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Biomedical subjects

A Gasperi

Publications and source records attributed to A Gasperi.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Restless legs syndrome: a community-based study of prevalence, severity, and risk factors.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and severity of restless legs syndrome (RLS) in the general community and to investigate its potential relationship with iron metabolism and other potential risk factors. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of a sex- and age-stratified random sample of the general population (50 to 89 years; n = 701). The diagnosis of RLS was established by face-to-face interviews; severity was graded on the RLS severity scale. Each subject underwent a thorough clinical examination and extensive laboratory testing. RESULTS: The prevalence of RLS was 10.6% (14.2% in women, 6.6% in men); 33.8% of all patients with RLS had mild, 44.6% had moderate, and 21.6% had severe disease expression. None had been previously diagnosed or was on dopaminergic therapy. Free serum iron, transferrin, and ferritin concentrations were similar in subjects with and without RLS. However, soluble transferrin receptor (sTR) concentrations were different in subjects with and without RLS (1.48 vs 1.34 mg/L; p < 0.001). Female sex and high sTR independently predicted the risk of RLS. CONCLUSION: This large survey confirms the high prevalence, female preponderance, and underrecognition of restless legs syndrome in the general community. Although two-thirds of patients had moderate to severe disease, none was on current dopaminergic therapy.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Number processing in temporal lobe epilepsy.

BACKGROUND: Specific cognitive impairments have been found in association with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), such as deficits in declarative memory or verbal abilities. No attention has been paid so far to possible deficits in number processing. OBJECTIVE: To investigate deficits in number processing in patients with TLE. METHODS: Numerical abilities were assessed in 28 right handed patients with medically intractable unilateral TLE and in a control group. RESULTS: No differences between patients and controls were found in analogue number processing with Arabic input, in a comparison task, or in simple addition and simple subtraction; however, there were significant group differences in tasks with verbal input, in simple division, in complex mental calculation, in a semantic knowledge task, and in conceptual tasks. Only minor differences were found between patients with right and left TLE. CONCLUSIONS: While numerical deficits may be expected in patients with left sided TLE, it is open for discussion why patients with right sided TLE also show numerical deficits.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

The prevalence of primary dystonia in the general community.

The prevalence of primary dystonia was assessed in a random population sample of individuals aged 50 and over in Bruneck, South Tyrol. The diagnosis of primary dystonia was confirmed by videotaped review. Primary dystonia was present in 6 of 707 cases resulting in a prevalence rate of 732 per 100,000 (95% CI 319-1,564) in the general population aged 50 and over. Only two cases (33%) had been previously diagnosed. These results indicate that the true prevalence of primary dystonia is significantly higher than published rates.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Novel three-stage ascertainment method: prevalence of PD and parkinsonism in South Tyrol, Italy.

BACKGROUND: A number of community-based studies on the prevalence of PD have been conducted worldwide, but they are often extremely costly and time consuming. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of PD and parkinsonism for the population aged between 60 and 85 years in South Tyrol, Northern Italy, using a novel population-based three-stage ascertainment method. METHODS: Seven hundred fifty persons aged 60 to 85 years from South Tyrol received a validated screening mail questionnaire for parkinsonism. In the second stage of the ascertainment method, trained primary care physicians (PCP) identified all persons with possible parkinsonism among those screened positive. In the third stage, movement disorders specialists excluded or confirmed the diagnosis in all identified people. RESULTS: The response rate was 87.6%. The prevalence rate per 100 population over 65 years of age was 1.5 (95% CI 0.6 to 2.3) for PD and 2.2 (95% CI 1.2 to 3.3) for parkinsonism after having been adjusted to the 1991 European standard population. Overall, 78% (95% CI 59 to 96%) of patients with parkinsonism were newly detected through the survey. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of PD and parkinsonism in people aged over 65 in South Tyrol was similar to that observed in door-to-door surveys in other European countries. The novel three-stage case ascertainment method employed proved a useful tool to substitute for expensive door-to-door surveys for prevalence studies of parkinsonism, detecting a high number of undiagnosed cases, particularly in geographically remote areas.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Poor response to activated protein C as a prominent risk predictor of advanced atherosclerosis and arterial disease.

BACKGROUND: The potential role of activated protein C (APC) resistance in arterial thrombosis and disease is a matter of ongoing controversy. METHODS AND RESULTS: In the present population-based survey, a random sample of 826 men and women underwent high-resolution duplex ultrasound scanning of the carotid and femoral arteries. Response to APC was expressed in APC ratios. Subjects were tested for the factor V Leiden mutation. The risk of carotid stenosis increased gradually with decreasing response to APC (adjusted OR [95% CI] for a 1-U decrease of response to APC, 1.6 [1. 2 to 2.2]), as did the risk of femoral artery stenosis (1.7 [1.3 to 2.3]) and prevalent cardiovascular disease (1.4 [1.1 to 2.0]). The association between low APC ratio and atherosclerotic vascular disease applied equally to subjects with the factor V Leiden mutation and those without. Our study identified various nongenetic determinants of poor response to APC in the general population, including behavioral, hormonal, and environmental factors. CONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed an independent and gradual association between low response to APC and both advanced atherosclerosis (stenosis) and arterial disease. Resistance to APC due to factor V Leiden mutation was only one facet of this relationship.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

[Myasthenia gravis. Indications, aims and methods of intensive therapy].

Some recent views on pathophisyology of "myasthenia gravis" are presented. The Authors explain the typical damage of myasthenia gravis, i.e. the progressively reduced muscolar function on the basis of an autoimmune derangement affecting the motor-end plates. The most commonly used types of treatment, both medical (i.e. antiChE, A.C.T.H., steroids and immunodepressant drugs) and surgical (thymectomy) are reviewed. The very important role of Intensive Care for the treatment either of myasthenia gravis "per se" or of possible consequences of some drugs (A.C.T.H. steroids) is also stressed. Finally the Authors present their results about their experience on 36 patients affected by myasthenia gravis and admitted to I.C.U. once (29 patients) or twice or more (7 patients). The Authors describe some practical problems presented by patients during their stay in I.C.U.

Adolescent↗