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Biomedical subjects

C Di Rocco

Publications and source records attributed to C Di Rocco.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

"Occult" hydrocephalus in children.

The authors describe 32 children between 2 and 15 years of age who had hydrocephalus that was only clinically manifest late in life. The clinical picture of these children did not suggest an obvious increase in intracranial pressure; instead, the presenting signs were rather nonspecific and included macrocrania, mild psychomotor retardation, unsteady gait, increased muscle tone and deep tendon reflexes in the lower limbs, impaired ocular movement, epilepsy, and endocrine dysfunction. Their histories suggest the possible causes of the ventricular dilation in about one third of the cases were: perinatal hemorrhage, leptomeningitis, neurofibromatosis, and untreated aneurysm of the great vein of Galen. In 20 patients, however, no positive anamnestic findings were reported. CT scan revealed triventricular dilation in more than half of the cases; tetraventricular dilation was present in 6 patients, and biventricular dilation in the remaining subjects. All children underwent CSF shunting, which resulted in complete recovery in all but 2 cases. The most frequently recorded surgical complication was post-operative subdural effusion (7 subjects), which required surgical treatment in only 2 cases.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Neural tube defects: considerations on the pathogenesis and correlation with myelodysplasia in man. II. An experimental model.

In this second part, the authors report the results obtained by evaluating the presence of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in the brain of rat fetuses with neural tube defects and hydrocephalus, secondary to the administration of trypan blue during pregnancy. A decrease in the GAG content was found. The authors hypothesize that this anomaly in GAG formation is responsible for both the neural tube defect and the associated malformations, namely hydrocephalus and hypoplasia of the posterior cranial fossa.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

[Metopic craniosynostosis. Surgical results in 35 surgically treated cases under 1 year of age].

The clinical features, the diagnostic findings and the surgical results obtained on 35 children, under 1 year of age, operated on because of an early synostosis of the metopic suture are presented. In 79% of cases, the diagnosis was obvious at birth. A M/F ratio of 2.0 was observed in this series. Associated malformations were recorded in eleven patients (30.5%). The surgical procedure consisted of bilateral frontal craniectomy, opening of the roof of the orbit, advancement of the superior orbital margin, and repositioning of the frontal flaps after 180 degrees rotation. The cosmetical correction was satisfactory even in the immediate postoperative period. No mortality was recorded. The surgical correction was followed by a normal psychomotor development in 33 cases; delayed milestones were recorded in 2 children in whom the metopic synostosis was part of a complex malformative syndrome. On the grounds of our results, the young age of the patients at the operation should not be regarded as an obstacle to the immediate surgical correction; in our advice, the early correction results also in better functional and cosmetic long-term outcomes.

Craniosynostoses↗
PubMed1988

Nosographic identification and classification of plagiocephaly.

A classification of anterior plagiocephaly is proposed by the authors on the basis of the clinical and radiological findings analyzed in a series of 28 subjects less than 1 year old. Three main patterns of the anomaly have been identified. Type I anterior plagiocephaly is characterized by unilateral flattening of the frontal bone and elevation of the superior orbital ridge without deviation of the nasal pyramid. The vomer and petrous bones maintain a normal position. In type II anterior plagiocephaly, the frontal and orbital anomalies are accompanied by contralateral deviation of the nasal pyramid and homolateral anterior displacement of the petrous bone. A deviation of the sphenobasilar bone is associated with the above regard to the anomalies in type III anterior plagiocephaly. The three types of this particular form of craniosynostosis differ with difficulties involved in surgical management and outcome.

Craniosynostoses↗
PubMed1988

The lumbar subarachnoid infusion test in infants.

The authors describe the results obtained with the lumbar subarachnoid infusion test in 75 infants with suspected abnormalities in the cerebrospinal fluid dynamics. On the basis of the results obtained, an algorithm is proposed that enables infants with normal intracranial responses during the test to be differentiated from those with defective cerebrospinal fluid absorption mechanisms.

Cerebrospinal Fluid↗
PubMed1987

Neural tube defects. Some remarks on the possible role of glycosaminoglycans in the genesis of the dysraphic state, the anomaly in the configuration of the posterior cranial fossa, and hydrocephalus.

Recent developments in the field of experimentally induced neural tube defects (NTD) indicate that specific substances, namely the glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) may play a role in the genesis of spinal malformations. The authors report the results obtained by evaluating the GAGs in rat fetuses with NTD, secondary to the administration of Trypan Blue during pregnancy. A characteristic decrease in GAGs formation in the spinal and cranial structures as well as in the subependymal regions of the brain was found in the malformed fetuses. The authors hypothesize that this anomaly in GAGs formation is responsible for both the NTD and the associated malformations, namely hydrocephalus and hypoplasia of the posterior cranial fossa.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Multiple spinal meningiomas in children.

A case of a girl with multiple spinal meningiomas, without evidence of neurofibromatosis, is described. The patient first underwent the complete removal of an intradural tumour at the lower lumbar level, at the age of eight year. A second intradural meningioma, located at the upper lumbar level, was surgically excised after a five year symptom-free period.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

[Giant parietal foramina. A surgical defect?].

Sinus pericranii is unusually demonstrated in the region of the obelion. The radiological findings are those of large parietal foramina and the overlying soft tissue is bulging, suggesting vascular collection. The possible relationship between ossification of parietal bone and vascular anomaly is discussed.

Bone Diseases, Developmental↗
PubMed1983

Congenital choroid plexus papilloma: light and electron microscopic study of a case.

The outcome of a light and electron microscopic study of a congenital choroid plexus papilloma removed from a lateral cerebral ventricle of a 10-day-old male presenting hypertensive hydrocephalus at birth is reported. The tumor was diagnosed by CT and cerebral angiography. The findings, compared with those obtained from choroid plexuses of controls subjected to hemispherectomy for epilepsy, highlight the intense metabolic activity of the papilloma and the relevance of this to the communicating hydrocephalus that is frequently associated with it.

Cerebral Ventricle Neoplasms↗
PubMed1983

Spontaneous thrombosis of an aneurysm of the great vein of Galen.

A case of a thrombosed aneurysm of the vein of Galen in a 9-year-old boy is reported. Previously, only ten clotted aneurysms of the vein of Galen have been described. In our case, thrombosis occurred spontaneously after birth. Clinical presentation was characterized by signs of hydrocephalus, with an abrupt deterioration after several years of satisfactory clinical evolution. The patient was successfully treated with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt.

Brain↗
PubMed1982

Light microscopy and ultrastructural studies of Sturge-Weber disease.

Different degrees of cerebral calcifications together with encephalofacial angiomatosis and seizure disorders characterize the Sturge-Weber syndrome. According to the observations reported in the literature, calcium deposits may be found in the wall of cerebral vessels, in the perivascular tissue and rarely within the neurons. Corresponding to the variety of localizations, the interpretation of the phenomenon remains obscure. Most theories postulate the role of a vascular factory and of a mesenchymal factor. Ultramicroscopic studies of the specimens obtained in 2 children with the Sturge-Weber Syndrome provided the following findings. A mucopolysaccharidic substance constitutes the substratum for the deposition of calcium. Small amounts of this substance and calcium deposits may be detected within the connective tissue of cerebral vessels precociously; later on, while increasing in size and calcium concentration, they obviously migrate to outside the vessels. Successively, the calcium deposits seem to localize around the blood vessels, In our opinion, these observations stress the role of a primitive vascular factor; consequently, anoxia, necrosis of cerebral tissues, and variation in the calcium ion concentration would act only as secondary factors.

Angiomatosis↗