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Biomedical subjects

L Carenini

Publications and source records attributed to L Carenini.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Peripheral neuropathy caused by antiepileptic drugs. Neurophysiological study of the A delta and C fibers.

The risk that antiepileptic drugs may cause damage to the peripheral nervous system led us to investigate 12 patients on carbamazepine and 12 patients on phenobarbital with the thermal threshold test. The heat and cold thresholds were measured at the ankle and wrist and, compared with those in 30 healthy subjects, they proved to be significantly higher. When the two groups of epileptics were compared separately with the controls, their thresholds were always higher. These findings are consistent with a toxic effect of both drugs on fine peripheral nerve fibers.

Adolescent

Considerations after intraoperative monitoring of somatosensory evoked potentials during carotid endarterectomy.

Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) following median nerve stimulation were used to monitor cerebral function during 26 carotid endarterectomies. The patients with minor SEP variations had no neurological deficits on regaining consciousness while the one with more serious SEP variations had a transient deficit. The method thus seems useful in the early detection of ischemic brain impairment.

Aged

Auditory brainstem response patterns in familial and sporadic olivopontocerebellar atrophy.

Auditory brainstem responses (ABR) have been obtained in 22 patients, 15 with familial and 7 with sporadic olivopontocerebellar atrophy; 8 of them were pairs of siblings. ABR abnormalities have been found in 72.7%, with a significant higher percentage in familial versus sporadic patients. Similar ABR patterns have been obtained in affected members of the same family. No correlations have been found between ABR results and the following parameters: age, gender, disease duration, degree of clinical involvement and fashion of inheritance. ABR pattern did not show any modification over a follow-up period of 15-24 months. Our findings suggest that the involvement of the auditory pathways may be under genetic control.

Adult

Quantitative EMG and histological carrier detection of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Seventy-nine women known as, or suspected to be, carriers of the Duchenne type of muscular dystrophy were examined. The 15 known carriers had an estimation of the CPK serum level and a manual quantitative EMG, which gave the high detection rate of 93%. The 64 suspected carriers had CPK determination and quantitative EMG, or CPK and muscle biopsy, and the value of each technic is discussed. The problem of giving a reassuring answer to women considered to be possible carriers on genetic criteria, but who are not really carriers, is solved if the results of all three tests are negative.

Action Potentials

Carbamazepine does not affect short-latency somatosensory evoked potentials: a longitudinal study in newly diagnosed epilepsy.

Somatosensory evoked potentials from median nerve stimulation were recorded in 12 patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy, before and after 1 year of treatment with carbamazepine. The plasma concentrations of the drug were consistently within therapeutic range. We assessed the latencies of the early components at the level of the cervical spine (N9 and N13) and on the parietal scalp (P14, N20, P25) and the interpeak latencies (N9-N13, N13-N20, P14-N20). None of the patients presented anomalies in any of the parameters, and there was no significant difference between the patient and control means or between the patient means before and after 1 year of treatment.

Adolescent

Parasympathetic function in Huntington's disease.

Parasympathetic function in 7 Huntington's chorea patients with a duration of the disease ranging from 1 to 20 years, was evaluated by studying R-R intervals during quiet and deep breathing and Valsalva manoeuvre. All 7 patients were free of neuropathy, orthostatic hypotension, heart or lung disease and had had no medication for at least 15 days prior to hospitalization. Seven normal subjects served as controls. On the whole, the responses of the Huntington's chorea patients were not significantly different from those of the controls. Abnormal responses to all the tests were received in only one patient and a low R-R variability during deep breathing in the youngest patients. Unlike other Central Nervous System degenerative disorders, in Huntington's disease parasympathetic autonomy seems to be sufficiently preserved.

Adult

Somatosensory evoked potentials and peripheral nerve conduction velocities in patients on long-term carbamazepine therapy.

The motor and sensory conduction velocities were measured, and the somatosensory evoked potentials were recorded on median nerve stimulation in 20 epileptics on long-term carbamazepine therapy. The plasma drug levels were monitored and found to be consistently within therapeutic range. The electrophysiological study showed that the motor and sensory conduction velocities in the lower limbs were significantly lower than in age-and sex-matched controls, while no significant variation was found in the somato-sensory evoked potentials. There was no correlation between the neurophysiological data and any of the pharmacological data, such as duration of treatment, plasma levels and dose of drug per Kg of bodyweight per day.

Adolescent