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P Stratta

Publications and source records attributed to P Stratta.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Planum temporale in schizophrenia: a magnetic resonance study.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were used to examine the size and asymmetry of the planum temporale (PT) in 20 schizophrenic patients and 12 strictly matched healthy volunteers. PT lengths from coronal sections were measured and then summed to obtain an estimate of their areas. Schizophrenics showed the lack of the physiological PT area asymmetry evidenced in the control sample and a statistically significant diagnosis by side interaction was observed (F = 4.96; p less than 0.05). The study of PT asymmetry could permit us to better analyse the role of laterality in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Neuropsychological and clinical correlates of temporal lobe anatomy in schizophrenia.

Twenty-five DSM-III schizophrenic patients were assessed neuromorphologically and neuropsychologically. Reduced temporal lobes were found through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation. In addition, in order to look for the neuropsychological correlates of temporal anatomy in schizophrenia, patients were divided into cognitive normal and abnormal schizophrenics, according to their Luria Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery profile. The latter group had statistically significant temporal lobe abnormalities as assessed by MRI, irrespective of medication, clinical picture or any other relevant variables. The implication of such findings in the light of the diaschisis model is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Temporal lobe structure by magnetic resonance in bipolar affective disorders and schizophrenia.

Sixteen bipolar and 10 schizophrenic patients, all male, underwent magnetic resonance imaging scans. Areas derived from five coronal sections were measured separately and then summed to obtain an estimate of temporal lobe volumes. Schizophrenics showed a reduction of temporal lobe areas in those sections corresponding to the hippocampal region. This finding was more pronounced for the left side, although no diagnosis by side interaction was present. Temporal lobe volume was also reduced in schizophrenics. When a lateralized difference was present, the right temporal lobe was larger than the left in both patient groups.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Frontal and callosal neuropsychological performances in schizophrenia. Further evidence of possible attention and mnesic dysfunctions.

Some level of frontal and callosal dysfunction has been reported in patients with schizophrenia. In the present study 68 normal controls and 117 schizophrenic patients were administered the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), which involves the function of the frontal areas, and the Auditory Comprehension Test (ACT) which involves the corpus callosum and to a lesser degree attention and mnesic mechanisms. WCST correctly discriminated 69.8% of schizophrenics and 74.2% of controls, ACT 86.7% of schizophrenics and 90.2% of controls. Moreover, schizophrenics correctly classified by the WCST performed more poorly than schizophrenics incorrectly classified by the WCST on the related ACT indices for the attention and mnesic mechanisms. There were no differences in present age, age at onset, duration of the illness, diagnostic subtype and course of the disease between correctly and incorrectly classified schizophrenics by the WCST and the ACT. These data indicate a prevalent malfunctioning of attention and mnesic mechanisms in schizophrenia. Finally there seems to be no relationship between these neurofunctional abnormalities and demographic and clinical characteristics of the disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Repeated albumin infusions do not lower blood pressure in preeclampsia.

Since intravascular volume contraction is regarded as an important pathological feature in preeclampsia, it has been proposed that plasma volume expansion could be a therapeutic manoeuver that interrupts the pathogenetic chain of hypovolemia inducing increased vascular resistance. Furthermore, tissue perfusion should be improved and, if albumin is used as plasma expander agent, interstitial edema should also be reduced. We report the results observed in an open pilot study in ten preeclamptic patients treated with daily albumin infusions (0.4 to 1 g/kg) from 7 to 36 days. No acute effects were shown on blood pressure, and the need for antihypertensive therapies did not decrease in the following days. Serial evaluation after at least five or ten days of repeated albumin infusions did not show stable changes in electrolytes excretion, renal clearances, serum protein concentration and hematocrit value, nor in aldosterone, renin and atrial natriuretic peptide basal levels, while proteinuria tended to increase. Uteroplacental and fetoplacental blood flow acutely ameliorated in 3 cases only after albumin 1 g/Kg, but reached basal values again on the next day. The clinical implications are that daily albumin infusions with this schedule dosage do not lower blood pressure and that they are unable to induce stable changes in renal function, uteroplacental and fetoplacental resistance. No maternal complications were observed during the conservative management, but fetal mortality was high (6/10). Given the uncontrolled study, we cannot know whether similar results had been achieved by conventional therapy only.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Reduced temporal lobe areas in schizophrenia: preliminary evidences from a controlled multiplanar magnetic resonance imaging study.

Seventeen young patients with relapsing schizophrenia and 13 normal controls matched for age, gender, and educational level underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Three sagittal, eight axial, and seven coronal images were obtained for all subjects. Schizophrenic patients showed a reduction of brain tissue in the temporal lobes. Among the several brain structures identified, left temporal lobe area, but not ventricular brain ratio (VBR), discriminated between the two groups. As VBR has been reported to be increased in the more severe forms of schizophrenia, temporal lobe abnormalities may characterize the less severe cases of schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Visuospatial impairment in depression: a controlled ECT study.

In order to study the effect of bilateral electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on visuospatial function in depression, a comparison was made between the performance of 20 ECT-treated patients and 20 healthy controls on a battery of neuropsychological tests including the Complex Figure Test (CFT) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). The CFT but not the MMSE performances of depressives vs controls were impaired in pre-ECT testing. While ECT does not affect visuospatial performance, cognitive deficits are unveiled by MMSE. Possible meanings of these findings are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Neurological soft signs in schizophrenia.

A standardised clinical examination which focused on neurological soft signs (NSS) was used by a neurologist blind to diagnosis to assess the presence of neurological soft signs. A comparison of NSS score was made among three groups of subjects consisting of 58 DSM-III schizophrenics, 31 of their healthy first-degree relatives and 38 normal controls. The schizophrenic group had significantly higher NSS total scores than normal controls but did not differ significantly from their first-degree relatives' group. The relatives' group showed higher NSS total scores than did normal controls although to a lesser extent than schizophrenics.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Dementia in schizophrenia. Magnetic resonance and clinical correlates.

Thirty-nine patients with a chronic schizophrenic disorder and 29 healthy control subjects were examined by means of multiplanar magnetic resonance imaging. Schizophrenics as a group showed increased ventricular brain ratio and reduced corpus callosum area. When patients were grouped according to their performance on the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery (LNNB), a distinct subgroup of six patients emerged. These patients failed to perform neuropsychological testing, due to their inability to fulfill the instructions, despite often repeated full explanations of the test procedures; four of these patients had enlarged lateral ventricles and all met operational criteria for Kraepelin's dementia praecox. Two other patients subgroups were categorized as LNNB normal and abnormal. These two subgroups showed lesser brain abnormalities and lower negative symptom scores than the former.

Adult↗