Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

G Caruso

Publications and source records attributed to G Caruso.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Magnetic resonance imaging in pregnancy: study of fetal cerebral malformations.

This paper reports 15 examinations by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed in pregnant women whose fetuses had cerebral malformations identified by sonography. In all the cases the fetuses were immobilized by ultrasound-guided intravenous or intramuscular curarization. The diagnoses by MRI and ultrasound differed only in one case where an occipital meningocele had first been suggested. No cerebral abnormalities were demonstrated in this case by the MRI study, and this was confirmed at birth. In the remaining 14 cases, MRI confirmed the ultrasound diagnosis of cerebral malformation. In four of these cases, MRI added some additional information to the ultrasound diagnosis of ventriculomegaly by detecting agenesis of the corpus callosum in two fetuses, one Chiari malformation and one triventricular hydrocephalus. Another two ultrasound diagnoses of microcephaly actually proved to be semilobar holoprosencephaly with MRI. In the following cases, the MRI diagnoses concurred with those of ultrasound, and was therefore used unnecessarily despite providing further anatomical details of the lesions: two cases of agenesis of the corpus callosum, one case of anencephaly, a cystic hygroma of the neck, an alobar holoprosencephaly, a Dandy-Walker malformation and a mild isolated hydrocephalus associated with diaphragmatic hernia. In one case of iniencephaly, sonography offered closer approximation to the correct diagnosis. The results obtained unequivocally confirm the high sensitivity of ultrasound examinations in the prenatal screening of cerebral malformations and show that MRI proves to be complementary in uncertain cases or when more accurate anatomical detail is required.

Journal Article↗
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

Evoked potentials in inherited ataxias: a multimodal electrophysiological study.

A multimodal electrophysiological study, including median nerve somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs), motor cortical stimulation (CS) and brainstem evoked potentials (BAEPs), was performed on 34 patients with hereditary ataxias (HAs): 15 with Friedreich's disease (FD), 10 with early onset cerebellar ataxia (EOCA), and 9 with autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia (ADCA). A higher incidence of abnormal central motor conduction was observed in FD than in EOCA patients, but was never observed in ADCA. A relationship between central motor conduction abnormalities and disease duration and clinical impairment was found only in FD patients. All FD patients showed severe impairment of the SSEPs that was not related to disease duration. In EOCA patients, less frequent and more variable SSEP abnormalities were observed. The lowest incidence of central SSEP abnormalities was observed in ADCA. The BAEP findings in all 3 groups of patients (but particularly those with EOCA) suggest prevalent brainstem damage.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Determinants of compliance with an early detection programme for cancer of the head and neck in north-eastern Italy.

An early detection programme for cancer of the head and neck (H&N) has been conducted from January 1991 to January 1993 in Pordenone province, north-eastern Italy, an area with very high mortality rates for cancers in those sites. 627 high-risk individuals (491 males, median age 57 years and 136 females, median age 47 years) (i.e. smokers and/or drinkers of more than a half litre of wine or equivalent per day) were referred to a research nurse by 21 general practitioners. An educational message on the health hazards of tobacco and alcohol abuse was delivered together with an invitation to undergo a free ear, nose and throat (ENT) examination at a nearby hospital. 212 individuals (34%) underwent the ENT visit. The influence of various individuals' characteristics on the lack of compliance was assessed. Female sex and absence of ENT symptoms were associated with a more than two-fold higher lack of compliance. Current smokers were more than three-fold less likely to accept the invitation to undergo the examination. Conversely, alcohol intake and, within smokers, the amount smoked seemed unimportant. This study shows that the correct identification of high-risk individuals is expensive and the compliance with a H&N cancer early detection programme relatively low, especially among smokers.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Color Doppler ultrasonography in pediatric intussusception.

CDU was used in 11 children with intussusception. Demonstration of vascular images within the "pseudokidney" mass was possible in none of 11 cases. Of them, eight could be treated by hydrostatic reduction. In the remaining case, marked edema of the bowel wall did not allow reduction, and surgery had to be performed: no necrosis was observed in the surgical specimen. Both patients in whom CDU failed to demonstrate vascular signals had necrosis at surgery, and bowel resection was performed. Because of the limited number of patients examined at this time, no firm conclusions can be drawn from our experience. However, CDU seems a promising technique in detecting vascular changes occurring in intussusception, with a possible role as a predictive tool of bowel necrosis.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1994

[Angiogenetic capacity of breast neoplasms and correlation with color-Doppler semiology].

The authors correlated the presence/absence of color signal-as shown by color-Doppler ultrasonography (CDUS) in 22 cases of breast carcinoma-with lesion angiogenesis potentials, as evaluated in the histologic sections with the determination of the microscopic angiogenesis grading system (MAGS) index. In all 4 cases in which CDUS showed no color signal, MAGS index value exceeded 30, which is suggestive of high neoplastic neoangiogenesis potentials. In contrast, in 17 of 18 cases positive to CDUS, MAGS index value remained below 30 and the microscopic analysis showed the presence of many fresh vessels more than 1 mm in caliber. Consequently, the presence of color signals at CDUS exams may be related to the features of tumor feeding vessels and therefore a negative CDUS exam cannot be considered as a reliable sign to exclude a malignant lesion.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1994

[The echocardiographic assessment of the functional variations in the left ventricle induced by isometric stress in subjects with primary cardiomyopathy in the pre-dilated phase].

The aim of this study was to assess whether a sudden increase in left ventricular (LV) afterload in a pre-dilated condition of idiopathic cardiomyopathy, in associated with some non-invasively detectable impairment of LV function. Ten subjects (Group A, 7 males, 3 females, mean age 36.7 +/- 11.4 years), submitted to cardiac catheterization because of severe symptoms related to ventricular arrhythmias, were found to have normal coronary arteries and left ventricular function, but histological features suggestive of congestive cardiomyopathy at endomyocardial biopsy. Echocardiography was performed during handgrip for 5 min at 30% of the maximal effort, in order to obtain a sharp increase in systolic LV pressure of more than 40 mm Hg. Ten healthy subjects were used as controls (Group B). Results in Group A showed a significant decrease in LV ejection fraction (from 62.4 +/- 6.9 to 57 +/- 7; p < 0.005) and LV shortening fraction (from 34.2 +/- 5.1 to 31 +/- 4.3; p < 0.01); a significant increase in LV systolic volume (from 48.2 +/- 9.1 to 60.0 +/- 12.0; p < 0.005) and systolic stress (from 114.6 +/- 33.2 to 178.8 +/- 58.2; p < 0.001). At the first minute of recovery LV function normalized quickly while LV systolic volume remained moderately increased (52.5 +/- 10.2). In conclusion, in pre-congestive dilated cardiomyopathy a latent impairment in LV function can be detected during a sharp increase of LV afterload. Isometric stress is particularly useful in eliciting these transient changes, as the method allows a reliable echocardiographic examination during maximal stress and not only during the recovery phase, as in dynamic stress.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

[Effect of the chronic treatment with L-acetylcarnitine in Down's syndrome].

Neuropsychologic tests were performed in subjects with Down syndrome in order to assess the effect of a 90-day treatment with L-acetyl-carnitine (LAC). Findings were evaluated statistically (Wilcoxon test) and compared to three further groups of subjects: untreated Down syndrome, mental deficiency due to other cases treated and not treated with LAC (Mann-Whitney U-test). Treated Down syndrome patients showed statistically significant improvements of visual memory and attention both in absolute terms and in comparison with the other groups. No improvement was found in mentally deficient non-Down subjects, so that the favourable effect of LAC appears to be specific for Down patients. In view of the analogies of the pathology and neurochemistry between Down syndrome and Alzheimer degenerative deficiency (deficit of cholinergic transmission) it is suggested that the action of LAC in these pathologies is related to its direct and indirect cholinomimetic effect.

Acetylcarnitine↗
PubMed1993

The diagnostic potential of fetal renal biopsy.

The feasibility of fetal renal biopsy has been investigated in order to assess the diagnostic value of the histological specimen. Two fetuses with a severe bilateral renal abnormality (multicystic dysplastic kidney, Meckel-Gruber syndrome with polycystic kidney) and one fetus with Down syndrome (no detectable structural anomaly) were sampled. Histological findings in the biopsy specimens of cases 1 and 2 were diagnostic of an early obstructive renal disease. In case 3, the findings were consistent with normal development for gestational age of the kidney. Fetal renal biopsy is technically feasible; histological examination of the samples showed a good correlation with postnatal findings. Further studies of its diagnostic value are required.

Adult↗
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↗
PubMed1993

Correlation between hyperglycemia and cerebral infarct size in patients with stroke. A clinical and X-ray computed tomography study in 104 patients.

Infarct area size on CT scan in 104 patients with ischemic stroke was compared with blood glucose levels and with other biological parameters (arterial pressure, hematocrit, consciousness impairment, clinical picture) during the acute stage. Infarct size was also compared with the presence and severity of diabetes mellitus and other risk factors. Infarct size was significantly correlated with hyperglycemia in the acute stage (p = 0.0348), regardless of the presence of established diabetes. These findings support the hypothesis that hyperglycemia directly increases regional brain damage due to acute vascular insufficiency. Infarct size was also correlated with the presence of atrial fibrillation, consciousness impairment, severity of clinical picture and neurological outcome.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[Echo-color Doppler in the study of hypothyroidism in the adult].

Color-Doppler US was performed on 20 patients with sub-clinic hypothyroidism which had been confirmed by laboratory tests. In all cases, color-Doppler US showed increased parenchymal flow, whose semiology was similar to the one known as "thyroid inferno" and currently associated, in the literature, with diffuse hyperfunction conditions. Quantitative measurements yielded no further element for differential diagnosis, while showing high flow speeds which were similar to those in hyperfunction. On the basis of consequent physiopathologic considerations, hypervascularization, as observed in hypothyroidism, is likely to be referred to the hypertrophic action of TSH, which was reported as high in all patients. In conclusion, the color-Doppler "thyroid inferno" pattern, which has been to date considered as specific of thyroid hyperfunction, has lost part of its diagnostic specificity, and further investigation--e.g. hormonal titers, scintigraphy--is needed for an unquestionable diagnosis to be made.

Adult↗