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Biomedical subjects

F Cirignotta

Publications and source records attributed to F Cirignotta.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Nocturnal paroxysmal dystonia with short-lasting attacks: three cases with evidence for an epileptic frontal lobe origin of seizures.

The epileptic or nonepileptic origin of nocturnal paroxysmal dystonia (NPD) has been debated. We studied three patients with frequent attacks during non-REM sleep. During prolonged video-EEG monitoring, two patients had a convulsive seizure after a typical NPD episode and on these occasions EEG showed epileptiform discharge. In the three patients, attacks occurred repeatedly with different intensity, representing "fragments" of the same seizure. These fragments of the attack could occur periodically every 20-40 s. We postulate that short NPD attacks are actually epileptic seizures originating from the frontal lobes. The rhythmicity of the episodes may be due to rhythmic oscillation of cortical function during non-REM sleep.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Partial motor epilepsy with "negative myoclonus".

Three children had both nocturnal unilateral motor seizures and daytime ipsilateral "negative myoclonus" which occurred so frequently that it resembled asterixis. Neurophysiologic studies demonstrated lateralized spike discharges that were time-locked to postural lapse in the contralateral outstretched arm. The clinical course was characterized by good seizure control with benzodiazepines.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sleep complaints in periodic paralyses: a web survey.

Neuronal potassium conductance has been shown to influence the sleep-wake cycle and REM sleep homeostasis. The periodic paralyses (PP) are characterized by episodes of muscular weakness associated with changes in serum potassium levels and, therefore, with possible alterations in extracellular neuronal potassium conductance. We submitted a sleep questionnaire to the members of Periodic Paralysis International Listserv, an on-line support and information group for subjects with PP. Three control groups were made up of patients with untreated depression, patients with depression under treatment and healthy subjects. Both subjects with PP and those with untreated depression had a higher frequency of self-reported insufficient sleep quality and a higher number of nocturnal awakenings than patients with depression under treatment and healthy controls. PP subjects had more self-reported daytime sleepiness, sleep-related hallucinations and nightmares/abnormal dreams than the other three groups. Patients affected by PP may have disrupted sleep architecture and homeostasis. In particular, we suggest that the stereotypical abnormal dreams reported by several patients may reflect oneiric elaboration of nocturnal episodes of flaccid paralysis, while the increased frequency of sleep-related hallucinations may be due to enhanced REM sleep expression associated with alterations of neuronal potassium conductance.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Nocturnal myoclonus in restless legs syndrome effect of carbamazepine treatment.

We studied Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) and nocturnal myoclonus (NM) in 9 patients before and after carbamazepine treatment, to verify the correlation between improvement of RLS and modification of NM pattern during sleep. Although CBZ proved effective in the treatment of RLS, it did not modify the pattern of nocturnal myoclonus and its relationship to arousal during sleep. The efficacy of CBZ on RLS may be due to other properties of the drug rather than to the effect on nocturnal sleep: reduction of sleep latency and wakefulness after sleep onset.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Failure of automatic control of ventilation (Ondine's curse) associated with viral encephalitis of the brainstem: a clinicopathologic study of one case.

A case of Ondine's curse associated with hypothalamic dysfunction in an 8-year-old boy is described. The neuropathological examination revealed a viral encephalitis affecting the hypothalamus and the brainstem. In the medulla the inflammatory process involved the reticular formation and the nuclei considered to control automatic respiration such as the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, the nucleus tractus solitarii and the nucleus ambiguous. Although Ondine's curse following viral infection of the central nervous system has been previously reported this represents the first case of viral encephalitis to be pathologically documentated.

Autonomic Nervous System Diseases↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cheyne-Stokes breathing and systemic arterial pressure periodic pattern during sleep in central alveolar hypoventilation.

This report refers to a 51 year old man with the clinical features of central alveolar hypoventilation (CAH). Polysomnographic recordings showed periodic breathing and central apnoeas associated with abnormal oscillations of systemic arterial pressure and heart rate during all sleep stages. Oxygen administration during sleep reduced hypoxia, while the periodic breathing and arterial pressure oscillations persisted. The authors suggest that an impairment of the brain structures that play a role in homeostatic adjustment of autonomic functions in connection with the sleep-wake cycle, is responsible for the unusual sleep-related disturbances shown by this patient.

Blood Gas Analysis↗