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Biomedical subjects

A Battaglia

Publications and source records attributed to A Battaglia.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Changes in bit-mapped contingent negative variation (CNV) activity due to initial normal involutional processes of the human brain.

Bit-color mapped multicomponent CNV complexes and RTs to S2 evoked with a simple warned CNV/RT paradigm were recorded and measured in 20 selected right-handed very healthy volunteers (10 young adults and 10 presenile subjects, mean age 28.3 and 59.6, respectively). EEG and CNV components (post S1, N1, P2, P3; early CNV; N1200; late CNV; CNV resolution) were recorded from Fz, C3, Cz, C4, P3, Pz, and P4 referenced to linked mastoid electrodes. EOG, RT and stimuli were also recorded. The presenile group differed significantly from the younger group in the auditory post-S1 N1 and early (O-wave) and late (P-wave) CNV complex components. A progressive amplitude reduction limited to frontal leads between O-wave and P-wave, the lowest point being reached in the P-wave, was characteristic in the presenile group. Moreover, presenile subjects showed relatively flat CNV waveshapes of low amplitude and, on the whole, performed a little less well than young ones. This finding suggests that the statistically significant changes in auditory post-S1 N1 and CNV activity recorded in our presenile subjects, without any appreciable deficits in behavioral or mental performance, could be alerting signs of early brain involutional processes related to minimal and subclinical decline in orienting, attentiveness and response preparation capabilities. If such is the case, and it could be confirmed in a larger sample of very healthy subjects, these age-related changes in the presenium might prove to be of considerable practical importance for clinical research.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Neurological findings and seizure outcome in children with bilateral opercular macrogyric-like changes detected by MRI.

The authors studied 10 patients aged between six and 23 years (mean age 14 years 5 months) with magnetic resonance imaging, which detected bilateral 'macrogyric-like' maldevelopment of the insulo-opercular regions. The data confirm that biopercular gyral anomaly, associated with mental retardation, pseudobulbar palsy (cortical or central) and epilepsy, represents an anatomo-clinical syndrome. Nevertheless, a wide clinical spectrum was found varying from pictures correlating with the topography and extent of the MRI-detected anomaly to conditions indicating wider cerebral involvement. Epilepsy, varying greatly in age at onset and severity, consistently influenced the prognosis for five patients with diffuse EEG abnormalities and intractable seizures with falls. Anterior callosotomy relieved such seizures in one case.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Epilepsy and focal gyral anomalies detected by MRI: electroclinico-morphological correlations and follow-up.

The authors studied 10 patients (mean age 15 years 6 months) with localized developmental gyral disorder detected by MRI. There were two groups of major malformations. Seven patients (group 1) had unilateral 'macrogyric-like' insulo-opercular changes, one of whom died early in life and had extensive microgyria. The six others had mental retardation and epilepsy, three of whom had focal neurological signs. Age at onset of epilepsy varied greatly. Clinical and EEG data suggested a wider cerebral involvement than recognized on MRI. The remaining three patients (group 2) had abnormal gyri of variable topography and extension, with bulging grey matter and ventricular deformity. One had mental retardation, another had neurological signs. All had intractable complex partial seizures and focal EEG anomalies correlating with the MRI lesion site, pointing to a well-defined epileptogenic zone. No clinical or EEG evidence of significant malformation in the remaining brain tissue was observed. Ablative surgery was beneficial for one patient; focal cortical dysplasia was the pathological substrate.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Chromosomal aberration analysis of workers in tannery industries.

A chromosomal aberration analysis was carried out on tannery workers and on matched controls. Workers were engaged in 2 different processing areas, the drum and the finishing workshop. A weak but significant increase in chromosomal aberration frequencies was shown in drum workers in comparison to controls, no difference was shown in finishers.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Micronucleated lymphocytes in people occupationally exposed to potential environmental contaminants: the age effect.

This work is part of a research project on 2 groups of tannery workers (i.e., workers employed in the tanning process and those employed in the finishing department), and 2 control groups consisting of individuals paired with each exposed person according to sex, age and smoking habit. The whole study included the evaluation of micronuclei as well as of chromosomal aberrations and sister-chromatid exchanges in peripheral blood lymphocytes. Data on micronucleus analysis in both controls and exposed persons are shown in this paper. There was no statistically significant difference between MN frequencies in the 2 groups of exposed and controls, nor any positive correlation with smoking habit. The effect of age on basal frequency of micronucleated cells clearly emerges in the present study: both controls and exposed show an increase in MN frequency due to age. This could be correlated with a higher sensitivity to breaks, rearrangements or aneuploidogenic events of circulating lymphocytes in aged people.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Double-blind placebo-controlled trial of flunarizine as add-on therapy in refractory childhood epilepsy.

Flunarizine (FLN) has been suggested as an add-on treatment in drug-resistant epilepsy patients. In view of the discordant experiences and of the paucity of controlled trials in children, we studied its effectiveness in 20 patients aged 6 to 18 years (10 males and 10 females), affected by drug-resistant epilepsy. 14 had symptomatic generalized epilepsy (the Lennox-Gastaut syndrome in 10; other forms in 4); 3 had cryptogenic generalized epilepsy (the Lennox-Gastaut syndrome in 2; myoclonic absences epilepsy in 1); 3 had symptomatic partial epilepsy (temporal lobe epilepsy). 7 of them were withdrawn: only 1 because of side effects. An initial four-month baseline pretrial period was followed by two four-month periods of administration of FLN or a placebo, under double blind conditions, in a randomized sequence. Preexisting antiepileptic (AEDs) medication was maintained at a constant dose throughout the study. FLN was administered as drops in a single evening dose of 5 mg (patients less than 10 years) or 10 mg. (patients greater than 10 years). During the pretrial phase, after phase 1 and phase 2, a waking EEG was recorded and blood samples were taken for hematology, hepatic-function tests, and AED serum levels. The evaluation of the activity of FLN was based on the total number of seizures. A 30-60% reduction in seizure frequency was found in 5 out of the 13 patients completing the trial (no changes occurred in the remainders). This result did not appear to be due to changes in the plasma levels of the AEDs. No significant differences were seen in the EEG paroxysmal activity in the three phases of the study. Side effects were rare. The serum FLN levels ranged between 16.4 and 109 ng/ml. It seems that the antiepileptic properties of FLN need further validation, particularly in childhood.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

[Etozolin and captopril in the treatment of arterial hypertension].

Etozolin is a new diuretic with hypotensive properties. The above research was aimed to evaluating the effects of etozolin, captopril and their combination in a group of 30 patients with essential hypertension; age range 42-74 years, average 76.6. Patients were subdivided into two groups for a controlled cross-over trial. Group I was treated for 4 weeks with daily etozolin doses of 200 mg, and, after a period of withdrawal until basal values were restored, for a further 4-week period with captopril, 25 mg 3 times daily. Group II had the same treatments in the opposite order. After this cross-over experiment, all patients were treated for 16 weeks with both drugs in combination at the same dosage. Treatment with etozolin led to a reduction of arterial blood pressure from 187/112 +/- 10/4 mmHg to 167/99 +/- 7/6 mmHg; for captopril the corresponding figures were from 186/112 +/- 11.5 mmHg to 163/98 +/- 7.4 mmHg and for the combination from 188/112 +/- 10/5 mmHg to 154/86 +/- 6/5 mmHg. These findings confirmed the efficacy of etozolin and captopril alone; the combination of the two drugs led to a significantly more marked reduction of pressure values compared to monotherapy and neutralized such biochemical changes as had been observed after administration of the two drugs alone. Tolerance was excellent for all treatment schedules used.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Cognitive event-related potentials and reaction time in presenile subjects with initial mild cognitive decline or probable Alzheimer-type dementia.

The so-called contingent negative variation (CNV) is a slow brain potential representing a complex of variously overlapped "endogenous" components of behavior related to different reasonably well-known neurocognitive processes. CNV complex evoked with a standard paradigm (S1-2 sec-S2-motor response) and reaction time (RT) to imperative signal (S2) were recorded and measured in 11 patients with initial presenile idiopathic cognitive decline (PICD), 8 with presenile Alzheimer-type dementia (PAD) and 10 healthy age-matched controls. Significant group differences were obtained for measures of some CNV components, particularly of the late pre-S2 CNV. No significant CNV activity, very prolonged RTs and sometimes characteristic post-imperative negative variation (PINV) were observed in the majority of patients with PAD. These results suggest that CNV complex and RT changes similar to those observed in our patients may constitute a valuable clue for the study of pathophysiological brain functioning in the early stages of presenile idiopathic mental deterioration.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Weakening effect of famotidine but not of nizatidine on the mucus-bicarbonate barrier of the human stomach.

Twenty outpatients with various duodenal disorders but endoscopically normal gastric mucosa were randomly treated for 4 weeks with either nizatidine (300 mg h.s.) or famotidine (40 mg h.s.). Before and after treatment quantitative and qualitative evaluations of gastric mucus secretion as well as measurement of gastric bicarbonate output were performed. No changes in the mucus-bicarbonate barrier were observed after nizatidine treatment. In contrast, famotidine was found to impair the quality of mucus, thus weakening the mucosal defences against re-ulceration after treatment withdrawal.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Nicergoline in mild to moderate dementia. A multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

In view of some controversies still existing about the real efficacy of ergot derivatives in the management of dementia, a double-blind, randomized, parallel group trial extending up to 6 months was carried out to compare the effects of nicergoline, 60 mg daily, and placebo in 315 patients suffering from mild to moderate dementia. Clinical evaluation was performed by the SCAG scale. The trial, which included a 1-month placebo run-in period, showed that both placebo and nicergoline were associated with some degree of improvement. The effect of nicergoline, however, was significantly greater and more sustained, steadily increasing with time. In particular, the difference between nicergoline and placebo in mean total SCAG score was 5.5 at 3 months (95% confidence interval: 3.6-7.4) and increased to 9.8 at 6 months (95% confidence interval: 7.8-11.8). A comparison of nicergoline versus placebo in the frequencies of changes in each item of the SCAG showed also a significant difference at 6 months, the percent of patients displaying an improvement by at least 2 points ranging from 13.5 (bothersome) to 30.2 (disorientation) in nicergoline group, against 4.1 (self-care) to 14.3 (fatigue) in placebo group. The safety of nicergoline, as judged by hemodynamic changes and drug-related adverse reactions, was quite satisfactory.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

[Evaluation of an enzyme immunoassay for the rapid diagnosis of paucibacillary tuberculosis in adults].

The ELISA has been extensively evaluated as a serodiagnostic method for tuberculosis. However, there is scarce information about its application to cases that cannot be diagnosed by microscopic examination: those with closed lesions or undergoing early stages of the disease. Since a reliable serological test might substantially contribute to their prompt detection, the objective of the present study was to determine the diagnostic value of an ELISA applied to adult smear-negative cases of tuberculosis. Sera from 235 patients with active tuberculosis--176 pulmonary and 59 extrapulmonary cases--and 181 control subjects were tested for IgG antibodies to PPD by ELISA. Eleven cases of non tuberculous mycobacterial (MOTT) disease and 33 cases of mycosis were also included in this group. With the adopted cut-off value, 73.9% (105/142) of smear positive and 52.7% (49/93) of smear negative tuberculosis cases, were correctly classified. Particularly in the latter, the test was positive in 55.2% (32/58) of patients with positive cultures for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and in 48.6% (17/35) of patients diagnosed by clinical, radiological and or histopathological findings. No antibody activity was demonstrated in 92.7% of sera from the control population which included 92 healthy volunteers, 32 non tuberculous diseased subjects and 13 household contacts of smear-positive cases. Among those control subjects who were skin tested, ELISA results were not related to the tuberculin reactivity: 93.7% (30/32) of tuberculin negative and 95.2% (40/42) of tuberculin positive healthy individuals had no detectable antibodies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Trisomy 12p syndrome: a chromosomal disorder associated with generalized 3-Hz spike and wave discharges.

Three cases (2 boys, 1 girl) of trisomy 12p syndrome are reported. In two, the disorder is caused by a malsegregation of a maternal translocation, the karyotype being 46,XY,der(18),t(12;18)(p11;q23) (case 2) and 46,XX,-10,+ der(10),t(10;12)(p15;p11) (case 3). Case 1 is a de novo case with a regular trisomy 12p in the fibroblasts: 47,XY + (12pter----12 cen. . .?) and a mosaic trisomy 12p in lymphocytes: 46,XY/47,XY, + (12pter----12 cen. . .?). In all cases, the EEG showed 3-Hz generalized spike and wave (SW) discharges. Generalized epilepsy with myoclonic seizures was present in two patients (cases 1 and 2), who may be considered to have a symptomatic generalized epilepsy with a specific etiology. Case 3 has shown only febrile seizures. Any association between the excess of genetic material and the EEG trait "generalized SW" might not be a chance occurrence in this disorder; however, both EEG findings and clinical features (seizure type and frequency) in the 23 cases reported in the literature are too scanty to allow confirmation of such an association.

Brain↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Changes in the blood rheology and an audiometric deficit in a group of patients exposed to occupational noise pollution].

Several hemorheologic and plasma proteic features were analyzed in workers exposed to acoustic defilement. Whole-blood viscosity was significantly increased (at every shear-rate considered) in patients with severe sensorineural hearing impairment; whereas plasma, serum and relative viscosity remained unchanged. These variations were independent of erythrocyte deformability and aggregation, and of plasma fibrinogen levels, resulted indeed in the normal range. On the contrary plasma fibronectin was significantly increased in patients with sensorineural hearing impairment, suggesting a microvascular endothelial damage in these subjects. The exposition to acoustic defilement during work activity may be considered as aetiological factor for the development and progression of sensorineural hearing impairment, and more extensively for the occurrence of cardiovascular complications.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Agranulocytosis caused by dipyrone. Case reports].

Two cases of dipyrone-induced agranulocytosis are described. In the first one, the disease was due to a single administration, in the second one, to prolonged therapy. The possible pathogenic mechanism is discussed, which can be immunologic and/or toxic. The effectiveness of some of the drugs and general supportive measures applied is discussed. Health education of the patient, in conjunction with careful attention by the physician, may play an important role in the prevention of this pathological condition.

Agranulocytosis↗