated. METHODS: Levels of psychological distress in 21 mothers of premature infants hospitalized in the NICU of the Salesi Hospital were compared with levels of psychological distress in 21 mothers of premature infants from the NICU of the Sant'Orsola Hospital at three different times during hospitalization. RESULTS: Data showed that mothers from the NICU of the Salesi Hospital, where there is no presence of any specialized figure and the access for parents to the unit is ruled by time schedules, reported higher levels of psychological distress than mothers from the NICU of the Sant'Orsola Hospital, characterized by the continuous presence and contact with the medical staff, which included physiotherapists and clinical psychologists, and free access to the unit for parents. Moreover, levels of psychological distress increased over time in mothers from the Salesi Hospital while levels of distress decreased or were simply maintained over time in mothers from the Sant'Orsola Hospital. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings suggest that providing mothers with the opportunity of discussing the infant's clinical state with health professionals and receiving psychological support on a regular basis may reduce stressful feelings.