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Biomedical subjects

S Farina

Publications and source records attributed to S Farina.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

TENS for the treatment of writer's cramp dystonia: a randomized, placebo-controlled study.

Manipulation of afferent inputs may temporarily modulate dystonic spasms. Ten patients with writer's cramp were enrolled in a double-blind, randomized, crossover study in which the effects of transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS) and placebo treatment were compared. Patients were evaluated using four measures of dystonic impairment. The TENS group showed a significant improvement that persisted for 3 weeks in three of the four measures.

Afferent Pathways↗
PubMed2004

A randomized controlled study on the effect of two different treatments (FREMS AND TENS) in myofascial pain syndrome.

AIM: Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is a frequent cause of chronic muscoloskeletal pain. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is one of the most frequently employed treatments in MPS. The aim of this study is to compare the short and medium-term effects of frequency modulated neural stimulation (FREMS) to those of TENS in MPS. METHODS: Forty subjects with upper trapezius MPS were randomly allocated to 1 of 2 groups, treated with either FREMS (n=19) or TENS (n=21). Each treatment consisted in 10 sessions lasting 20 min each. Patients were evaluated before treatment, at 1 week, and at 1 and 3 months after the end of treatment. Clinical evaluation included parameters for measurement of pain levels using the neck pain and disability visual analogue scale (NPDVAS) and algometry, evaluation of myofascial trigger point characteristics and measurement of the range of cervical movement (range of motion, ROM). RESULTS: The FREMS group showed a significant improvement in the NPDVAS, algometry, in myofascial trigger point characteristics, and in the ROM (homolateral rotation, controlateral rotation, bending and extension) after the end of treatment and at 1 and 3 months follow-up evaluation. The TENS group showed significant improvement in the same outcome measures except for algometry and cervical extension, but these improvements were maintained only at the 1 month follow-up evaluation. However, were not observed statistically significant differences between FREMS of TENS in many of outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS: Both FREMS and TENS have positive short-term effects on MPS. But, medium-term effects were achieved only with FREMS.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Antimicrobial susceptibility and synergistic activity of meropenem against Gram-negative non-fermentative bacteria isolated from cystic fibrosis patients.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the activity of meropenem (a beta-lactam carbapenem with good bactericidal potency and a very wide spectrum of activity) and of ticarcillin, ceftazidime ciprofloxacin, tobramycin, cefepime, which are the most commonly used antimicrobial agents for treatment of pulmonary infections associated with CF. The effect of these antibiotics was tested on 27 multiresistant strains isolated from 24 CF patients during 2000 and 2001. Furthermore, the in vitro synergistic effect of meropenem in association with the other antibiotics was evaluated. Ciprofloxacin, ticarcillin, meropenem and ceftazidime had the most activity and inhibited 66%, 37%, 36% and 33% of strains respectively. The addition of a second antibiotic to meropenem resulted in a synergistic effect on 5 (18.5%) isolates; on average 2.8 synergistic combinations where determined per strain. Of these 27 isolates, antagonism was observed in 3 (11%) strains (1 antagonistic combination per strain). Our study suggests that selecting effective double antibiotic therapy cannot be made empirically for CF patients infected with Gram-negative multiresistant bacilli. Therefore in vitro methods for testing double antibiotic combinations are mandatory.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed2002

The role of somatosensory feedback in dystonia: a psychophysical [correction of psycophysical] evaluation.

Ten patients with idiopathic dystonia and twelve healthy controls were tested with pairs of non-noxious electrical stimuli separated by different time intervals. Stimuli were delivered (i) to the pad of the index finger (same-point condition), (ii) to the pad and to the base of the index finger (same-finger condition) and (iii) to the pad of the index and ring fingers (different-fingers condition). Subjects were asked to report if they perceived single or double stimuli in the first condition and synchronous or asynchronous stimuli in the second and third conditions. STDTs were significantly higher in dystonic than control subjects in all three conditions. Results extend current knowledge on deficits of somesthetic temporal discrimination in dystonia by showing that temporal deficits are not influenced by spatial variables.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Transient inhibition of the human motor cortex by capsaicin-induced pain. A study with transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the left motor cortex were recorded from the right first dorsal interosseous (FDI), abductor pollicis brevis (APB), abductor digiti minimi (ADM), flexor carpi radialis (FCR), extensor carpi radialis (ECR) in 17 normal subjects, before and after painful application of capsaicin on the skin overlying the right FDI and FCR muscles. The amplitude of MEPs from the FDI and FCR was significantly reduced from 20 to 30 min after the application of capsaicin over the FDI and FCR muscles, respectively, then progressively returned to the basal values. A similar trend of MEPs inhibition was observed for APB and FCR muscles, but this reduction was not significant. Indices of peripheral nerve (M-wave) and spinal cord excitability (F and H waves) did not change throughout the experiments. Motor cortex inhibition induced by tonic cutaneous pain is maximal to muscles adjacent to the painful area. This inhibition may be due to the activation of the C fibres which mediate 'slow' nociception and might be important to alert subject to possible phasic nociceptive events that may occur close to the painful area.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Urinary eosinophil protein X and serum eosinophil cationic protein in infants and young children with atopic dermatitis: correlation with disease activity.

BACKGROUND: Eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and eosinophil protein X (EPX) or eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) are released by eosinophil granulocytes in allergic diseases. Serum ECP (s-ECP) levels have been correlated with disease activity in atopic dermatitis (AD) in adults and young patients, and high urinary EPX (u-EPX) levels in asthmatic patients seem to reflect active disease. A relationship between AD severity and u-EPX concentration in young children has not been previously studied. OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to evaluate whether the severity of AD in infants and young children was correlated with s-ECP and u-EPX levels. METHODS: Fifty-four infants and children (mean age, 17.7 months; range, 4-48 months) with AD and without other allergic conditions were evaluated. The severity of AD was measured by using the SCORAD index. S-ECP, serum total IgE, serum-specific IgE for common allergens, and peripheral blood eosinophil counts (PBECs) were determined. In forty-two children u-EPX was also measured. Seven age-matched control patients underwent the same determinations. RESULTS: S-ECP and u-EPX were significantly higher in children with AD than in control children (mean, 23.9 vs 3.5 microg/dL [P <.001] and 57.7 vs 6.0 microg/mmol creatinine [P <.001]). A significant correlation was found between SCORAD and s-ECP (P =.002), u-EPX (P =.01), and PBECs (P =.01) and between symptom index and uEPX (P =.0004). PBECs were strongly correlated to s-ECP and u-EPX (P <.0001). However, 5 patients with moderate and severe AD (11.9%) showed low levels of s-ECP, u-EPX, and PBECs. CONCLUSION: S-ECP and u-EPX were useful markers of AD activity in infants and young children. When taken together, the two determinations could give more information about the clinical course of the illness. Some patients seemed to have clinical exacerbations without an involvement of eosinophils and their products.

Blood Proteins↗
PubMed1995

Hemochrome parameters during the first two years of life in children with perinatal HIV-1 infection.

Monthly hemochrome parameters were obtained during the first 2 years of age in 22 children with perinatal human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) infection and in 58 exposed seroreverted children. Timing and predictive value of hemochrome modifications were investigated. Exclusion criteria were hemoglobinopathies and zidovudine (AZT) treatment in pregnancy. When AZT treatment was undertaken children were eliminated from the study. From the second month of life red blood cell (RBC) counts, hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations, and hematocrit values were significantly lower in infected than in uninfected children. RBC counts progressively diverged in infected and uninfected children, and mean values in the former group never reached 4.10(12)/L. No difference was observed in Hb content ratios and RBC size parameters. At 2 months RBC counts, Hb concentrations, and hematocrit values below reference values were associated with a 15.8 (95% confidence limits [CL]: 5.5-48.8) relative risk of being infected. In infected infants aged 5 months a decrease in these parameters was associated with an 11.2 (95% CL: 1.6-77.8) relative risk of developing eventual severe clinical outcome. Low RBC counts, Hb concentrations, and hematocrit values may be included among predictive criteria in infants of HIV-1 infected mothers.

Anemia↗
PubMed1988

Cluster headache in women: clinical findings and relationship with reproductive life.

Cluster headache (CH) occurs rarely among women; for this reason only a limited number of studies have been reported on the characteristics of the disease in the female population. In this study, 82 females (age range, 14-72 years) with episodic (69 cases) or chronic (13 cases) CH were investigated. The clinical features of headache and the physiologic events related to reproductive life were compared with those of various control groups. We did not find any remarkable differences in clinical features between men and women. Unlike other forms of primary headache, the course of CH does not seem to be modified by menstruation, pregnancy, or puerperium. Finally, our data seem to confirm a hypofertility trend, mostly after onset of CH, which had previously been noticed by other authors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Drug abuse in chronic headache: a clinico-epidemiologic study.

Among the patients referred to the Headache Centre in Parma between 1979 and 1984, 95 (5%) were found to be drug abusers, having taken analgesics every day for at least a year. They had had chronic headache for at least 12 months: migraine with interparoxysmal headache in 83.1% and chronic tension headache in 16.9%. Almost all patients were combination-analgesics abusers, and only about a quarter of them were taking ergotamine. The largest single factor favouring the transformation of episodic headache into a chronic one was the drug abuse. The patients studied during 1984 were subjected to detoxification with 6 months' follow-up study. Our investigation suggests that all instant-relief drugs can sustain and possibly initiate a chronic headache.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Regulation of insulin secretion by glucose during aging.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the sensitivity of insulin secretion to glucose and its possible relationship to changes in islet glucose utilization during aging. Pancreatic islets of Langerhans were isolated from male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 2- to 24-months and perifused in vitro with glucose. Insulin concentration was determined by radioimmunoassay. Glucose utilization was assessed by measuring the rate of conversion of 3H-5-D-glucose to 3H-H20. The sensitivity of isolated, perifused islets to glucose was reduced during aging. Less glucose metabolism, however, may be required to elicit comparable release of insulin by islets from old than from young rats.

Aging↗
PubMed1985

Classic migraine--clinical findings in 164 patients.

Clinically the presence or absence of prodromes has always been regarded as the only distinctive feature differentiating classic migraine from common migraine. As a preliminary step for identifying any other distinctive clinical features peculiar to these two conditions, we thought it useful to review the clinical picture of classic migraine by investigating 164 patients (113 females and 51 males) aged 7-75 years. The prodromal phase consisted of scintillating scotomas (with hemianopic distribution in over half of the cases) in 79.3%, of paraesthesias mostly with cheiro-oral distribution in 29.9%, and of aphasic disturbances in 17.1%. When several neurological symptoms were present in the prodromal phase, their occurrence followed a regular sequence in time. The prodromes lasted less than 30 min in 75.6% of the cases. Only in about half the patients was pain contralateral to the peripheral location of the prodrome. The headache was generally not severe and short lived.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Flunarizine in common migraine: Italian cooperative trial. II. Long-term follow-up.

The effects of flunarizine administration (10 mg/day, at bed time) were studied in 120 common migraine patients who were followed for 24 months with quarterly controls. Besides headache index (HI) and analgesic use, other variables were monitored, such as arousal (Tolouse Pieron test), mood (Hamilton rating scale for depression), sleep/wake (hrs) and body weight. The study was open-type and after the 6th month control some responder (R) cases (HI reduction greater than or equal to 60%) presenting HI scores less than or equal to 4 could continue the survey off-treatment. The percentage of R cases was 54.5% at the 3rd month, a figure that further increased up to 72% by the 9th month; relapses on treatment were not observed and rebound-headache occurred in 1/4 of R cases let off-treatment. Lower (p less than 0.05) baseline HI values characterized non-responders. Side-effects not requiring withdrawal were drowsiness (42% within the 1st month) and weight gain (mean 7.9 +/- 6.9 kg) in 54% of the cases, while a retarded type depression was the most frequent cause of drop-out from trial (7.5%). The results, while confirming the high prophylactic activity of flunarizine in common migraine, stress the importance of clinical long-term survey of side-effects using antimigraine drugs and suggest the need for further investigations about flunarizine effects on CNS.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

[Chronic paroxysmal hemicrania. Description of 5 clinical cases and nosographic considerations].

Recently Sjaastad and Dale (1974), 1976) have described a new type of headache, introducing the term "Chronic paroxysmal hemicrania". The name of the disease, that commonly even though equivocally is translated into Italian as "Emicrania parossistica cronica", summarizes its principal features: it occurs with daily attacks for consecutive years; it is marked by painful paroxysms; it is consistently one-sided. Another characteristic of the disease is quick relief after treatment with indomethacin. So far only 60 cases of this rare type of headache have been reported in the literature. The Authors discuss its clinical features, its etiopathogenesis and its place within the cluster-headache category. They finally report five cases (four women and one man).

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Classic and common migraine suggestive clinical evidence of two separate entities.

To help clarify whether or not classic migraine (C1M) and common migraine (CoM) should be considered as a single entity, we compared the clinical features of a group of C1M patients with those of a group of CoM patients. Significant differences between the two forms of migraine were found in the following areas: age distribution of sufferers; family history of migraine, ischemic cerebrovascular disease, and coronary heart disease; age at onset; frequency of attacks; duration, location, and severity of pain; accompanying symptoms; and, evolution during weekends, menstruation, pregnancy, and puerperium. Our comparative investigation suggests that CIM and CoM are more distinct than previously considered.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Analysis of higher nervous functions in migraine and cluster headache.

Three groups of patients, long-time sufferers from classic migraine, common migraine, and cluster headache respectively, and three control groups, age- education- and sex-matched, underwent a set of neuropsychological tests and tachistoscope tasks in order to evaluate cognitive functions and interhemispheric balance. Migraineurs and cluster headache patients were selected on the basis of the constant (90%) unilaterality of both pain and focal neurological deficits. No significant differences emerged between patients and controls in any of the neuropsychological and tachistoscopic tasks administered, thus indicating that between attacks of migraine as well as of cluster headache no evidence of cortical dysfunction is detectable.

Adult↗