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Biomedical subjects

L Minoli

Publications and source records attributed to L Minoli.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Acute Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with asymptomatic HIV infection.

A 25-year-old male drug addict presented with a rapidly progressive ascending tetraplegia, requiring assisted ventilation. One month earlier he had fever (40 degrees C) and asthenia. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination showed elevated albumin level and albuminocytologic dissociation. HIV testing was positive in both serum and CSF. Plasma exchange therapy only partially improved the symptomatology. After five months the patient remained with a moderate tetraparesis. Differences between this and other cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome in HIV-seropositive patients reported in the literature are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Cognitive abnormalities and disease progression in a selected population of asymptomatic HIV-positive subjects.

A selected population of 41 homosexual/bisexual asymptomatic HIV-positive subjects were administered neurophysiological tests to assess language, memory, attention, logic faculties and visuo-motor functions. HIV-positive subjects differed from individually matched control subjects only in certain measures of verbal memory. Longitudinal evaluation performed after 1.5 years, however, did not indicate any further development of this mild amnesic deficit. Despite the small number studied in our sample, there seems to be a trend for older subjects to be at greater risk of developing AIDS and cognitive abnormalities than younger subjects, while differences in immunological status play a significant role in disease progression.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

HIV-related encephalitis presenting as convulsant disease.

Because of the growing incidence of neurological disorders in HIV-infected patients, an early detection of the disease seems to be of paramount importance, especially in asymptomatic subjects. By using electroencephalography coupled with computerized spectral analysis and "mapping" (EEG-CSA), paroxysmal sharp activity was detected in 26 patients belonging to different stages of HIV infection. Seven of them (27%) were also symptomatic, (table; see text) showing signs of convulsant disease. The presence of focal or generalized paroxysmal activity, often associated with seizures, might suggest an early localization of HIV in cortical structures.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗
PubMed1990

Abnormalities of central motor conduction in asymptomatic HIV-positive patients. Significance and prognostic value.

Percutaneous magnetic stimulation of the brain and spinal cord is a technique developed to demonstrate early and subclinical abnormalities in corticomotoneuron pathways. Central motor conduction time (CMCT) was evaluated in 58 HIV-seropositive patients neurologically asymptomatic (CDC groups II and III) and in two control groups. CMCT was abnormal in about 50% of HIV-seropositive patients. These electrophysiological abnormalities seem to have a negative prognostic value since about 64% of the patients with abnormal parameters seem to progress more rapidly to AIDS stages.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

Usefulness of computerized electroencephalography in diagnosing, staging and monitoring AIDS-dementia complex.

One hundred and one subjects, with various degrees of HIV infection, were enrolled in a longitudinal study aimed at evaluating the correlation between clinical and instrumental findings in the development of HIV-related subacute encephalitis. The method used was electroencephalography coupled with computerized spectral analysis (EEG-CSA) and mapping. The findings recorded by this method were compared with those obtained by computed tomography (CT) scan and neurological examination. The EEG-CSA findings were divided into four categories according to their severity. EEG-CSA was shown to be very sensitive in detecting the first signs of a forthcoming neurological disease. Following 11 months of observation, 22 out of 40 (55%) neurologically asymptomatic individuals who, at the beginning of the study showed some EEG-CSA abnormalities, had clinical evidence of a subacute encephalitis whereas only two out of 37 (5.4%) subjects who were previously free of EEG-CSA abnormalities had some signs of neurological disease (P less than 0.001) after the same period. Of those remaining who were already symptomatic when the study started, the neurological progression of HIV infection was also monitored by EEG-CSA.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

Electroencephalography in the early diagnosis of HIV-related subacute encephalitis: analysis of 185 patients.

Of subjects with asymptomatic HIV infection or Lymphoadenopathy Syndrome, 185 were studied by means of electroencephalography coupled with computerized spectral analysis and mapping (EEG-CSA). Abnormal EEGs were found in 30 of 118 (25.4%) patients with asymptomatic infection (CDC Group II) and in 20 of 67 (29.9%) patients with Lymphoadenopathy Syndrome (CDC Group III). The most common EEG abnormalities were represented by theta slowing on the frontal and fronto-temporal lobes and, in some cases, by delta slowing and paroxysmal sharp activity on the forebrain. Among 50 patients with abnormal EEGs, 16 showed some abnormalities on neuropsychological testing, whereas mild signs of cerebral atrophy were evident on CT scan in only 12 patients. These findings suggest that EEG-CSA could be a useful and sensitive method in the early detection and monitoring of HIV-related subacute encephalitis.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1988

Detection of HTLV-III-specific IgG bands in the CSF from a patient with AIDS and encephalitis.

Recent evidence would suggest that HTLV-III may be neurotropic. We have found oligoclonal IgG bands by isoelectric focusing in the CSF of a homosexual man with AIDS and encephalitis. Subsequent analysis revealed that such bands contained anti-HTLV-III activity, suggesting that neurologic symptoms in AIDS patients may be caused by replication of HTLV-III inside the CNS.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1986

A new chromosome instability disorder.

Chromosome analysis in a 31-year-old woman referred for primary amenorrhea, revealed a very high incidence of chromosome aberrations. She had microcephaly and immunodeficiency. Her healthy parents were consanguineous (1/32) and a younger sister, also with primary amenorrhea, died when 20 years old with a malignant lymphoma. Chromosome studies were performed on lymphocytes and fibroblasts and in both tissues a high proportion of metaphases with multiple chromosome aberrations was found. Clonal and sporadic rearrangements, consisting of balanced and unbalanced translocations and dicentric chromosomes were more numerous than chromatid and chromosome breaks. In the lymphocytes the same unbalanced translocation t(8q;21q) was present in about 59% of the metaphases. Rearrangements involving chromosomes 7 and 14, similar to those described in patients with ataxia-telangiectasia were found, but with a lower frequency. Sister Chromatid Exchanges were not increased. Chromosome and chromatid abnormalities were enhanced after exposure of cells to mitomycin C but not after exposure to the radiomimetic drug bleomycin. Clinical and cytogenetic characteristics of the patient are compared with those of syndromes (Ataxia-Telangiectasia and Werner's syndrome) or isolated cases (Weemaes et al. 1981, Sperling 1983, Spinner et al. 1985) whose features are similar to those of our patient. This case might represent a new chromosome instability syndrome due to a recessive mutation.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Ceftazidime in the therapy of pseudomonal meningitis.

In this study we report about the efficacy and tolerability of ceftazidime in the treatment of 10 cases of pseudomonal meningitis (nine Pseudomonas aeruginosa and one Pseudomonas cepacia). The 10 patients had a pseudomonal infection of the central nervous system (CNS) complicating neurosurgical procedures or developed on a preexisting immunodepressing condition; four patients were of pediatric age. All isolates were sensitive to ceftazidime with MICs ranging from 0.39 to 3.12 micrograms/ml. Ceftazidime was given intravenously at the dosage of 100-150 mg/kg/day. In seven cases amikacin was associated by intralumbar or intraventricular instillation. The duration of ceftazidime treatment ranged from 9 to 49 days with a mean of 22.2. Eight cases out of ten were cured bacteriologically and clinically, while the remaining two were cured after treatment with other antibiotics. Concentrations of ceftazidime in serum and in lumbar and/or ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were obtained in four cases; the mean concentration in lumbar CSF was 12.2 micrograms/ml and in ventricular 3.3 micrograms/ml. The study demonstrated that ceftazidime is effective in the treatment of Pseudomonal meningitis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

In utero sonographic diagnosis of semilobar holoprosencephaly.

Since its early diagnostic application in the study of pregnancy, ultrasonography (US) has been widely employed in the detection of fetal malformations. Head abnormalities, recognized through the evaluation of brain and skull structures, accounted for the majority of these observations. We report here on a case of holoprosencephaly, a rare malformation (incidence is around 1/16,000 live births according to Roach et al. [1975]) diagnosed and monitored up to delivery by multiple US examinations.

Adult↗