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Biomedical subjects

C Crisci

Publications and source records attributed to C Crisci.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Relation between trinucleotide GAA repeat length and sensory neuropathy in Friedreich's ataxia.

OBJECTIVE: To verify if GAA expansion size in Friedreich's ataxia could account for the severity of sensory neuropathy. METHODS: Retrospective study of 56 patients with Friedreich's ataxia selected according to homozygosity for GAA expansion and availability of electrophysiological findings. Orthodromic sensory conduction velocity in the median nerve was available in all patients and that of the tibial nerve in 46 of them. Data of sural nerve biopsy and of a morphometric analysis were available in 12 of the selected patients. The sensory action potential amplitude at the wrist (wSAP) and at the medial malleolus (m mal SAP) and the percentage of myelinated fibres with diameter larger than 7, 9, and 11 microm in the sural nerve were correlated with disease duration and GAA expansion size on the shorter (GAA1) and larger (GAA2) expanded allele in each pair. Pearson's correlation test and stepwise multiple regression were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A significant inverse correlation between GAA1 size and wSAP, m mal SAP, and percentage of myelinated fibres was found. Stepwise multiple regression showed that GAA1 size significantly affects electrophysiological and morphometric data, whereas duration of disease has no effect. CONCLUSION: The data suggest that the severity of the sensory neuropathy is probably genetically determined and that it is not progressive.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Subclinical peripheral nerve involvement in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Clinical involvement of the peripheral nervous system is uncommon in rheumatoid arthritis (RA); the most common disorders are multiple mononeuritis, sensorimotor neuropathy, and entrapment neuropathy. This study was undertaken to investigate the occurrence of electrophysiologically evident peripheral nerve involvement in RA patients without a clinical history of peripheral nerve involvement. METHODS: Forty RA patients were examined neurologically and electrophysiologically, and sural nerve biopsies were performed in 4. RESULTS: No patient reported symptoms or signs of peripheral nerve involvement. Twenty-six patients (65%) exhibited electrophysiologic findings consistent with a sensorimotor neuropathy (in 2 of them a carpal tunnel syndrome was also present), while 3 patients showed isolated carpal tunnel syndrome. There was a moderate loss of myelinated fibers in 3 of the 4 nerve biopsy samples, and all showed an increased number of endo- and perineurial vessels and some signs of axonal degeneration. CONCLUSION: Patients with RA may have electrophysiologic and histologic findings of peripheral nerve damage, even in the absence of clinical evidence of peripheral nerve involvement.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The ultimate curse.

This paper tells the story of a doctor in a vegetative state. The approach towards him is quite different from that towards a common patient. The other physicians cannot deal with this situation with the necessary open mind.

Curare↗
PubMed1994

Median nerve sensory responses evoked by tactile stimulation of the finger proximal and distal phalanx in normal subjects.

We compared the characteristics of near-nerve recorded sensory potentials elicited in response to electrical stimulation of digital nerves versus tactile stimulation of the digital skin in 17 healthy subjects with a mean age of 26 years. We also calculated the density of Meissner's corpuscles in the distal and proximal phalanx of digit III of 6 males who had suffered a violent death, but were free from diseases of the peripheral nerve system. Responses to tactile stimulation had a longer latency and lower amplitude than responses to electrical stimulation. Unlike electrically elicited responses, responses to tactile stimulation, which consisted of six or seven main spike components plus several minor components, were similar in recordings from the wrist and elbow. However, with proximal stimulation the electrically evoked responses were more compact and had a higher amplitude and area, whereas the tactile evoked potential became significantly reduced in maximum amplitude and cumulative area. The differences in sensory conduction between distal and proximal could reflect activation of a larger number of nerve fibers when electrical stimuli are used and a smaller amount of mechanoreceptors when tactile stimuli are used.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1994

Autosomal recessive motor and sensory neuropathy with excessive myelin outfolding in two siblings.

Two siblings, a 35-year-old male and a 37-year-old female, offspring of first cousins, presented with a hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy with type I clinical features which began to manifest at about age 10 years. Nerve biopsy in the proband showed it to be a type characterized by excessive myelin outfolding. Morphometric study revealed hypomyelination with focal thickenings due to outfoldings. Clinical, electrophysiological and morphological findings are virtually identical to those described by Ohnishi et al. The peculiarity of the neuropathological picture suggests a particular form of hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Composition of commercial gonadotrophin preparations extracted from human post-menopausal urine: characterization of non-gonadotrophin proteins.

Gonadotrophin preparations extracted from post-menopausal urine are of low purity and the major protein components are not gonadotrophins. A study was undertaken to identify some of these non-gonadotrophin proteins present in the extracted human urinary gonadotrophin preparations that are commercially available, i.e. Humegon (Organon), HMG Massone (Massone), Metrodin (Serono), Metrodin HP (Serono), Pergonal (Serono) and Progonadyl (Elea). As revealed by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) with Coomassie blue staining and Western blotting analysis, these products had electrophoretic protein profiles which differed in the amounts and species of proteins present. With the exception of Metrodin HP, all the other preparations tested contained tumour necrosis factor binding protein-I, transferrin, and immunoglobulin-related proteins. Some of the products contained in addition: urokinase, Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein and epidermal growth factor. Recently, a highly purified human urinary follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) preparation (Metrodin HP) became available. In this preparation human FSH represents > 95% of the total proteins (approximately 10,000 IU of FSH/mg of protein). Metrodin HP was demonstrated to be the purest preparation tested, with none of the above-mentioned contaminants detected.

Blotting, Western↗
PubMed1993

Simultaneous total aortic replacement from valve to bifurcation: experience with 21 cases.

From June 1985 to December 1991, 21 patients (12 men and 9 women; mean age, 60 years) underwent total simultaneous aortic replacement that extended from the valve to the bifurcation. The causes of the diseased aorta were: medial degeneration with total aortic dilatation or multiple aneurysms (n = 7) and either acute (n = 4) or chronic (n = 10) dissection. Clinical evaluation and investigation in all patients consisted of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging as well as angiography. Only patients with combined thoracic and abdominal emergencies were selected, and these comprised worsening of cardiac conditions resulting from aortic regurgitation, and rapid dilatation of the ascending aorta and arch with impending rupture in conjunction with ischemia of the abdominal viscera, kidney, or either leg. The surgical technique consisted of inducing deep hypothermia by means of femoral vein-femoral artery cardiopulmonary bypass. During the cooling time, the aortic root was replaced under cardioplegia. Once lowering of the body temperature attained electroencephalographic silence, circulation was stopped and the aorta was replaced from the arch to the bifurcation. Circulation and rewarming were resumed only after the operation was completed. In our most recent patient, the operating time was reduced by opening the thoracic and the abdominal incisions during cooling; the cardioplegic solution as not injected but, instead, the myocardium was cooled down along with the whole body. In these patients, the hypothermy at electroencephalographic silence ranged from 14 degrees to 19 degrees C.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Sensory nerve findings by tactile stimulation of median and ulnar nerves in healthy subjects of different ages.

We studied orthodromic sensory conduction velocity along the distal and proximal segments of the median and ulnar nerves by tactile stimulation of the distal phalanx of the 3rd and 5th digits in 44 healthy subjects divided into 2 age groups: from 16 to 35 years and from 63 to 81 years. In the same nerves, we used selective electrical stimulation of the corresponding digital nerves to obtain sensory potentials. In both groups, responses to tactile stimuli had a longer latency and smaller amplitude than those to electrical stimulation, and they were distributed in a series of 6-7 main deflections, apparently regardless of whether the recording site was distal or proximal. Moreover, irrespective of the nerve and of subject age, conduction velocity along both the digit-wrist and the wrist-elbow nerve segments was significantly slower with tactile stimuli than with electrical stimuli. However, independently of the stimulus used, conduction velocity along the proximal nerve segment was significantly faster than that measured along the digit-wrist nerve segment. In both the median and ulnar nerves, maximum potential amplitude, cumulative area and conduction velocity were significantly reduced in the older age group. This finding could reflect the smaller number of Meissner's corpuscles in older subjects, and the loss of large nerve fibres in individuals over 60.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

How many alien hand syndromes? Follow-up of a case.

We report the follow-up of a patient affected by a persistent alien left nondominant hand. CT and MRI showed an ischemic lesion localized to the mesial frontal region and involving the supplementary motor area and anterior fibers of the corpus callosum. These findings support theories suggesting a critical role of both these lesions in determining "chronic" forms of alien hand of either upper limb.

Brain Ischemia↗
PubMed1992

Italian neurologists and euthanasia: a poll.

We have tried to sound out Italian neurologists regarding their attitude to euthanasia, a very controversial issue today. We gave a short multiple-choice questionnaire to neurologists attending a national conference, asking their opinion on some issues related to euthanasia. 75 (25%) of the 300 doctors polled completed the questionnaire. Answers were often contradictory. A trend in favor of passive euthanasia among the respondents and a strong demand for guidelines are evident. Emotional rather than professional or rational factors seem to play a major role in the approach to this dilemma.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗