University students have to handle crucial challenges for their future lives, such as succeeding in academic studies and finding attachment figures. These processes could potentially involve their well-being and mental health, with possible sociocultural differences based on the country of study. In order to explore such potential differences, a cross-sectional, multi-center survey was performed involving students from the University of Torino (Italy), Sevilla (Spain), and Lusòfona (Portugal). The survey, conducted from May to November 2023, investigated students’ demographic and educational details, socioeconomic status, social support, mental health, academic environment, perceived COVID-19 pandemic impact, and future plans. Demographic profiles showed a predominance of female participants and straight sexual orientation, followed by bisexuality. Italian students showed the lowest levels of mental well-being and the highest rates of mental problems (anxiety and depression) and suicidal risk across the three countries despite the relatively similar profiles of social support. The prevalence of the students’ confidence in their professional future is higher in Spain than in Italy and Portugal. This study provides a comprehensive examination of university students’ mental health and well-being in three Southern European countries, addressing the major mental health challenges among university students and offering valuable insights for public health purposes.

There are no clear indications for the best choice of anti-seizure medications to control brain tumor related epilepsy. In vitro studies have shown an antitumoral effect of Levetiracetam and Lacosamide on glioblastoma IDH-wild type. This study investigates whether the use of levetiracetam and/or lacosamide impacts survival rates. The secondary aim was to evaluate the efficacy of both ASMs in controlling seizures. In this observational retrospective single-cohort study, patients underwent chemoradiation protocol after GBM surgery. They were grouped as follows: (1) use of levetiracetam, (2) use of lacosamide, (3) simultaneous use of levetiracetam and lacosamide, (4) no ASM usage. Survival curves were plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method coupled with a log-rank test for difference assesments. To evaluate the pharmacological efficacy of post-operative seizure control, a negative binomial regression was conducted. The study included 272 patients, 174 of which underwent adjuvant chemoradiation treatment. Patients without ASM therapy had a non-significant longer median OS (compared to the other groups (log-rank = 0.37). The IRR of seizure relapse was 2.57 (p = 0.007) times higher in lacosamide users, and MGMT promoter methylation demonstrated a protective effect against postoperative seizure onset (p = 0.05), regardless of the aforementioned confounding factors. In patients diagnosed with GBM IDH-WT undergoing chemoradiation therapy, the use of levetiracetam or lacosamide for controlling BTRE does not seem to modify survival. Lacosamide users exhibited a higher IRR of postoperative seizures compared to levetiracetam users, and MGMT promoter methylation appears to be a protective factor.

Objective: Noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) improves amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) quality of life and survival. However, data about its effect on disease progression are still lacking. Here, we test whether NIMV use changed the rate of functional decline among ALS patients.Methods: In this retrospective observational study, we included 448 ALS patients followed up at the ALS Center in Turin, Italy, who underwent NIMV during the disease course. The primary outcome was the change in functional decline after NIMV initiation adjusting for covariates. Functional decline was based on the nonrespiratory items of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale–Revised (ALSFRS‐R).Results: NIMV initiation resulted in a slower functional decline (mean improvement = 0.16 points per month, 95% confidence interval = 0.12–0.19, p < 0.001), with consistent effects observed across various demographic factors, including sex, age at diagnosis, and disease duration before NIMV initiation. This finding was replicated using the PRO‐ACT (Pooled Resource Open‐Access ALS Clinical Trials) dataset. The favorable impact of NIMV on ALSFRS‐R progression was evident independently of disease stages. Notably, NIMV benefits were not dose‐dependent but were particularly prominent for nighttime respiratory support.Interpretation: NIMV significantly influences the rate of motor progression in ALS, and this effect is not determined by the nonlinearity of ALSFRS‐R trajectory. The functional decline slowed following NIMV initiation, independently of the site of disease onset or disease severity at the time of NIMV initiation. Our findings underscore the importance of timely NIMV initiation for all ALS patients and highlight the need to consider NIMV‐induced slowing of disease progression when evaluating clinical trial outcomes. ANN NEUROL 2024;95:817–822

Recent studies have examined how the environment can influence obesity in young people. The research findings are conflicting: in some studies, green spaces have shown a protective association with obesity and urbanization has turned out to worsen this condition, while other studies contradicted these results. The aim of the study was to examine the relationships between greenness, urbanization, and weight status among Italian adolescents. Student data (11–13 years old) on weight and height, physical activity (PA), and demographic characteristics were extracted from the 2018 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey in Piedmont, Northwest of Italy. Data on Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and urbanization were obtained from satellite images and the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT). A multilevel regression model was used to assess the association between NDVI, urbanization, and obesity, controlling for PA. Students living in greener areas reported a lower likelihood of being obese [OR = 0.11, 95% CI 0.02–0.56, p = 0.007], while students living in areas with a higher level of urbanization showed a significantly increased risk of obesity [OR = 2.3, 95% CI:1.14–4.6, p = 0.02]. Living surrounded by higher amounts of greenness and lower levels of urbanization may positively influence health status through lower risk of obesity among youth.

Intensive Care Unit (ICU) readmissions are associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Therefore, determining an appropriate timing of ICU discharge is critical. In this context, deep learning (DL) approaches have attracted significant attention. We conducted a systematic review of studies developing or validating DL models for ICU readmission prediction, published up to March 4th, 2025, and indexed in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science. We summarised them along multiple dimensions, including outcome and population definition, DL architecture, reproducibility, generalizability, and explainability, and provided a meta-analytic estimate of model performance. We included 24 studies encompassing 49 DL models, predominantly trained on US-based datasets, and rarely subjected to external validation. There was considerable variability across study settings, including the definition and timeframe of the ICU readmission outcome, as well as DL architecture used, alongside a substantial risk of bias. Technical reproducibility and model interpretation were rare. A meta-analysis of AUROC values from 11 studies yielded a mean of 0.78 (95% CI = 0.72–0.84), with very high heterogeneity (I2 = 99.9%). Models targeting disease-specific ICU subpopulations achieved significantly higher performance (mean AUROC = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.89–0.95, p = 0.002), and substantially lower heterogeneity (I2 = 17.1%). DL models showed promising performances in predicting ICU readmissions, but exhibited several shortcomings, including low reproducibility, over-reliance on a few US-based datasets, and limited explainability. Additionally, the high heterogeneity and risk of bias limited our ability to assess their pooled performance through meta-analysis. Taken together, our observations suggest that the quality of the evidence regarding the application of DL approaches to ICU readmission prediction is poor, thus hindering their clinical applicability.

Background: Peritoneal metastases (PM) represent a common and challenging manifestation of several gastrointestinal and gynecologic malignancies. Bidirectional treatment—combining Pressurized Intraperitoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC) with systemic chemotherapy—has emerged as a strategy to enhance locoregional control while maintaining systemic coverage. Objective: This systematic review aimed to analyze the study design, characteristics, and timing of the treatments administered—including the type of systemic chemotherapy, intraperitoneal agents used in PIPAC, and interval between administrations—as well as the clinical outcomes, safety profile, and overall methodological quality of the available literature on bidirectional treatment for peritoneal metastases. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted across the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases up to April 2025. Studies were included if they reported clinical outcomes of patients undergoing bidirectional treatment. Data extraction focused on survival, response assessment (PRGS, PCI), adverse events, systemic and intraperitoneal regimens, treatment interval, and study methodology. Results: A total of 22 studies involving 1015 patients (742 treated with bidirectional therapy) were included. Median overall survival ranged from 2.8 to 19.6 months, with the most favorable outcomes observed in gastric and colorectal cancer cohorts. PRGS improvement after multiple PIPAC cycles was reported in >80% of evaluable cases. High-grade adverse events (CTCAE ≥ 3) occurred in up to 17% of patients in most studies, with only one study reporting treatment-related mortality. However, methodological quality was generally moderate, with considerable heterogeneity in treatment protocols, response criteria, systemic regimens, and toxicity attribution. Conclusions: Bidirectional therapy with PIPAC and systemic chemotherapy appears to be a feasible and potentially effective strategy for selected patients with peritoneal metastases. Despite encouraging outcomes, definitive conclusions are limited by the retrospective nature and heterogeneity of available studies. Prospective standardized trials are needed to confirm efficacy, clarify patient selection, and optimize treatment protocols.