1,721,051 research outputs found
Neurological research in Italy in 2003 and 2004
No full textWe quantified Italian researchers' share of the scientific papers published in peer-reviewed medical Journals in the field of neurology in 2003 and 2004. The findings show that Italian researchers' gained an overall 7% share of peer-reviewed articles. This percentage places Italy in fourth place immediately after the United States, Grat Britain and Germany
Upper limb motor training based on task-oriented exercises induces functional brain reorganization in patients with multiple sclerosis
No full textThe aim of this work was to investigate changes in motor performance and in the brain activation pattern during finger movements, following upper limb motor training in multiple sclerosis. Thirty people with multiple sclerosis with mild upper limb sensorimotor deficits were randomly allocated to one of two groups: the experimental group (n = 15) received an upper limb treatment based on voluntary task-oriented movements; the control group (n = 15) underwent passive mobilization of shoulder, elbow, wrist and fingers. All participants completed three treatment sessions per week for eight weeks. Before and after the intervention, all participants were evaluated for motor performance by means of Action Research Arm Test, Nine Hole Peg Test, and grip strength by a dynamometer, and for brain activations by functional magnetic resonance imaging during right finger opposition movements. Similar effects on motor performance were found in the two groups. A significant improvement with time was found in both groups at NHPT and in GRIP strength; a similar trend was found at ARAT. However, only the experimental group showed increased lateralization towards more normal brain activation following treatment, with activation clusters mainly located in the left brain hemisphere and right cerebellum. In conclusion, both active and passive interventions were effective in improving motor performance. However, only the treatment based on voluntary task-oriented movements could induce changes in brain activity that may have reflected skill acquisition by the right hand, reducing the activation of compensatory areas and decreasing brain resource demand
Italian version of the Chicago multiscale depression inventory: translation, adaptation and testing in people with multiple sclerosis.
No full textDepression is the commonest psychiatric disturbance in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), with prevalence higher than in the general population and other chronic diseases. However, accurate assessment of depressive symptoms can be biased by somatic symptoms which are part of both MS and depression. We translated and adapted into Italian the Chicago multiscale depression inventory (CMDI) and assessed its acceptability, internal consistency and test-retest reliability in 213 MS outpatients and 213 individually matched healthy controls. The questionnaire was also tested in 32 people with major depression. Acceptability, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability were good overall. We found greater odds for depressive symptoms in people with MS than healthy controls, with highest odds ratio for somatic symptoms (vegetative subscale). The Italian CMDI is characterized by good acceptability, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. These findings support the use of the CMDI in Italian subjects with MS to screen for and follow depressive symptoms
Screening, diagnosis, and management of obstructive sleep apnea in dangerous-goods truck drivers: to be aware or not?
No full textObjective:
The aims of this study were: to evaluate a homogeneous sample of truck drivers of danger-
ous goods (TDDGs) in order to assess the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and to verify the
secondary risk of motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) and near miss accidents (NMAs) in this population.
Methods: A sample of 283 male TDDGs was evaluated. None of the subjects reported OSA symptoms before
screening. Clinical and physical evaluation, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and the items on OSA from
the Sleep Disorder Score (SDS) questionnaire were used to select subjects with suspicion of OSA.
Polysomnography (PSG) was performed to confirm the diagnosis of OSA. The frequency of MVAs and NMAs
was assessed at baseline for the whole sample, and also for the drivers with severe OSA after two years
of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment.
Results:
The mean age of the sample was 42.3
±
8.3 years. A total of 139 (49.1%) subjects had suspected
OSA, and the PSG study confirmed the diagnosis in 35.7%. A significant association between OSA sever-
ity and NMAs was observed, and subjects with severe OSA showed a near five-fold increased risk of NMAs
(OR
=
4.745, 95% CI 1.292–17.424,
p
=
0.019). After two years of CPAP treatment, the rate of NMAs was
comparable with drivers without OSA, showing the efficacy of therapy.
Conclusion:
This study showed an unexpected high prevalence of OSA in TDDGs. Untreated subjects with
severe OSA had a significantly increased risk of NMAs. In professional drivers, screening, treatment, and
management of OSA are mandatory for reducing road accident risk and improving road safety
- …
