Biomedical subjects

Roberto Albera

Publications and source records attributed to Roberto Albera.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Auditory steady-state responses and clinical applications.

The auditory steady-state responses to single continuous tones modulated in amplitude have been proposed as an alternative to objective frequency-specific audiometry. The aim of this study was to compare thresholds obtained by pure-tone audiometry (PTA) and by auditory steady-state responses in normal hearing or affected by hearing loss in adults and in order to evaluate the applicability of this objective test in no collaborative hearing-impaired subjects. Eleven people, 6 normal hearing and 5 with hearing loss, underwent PTA and multiple frequency auditory steady-state responses; simultaneous carrier tones (0.5, 1, 2 and 4 KHz) modulated in amplitude at different rates (77-105 Hz) were presented monaurally (TDH 49 earphones) at variable intensities (110-20 dB SPL). The mean threshold difference between PTA and multiple frequency auditory steady-state responses was 28 dB (standard deviation=14.2) and R correlation value at 0.5-1-2-4 kHz was 0.71 (P=0.0012) at the Pearson's test. These differences were significantly smaller considering the hearing-impaired separately (11.7 dB, standard deviation=2.9). The results of this study confirm previous reports showing that the multiple auditory steady-state response method is an accurate predictor of the behavioural audiogram in patients with sensory-neural hearing impairments and can be used as a valid support for behavioural evaluations.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Tympanic reperforation in myringoplasty: evaluation of prognostic factors.

OBJECTIVES: The most frequent failure in myringoplasty is reperforation. This complication appears at a rate of 7% to 27%. The aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of the principal prognostic factors to the risk of reperforation. METHODS: This is a study of prognosis based on an inception cohort. The prognostic factors considered in the study refer to clinical and surgical aspects; follow-up ranged from 5 to 7 years (mean, 68 months). The study was performed on 212 patients with or without otorrhea who underwent operation for tympanic perforation. All subjects underwent myringoplasty by means of an underlay or overlay technique depending on the size and site of the perforation. RESULTS: Healing of the tympanic perforation was obtained in 182 cases (86%). Age, otorrhea, status of the contralateral ear, and conductive hearing loss did not significantly affect the outcome of surgery. On the other hand, time from surgery, the site of perforation, the type of anesthesia, the approach, the surgical technique, and the type of graft were significantly related to the outcome. CONCLUSIONS: In the analysis of our results, the surgical approach proved to be the principal prognostic factor in the anatomic outcome of myringoplasty. The results obtained suggest that the principal factors influencing the outcome of myringoplasty are technical and not clinical.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Cystic versus solid vestibular schwannomas: a series of 80 grade III-IV patients.

Cystic acoustic neuromas are less frequent than solid ones and present different clinical and radiological features. Cystic schwannomas are larger, show a shorter clinical history and a different risk of postoperative complications. This study was designed to compare surgical results and complications of solid and cystic vestibular schwannomas of matching size operated upon via either a retrosygmoid or a translabyrinthine approach. The study included 80 patients presenting with grade III and IV acoustic vestibular schwannomas referred to the Neurosurgical and ENT team in the Department of Neuroscience of Torino, Italy. Twenty-six were cystic and 54 were solid tumours. Clinical history, surgical results and complications were compared between the two groups. In cystic tumors, rapid clinical worsening is common, due to sudden expansion of cystic elements. Tighter adherences are found between cystic tumours and nervous elements (particularly brainstem and possibly facial nerve), once compared to solid ones. Operative morbidity appears to be higher in cystic tumours. A wait and see policy should not to be applied to patients with cystic tumours. Careful technique, possibly sharp dissection, to divide the tumour adherences from the nervous tissue must be employed, in order to avoid lesions on brainstem veins and traction on a thin facial nerve. Severe complications may be caused by the excessive efforts to dissect brainstem adherences.

Acromegaly↗

PubMed2005

Prognostic relevance of CD105+ microvessel density in HNSCC patient outcome.

Angiogenesis is essential for the development and progression of malignant tumours, and there is increasing evidence that microvessel density (MVD) can be considered an indirect marker of neo-angiogenesis. However, there is still disagreement concerning the clinical relevance and prognostic significance of MVD in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs). MVD was evaluated in 127 HNSCC patients by means of immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against CD34 and CD105 (endoglin), which has recently been described as a potent marker of neo-vascularisation in various malignancies. MVD was expressed as the mean number of vessels/mm2. The mean CD34+ and CD105+ MVD values were significantly higher in T3-T4 tumours and those in an advanced clinical stage; furthermore, CD105+ MVD was significantly higher in N+ tumours. The patients with a high CD105+ MVD had a significantly shorter disease-free and overall survival; CD34+ MVD was not associated with survival. Similarly, in the subset of lymph-node negative patients, higher CD105+ MVD values were significantly associated with either OS and DFS. Multivariate analysis showed that a high CD105+ MVD was the only independent marker of tumour recurrence or death. Our data suggest that CD105+ MVD may represent an additional prognostic factor in HNSCC patients providing more accurate data for the determination of prognosis and management in the subset of lymph node negative patients.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

The prognostic value of the otoacoustic emission test in low frequency sudden hearing loss.

Low frequency sudden hearing loss (LFSHL) is a frequent finding in the otological practice. Several prognostic indicators have been suggested concerning the prediction of the outcome of sudden hearing loss, but so far there are no proven factors to establish the prognosis. The aim of this study was to assess whether OAEs could be considered as a reliable prognostic test in LFSHL. The study group consisted of 20 patients presenting with a unilateral LFSHL. Each patient was submitted to spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAEs), transient otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) and distortion products (DPOAEs) recording and then treated with glycerol administrated intravenously in 3-h intervals for 4 days. Pure tone audiometry (PTA) threshold was evaluated again 1 h after the last administration of glycerol. After osmotic therapy 12 patients (60%) showed a significant PTA improvement with a mean improvement of 11 dB; modifications were significant at the Student's t test for paired data (P<0.0001). The relationship between the pretherapy presence or absence of SOAEs, TEOAEs and DPOAEs and PTA modification was not significant at the exact Fisher's test. In conclusion, even if our study supports that OAEs could be an indicator of the inner ear functional state, they cannot be utilized as a prognostic test in LFSHL in relation to the efficacy of osmotic therapy. Among the other parameters evaluated, only the precocity of therapy seems to be related to prognosis in LFSHL.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Delayed vertigo after stapes surgery.

OBJECTIVES: Stapes surgery restores partial or total hearing in almost 95% of cases, and in case of failure, revision surgery may often resolve the problem. Delayed vertigo is commonly related to perilymphatic fistula. The aim of this study is to report experience gained in revision stapes surgery in cases of delayed vertigo. STUDY DESIGN: This is an intervention study, before-after trial; it includes follow-up between 12 and 84 months that was based on clinical history and audiometric evaluations. METHODS: The work was carried out in the otologic surgery referral center of Piemonte in outpatient surgery. Nine patients (4 males and 5 females, between 43 and 60 years of age) who presented with delayed vertigo after stapes surgery were retrospectively reviewed. All nine underwent clinical history evaluation, pure tone audiogram, investigation of the vestibular system with a bithermal binaural caloric test, and fistula test. Vestibular tests were performed with electronystagmography recording. In all nine subjects, functional middle ear exploration was carried out by way of a transmeatal approach using local anesthesia. The demonstration of a perilymphatic leak was positive in only three (33%) cases, but the oval window region was filled with fibrin glue in all nine cases. RESULTS: At follow-up, vertigo was resolved in all cases with revision surgery, even though perilymph leak was positive only in three cases. CONCLUSION: From the results obtained, we feel that exploration of the middle ear should be always carried out in cases of delayed vertigo after stapes surgery with suspected perilymphatic fistula.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Double-blind, randomized, multicenter study comparing the effect of betahistine and flunarizine on the dizziness handicap in patients with recurrent vestibular vertigo.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this double-blind, randomized, multicenter study was to compare the efficacy of betahistine dihydrochloride (BH) and flunarizine (FL) using the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), a validated self-assessment questionnaire that has not previously been used in a clinical trial to evaluate antivertigo drugs. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients with recurrent vertigo of peripheral vestibular origin and who were severely handicapped by vertigo were randomized to an 8-week course of treatment with oral BH 48 mg daily or oral FL 10 mg daily. The efficacy endpoints were the total DHI score and the physical, functional and emotional subscores. RESULTS: Fifty-two patients completed the study. After 8 weeks of treatment the mean total DHI score and the physical subscore were significantly lower in the BH group compared to the FL group (7.5 and 3.6 points, respectively). The mean total DHI score as well as the three subscores decreased significantly after 4 and 8 weeks in both treatment groups. CONCLUSION: This study showed that at 8 weeks BH is significantly more effective than FL in terms of improving the total DHI score and the physical subscore. It was also established that the DHI is a useful and reliable method for evaluating the efficacy of antivertigo drugs.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Neurotoxic effects of aluminium among foundry workers and Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND: In a cross-sectional case-control study conducted in northern Italy, 64 former aluminium dust-exposed workers were compared with 32 unexposed controls from other companies matched for age, professional training, economic status, educational and clinical features. The findings lead the authors to suggest a possible role of the inhalation of aluminium dust in pre-clinical mild cognitive disorder which might prelude Alzheimer's disease (AD) or AD-like neurological deterioration. METHODS: The investigation involved a standardised occupational and medical history with particular attention to exposure and symptoms, assessments of neurotoxic metals in serum: aluminium (Al-s), copper (Cu-s) and zinc (Zn-s), and in blood: manganese (Mn-b), lead (Pb-b) and iron (Fe-b). Cognitive functions were assessed by the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Clock Drawing Test (CDT) and auditory evoked Event-Related Potential (ERP-P300). To detect early signs of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the time required to solve the MMSE (MMSE-time) and CDT (CDT-time) was also measured. RESULTS: Significantly higher internal doses of Al-s and Fe-b were found in the ex-employees compared to the control group. The neuropsychological tests showed a significant difference in the latency of P300, MMSE score, MMSE-time, CDT score and CDT-time between the exposed and the control population. P300 latency was found to correlate positively with Al-s and MMSE-time. Al-s has significant effects on all tests: a negative relationship was observed between internal Al concentrations, MMSE score and CDT score; a positive relationship was found between internal Al concentrations, MMSE-time and CDT-time. All the potential confounders such as age, height, weight, blood pressure, schooling years, alcohol, coffee consumption and smoking habit were taken into account. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest a role of aluminium in early neurotoxic effects that can be detected at a pre-clinical stage by P300, MMSE, MMSE-time, CDT-time and CDT score, considering a 10 micrograms/l cut-off level of serum aluminium, in aluminium foundry workers with concomitant high blood levels of iron. The authors raise the question whether pre-clinical detection of aluminium neurotoxicity and consequent early treatment might help to prevent or retard the onset of AD or AD-like pathologies.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Long-term voice and swallowing modifications after supracricoid laryngectomy: objective, subjective, and self-assessment data.

PURPOSE: The supracricoid laryngectomies (SCLs) are conservative surgical techniques for the treatment of selected laryngeal carcinomas. The advantage of SCL is that a permanent tracheostoma is not required, thus, maintaining the principal laryngeal functions. The aim of the study is to report objective, subjective, and self-assessment long-term results of voice and swallowing in a large group of patients who underwent SCL at least 2 years before this study was undertaken. METHODS: Twenty male subjects who underwent SCL with a mean age of 71 years (range, 51-82) were involved in a retrospective study on swallowing and vocal function. Videoendoscopic ratings were taken of neoglottic vibration patterns and bolus transit. The maximum phonation time and the syllable diadochokinesis were measured. Spectrograms were recorded. Voices were perceptually rated using the Grade, Instability, Roughness, Breathiness, Asthenicity, Strain (GIRBAS) scale. All of the subjects completed a self-assessment questionnaire for both voice and swallowing. RESULTS: Videoendoscopic ratings showed moderate to severe impairment of neoglottal vibration, whereas bolus transit appeared only mildly impaired. The mean values of the GIRBAS scale were 2.4, 2.6, 2.4, 0.8, 0.5, and 0.8. The mean maximum phonation time was 7.5 seconds, whereas the mean value of the Yanagihara scale was 3.7 for voice spectrograms. Mean syllable diadochokinesis appeared as 3.3 syllables per second. Voice and swallowing quality of life questionnaires revealed satisfied patients. CONCLUSIONS: Swallowing after SCL was satisfactory; on the contrary, endoscopic, aerodynamic, perceptual, and acoustic data showed a highly dysphonic voice after SCL. However, self-assessment results revealed relatively satisfied speakers on the emotional, physical, and functional levels.

Aged↗