Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is defined as a chronic liver disease characterized by excessive fat accumulation in the liver without another obvious cause (no excessive alcohol consumption, hepatotoxic medications, toxins, viral infections, genetic hepatic diseases), therefore it is an exclusion diagnosis. The term NAFLD literally refers to non-alcohol related hepatopathy and does not adequately correlate with metabolic dysfunction and related cardiovascular risks. Therefore, researchers and scientific societies have moved towards changing the terminology. The novel nomenclature for a metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) has been proposed in 2020 by a group of experts to overcome the issues related to the old terminology. The diagnosis of MAFLD is based on the presence of hepatic steatosis and at least one between these three conditions: type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), obesity or metabolic dysregulation. MAFLD has been shown to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and atherosclerosis. It is better related to the main risk factors for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases than NAFLD, such as dyslipidemia, T2DM and hypertension. The aim of this review is to highlight the reasons why the term NAFLD is moving to the term MAFLD, what are the conceptual basis of this choice and its clinical implications, particularly in the cardiovascular field.

The prevalence of rotator cuff tears increases with age and several studies have shown that diabetes is associated with symptomatic shoulder pathologies. Aim of our research was to evaluate the prevalence of shoulder lesions in a population of asymptomatic elderly subjects, normal and with non insulin - dependent diabetes mellitus.

Fibromyalgia (FMS) and high frequency episodic/chronic migraine (M) very frequently co-occur, suggesting common pathophysiological mechanisms; both conditions display generalized somatic hyperalgesia. In FMS-M comorbidity we assessed if: a different level of hyperalgesia is present compared to one condition only; hyperalgesia is a function of migraine frequency; migraine attacks trigger FMS symptoms. Female patients with fibromyalgia (FMS)(n.40), high frequency episodic migraine (M1)(n.41), chronic migraine (M2)(n.40), FMS + M1 (n.42) and FMS + M2 (n.40) underwent recording of: −electrical pain thresholds in skin, subcutis and muscle and pressure pain thresholds in control sites, −pressure pain thresholds in tender points (TePs), −number of monthly migraine attacks and fibromyalgia flares (3-month diary). Migraine and FMS parameters were evaluated before and after migraine prophylaxis, or no prophylaxis, for 3 months with calcium-channel blockers, in two further FMS + H1 groups (n.49, n.39). 1-way ANOVA was applied to test trends among groups, Student’s t-test for paired samples was used to compare pre and post-treatment values. The lowest electrical and pressure thresholds at all sites and tissues were found in FMS + M2, followed by FMS + H1, FMS, M2 and M1 (trend: p < 0.0001). FMS monthly flares were progressively higher in FMS, FMS + M1 and FMS + M2 (p < 0.0001); most flares (86–87 %) occurred within 12 h from a migraine attack in co-morbid patients (p < 0.0001). Effective migraine prophylaxis vs no prophylaxis also produced a significant improvement of FMS symptoms (decreased monthly flares, increased pain thresholds)(0.0001 < p < 0.003). Co-morbidity between fibromyalgia and migraine involves heightened somatic hyperalgesia compared to one condition only. Increased migraine frequency – with shift towards chronicity – enhances both hyperalgesia and spontaneous FMS pain, which is reversed by effective migraine prophylaxis. These results suggest different levels of central sensitization in patients with migraine, fibromyalgia or both conditions and a role for migraine as a triggering factor for FMS.

Some previous works have tested LUS use in diagnosing and monitoring interstitial lung diseases. B-lines are main sonographic signs for interstitial diseases. Increasing evidences suggest that dyspnea and impaired exercise capacity in IPF patients can be related, at least in part, to respiratory muscle dysfunction, in particular to diaphragm functionality. Both B-mode and M-mode ultrasound techniques have been employed to assess diaphragm excursion (DE), which measures the distance that the diaphragm is able to move during the respiratory cycle. The main objective of this case-control study was to evaluate if differences exist between diaphragmatic excursions in IPF patients and in a control group of healthy subjects. Secondary objectives were to evaluate possible correlations among respiratory excursions, anthropometric parameters and respiratory function parameters. All patients performed spirometry and body plethysmography (PC). Diaphragm was examined by ultrasound imaging in B-MODE, and respiratory excursions were evaluated in M-MODE. Examination consisted of 3 measurements of the inspiratory phase at rest and after deep inspiration. Twelve patients with IPF and 12 healthy subjects were enrolled. There were no significant differences between respiratory excursions in patients and controls during spontaneous breathing, while there was a statistically significant difference between the mean values of the deep respiratory excursion in the two groups (p value < 0.001). There was a positive correlation between respiratory excursion with normal breath and chest circumference in controls (p = 0.034; R = 0.614) and in patients (p = 0.032; R = 0.37), but this relationship was not found even in subjects in deep breathing. A positive correlation was found between FVC values and diaphragmatic motility both at rest and in deep breathing in fibrotic patients. Diaphragmatic mobility is lower in IPF patients than in healthy controls, especially during deep inspiration. The correlation between reduced FVC and diaphragmatic excursion values in IPF patients can be of interest, since it could represent an index of functional respiratory function performed by a non-invasive, low-cost, simple and reliable imaging technique, such as LUS.

The application of thoracic ultrasound examination has not long been developed because ultrasound’s interaction with the lung does not generate an anatomical image but an artifactual one. Subsequently, the evaluation of pulmonary artifacts and their correlation to specific diseases allowed the development of ultrasound semantics. Currently, pneumonia still represents one of the main causes of hospitalization and mortality. Several studies in the literature have demonstrated the ultrasound features of pneumonia. Although ultrasound cannot be considered the diagnostic gold standard for the study of all lung diseases, it has experienced an extraordinary development and growth of interest due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. This review aims to provide essential information on the application of lung ultrasound to the study of infectious pneumonia and to discuss the differential diagnosis.