OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effects of leptin on platelet aggregation and platelet free calcium (Ca 2+ ) concentrations, and the role of the long form of leptin receptor (ObRb) and the phospholipase C (PLC) in mediating leptin effects on platelet function. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, clinical study. SETTING: Outpatient's Service for Prevention and Treatment of Obesity at the University Hospital of Messina, Italy. SUBJECTS: A total of 19 healthy, 14 overweight, and 16 obese male subjects. MEASUREMENTS: ADP-induced platelet aggregation and platelet Ca 2+ were measured after incubation of platelet-rich plasma with leptin alone 5-200 ng/ml, leptin 200 ng/ml and anti-human leptin receptor long-form antibody (ObRb-Ab) 5-10 ml, or leptin 200 ng/ml and PLC inhibitor U73122 0.5-1 nmol/l. RESULTS: Platelet stimulation with leptin lead to a significant and dose-dependent increase in platelet aggregation in healthy subjects. This effect was blunted in overweight, and strongly reduced in obese subjects. Similarly, the incubation with leptin induced a significant and dose-dependent increase in platelet free calcium, which was blunted in overweight and obese patients. The effect of leptin on platelet aggregation and platelet Ca 2+ was completely abated by the anti-ObRb-Ab and the PLC inhibitor U73122. CONCLUSIONS: Leptin produces a dose-dependent enhancement of ADP-induced platelet aggregation in humans. Platelet aggregation response to leptin is blunted, but not completely abolished in overweight/obese subjects, thus suggesting that platelet may represent a site of leptin resistance in human obesity. Leptin increases platelet free calcium in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibition of PLC completely abates the effect of leptin on both platelet aggregation and Ca 2+ levels. These findings suggest that signaling pathway other than JAK-STAT tyrosine phosphorylation (ie PLC and calcium) may be involved in mediating the prothrombotic action of leptin.

Background:Pain is under-detected and undertreated in people with dementia. The present study investigates the prevalence of pain in people with dementia hospitalized in nursing homes that are members of National Association of Third Age Residences (ANASTE) Calabria, and evaluates the association among pain, mood, and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD).Objective:The aim of this study is to define the prevalence of pain in people with dementia in long term care facilities using scales of self-reporting and observational tools and, particularly, to study the relationship between pain and BPSD.Methods:A prospective observational study was carried out on 233 patients. Pain assessment was performed using self-reporting tools such as the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for patients with slight cognitive impairment or no cognitive impairment and observational tools such as Pain Assessment In Advanced Dementia Scale (PAINAD) for patients with moderate or severe cognitive impairment. Mood was evaluated through the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) while behavioral problems were assessed through the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI) and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI).Results:Only 42.5% of patients evaluated by NRS provided a reliable answer; of these, 20.4% reported no pain. The percentage of pain evaluated by PAINAD was 51.8% . Analysis of data showed a statistically significant correlation between diagnosis of pain and depressive symptoms, assessed with CSDD (p = 0.0113), as well as by single items of NPI, such as anxiety (p = 0.0362) and irritability (p = 0.0034), and F1 profile (Aggression) of CMAI (p = 0.01).Conclusion:This study confirms that self-report alone is not sufficient to assess pain in elderly people with dementia; the observational tool is a necessary and suitable way of assessing pain in patients with cognitive impairment. If not adequately treated, chronic pain can cause depression, agitation, and aggression in patients with dementia.

ObjectivesSafe pharmaceutical care (PC) requires an interprofessional team approach, involving physicians, nurses and pharmacists. Nurses’ roles however, are not always explicit and clear, complicating interprofessional collaboration. The aim of this study is to describe nurses’ practice and interprofessional collaboration in PC, from the viewpoint of nurses, physicians and pharmacists.DesignA cross-sectional survey.SettingThe study was conducted in 17 European countries, each with their own health systems.ParticipantsPharmacists, physicians and nurses with an active role in PC were surveyed.Main outcome measuresNurses’ involvement in PC, experiences of interprofessional collaboration and communication and views on nurses’ competences.ResultsA total of 4888 nurses, 974 physicians and 857 pharmacists from 17 European countries responded. Providing patient education and information (PEI), monitoring medicines adherence (MMA), monitoring adverse/therapeutic effects (ME) and prescribing medicines were considered integral to nursing practice by 78%, 73%, 69% and 15% of nurses, respectively. Most respondents were convinced that quality of PC would be improved by increasing nurses’ involvement in ME (95%), MMA (95%), PEI (91%) and prescribing (53%). Mean scores for the reported quality of collaboration between nurses and physicians, collaboration between nurses and pharmacists and interprofessional communication were respectively <7/10, ≤4/10, <6/10 for all four aspects of PC.ConclusionsME, MMA, PEI and prescribing are part of nurses’ activities, and most healthcare professionals felt their involvement should be extended. Collaboration between nurses and physicians on PC is limited and between nurses and pharmacists even more.

ObjectiveThe interaction between dementia and nutritional state is very complex and not yet fully understood. The aim of the present study was to assess the interaction between cognitive impairment and nutritional state in a cohort of residential elderly in relationship with functional condition of patients and their load of assistance in long-term-care facilities of the National Association of Third Age Structures (ANASTE) Calabria.MethodsOne hundred seventy-four subjects (122 female and 52 male) were admitted to the long-term-care ANASTE Calabria study. All patients underwent multidimensional geriatric assessment. Nutritional state was assessed with the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), whereas cognitive performance was evaluated by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). The functional state was assessed by Barthel Index (BI) and Activity Daily Living (ADL). The following nutritional biochemical parameters were also evaluated: albumin, cholesterol, iron, and hemoglobin. All patients were reassessed 180 days later.ResultsA severe cognitive impairment in MMSE performance was displayed in 49.7% patients, while 39.8% showed a moderate deficit; 6.9% had a slight deficit; and 3.4% evidenced no cognitive impairment. In MNA, 30% of patients exhibited an impairment of nutritional state; 56% were at risk of malnutrition; and 14% showed no nutritional problems. Malnutrition was present in 42% of patients with severe cognitive impairment, but only 4% of malnourished patients showed moderate cognitive deficit. The statistical analysis displayed a significant correlation between MNA and MMSE (P<0.001), as did MMSE correlated with Activity Daily Living (P<0.001) and BI (P<0.05). MNA correlated with BI (P<0.001) and albumin (P<0.001). The follow-up showed a strong correlation between cognitive deterioration and worsening of nutritional state (P<0.005) as well as with the functional state (P<0.05) and mortality (P<0.01).ConclusionThe present study clearly shows that malnutrition may play an important role in the progression of cognitive loss.

We performed this study to investigate whether changes in plasma glucose, insulin, and norepinephrine concentrations during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) are associated with changes in plasma leptin levels in normotensive and hypertensive obese women. Plasma insulin, glucose, norepinephrine, and leptin concentrations were evaluated at the baseline and during OGTT in normotensive women (NT-Ob, N = 24, mean age 38.3+/-1.8 years, body mass index [BMI] 37.9+/-1.1 kg/m2) and hypertensive (HT-Ob, N = 25, mean age 37.7+/-1.9 years, BMI 39.4+/-1.3 kg/m2) obese women, and in a group of normal-weight women (controls, N = 20, mean age 38.3+/-1.3 years, BMI 23.1+/-0.4 kg/m2). The OGTT caused a significant increase in plasma leptin concentrations in both NT-Ob and HT-Ob groups, whereas no such change was detectable in control subjects. Area under curve (AUC) for plasma leptin showed a direct correlation with norepinephrine AUC in both NT-Ob (r = 0.73, P = .001) and HT-Ob (r = 0.74, P = .001) group, which was still detectable in multivariate analysis (P = .014 and P = .017, respectively). Our study confirms that glucose loading increases circulating leptin concentrations in obese women, and demonstrates the existance of an association between leptin and norepinephrine changes during OGTT in both normotensive and hypertensive obese women. We hypothesize that this association may reflect the lack of leptin suppression by catecholamines or a direct leptin-induced sympathoactivation. These findings suggest that leptin could be relevant in the regulation of blood pressure in obese women.