S Calzetti — Page 4 | PubMed Health

PubMedDate not supplied

[Barbexaclone in the treatment of the epilepsies (author's transl)].

Chronic administration of barbiturates in the treatment of the epilepsies causes sedation. The association of C.N.S. stimulant agents appears to offer a possible advantage. 19 epileptic outpatients were followed up during an "open" trial of barbexaclone (L-1-cyclohexyl-2-methylaminopropan-phenyl-ethyl-barbiturate) over a period of about one year. The drug was effective in primary and secondarily generalized epilepsies, and to a lesser extent in partial complex seizures. The tolerability was good and a reduction of the side-effects due to previous treatment with phenobarbitone has been noticed. The mean dosage of barbexaclone was lower in patients who improved than in those who remained unchanged.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A case-control study of occupational and environmental risk factors for Parkinson's disease in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.

A questionnaire-based case-control study was carried out on 86 patients with neurologist-confirmed idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) and 86 controls similar in sex and age. The control group was recruited in outpatient specialist centers of the same University Hospital (glaucoma, psoriasis vulgaris, essential arterial hypertension and renal diseases). Exposure was defined as occupational or residential contact with a given factor for at least 10 consecutive years prior to the onset of PD. Smoking habits were defined by exclusion of those subjects who never smoked. The following risk factors were identified: cranial trauma (OR: 2.88; 95% CI: 0.98-8.49), well water use (OR: 2.78; 95% CI: 1.46-5.28) and occupational exposure to industrial chemicals (OR: 2.13; 95% CI: 1.16-3.91). Among industrial chemicals, only organic solvents were identified as significant risk factors for PD (O.R. : 2.78, 95% C.I. : 1.23-6.26). Whereas no exposure to neurotoxic metals occurred among controls, making the assessment of the O.R. impossible, exposure pesticides and herbicides was similar in the two groups (O.R. : 1.15; 95% C. : 0.56-2-36). Smoking habits was negatively associated with PD (OR: 0.41; 95% CI: 0.22-0.75), confirming the "protective" role of tobacco smoking suggested by many studies. As a whole, these results support the role of environmental factors in the etiology of PD.

Aged↗