Recovery from respiratory muscle failure in a sporadic case of Brown-Vialetto-Van Laere syndrome with unusually late onset.
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Bulbar Palsy, Progressive↗
Biomedical subjects
F Savoldi
Publications and source records attributed to F Savoldi.
Familial adult amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: report of cases.
We examined 8 cases of familial ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) in three different families from our province, admitted to our hospital between 1970 and 1989. Clinical criteria for diagnosis were satisfied in all cases; EMG was performed in 6 out of 8 patients. 4 cases showed classical onset and 4 cases bulbar onset. The average age at onset was 65.7 + 10.6 years. The average survival was 19.1 + 9.2 months. In two families two generations were affected, in the other only one. The mode of transmission was found to be autosomal dominant with variable penetrance. Neither environmental nor toxic factors seemed to be involved in the development of the illness. Genetic investigations may help to elucidate the pathogenesis of familial ALS.
Aged↗
Effects of remoxipride, a dopamine D-2 antagonist antipsychotic, on sleep-waking patterns and EEG activity in rats and rabbits.
The antipsychotic remoxipride, a selective dopamine D-2 receptor antagonist, was studied for its effects on sleep-waking patterns in the rat and electroencephalographic (EEG) activity in the rabbit. Haloperidol, which has lesser selectivity for D-2 receptors, was used for comparison. In the rat, remoxipride (1-10 mg/kg SC) did not affect either total sleep or non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep. Only REM was slightly reduced by the high dose of 10 mg/kg. Haloperidol (0.1-1 mg/kg PO) enhanced duration of both total sleep and non-REM sleep. In the rabbit, remoxipride (3 and 10 mg/kg IV) induced no significant changes of the EEG power spectrum over 0.1-38.5 Hz or individual frequency bands. In both cortex and hippocampus the drug did not alter the arousal response to acoustic sensory stimuli. Plasma concentration of remoxipride 10 mg/kg IV in rabbits declined biexponentially and was 4 and 2 mumol/l at 30 min and 1 h, respectively. Haloperidol (0.3 and 1 mg/kg) slowed down the EEG activity, enhanced the power spectrum of the cortical and hippocampal activity, and significantly reduced the duration of arousal induced by sensory stimuli. The results indicate that, unlike haloperidol, remoxipride has weak or no sedative effects. The data also provide support to the notion that D-2 receptors are not involved in the regulation of states of sleep and sedation.
Animals↗
Neuropsychological assessment in MS: clinical, neurophysiological and neuroradiological relationships.
We assessed cognitive performance and its relationship with clinical and anatomic disease severity in MS with mild to moderate handicap; 34 definite MS and 18 healthy subjects matched for age and education were submitted to a neuropsychological test battery. Both groups were examined for anxiety. MS patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging examination. MS performed worse than controls on all WAIS-P subtests and had learning, short- and long-term verbal memory impairment. Cognitive deficits were not related to abnormal emotional states, but were found to be associated with attentional process and information-processing speed impairment. Cognitive impairment did not correlate with severity of physical disability. The most severe memory deficits were found in patients with extensive periventricular damage.
Adult↗
[Early ECG changes after experimental focal cerebral ischemia. A pathogenetic hypothesis of the brain-heart syndrome].
Primary CVT alterations and arrhythmias, occurring one hour after embolization were detected in several experiments about focal cerebral ischaemia in rabbits. 62 animals were fed on a standard diet and 15 on an atherogenic diet. Primary CVT alterations and arrhythmias occurred in 4 rabbits fed on a standard diet and in 6 rabbits fed on an atherogenic diet. These results gave statistic evidence of a relationship between more frequent and serious electrocardiographic alterations and an atherogenic diet. The information coming out of these experiments are discussed. Considering the data coming out of other experiments and the data of the literature it is supposed that the pathogenesis of "the cerebro-cardiac syndrome" is linked to several biohumoral alterations occurring after the stroke. If these alterations occur in animals (or in subjects) with damaged coronary arteries cardiac alterations occurring after the stroke are greater and more important than the cardiac alterations occurring in the same conditions in the animals in which coronary arteries are not jet damaged.
Animals↗
Blood hypercoagulability secondary to experimental cerebral ischemia in the rabbit: influence of a hyperdyslipemia induced by an atherogenic diet.
Within the framework of a research carried out at the Neurological Institute of Pavia on experimental cerebral ischemia some biohumoral determinations were done on two groups of rabbits: one kept on a standard diet and the other on an atherogenic diet to induce dyslipemia. The aim was to find out whether induced ischemia produces an activation of the hemocoagulation processes and whether hyperdyslipemia constitutes an aggravating factor. In the animals on a standard diet there was a statistically significant increase in factor X A and a nonsignificant increase in parameter (r + k) on TEG (thromboelastogram) and of factor VIII C after embolization. In the hyperdyslipemic group the changes were definitely more marked and, in the case of factor VIII C and parameter (r + k), statistically significant, accompanied by slight variations in APTT and factor IX pointing in the same direction. We discuss the meaning of our findings.
Animals↗
Urine melatonin in alcoholic patients: a marker of alcohol abuse?
Ethanol is known to alter central neurotransmission and endocrine functions. Urine melatonin was studied in 10 male chronic alcoholic patients, before and after two weeks of controlled alcohol abstinence, and in sex and age matched healthy controls. In both groups, 24-hour urines were collected in two fractions corresponding to day- (D) (08:00-20:00) and night- (N) (20:00-08:00) time. Urine melatonin was assayed by RIA after methylene chloride extraction. Twenty-four hour urine melatonin levels were calculated adding up D and N values. In patients during alcohol intake, the 24-hour urine melatonin levels were significantly higher than in controls (p = 0.004, Student's t test). A disruption of the physiological ratio between N and D values was also observed, since the higher melatonin levels occurred in the D fraction. In drinking alcoholics, melatonin D values were significantly higher than the D values found in controls (p less than 0.01, Student's t test) and in the same patients after alcohol withdrawal (p less than 0.05). The N/D ratio approximated 1 during alcohol intake and became larger than 1 after alcohol withdrawal, as in the controls. The melatonin data were correlated with the suppressive effects of dexamethasone (DXT) on cortisol secretion evaluated both during alcohol intake and during abstinence. After alcohol withdrawal, the two (out of 10) patients, who remained unresponsive to the DXT suppression test, showed high D melatonin values and a low N/D ratio. These preliminary data indicate that in chronic alcoholism the pattern of urinary "melatonin- like immunoreactivity" is altered.
Adult↗
Antagonism of EEGraphic and behavioural effects of methamphetamine by selective receptor blockers (SCH 23390 and raclopride) in the rabbit.
1. The interactions between selective D1 and D2 antagonists (SCH 23390 and raclopride) and methamphetamine on EEG arousal and behaviour was studied in rabbits. Haloperidol, a "classic neuroleptic" was used as reference drug. 2. Both 23390 and raclopride, which were used at low dosage (0.03-0.09 mg/kg i.v. for the former and 1-3 mg/kg for the latter), were able to block completely the behaviour induced but do not inhibit completely the EEG arousal pattern induced by methamphetamine. 3. The blockade of both behaviour and EEG arousal took only when the two drugs were administered concomitantly at the lower dosage. 4. The antagonistic effects obtained with the concomitantly administration of the two drugs were of higher degree in confront of those obtained with the pretreatment with haloperidol 0.3 mg/kg i.v. 5. Our data indicate that both D1 and D2 antagonists are able to block, at the dosage used, motor hyperactivity and stereotyped behaviour typically induced by methamphetamine and that SCH 23390 and raclopride are potentiated also in this experimental model.
Animals↗
Anticonvulsive efficacy of flumazenil in the electroinduced seizures in the rabbit.
The anticonvulsive efficacy of flumazenil, a specific antagonist of the ligands of the benzodiazepine receptor, was studied in the experimental seizures induced by electrical stimulation of corpus Amygdaloideum and Cornu Ammonis dorsale of the hippocampus in rabbits. In the amygdaloid seizure model flumazenil raised the threshold and/or reduced the afterdischarge duration. Results observed in the seizures induced by stimulation of hippocampus were less consistent. Possible explanations are discussed.
Acute Disease↗
Ischemic cerebral pathologies and K opioid receptors in rabbits.
Recently it has been suggested that endogenous k-opioid receptors may have a physiopathological role in ischemia induced neurodegeneration. The aim of this research is to show that in experimental thromboembolic (obtained mechanically using microspheres injected in the carotid) and atherosclerotic pathologies (obtained through a special diet) there is a common mechanism which involves mediation by dynorphine and the receptor compartment considered. The results, obtained using receptor binding techniques, showed a statistically significant increase in the number of k-opioid receptors (Bmax) without variations in the affinity (Kd) for the 3H dynorphine. We can therefore support the hypothesis that these changes in the modulation of the dynorphinergenic system may be part of a mechanism causing early cerebrovascular damage which results from embolic insults and is a consequence of such metabolic risk factors as are activated by atherogenesis.
Animals↗
Neuropathological evaluation of brain damage in a rabbit model of focal cerebral ischaemia.
In the present paper we studied different methods for a qualitative and quantitative morphologic assessment of the focal brain damage in rabbits after occlusion of the middle cerebral artery with vaseline microspheres. The study of the early brain ischaemic damage (4 to 12 hours after embolisation) was performed on serial coronal cryostat sections of hemispheres frozen in liquid nitrogen and processed for NADH enzyme-histochemical method. In the ischaemic area the necrotic cells were pale or negative after enzyme-histochemical reaction, but a quantitative assessment of the ischaemic area was approximative. The Evans blue method for the identification of the region of the edema at 24 hours after embolisation showed inconstant results. A reproducible method for a quantitative assessment of the ischaemic area up to the 24th hour after embolisation was proposed by Osborne and utilised in the present experimental conditions. The volumetric assessment of the ischaemic area was obtained after delineation of brain damage areas at 8 preselected coronal levels with a computerized automatic image analyzer and by integration of areas with the distance between each level. In treated animals, the measures of the volume of cerebral infarction were accurate and reproducible, and were suitable for neurophysiologic correlations.
Animals↗
The brain-heart syndrome: remarks on early ecgraphic changes following focal cerebral ischemia in healthy and in experimentally hyperdyslipidemic rabbits.
Early cardiac effects of focal cerebral ischemia in two groups of rabbit, one of which made hyperdyslipidemic with an atherogenic diet, were detected in several experiments. In the group of 62 animals fed on a standard diet, primary CVT alterations and arrhythmias occurred in 4 rabbits (6.4%), in the group of 15 animals fed on an atherogenic diet the same cardiac alterations occurred in 6 rabbits (40%). A marked statistically significant prevalence of ECGraphic changes was observed in hyperdyslipidemic group. These results and the data coming out of other experiments and literature suggest that the pathogenesis of the "cerebro-cardiac syndrome" is linked to several biohumoral alterations occurring after the stroke. If these events affect functionally damaged endothelia, or occur in the presence of atherosclerotic plaques, cardiac alterations occurring after the stroke are greater than cardiac alterations observed in the same condition when coronary are intact or little damaged.
Acute Disease↗
EEG changes and platelet aggregation in experimental cerebral focal ischemia in rabbits.
Nine white New Zealand rabbits were submitted to internal carotid embolization with microspheres which caused a histologically verified focal cerebral ischemia. Six animals were sham-operated. EEG, QEEG, ECG, blood pressure, rectal temperature and platelet aggregation were monitored in basal conditions and one hour after ischemia. Embolized animals showed an increase in power density spectrum (PDS) and delta activity (0.15-3.70 Hz) and the appearance of platelet aggregation. The QEEG changes were correlated to the degree of platelet aggregation after ischemia.
Animals↗
Aspects of amitriptyline and nortriptyline plasma levels monitoring in depression.
Fifty-nine depressed female inpatients were treated with 100 mg amitriptyline (AMT) IM for 4 weeks. Depression ratings and determinations of the parent drug and nortriptyline (NT) were performed weekly. No direct relationship between plasma AMT + NT concentrations and therapeutic response was apparent, but beneficial therapeutic responses and significantly lower side-effect scores were more frequently noted in subjects with concentrations in the 100-200 ng/ml range. AMT + NT concentrations were significantly correlated with age. No significant difference was found in the number of responders between younger and older subjects with two clinical improvement criteria; however, a significant difference emerged when a third more restrictive clinical outcome criterion was adopted. The implications of the present findings for patient treatment and for the interpretation of previous studies are discussed. The data collected point to a possible usefulness of monitoring AMT and NT plasma levels, even if further investigations are needed.
Adult↗
Synthesis of magnetic gradients for NMR tomography.
A numerical method is applied to calculate an optimal distribution of currents in air which generate the magnetic field gradients required to spatially encode the radiofrequency signal in a NMR tomographic experiment. We compare the performances of the gradient circuits for the whole body air-core electromagnet described by Bangert and Mansfield (J. Phys. E 15; 1982) with the results of our optimization.
Electromagnetic Fields↗
Kappa-opioid receptor changes and neurophysiological alterations during cerebral ischemia in rabbits.
Endogenous opioids have been shown to produce beneficial effects in experimental stroke. To evaluate both neurophysiological and biochemical parameters, we induced massive cerebral ischemia in 11 rabbits according to the method standardized in our laboratory, using microspheres injected through the internal carotid artery. Binding studies were performed in the 11 embolized, in nine control, and in five sham-operated rabbits using the appropriate concentration of [3H]dynorphin A (1-8). Neurophysiological parameters were evaluated under baseline conditions and 1 hour after embolization, surgical preparation, or sham operation in 17 rabbits. Comparison of visual readings of the electroencephalograms and analyses of the quantified electroencephalograms under baseline conditions and after embolization indicated a marked and statistically significant (p less than 0.01) increase in bilateral delta activity; histologic examination confirmed bilateral brain edema. Binding studies on kappa-opioid receptors indicate that 1 hour after embolization there were significantly more (28%) kappa-opioid receptors (Bmax) in six embolized rabbits than in five sham-operated animals. No significant changes were observed in the affinity parameters, particularly in the dissociation constant (Kd). Our results indicate a role for endogenous dynorphin peptides in the pathogenesis of stroke.
Animals↗
Etizolam versus placebo in the treatment of panic disorder with agoraphobia: a double-blind study.
Thirty out-patients suffering from panic disorders associated with agoraphobia were enrolled in a double-blind, controlled trial to compare the effectiveness and tolerability of etizolam and placebo. After a 1-week washout period on placebo, patients were allocated at random to receive twice daily doses of either 0.5 mg etizolam or placebo over a period of 4 weeks. Assessments, made at baseline and after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment, used the Hamilton Rating Scales for Anxiety and for Depression, the Covi Anxiety Scale, and determination of the weekly panic crises frequency. The results showed that etizolam produced significant improvements in chronic anxiety, phobic ideas, associated depressive symptoms and episodic anxiety, and was significantly more effective than placebo. Etizolam treatment was generally well tolerated and was not significantly different from placebo in this respect.
Adult↗
Serum and cerebrospinal fluid herpes simplex virus type 1 immunoglobulin G and M titers in four cases of herpes simplex encephalitis.
Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) IgG and IgM ELISA titers were serially determined in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 4 patients with HSV-1 encephalitis during a follow-up period of 1-26 months. In 3 out of 4 patients HSV-1 IgM titers raised in CSF during the acute phase of disease, thus allowing differentiation between primary and reactivated forms of HSV-1 encephalitis. HSV-1 IgG titers showed a sharp elevation earlier in serum than in CSF. Specific IgG index documented a large intrathecal production of HSV-1 IgG and their persistence 2 years following clinical onset. The initial trend of serum and CSF specific IgG titer represents a reliable tool for a retrospective diagnosis of HSV-1 encephalitis.
Antibodies, Viral↗