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Biomedical subjects

C Giorgi

Publications and source records attributed to C Giorgi.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

Neurological and psychological side effects after stereotactic thalamotomy in patients with cerebral palsy.

We describe the incidence of neurological and psychological side effects after stereotactic thalamotomy in 24 patients with abnormal movements secondary to cerebral palsy. The results of operation are outlined only briefly and, in terms of motor improvement, have been satisfactory. The side effects are categorized as motor or sensory impairments, autonomic disturbances, and mental disturbances. Their frequency and the recovery period are indicated; all of the side effects have been transient. Pathophysiological explanations of these side effects are proposed, correlated with different targets and hemispheric dominance. From our data we can conclude that (a) all side effects after stereotactic thalamotomy are more frequent in patients with cerebral palsy than in other patients and (b) the short time required for the side effects to reverse and their complete remission indicate that they are mainly due to perilesional edema, as suggested by computed tomographic scans.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Unfolding of E. coli ribosomes: evidence for pre-existing breaks in the large subunit.

An investigation has been made on structure modifications of E. coli ribosomes following EDTA treatment. When completely deprived of magnesium, the small subunit sediments at 16S while the large one, in the same conditions, shows two components at 17S and 21S. Unfolding causes in both subunits an increase in radius of gyration without substantial change in molecular weight, as shown by light scattering measurements. The occurence of the slower 17S component besides the 21S one has to be connected with a fraction of the large subunit population which presents nucleolytic breaks in its RNA chain. These breaks do not cause fragmentation of the unfolded subunit but lead to a more open configuration sedimenting at lower velocity.

Edetic Acid↗
PubMed1975

The secondary structure of E. coli ribosomes and ribosomal RNA's: a spectrophotometric approach.

The thermal denaturation spectra of E. coli 50s and 30s ribosomal sub units and of their isolated RNA's were studied over the wavelength range of 2300-3000 Angstrom. It was possible to fit the experimental denaturation spectra with super positions of the reference spectra for denaturation of A - U and G - C base pairs derived from model polyribonucleotides. The coefficients of these linear combinations were used to calculate the fractions of A - U and G - C base pairs in the samples. It was found that the helical content of the RNA's inside the subunits is smaller than that of the isolated RNA's, thus suggesting that proteins may affect the secondary structure of RNA in the ribosome.

Escherichia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Late neuropsychological and behavioural outcome of children surgically treated for craniopharyngioma.

Late outcome in 12 children treated by radical surgery for craniopharyngioma is presented. None of the patients presented underwent fractionated traditional or stereotactic radiotherapy. The results show no neurological (except visual dysfunction in 6 subjects), cognitive or short-term memory deficits. Three children were found to have a minor attention deficit. In 5 cases "frontal lobe" malfunctioning was disclosed, and in 5 there were bursts of unpredictable anger. Three children showed worsening of functioning at school: a combination of various causes is suggested to explain the worsening of academic performances. The size of the sample calls for a careful evaluation of results, with due consideration for the influence of various factors on outcome. Multicentre studies are required to increase the sample size and achieve more general conclusions.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Adult postanoxic "erratic" status epilepticus.

A 66-year-old woman with posttraumatic anoxic coma after diffuse cerebral fat embolism had continuous alternating-side myoclonic jerks. Usually, this kind of myoclonic status epilepticus (SE) occurs in newborn infants. We postulate the unusual combination of diffuse cerebral anoxia plus commissural fiber damage as a possible explanation.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hemispheric specialization in children with unilateral epileptic focus, with and without computed tomography-demonstrated lesion.

We evaluated 24 testable children with unilateral epileptic foci, with and without radiologically demonstrable lesions, to determine if the normal pattern of cerebral dominance is changed by the presence of an epileptic focus. Verbal and figural stimuli were presented tachistoscopically to the right and left visual hemifields to investigate the specific abilities of the two hemispheres. Three blocks of stimuli consisting of two-letter patterns, three-letter patterns, and meaningful two-syllable words were used as verbal stimuli to assess the abilities of the left hemisphere. A test consisting of localizing a dot on a 3 x 3 matrix was used to assess the abilities of the right hemisphere. Six normal children were chosen as controls. In all groups, specialization of the epileptic hemisphere was lost. The presence or absence of a radiologically demonstrable lesion did not influence this pattern.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (pseudotumor cerebri): descriptive epidemiology, clinical features, and visual outcome in Parma, Italy, 1990 to 1999.

PURPOSE: To ascertain the annual incidence rate and the clinical features, other than visual outcome, of idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) in Parma, northern Italy. METHODS: Neurologic care of people living in the Parma area is entirely provided by one private and two public hospitals. Medical records related to IIH were retrospectively reviewed for all Parma residents from 1990 through 1999. RESULTS: Ten patients (8 women and 2 men) were identified as having IIH according to modified Dandy criteria. Their age ranged from 16 to 53 years with a mean of 36 years at diagnosis. The annual age-adjusted rate per 100,000 is 0.28 for the total population. For women in reproductive age, the annual incidence rate is 0.65/100,000. For overweight women in reproductive age, the annual incidence rate is 2.7/100,000. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence rate found in this study is lower than the incidence reported in previous US and Libyan studies. A significant difference in overweight distribution is observed comparing percentage of body weight between US and Parma populations. As overweight and obesity are important factors contributing to IIH development, it is possible that their low percentage in the Parma population may, at least partially, explain the low IIH incidence observed.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The contribution of the cerebellum to mental and social functions in developmental age.

Here are present the data concerning the intellectual, language and frontal performances of 24 children who had undergone surgery because of cerebellar hemispheric or vermis tumors and one girl with viral cerebellitis. The children with right cerebellar tumors presented auditory sequential memory and language processing disturbances; those with left cerebellar tumors showed deficits in spatial tests and visual sequential memory. The girl with cerebellitis showed a complex neuropsychological picture with impairment in processing language and in general sequential functions. Lesions of the vermis lead to two pictures: 1) a postsurgical mutism that could be subdivided into speech disorders (even to the extent of anarthria) and true language disturbances similar to frontal aphasia; and 2) behavioral disturbances ranging from irritability to a truly autistic response. These data seem to support the recently attributed role of the cerebellum as a modulator of the superior mental and social functions.

Adolescent↗