71 research outputs found
The DECUS (Distance Education Catholic University System) Project: An on line Mathematics Course
No full textCluster Headache in Childhood: Case Series From a Pediatric Headache Center
No full textChildhood-onset cluster headache is an excruciatingly painful and distressing condition. A retrospective study was conducted on charts of patients referring to our Headache Center. Those diagnosed as cluster headache were selected. We identified 11 children (6 males and 5 females). The mean age of cluster headache onset was 10 years (range: 5-16). All children had episodic cluster headache. All children had unilateral orbital pain; 7 patients had throbbing pain, whereas 4 children complained stabbing pain. The mean duration of the attack was 86 minutes (ranging from 30 to 180 minutes). The frequency of episodes was between 1 and 4 per day. All children had the typical cluster headache autonomic features, such as lacrimation, conjunctival injection, ptosis, and nostril rhinorrhea. Steroids showed a good clinical efficacy in interrupting cluster headache recurrence. As symptomatic drugs, acetaminophen as well as ibuprofen were ineffective; indomethacin was effective in 1 case
[Computed tomography in the preoperative staging of gastric cancer].
No full textIn gastric cancer patients, CT can demonstrate wall lesions, tumor spread to adjacent organs and metastases. Since the disease is often diagnosed in an advanced stage, some authors used CT to stage the tumor and to avoid surgery in the patients with unresectable lesions. We compared CT staging results with surgical findings in 22 gastric cancer patients. After fluid-filling and hypotonization of the stomach, CT detected gastric wall thickening in all cases. In 4 patients neoplastic nodes 1.5 cm which had been considered as metastatic were negative at histology. Overall CT accuracy in diagnosing nodal involvement was 73\%. The lack of fat plane used as the evidence of direct invasion of adjacent organs exhibited 45\% overall accuracy for hepatic involvement and 82\% accuracy for pancreatic involvement. Seven cases (32\%) were mis-staged by CT: 4 patients (18\%) were under-staged and 3 (14\%) were over-staged. Since it does not always show the real extent of the disease, in the staging of gastric cancer CT is to be considered a complementary tool to surgical staging, even though it is often necessary to choose between radical or palliation surgery
Effects of inhibitory rTMS on bladder function in Parkinson's disease patients.
No full textPatients affected by Parkinson’s disease (PD)may present with lower urinary tract (LUT) dysfunctioncharacterized by involuntary detrusor overactivity. Weevaluated possible impact of a 2-week course of low fre-quency 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation(rTMS) on LUT behavior in eight advanced PD patientscomplaining of urinary disturbances. We tested the effectsof rTMS measuring urodynamic examination and theInternational Prostate Symptoms Score (IPSS) question-naire, used for evaluation of subjective LUTS. rTMS wasable to improve temporarily LUT behavior in PDpatients, increasing bladder capacity and the first sensa-tion of filling phase. Moreover, a reduction of IPSS scorewas noticed, due to an improvement on filling phasesymptoms. The beneficial effects assessed with the IPSSlasted for up to 2 weeks after the end of the stimulation.rTMS seems to be an effective, noninvasive alternativetreatment for PD patients with urinary disturbancesPatients affected by Parkinson's disease (PD) may present with lower urinary tract (LUT) dysfunction characterized by involuntary detrusor overactivity. We evaluated possible impact of a 2-week course of low frequency 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on LUT behavior in eight advanced PD patients complaining of urinary disturbances. We tested the effects of rTMS measuring urodynamic examination and the International Prostate Symptoms Score (IPSS) questionnaire, used for evaluation of subjective LUTS. rTMS was able to improve temporarily LUT behavior in PD patients, increasing bladder capacity and the first sensation of filling phase. Moreover, a reduction of IPSS score was noticed, due to an improvement on filling phase symptoms. The beneficial effects assessed with the IPSS lasted for up to 2 weeks after the end of the stimulation. rTMS seems to be an effective, noninvasive alternative treatment for PD patients with urinary disturbances. © 2009 Movement Disorder Society
Betweenness to assess leaders in criminal networks: New evidence using the dual projection approach
No full textBrokerage is crucial for dark networks. In analyzing communications among criminals, which naturally induce bipartite networks, previous studies have focused on the classic Freeman's betweenness, conceived for one-mode matrices and possibly biasing the results. We explore different betweenness centrality including three inspired by the dual projection approach recently suggested by Everett and Borgatti 2013. We test these measures in identifying criminal leaders in a meeting participation network. Despite the expected high correlations among them, the measures yield different node rankings, capturing different characteristics of brokerage. Overall, the dual projection approaches show higher success than classic approaches in identifying the criminal leaders
Chronic primary headaches in children and adolescent referred to two third level headache centres
No full textCefalee primarie:aspetti patogenetici
No full textLe cefalee primarie sono patologie complesse, altamente disabilitanti. La fisiopatologia del dolore è comune a tutte le forme di cefalea primaria e trova il suo correlato neurobiologico nel sistema trigeminovascolare. Le strette correlazioni fra tale sistema e altre aree del troncoencefalo e della corteccia determinano molti aspetti della sintomatologia correlata al dolore cefalico nelle diverse forme di cefalea. L’emicrania e la cefalea a grappolo così come altre cefalee autonomiche trigeminali (TACs) hanno molti aspetti fisiopatologici comuni e sono considerate cefalee neurovascolari. Non esiste a tutt’oggi una teoria unificante sulla fisiopatologia delle cefalee primarie. La complessità del quadro sintomatologico suggerisce che in soggetti geneticamente predisposti, una disfunzione del troncoencefalo e di alcune aree corticali sia responsabile dell’attivazione nocicettiva nonchè di una facilitazione delle informazioni nocicettive delle strutture craniche innervate dal trigemino e responsabile della sensazione dolorosa che nell’uomo è la cefalea.Primary headaches are complex and highly disabling disorders. Pathophysiology of pain is shared by all types of primary headaches and the neurobiological correlate is the trigeminovascular system.
Bidirectional connections between trigeminovascular system and key structures of brainstem as well as cortex of human brain may explain the majority of symptoms observed in migraine and other headaches. Migraine and cluster headache as well as other trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias(TACs) are considered neurovascular headaches.The complex picture of symptoms in primary headaches suggests that, in genetically susceptible patients, a primary disfunction of brainstem and other cortical areas is responsible of activation and facilitation of nociceptive informations from cranial structures innervated by trigeminal nerve that, finally, determines the cephalic pain called headache in humans
ADHD in adults: Clinical subtypes and associated characteristics
No full textSUMMARY. Introduction. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is an early onset clinical condition characterized by attention difficulties, hyperactivity and impulsivity which can persist across the lifespan, significantly influencing the evolutionary course and facilitating the rise of psychiatric comorbidities. The presence of different ADHD subtypes in adults is a heterogeneity factor to be recognized in order to orient prognosis and treatment, as indicated by studies that described differences in the characterization of different subtypes in relation to both severity and comorbidities. Materials and methods. In the present study we evaluated the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of a sample of adults with ADHD and the characteristics associated with the different disorder subtypes. We described 60 patients aged between 18 and 65 years (mean age 34.1) with primary diagnosis of ADHD consecutively admitted to the Regional Centre for diagnosis and treatment of ADHD in adults in Milan. Results. We observed high severity of symptoms and low quality of life, in particular in the “life outlook” dimension. The subtypes distribution was the following: 18.3% inattentive subtype, 8.3% hyperactive/impulsive subtype and 70% combined subtype. The hyperactive/impulsive subtype showed a significantly higher frequency in females, while the inattentive subtype was more frequent in males. Patients with the hyperactive/impulsive subtype showed worse quality of life and more frequent anxiety disorders. Conclusions. Considering the different clinical profiles among various subtypes, these data add relevance to subtypes classification of adult ADHD
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