Vitamin D Status and Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex and progressive neurodegenerative disease, characterized by resting tremor, rigidity, slowness of movement, and postural instability. Furthermore, PD is associated with a wide spectrum of non-motor symptoms that add to overall disability. In recent years, some investigations, from basic science to clinical applications, have focused on the role of vitamin D in PD, often with controversial findings. Vitamin D has widespread effects on several biological processes in the central nervous system, including neurotransmission in dopaminergic neural circuits. Various studies have recorded lower levels of vitamin D in PD patients than in healthy controls. Low vitamin D status has also been correlated with the risk for PD and motor severity, whereas less is known about the effects vitamin D has on cognitive function and other non-motor symptoms. This review aims to better characterize the correlation between vitamin D and PD, clarify the role of vitamin D in PD prevention and treatment, and discuss avenues for future research in this field.

Differences among peritoneal and pleural mesothelioma: data from the Lombardy Region Mesothelioma Register (Italy).

BACKGROUND: The relationship between asbestos exposure and peritoneal mesothelioma (PEM) is under investigation. Some authors suggest that the association could be weaker than that observed for pleural mesothelioma (PLM). OBJECTIVE: To compare individual, clinical and exposure characteristics of peritoneal and pleural mesothelioma cases that occurred in the Lombardy Region (Italy). METHODS: Cases were drawn from the regional mesothelioma registry (base population > 9 million). We selected all PEM cases diagnosed between 2000 and 2007 (N = 110) and all PLM cases that occurred between 2000 and 2001 (N = 515). Asbestos exposure data (occupational, environmental/familial, or both) were collected by a standardized and validated questionnaire administered to each case or case's relative. Based on available chest CT scans, we also investigated the concomitant presence of asbestosis and/or pleural plaques as markers of asbestos exposure. RESULTS: PEM and PLM cases had similar proportions of occupational (around 60%) and environmental/familial (7%) asbestos exposure. The proportion of PEM subjects with co-existent occupational and environmental/familial exposures was, however, twice as high as PLM cases (6.1% vs 3.1%). Asbestosis and pleural plaques were more frequent in PEM than in PLM cases (7.7% and 20.9% vs 0.4% and 12.1%, respectively). No differences were detected for duration of exposure and latency among occupationally exposed cases. CONCLUSION: Our findings from a population-based Registry suggest that high cumulative asbestos exposures are the main risk factors not only for pleural but also for peritoneal mesothelioma.

[Asbestos exposure in the non-asbestos textile industry: the experience of the Lombardy Mesothelioma Registry]. / Esposizioni professionali nel settore tessile non-amianto in Lombardia: i dati del Registro Regionale.

The Lombardy Mesothelioma Registry, activated in 2000, receives more than 300 cases per year of suspected malignant mesothelioma; the standardized (age and gender) incidence rate of pleural mesothelioma is 2.4/100,000 inhabitants (CI 95% 2.0-2.7). The finding of an increasing number of cases among workers of the non-asbestos-textile industry, classified as "unknown exposure to asbestos", upheld the suspect of presence of asbestos in this compartment. Specific information about a possible asbestos exposure were collected by technicians, maintenance personnel and other experts; industrial machinery utilized in the past was thoroughly examined; direct inspections were carried out in several workplaces that had not yet undergone significant changes with respect to the past. A large amount of asbestos had been regularly used on the ceilings and also to the walls of factories in order to avoid both condensation of steam and reflection of noise. In addition, asbestos had also been widely used to insulate water and steam pipes. The braking systems of most of machines also had asbestos gaskets, and on several looms some brakes operated continuously. The population in study was composed of 119 subjects, 27 males and 92 females, median age of 72 years. Asbestos exposure was ascribed to work in 106 cases (89%). The system devised by the Lombardy Registry had brought to light an occupational hazard in a professional area previously never believed as a source of asbestos exposure. In consideration of the described experience, both environmental and clinical, it seems reasonable to consider the non-asbestos-textile as a new department at risk for asbestos exposure.