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C Bassetti

Publications and source records attributed to C Bassetti.

82 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Action of dopamine and serotonin on the membrane potential of cultured astrocytes.

The actions of dopamine, apomorphine and serotonin on the membrane potential of cultured astrocytes from rat spinal cord and striatum were examined. All three compounds caused a hyperpolarization of the majority of astrocytes tested. A small number of cells was depolarized and on a relatively large number of cells the amines had no effect. The dopamine antagonists cis-flupenthixol and domperidone reversibly blocked the effects of dopamine whereas the action of serotonin was antagonized by ketanserin. It is therefore concluded that the effect of both amines are due to activation of specific dopamine and serotonin receptors, respectively. Our electrophysiological data together with autoradiographic binding studies provide evidence that astrocytes possess receptors for dopamine and serotonin in addition to adrenoceptors and histamine receptors.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Prognostic value of EEG in post-anoxic coma after cardiac arrest.

The authors themselves studied 26 patients. The EEGs were classified in terms of increasing severity in 5 categories. Incorporating over 400 cases from the literature, the authors correlated the initial EEG findings with the clinical outcome following cardiac arrest. Grade I EEG findings (normal alpha with theta-delta activity) imply a very good prognosis. A complete remission can be expected in most cases. Grade II (dominant theta-delta activity with detectable normal alpha) and grade III (dominant theta-delta activity without detectable normal alpha) findings have no definite prognosis. Grade IV [low-voltage delta, possibly with short isoelectric intervals; dominant, monomorphic, non-reactive alpha-activity (alpha coma); periodic generalized phenomena (spikes, sharp waves, slow waves with very low background activity)] and grade V (very flat to isoelectric EEG) findings have a very serious prognosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

[Value of the EEG in the prognosis of post-anoxic coma following cardiocirculatory arrest].

The EEGs of 26 patients who remained at least 6 hours in coma after cardiovascular arrest were analyzed. The first EEG was recorded within few days after reanimation, classified in a 5-grade scale of increasingly severe impairment and compared with the final clinical outcome. On the basis of the present study and of a review of 408 EEG findings reported in similar investigations in the literature we conclude that the EEG can be useful in predicting the outcome of patients in postanoxic coma states: the EEG should be recorded at earliest 8-12 hours but within 2 days after reanimation, a barbiturate intoxication and hypothermia should be excluded. The classification of the recordings in a 5-grade scale has proven to be helpful and accurate in predicting the outcome: Grade I EEG findings imply a very good prognosis, a complete remission can be expected in most cases. Grade II and III findings have no definite prognosis: the EEG should be repeated one or two days later, a favorable outcome is to be expected only with rapid improvement of the tracing. Grade IV and Grade V findings have a very serious prognosis: complete recovery has been described episodically, most in the pediatric population and with findings of alpha-coma.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Influence of chlorhexidine rinsing on the healing of oral mucosa and osseous lesions.

The influence of chlorhexidine rinsing on wound healing was studied using standardized, open mucosal-osseous wounds in the left side of the palate in Wistar rats. In five test groups, each containing 10 rats, rinsing was performed twice daily for 30 sec with 0.1, 0.2 and 0.5% chlorhexidine solution, chlorhexidine solution vehicle, and Ringer solution. A sixth test group (control) was not rinsed at all. Seven days postoperatively, wound healing was evaluated clinically (size of the defect) and histomorphometrically (percent composition of mature connective tissue, immature connective tissue, granulation tissue, fibrin with granulocytic infiltrate). Clinically it was clear that wound healing was best in those animals that rinsed with Ringer solution, and worst in those that rinsed with 0.5% chlorhexidine solution. Increasing concentration of chlorhexidine caused a delay in wound healing, which in the following cases resulted in significant differences: rinsing with Ringer solution and vehicle versus all concentrations of chlorhexidine, no rinsing versus 0.5% chlorhexidine. Intensive rinsing with high concentrations of chlorhexidine may, after oral surgical operations, especially surgery in which bone is exposed, result in delay and disturbance of wound healing in humans.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

CT and MRI in acute hemorrhagic stroke.

We report the case of a woman presenting with an acute onset of hemiplegia. MRI was performed and showed a hyperintense mass on diffusion-weighted imaging, with areas of high signal intensity on T2* imaging and T2/PD imaging. T1-weighted imaging showed a more inhomogeneous lesion with a central isointense part corresponding to the acute clot, as well as a peripheral crescent of hypointense plasma; since another mass lesion could not be acutely excluded, computed tomography was performed immediately afterwards, showing a hyperdense hematoma. The patient was taken to the neurosurgical operating theater, where she underwent decompressive craniotomy and evacuation of the hematoma.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A comparison of nimesulide beta cyclodextrin and nimesulide in postoperative dental pain.

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and tolerability of single doses of nimesulide beta cyclodextrin compared with nimesulide in patients with dental pain following surgical procedures. This was a randomised, double-blind, between-patient, multicentre study involving 148 outpatients suffering from moderate to severe pain, who received single doses of either 400 mg nimesulide beta cyclodextrin or 100 mg nimesulide. The principal criterion for efficacy was pain intensity assessed on a visual analogue scale (VAS) 15 minutes after drug intake. Pain intensity was further evaluated 30, 45, 90, 120, 180, 240 and 360 minutes after dosing. Pain relief was evaluated at the same time points by means of a categorical scale. The time point of first pain relief, the use of rescue medication and the global evaluation of efficacy were also recorded. The reduction in pain intensity was significantly more pronounced in the nimesulide beta cyclodextrin group at 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes (p < 0.01). Pain relief was significantly greater (p < 0.05) and more rapid with nimesulide beta cyclodextrin. In the patient overall assessment of efficacy, nimesulide beta cyclodextrin and nimesulide were rated excellent or good by 95% and 92% respectively; only one patient in the nimesulide beta cyclodextrin group needed rescue medication. Both study drugs were effective and well tolerated in the treatment of acute dental pain, with nimesulide beta cyclodextrin showing a faster onset of analgesic action.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Efficacy and safety of mouthwash diclofenac in oral or periodontal surgery].

BACKGROUND: In a multicentre clinical study was evaluated the efficacy and safety of a mouthwash containing diclofenac 0.074% in patients undergone to oral or periodontal surgery. METHODS: Multicentre clinical open study. The patients rinsed for 1 min twice a day with diclofenac mouthwash for 7 days. After the baseline measurements of all parameters, spontaneous pain and burning were evaluated daily, while redness and oedema after 3 and 7 days of treatment. Seventy-nine patients (48 F, 31 M), mean aged 42.5 years+/-13.1 SD, with pain intensity at the end of anaesthesia effect equivalent to 54.8 mm+/-15.1 SD of a visual analogue scale were evaluated for efficacy. RESULTS: Spontaneous pain was significantly reduced by diclofenac mouthwash, versus baseline, in the first day of treatment. After a week of treatment, intensity was reduced more than 88% (p<0.01). Burning, redness and oedema too evidenced a similar behaviour, with absence of the sign respectively superior to 87%, 72% and 91 % (p<0.01). The physician's and patient's final judgement overlapped, recording a resolution/improvement in 94.1% of cases, particularly improvement in 77.2% for the physician and in 70.9% for the patients. Palatability was judged pleasant/acceptable in all cases. CONCLUSIONS: Diclofenac mouthwash is endowed by very good efficacy and safety in the treatment of inflammatory condition of the buccal cavity following oral or periodontal surgery.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cytopathologic examination of epidural catheter for postoperative analgesia. Pathophysiology and clinical management.

AIM: The authors performed a prospective study in a series of patients undergoing combined general and epidural anaesthesia for major abdominal surgery in order to define if the epidural catheter inserted for postoperative analgesia induced in the short-term (7-8 postoperative days) any cytopathologically appreciable inflammatory response. METHODS: From April to September 2001, 20 consecutive patients undergoing combined general and epidural anaesthesia for major abdominal surgery at the National Cancer Research Institute and Villa Scassi Hospital (Genoa), were recruited after obtaining Institutional Ethics Committee approval and written consent from the patients. The standard technique for epidural anaesthesia was adopted. Preoperatively, all patients received peridurally a dose test of 3 ml of 2% lidocaine (60 mg) followed by 5 ml of ropivacaine 0.75%, and a continuous infusion of ropivacaine 0.375% (5-10 ml/h; maximal dose=20 ml) intraoperatively. As regards the therapeutic management of postoperative analgesia, patients received a continuous infusion of ropivacaine 0.2% for at least 48 hours and supplemental bolus (2 mg/die) of morphine hydrochloride. The epidural catheter was always removed between the 7th and 8th postoperative day, and it was examined by the pathologist according to the Thin Prep 2000 procedure. RESULTS: The cytopathologic examination of the tip of the epidural catheter gave the following findings: amorphous material without cells (n=10); rare granulocytes and histiocytes (n=6); stromal cells (n=3), and rare lymphocytes (n=1). CONCLUSION: We were unable to detect any cytopathologically appreciable inflammatory response at the tip of the epidural catheter which could have suggested the occurrence of inflammation in the epidural tissues. Given the positive results of prophylactic epidural administration of small doses of corticosteroids in the reduction of postepidural anaesthesia back pain and their direct membrane action on nociceptive C-fibers, this kind of backache seems to be related to the stimulations of such nociceptors more than to a catheter-related inflammatory response of epidural tissues with possible evolution in peridural fibrosis, as reported following surgical intervention for lumbosacral disease.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A case of dissection of intracranial cerebral arteries with segmental mediolytic "arteritis".

The intravital diagnosis of intracranial arterial dissection is not always possible due to atypic and non-specific clinical and radiological presentations. The postmortem pathological examination of cerebral blood vessels is therefore necessary to establish or confirm the presence of a dissecting aneurysm of intracranial arteries. Most of the described cases showed no significant underlying vascular pathology. Here we present the case of a 24-year-old women who died 5 days after admission to the hospital for a rapidly developing right-sided hemisyndrome. Neuroradiological examination had revealed ill-defined bifrontal hypodense lesions and angiographic findings were compatible with a dissection of the left extracranial internal carotid artery with embolic subocclusion of both anterior cerebral arteries. The pathological evaluation ruled out a thromboembolic occlusion of cerebral arteries and an extracranial internal carotid artery dissection but showed an extended dissecting process of variable age in the anterior circulation of the circle of Willis. The dissected vessels showed pathological changes characteristic of segmental mediolytic "arteritis" [Slavin and Gonzalez-Vitale 1976]. To our knowledge this is the first report on intracranial arteries being affected by this pathologic entity. Our case illustrates the importance of a postmortem examination of dissecting aneurysms of intracranial arteries. Careful serial section studies of dissected intracranial arteries in young subjects should be performed and may allow for a better understanding of the vascular pathology underlying the dissection processus.

Adult↗