1,721,137 research outputs found
Consensus on diagnosis and management of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures: a wide view of a challenging condition
No full textThe diagnosis and management of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) are among the most challenging tasks that neurologists face in their daily practice. PNES are abrupt, transitory, paroxysmal episodes which resemble an epileptic seizure, but are not caused by epileptiform activity. Thus, they lack the typical ictal electrophysiologic changes that accompany an epileptic seizure, and are commonly believed to have psychogenic process(es) as causative factor(s) [1]. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
The cult of the saints for epilepsy in Italy: A geographical, linguistic, historical and anthropological overview
No full textThis article provides a brief geographical, linguistic, historical, and anthropological overview of the cult of the Saints invoked against epilepsy in Italy at the beginning of the last century. In many areas of Italy, epilepsy was referred to as a disease associated with the names of some saints. The authors provide biographical notes of the main saints who gave their name to some dialectal expressions used to describe epilepsy. At the beginning of the Twentieth century, the cult of some holy helpers against epilepsy (Saint Valentine and Saint Donatus) extended over very large geographical areas of Italy. The use of associating the names of the saints to designate epilepsy derives from the popular belief that considered this disease as a form of demonic possession requiring divine protection. Death by beheading or episodes of miraculous healings could have led to the association with specific saints
Back to the future: encephalitis lethargica as an autoimmune disorder?
No full textMore than 100 years after its emergence, the exact pathophysiological mechanisms underlying encephalitis lethargica (EL) are still elusive and awaiting convincing and complete elucidation. This article summarizes arguments proposed over time to support or refute the hypothesis of EL as an autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder triggered by an infectious process. It also provides a critical evaluation of modern cases labeled as EL and a comprehensive differential diagnosis of autoimmune neurological conditions that could mimic EL. The evidence supporting the autoimmune nature of historical EL is sparse and not entirely convincing. It is possible that autoimmune mechanisms were involved in the pathogenesis of this disease as an idiosyncratic response to a yet unidentified infectious agent in genetically predisposed individuals. Although there has been an increase in the incidence of presumed autoimmune encephalomyelitis since the peak of EL pandemics, most evidence does not support an underlying autoimmune mechanism. There are significant differences between historical and recent EL cases in terms of clinical symptomatology, epidemiology, and neuropathological features, suggesting that they are different entities with only superficial similarity. The term “encephalitis lethargica,” still frequently used in the medical literature, should not be used for cases occurring at present in the sporadic form. Historical EL should be kept apart from recent EL, as they differ in important aspects
Franz Tappeiner (1816–1902): The physician who became headhunter. Portrait of a leading figure in 19th Century anthropology
No full textFranz Tappeiner (1816, Laas – 1902, Merano) was an Austrian physician and anthropologist. He studied at the universities of Prague, Padua and Vienna and in 1846 he moved to Merano. Tappeiner investigated the transmission of pulmonary tuberculosis in animal models and he dealt with public health. As an anatomist, he performed thousands of craniometrics measurements, creating a huge skull collection later donated to the Natural History Museum in Vienna. In 1878, Tappeiner turned to archeology and palaeoanthropology, with the aim of clarifying the origins of the Alpine population of Tyroleans. He was also active as a botanist
"you Are Older, although You Do Not Know That": Time, Consciousness, and Memory in "a Kind of Alaska" by Harold Pinter (1930-2008)
No full text"A Kind of Alaska"is a one-act play by the British playwright and Nobel Prize winner Harold Pinter (1930-2008), based on the book Awakenings by the neurologist Oliver Sacks (1933-2015). This play, first performed in 1982, is centered around the character of Deborah, a middle-aged woman, struck by encephalitis lethargica ("sleeping sickness") at the age of 16, who wakes up after 29 years of apparent sleep following the injection of an unnamed drug. This article analyzes how Pinter's drama investigated the mysterious and fascinating relationship between time, memory, and consciousness. The term "awakenings,"chosen by Sacks himself, clearly refers to the restoration of voluntary motor function in patients with postencephalitic parkinsonism who responded to levodopa. However, it also suggests that these patients had an impairment of awareness. Actually, beyond the acute phase, subjects with postencephalitic parkinsonism were not sleeping but severely akinetic and therefore probably aware of the passage of time. Oliver Sacks probably did not entirely recognize the intrinsic contradiction between prolonged sleep (with consequent impairment of awareness and subjective "time gap") of the acute lethargic phase and the severe akinesia with preserved awareness of the time-passing characteristic of postencephalitic parkinsonism. This confusion was further compounded by Harold Pinter in his play
THE HISTORY OF ENCEPHALITIS LETHARGICA: AN ITALIAN CURE FOR A DISEASE STILL LITTLE KNOWN. THE EXPERIENCE OF THE SIENA PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL IN THE fiRST HALF OF THE XX CENTURY IN A MUSEUM AND ARCHIVE RESEARCH
No full textStarting from the 1920s, the care and management of many post-encephalitis patients who survived the acute phase of encephalitis lethargica were often entrusted to psychiatric hospitals due to the psychic complications of the disease. Antonio D’Ormea, director of the psychiatric hospital of Siena from 1909 to 1952, tried to treat these patients through exclusively symptomatic treatments, as occurred in other similar structures or treatment centers. His meticulous activity lasted several decades and he made interesting and innovative experiences, carefully documenting the results achieved. He implemented a series of procedures, collected photographs, and documented treatment progresses, failures, and scientifically relevant details, thus creating a unique archival collection of absolute value. We were able to retrieve unpublished material from the historical archive of the Sienese psychiatric hospital by searching among the dusty but still intact medical records. We were thus able to indentify the treatment methods that had been tested, including the famous “Bulgarian cure”, a “very individual” remedy, as Prof. Antonio D’Ormea himself described it
- …
