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Biomedical subjects

G Lanzi

Publications and source records attributed to G Lanzi.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Early predictors of neurodevelopmental outcome at 12-36 months in very low-birthweight infants.

We followed-up 71 preterm survivors, 36 (50.7%) females and 35 (49.3%) males, correlating the results of neurological examinations (NE) at 40 weeks of corrected gestational age (GA) and the cerebral ultrasound (US) diagnosis with the neurodevelopmental outcome at 12-36 months of life. All 34 children with normal NE at term presented adequate neurodevelopmental outcome; these subjects have a normal US scan or a scan that is pathologic for uncomplicated hemorrhage. Of the 6 children with pathologic NE, but a normal US, 3 (50%) had a normal outcome, while 2 (34%) had mild impairments and 1 (16%) grave neurodevelopmental deficits. Of the 31 subjects with pathologic NE and US, 12 (39%) showed a normal outcome, and 6 (19%) had mild and 13 (42%) grave neurodevelopmental deficits; signs of parenchymal lesions with or without periventricular hemorrhage were particularly correlated to US. We conclude that the combination of the results of NE at 40 weeks GA and brain US are useful in early neurodevelopmental prognosis in very low-birthweight infants.

Child, Preschool↗

[Infantile cerebral palsy and neuromotor development in very low birth weight infants].

One hundred twenty-seven children born between September 1st 1980 and August 31st 1985 weighing less than or equal to 1500 g at birth and submitted to intensive neonatal care were followed-up to the age of 12-36 months of corrected age with a follow-up program to assess their neuromotor and cognitive development. The incidence of cerebral palsy (CP) in the population in question was 15.7% at 12 and 24 months and 14.6% at 36 months. A peak CP rate was observed among those born in 1982 with a steady decline in the number of CP cases among those born in the last years of this study. The group of children with a birth weight of 1001-1500 g (VLBWI) was more heavily affected by CP than those whose weight was less than or equal to 1000 g (ELBWI). Statistical analysis revealed a significant correlation between neuromotor development and the following factors relative to the perinatal period: type of birth, sex, respiratory distress requiring assisted ventilation, acidosis, ultrasound, neurological examination at the 40th week of gestational age.

Age Factors↗

Breathing patterns and HbSaO2 changes during nocturnal sleep in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

A night-time polygraphic sleep recording with continuous HbSaO2 monitoring was performed in 11 chair-bound Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients with severe restrictive lung disease but with blood gas values within normal limits when awake. No abnormalities of sleep pattern were detected. Nocturnal sleep did not have significant adverse effects on respiration. However, in 6 patients, infrequent central apnoeas or hypopnoeas occurred which were associated with falls in HbSaO2 greater than those that have been reported to be in normal subjects. The magnitude of HbSaO2 falls appeared to be significantly correlated with functional residual capacity values. Overall, the findings revealed a relatively preserved, although unstable, blood O2 balance during nocturnal NREM and REM sleep in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, even in an advanced stage of their illness.

Adolescent↗

Infantile autism and computerized tomography brain-scan findings: specific versus nonspecific abnormalities.

The hypothesis that specific computerized tomography brain-scan findings are associated with infantile autism was tested in 45 cases and 19 controls. The autistic group was subdivided into serious and less-serious language-impaired subgroups. The analysis of Euclidean Distances, a type of cluster analysis, showed that neuroradiological parameters of cases and controls, including ventricular sizes, were on the whole significantly different, but no statistically significant difference appeared between the two autistic subgroups. But the analysis of variance of each neuroradiological parameter did not show any significant difference between autistics and controls. It was concluded that autism is nonspecifically associated with brain-scan abnormalities, and that other nonorganic, as well as organic, factors should be taken into account.

Adolescent↗

Ataxia-without-telangiectasia in two sisters with rearrangements of chromosomes 7 and 14.

Two sisters, 11 and 9 years old respectively, had the clinical features of a progressive neurological disorder similar to the ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) syndrome. The two patients have ataxia and chromosome instability with rearrangements of chromosomes 7 and 14 but no telangiectasia, nor the range of immunological anomalies typical of AT. Comparison with similar cases from the literature leads to the conclusion that either there is a specific disorder characterized by ataxia-without-telangiectasia and with the same cytogenetic pattern of AT, or AT shows a wider variability of phenotypic expression than thought before.

Ataxia Telangiectasia↗

Effect of vigabatrin (gamma-vinyl-GABA) on visual, brainstem auditory and somatosensory evoked potentials in epileptic patients.

Visual (V), somatosensory (S) and brainstem auditory (BA) evoked potentials (EPs) were determined in 22 epileptic patients, mostly with partial seizures, who received add-on treatment with vigabatrin (1-3 g/day, stratified according to body weight) and placebo, each given for 7 weeks according to a double-blind, randomized cross-over design. At pretreatment assessment, BAEPs and SEPs were found to be within normal limits in most of the patients tested, while for VEPs several abnormal responses were found, including a marked prolongation of P100 latency values in the majority of cases. None of the EP parameters examined was significantly influenced by vigabatrin treatment. These results support the evidence that enhancement of GABA-ergic transmission does not substantially affect the functional state of afferent sensory pathways as assessed by EP analysis. The significance of these findings with respect to the safety of vigabatrin therapy is discussed.

Adolescent↗

Continuous recording of direct high fidelity arterial pressure and electrocardiogram in ambulant patients.

A system providing high quality direct arterial blood pressure recordings and electrocardiograms in ambulatory patients was devised using a modified commercially available Holter type magnetic tape recorder together with a microminiature Millar (3F) tip transducer. This system did not require a perfusion line and solved the major drawbacks of other available systems. Pressure and electrocardiographic data were fed directly from the playback unit into a minicomputer for automatic beat to beat waveform analysis. Thus the blood pressure and RR interval variability signals could be simultaneously analysed with autoregressive modelling techniques to provide a quantitative estimate of sympathovagal balance in ambulant patients. The system was reliable, simple, and safe to use.

Ambulatory Care↗

Late post-traumatic headache in pediatric age.

In this study we evaluate the incidence and clinical characteristics of headache which arise 12-18 months after a cranial trauma in a pediatric age group of subjects. We contacted 217 individuals who had been hospitalized for head injury to return for check-up; of the 138 who responded, there were 86 males and 52 females (mean 9.2 years). The responders were given a complete physical and neurological examination and, in the presence of at least one parent, asked to fill out a headache questionnaire. Twenty-nine per cent suffered from headache, and in 6.5% the headache was migrainous in nature. The 138 patients were split up into three sub-classes in accordance with the nature of the trauma and two sub-classes in accordance with the presence or absence of fractures. The results were then compared with those obtained from a control population (246 patients with a mean age of 8.8 years). An increased headache frequency was found in those patients with average to severe trauma. We conclude that cranial trauma is not likely to be followed by headache unless accompanied by loss of consciousness and/or focal neurological signs.

Adolescent↗