14 research outputs found
Valutazione della sonnolenza diurna e dei disturbi del sonno in una popolazione di pazienti epilettici
Get PDFThe sporadic and familial Creuzfeldt-Jacob disease in Palermo from 1996 to 2006: epidemiological, clinical and neurophysiologic characteristics.
No full textMultiple sclerosis in southern Europe: Monreale City, Italy. A twenty-year follow-up incidence and prevalence study
No full textBACKGROUND:
Several follow-up studies showed increasing prevalence and incidence rates for multiple sclerosis (MS).
OBJECTIVE:To ascertain, throughout a follow-up study, the incidence and prevalence of MS in the city of Monreale, Sicily, southern Italy.
METHODS:We calculated crude and age- and sex-specific prevalence rates on December 31, 2000, and determined incidence rates for the period January 1, 1992 to December 31, 2000.
RESULTS:The prevalence of MS was 71.2 per 100,000 population (48,5/100,000 in men; 93,0/100,000 in women). The incidence rate of MS for the period 1992-2000 was 4.0/100,000 per year.
CONCLUSION:This study showed a nonsignificant increase in MS incidence rates in Monreale city for 1992-2000 compared to 1981-1991. Prevalence rates were similar to those of the previous follow-up study. Intervals between onset of symptoms and diagnosis seemed shorter than in prior studies. There is no evidence that the high prevalence and incidence rates have changed in this interval but numbers are too small for firm statements. These findings indicate that in Monreale city MS prevalence is stable and confirm Sicily as a high-risk area for MS
Risk of Parkinson disease in women: effect of reproductive characteristics
No full textOBJECTIVE:
To investigate the association between some fertile life characteristics and Parkinson disease (PD) in women.
METHODS:
Women affected by PD and control subjects were matched one to one by age (+/-2 years). One hundred thirty-one women with idiopathic PD and 131 matched control subjects were interviewed. Controls were randomly selected from the resident list of the same municipality of residence of cases. All subjects had a Mini-Mental State Examination score of > or =24. Cumulative length of pregnancies, age at menarche, age and type of menopause, and estrogen use before and after menopause were investigated in cases and controls through a structured questionnaire. Models of matched pair univariate analysis and conditional logistic regression analyses were used to calculate adjusted odds ratio (OR), 95% CI, and two-tailed p values for the investigated variables.
RESULTS:
PD was significantly associated with a fertile life length shorter than 36 years (OR 2.07; 95% CI 1.00 to 4.30) and a cumulative length of pregnancies longer than 30 months (OR 2.19; 95% CI 1.22 to 3.91). An inverse association between PD and surgical menopause (adjusted OR 0.30; 95% CI 0.13 to 0.77) was also found.
CONCLUSIONS:
An association between factors reducing estrogen stimulation during life and PD was found. These results support the hypothesis that endogenous estrogens play a role in the development of PD
Risk of Parkinson’s disease in women: effect of reproductive characteristics on the age at onset
No full textThe relapse rate of multiple sclerosis changes during pregnancy: a cohort study
No full textOBJECTIVE:To evaluate the influence of pregnancy and puerperium on the relapse rate of multiple sclerosis (MS).
METHODS:We determined retrospectively the yearly mean relapse rate (MRR) during pregnancies occurring in the course of relapsing-remitting MS. We compared the MRR of pregnancy-time with that of non-pregnancy time by paired t-test. Relative risk (RR) of relapses during the pregnancy-time was also compared with that of non-pregnancy time by chi(2) analysis and 95% confidence intervals.
RESULTS:From a population of 351 women affected by clinically definite MS, only 70 reported pregnancies during their relapsing-remitting phase of MS for a total of 98 pregnancies. Both MRR (P = 0.006) and RR (RR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.40-0.94) decreased during the three trimesters of pregnancy. RR increased in the first 3 months of puerperium, although this was not statistically significant (RR = 1.36, 95% CI = 0.79-2.20).
CONCLUSION:
Our study confirms that in MS the relapse rate decreases throughout pregnancy and increases during puerperium. This suggests a complex interplay between hormonal and immune factors
Depression and associated factors among spouse-caregivers of patient with Parkinson’s disease
No full text
