[Response to electric stimulation of the VL in the hemicerebellectomized baboon].
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Animals↗
Biomedical subjects
A Basso
Publications and source records attributed to A Basso.
[Left hemisphere lesion and visual recognition of single letters (author's transl)].
100 Controls and 200 left hemisphere-damaged patients were sub-divided by means of a Standard Language Battery in 35 non Aphasic patients, 51 Broca's aphasic patients, 85 Wernicke's aphasic patients and 29 global aphasics. They were all submitted to a single letter recognition test. From a parametric statistical work-out of the experimental data, it turned out that global aphasics are by far the most impaired experimental group, even if their performance had been adjusted by co-variance taking into account their more relevant aphasic and neurological disorders. Whilst age and length of illness do not play a significant role in the test performance, this was significant for the educational level (years of schooling) and for the severity of the aphasic disorders (Token Test). The relationship between the above-mentioned independent variables and the letter recognition scores did not change significantly across the experimental groups. The only exception was that the relation between the Token Test and the letter recognition scores proved to be significantly different between Broca's and Global Aphasics. No definite conclusion could be drawn about the outstandingly poor scores of global aphasics, as neither their performance or their I.Q. (W.A.I.S.) seemed to be related to the letter recognition scores (in contrast with Broca's and Wernicke's aphasics), nor to the presence of retro-geniculate visual field defects.
Aphasia↗
[Prolactin-secreting pituitary gland adenoma. Present-day possibilities of diagnosis and treatment].
Among the 230 pituitary adenomas that we treated, 23 patients aging from 20 to 39 had a prolactin-secretary pituitary adenoma and were all demonstrating an amenorrhea-galactorrhea syndrom. It is not always very fast to establish the more and more frequently observed etiology of this clinical state, especially when the existence, or not, of a pituitary adenoma is concerned. A total endocrinological study (determination of serum prolactin and inhibition and stimulation tests) of all hypothalamic-hypophyseal-peripheric axis must be done, as well as precise radiological studies, able of showing small distortions of the sella turcica. On our patients, the diagnosis of a pituitary tumor and the surgical intervention have never been decided on the base of only one element of the diagnosis. We now think that only the presence, at the same time, of clinical, radiological and biological signs, however small they are, allows the decision for a surgical intervention when prolactin-secreting pituitary adenoma is suspected.
Adenoma↗
[Fatiguing work, aging and health: a cross-sectional study of a group of anesthesiologists].
A cross-sectional study was carried out to verify if work as an anaesthetician-reanimator can be considered as a fatiguing job. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was utilized to obtain information about the general characteristics of the subjects, job organization, human relations, perceived risks and previous diseases; 1438 questionnaires were examined. The results of the study showed that in anaesthetist-reanimator: organic diseases do not occur earlier than expected; perception of the emotional aspects related to the particular occupation is low; the group relationships are difficult, on both horizontal and vertical levels, and these difficulties increase work-stress and hinder its management; age influences the occurrence of both arthritic and stress-related diseases; there is an association between jobs dissatisfaction and stress disorders; all the causal variables considered, evaluated as a group, constitute a heavy physical load, that leads to risk of stress related diseases.
Age Factors↗
[Percutaneous pigtail catheter drainage of peripheral breast abscesses].
Almost all peripheral non-lactational breast abscesses are staphylococcal in origin and so percutaneous drainage can be a valid alternative to surgical incision. Percutaneous drainage was performed in eight patients with one or more abscesses. A pigtail catheter was inserted only in foci greater than 3 cm. The results were good in 9 out of 10 purulent collections; one recurrence was observed in the smallest focus. All patients but one underwent local anesthesia and were managed as outpatients.
Abscess↗
[Exposure to low doses of CS2 and cardiovascular risk factors].
The effects were studied on cardiovascular risk factors of occupational exposure to carbon disulfide (CS2) concentrations ranging from 0.05 to 1.60 mg/m3, 74 workers exposed (E) to CS2 and 79 non-exposed (NE) workers were examined. Information was obtained on age, working age and life habits (alcohol, smoke, etc.) through a questionnaire and height and weight were measured to assess body mass index (BMI). All the workers underwent blood collection for the assessment of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels and electrocardiogram. No clinically evident heart disease were detected in the workers examined and the prevalences of obesity and hypertension resulted to be similar among workers of the two groups. Mean triglyceride levels and frequencies of hypertriglyceridemia and of HDL cholesterol values < 40 mg/dl were significantly higher in exposed workers than non-exposed. The triglyceride levels resulted to be significantly and directly influenced by BMI and exposure to CS2. Occupational exposure to low environmental CS2 concentrations seems to interacts with other factors to determine alterations of lipid metabolism.
Carbon Disulfide↗
[Occupational exposure to inhalation anesthetics: 10 years of measurements at hospitals in Puglia].
The Authors provide the data gathered from measurements of nitrous oxide in the operating room of Puglia during the period between 1993 and 2003. They prove significant reductions of pollution according with time and they verify lower pollution levels in the operating rooms of private hospitals with respect to public facilities. The importance of the maintenance of gas distribution and evacuation systems is shown and a method of environmental and biological monitoring is provided. Finally, the Authors prove the utility of the graphic representation of the measurements, conduced utilising dedicated instrumentation.
Air Pollution, Indoor↗
[Oxidative stress in station service workers].
INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study is to identify an oxidative stress in service station workers. Previous studies verified an increased incidence of leukemia and myeloma, however other authors haven't verified it. There are reports of nasal, pharyngeal, laryngeal, and lung cancer in service station workers. Our study wants to evaluate the oxidative balance in the fuel workers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We studied 44 subjects with gasoline exposure and 29 control subjects. We determined the blood concentrations of Glutathione reduced and oxidized, Protein sulfhydrylic (PSH) Vitamine E, Vitamine C, Malondialdehyde, Protein oxidized (OX-PROT) and beta carotene. The t test was performed to analyze the differences between the means, the Chi square was used to evaluate the statistical significance of associations between variable categorical (redox index). The Anova test excluded the confusing effect of age, smoke and alcohol habit. RESULTS: The mean age of the workers was 36.6 years, instead the control group was 38. In the workers Glutathione reduced, Vit. E and Beta carotene were lower than in the control subjects, this difference was statistically significant (p < 0.01). The Malondialdehyde concentration was higher in the workers higher than in the control group, but this difference wasn't statistically significant. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrated Glutathione, Vit. E, and Beta carotene are useful to verify a reduction of the antioxidant activity. The only marker of the presence of oxidative injury that correlated to work exposure was the malondialdehyde. The redox index was surest marker. The limit of our study is the number of control group, it was little and lower than workers. Conclusively we believe it's useful to continue our studies and, if our results are going to be confirmed, we retain that stress oxidative determination would be verified in occupational medicine using these markers, especially to study exposure of the fuel workers who were investigated less and, in our opinion, would receive more attention.
Adult↗
[Could VDT use induce thoracic hyperkyphosis? Preliminary data].
The association between sitting posture and degenerative alterations of intervertebral disks has been widely studied, while the possible relationship between sitting posture and thoracic hyperkyphosis has not been investigated sufficiently. The objective of this study, therefore, is to verify the possible association between video display terminal (VDT) use, which needs a sitting prolonged posture, and thoracic hyperkyphosis. 63 VDT workers and 71 telephone line maintenance workers (control group) have been examined. The two groups were different for the postural load required by the two jobs. A questionnaire about job and clinical history has been administered to workers included in the study. A complete orthopedical examination has been performed for all workers, while radiographic exams have been performed only in the cases requiring of further diagnostic investigations. The two groups have resulted homogenous for age, while were different for working age and body mass index (BMI). The frequency of subjects with rachialgia has resulted higher in VDT users than in maintenance workers. The prevalence of thoracic hyperkyphosis observed in VDT users has been higher than in maintenance workers, with a difference near to be statistically significant, and significantly associated with age in VDT users. The hyperkyphosis of the dorsolumbar tract have resulted significantly more frequent in VDT users than in maintenance workers (p<0.05). Preliminary results of this study suggest that fixed and prolonged sitting working posture would be able to determine thoracic hyperkyphosis, although constitutional factors and age could have a role in its determination. Preventive measures should be proposed for an adequate ergonomic training of VDT users.
Adult↗
[4'-epidoxorubicin: its cardiotoxicity. Possible cardiac protection with gallopamil, a drug with calcium-antagonist action].
The 4'-EPI-doxorubicin (4'-EDX) has shown antitumoral activity against a broad spectrum of human tumors. The same clinical reports have shown therapeutic activity comparable to doxorubicin (adriamycin), but a lower cardiac toxicity. 4'-EDX cardiotoxicity appears after highest cumulative doses: 935 mg/m2 bs for 4'-EDX vs 550 mg/m2 bs for adriamycin. Moreover we have observed a protective action of the calcium antagonist gallopamil. We have found an improvement in ventricular performance after using gallopamil, and a reduction of 4'-EDX cardiotoxicity. Cardiac function was evaluated by EKS, STI, echography, myocardial scintigraphy course. Our result indicates the possibility of treating tumors without serious cardiotoxic by 4'-EDX and gallopamil.
Adult↗
[Evaluation of myopia in a group of people working with video terminals: first results].
UNLABELLED: Since the 70's the occupational use of electronic systems equipped with visual display terminals (VDTs) became wide-spread also in Italy. Some longitudinal studies on large samples of VDT workers found no significant changes of myopia (M) with regard to years and daily hours spent working at a VDT. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence and the time course of M in 209 VDT workers employed in the service sector. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After obtaining workers' informed consent their work, social, family and personal medical histories were collected. Myopia was defined as need of >0.25 D negative spherical correction. Average daily hours duringfollow-up and overall years spent working at a VDT were calculated as exposure indexes. RESULTS: The mean baseline age was 39.2 years (SD: 8.7, min-max: 22-62) and the mean education was 14 years (SD: 2.2). The mean follow-up period was 5.5 (3-9) years. The prevalence of M was 45.5% at the start and 49.8% at the end of the study. It was higher in workers with >13 years of education and in those < 40 year-old. A slight but significant increase of the degree of M (dioptres) occurred during the follow-up. The change in the degree of M was not different between the classes of VDT exposure (< or = 4 and >4 daily hours; < or =15 and >15 years spent), of education and of age at the end of follow-up. DISCUSSION: The high mean educational level can partly explain the higher prevalence of M detected in the workers on study with respect to the one described elsewhere on VDT workers and general population. The progression of the M seems not to be related to the professional and personal variables analyzed, but to depend on the natural evolution of M. Further studies are needed to confirm these preliminary data in larger groups of VDT workers.
Adult↗
[Health survey on morbility and accidents in various productive agricultural sectors].
A health survey on morbidity and accidents was carried out on a population of 970 farmers in the district of Bari working in 6 different agricultural sectors. Data were gathered through a CNR-based (National Research Council) questionnaire administered by two occupation specialists. Results showed, first of all, that fertilizers are used in all agricultural sectors, while antiparasitic agents and herbicides are used in different ways according to the kind of culture. Horticulture is the sector where pesticides are more widely used as it is an intensive culture and has many cultivation cycles during the agricultural year. Interviewed subjects referred different pathologies, in particular arthrosis of spinal cord and limbs paresthesia. No significant direct association was observed between these pathologies and the sectors considered. Arthrosis of spinal cord seems to be related to exposure duration as it is well known that agricultural work implies unfavourable postures and exposure to adverse climatic conditions which favour the degeneration processes causing arthrosis. 19.5% of cases showed eczema. As far as accidents are concerned the situation is worrisome both for the frequency of accidents and the seriousness of lesions. This survey showed the need to investigate thoroughly the etiology of limbs paresthesia, eczema and accidents of farmers.
Accidents, Occupational↗
Raven's coloured progressive matrices: normative values on 305 adult normal controls.
The use of Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (PM 47) in experiments with brain-damaged patients is briefly reviewed. Because norms for adults are still not available, normative data were calculated on 305 normals; corrections for age and education and centile allocation of the scores are furnished.
Adult↗
[Epileptic manifestations induced by stimulation of the ventro-lateral nucleus in the hemi-cerebellectomized Papio papio].
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Animals↗
[Preservation of the kidney by hyperbaric oxygen and hypothermia].
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Animals↗
[Studies on the use of streptokinase in the destruction of the arteriovenous bypass].
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Arteriovenous Shunt, Surgical↗
[Localization of aphasic symptoms: preliminary observations with C.T. scanner (author's transl)].
Twenty patients with aphasia and left-hemisphere damage were examined with a standard language battery, and Computerized Axial Tomography. Patients were divided into fluent (N = 9) and nonfluent (N = 6) on the basis of the language examination; 5 patients who could not be classified in either category were excluded. Lesions were retrorolandic in 8 out of 9 fluent aphasics while extending anteriorly in all 6 nonfluent aphasics. Some unexpected lesions were also found. Five cases -- 3 fluent and 2 nonfluent -- are discussed in detail.
Adult↗