Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a multifaceted neurodegenerative disorder that progressively affects both the central and peripheral nervous systems. This pilot study aimed to examine the effects of repeated whole-body cryostimulation (WBC) sessions on the sympathovagal balance in PD patients and correlate heart rate variability (HRV) indexes with peripheral biomarkers of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Methods: Seventeen PD patients with mild to moderate motor severity underwent a 10-session WBC cycle over 5 consecutive days. Thirteen patients (6 males, 7 females; mean age 64.5 ± 9.01 years; mean disease duration 5.4 ± 2.3 years) completed the protocol. Cardiac autonomic activity was assessed through HRV measures including RR interval variability (RR mean, RR min, RR max), power density of high and low frequencies (HF, LF), RMSSD, and the LF/HF ratio. Systemic sympathetic activity was evaluated via circulating blood catecholamine levels. Results: Significant increases were observed in RR mean, RR min, RR max, RMSSD, and HF spectrum, indicating enhanced parasympathetic activity. Blood pressure remained stable, suggesting safety. Conclusions: These findings provide initial support to WBC as a potential “rehabilitation booster” in PD, enhancing sympathovagal balance. Further research is needed to explore the long-term benefits of WBC in PD management.

Background: This case study investigates the effect of a five-session whole-body cryostimulation (WBC) cycle on a 55-year-old female patient with cerebral palsy (CP) and lower limb spasticity (LLS) with a typical diplegic gait pattern. CP is a common physical disability characterized by motor impairments, including spasticity, which significantly impacts mobility and quality of life. The current treatments for spasticity often have limited efficacy and considerable side effects, making alternative therapies like WBC an area of interest. Methods: The patient underwent a 10-day inpatient rehabilitation program integrated with five WBC sessions at −110 °C for 2 min. The treatment effects were assessed immediately before and after the five WBC sessions using the Ashworth Scale, Fugl-Meyer Assessment, H-reflex test, and gait analysis. Psychosocial outcomes were measured with the SF-36, WHO-5, PSQI, ESS, and BDI questionnaires. Results: Immediately after the WBC cycle, gait analysis showed increased walking speed (0.48 to 0.61 m/s left; 0.49 to 0.57 m/s right) and step length (0.30 to 0.38 m left; 0.30 to 0.35 m right). The H/M ratio in the H-reflex test improved, indicating a better neuromuscular efficiency. Psychosocial assessments revealed a 42.5% reduction in pain and a 24% improvement in overall quality of life and well-being. Discussion and Conclusions: The objective improvements in gait parameters and neuromuscular modulation, along with the subjectively reported enhancements in functional abilities, highlight the potential of WBC as a valuable addition to rehabilitation strategies for this population. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and assess long-term outcomes.

The microbiota–gut–brain axis extends beyond visceral perception, influencing higher-order brain structures, and ultimately psychological functions, such as fear processing. In this exploratory pilot study, we attempted to provide novel experimental evidence of a relationship between gut microbiota composition and diversity, and fear-processing in obesity, through a behavioral approach. Women affected by obesity were enrolled and profiled for gut microbiota, through 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Moreover, we tested their ability to recognize facial fearful expressions through an implicit-facial-emotion-recognition task. Finally, a traditional self-report questionnaire was used to assess their temperamental traits. The participants exhibited an unbalanced gut microbiota profile, along with impaired recognition of fearful expressions. Interestingly, dysbiosis was more severe in those participants with altered behavioral performance, with a decrease in typically health-associated microbes, and an increase in the potential pathobiont, Collinsella. Moreover, Collinsella was related to a lower expression of the persistence temperamental trait, while a higher expression of the harm-avoidance temperament, related to fear-driven anxiety symptoms, was linked to Lactobacillus. Once confirmed, our findings could pave the way for the design of innovative microbiome-based strategies for the treatment of psychological and emotional difficulties by mitigating obesity-related consequences and behaviors.

Objective: The combination and tentative correlation of a selected set of polysomnographic tests with the quantitative measurement of oxysterols of pathophysiological relevance in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with Alzheimer’s degenerative dementia (AD), non-Alzheimer’s degenerative dementia (NAD) and nondegenerative disorders (C) were afforded in a pilot study. Methods: Sleep efficiency, percentage of sleep time spent in nonrapid eye movement (NREM) stage 3 (N3), apnea/hypopnea index and sleep time spent with oxygen saturation <90% were recorded. Oxysterols of both enzymatic and nonenzymatic origin were quantified in the CSF of the three groups of patients by isotope-dilution gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Results: A remarkable increase in all tested oxysterols of autoxidation origin and of cholesterol was detectable in the CSF of AD and NAD patients in comparison with C patients. Of the four markers of sleep quality tested, only the percentage duration of N3 showed a net progressive reduction in NAD and AD patients. A strong inverse correlation between the CSF levels of 7k-cholesterol (7KC) and 7α-hydroxycholesterol and the duration of N3% in the recruited cohorts of patients appeared evident. Conclusions: An abnormal increase in some oxysterols of autoxidation origin, particularly of 7KC, in the CSF of patients with degenerative dementia, with the highest levels reached in AD patients, appears to be a reliable candidate biomarker of reduced duration of N3 sleep. The observed accumulation of oxysterols in the CSF seems at least in part because of impaired efficiency of the glymphatic system, which indeed reaches, under normal conditions, its maximum activity in the N3 sleep phase. A contribution of altered cholesterol metabolism to sleep quality in AD patients cannot be excluded. Significance statement: Oxysterols of nonenzymatic origin are proposed as new CSF candidate markers of sleep quality in patients with dementia.

Background: The mechanisms underlying cognitive impairment in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) remain incompletely understood. In particular, the relative contribution of daytime sleepiness versus the direct effects of hypoxia on the brain requires clarification. Objectives: This study aims to explore the association between verbal memory and problem-solving abilities, OSAS severity, self-reported daytime sleepiness, and neurofilament light chain (NfL) serum concentration, as marker of neuroaxonal injury possibly related to chronic hypoxia. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, cognitive performance was assessed in 72 patients with mild to severe OSAS using the Selective Reminding Test (SRT) and the Tower of London (ToL). The apnea–hypopnea index (AHI), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and serum NfL concentrations were collected. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses adjusting for age, years of education, body mass index, and duration of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment, were conducted for each cognitive outcome. Results. Neither AHI, ESS scores nor serum NfL concentrations were significantly associated with verbal memory or problem-solving performance. Higher age and lower education were significant predictors of lower verbal memory indices, whereas longer CPAP treatment duration was positively correlated with verbal memory performance and problem-solving speed. Conclusions: In this sample, cognitive performance was more strongly related to demographic factors and CPAP exposure compared to disease severity, subjective sleepiness, or peripheral markers of neuroaxonal injury. These findings suggest that AHI, subjective measures of sleepiness and NfL may inadequately capture neurocognitive vulnerability in OSAS. Moreover, they underscore the imperative for longitudinal and larger studies to clarify mechanisms linking OSAS and cognitive impairments.

As fundamental primary processes in maintaining the body's health, sleep and eating habits influence reciprocally, and this relationship is also modulated by circadian rhythms. Consistently, the literature reports various levels of alterations in sleep parameters and circadian preferences among individuals exhibiting dysfunctional eating behaviors. The present review aims to provide an up-to-date overview of case-control studies conducted to date on this topic. A systematic literature search was conducted to detect case-control studies investigating both subjective and objective sleep parameters and circadian preferences in individuals with eating disorders. Thirty-three articles published between 1980 and 2025 were included. Patients with eating disorders show reduced sleep efficiency, prolonged sleep onset latency, and increased arousal levels. Specifically, individuals with anorexia nervosa experience more frequent and longer nighttime awakenings, as well as reductions in both slow-wave sleep and REM sleep. In contrast, findings related to bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder are quite inconsistent, partly due to the limited number of studies available. Overall, individuals with eating disorders tend to exhibit a preference for evening chronotypes. This review supports the existence of an association between eating disorders and alterations in sleep and circadian rhythms. Nonetheless, current research does not provide a consistent picture of the nature, characteristics, or causality of these dysfunctions. Several factors - such as body mass index, the severity of eating disorder symptoms, and orexin levels - appear to be involved. Further investigation into these relatively understudied areas could inform the development of more effective rehabilitation strategies.