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Biomedical subjects

S Puccini

Publications and source records attributed to S Puccini.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Pediatric MR-guided interventions.

MRI guided interventions are a relatively new but steadily growing field within surgery in pediatric age. Besides the advantages of MRI, such as multiplanar capability and excellent soft tissue contrast and spatial resolution, particularly relevant for the pediatric population is the lack of ionizing radiation. There is meanwhile a group of well defined diagnostic or therapeutic indications for applying MR imaging during pediatric interventions. Aim of this review is to give an overview about indications of MR-guided procedures in children as well as the advantages and disadvantages of MR-guided interventions. We also briefly discuss interventional MR-systems and MR-compatible devices. It is our opinion that MR-guidance for pediatric interventions is a promising technique at the beginning of its development.

Child↗
PubMed2005

[Preoperative mapping of speech-eloquent areas with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): comparison of different task designs].

PURPOSE: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a well-established, non-invasive method for pre-operative mapping of speech-eloquent areas. This investigation tests three simple paradigms to evaluate speech lateralisation and visualisation of speech-eloquent areas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 14 healthy volunteers and 16 brain tumour patients were given three tasks: to enumerate months in the correct order (EM), to generate verbs fitting to a given noun (GV) and to generate words fitting to a given alphabetic character (GW). We used a blocked design with 80 measurements which consisted of 4 intervals of speech activation alternating with relaxation periods. The data were analysed on the basis of the general linear model using Brainvoyager(R). The activated clusters in the inferior frontal (Broca) and the posterior temporal (Wernicke) cortex were analysed and the laterality indices calculated. RESULTS: In both groups the paradigms GV and GW activated the Broca's area very robustly. Visualisation of the Wernicke's area was best achieved by the paradigm GV. The paradigm EM did not reliably stimulate either the frontal or the temporal cortex. Frontal lateralisation was best determined by GW and GV, temporal lateralisation by GV. CONCLUSION: The paradigms GV and GW visualise two essential aspects of speech processing: semantic word processing and word production. In a clinical setting with brain tumour patients, both, GV and GW can be used to visualise frontal and temporal speech areas, and to determine speech dominance.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

[Study and implementation of a computerized program for personalized prescriptions for patients treated with radioiodine to be discharged].

INTRODUCTION: Iodine-131 (131I) therapy is widely used to treat some thyroid diseases such as hyperthyroidism and thyroid carcinoma. The discharge of a radioiodine treated patient is a potential problem for the radiation protection of the general population. To keep the absorbed dose to the general population as low as possible, patients are given some recommendations, on discharge usually a quite standard list of behaviors to avoid for an amount of time depending only on the administered activity. Thus, recommendations usually consider neither the individual kinetics of 131I nor disease type, while both factors account for major differences in iodine uptake and retention. We investigated the feasibility of customizing recommendations according to recent Euratom guidelines. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Individual 131I kinetics can be evaluated from previous work characterizing dose rate decay as a function of time for different thyroid diseases, together with measurements of iodine uptake or dose rate to the patient. Based on individual kinetics, the committed effective dose to the general population is calculated according to the kind of relationship with the patient, resulting in different amounts of time spent near him/her. RESULTS: The calculation procedure was implemented in a user-friendly software which requires input of few data and measurements to give each patient a customized list of precautions. Using the program on patient's discharge takes no longer than 10 minutes. The precautions are in good agreement with those reported in the literature. CONCLUSIONS: We have been using our program for nine months. Data show that most patients treated for thyroid cancer must follow the recommendations for a shorter time than hyperthyroid patients. The program is suitable for routine use in a nuclear medicine department.

Feasibility Studies↗
PubMed1992

In vitro susceptibility to antimycotics of Microsporum canis isolates from cats.

One hundred thirty-four isolates of Microsporum canis, obtained from cats, were tested for in vitro susceptibility to various antifungal agents. The fungi were classified as susceptible, resistant, and intermediate by measuring the size of the zone of inhibited growth on yeast nitrogen base agar medium. Clotrimazole had the highest activity (99.2%), followed by tioconazole (89.6%), griseofulvin (88.8%), econazole (73.1%), ketoconazole (50.7%), miconazole (15.7%), and isoconazole (12.7%). We found 14.9% of the isolates to be susceptible to all the assayed drugs, whereas the highest resistance frequency (41.8%) was against 2 antimycotics. A simultaneous resistance to all the tested antimycotics was not found. The differences among the antifungal drugs activity were examined, and administration of drugs for which a simultaneous resistance was minimal is suggested.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

[Skin metastasis of clear cell carcinoma of the kidney].

A case of a 70 year old man, affected by a solitary cutaneous metastasis of a clinically asymptomatic clear cell adenocarcinoma of the kidney is reported and some histopathological differential diagnoses are considered.

Adenocarcinoma↗