1,721,000 research outputs found
Seizures after spontaneous supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage
No full textPURPOSE:
To characterize seizures after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), evaluating the risk of occurrence and relapse, predisposing factors, and prognostic significance, and to assess the utility of antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy as used in clinical practice.
METHODS:
The study sample consisted of 761 patients with spontaneous, nonaneurysmal, supratentorial ICH. Seizures were classified as immediate (within 24 h of ICH) and early (within 30 days of ICH). Baseline variables and clinical events were compared in the seizure and nonseizure group by using a multivariate regression model of failure time data.
RESULTS:
Fifty-seven patients had one or more seizures. The 30-day actuarial risk of a post-ICH seizure was 8.1%. Lobar location and small volume of ICH were independent predictors of immediate seizures. Early seizures were associated with lobar location and neurologic complications, mainly rebleeding. In patients with lobar ICH, the risk of early seizures was reduced by prophylactic AED therapy. Among seizure patients, history of alcohol abuse increased the risk of status epilepticus. Immediate and early seizures were not independent predictors of in-hospital mortality.
CONCLUSIONS:
Patients with ICH are exposed to a substantial risk of seizures; however, short-term mortality was not affected, and the risk of epilepsy was lower than previously thought. The likelihood of immediate seizures is influenced by factors that are inherent characteristics of ICH, whereas the chance of developing early seizures is influenced not only by certain characteristics of ICH, but also by unpredictable events. A brief period of therapy soon after ICH onset may reduce the risk of early seizures in patients with lobar hemorrhage
Intrinsic cerebral connectivity analysis in an untreated female-to-male transsexual subject: a first attempt using resting-state fMRI.
No full textBACKGROUND/AIMS: Transsexualism is a gender identity disorder whose symptomatology could involve cognitive, neurobiological and psychological variance from biological sex standard. Several evidences support the hypothesis of a structural and functional brain reorganization in transgender subjects, with a different impact for male-to-female and female-to-male (FtM) subjects. Here we used resting-state fMRI to understand the similarities between the spontaneous brain connectivity of an untreated FtM subject and two male and female control groups.
METHODS: Both seed-voxel and atlas-based region-of-interest (ROI) approaches were used.
RESULTS: Brain areas sensitive to gender dimorphism like left lingual gyrus and precuneus showed strong similarities between the FtM subject and female control group with respect to control males, with comparable extension and location of functional connectivity maps. ROI analysis confirmed this evidence, highlighting a greater pattern of differences between the FtM subject and males and the FtM subject and females. No difference between seed-voxel results in the FtM subject and females was found.
CONCLUSION: These data partially support the idea that untreated FtM transgender shows a functional connectivity profile comparable to female control subjects
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
CAT and MRI in the study of partial epilepsy: comparison of the 2 methods and correlations with EEG [TAC e RMN nello studio delle epilessie parziali: confronto tra le due metodiche e correlazioni con l'EEG]
No full textSeventy five adult patients suffering from partial epilepsy were investigated by MRI. Results were then compared with those obtained with CT scan and EEG analysis. The interval between the two neuroradiological studies did not exceed five years. MRI and CT showed abnormalities respectively in 45 and 55% of patients, MRI showed a better sensitivity in detecting ischemic or atrophy-gliosis chronic focal alterations. In the remaining lesions such as tumors, vascular malformations, cysts and diffuse atrophies, where often an urgent diagnosis is necessary, both tests were equally sensitive. EEG showed alterations in 80% of patients and agreed with results of CT scan and MRI in about 80% of cases
Epileptic seizures prediction based on the combination of EEG and ECG for the application in a wearable device
No full textEpilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent and sudden seizures. Recently, researchers found that patients often present physiological abnormalities that precede an epileptic seizure onset. Importantly, these modifications can vary a lot among patients. While the conventional methodology for characterizing epilepsy is electroencephalogram (EEG), some evidences show that electrocardiogram (ECG) can be also useful to assess modifications associated to seizures. In this paper, a preliminary study about the integration of EEG and ECG for a patient-specific seizure prediction is presented. Synchronization patterns from the EEG and time and frequency features, as well as recurrence quantification analysis measures from the inter-beat (RR) series, were extracted. A support vector machine (SVM) classifier was then applied to classify preictal and interictal phases combining features extracted from the two signals. Results showed that, using the proposed combined approach, it is possible to predict the epileptic seizure onset with a total average sensitivity of 93.3%, specificity of 80.6% and a prediction time of about 20 min. This approach could be implemented in portable and wearable devices for a real-life patient-specific seizure prediction
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Transient periodic lateralised epileptiform discharges (PLEDs) following internal carotid artery stenting
No full textBackground. Periodic lateralised epileptiform discharges (PLEDs) are EEG patterns consisting of periodic or pseudoperiodic unilateral, focal or hemispheric epileptiform discharges at a rate of 1-2 Hz. PLEDs may be triggered by acute brain injuries or systemic metabolic changes such as fever, hyperglycaemia or electrolyte imbalance and may result in disturbance of consciousness and/or neurological deficits. Case report. A 58-year-old female with a history of focal epilepsy and deep brain haematoma presented with acute change in awareness, associated with EEG evidence of PLEDs, three days after a left internal carotid artery stenting procedure. Clinical examination, laboratory testing and MRI were unchanged with respect to pre-stenting investigations. Conclusion. In this patient, PLEDs may have been triggered by local haemodynamic changes due to reperfusion after stenting in a previously damaged brain area
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
- …
