Nadia Antonucci - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Nadia Antonucci

Medicina-lithuania, Sep 8, 2020

Futurists have anticipated that novel autonomous technologies, embedded with machine learning (ML... more Futurists have anticipated that novel autonomous technologies, embedded with machine learning (ML), will substantially influence healthcare. ML is focused on making predictions as accurate as possible, while traditional statistical models are aimed at inferring relationships between variables. The benefits of ML comprise flexibility and scalability compared with conventional statistical approaches, which makes it deployable for several tasks, such as diagnosis and classification, and survival predictions. However, much of ML-based analysis remains scattered, lacking a cohesive structure. There is a need to evaluate and compare the performance of well-developed conventional statistical methods and ML on patient outcomes, such as survival, response to treatment, and patient-reported outcomes (PROs). In this article, we compare the usefulness and limitations of traditional statistical methods and ML, when applied to the medical field. Traditional statistical methods seem to be more useful when the number of cases largely exceeds the number of variables under study and a priori knowledge on the topic under study is substantial such as in public health. ML could be more suited in highly innovative fields with a huge bulk of data, such as omics, radiodiagnostics, drug development, and personalized treatment. Integration of the two approaches should be preferred over a unidirectional choice of either approach.

Kidney International, Feb 1, 2017

Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, May 1, 2018

Preliminary results obtained at 4 months included 34 patients for the primary endpoint and 23 pat... more Preliminary results obtained at 4 months included 34 patients for the primary endpoint and 23 patients for the secondary endpoints. We excluded from analysis 11 patients because of loss to follow-up or Metformin withdrawal. Mean age at baseline was 47.2 69.6 years, 60.9% of participants were women and 47.6% had inherited the disease from the paternal line. Patients were characterized by overweight (BMI:27.463.5 kg/m2), 60.9% of them were dyslipidaemic, 78.3% hypertensive and 28.6% active smokers. At baseline, the majority of patients were in CKD stage G2. Regarding adverse events, we found 7 cases of nausea (20.5%), 2 of hunger (5.8%), 1 of abdominal pain (2.9%) and 1 of rash (2.9%). Among these, 2 patients (5.8%) stopped Metformin because of rash and abdominal pain. We report no event of hypoglicemia or lactic acidosis. After 4 months of treatment with Metformin, there was a slight, non-significant improvement in renal function, estimated with both CKD-EPI formula: eGFR þ2.10ml/min (95% CI -6.23 to þ10.44, p¼0.60) and CysC formula: eGFR þ11.60ml/min (95% CI -3.01 to þ26.21, p¼0.11). Also, we pointed out a significant decrease in weight by -0.52 kg/m2 (95% CI -0.80 to -0.25, p¼0.001). We found a significant, moderate negative correlation between kidney function estimated by CKD-EPI and BMI at 16 weeks of treatment ( r¼ -0.48; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our study has proven that Metformin is well tolerated and is associated with a preserved renal function and significant decrease in weight in ADPKD patients after 4 months of treatment.

Giornale di Tecniche Nefrologiche & Dialitiche, Apr 1, 2016

adenina dinucleotide (FADH2). Poi, subiscono un passaggio lungo tutta la catena di trasporto degl... more adenina dinucleotide (FADH2). Poi, subiscono un passaggio lungo tutta la catena di trasporto degli elettroni, che si compone di cinque complessi proteici situati nella membrana mitocondriale interna. Gli elettroni passano attraverso complessi I, III e IV, grazie a un gradiente protonico generato dal trasporto di queste particelle sul lato esterno della membrana mitocondriale interna. Il complesso V investe, poi, l'energia derivata dal trasporto degli elettroni nella sintesi di ATP. In questo processo, la perdita di elettroni dalla catena respiratoria induce la conversione dell'ossigeno (0.4-4%) in radicali superossido. Di conseguenza, i mitocondri sono la fonte primaria di specie reattive dell'ossigeno (ROS). Recenti scoperte sottolineano il coinvolgimento dei mitocondri in diversi disturbi renali e nella progressione del danno renale cronico (1). In particolare, il nostro gruppo di ricerca ha dimostrato una notevole disregolazione di un certo numero di elementi di OXPHOS, una down-regolazione dei componenti chiave del complesso mitocondriale IV (COXI e COXIV) e una significativa riduzione dell'attività del complesso V nei pazienti affetti da insufficienza renale cronica rispetto ai soggetti sani. Una disfunzione dell'apparato mitocondriale è stata da noi segnalata anche nei pazienti uremici trattati con dialisi peritoneale (PD). I mitocondri partecipano a numerose funzioni cellulari, tra cui l'omeostasi degli ioni e dell'eme e la sintesi di steroidi, il signaling del calcio e l'apoptosi. Il ruolo principale di questi organelli è di generare energia per il metabolismo cellulare attraverso il processo di fosforilazione ossidativa (OXPHOS). Gli elettroni derivati dal metabolismo cellulare raggiungono i mitocondri attraverso due coenzimi, la nicotinammide adenina dinucleotide (NADH) e la flavina

Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Mar 20, 2021

Consumption of fish has increased all over Europe, leading to a rise in reports of allergic react... more Consumption of fish has increased all over Europe, leading to a rise in reports of allergic reactions to fish,1 including anaphylaxis.2 Determining epidemiological data of IgE-mediated fish allergy is challenging because this type of allergy seems to vary with geographical eating habits, type of fish processing, and fish species exposure.1 The diagnosis of IgE-mediated fish allergy is based on clinical history, skin tests and sIgE, followed by a an oral food challenge (OFC) with the fish involved in the allergic reaction.

Medicina-lithuania, Jan 11, 2021

Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, 2018

European Respiratory Journal, 2020

Medicina, 2021

Background and Objective: Guided bone regeneration allows new bone formation in anatomical sites ... more Background and Objective: Guided bone regeneration allows new bone formation in anatomical sites showing defects preventing implant rehabilitation. Material and Methods: The present case series reported the outcomes of five patients treated with customized titanium meshes manufactured with a digital workflow for achieving bone regeneration at future implant sites. A significant gain in both width and thickness was achieved for all patients. Results: From a radiographic point of view (CBTC), satisfactory results were reached both in horizontal and vertical defects. An average horizontal gain of 3.6 ± 0.8 mm and a vertical gain of 5.2 ± 1.1 mm. Conclusions: The findings from this study suggest that customized titanium meshes represent a valid method to pursue guided bone regeneration in horizontal, vertical or combined defects. Particular attention must be paid by the surgeon in the packaging of the flap according to a correct method called the “poncho” technique in order to reduce th...

Giornale di Clinica Nefrologica e Dialisi, 2016

Medicina, 2020

Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 2019

Background and objectives Microvesicles and exosomes are involved in the pathogenesis of autosoma... more Background and objectives Microvesicles and exosomes are involved in the pathogenesis of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. However, it is unclear whether they also contribute to medullary sponge kidney, a sporadic kidney malformation featuring cysts, nephrocalcinosis, and recurrent kidney stones. We addressed this knowledge gap by comparative proteomic analysis. Design, setting, participants, & measurements The protein content of microvesicles and exosomes isolated from the urine of 15 patients with medullary sponge kidney and 15 patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease was determined by mass spectrometry followed by weighted gene coexpression network analysis, support vector machine learning, and partial least squares discriminant analysis to compare the profiles and select the most discriminative proteins. The proteomic data were verified by ELISA. Results A total of 2950 proteins were isolated from microvesicles and exosomes, including 1579 (54%) ide...

International journal of molecular sciences, Jan 20, 2018

The administration of Everolimus (EVE), a mTOR inhibitor used in transplantation and cancer, is o... more The administration of Everolimus (EVE), a mTOR inhibitor used in transplantation and cancer, is often associated with adverse effects including pulmonary fibrosis. Although the underlying mechanism is not fully clarified, this condition could be in part caused by epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) of airway cells. To improve our knowledge, primary bronchial epithelial cells (BE63/3) were treated with EVE (5 and 100 nM) for 24 h. EMT markers (α-SMA, vimentin, fibronectin) were measured by RT-PCR. Transepithelial resistance was measured by Millicell-ERS ohmmeter. mRNA and microRNA profiling were performed by Illumina and Agilent kit, respectively. Only high dose EVE increased EMT markers and reduced the transepithelial resistance of BE63/3. Bioinformatics showed 125 de-regulated genes that, according to enrichment analysis, were implicated in collagen synthesis/metabolism. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) was one of the higher up-regulated mRNA. Five nM EVE was ineffecti...

Kidney International, 2017

Medullary sponge kidney (MSK) disease, a rare kidney malformation featuring recurrent renal stone... more Medullary sponge kidney (MSK) disease, a rare kidney malformation featuring recurrent renal stones and nephrocalcinosis, continues to be diagnosed using expensive and time-consuming clinical/instrumental tests (mainly urography). Currently, no molecular diagnostic biomarkers are available. To identify such we employed a proteomic-based research strategy utilizing urine from 22 patients with MSK and 22 patients affected by idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis (ICN) as controls. Notably, two patients with ICN presented cysts. In the discovery phase, the urine of 11 MSK and 10 controls, were randomly selected, processed, and analyzed by mass spectrometry. Subsequently, several statistical algorithms were undertaken to select the most discriminative proteins between the two study groups. ELISA, performed on the entire patients' cohort, was used to validate the proteomic results. After an initial statistical analysis, 249 and 396 proteins were identified exclusive for ICN and MSK, respectively. A Volcano plot and ROC analysis, performed to restrict the number of MSK-associated proteins, indicated that 328 and 44 proteins, respectively, were specific for MSK. Interestingly, 119 proteins were found to differentiate patients with cysts (all patients with MSK and the two ICN with renal cysts) from ICN without cysts. Eventually, 16 proteins were found to be common to three statistical methods with laminin subunit alpha 2 (LAMA-2) reaching the higher rank by a Support Vector Machine, a binary classification/prediction scheme. ELISA for LAMA-2 validated proteomic results. Thus, using high-throughput technology, our study identified a candidate MSK biomarker possibly employable in future for the early diagnosis of this disease.

Giornale di Tecniche Nefrologiche e Dialitiche, 2016