Biomedical subjects

C Pacchetti

Publications and source records attributed to C Pacchetti.

44 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1984

Flunarizine: a wide spectrum prophylactic for migraine headache.

The effects of flunarizine in migraine headache were investigated in 40 patients treated with single 10 mg evening doses for 16 weeks. Standard criteria were adopted for patient admission and for the monitoring of clinical (headache index, consumption of analgesics, side-effects) and laboratory variables (platelet aggregation and red cells filterability). Significant positive effects were found in 31/40 cases irrespective of the clinical course of the disease (i.e., recurrent attacks or more or less chronic forms). Some baseline characteristics of the patients are discussed on the basis of the therapeutic response.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Active music therapy in Parkinson's disease: an integrative method for motor and emotional rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND: Modern management of Parkinson's disease (PD) aims to obtain symptom control, to reduce clinical disability, and to improve quality of life. Music acts as a specific stimulus to obtain motor and emotional responses by combining movement and stimulation of different sensory pathways. We explored the efficacy of active music therapy (MT) on motor and emotional functions in patients with PD. METHODS: This prospective, randomized, controlled, single-blinded study lasted 3 months. It consisted of weekly sessions of MT and physical therapy (PT). Thirty-two patients with PD, all stable responders to levodopa and in Hoehn and Yahr stage 2 or 3, were randomly assigned to two groups of 16 patients each. We assessed severity of PD with the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, emotional functions with the Happiness Measure, and quality of life using the Parkinson's Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire. MT sessions consisted of choral singing, voice exercise, rhythmic and free body movements, and active music involving collective invention. PT sessions included a series of passive stretching exercises, specific motor tasks, and strategies to improve balance and gait. RESULTS: MT had a significant overall effect on bradykinesia as measured by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (p < .034). Post-MT session findings were consistent with motor improvement, especially in bradykinesia items (p < .0001). Over time, changes on the Happiness Measure confirmed a beneficial effect of MT on emotional functions (p < .0001). Improvements in activities of daily living and in quality of life were also documented in the MT group (p < .0001). PT improved rigidity (p < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: MT is effective on motor, affective, and behavioral functions. We propose active MT as a new method for inclusion in PD rehabilitation programs.

Female↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The position of the head in space: a kinematic analysis in patients with cervical dystonia treated with botulinum toxin.

Many instruments have been employed in recent years in order to quantify the posture and motion of the head in normal and pathological subjects. Evaluations of this type present many difficulties related to the influence of individual and external factors and to the accuracy of the system used. In patients with cervical dystonia (CD) the only rating scales currently used are semi-quantitative and subjective. More precise information on disease severity and response to the treatment is needed. Posture and motion of the head were evaluated by means of ELITE motion analyser (BTS, Milan, Italy) in 6 patients with the left laterocollis form of CD undergoing treatment with botulinum toxin (BTX). The method emerged as very useful for the quantification of the therapeutic response (which was more marked in motion than in posture). We found an inverse relationship between the degree of motion improvement and the restriction of motion before treatment.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Electrophysiological study on jaw-opening reflex recorded from digastric muscle in Parkinson's disease and primary cranial dystonias.

We investigated digastric reflex excitability in normals and in patients with extrapyramidal disorders such as primary cranial dystonias and Parkinson's disease. Relationships between exteroceptive suppression of masseter muscle and digastric reflex were also investigated in some cases. Digastric reflex hyperexcitability was observed in dystonic patients when compared to normals and parkinsonian patients. Furthermore, some patients with cranial dystonia presented absence of exteroceptive suppression reflex in masseter muscle with enlarged digastric response. These results indicate hyperexcitability of the digastric reflex and abnormal agonist-antagonist muscle co-contraction in chewing reflexes of patients with cranial dystonias. This shows that digastric reflex is an important electrophysiological investigation to explore the physiopathological mechanisms of primary cranial dystonias.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Abnormal pro-opiomelanocortin processing in Alzheimer's disease. A case report.

Several authors have reported reduced levels of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC)-related peptides in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), but the mechanisms regulating the CSF content of these substances are still debated. In this case report the processing of POMC peptides has been investigated post-mortem (HPLC and RIA methods) at the pituitary and hypothalamic level in an AD patient and in a control subject. From the results obtained it seems likely that defects of axonal transport and/or secretion rather than synthesis could account for the abnormalities of POMC peptides in the CSF.

Alzheimer Disease↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Terguride in stable Parkinson's disease.

Terguride (TER) (2 mg/day) was compared with a placebo in 41 stable Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, so as to test its efficacy as an add-on treatment to spare levodopa (LD). After the 4th week of add-on treatment, LD was reduced by about 25%. The number of "stable" patients (--those with an increase of no more than 20% of the basal Columbia University Rating Scale (CURS) score--remaining after LD reduction was used to compare the two add-on treatments. Most patients, remained "stable" in spite of LD reduction, and no significant differences between the therapies were discovered; the CURS score decreased over time only in the TER group. Hence, TER was shown to be a drug that has DA-ergic properties but with minimal antiparkinsonian efficacy.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Lisuride and bromocryptine in L-Dopa stable-responder parkinsonian patients: a comparative, double-blind evaluation of cardiopressor and neurochemical effects.

In this study, we compared the haemodynamic and biochemical effects of bromocryptine to those of lisuride, in L-Dopa stable responder parkinsonian (PD) patients. Nineteen PD patients were admitted to the study. A double-blind, parallel group, randomized study was performed. Patients were randomly chosen to receive lisuride or bromoryptine. Both drugs were administered in increasing dosages until a maximum of either 0.6 mg lisuride or 7.5 mg bromocryptine was reached. The following tests were carried out: periprandial study, tilt table test and cardiovascular tests (sustained handgrip test, deep-breathing, lying-to-standing and Valsalva manoeuvre). During the tests, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate were monitored with an automatic sphyngomanometer. Blood samples for catecholamine assay were taken during tilt table test. In basal conditions 70% of the randomly chosen men in the bromocryptine group showed significant orthostatic hypotension (OH), while only one subject in the lisuride group demonstrated comparable OH values. The deepest derangement of orthostatic regulation was observed in the lisuride group but it should not be attributed to the greater hypotensive effects of this drug. Infact, the cardiopressor effects of bromocryptine may well be "masked" by the alteration detected in baseline conditions. Only bromocryptine significantly reduced supine and orthostatic NE plasma levels on the 14th day of therapy. Neither bromocryptine nor lisuride significantly altered periprandial blood pressure values. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that lisuride and bromocryptine are well tolerated as far as the analysis of the development of hypotensive effects is concerned. Further, more sophisticated study, with other agents that block the peripheral and/or central effects of dopamine-agonists in PD patients should be conducted in order better to define the precise role of these types of agents and the potential cardiopressor risks in these subjects.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Active music therapy and Parkinson's disease: methods.

Music therapy (MT) is an unconventional, multisensorial therapy poorly assessed in medical care but widely used to different ends in a variety of settings. MT has two branches: active and passive. In active MT the utilisation of instruments is structured to correspond to all sensory organs so as to obtain suitable motor and emotional responses. We conducted a prospective study to evaluate the effects of MT in the neurorehabilitation of patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD), a common degenerative disorder involving movement and emotional impairment. Sixteen PD patients took part in 13 weekly sessions of MT each lasting 2 hours. At the beginning and at the end of the session, every 2 weeks, the patients were evaluated by a neurologist, who assessed PD severity with UPDRS, emotional functions with Happiness Measures (HM) and quality of life using the Parkinson's Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire (PDQL). After every session a significant improvement in motor function, particularly in relation to hypokinesia, was observed both in the overall and in the pre-post session evaluations. HM, UPDRS-ADL and PDQL changes confirmed an improving effect of MT on emotional functions, activities of daily living and quality of life. In conclusion, active MT, operating at a multisensorial level, stimulates motor, affective and behavioural functions. Finally, we propose active MT as new method to include in PD rehabilitation programmes. This article describes the methods adopted during MT sessions with PD patients.

Aged↗