Methods: Data from 59 patients attending an outpatient intensive program of 4 weeks of CR were collected at admission, and 1 month after discharge, using a set of self-report questionnaires. Variables were measured using CBA-H, DS-14, Q-LES-Q and Brief COPE Scale.Results: The percentage of Type D personality found in the study sample was 39%. At admission Type D patients showed a significant lower level of psychological health status and QoL satisfaction compared to non Type D patients (p<0.05). After CR a significant percentage of Type D patients, despite an overall improvement, continued to show a clinically relevant psychological impairment in terms of anxiety (p=0.003), depressive mood (p=0.001), impairment in psychophysical well-being (p=0.002), perceived psychophysical stress (p=0.002), interpersonal difficulties (p<0.001), and social anxiety (p=0.045). Type D personality was also found to be associated with a significant greater use of maladaptive coping strategies (p<0.05).Conclusions: Type D personality played a significant clinically relevant role on psychological health outcome in CR. Type D personality patients reported a significant higher level of psychological impairment, in terms of anxiety, depressive mood, impairment in psychophysical wellbeing, perceived psychophysical stress, interpersonal difficulties, social anxiety, and a significant lower QoL, prior and after CR. Type D personality seemed also to be associated with maladaptive coping strategies. Importance of assessment for Type D personality is warranted in CR setting, as additional interventions seem required to enhance the outcome of these patients defined in letterature at high-risk.

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In the muscular dystrophic (mdx) mouse, which is characterized by deficient dystrophin expression and provides a model of Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, we previously demonstrated marked central nervous system alterations and in particular a quantitative reduction of corticospinal and rubrospinal neurons and pathologic changes of these cells. Prompted by these findings and in view of the relations between calcium ions and dystrophin, we analyzed with immunohistochemistry the neurons containing the calcium-binding proteins parvalbumin, calbindin D28k, and calretinin in cortical areas and brainstem nuclei of mdx mice. In the sensorimotor cortex, parvalbumin-positive and calbindin-positive neurons, which represent a subset of cortical interneurons, were significantly more numerous in mdx mice than in wild-type ones. In addition, the laminar distribution of parvalbumin-positive neurons in the motor and somatosensory cortical areas of mdx mice was altered with respect to wild-type animals. No alterations in the number and distribution were found in the parvalbumin- or calbindin-expressing cell populations of the visual and anterior cingulate cortices of mdx mice. The pattern of calretinin immunoreactivity was normal in all investigated cortical areas. The cell populations containing either calcium-binding protein were similar in brainstem nuclei of mdx and wild-type mice. The present findings demonstrated selective changes of subsets of interneurons in the motor and somatosensory cortical areas of mdx mice. Therefore, the data showed that, in the cortices of these mutant animals, the previously demonstrated pathologic changes of corticospinal cell populations are accompanied by marked alterations in the local circuitry.