We recorded the motor evoked potentials (MEPs) from the abductor pollicis brevis muscle, after supramaximal electrical transcranial stimulation, and studied the effect of paired transcranial shocks with varying interstimulus time intervals, in 10 normal subjects, 4 patients with median nerve neuropathy and 2 patients with motoneurone disease. In relaxed muscles the amplitude of the MEP evoked by a single shock averaged 30% of the M wave. With intervals from 1 to 2.5 msec 2 shocks evoked one MEP far larger in size than the control MEP (70% of the M wave). With intervals of 10 msec and longer, the 2 shocks evoked 2 independent MEPs; the size of the MEP following the second shock (test) was inversely correlated with the size of the control MEP: the more the control MEP approached the size of the M wave, the smaller the test MEP. Single motor unit records showed that, in the normal subjects and patients with peripheral neuropathy, the same motor unit was activated either by the first or the second shock, whereas in the patients with motoneurone disease it fired twice. In active muscles, the control MEP averaged 70% of the M wave. With intervals of 10 msec and longer the test MEP was markedly suppressed; with 100 msec intervals it fully recovered. In relaxed muscles, by delivering a double shock at a 1.5 msec interval, thus evoking a large MEP, followed by a second double-shock, the test MEP was completely suppressed for a period of 20 msec; it began to recover at 50 msec intervals and fully recovered after 150 msec.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Prevalence of dementia and apolipoprotein e genotype distribution in the elderly of buttapietra, verona province, Italy.

We investigated the prevalence of dementia and the apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype distribution in the elderly of Buttapietra, a village near Verona, Italy. All residents over the age of 74 (n = 238), including those who were institutionalized, were studied using a direct-contact, single-phase design. The overall prevalence of dementia, clinically defined by DSM-III-R criteria, was 15.8 cases per 100 population, with age-specific figures increasing steeply with advancing age in both sexes. Alzheimer's disease (AD) was the most frequent dementing disorder (43%). APOE genotyping was determined after DNA amplification by restriction isotyping. We found that the epsilon4 allele and the epsilon3/epsilon4 genotype were associated with all types of dementia, although only the association of epsilon3/epsilon4 with AD reached statistical significance (odds ratio 4.5, 95% confidence interval 1.3-16.1). However, as reported in other Mediterranean countries, the frequency of the epsilon4 allele in our population was low (8.9%), suggesting that the population-attributable risk for AD, at least for elderly individuals (> or =75 years), could be small.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Systemic lupus erythematosus: the first Italian prevalence study].

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was the assessment of SLE prevalence in an adult population. The study was performed on a sample of more than 30,000 patients over 18 resident in the Florence sub-area of Scandicci-Le Signe (Italy) on the basis of the register of general practitioners (GPs). METHODS: Twenty GPs gave the Lupus Screening Questionnaire (LQS) to their patients. The LQS has been completed by 32,521 patients resident in Scandicci, Lastra a Signa and Signa area. On the basis of the LQS analysis an SLE diagnosis was suspected in 30 patients. These 30 patients have been investigated by routine exams, anti-nuclear antibodies and have been referred to rheumatologist to assess the SLE diagnosis and disease activity (ECLAM Score). RESULTS: The overall population aged >18 years was 71,204 (42,474 living in Scandicci, 15,368 in Lastra a Signa and 13,362 in Signa). The diagnosis was confirmed in 23 out of the 30 suspected SLE patients. Eleven out of the 23 SLE patients were from Scandicci, 6 from Lastra a Signa and the other 6 from Signa. The overall rate of SLE prevalence is 71/100,000 (1 case/1,408) with a confidence interval of 95%, (confidence limits: 49-92). The rate of SLE prevalence in Scandicci is 81/100,000 (confidence limits: 42-121), in Lastra a Signa 62/100,000 (confidence limits: 32-92) and in Signa 65/100,000 (confidence limits: 36-94). CONCLUSION: This is the first epidemiological study on SLE prevalence in Italy. The rate of SLE prevalence is similar to that of other European studies. LQS is confirmed as an easy and reliable tool to assess SLE diagnosis also in the Italian population.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Problems in the lateralization of electroencephalographic changes. Preliminary note].

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Brain↗