1,721,115 research outputs found
Thrombophilic screening in young patients (
No full textThromb Res. 2011 Feb;127(2):85-90. Epub 2010 Dec 18.
Thrombophilic screening in young patients (< 40 years) with idiopathic ischemic
stroke: a controlled study.
Dragoni F, Chiarotti F, Rosano G, Simioni P, Tormene D, Mazzucconi MG, Cafolla A,
Avvisati G.
Thrombosis Center, Department of Biotecnologie Cellulari ed Ematologia,
University Sapienza, Rome, Italy. [email protected]
INTRODUCTION: Despite extensive clinical and laboratory investigations, the
etiology of ischemic stroke remains unknown in approximately one third of
patients.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-four consecutive patients less than 40 years old
(Males 13, Females 21, mean age 26.6 years, range 2-39) with documented ischemic
stroke underwent, one year after the acute event, laboratory evaluation of
antithrombin, protein C, free and total protein S, activated protein C
resistance, fibrinogen, factor VII:C, homocysteine levels and antiphospholipid
antibodies (APA). Moreover, prevalence of F5 R506Q, F2 G2021A and homozygosis for
thermolabile variant C677T of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR)
were also evaluated and compared to the results obtained in 120 normal controls.
RESULTS: Antithrombin and protein C levels resulted normal in all cases. One
patient (2.9%) showed free protein S deficiency and 3 patients (8.8%) had
activated protein C resistance. Homocysteine levels above 15 μmol/L were found in
one patient (2.9%). APA were found in 21 patients (61.7%) and in only 2 out of
120 (1.66%) controls (OR=95.31; 95% C.I.: 18.22-667.81). The multivariate
analysis selected that the presence of APA was significantly associated with an
increased risk of stroke (OR=156.60; 95% C.I.: 25.99-943.47) in this cohort of
patients. The combination between APA and cardiovascular risk factors determined
a risk of 29-fold (OR=29.31; 95% CI: 3.28-261.69).
DISCUSSION: Our data suggest that the presence of APA is associated with an
increased risk of idiopathic ischemic stroke in young patients. Furthermore, also
the combination of APA and cardiovascular risk factors is significantly
associated with development of idiopathic ischemic stroke.
Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PMID: 21172722 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE
Psychopathological problems in children affected by tic disorders. Study on a large Italian population.
No full textIn Tourette syndrome (TS) as a neurodevelopmental disorder not only the tics but also the comorbid conditions change with increasing age. ADHD is highly comorbid with TS and usually impairs psychosocial functioning more than the tics. Its impact on further comorbidity during development is important for clinical practice and still a matter of debate. Method Aspects of developmental psychopathology considering the impact of ADHD were examined by logistic regression (year wisely) in a cross-sectional sample of children and adolescents (n = 5060) from the TIC database. Results In TS+ADHD (compared to TS)ADHD) higher rates of comorbid conditions like OCD, anxiety disorders, CD/ODD and mood disorders were found in children (5– 10 years). In adolescents (11– 17 years) higher comorbidity rates in TS+ADHD remained only for CD/ODD and mood disorders. Accordingly, for OCD and anxiety disorders there was a steeper year wise increase of these comorbidities in TS)ADHD while it was a similar for CD/ODD and mood disorders in TS)ADHD as well as TS+ADHD. Conclusion Children with TS+ADHD have more comorbidities than the TS)ADHD group, whereas in both adolescent groups this did no longer hold for OCD and anxiety disorders. These findings indicate that in TS comorbid ADHD is associated with high rates of externalizing and internalizing problems, whereas TS without ADHD is associated only with internalizing problems in adolescence
Adverse Mental Health Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown in Individuals With Tourette Syndrome in Italy: An Online Survey
Full text linkDuring the early stages of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Italy, an online survey was launched via a local patient advocacy website to investigate mental health issues in children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome (TS). Respondents were parents, who were asked to report on their child's general health, tics, comorbidities/problems, pharmacological treatment/psychotherapy, symptom variations, and daily routine, as well as on their family's health and work experiences during the pandemic. Two hundred thirty-eight people participated in the survey, 203 females and 35 males. Our findings indicate that, in the time window of 4–6 weeks after the beginning of the COVID-19-related lockdown, 67% of individuals with TS developed a relevant worsening of the overall clinical condition as rated by their parents. An improvement or no variation of the clinical picture was reported in 20.5 and 6.7% of cases, respectively. Most worsened symptoms included tics, hyperactivity, rage attacks, obsessions/compulsions, and anxiety. Of the subjects experiencing a clinical worsening, the majority (51.76%) showed variations across two to five symptom domains. No association was found between symptom variation and family demographics or health and economic issues specifically related to the lockdown. The current COVID-19 pandemic is exerting a considerable impact on the mental health of young individuals with TS by worsening both tics and emotional and behavioral symptoms
C-section birth per se or followed by acute global asphyxia altered emotional behaviour in neonate and adult rats
No full textBirth complications such as perinatal asphyxia are considered risk factors for later neurobehavioural disorders. Behavioural analysis of animal models may help to clarify the contribution of particular patterns of early hypoxia and their combination to psychiatric morbidity. Wistar rats underwent caesarean section (c-section) alone or c-section followed by asphyxia, the latter induced by placing pups still in uterus horns into a water bath at 37°C for 20 min. Vaginally delivered pups were used as controls. Frequency of ultrasound emissions was analysed following isolation at a lower temperature than that of the home nest (23 ± 0.5°C) and reunion with their mother (3 min) on postnatal day (PND) 13 (maternal potentiation test). A sex-dependent effect of hypoxia was observed, with higher production of ultrasounds in hypoxic males. Caesarean-delivered pups produced significantly more ultrasounds than those vaginally delivered. At adolescence (PND 35) rats underwent a 25 min social interaction test with a conspecific of the same sex and age. Significant alterations in investigative behaviour (inclusive of: nose, anogenital, body sniffing, and following) were evident in caesarean-delivered rats of both sexes, but not in rats experiencing perinatal asphyxia. At adulthood, auditory, and context conditioned responses, analysed in a fear conditioning test, were not markedly affected either by c-section or c-section plus hypoxia. However, hypoxic rats emitted significantly more 22 kHz ultrasounds than c-section or vaginally delivered rats during the training session. In conclusion, differential effects appear to be brought about by c-section and by hypoxia mainly related to emotional/anxious responses. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Relationships between morphological characters and fitness components in three close populations of Lestes barbarus (Odonata: Lestidae).
No full textSurvival and mating success are two components of fitness that have often been often thought to be related with several individual characteristics. Among these SIZE and Fluctuating Asymmetry are the most frequently investigated, and many studies have been done on adult Odonata, because of their well known behaviour and the facility with which they can be observed, caught and measured.
We investigated these relationships in three close populations of another odonate species, Lestes barbarus, whose longer pre-reproductive period allows the time for the selection to act, and whose philopatry allows us to measure the effect. Furthermore, we also investigated relationships between male mating success and SIZE, FA, thorax and total weights and their ratio.
Our results have shown that there were no uniform effects of the selection on the three populations, but there were different effects on some of these: stabilizing, disruptive and directional selection.
These results show that the morphological characteristics can affect natural selection in different ways even in populations very close to each other and in apparently similar environmental conditions.
This might explain why a lot of studies on relationships between SIZE, FA and fitness performances, usually done on a single population, have so often given contrasting results
Trial sequential analysis: The role of the number needed-to-treat in evaluating the clinical relevance of relative risk reduction values in the intra-aortic balloon pump support
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