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E Grassi

Publications and source records attributed to E Grassi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Quality of life and aphasia. Multicentric standardization of a questionnaire.

AIM: It is important to assess aphasics' quality of life in order to plan a rehabilitation treatment. To date such a tool is still missing for Italian patients. This paper reports normative data of the Italian version of SAQOL-39, a British questionnaire aimed to assess aphasics' quality of life. It consists of 39 items, divided into 4 subdomains (Physical, Communication, Psychosocial and Energy). METHODS: Forty-two patients coming from 3 different Speech Therapy Services were enrolled. All patients completed speech therapy before examination. They were submitted to the Italian SAQOL-39 and 2 screening tests for aphasia: 1) Communication Assessment Scale according Goodglass and Kaplan; 2) Franchay Aphasia Screening Test (FAST). A receptive FAST score of 7 out of 15 was used as a cut-off score for SAQOL-39 administration. RESULTS: The Italian SAQOL-39 showed good internal consistency (full scale Cronbach's alpha 0.939). Cronbach's alpha for every subdomains ranged from 0.950 (Communication) to 0.720 (Energy). Fluent aphasics gave significantly higher scores than nonfluent ones on full scale, and all out of Energy subdomains. Furthermore gravity of aphasia correlated with both full scale and Communication subdomain scores. CONCLUSIONS: In authors' opinion, the Italian SAQOL-39 shares many psychometric features with the English one. This questionnaire seems to be suitable for clinical practice.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Genetic diversity of bacterial communities of serpentine soil and of rhizosphere of the nickel-hyperaccumulator plant Alyssum bertolonii.

Serpentine soils are characterized by high levels of heavy metals (Ni, Co, Cr), and low levels of important plant nutrients (P, Ca, N). Because of these inhospitable edaphic conditions, serpentine soils are typically home to a very specialized flora including endemic species as the nickel hyperaccumulator Alyssum bertolonii. Although much is known about the serpentine flora, few researches have investigated the bacterial communities of serpentine areas. In the present study bacterial communities were sampled at various distances from A. bertolonii roots in three different serpentine areas and their genetic diversity was assessed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis. The obtained results indicated the occurrence of a high genetic diversity and heterogeneity of the bacterial communities present in the different serpentine areas. Moreover, TRFs (terminal restriction fragments) common to all the investigated A. bertolonii rhizosphere samples were found. A new cloning strategy was applied to 27 TRFs that were sequenced and taxonomically interpreted as mainly belonging to Gram-positive and alpha-Proteobacteria representatives. In particular, cloned TRFs which discriminated between rhizosphere and soil samples were mainly interpreted as belonging to Proteobacteria representatives.

Bacteria↗
PubMed2004

Aphasia quality of life: reliability of the Italian version of SAQOL-39.

AIM: In recent times there has been an increasing interest in assessing the quality of life (QOL) in stroke clinical trials. To our knowledge, an Italian tool suitable for this purpose is still missing. So we adapted to Italian language the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39 (SAQOL-39), that is a British questionnaire recently validated with aphasic subjects. The aim of this paper is to validate our version of SAQOL-39. METHODS: To determine the matching of our version, we requested a native English speaker to translate the Italian version into English. Twelve patients (7 male, 5 female; mean age 66.4 years) were submitted to our test. All subjects were interviewed twice by 2 raters, at 24 h of distance. Neither examinator knew results of the other interview. Statistical analysis was performed by determining Cronbach's a and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: Comparing the original SAQOL-39 to the English translation of our Italian version, we found only a low percentage (10%) of minimal semantic variations. As for test-retest reliability, ICC for global score was 0.898 (ICC(2,39)). ICC range for SAQOL-39 subdomains was 0.816 to 0.969. Cronbach's a for full scale scores was 0.916 (subdomains ranged 0.767 to 0.976). Results seem good as for usefulness, reliability and acceptability of the Italian version of SAQOL-39, like the original version of this test. CONCLUSIONS: Our Italian version of SAQOL-39 seems suitable for clinical use. A multicentric study aiming to compare our data to original English ones is in progress.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Contribution of GABAergic cortical circuitry in shaping somatosensory evoked scalp responses: specific changes after single-dose administration of tiagabine.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether conventional as well as high-frequency somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) to upper limb stimulation are influenced by GABAergic intracortical circuitry. METHODS: We recorded SEPs from 6 healthy volunteers before and after a single-oral administration of tiagabine. Conventional low-frequency SEPs have been obtained after stimulation of the median nerve, as well as after stimulation of the first phalanx of the thumb, which selectively involves cutaneous finger inputs. Median nerve SEPs have been further analyzed after digital narrow-bandpass filtering, to selectively examine high-frequency responses. Lastly, in order to explain scalp SEP distribution before and after tiagabine administration, we performed the brain electrical source analysis (BESA) of raw data. RESULTS: After tiagabine administration, conventional scalp SEPs showed a significant amplitude increase of parietal P24, frontal N24 and central P22 components. Similarly, BESA showed a significant strength increase of the second peak of activation of the first two perirolandic dipoles, which are likely to correspond to the N24/P24 and P22 generators. By contrast, no significant changes of high-frequency SEPs were induced by drug intake. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the view that both N24/P24 and P22 SEP components are probably generated by deep spiny cell hyperpolarization, which is strongly increased by inhibitory inputs from GABAergic interneurons. By considering the clear influence of inhibitory circuitry in shaping these SEP components, conventional scalp SEP recording could be useful in the functional assessment of the somatosensory cortex in different physiological and pathological conditions. By contrast, intrinsic firing properties of the cell population generating high-frequency SEP responses are unaffected by the increase of recurrent GABAergic inhibition.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Maurice Ravel and right-hemisphere musical creativity: influence of disease on his last musical works?

The problem of finding correspondence between a particular neuronal organization and a specific function of the human brain remains a central question of neuroscience. It is sometimes thought that language and music are two sides of the same intellectual coin, but research on brain-damaged patients has shown that the loss of verbal functions (aphasia) is not necessarily accompanied by a loss of musical abilities (amusia). Amusia without aphasia has also been described. This double dissociation indicates functional autonomy in these mental processes. Yet verbal and musical impairments often occur together. The global picture that emerges from studies of music and its neural substrate is by no means clear and much depends on which subjects and which aspect of musical abilities are investigated. An illustration of these concepts is provided by the case of the French composer Maurice Ravel, who suffered from a progressive cerebral disease of uncertain aetiology, with prominent involvement of the left hemisphere. As a result, Ravel experienced aphasia and apraxia and became unable to compose. The available facts favour a clinical diagnosis of primary progressive aphasia (PPA), with the possibility of an overlap with corticobasal degeneration (CBD). In view of Ravel's clinical history, we propose that two of his final compositions, the Bolero and the Concerto for the Left Hand, include certain patterns characteristic of right-hemisphere musical abilities and may show the influence of disease on the creative process.

Aphasia↗
PubMed2000

Lack of SOD1 gene mutations and activity alterations in two Italian families with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive fatal disorder, which results from the degeneration of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Approximately 20% of the inherited autosomal dominant cases are due to mutations within the gene coding for Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), a cytosolic homodimeric enzyme that catalyzes the dismutation of toxic superoxide anion. We investigated the presence of SOD1 gene mutations and activity alterations in two unrelated families of ALS patients from Elba, an island of central Italy. No mutation in SOD1 exon 1 to 5 and no activity alteration were observed in all members of the two analyzed ALS families (FALS). These data show an apparent heterogeneous distribution of ALS patients with SOD1 gene mutations among different populations and suggest that another genetic locus could be involved in the disease.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis↗
PubMed2000

Risperidone in idiopathic and symptomatic dystonia: preliminary experience.

Risperidone is a heterocyclic neuroleptic with prominent antiserotoninergic (5HT2) as well as antidopaminergic (D2) activity. We studied the efficacy of risperidone in the treatment of idiopathic and symptomatic dystonias in seven patients using the Fahn and Marsden rating scale for torsion dystonia before and after four weeks of treatment (2-6 mg/day). The twisting and involuntary movements with abnormal postures decreased in all the patients treated, with a statistically significant mean improvement (41%; p = 0.009, CI 95%). Our results suggest that risperidone is useful in idiopathic and symptomatic dystonia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Music and cerebral hemodynamics.

Previous studies performed by positron emission tomography and Transcranial Doppler (TCD) found a different cerebral activation during musical stimuli in musicians compared to non-musicians. The aim of our study is to evaluate by means of TCD, possible different pattern of cerebral activation during the performance of different musical tasks in musicians, non-musicians and lyrical singers. Our findings show a left hemispheric activation in musicians and a right one in non-musicians. Preliminary data on lyrical singers' activation patterns need further confirmation with a larger population. These data could be related to a different approach to music listening in musicians (analytical) and non-musicians who are supposed to have an emotional approach to music.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Spatial working memory in asymptomatic HIV-infected subjects.

Many clinical and research findings converge to indicate that frontal lobe, basal ganglia, and related neuronal connections are primarily involved in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection; frontal lobe, mainly the prefrontal cortex, has a specialized role in working memory processes. This study focused on neuropsychological evaluation of the spatial component of working memory in a sample of 34 asymptomatic HIV-infected subjects as compared with 34 age- and sex-matched seronegative control subjects. A computer-administered test assessing spatial working memory was used for the neuropsychological evaluation. The findings did not show any spatial working memory impairment during the asymptomatic phase of HIV infection.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

No evidence of linkage between schizophrenia and D2 dopamine receptor gene locus in Italian pedigrees.

Our purpose was to test the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2), the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene and the monoamino oxydase A (MAO-A) gene for linkage to schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. We have analyzed seven Italian families with schizophrenia and four families with bipolar disorders for a total of 68 individuals; 32 individuals were affected. Diagnoses were made using the structured clinical interview Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, Lifetime version (SADS-L). The results of our study provide no evidence of linkage between alleles at D2 dopamine receptor loci and schizophrenia or bipolar disorders. The markers TH gene and MAO-A gene give slightly positive or negative results suggesting the utility of further analysis on more informative families.

Bipolar Disorder↗
PubMed1996

Confirmation of association between expanded CAG/CTG repeats and both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Recent studies have suggested that expanded CAG/CTG repeats contribute to the genetic aetiology of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. However, the nature of this contribution is uncertain and difficult to predict from other known trinucleotide repeat diseases that display much simpler patterns of inheritance. We have sought to replicate and extend earlier findings using Repeat Expansion Detection in an enlarged sample of 152 patients with schizophrenia, 143 patients with bipolar disorder, and 160 controls. We have also examined DNA from the parents of 62 probands with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Our results confirm our earlier, preliminary findings of an association between expanded trinucleotide repeats and both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. However, our data do not support the hypothesis that trinucleotide repeat expansion can alone explain the complex patterns of inheritance of the functional psychoses neither can this mechanism fully explain apparent anticipation.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Bronchography in children. Methodologic, statistical and functional findings].

The value of bronchography in the various respiratory diseases of childhood is examined. After a brief critical review of the historical development of bronchography, 10 cases encountered in the Pneumology Unit of Regina Margherita Children's Hospital, Turin are examined in order to compare the indications to and results of bronchography. In the light of the results obtained guidelines for the selection of bronchography as a diagnostic procedure are presented, specifying the situations in which stratigraphy, CAT scans or NMR are not adequate substitutes and suggesting what should be the current role of bronchography in paediatrics.

Bronchial Diseases↗
PubMed1985

Release of leukotrienes, induced by the Ca++ ionophore A23187, from human lung parenchyma in vitro.

When chopped human lung is stimulated with the Ca++ ionophore A23187 (0.25-10 microM) leukotriene (LT) B4, LTD4 and LTE4 are found in the incubation medium according to different patterns. LTD4 is released promptly and its levels increase up to 45 min after the stimulus (A23187, 10 microM) and decline later (120 min); LTE4 formation follows a sigmoidal shape and continues to accumulate even 2 hr after the challenge; LTB4 levels reach a plateau at 45 min. LTC4 was undetectable in most experiments but it was found to accumulate when reduced glutathione (10 mM) was added. Addition of exogenous LTC4 to unstimulated fragments of human lung shows that an effective interconversion to LTD4 and LTE4 takes place: A23187 stimulates formation of LT and cyclo-oxygenase products dose dependently; a statistically significant formation of LT occurs at A23187 concentration of 1 microM whereas thromboxane B2 (TXB2) and 6-K-prostaglandin F1 alpha levels increased significantly only at 2.5 microM A23187. Pretreatment with U-60257 (100 microM) prevented formation of LT without a concomitant increase of TXB2 levels. Indomethacin (1.5 microM) blocked the release of 6-K-prostaglandin F1 alpha and TXB2 without a shift of arachidonic acid towards LT-like activity. Addition of exogenous LTC4 did not trigger synthesis of TXB2 or 6-K-prostaglandin F1 alpha. Our results indicate that reduced glutathione levels and the activity of the enzymes involved in LT biosynthesis and/or metabolism play an important role in controlling the pattern of LT release from human lung.

Arachidonic Acid↗
PubMed1984

Action of amiodarone over the extension and reversibility of experimental myocardial infarction in pigs.

The purpose of the present work is to evaluate the action of a benzofuran derivative, Amiodarone, on an experimental acute infarction model. Six pigs were intravenously administered 1 mg/kg Amiodarone (A) 20 minutes before inducing ischemia (I) by occlusion of the anterior descending coronary artery, which was maintained for 90 minutes. A similar dose level was repeated 20 minutes before ligation release (R). Similarly, another six animals received a placebo and formed the Control Group (C). The extent of myocardial injury was assessed by summations of ST segments (Sigma ST) and R (Sigma R) and Q (Sigma Q) waves of electrocardiographic epicardial mappings, as well as by serum levels for SGOT and LDH. Systemic blood pressure, pulmonary pressure, right atrial pressure, systemic resistance and cardiac output were also controlled. Two hundred and ten minutes after R, the animal was sacrificed for the purpose of carrying out morphological and histochemical studies. No significant differences were observed in the blood pressure of either group. During I, systemic resistance values suffered a drop in the Amiodarone Group A, whereas they increased in both groups after reperfusion. Pulmonary pressure was higher in Group A. Cardiac output showed a similar behavior in both groups up to R, when it significantly decreased in animals receiving Amiodarone. The Sigma ST and the Sigma Q were higher in the Control Group C, whereas the Sigma R was higher in Group A. The SGOT and LDH levels were higher during R in Group C. Histochemistry showed a higher activity for SDH and LDH in treated animals. Due to its action on afterload, its contractility and its direct myocardial action, Amiodarone limited the extent of necrosis and increased the recoverable amount of myocardium.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1983

Loss of cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase activity in vitro in the presence of bivalent metal ions and by dialysis of rat liver microsomes.

A loss in cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase activity [cholesterol 7 alpha-monooxygenase; cholesterol,NADPH:oxygen oxidoreductase (7 alpha-hydroxylating), EC 1.14.13.17] was seen when rat liver microsomes were incubated in the presence of Ca2+, Mg2+, or Mn2+. The loss in enzyme activity was complete within only 5 min of incubation with Ca2+ and Mn2+, whereas Mg2+ required 10 to 15 min of incubation with microsomes to produce a similar inhibition. This effect of metal ions could be blocked if the incubations were carried out in phosphate buffer. Similarly, preincubation of microsomes in the presence of NaF completely prevented the loss in enzyme activity due to Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions, but only partially the loss due to Mn2+. These results suggest metal ion activation of an endogenous microsomal phosphatase, which in turn may inactivate cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase through its dephosphorylation. Further, a dialyzable microsomal factor appears to be essential for stabilizing the enzyme, because dialysis of a microsomal suspension results in a considerable loss of enzyme activity.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗