Biomedical subjects

S Palazzi

Publications and source records attributed to S Palazzi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1992

Habitual snoring with and without obstructive sleep apnoea: the importance of cephalometric variables.

BACKGROUND: The obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome is characterised by an increased apnoea-hypopnoea index and a reduction in the minimal arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) values during sleep. The extent to which these variables can be predicted by cephalometric and otorhinolaryngological variables was tested. METHODS: One hundred consecutive habitual snorers (84% male), with a mean (SD) age of 50.1 (10.1) years, were studied. The 45 patients with less severe sleep apnoea, with an apnoea-hypopnoea index of 10 or less (group A), were compared with the 55 with an index above 10 (group B). RESULTS: Body mass index, some cephalometric variables, and some otorhinolaryngological variables differed significantly between group A and group B, in particular the soft tissue measures PNS-P (posterior nasal spine to palate), MP-H (mandibular plane to hyoid bone), degree of oropharynx stenosis, and tongue size. In a multiple regression correlation analysis MP-H, SNB (angle from sella to nasion to subspinale point), SNA (angle from sella to nasion to supramentale point), PAS (posterior airway space), tongue size, and body mass index contributed significantly to the equation explaining the severity of sleep apnoea. Nevertheless, these variables together explained only 33% of the variance of the apnoea-hypopnoea index in the total sample; they were more important for patients with moderate to severe stages of the disease. CONCLUSION: The lack of association between cephalometric variables and mild sleep apnoea suggests that the differences in these variables (soft tissue measures) may be the consequence rather than the cause of habitual snoring and the obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

[The long-term prognosis of anorexia nervosa: the evaluation of hospital treatment].

The present study is the continuation of a previous programme performed by a mail or phone questionnaire. In this study 18 subjects with anorexia nervosa were submitted to a clinical semi-structured interview, and underwent a medical examination regarding eating habits and Rorschach tests. Clinical results seemed to be quite satisfactory (none died and 84% were greatly improved or had recovered clinically) whereas the psychopathologic aspects were less positive. The authors conclude that complete clinical evaluation can be considered the only safe approach for the understanding of the clinical course.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

A study of the relationship between life events and disturbed self image in adolescents.

The occurrence and subjective importance of a list of life events were determined in 1296 adolescents and compared with the risk of a disturbed self image, as assessed on the basis of Offer's (1981) questionnaire. A disturbed self image was shown by 24.2 per cent of the sample, and it was significantly associated with a reported excess of events (one standard deviation above the mean), and with the reporting of specific classes of events. These included serious disagreement between parents, sudden decrease in family income, serious abuse either within the family or outside the family, and having had an abortion. The events were sorted and ranked by the observed values of their sample frequency, subjective importance, and assessed risk of a disturbed self image. The rarest and subjectively most important events were often associated with a higher risk of a disturbed self image, and the role of reporting such "exceptional" experiences is discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Infantile autism and computerized tomography brain-scan findings: specific versus nonspecific abnormalities.

The hypothesis that specific computerized tomography brain-scan findings are associated with infantile autism was tested in 45 cases and 19 controls. The autistic group was subdivided into serious and less-serious language-impaired subgroups. The analysis of Euclidean Distances, a type of cluster analysis, showed that neuroradiological parameters of cases and controls, including ventricular sizes, were on the whole significantly different, but no statistically significant difference appeared between the two autistic subgroups. But the analysis of variance of each neuroradiological parameter did not show any significant difference between autistics and controls. It was concluded that autism is nonspecifically associated with brain-scan abnormalities, and that other nonorganic, as well as organic, factors should be taken into account.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Premenstrual symptoms and psychiatric morbidity in two Italian health care settings.

Epidemiological surveys show that a large number of adult females complain of symptoms related to the menstrual cycle. According to the method proposed by another author, we administered the modified version of the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), 12-item version, to 101 women attending a family planning clinic and to 92 women attending a general practice in two North Italian towns. A very high rate (about 85% of the total sample) of women complained of moderate to severe symptoms during their premenstrual phase and a substantial proportion of women showed some degree of psychiatric ill health. Comparing the premenstrual complainers and the premenstrual non-complainers, the only significant difference found was related to the score on the GHQ. Half the women reported about 5 symptoms, and a cluster analysis identified a group of women complaining of severe symptoms. Implications of these findings for the current discussion on the premenstrual syndrome are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1977