Silvia Pancani
@dongnocchi.it
Scopus Publications
- Adaptation of the Italian Version of the Mealtime Assessment Scale in Pediatric Population (MAS-p)
Laura Antonucci, Paola Carrozza, Maria Pia Taglioli, Francesca Alberti, Silvia Pancani, et al.
Dysphagia, 2026 - Study protocol of a prospective observational study on the impact of specialized nutritional care on the 3-month outcomes of patients at high risk of malnutrition admitted to a rehabilitation hospital
Chiara Francesca Gheri, Lucio Lucchin, Alessandra Consales, Barbara Biffi, Silvia Pancani, et al.
Mediterranean Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2026
Aim Malnutrition is an often underestimated, worldwide, frequent problem with a high prevalence among inpatients, especially the elderly ones. Undernourished patients have an increased risk of comorbidities, complications and a decreased quality of life. Malnutrition is associated with longer hospital stay, increased care needs and costs for the National Health Service (NHS). We describe the protocol of a study conducted to evaluate the impact of specialized nutritional care on 3-month outcomes of patients at high risk of malnutrition at admission and to describe the actual nutritional practice in a rehabilitation setting. Methods In this single-center, prospective, observational study patients at high risk of malnutrition who received standard nutritional care (Group 1) were compared with patients at high risk of malnutrition who received a specialized nutritional care (Group 2). Three months after discharge (follow-up), patients of both groups were interviewed by telephone to collect data regarding number of hospital readmission, emergency department admission, general practitioner (GP) and outpatient visits, diagnostic tests, daily medication use and survival. Conclusion Our study could help to support clinical choices for personalized nutritional interventions to improve rehabilitation outcomes and to decrease the costs for the NHS. This protocol is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT07183098) under the title “A Prospective Observational Study on the Prevalence of Malnutrition and Clinical-Economic Aspects of the Impact of Specialized Nutritional care on the 3-month Outcomes of Patients at high Risk of malnutrition Admitted to a Rehabilitation Hospital”. - REhabilitation of Dysphagia with ACupuncture and auricular Therapy after severe acquired brain injury (REDACT study): a double-blind randomized controlled trial protocol
Martina Calamini, Agnese De Nisco, Francesca Draghi, Francesca Cecchi, Paola Graziani, et al.
Frontiers in Neurology, 2026
Neurogenic dysphagia affects up to 99% of patients with severe acquired brain injury (sABI) upon admission to intensive rehabilitation units (IRU) and increase clinical complications, resource use, and mortality. Conventional dysphagia rehabilitation often relies on active techniques, which are hardly applicable in non-collaborative patients, as is often the case with patients after sABI. In the absence of guidelines for dysphagia rehabilitation that consider the heterogeneity and clinical complexity of these patients, acupuncture and auriculotherapy (AA) could represent a valid intervention to be introduced into clinical practice. The aim of this multicenter double-blind, randomized, controlled trial is to evaluate the superiority of AA combined with conventional rehabilitation compared to conventional rehabilitation alone in improving dysphagia in non-cooperative vascular sABI patients. To this end, improvement in swallowing will be measured using both a clinical scale (Mann Assessment of Swallowing Ability-MASA) and a fiber optic endoscopic assessment (Pooling Score). Certain characteristics of patients admitted to IRUs after sABI, such as the rate and timing of decannulation, the infection rate, and the functional outcome measured by the Glasgow Outcome Scale–Extended, will also be taken into consideration as secondary outcomes. By incorporating AA therapy into a personalized rehabilitation program, this study will examine its potential clinical benefits on dysphagia and the feasibility of this approach in the setting of early intensive rehabilitation for patients with sABI. AA could represent a low-cost, accessible bedside treatment complementary to standard rehabilitation, with no adverse effects, applicable in different clinical settings and at all stages of rehabilitation. Clinical trial registration https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT06888219 , NCT06888219. - A comparison of current methods to measure antibodies in type 1 diabetes
Maria Infantino, Mariangela Manfredi, Emirena Garrafa, Silvia Pancani, Anastasia Lechiara, et al.
Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, 2025
Objectives Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune disease causing β-cell destruction, hyperglycemia, and lifelong insulin dependence that can lead to severe complications like ketoacidosis, with a 1 % mortality rate in newly diagnosed patients. A significant breakthrough in T1D research was the identification of a long presymptomatic phase, characterized by disease-specific autoantibodies despite the absence of clinical symptoms. The aim of our study was to compare the results of different commercial assays for detecting anti-GAD, -IA-2, -ZnT8 antibodies and IAA to evaluate the state of the art of the current methods in a routine clinical laboratory setting. Methods We have analyzed 87 consecutive samples from patients screened for T1D and evaluated the agreement among four commercial assays (two chemiluminescence immunoassays and two immunoenzymatic assays) for detecting anti-GAD, -IA-2, -ZnT8 antibodies and IAA. Results The agreement among methods for all disease-specific antibodies measured by Cohen’s kappa ranged from 0.514 to 1.000. The highest agreement was found for anti-GAD antibodies (0.923–0.963) and the lowest agreement for IAA (0.514–0.550). The average agreement was 0.796 (SD: 0.170) and it was statistically significant at p<0.001 for all comparisons. Conclusions Even though some differences exist among methods, our findings provide valuable insights into the use of new technologies for T1D diagnosis, demonstrating an overall consistent agreement among assays tested for all antibodies but IAA. - It's Never Too Early, It's Never Too Late: The Potential of Health Behaviors for Cardiovascular Health in Nonagenarians. Data From the Mugello Study
Silvia Pancani, Gemma Lombardi, Francesco Sofi, Guido Pasquini, Federica Vannetti, et al.
Journals of Gerontology Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 2025
Background The Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) is a composite metric including 4 health behaviors (diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, and sleep) and 4 health factors (body mass index, nonhigh-density lipoprotein cholesterol, blood glucose, and blood pressure). This study aimed to describe the cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics promoted by LE8 in nonagenarians and to investigate their relationship with mortality at 5 and 10 years. Methods This study was conducted within the framework of the Mugello Study, a longitudinal survey on nonagenarians living in the Mugello area (Tuscany, Italy). One-hundred and fifty-seven subjects (42 males and 115 females, median age 92 years) were administered a series of validated questionnaires and underwent instrumental examinations and blood withdrawal. CVH metrics were calculated according to LE8 guidelines. Physical activity and sleep duration were quantitatively estimated using a monitor device. Results In the male group, after 5 and 10 years of follow-up, a higher Health Behavior score was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 0.963, p = .005 and HR: 0.972, p = .020; after 5 and 10 years). Differently, in the female group, no significant association was observed between the LE8 total score and subscores and different risk of mortality after 5 and 10 years from the interview. Conclusions These findings highlight the importance of potentially modifiable behaviors in improving survival. They support resource investments to address the needs of individuals in this stage of life and encourage them to be empowered and actively engage in health-promoting behaviors. - Harmonization of anti-nuclear antibody testing (ANA) by indirect immunofluorescence assay: Results from ten years of UK NEQAS external quality assessment
Maria Infantino, Teresa Carbone, Dina Patel, Ravishankar Sargur, Carol Stanley, et al.
Clinica Chimica Acta, 2025 - Lesion Conspicuity in Contrast-Enhanced Mammography: A Retrospective Analysis of Tumor Characteristics
Chiara Bellini, Tommaso Susini, Kassandra Toncelli, Martina Pandolfi, Giuliano Migliaro, et al.
Cancers, 2025
Background/Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of tumor characteristics on lesion conspicuity in contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) and identify factors associated with different levels of conspicuity. Methods: In this retrospective study, we analyzed 552 patients with breast cancer who underwent CEM. Lesion conspicuity was categorized into three levels: 1 (low), 2 (moderate), and 3 (high). Tumor characteristics included age, histological subtype, hormone receptor status, HER2 status, Ki67 index, tumor grade, and molecular subtype. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to assess associations between lesion conspicuity and these factors. Results: Of the 552 cases, the majority showed mass enhancement (78.1%), followed by non-mass enhancement (NME) (16.8%), and a combination of mass and NME (4.0%). Lesion conspicuity was significantly associated with enhancement type on CEM (p < 0.001). High conspicuity (score 3) was predominantly observed in masses (84.8%) compared to NME (7.6%). Larger tumor dimensions (median 20 mm) were also associated with higher conspicuity (p < 0.001). Molecular subtypes differed significantly in conspicuity, with Luminal A tumors showing lower conspicuity compared to HER2-positive and triple-negative breast cancers (p = 0.025). In multivariate analysis, lesion conspicuity was strongly associated with enhancement type (p < 0.001) and tumor dimensions (p < 0.001), while histological subtype and molecular characteristics had no significant independent impact. Conclusions: Lesion conspicuity in CEM is primarily influenced by the type of enhancement and tumor size. Mass-forming lesions, particularly larger ones, are more conspicuous, while NME tends to result in lower conspicuity. These findings suggest that enhancement patterns and tumor dimensions are key factors to consider when interpreting CEM in breast cancer diagnosis. - Cross-cultural adaptation and multicentric validation of the Italian version of the Simplified Evaluation of CONsciousness Disorders (SECONDs)
Bahia Hakiki, Silvia Pancani, Agnese De Nisco, Anna Maria Romoli, Francesca Draghi, et al.
Plos One, 2025
Introduction The Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) is the recommended tool to assess consciousness in patients with prolonged Disorders of Consciousness (pDoC). However, the time needed to administer it may limit its use. A shorter tool has been validated: the Simplified Evaluation of CONsciousness Disorders (SECONDs). This multicentre study aimed to develop and validate a cross-cultural adaptation of the SECONDs into Italian. Methods An interdisciplinary expert team, from both Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi and Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, led the translation processes. Independent certified translators were also involved in a blinded modality. Patients diagnosed with Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome (UWS) or Minimally Conscious State (MCS) admitted to 3 Italian rehabilitation units were enrolled. The CRS-R and SECONDs were administered in 5 sessions over two weeks by 3 blinded examiners at each center (3 times, with 2 sessions conducted by the same examiner). Weighted Fleiss’ kappa and Spearman correlation coefficients were used to assess intrarater and interrater reliability and concurrent validity. Results Sixty adults with pDoC were assessed: 23 women; median age: 64 years; 14 trauma, median post-onset time: 2 months. Intrarater and interrater reliability showed almost perfect agreement (kappa coefficients 0.968 and 0.935, respectively; p<0.001). The comparison of CRS-R vs. SECONDs on the same day or the best out of 5 SECONDs/CRS-R led to a substantial to almost perfect agreement both for the total score of the CRS-R and the SECONDs’ Additional Index (ρ = 0.772–1.000; p<0.001) and for the consciousness diagnosis (k = 0.784–0.935; p<0.001). The disagreement rate between the overall best diagnosis of the SECONDs and the best CRS-R diagnosis was 6.7%. Conclusion The Italian version of the SECONDs has been cross-culturally adapted to serve as a shorter assessment tool for the diagnosis of pDoC. Our study shows its excellent reliability and concurrent validity when compared to the CRS-R. - A new microdot array-based immunoassay for the diagnosis of systemic autoimmune diseases
Maria INFANTINO, Francesca PAVIA, Valentina GROSSI, Barbara LARI, Maurizio BENUCCI, et al.
Rivista Italiana Della Medicina Di Laboratorio, 2024 - Role of Blood P-Tau Isoforms (181, 217, 231) in Predicting Conversion from MCI to Dementia Due to Alzheimer’s Disease: A Review and Meta-Analysis
Gemma Lombardi, Silvia Pancani, Riccardo Manca, Micaela Mitolo, Simone Baiardi, et al.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2024
Blood-based biomarkers are minimally invasive tools to detect the pathological changes of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). This meta-analysis aims to investigate the use of blood-derived p-tau isoforms (181, 217, 231) to predict conversion from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to AD dementia (ADD). Studies involving MCI patients with data on blood p-tau isoforms at baseline and clinical diagnosis at follow-up (≥1 year) were included. Twelve studies on p-tau 181 (4340 MCI, conversion rate 20.6%), four on p-tau 217 (913 MCI, conversion rate 33.4%), and one on p-tau 231 (135 MCI, conversion rate 33%) were included. For p-tau 181, the pooled area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.73 (95% CI = 0.68–0.78), and for p-tau 217 was 0.85 (95% CI = 0.75–0.91). Plasma levels of p-tau 181 had good discriminatory power to identify MCI patients who will convert to ADD. Although only four studies on p-tau 217 have been included in the meta-analysis, in the last year the predictive power of p-tau 217 is emerging as superior to that of other isoforms. However, given the high heterogeneity detected in the p-tau 217 studies included in this meta-analysis, additional supportive evidence is needed. Insufficient results were available for p-tau 231. These findings support the prognostic utility of p-tau 181 and p-tau 217 measured in blood to predict progression to ADD in MCI and encourage its future implementation in clinical practice. - Early predictors of long-term participation in patients with severe acquired traumatic injury discharged from Intensive Rehabilitation Unit
Bahia HAKIKI, Silvia PANCANI, Francesca DRAGHI, Anna M. ROMOLI, Daniela MACCANTI, et al.
European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, 2024 - Implications of the Consciousness State on Decannulation in Patients With a Prolonged Disorder of Consciousness
Francesca Draghi, Silvia Pancani, Agnese De Nisco, Anna Maria Romoli, Daniela Maccanti, et al.
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2024 - Evaluation of a New Multiparametric Microdot Array-Based Immunoassay Panel for Systemic Autoimmune Disease Diagnosis
Maria Infantino, Francesca Pavia, Valentina Grossi, Barbara Lari, Maurizio Benucci, et al.
Journal of Personalized Medicine, 2024 - Depressive Symptoms Moderate the Association Between Functional Level at Admission to Intensive Post-Stroke Rehabilitation and Effectiveness of the Intervention
Salvatore Mazzeo, Silvia Pancani, Alessandro Sodero, Chiara Castagnoli, Angela Maria Politi, et al.
Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, 2024 - Understanding the interplay between APO E polymorphism and cognition in the Italian oldest old: results from the “Mugello study”
Gemma Lombardi, Silvia Pancani, Silvia Bagnoli, Federica Vannetti, Benedetta Nacmias, et al.
Neurological Sciences, 2024 - Impact of age on the predictive value of NT-proBNP in patients with diabetes mellitus stabilised after an acute coronary syndrome
Stefano Savonitto, Nuccia Morici, Silvia Pancani, Anna Nozza, Francesco Cosentino, et al.
Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 2024 - Predicting the functional outcome of intensive inpatient rehabilitation after stroke: results from the RIPS Study
Alessandro SODERO, Silvia CAMPAGNINI, Anita PAPERINI, Chiara CASTAGNOLI, Ines HOCHLEITNER, et al.
European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, 2024 - Trunk Control Test as a Main Predictor of the Modified Barthel Index Score at Discharge From Intensive Post-acute Stroke Rehabilitation: Results From a Multicenter Italian Study
Leonardo Pellicciari, Benedetta Basagni, Anita Paperini, Silvia Campagnini, Alessandro Sodero, et al.
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2024 - MoCA Domain-Specific Pattern of Cognitive Impairment in Stroke Patients Attending Intensive Inpatient Rehabilitation: A Prospective Study
Benedetta Basagni, Serena Malloggi, Cristina Polito, Leonardo Pellicciari, Silvia Campagnini, et al.
Behavioral Sciences, 2024 - Comparing the effects of augmented virtual reality treadmill training versus conventional treadmill training in patients with stage II-III Parkinson’s disease: the VIRTREAD-PD randomized controlled trial protocol
Gemma Lombardi, Marco Baccini, Alice Gualerzi, Silvia Pancani, Silvia Campagnini, et al.
Frontiers in Neurology, 2024 - Testing for isotypes does not help differentiating rheumatoid arthritis from other rheumatoid factor positive diseases
Maria Infantino, Boaz Palterer, Maurizio Benucci, Valentina Grossi, Silvia Pancani, et al.
Immunologic Research, 2023 - Lack of comparability of immunoassays for rheumatoid factor isotypes
Maria Infantino, Boaz Palterer, Silvia Pancani, Maurizio Benucci, Valentina Grossi, et al.
Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, 2023 - Relationship between Nutritional Risk, Clinical and Demographic Characteristics, and Pressure Ulcers in Patients with Severe Acquired Brain Injuries Attending a Rehabilitative Program
Chiara Francesca Gheri, Luca Scalfi, Barbara Biffi, Silvia Pancani, Sara Madiai, et al.
Nutrients, 2023 - Sleep profile in a population of community-dwelling nonagenarians: data from the Mugello study
Barbara Binazzi, Federica Provini, Silvia Pancani, Antonello Grippo, Federica Vannetti, et al.
Psychogeriatrics, 2023 - Correlates of participation six months after stroke in an Italian population: results from the RIPS(Post-Stroke Intensive Rehabilitation) Study
Chiara CASTAGNOLI, Silvia PANCANI, Teresa BARRETTA, Leonardo PELLICCIARI, Silvia CAMPAGNINI, et al.
European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, 2023
