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Biomedical subjects

U Balottin

Publications and source records attributed to U Balottin.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Alternating hemiplegia of childhood: case report.

We report the case of a 3 1/2 year old girl who had had attacks of alternating hemiplegia from the age of 6 months. Peculiar features from the etiopathogenetic angle seem to be the presence of a ring of mild stenosis of the vertebral artery on the right side, the influence of the upright posture on the onset of the attacks and perhaps also of variations in atmospheric pressure. The only drug that had some effect was flunarizine. Phenobartbital, haloperidol and nadolol had no appreciable effect.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1992

Metachromatic leukodystrophy: on an atypical case.

We describe an atypical case of juvenile metachromatic leukodystrophy. Motor conduction velocity was still within the normal range 3 years after clinical onset, in contrast to what is commonly found in this disease. Another unusual feature is the normal level of CSF protein. These data are discussed in the light of the sural nerve biopsy findings, which revealed only slight impairment.

Child↗
PubMed1992

Clinical, cytogenetic and immunological aspects in 4 cases resembling ataxia telangiectasia.

Four cases resembling ataxia telangiectasia, all characterized by the absence of telangiectasias, are presented. Two are sisters while the other 2 are sporadic cases. The 2 sisters, aged 14 and 12 years, present a progressive neurological disease similar to that characterizing the Louis-Bar syndrome. The clinical picture in 1 of the sporadic cases, a girl aged 13 years, differs from the typical ataxia telangiectasia in having bilateral pyramidal signs in the lower limbs. The last case, a girl aged 8 years, presents an atypical clinical pattern characterized by a severe mental retardation, quite modest cerebellar signs and absence of involuntary movements. The results of the immunological and cytogenetic investigations are presented and discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Immunodeficiency, growth hormone deficiency and central nervous system involvement in a girl.

We describe a mentally retarded 12-year-old girl with ataxia in whom diagnostic evaluation for short stature revealed isolated growth hormone (GH) deficiency and multiple central nervous system (CNS) lesions. Assessment of immunologic status, performed because of the persistence of recurrent respiratory tract infections, showed associated deficiencies of IgG2-IgG4 and specific antibody response; in addition, in vitro lymphocyte response to mitogens was low, in vitro production of interleukin-2 and of IgM was absent, and natural killer activity was decreased. The possibility that association of the CNS lesions, GH deficiency and immune defects could be due to alterations of the neuro-immuno-endocrine network secondary to a disturbance of neurotransmitters induced by precocious CNS damage of a viral or ischemic nature is discussed.

Brain Diseases↗
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↗
PubMed1991

Consideration on two cases of dystonia-parkinsonism.

We describe two sporadic cases of dystonia-parkinsonism at different stages of disease progression. The two girls, first seen at the ages of 10 and 12 years, have been followed for 9 and 2 years respectively. In both patients L-dopa 60 mg + carbidopa 6 mg brought about a swift remission of symptoms, which persists to date. All examinations, including CT and MR brainscans, were normal. The CSF and urine levels of HVA and 5HIAA were low in one case and normalized with treatment. This finding might provide a fairly valid predictive index of responsiveness to L-dopa.

Carbidopa↗
PubMed1991

[Neuropsychiatric approach to a child with spinal muscular atrophy. A study of relational problems].

Various years' experience of an extensive series of children suffering from progressive chronic spinal muscular atrophy have made it possible to elaborate a neuropsychiatric approach model conducted on the basis of a viewpoint capable of integrating the clinico-medical aspect and aptitude to empathic listening aimed at establishing a therapeutic alliance with the patient. With advancing age and the course of the disease, in most cases very different difficulties and problems are encountered. These change continuously in relation to the stage reached in emotional development. Entry to school and socialisation mark a particular moment in the confrontation with peers and present the ill child with his diversity. With the emergence of adolescent problems, there is also a dramatic new impact between the body image of a wounded, deteriorated self and the evolutionary effort aimed at identifying with the peer group, the autonomisation of parental figures, the integration of a sexed image of the self. Room can be found in this framework for the child neuropsychiatrist who is able to offer himself as a point of reference and set himself up as a model for elaborating disease anxieties. From personal experience it also emerges that in children suffering from a chronic, often fatal disease there is often the need for a physician to coordinate and integrate needs of both a clinical and sociorelational nature for the purpose of allowing the family to get closer to the needs of their child and prevent him from falling prey to destructive type anxieties.

Child↗
PubMed1991

[Learning disorders in school children. An integrative approach, importance of the biological component and relational dimension].

This paper concerns the development of a diagnostic procedure for learning disorders, in line with a multifactorial approach in which the contributions of the organic and psychogenetic points of view are integrated to form a common interpretative model. The aim is to identify strategies for intervening at different levels. We examined 10 patients with learning disorders which came consecutively to our Division of Child Neuropsychiatry and an equal number of control subjects which were as old as the patients and begin school at the correct age. We used an integrative approach: we interviewed parents to know history, the relational, familial and sociocultural features and moreover, organic problems, if any, neurological examination and, if necessary, skull x-ray, EEG, skull CT; psychodynamic interview, drawing of human figure and family drawing; WISC; Bender test, Stambak test, Rorschach test, Blacky Pictures test. All the variables that could be quantified from the diagnostic protocols were compared statistically. Assessment of our case histories gives weight to the hypothesis of a multifactorial pathogenesis. We did find psychodynamic problems in all cases, and were able to identify aspects of generalised, and in particular, epistemophilic inhibition.

Analysis of Variance↗
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↗
PubMed1988

Effect of vigabatrin (gamma-vinyl-GABA) on visual, brainstem auditory and somatosensory evoked potentials in epileptic patients.

Visual (V), somatosensory (S) and brainstem auditory (BA) evoked potentials (EPs) were determined in 22 epileptic patients, mostly with partial seizures, who received add-on treatment with vigabatrin (1-3 g/day, stratified according to body weight) and placebo, each given for 7 weeks according to a double-blind, randomized cross-over design. At pretreatment assessment, BAEPs and SEPs were found to be within normal limits in most of the patients tested, while for VEPs several abnormal responses were found, including a marked prolongation of P100 latency values in the majority of cases. None of the EP parameters examined was significantly influenced by vigabatrin treatment. These results support the evidence that enhancement of GABA-ergic transmission does not substantially affect the functional state of afferent sensory pathways as assessed by EP analysis. The significance of these findings with respect to the safety of vigabatrin therapy is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Late post-traumatic headache in pediatric age.

In this study we evaluate the incidence and clinical characteristics of headache which arise 12-18 months after a cranial trauma in a pediatric age group of subjects. We contacted 217 individuals who had been hospitalized for head injury to return for check-up; of the 138 who responded, there were 86 males and 52 females (mean 9.2 years). The responders were given a complete physical and neurological examination and, in the presence of at least one parent, asked to fill out a headache questionnaire. Twenty-nine per cent suffered from headache, and in 6.5% the headache was migrainous in nature. The 138 patients were split up into three sub-classes in accordance with the nature of the trauma and two sub-classes in accordance with the presence or absence of fractures. The results were then compared with those obtained from a control population (246 patients with a mean age of 8.8 years). An increased headache frequency was found in those patients with average to severe trauma. We conclude that cranial trauma is not likely to be followed by headache unless accompanied by loss of consciousness and/or focal neurological signs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Benign paroxysmal vertigo in childhood: a migraine equivalent.

The two main problems in defining and classifying the syndrome of benign paroxysmal vertigo (BPV) in childhood are the vestibular function pattern and the relationship between BPV and migraine. 13 children suffering from this syndrome were submitted to complete otoneurological examination, including caloric and rotational labyrinthine stimulation with ENG recording, and to headache provocation tests with nitroglycerin, histamine and fenfluramine. Vestibular responses were normal in all except 2 cases which presented signs of central vestibular impairment at the level of the vestibulocerebellar pathways. Headache provocation tests were positive in 9 out of 10 children, and in 4 cases they induced a typical vertiginous attack instead of headache. In addition, several children had a positive family history for migraine, headache was frequently associated with the crisis and other signs of a 'periodic syndrome' (motion sickness, cyclic vomiting, abdominal pain) were present, unrelated to vertiginous attacks. During the follow-up period, some children responded positively to migraine treatment. BPV, like paroxysmal torticollis in infancy and the signs of the periodic syndrome, can be considered a migraine equivalent or a migraine precursor and could be due to the same vascular and/or biochemical mechanisms responsible for the migraine. In children, for anatomical or developmental reasons, these mechanisms could selectively affect parts of the brain stem, including the vestibular nuclei and vestibulocerebellar pathways.

Child↗