Biomedical subjects

L Chiacchio

Publications and source records attributed to L Chiacchio.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1991

Mixed transcortical aphasia: clinical features and neuroanatomical correlates. A possible role of the right hemisphere.

This paper reports the clinical features of 2 patients affected by mixed transcortical aphasia. Both of them had extensive damage of the left hemisphere. Cerebral blood flow measurement showed a marked decrease in left-hemisphere flow. In particular, speech areas were found to be morphologically and functionally damaged. The present findings, together with a critical review of the literature, served as a starting point for a discussion of linguistic features, diagnostic criteria and classical neuroanatomical interpretation of mixed transcortical aphasia. The possible contribution of the right hemisphere in determining this aphasic syndrome is suggested.

Aged↗

PubMed1989

Steroid-induced disappearance of primary central nervous system lymphoma. Clinical, neuroradiological and pathological findings.

A 73-year-old man presented a progressive neurologic syndrome with impairment of multiple cranial nerves, ataxia and limb weakness. Neuroradiological evaluation showed multiple supra and infratentorial lesions, which completely disappeared after steroid treatment on two occasions. These neuroradiological modifications were closely correlated with clinical picture and CSF findings. Post-mortem examination showed multifocal primary CNS immunoblastic large cell lymphoma. Immunohistochemistry showed that the tumor was of B-cell origin.

Aged↗

PubMed1988

Immediate memory spans in dementia.

Spatial span (Corsi's block-tapping test) and verbal spans for digits (Wechsler Digits Forward Test) and for words were measured in 30 normal subjects and in 51 demented patients, divided into two groups (mildly demented and severely demented) according to selective clinical and neuropsychological criteria. Statistical analysis showed significant differences among the three groups for spatial span. By contrast, controls' and mildly demented patients' performances on both verbal spans were not significantly different. These findings are discussed in the light of theory about working memory.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

A case of Dejerine-Sottas disease with prominent ataxia and brain stem involvement. A clinical, electrophysiological, otoneurologic, and ultrastructural study.

A case is presented of Dejerine-Sottas disease in a 12-year-old boy in which clinical signs made diagnosis of Friedreich's ataxia seem plausible. Based on marked slowing of motor conduction velocity, the sural nerve biopsy findings of a hypertrophic neuropathy with hypo- and demyelination of the nerve fibres, as well as the clinical history, the diagnosis of Dejerine-Sottas disease was made. ABR examination suggested involvement of brain stem at the roots and/or nuclei of the eighth cranial nerve, without involvement of higher structures.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1987

Verbal and spatial memory span in patients with extrapyramidal diseases.

Spatial span (Corsi's block-tapping test) and verbal span (Wechsler's Digits Forward test) were measured in 651 normal subjects and in three groups of extrapyramidal patients (Progressive supranuclear palsy, Parkinson, and Huntington's Chorea). Analysis showed Huntington's Chorea patients scored lower on both tests than did controls and other groups.

Adult↗

PubMed1986

Effects of age, education and sex on two tests of immediate memory: a study of normal subjects from 20 to 99 years of age.

Spatial span (Corsi's block-tapping test) and verbal span (Wechsler Digits Forward) were measured in 1354 normal subjects, aged from 20 to 99 yr., who were subdivided into seven age groups, into three groups according to education, and according to sex. Analysis of variance showed that the three main factors were significant for the spatial span test. The two spans examined held well up to the 60s, and only after this age did significant differences appear in the other age groups. On both tests there were significant differences between the groups divided according to education.

Adult↗

PubMed1985

Non invasive study of carotid arteries by echo-doppler and metabolic abnormalities in patients with dementia.

In order to evaluate the prevalence of common and/or internal carotid stenoses together with metabolic abnormalities in dementia nineteen patients were investigated. Dementia and differential diagnosis between Alzheimer type (DAT) and multi-infarctual (MID) dementia were performed on the basis of Computerized Tomography scan, behavioural anamnesis, neurological and neuropsychological examinations. Eight patients were diagnosed as MID and 11 as DAT. Noninvasive study of neck arteries was performed in supine position by a Duplex Scanner, able of detecting a wide range of stenosis, even when very mild. Arterial hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes and high hematocrit level were present in both groups, although to a higher extent in MID (p 0.05). Results from Duplex Scanner demonstrate 12 vascular stenoses 16-49% and one between 50-99% (13/76), being vascular abnormalities equally distributed among DAT and MID patients. These data suggest that patients with metabolic abnormalities and arteriosclerosis can develop dementia not necessarily of vascular type. On the other hand, MID patients do not present higher number of stenosis as compared to DAT, indicating that vascular disease of carotid arteries is not prominent in the clinical context of dementia.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Memory encoding processes in mild and severe dementia. Preliminary data.

Memory coding processes can be divided according to their attentional requirement into "automatic" and "effortful". The aim of current research was to explore both automatic and effortful processes in early and late stages of Alzheimer type dementia. Patients were classified on the basis of restrictive clinical and neuropsychological criteria, in order to pinpoint possible specific impairments in the two patients' subgroups. The present paper reports preliminary data about 15 mildly and 15 severely demented patients. Statistical analysis showed that both the automatic and the effortful coding processes are impaired at the late but also at the early stages of dementia.

Alzheimer Disease↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Recognition of object figures in unusual perspective and mental imagery].

Two cases are described: one with left occipital lesion and the other one with bilateral occipital damage; the first showed deficit of Mental Imagery and preserved recognition of pictures in unusual perspective; the second, vice-versa, showed integrity of Mental Imagery and deficit in visual recognition. The relationship between Mental Imagery and recognition of pictures in unusual perspective is discussed.

Aged↗