Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychopathological condition with a heterogeneous clinical picture that is complex and challenging to treat. Its multifaceted pathophysiology still remains an unresolved question and certainly contributes to this issue. The pharmacological treatment of PTSD is mainly empirical and centered on the serotonergic system. Since the therapeutic response to prescribed drugs targeting single symptoms is generally inconsistent, there is an urgent need for novel pathogenetic hypotheses, including different mediators and pathways. This paper was conceived as a narrative review with the aim of debating the current pharmacological treatment of PTSD and further highlighting prospective targets for future drugs. The authors accessed some of the main databases of scientific literature available and selected all the papers that fulfilled the purpose of the present work. The results showed that most of the current pharmacological treatments for PTSD are symptom-based and show only partial benefits; this largely reflects the limited knowledge of its neurobiology. Growing, albeit limited, data suggests that the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, opioids, glutamate, cannabinoids, oxytocin, neuropeptide Y, and microRNA may play a role in the development of PTSD and could be targeted for novel treatments. Indeed, recent research indicates that examining different pathways might result in the development of novel and more efficient drugs.

Background Fronto-Temporal Dementia (FTD) is a neurodegenerative disorder featuring frontotemporal lobe atrophy which leads to profound changes in behavior and cognition in the affected subjects. Considering that the onset of this type of dementia is typically characterized by the development of affective symptoms, differential diagnosis between FTD and Bipolar Disorder (BD) is particularly difficult. An important overlapping feature between BD and FTD is the presence of catatonic symptoms: Catatonia is extremely frequent in FTD, and, on the other hand, BD is the psychiatric disease with the highest frequency of association with catatonic states. In this framework, it should be noted that also Autism Spectrum conditions have been reported to show high rates of comorbidity and overlapping features with BD. In addition, subjects with autistic traits were reported to show an increased vulnerability towards the development of mood and anxiety disorders, as well as increase the risk of mood episodes with mixed features, suicidal thoughts and catatonic symptoms. Case presentation We reported the case of a patient with a diagnosis of both BD and FTD who showed catatonic symptoms. Objectives The aim of this case report is to evaluate the possible role of autistic traits in the illness trajectory of BD and FTD. Conclusion This case confirms the presence of a continuum between psychiatric and neurological conditions, which should be considered as expressions of a same neurobiological system and further investigated in light of an integrative model.

This book has been sponsored by Marmi Faedo, a company that ‘cultivates’ and nurtures a marble quarry in Spagnago di Cornedo Vicentino, in the Province of Vicenza, safeguarding land and nature with professionalism and thoroughly investigated eco-sustainable criteria. When the company applied for the regional authorisation for the tenyear renewal of the quarrying of architecture material, it also set up a project to redevelop the entire area through successive phases of organisation, sorting and reforestation of the areas that had been artificially modified by human’s work. Marmi Faedo has also preserved the existing ‘edges’ of the surrounding woods, creating a perimeter band that protects the quarry from the valley floor up to the hill in which it is excavated. The working area is thus a sort of “stone nest” shielded by the vegetation of the wooded ridge. The challenge was to accompany the human’s work with new, coherent and integrated landscape values: an expression of ethical and cultural values that create a direct synergy between the architectural culture of stone and the culture of a landscape that has been modified and reshaped by a proper hillside restoration. The inner walls of the “cavea-quarry” show stone steps, the results of excavations over time; the oldest part, which had been excavated by hand, will be left exposed to suggest the idea of a marble “cathedral” from which a strong, “Gothic-like” verticality rises. This publication is dedicated to the latest generation of the Faedo family as a sign of generational continuity that emphasises the hard work, dedication and passion required to work stone, but also the satisfaction for the beauty of things and the profound sense of continuity in history.