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Biomedical subjects

D Inzitari

Publications and source records attributed to D Inzitari.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Transient ischemic attacks in the community: occurrence and clinical characteristics. A population survey in the area of Florence, Italy.

A simple self-administered questionnaire was mailed to a population sample of 8,626 (40-65 years old) to identify transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) that occurred in the previous 12 months. This study was conducted in a well-defined, medically controlled geographic area. 75.4% of the questionnaires were returned. The procedure identified 52 TIA cases (43 definite and 9 uncertain). The 12-month period prevalence for TIAs was 6.6 per 1,000 (95% confidence limits of 4.8-8.9) among the respondents. The annual incidence rate for first TIAs was 3.1 per 1,000 (95% confidence limits of 1.9-4.7). Our results differ from those reported in hospital series or in population surveys based on clinical records, with higher incidence and prevalence rates, female preponderance and higher frequency of vertebrobasilar attacks.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Histopathological correlates of leuko-araiosis in patients with ischemic stroke.

A neuropathological study was carried out in 4 cases of ischemic stroke with leuko-araiosis (LA), 3 cases of clinically suspected Binswanger's subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy (SAE) also showing LA, and 3 cases without LA. Unlike the SAE cases, in 3 of the cases in the first group the white matter changes corresponding to LA could not be explained by ischemic mechanisms related to small vessel changes.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Incidence of stroke in young adults in Florence, Italy.

A population-based study specifically addressing stroke in young adults (aged 15-44 years) was conducted in Florence, Italy, from 1983 to 1985. We identified 47 cases of first stroke by means of a daily check of the medical facilities of the city and nearby towns and a review of death certificates. Patients were assessed by a neurologist shortly after the onset of the stroke, and computed tomography or autopsy was performed in 96%. The average annual incidence rate for all stroke (cases per 100,000 population per year) was 9.0 (95% confidence interval 5.8-13.4) for males and 8.7 (95% confidence interval 5.5-13.0) for females. The average annual incidence rates for the pathologic types of stroke were 3.4 for cerebral infarction, 3.2 for subarachnoid hemorrhage, and 1.9 for intracerebral hemorrhage. The case-fatality ratio was 23.4% at 1 month. Among patients with ischemic strokes, atherosclerosis and cardiac disease accounted for 50% of the cases. Based on angiography or autopsy findings, aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation were demonstrated in 88% of the patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage. In 50% of the patients with intracerebral hemorrhage, no cause of bleeding was detected. Our study may supply information about stroke pathologic types in an unselected series of young adults.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

[Role of two-dimensional echocardiography in the diagnosis of embolic cardiopathy in patients with transient cerebral ischemia attacks].

Cardiac sources of emboli have been frequently described in patients with Transitory Ischemic Attacks (TIAs). The aim of our study was to assess the value of two-dimensional echocardiography (2D-E) in the investigation for possible cardiac aetiology of TIAs. As an offshoot of a larger epidemiologic study which aimed at determining the period prevalence of TIAs in 6.504 subject(s) of the general population aged between 40-65, fifty subjects with TIA (group A) and 66 controls (group B) were studied. A heart disease was found in 20/50 s. (40%) in group A (coronary artery disease: 5; hypertensive heart disease: 4; mitral valve prolapse: 5; left ventricular aneurysms: 2; aortic valve disease: 2; aortic valve prosthesis: 1; atrial fibrillation: 1) and in 5/66 s. (7.5%) in group B (p less than 0.01) (coronary disease: 2; hypertensive heart disease: 1; mitral valve prolapse: 2). A potential source of emboli was present in 11 s. in group A (22%) and in 2 s. in group B (3%) (p less than 0.01). In 4/50 s. in group A and in 1/66 in group B the diagnosis was obtained by means of 2D-E only, because other clinical signs and ECG data were negative. 2D-E could only confirm the diagnosis in the remaining cases, with no additional information (i.e., no intracavitary masses were seen). In conclusion there is a high prevalence of heart disease in patients with TIA over 40 years of age. A cardiac source of emboli may be suspected in a substantial number of cases. Nevertheless the value of routine 2D-E in disclosing an otherwise undetected source of emboli is rather low.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Cognitive and neurologic findings in subjects with diffuse white matter lucencies on computed tomographic scan (leuko-araiosis).

As part of a prospective clinicopathologic study, a cohort of 105 "normal" elderly volunteers was investigated with computed tomographic scans, psychometric testing (Extended Scale for Dementia [ESD]) and neurologic examination. Computed tomographic scans were evaluated for the presence or absence of white matter lucencies, termed leuko-araiosis. These are defined as patchy or diffuse areas of decreased attenuation involving only white matter and with no change in adjacent ventricles or sulci. The nine controls with leuko-araiosis had lower scores on the ESD than the 96 controls without leuko-araiosis (mean ESD with leuko-araiosis, 227.1 +/- 14; without leuko-araiosis, 237.1 +/- 8), and the difference remains significant even after adjusting for the possible confounding effects of age, sex, education, and infarct detected on computed tomography. Significant differences were also found comparing subjects with leuko-araiosis and those without in respect to abnormal gait, limb power, plantar response, and the rooting and palmomental reflexes. Leuko-araiosis may represent a marker for early dementia. The pathophysiology of this finding remains uncertain. Our results suggest that white matter abnormalities play a role in the development of intellectual impairment in the elderly.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Cognitive and neurologic findings in demented patients with diffuse white matter lucencies on computed tomographic scan (leuko-araiosis).

A series of patients referred to the University of Western Ontario, London, Dementia Study for investigation of possible dementia underwent computed tomographic scans, psychometric testing (Extended Scale for Dementia [ESD]), and neurologic examination. Thirty-nine of the 113 patients studied (ischemic score, less than or equal to 4) were found to have leuko-araiosis, which we have defined as patchy or diffuse lucencies in the white matter. Patients with leuko-araiosis had significantly lower mean scores on the ESD, 109.7 +/- 61.2, compared with mean scores of 148.5 +/- 78.0 in those without. However, only a trend toward lower scores on the ESD was observed when age, sex, education, and infarct were taken into account in the analysis of covariance. Leuko-araiosis was found to be associated with increasing age, hypertension, abnormalities of power in the limbs, and extensor-plantar responses in this sample of patients. In patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) alone, diagnosed clinically, 29 out of 91 demonstrated leuko-araiosis on computed tomography, but scores on the ESD in this group overall were not significantly different when those with and without leuko-araiosis were compared. In less advanced cases, however, a highly significant trend was evident for leuko-araiosis to be associated with increased dementia in AD. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that leuko-araiosis is associated with dementia in AD, and that this is either most marked or most easily identifiable before the dementia becomes very severe.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Vascular risk factors and leuko-araiosis.

Leuko-araiosis was found in 49 of 140 demented patients compared with 12 out of 110 control subjects. Thirty-one of 95 patients with dementia of the Alzheimer's type had leuko-araiosis. A history of stroke was four times more frequent in patients with leuko-araiosis than in those without leuko-araiosis (17.4% and 4.4%, respectively). It occurred in 25% of controls with leuko-araiosis compared with only 2% of those without leuko-araiosis. Mean systolic blood pressure was associated with leuko-araiosis. No association was found for diastolic blood pressure, myocardial infarction, angina, diabetes, or carotid bruits. On logistic regression analysis, the strong association between dementia and leuko-araiosis was mainly explained by a history of stroke. There are common factors in leuko-araiosis and stroke, but stroke alone does not account for leuko-araiosis.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Huntington's chorea: a prevalence study in the Florence area.

A prevalence study of Huntington's chorea in Florence area in the period 1970-1979. Two clusters have been identified and the frequency of subjects heterozygote for Huntington's gene has been determined for planning Public Health intervention and the preparation of correct genetic counselling.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Visual evoked potentials and CSF IgG at different stages of multiple sclerosis: a possible correlation.

Visual Evoked Potentials (VEP) have been investigated in 102 patients affected by Multiple Sclerosis (MS), classified both by disease stage and by optic pathway status. VEP abnormalities were significantly correlated with the clinical stage and increased CSF IgG levels. The delay in the VEP latencies and the CSF IgG values proved to be increased in parallel in the worsening phases of MS. The diagnostic value of these findings is also discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Italian study of cerebral reversible ischemic attacks. II. The hematocrit and hemoglobin distribution and its relationship between clinical pattern and angiographic abnormalities.

A clinical and angiographic study was conducted in 360 patients with previous reversible ischemic attacks (RIAs) in order to verify the influence of hematocrit, hemoglobin and red cell count within the normal range in the clinical picture of cerebral infarction and its relationship with angiographic atherosclerosis. No significantly different distribution of the three parameters considered has been found according to the presence and the degree of atherosclerosis. On the contrary, our data have shown a significant correlation between levels of hematocrit, hemoglobin and red cell count and some clinical aspects of the RIA when angiographic atherosclerosis is present.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Correlation of isotopic cisternographic patterns in multiple sclerosis with CSF IgG values.

Thirty-eight patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) were examined with isotopic cisternography (IC) in order to study cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics. Cisternography was also performed in 15 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and in 14 with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type as controls. IC pattern of "mixed" type was found in 18 MS patients and all those with Alzheimer senile dementia examined, while the IC examination did not show abnormality in any of 15 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In MS patients, the abnormal IC picture proved to be significantly correlated with the CSF IgG values as calculated by Link's and Tourtelotte's formulas. The abnormal IC in MS may be due to altered CSF reabsorption or increased transependymal flow, or it may be related to the abnormal concentration of IgG.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Multiple sclerosis among shoe and leather workers: an epidemiological survey in Florence.

The observation of many multiple sclerosis (MS) cases among shoe and leather workers prompted a survey of the risk of MS in this working population. Eighty-one patients with definite or probable MS alive in Florence on May 1st 1976 were interviewed regarding their occupation at onset of the disease. Five of the 41 patients working at the time had worked in shoe a leather factories. The relative risk for these workers was 4.87 compared to the general populations and 4.91 compared to the active population, both results being significantly different from one. This survey indicates an increased risk of MS among shoe and leather workers. Organic solvents, contained in large quantities in the glues used, may be involved in the pathogenic mechanism through a possible interference with the immune system.

Adhesives↗
PubMed1981

The tolosa-Hunt syndrome: further clinical and pathogenetic considerations based on the study of eight cases.

The Tolosa-Hunt syndrome (THS) is characterized by remittent and sometimes recurring episodes of painful ophthalmoplegia. The etiopathogenesis is still unclear and is an object of controversy. A non-specific granulomatous process of the wall of the cavernous sinus is claimed by many authors as the possible cause, on the basis of a few pathological studies. Other authors suggest the possible role of autoimmune or specific inflammatory processes localized in the retroorbital perineural tissues. The clinical, laboratory and radiological findings of the eight cases reported in the agreement with those previously described in the literature. However, the visual evoked potentials (VEP) were delayed in three of the four cases in which they had been studied. This finding, together with the observation that some analogies exist between THS and other well known neuritic processes of the cranial nerves, may suggest that at least in some cases THS may be related to an ocular polyneuritis.

Adult↗