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Biomedical subjects

V Galli

Publications and source records attributed to V Galli.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Reduced ACTH, while normal beta-endorphin CSF levels in early epileptic encephalopathies.

Since ACTH and the opioids display opposite effects on experimentally-induced seizures, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of ACTH and beta-endorphin (beta-EP) were measured in 6 children (4-8 months) affected by infantile spasms with hypsarhythmia, an idiopathic early onset encephalopathy, and in 8 age-matched controls. beta-EP levels in the patients (76.3 +/- 14.7 fmol/ml, M +/- SD) did not differ from those in controls (109.8 +/- 42.7) while babies with epileptic encephalopathy showed reduced ACTH levels in the CSF (3.8 +/- 1.5) as compared to controls (9.0 +/- 3.7, p less than 0.01). This resulted in an increased beta-EP/ACTH ratio. Another patient previously treated with ACTH showed a normal CSF level of ACTH (9.0) with a normal beta-EP/ACTH ratio while in clinical and EEG remission. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that some infantile seizures unrelated to brain injuries could originate from an ACTH deficiency at central level and/or an imbalance of neuropeptidergic pathways.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The psychiatric diagnoses of twenty-two adolescents who have sexually molested other children.

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of specific psychiatric disorders in adolescents who have sexually molested other children. Twenty-two adolescent males (aged 13 to 17 years) who sexually molested a child at least once were evaluated with structured clinical interviews for DSM-III-R axis I disorders. All subjects met lifetime DSM-III-R criteria for pedophilia (with the exception of the age requirement), 21 (95%) for two or more paraphilias, 18 (82%) for a mood disorder (12 [55%] for a bipolar disorder), 12 (55%) for an anxiety disorder, 11 (50%) for a substance use disorder, and 12 (55%) for an impulse-control disorder. Also, 12 (71%) of 17 subjects were diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and 16 (94%) with conduct disorder. We conclude that some adolescent child molesters may have pedophilia or other paraphilias. Other axis I disorders with impulsive features, especially conduct, attention-deficit/hyperactivity, bipolar, and substance use disorders, may also be found in these adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Reduced ACTH content in cerebrospinal fluid of children affected by cryptogenic infantile spasms with hypsarrhythmia.

In view of the therapeutic efficacy of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in the treatment of infantile spasms (IS) with hypsarrhythmia, we studied the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of ACTH in 15 children (4-10 months) affected by IS with hypsarrhythmia (eight cryptogenic forms, seven secondary to perinatal distress) and in age-matched controls. Lumbar puncture was performed in all but one case before any kind of treatment. In another case, CSF was collected 3 weeks after a spontaneous remission. Both ACTH and beta-endorphin (beta-EP), the other peptide related to the same precursor (proopiomelanocortin), were measured by specific radioimmunoassay after gel chromatography. While beta-EP levels were unchanged in the two groups of patients, ACTH concentrations of cryptogenic (3.75 +/- 2.40 fmol/ml, Mean +/- SD p less than 0.05) and secondary (6.36 +/- 3.70, NS) forms were lower than in controls (10.90 +/- 5.79). On the other hand, ACTH was higher in the case studied after therapy (9.0) and in the case presenting a spontaneous clinical and EEG remission (15.0). These data indicate that in children affected by IS with hypsarrhythmia (mainly of cryptogenic type), CSF levels of ACTH are lower, while levels of beta-EP remain normal. It would therefore appear that central ACTH content may play a possible role in the pathogenesis of IS with hypsarrhythmia.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Epilepsy with typical absence seizures with onset during the first year of life.

Absence epilepsy with multiple daily seizures and onset at the age of 6 and 1/2 months in a healthy female child with normal development is described. EEG-video recording revealed typical absence seizures (vacant staring and interruption of motor activity) and complex absences (as above, plus raising of the eyeballs, slight beatings of the eyebrows, and forward propulsion of head and shoulders). The absences were accompanied by bilateral symmetrical 3-Hz spike-wave discharges preceded, and at times followed, by bilateral frontoparietal theta activity coinciding with onset and termination of the absence seizures. The seizures regressed with nitrazepam therapy. At age 3-years, the child is seizure-free and shows normal neurologic development.

Electroencephalography↗
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[Bourneville's tuberous sclerosis: neurological manifestations and skin anomalies].

A follow up of 14 cases of tuberous sclerosis is presented. Cutaneous signs, epileptic seizures and developmental disabilities were recorded over a period ranging between 2 and 25 years from the onset of symptoms. A correlation can be established between the time of appearance of epilepsy and the degree of mental retardation. Antiepileptic treatment does not seem to prevent developmental disability.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Benign psychomotor epilepsy in childhood].

The studies made in latest years proved the existence of cases of epilepsy with partial complex seizures which have a benign evolution and which are characteristic of infancy and childhood. In these subjects attacks generally have monomorphic aspect for the same patient. A characteristic kind of attack is represented by a burst of anxiety, which manifests itself in different ways according to the age of the child. The normality of evolution, familiar epileptic anamnesis, the integrity of basic EEG, rapid answer to pharmacologic treatment contribute to define the benignity of the syndrome. However in some cases benign character can be confirmed by long term observations only.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The use of flunarizine in pediatric epilepsy.

Using the same technique as Declerk's and Wauquier's, we added flunarizine to standard therapy in 14 patients, 7 of whom were treated with the sequence flunarizine-placebo and 7 with the sequence placebo-flunarizine. Treatment averaged between 75 and 85 days, with medication administered in a single dose (orally, in drops), 5-10 mg/day. The patients comprised 7 males and 7 females, from 13 to 17 years with the following diagnoses: epileptic encephalopathy 6 cases, grand mal, myoclonic epilepsy, multifocal epilepsy, epilepsy with polymorphic seizures, 2 cases each. Age, sex and disease were distributed equally in both sequences. During treatment with flunarizine we observed the following: 7 cases--no effect on number or severity of seizures; 2 cases--moderate results; 5 cases--good results.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Elements of differential diagnosis in chronic headache in children].

In this paper are discussed the commonest causes of chronic headache in childhood. Every cause is analyzed with reference to the occurrence and the quality of the pain, the associated symptoms and signs and the appropriate diagnostic tests. At the end is a list of the reasons to conduct a cerebral CT scan in a patient with chronic headache.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Value of computerized tomography in childhood epilepsy].

272 cases of childhood epilepsy were studied with brain TC scan to correlate the type of seizure to the possible neurological damage. Children with generalized convulsions had a low incidence of abnormal TC findings if in absence of neurological signs (3/80) (Group A), but a more relevant incidence (13/34) in presence of neurological signs (Group B). 65 children had epileptic encephalopathy (Group C): 15/17 West syndromes and 33/48 Lennox syndromes presented TC abnormalities. The remnant 93 children had partial seizures. In Group D partial epilepsy was free of neurological signs; the incidence of abnormal TC findings was 17/76. An higher incidence (9/17) was found in Group E, where partial epilepsy was accompanied by neurological disturbances.

Brain Diseases↗
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[Hemicrania and food in the child].

68 children with migraine were divided into 3 groups according the result of a skin-Prick test to food antigens. In group A (positivity to one or two antigens) (mean IgE level = 315 U/ml) 94.4% of the patients recovered from migraine in a two-months period of exclusion diet. In group B (positivity to 3 or more antigens) (mean IgE level = 226 U/ml) the same regimen lead to improvement 90% of migraineurs. In group C (skin-Prick test negative) (mean IgE level = 97 U/ml) a strictly oligoantigenic diet was proposed for 20 days. This was beneficial in only 17.2% of patients. Food allergy seems to play an important role in childhood migraine. Prick test appeared a useful and simple method to screen the patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Rett syndrome. Review of the literature and presentation of 2 clinical cases].

In this paper we report the cases of two girls affected by a progressive encephalopathy. Both stories are similar. After a normal development in the first year of life, neurological regression occurred since the beginning of the second year. This progressive syndrome led within a few months to a loss of any verbal acquisition, loss of purposeful use of the hands, dementia, autism. Other neurological alterations occurred in the following years: piramidal signs at lower limbs, generalized and partial seizures, ataxia, gait apraxia. All laboratory findings were normal in both girls. The EEG was abnormal in both patients and the patterns were quite the same in following records of both girls. The disease occurred in our patients is quite certainly the same described by Rett for the first time in 1966.

Brain Diseases↗