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Biomedical subjects

G Arnetoli

Publications and source records attributed to G Arnetoli.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

The tilting cardiovascular response in orthostatic syncope.

159 patients with a previous discharge diagnosis of recurrent vasodepressor syncope associated with prolonged standing or other circumstance known to trigger the condition were examined in order to isolate the orthostatic form. 72 patients with a history of at least two episodes of loss of consciousness after standing still for at least 10' were selected for testing by head-up tilt. Those who showed signs or symptoms during the test were tested a further twice, the third time after atropine administration. This process resulted in the diagnosis of orthostatic vasodepressor syncope in 28 patients who presented both 1) a positive test associated with hypotension and bradycardia and 2) bradycardia-free hypotention on repetition of the test with atropine.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Smooth-pursuit eye movements: alterations in Alzheimer's disease.

Smooth-pursuit eye movements induced by targets moving at constant velocities (from 5 to 100 deg/sec) were recorded from 13 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and from 11 healthy subjects. Four variables were evaluated to quantify the patients' response to the eye movement tests: (1) average peak velocity of smooth-pursuit; (2) percent target matching index after saccade removal (percent ratio between the area of the velocity curve of smooth-pursuit eye movement after saccade removal and the area of target velocity) which is related to the eye performance for each value of target velocity; (3) total amplitude of anticipatory saccades; (4) total number of anticipatory saccades. Compared to the controls, AD patients were found to have significantly lower values of average peak velocity of smooth pursuit and of percent target matching index and a significantly increased number and amplitude of anticipatory saccades. A discriminant stepwise analysis indicated that 5 oculographic variables were significantly associated with the patient's clinical condition (healthy volunteer or AD patient). These statistics yielded an equation for predicting the patient's status according to which the percentage of cases classified correctly was 82.6% in the overall group (n = 23). The predictive performance was similar between the healthy volunteers subgroup (81.8%, n = 11) and the AD subgroup (83.3%, n = 12). The discriminant score was significantly correlated with the score resulting from the MiniMental test (r = 0.67). A significant correlation was also found between the MiniMental score and the number of anticipatory saccades (r = -0.61). No significant correlation was present between the gain of smooth pursuit and the patients' cognitive decline.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Changes in bit-mapped contingent negative variation (CNV) activity due to initial normal involutional processes of the human brain.

Bit-color mapped multicomponent CNV complexes and RTs to S2 evoked with a simple warned CNV/RT paradigm were recorded and measured in 20 selected right-handed very healthy volunteers (10 young adults and 10 presenile subjects, mean age 28.3 and 59.6, respectively). EEG and CNV components (post S1, N1, P2, P3; early CNV; N1200; late CNV; CNV resolution) were recorded from Fz, C3, Cz, C4, P3, Pz, and P4 referenced to linked mastoid electrodes. EOG, RT and stimuli were also recorded. The presenile group differed significantly from the younger group in the auditory post-S1 N1 and early (O-wave) and late (P-wave) CNV complex components. A progressive amplitude reduction limited to frontal leads between O-wave and P-wave, the lowest point being reached in the P-wave, was characteristic in the presenile group. Moreover, presenile subjects showed relatively flat CNV waveshapes of low amplitude and, on the whole, performed a little less well than young ones. This finding suggests that the statistically significant changes in auditory post-S1 N1 and CNV activity recorded in our presenile subjects, without any appreciable deficits in behavioral or mental performance, could be alerting signs of early brain involutional processes related to minimal and subclinical decline in orienting, attentiveness and response preparation capabilities. If such is the case, and it could be confirmed in a larger sample of very healthy subjects, these age-related changes in the presenium might prove to be of considerable practical importance for clinical research.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Spinal intramedullary subependymomas: case report and review of the literature.

A cervical spinal intramedullary subependymoma in a 53-year-old man is reported, and the relevant literature is reviewed. Spinal cord subependymomas seem to follow a benign course. Radiotherapy should not be administered to these patients. Magnetic resonance imaging, even with enhancement, is not able to distinguish between a subependymoma and the more common ependymoma.

Ependymoma↗
PubMed1991

Topographic CNV activity mapping, presenile mild primary cognitive decline and Alzheimer-type dementia.

The CNV complex evoked with a standard paradigm (S1-2 sec-S2-motor response) and reaction time (RT) to the imperative signal (S2) were recorded and measured in 12 patients with initial presenile idiopathic cognitive decline (PICD), 12 with presenile Alzheimer-type dementia (PAD) and 10 healthy age-matched controls. Significant group differences were obtained for measures of some CNV components, particularly of the late pre-S2 CNV. No significant CNV activity, very prolonged RTs and sometimes characteristic post-imperative negative variations (PINV) were observed in the majority of patients with PAD. These results suggest that similar CNV complex and RT changes to those observed in our patients may constitute a valuable clue in the study of pathophysiological brain functioning in the early stages of presenile idiopathic mental deterioration.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Effect of physiological and pathological aging processes on topographic bit-mapped cognitive evoked potentials in presenile subjects.

Bit-mapped multicomponent CNV complex and reaction time (RT) were recorded and measured in 24 presenile patients with initial symptoms of very mild to moderately severe primary mental deterioration without depression, and in 10 age-matched controls. All patients underwent CT and MRI examinations, EEG spectral analysis and a battery of psychometric test. Significant group differences were obtained for measures of some post-S1 ERP and CNV components, particularly of the post-S1 N1b, P300 and early and late pre-S2 CNV. P300 with increased latency, no significant CNV activity, very prolonged RTs, EEG slowing down and diffuse brain atrophy were observed in the majority of patients with probable presenile Alzheimer's dementia. These results suggest that CNV/RT and EEG activity changes similar to those observed in our patients may constitute a valuable clue for the study of brain dysfunction in the early stage of presenile idiopathic cognitive impairment.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Fast multiphase MR imaging of aqueductal CSF flow: 2. Study in patients with hydrocephalus.

The signal intensity in the region corresponding to the cerebral aqueduct was evaluated in three patients with noncommunicating tension hydrocephalus (caused by aqueductal obstruction in two and type I Arnold-Chiari malformation in the other), seven patients with suspected normal-pressure hydrocephalus (three of whom subsequently underwent successful shunting), and 10 patients with ex vacuo (atrophic) hydrocephalus. A gradient-echo MR sequence, called fast multiphase imaging, was used. Serial images corresponding to different phases of the cardiac cycle were acquired. No flow-related enhancement was observed over the entire cardiac cycle in the patients with noncommunicating hydrocephalus. Patients with normal-pressure hydrocephalus showed a higher aqueductal CSF signal intensity, consistent with increased systolic flow rates, than patients with ex vacuo hydrocephalus. When comparing the above two groups of patients with a control group of healthy volunteers, significantly higher and lower values of the (mean) maximum aqueductal signal intensity were found in the normal-pressure hydrocephalus patients and the ex vacuo hydrocephalus patients, respectively. Fast multiphase MR evaluation of aqueductal CSF flow may help to differentiate patients with different types of hydrocephalus.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

[On the intrathoracic meningocoele. Diagnostic usefulness of myeloscintigraphy (author's transl)].

Intrathoracic meningocoele (I.M.) consists of a bulging out of the meninges in the posterior mediastinum through an intervertebral foramen or a bone defect in the thoracic spine. It is a rare condition generally asymptomatic and often associated with von Recklinghausen's neurofibromatosis, whose aetiopathogenesis and clinical significance have not yet been completely clarified. The AA. describe a case of I.M. in a patient with neurofibromatosis who at 37 years of age presented spastic monoparesis in the left lower limb with subacute onset. In this case two abnormally wide intervertebral foramina and scalloping of the posterior rims of the vertebral bodies close to the meningocoele were observed. These changes seem to point to an alteration in bone development as the chief cause of intrathoracic meningocoele in contrast with other aetiopathogenic hypotheses. Excluding the presence of other expansive lesion, spastic monoparesis might be related to a confined medullary involvment due to compression of arterial or venous vessels by the meningocoele. Finally the AA. emphasize the importance of myeloscintigraphy, wich easily allows correct diagnosis by showing a typical pool of radioactive tracer in the meningocoele bulge lateral to the spine.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in Italy: report of the first clinical case.

Previous studies on the clinical features of meningoencephalitis in Italy did not help to indicate the nature of the causative agents. On the other hand during the past decade nine arboviruses were isolated in Italy, some of which are yet to prove pathogenic for man. A systematic study was carried out in cooperation between the Department of Neurology of the University of Florence and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Rome), in order to understand a possible role of arboviruses as etiologic agents of meningoencephalitis in Italy; in this preliminary communication the first clinical case of Tick-Borne Encephalitis (TBE) virus infection is described.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Polyneuropathy due to "allergic vasculitis" possibly related to australia antigen. (author's transl)].

The authors describe a case of flaccid tetraplegia due to a polyneuropathy in a man aged 50 years, progressing rapidly to death from mesenteric infarction. As significant abnormalities, the hematologic examinations revealed a very high erythrocyte sedimentation rate, a marked leukocytosis and a positive Australia antigen in repeated controls. In spite of the clinical picture being that of a symmetrical polyneuropathy rather than that of mononeuritis multiplex, the diagnose of a collagenosis was suspected. Nevertheless steroid treatment was not given because the patient had a peptic ulcer. On histological investigation many focal infarctions were found in several internal organs but the brain was pratically normal. Instead the nerve trunks examined (the sciatic nerve and the lumbo-sacral plexus) showed gross changes in the vasa nervorum represented by abundant perivascular cuffing and marked evidence of axonal degeneration secondary to an ischaemic damage. In the kidneys there were definite signs of membranous glomerulitis. The pathological findings in this fatal case of diffuse peripheral involvement were not those of classical periarteritis nodosa, but showed the picture of so-called "allergic vasculitis". This type of blood vessels inflammation is now assumed to be part of an immune-complex disease, in which the Australia antigen could be one of the causative agents.

Hepatitis B Antigens↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Alterations of smooth-pursuit ocular movements in Alzheimer's disease].

Recent findings suggest that patients affected by Alzheimer's disease (AD) have evident alterations of smooth-pursuit ocular movements induced by a sinusoidal predictable target. For a better understanding of the possible modifications of this performance in patients with AD we evaluated, using a quantitative method, the smooth-Pursuit induced by ramps with constant, unpredictable velocities. Twelve patients with probable AD were studied. These patients were compared with twelve age matched healthy volunteers. Visual inspection of our recordings shows that AD patients have frequent, large saccades intrusions which in some cases appeared to disrupt smooth tracking, particularly for low target speeds. Furthermore, the smooth-pursuit eye velocity induced by target of high speed is significantly reduced in respect to that present in our control group. Some significant correlations between altered smooth-pursuit parameters and abnormal psychometric scores were noted.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Progressive pseudomyopathic spinal amyotrophies (author's transl)].

Genetic, elettromyographic, enzymological and histological aspects of two cases of proximal pseudomyopathic spinal amyotrophy are described. The former is related to a typical Wohlfart-Kugelberg-Welander syndrom with characteristics of recessive autosomal heredity. It is related to a fifteen-years old patient who, since he was ten has been affected by progressively increasing muscular hypotrophy. It was localized mostly on the scapular girdle and less on the pelvic girdle, with tendency to extend to the distal muscles of the limbs, without fasciculations or sensory symptoms. Serum enzyme levels were normal. Both muscular biopsy and electromyographic tests yield reports testifying a spinal amyotrophy. The later is related to a spinal pelvic girdle amyotrophy arisen in a thirty-three-year old subject who since twenty-nine has started to present weakness and hypotrophy of pelvic girdle muscles and of the roots of the thighs particulary involving the adducent muscles. There were neither amyotrophies in other districts nor fasciculations. Serum enzyme levels were normal. Muscular biopsy clearly proved a neurogenic amyotrophy. E.M.G. showed signs of myogenic and neurogenic sufference. Problems concerning the nosographic delimitation of different spinal muscular atrophies are discussed on the ground of literature, too.

Adolescent↗