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Biomedical subjects

L Agostini

Publications and source records attributed to L Agostini.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1972

Faecal ammonia and pH during lactulose administration in man: comparison with other cathartics.

The effect of lactulose on faecal pH and ammonia has been studied in three normal subjects with the aid of dialysis of faeces in vivo. Observations were also made with sodium sulphate and the two hexahydric alcohols, mannitol and sorbitol, given in doses sufficient to cause a similar increase in stool weight. All four cathartics rendered the stool more acid, but there was no increase in the concentration of faecal ammonia. Lactulose, despite increasing faecal volume, did not cause an increase in the absolute amount of ammonia lost in the faeces, but the other purgatives did show a modest rise. The results are inconsistent with the theory that lactulose benefits the clinical picture of portosystemic encephalopathy by trapping ammonia in an acid stool. An alternative suggestion is advanced, namely, that any cathartic (including lactulose) reduces ammonia absorption from the colon by decreasing colonic transit time, and so reducing the amount of ammonia generated by autolysis of colonic bacteria.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Fatty acid pattern of red blood cell membranes and risk of ischemic brain infarction: a case-control study.

The fatty acid composition of red blood cell membranes (which reflects dietary fat intake) was studied in 28 male patients with recent (less than 3 days) ischemic stroke and 56 matched controls. Fifteen fatty acids were measured by means of chromatographic analysis. Percentages of linoleic, 22:5, and 22:6 acids were significantly lower in red blood cell membranes of stroke patients than in those of matched controls. The results suggest that a low unsaturated fatty acid diet could be an independent risk factor for ischemic brain infarction.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The verbal fluency test for the diagnosis of dementia].

Two forms of verbal fluency test, phonological (FF) and semantic (FS) sets, have been administered to four groups of demented patients: 11 with Alzheimer-type dementia (DAT), 13 with multi-infarct dementia (MID), 8 with Parkinson-Dementia (P-D) and 11 with adult chronic hydrocephalus (ICA). Patients were matched for age, educational level and neuropsychological impairment pattern. Further, ten neurologically healty subjects were selected as control group. Control subjects result to be different from all other groups in both FF and FS; moreover, FF test results to be more impaired in ICA than in DAT. Furthermore, FF is more impaired than FS in P-D and ICA patients. On the basis of our results, verbal fluency tests might represent an useful instrument to differentiate demented subjects from non-demented ones and within demented groups to characterize the different neuropsychological pattern of the cortical and subcortical type of cognitive deterioration.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Individual differences in cerebral organization: influence of sex and familial sinistrality in the language lateralization of strongly right-handed subjects.

Sixty right-handed subjects, divided into four groups of 15 according to sex and familial sinistrality (FS), performed a test of language lateralization. A verbal-manual dual-task paradigm was employed. Results suggest that the pattern of cerebral organization may differ among right-handers in relation to both sex and FS. However, it is not merely the separate influence of these two factors, but rather their interaction which determines the pattern. It is stressed that identification of individual predictors of language laterality may provide some information on prognosis and management of aphasic patients.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Bornaprine in the treatment of parkinsonian tremor].

We report the results of a double-blind placebo controlled study of bornaprine, an anticholinergic drug, in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. We studied 17 patients presenting persistent tremor in spite of a stable long-term L-Dopa therapy. The bornaprine, in doses of 8 mg/die, compared with placebo significantly improves tremor. Only mild side effects occurred. We think the bornaprine may be of value in the treatment of parkinsonian tremor.

Antiparkinson Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Structural modifications of the sciatic nerve in rats on different fat diets (author's transl)].

The influence of dietary lipid components on fatty acids content of the sciatic nerve was studied in rats. Rats of both sexes were divided into three groups according to diet: 1. standard diet; 2. standard diet enriched with various seed oils; 3. colza oil-enriched diet. Six animals from each group (3 males and 3 females) were killed after 15, 30, 60 and 90 days, respectively, of controlled feedings. Their sciatic nerves were immediately removed and freeze-dried. Lipid extracts were prepared from each sample gas chromatography tests were made on the esterified fats. The results obtained show that there is a change in the fatty acids of the sciatic nerve lipids in rats on low fat diets, while the amount of phospholipids remains the same.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Myelopathic patterns of calcification of the posterior longitudinal ligament].

Three patients with calcification of the posterior longitudinal ligament with myelopathy are reported and discussed. This condition which is frequent in Japan is rarely described in the western population. Such calcification is not only a radiographic finding but is a progressing phenomenon which may extend to compressive lesions of the spinal cord. All patients with calcification of the posterior longitudinal ligament should be fully studied neurologically and followed up.

Calcinosis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Parkinson's disease and am-otrophic lateral sclerosis (case report) (author's transl)].

A 68 years old man affected by parkinson's disease for four years suddenly developed symptoms of a motor neuron disease. He also had a defect of his visual-spatial ability with an intra cerebral calcifications in right parieto-temporo-occipital region. The AA. discuss the nosological aspects of this case and do not accept the possibility of a chance occurrence of the two systemic degenerative diseases and favour a unification of nuerological abiotrophic diseases.

Aged↗