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Biomedical subjects

D Locatelli

Publications and source records attributed to D Locatelli.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Brain tumours in infants. Preferred treatment options.

Since the advent of CT scan and MRI, the diagnosis of neonatal infantile brain tumours and related diseases is more easily accomplished; their rarity is reflected in the small number of cases reported. Astrocytomas and teratomas are the most common oncotypes in infants and particularly in neonates. Surgical mortality rates are not high and have decreased because of the advances of diagnosis and improvements in treatment. However, the survival rates are disappointing. Follow-up shows little improvement in last 2 decades. Adjuvant therapy is still a problem; radiotherapy gives a small percentage of favourable later neuropsychological results. Postoperative chemotherapy added to maximal surgical resection and delayed irradiation may prolong survival with only minimal short term neurotoxicity in very young children with malignant tumours. Different protocols of chemotherapy are suggested but still not definitely accepted. Radical surgery seems to have a higher chance of success in neonates than infants and remains the less aggressive means; in low grade gliomas after total removal it may be preferable to perform a second operation if the tumour recurs and withhold irradiation and chemotherapy until after 3 years of age.

Brain Neoplasms↗
PubMed1990

Turcot's syndrome with intestinal lymphoma in a child: an unusual case of triple tumor.

Turcot's syndrome, the association of brain tumor (usually glioblastoma, medullo-blastoma, or astrocytoma) and colonic polyps, is a very rare condition of which about 20 cases have been reported. It has been described only once previously with cancer in a third organ system. In this paper, we report a child affected with colonic polyposis and astrocytoma (i.e., Turcot's syndrome) associated with intestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Adenomatous Polyposis Coli↗
PubMed1989

Growing fractures: an unusual complication of head injuries in pediatric patients.

Authors analyze three cases of growing fractures they observed in infants under the age of one year. It is noticeable that in two cases, even if the lesion was already present when babies underwent the first procedure, no specific treatment was adopted, thus resulting in a progressive enlargement of the extracranial mass. Surgical treatment must be performed quickly after the diagnosis of growing fracture is done due to the necessity of an early repair of the bone defect to avoid the eventual onset of neurological deficits since they are not reversible.

Arachnoid↗
PubMed1988

Spontaneous cerebellar hemorrhage.

Spontaneous cerebellar hemorrhage was rarely diagnosed in the past and therefore thought to be infrequent but after the introduction of CT scanning has been more commonly diagnosed. A series of 28 cases of spontaneous cerebellar hemorrhage is analyzed concluding that the radiological and clinical aspects should be considered, instead of adopting the diameter as surgical indicator. An accurate monitoring of the patient's clinical status is very important since its worsening is an absolute indication for surgery independently of the size of hematoma.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Shunt in high-risk newborns.

Twenty-four high-risk newborns with a low birth weight developed progressive hydrocephalus and underwent ventriculoperitoneal shunting (at the time of shunting they weighed 1,100-1,900 g, mean 1,541 g). The changes in hydrocephalus after shunting were determined by ultrasound examinations; preoperative examination was by CT. Of the factors evaluated for their relationship to shunt complication, we considered in particular babies with a CSF protein level of over 1.5 g/l (7 cases). These cases were treated with external drainage and later with ventriculoperitoneal shunting. Shunt infections occurred in 20.9%, in contrast with a low incidence of shunt blockage (8.3%), probably owing to previous external shunting in children with high CSF protein. There were 2 deaths (8.3%). All children underwent careful follow-up during the 1st year and serial checkups subsequently for 5 years.

Bacterial Infections↗
PubMed1987

Arachnoid cysts: diagnosis and treatment.

Twenty supratentorial and 10 infratentorial arachnoid cysts are reported. The patients were from 0 to 15 years of age. The commonest presenting symptoms in children were cranial enlargement, epileptic seizures, and psychomotor retardation. Neuroradiological evaluation included CT, metrizamide CT, cisternography, and angiography. Echography was performed in 5 newborns. Therapeutic criteria according to the clinical and neuroradiological findings are reviewed. Cystoperitoneal shunting in combination with ventriculoperitoneal shunting for associated hydrocephalus is considered the treatment of choice.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Multiple meningiomas evaluated by computed tomography.

The authors report ten cases of multiple meningiomas in a series of 227 intracranial meningiomas from 1977 to 1984. The incidence of multiple meningiomas was 4.4% (according to Cushing and Eisenhardt's [1938] concept of "multiplicity" of such tumours). These results are comparable to those obtained by other authors. All patients were females and all underwent CT scan before operation. Clinical symptoms are presented along with location and size of the tumours. Pathogenetic theories and research prospects are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Normal-pressure hydrocephalus: twelve years experience.

The authors report on twelve years experience with so-called normal pressure hydrocephalus. If care is taken to make a correct diagnosis and give adequate treatment with a shunt, hydrocephalic dementia has a good prognosis. Such cases should be distinguished from other syndromes, particularly senile dementia and Alzheimer's disease. The occurrence of a syndrome of dementia should compel every neurologist and neurosurgeon to carry out careful investigations in order to determine the favourable time for possible treatment.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Intraoperative echoencephalography in neurosurgery].

Intraoperative ultrasonography with real time sonographic imaging equipment is widely used and, in the neurosurgical operating room, has been really successful, initially in the brain and subsequently in the spinal cord as well. Its main applications i.e. accurate needle biopsies, localization of intracerebral masses, placement of ventricular and cyst shunts, can diminish the amount of potential damage to normal brain tissue. Moreover results of tumor resection may be intraoperatively confirmed and the end results are more accurate. No intraoperative complications and no postoperative infections result from use of ultrasound in the operating room. No evidence is given that the small amount of mechanical vibration emitted by the transducer damages the brain or the spinal cord. Surgical procedures, as a result, are faster, safer and better planned by virtue of informations obtained by ultrasonographic intraoperative examination, instead of simple preoperative imaging procedures.

Brain↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Postoperative scars and recurrent disk herniation: clinical, neuroradiological, and surgical findings.

Authors present 36 patients with recurrent sciatica or low-back pain after lumbar disk operation. All patients were submitted to clinical and instrumental devices. CT-scan was performed in 36 patients, 12 underwent myelography and 4 EMG. Authors verified reliability of clinical and instrumental devices on the basis of surgical results. We believe that myelo-CT is actually the first choice investigation in the neuroradiological ones. In the near future MRI will take its place in investigating spinal pathology.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Epidermoid and dermoid tumors.

The authors report their experience in the surgical treatment of intracranial dermoid and epidermoid tumors. These lesions are rare but may, in most of the occasions, be completely resected allowing a complete cure of the patient. The usefulness of the most recent diagnostic tools is discussed and the surgical indications, complications and results are reviewed in comparison to the most significant literature reports.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Surgical treatment of craniosynostosis.

The authors report their experience with the cranial recontouring techniques in the treatment of craniosynostoses. The results obtained treating sixteen children suggest that these techniques can be tolerated well by patients, with very limited postoperative complications. It is underlined that the precocity of the surgical treatment is an indispensable prerequisite in order to obtain satisfactory clinical and cosmetic results.

Craniosynostoses↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Chemotherapy plus immunotherapy for patients with primary and metastatic brain tumors.

The authors report two clinical trials concerning chemotherapy and immunotherapy combined in the treatment of primary and metastatic brain tumors. In the first study bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) and in the second Levamisole (LMS) were utilized as immunostimulating agents. Chemotherapy was performed with BCNU or CCNU in association with surgery and/or radiotherapy. The immunological response was obtained but immunotherapy failed to demonstrate any significant effect on survival.

Astrocytoma↗