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Biomedical subjects

S Mazza

Publications and source records attributed to S Mazza.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

[Prevalence of primary headache related to work activity in a group of hospital workers undergoing periodic visits (D. Lgs. 626/94 s.s.m. ed i.)].

Since headache is one of the most frequent complaints in clinical practice, its burden in terms of the both social cost and individual sufference is considerable. Headache is a frequent cause of absence from work and decreased productivity; it is therefore clear that investigating its possible relationship with working conditions represents a topic of increasing interest for the scientific community. This study was aimed at identifying specific occupational factors able to modify the prevalence of headache in a population of hospital workers undergoing periodic examinations. It was indeed suspected that the hospital environment could be per se a predisposing factor for headache onset, due to the considerable impact of stress on such working environment. The results obtained suggest that specific occupational conditions such as shift work and P.C. use may play an important role in headache development even in the presence of a wide number of professional risk factors.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Neuroendocrinology of mood disorders.

The neuroendocrine system, which plays an important role in regulation of mood, is dysfunctional in patients suffering from mood disorders. In order to improve the quality of life for patients, additional research is needed to define clinical implications of neuroendocrine dysfunction in mood disorders. It would be important to define which specific hormonal responses that are blunted in affective disorders contribute to mood symptoms and which medications that normalize neuroendocrine function are conditioning the impact of mood symptoms. Consideration and evaluation of endocrine status result important in psychiatric patients, both to ensure proper diagnosis and adequate treatment.

Bipolar Disorder↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Orexin, sleep and appetite regulation: a review].

Since 1998, two research groups independently reported the discovery of two novel hypothalamic neuropeptides, called hypocretin-1 and hypocretin-2, respectively many studies have been carried out about their possible functions. One group named these new peptides orexins (A and B) after the Greek word for appetite, since they found that central administration of orexins potently increased food intake in rats. However hypocretins/ orexins are involved in various hypothalamic mechanisms, such as energy homeostasis, neuroendocrine functions, appetite and satiety regulation, vigilance and defence behaviour, sleep and wake regulation. Here is a review of the recent literature, showing some recent discoveries about the link between orexin system, sleep regulation and appetite regulation.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Psychopathology in epilepsy and pseudoepilepsy: preliminary results in our experience].

PURPOSE: Pseudoseizures or nonepileptic seizures (NES) are termed "nonepileptic psychogenic seizures" and account for approximately 20% of all intractable seizure disorders. These seizures are often misdiagnosed as true epilepsy, resulting in inappropriate, ineffective and costly treatment of many patients. Nowadays video-EEG monitoring have greatly improved the ability of specialists to correctly distinguish NES from epilepsy. Nevertheless, patients with NES do not always demonstrate obvious psychopathology. The aim of this study is to examine the complexity and severity of psychopathological features of patients with NES, in order to optimize strategies of intervention and appropriate long-term psychological and psychopharmacological treatment for these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated three samples: patients with NES, patients with epilepsy and a control sample. Subjects with pseudoseizures and epileptic seizures have been randomly recruited from the Epilepsy Centre at the Neurology Institute of Catholic University of Sacred Heart of Rome. Seizures have been documented by the recording of spontaneous events with video-EEG, EEG, clinical observation and ictal examination. Each sample of patients has been tested using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HDRS), Dissociative Experience Scale (DES), Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) and Short Form Health Survey 36 (SF-36). RESULTS: 17 (4 M; 13 F) patients with NES, 13 (3 M; 10 F) patients with epilepsy and 16 (4 M; 12 F) control subjects were recruited. Our preliminary results confirm previous researches showing that NES typically manifest between 20 and 30 years of age and that approximately a three-quarters of all patients are women. Besides, they confirm that psychosocial, environmental and intrapsychic mechanisms interact in the aetiology of NES: in particular, our preliminary results are consistent with the hypothesis that traumatic experiences are important precursors to the development and expression of NES. CONCLUSIONS: This study has yielded promising results and confirm the necessity to improve our knowledge about psychopathology of patients with NES. Psychiatrists and neurologists should work in equipe to guarantee an adequate treatment for a pathology too long set aside and almost ignored from clinical research.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Interictal psychopathology in temporal lobe epilepsy. The role of laterality of the epileptic focus.

The relationship between interictal psychopathology and laterality of the EEG focus in temporal lobe epilepsy was investigated by administering the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) to 37 epileptic patients, with an EEG focus lateralized to the right (N = 12) or left (N = 25) temporal lobe. T scores obtained on the various scales of the MMPI were used for evaluating incidence and degree of psychopathology. No relationship was observed between laterality of temporal lobe epilepsy and associated interictal psychopathology. The hypothesis that a temporo-limbic epileptic focus may interact with the characteristic organization of each cerebral hemisphere to induce different psychopathological traits is not supported by our data.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Long-term anticonvulsant therapy and calcium and phosphorus metabolism].

The authors examined 114 epileptic patients who were taking anticonvulsant drugs from different periods of time. Serum and urinary calcium and phosphorus and serum alkaline phosphatase levels have been studied. Roentgenographic researches have been made in order to asses the bone mineral content. Urinary D-glucaric acid excretion as a quantitative index of hepatic enzyme induction has been determined in some subjects. The results show the presence of minor alterations both in calcium and phosphorus metabolism and in bone structure at a subclinical level. These findings suggest the importance of climatic and nutritional factors in the development of bone alterations pointed out by several authors in epileptic patients on long-term anticonvulsant therapy.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Relational models and psychopathology of epileptics in a group-psychotherapy perspective (author's transl)].

Epileptic patients show a large range of psychopathologic manifestations, both from a qualitative point of view (even with an exact reference to the nature and the site of lesion) and from a quantitative point of view (from the so-called characterial attitude to the psychotic developments). Perhaps all these alterations of psychiatric interest have a common denominator because, after all, they arise from the sum of two essential moments: the experience of the critical event on the one hand, and the interactive network between the patient and those who are present to his critical manifestations on the other. In particular this complex relational psychopathology needs several therapeutic interventions which are to be complementary and concordant so that they may give satisfactory results of psychosocial reinsertion. We think that the model of intervention to be preferred for its effectiveness is that drawn from group-psychotherapy tecniques: the model in which "psychoanalysis meets sociology (Foulkes) seems to be particularly specific to this problem because it concerns the microsocial and investigates (and, by means of the conduction, it resolves) distorted ways of communication and conflictual dynamic interactions. We followed some epileptics in the group-community of the neurological department of a general hospital (of course with other mental, not epileptic, patients). These preliminary studies lead us to point out the theoretical reasons and the practical justifications of such possible management of the psychological manifestations of epileptic patients.

Adult↗