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F Pentimone

Publications and source records attributed to F Pentimone.

86 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
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[Hyponatremia, cause of reversible dementia in the elderly].

There are several states of reversible dementias. Among these, electrolyte imbalance--especially hyponatremia--can determine transitory modification of cognitive functions. The purpose of this study is the evaluation of the relationship between cognitive disorders and serum sodium concentrations in the elderly. In a sample of 70 elderly people, the Authors reported a prevalence of hyponatremia in 28 patients (40%); only 4 (5.7% of total population) had impaired cognitive functions or mood disturbances. In the symptomatic patients hyponatremia was severe and had a fast onset; the symptoms disappeared by means a proper and ready treatment. This observation stresses out the importance of routine serum sodium determination in the elderly in coincidence with the sudden onset of a pattern of dementia.

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[Clinical evaluation of anemia in the aged].

Of 533 patients over 65 years old (153 males and 380 females), admitted to geriatric units for various medical diseases, 111 (20.8%) were anemic. Among males the prevalence of anemia was 30.1%, among females 17.1%. Three principal causes of anemia were revealed. The most frequent (42.3%) was microcytic, hypochromic anemia, with low levels of serum iron concentrations, related to gastrointestinal diseases (with chronic occult blood loss). 38.7% of anemic elderly people was affected by chronic diseases. In 19.0% a folate (16 case) and iron (5 cases) deficiency was revealed. These results suggest that anemia in the elderly is always pathological; hemoglobin values lower than 12 g/dl should be considered abnormal and investigated.

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[Sodium and diseases in the aged].

The authors describe serum sodium levels in elderly patients at hospitalization and evaluate the role attributable to drugs, diseases, nutrition and fluid balance. Among 167 patients (average age 75.29 +/- 7.14), 132 (79.04%) had normal sodium balance, 34 (20.36%) were hyponatremic and only 1 (0.60%) was hypernatremic. Patients who had serum sodium levels above 129 mEq/l were asymptomatic. In five cases hyponatremia was acute and severe (less than or equal to 127 mEq/l). Seven patients who had serum sodium levels less than 127 mEq/l presented psychiatric and neurological manifestations, which subsided completely after prompt correction of the electrolyte disorder. The authors suggest that the pathogenesis of hyponatremia in pathological states in the elderly is complex, although iatrogenic causes play a fundamental role.

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[Venous thrombosis of the lower limbs and pulmonary embolism after desmopressin: a coincidence or a pathogenetic role?].

The authors describe a case of venous thrombosis of the legs, complicated by pulmonary embolism, in a 71 year-old man, following desmopressin therapy for hypothalamic diabetes insipidus. They suggest a role of desmopressin in stimulating the release of Von Willebrand's factor (VWF) from endothelial cells. VWF facilitates platelet adhesion by forming a bridge between platelet membrane and vascular subendothelium, followed by development of a large thrombus.

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Marrow aplasia following colchicine treatment for gouty arthritis.

A 69-year-old man was given 8 mg of colchicine intravenously to treat an acute attack of gout. A maintenance dose of 2 mg/day of oral colchicine was then used to prevent recurrence. Three months later, the patient developed thrombocytopenia, followed by leukopenia and then by anemia at three and four months distance, respectively. The patient had shown no signs of acute toxicity with intravenous colchicine, but liver enzymes were raised after two months of oral treatment. The sequential involvement of the three blood precursor lines, in the order to their physiological half-lives, suggests direct toxicity, rather than idiosyncrasy, due to slow accumulation of the drug within target cells. The prophylactic use of colchicine, especially in the elderly, is questioned.

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[Cardiac myxoma in the elderly. Clinical study].

Cardiac mixoma in the elderly. A clinical study. The clinical features of 13 cardiac myxomas surgically resected are presented. The mean age at presentation was 68 years. Ten were in the left atrium, 5 near the fossa ovalis, 3 at the base of the atrial septum, 1 at the inferior wall and 1 on the anterior leaflet of mitral valve, 3 were in the right atrium, 1 of these was accompanied with a myxoma at the apex of left ventricle. The ECG and the chest X-ray were normal in 9 and in 8 patients, respectively. In 3 patients, the diagnosis was occasionally made by routine 2-dimensional echocardiography. 5 patients presented with fever of unknown origin, arthralgias, weakness, weight loss. None had intracardiac or extracardiac recurrence in the 73 months follow-up. The presentation with constitutional symptoms only like fever of UO, may mimic collagen and neoplastic diseases, vasculitis, lymphomas: the 2-dimensional echocardiography is mandatory to esclude a cardiac myxoma in the elderly.

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[Fever of unknown origin in the elderly of the 90's].

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighteen elderly patients (mean age 76.3 +/- 6.9 years) with fever of unknown origin (FUO) are studied sequentially and prospectively from January 1994 to December 1996. The classic Petersdori's criteria of FUO are no more valid for the elderly. The fever of more than 3-4 weeks duration is the only criterion to be considered, the fever is frequently under 38.5 degrees C and the elderly patient is often studied for more than 1 week outside the hospital. RESULTS: The most frequent underlying conditions were: malignancies in particular haematological diseases, followed by multisystem diseases and infections, tuberculosis "in primis". CONCLUSIONS: Selected investigations directed to the most frequent underlying conditions of FUO in the aged individuals overcome the financial cost and the patient discomfort of the tests since an identified curable disease can improve the life expectancy and quality.

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