Biomedical subjects

G Micieli

Publications and source records attributed to G Micieli.

112 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Further characterization of autonomic involvement in multiple system atrophy: a pupillometric study.

Pupillometry is a simple non-invasive technique which allows early detection of an altered functioning of both branches of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). In the present study, the pupillometric findings (dark and light diameters and light reflex) obtained in 14 Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) patients (5 with the striatonigral degeneration (SND) type and 9 with the olivopontocerebellar (OPCA) type were compared with those of a sex- and age-matched control group and with a group patients suffering from idiopathic parkinsonism who had never undergone treatment previously. MSA patients showed larger pupils after dark and light adaptation, high degrees of anisocoria after light adaptation and a complex impairment of pupil response to light (mainly occurring in the OPCA-type of MSA) represented by an increase in latency, contraction time and a reduction in contraction amplitude. These data point to the existence in MSA (particularly of OPCA-type) of a pupillary imbalance, mainly involving the parasympathetic branch of the ANS, which is likely to be due to an impairment of the central pathways subserving pupil response to light and is probably detectable in the early stages of the disease by means of dynamic pupillometric evaluation.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Internal carotid occlusion associated with migraine syndrome: a case study of a 22-year-old female.

Migraine and migraine-like headaches are sometimes associated with acquired types of carotid artery disease. We examined a 22-year-old female suffering from periodic migraine, sometimes with "atypical" features. Color Flow Duplex Sonography revealed an occlusion of the right internal carotid artery (ICA) and a possible severe stenosis of the cervical segment of the left ICA. Digital Subtraction Angiography combined with Angio-Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Echographic Imaging suggested the possibility of a fibromuscular dysplasia involving both ICAs. It is suggested that some atypical features of headache could represent symptoms of a carotid pathology.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Lisuride and bromocryptine in L-Dopa stable-responder parkinsonian patients: a comparative, double-blind evaluation of cardiopressor and neurochemical effects.

In this study, we compared the haemodynamic and biochemical effects of bromocryptine to those of lisuride, in L-Dopa stable responder parkinsonian (PD) patients. Nineteen PD patients were admitted to the study. A double-blind, parallel group, randomized study was performed. Patients were randomly chosen to receive lisuride or bromoryptine. Both drugs were administered in increasing dosages until a maximum of either 0.6 mg lisuride or 7.5 mg bromocryptine was reached. The following tests were carried out: periprandial study, tilt table test and cardiovascular tests (sustained handgrip test, deep-breathing, lying-to-standing and Valsalva manoeuvre). During the tests, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate were monitored with an automatic sphyngomanometer. Blood samples for catecholamine assay were taken during tilt table test. In basal conditions 70% of the randomly chosen men in the bromocryptine group showed significant orthostatic hypotension (OH), while only one subject in the lisuride group demonstrated comparable OH values. The deepest derangement of orthostatic regulation was observed in the lisuride group but it should not be attributed to the greater hypotensive effects of this drug. Infact, the cardiopressor effects of bromocryptine may well be "masked" by the alteration detected in baseline conditions. Only bromocryptine significantly reduced supine and orthostatic NE plasma levels on the 14th day of therapy. Neither bromocryptine nor lisuride significantly altered periprandial blood pressure values. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that lisuride and bromocryptine are well tolerated as far as the analysis of the development of hypotensive effects is concerned. Further, more sophisticated study, with other agents that block the peripheral and/or central effects of dopamine-agonists in PD patients should be conducted in order better to define the precise role of these types of agents and the potential cardiopressor risks in these subjects.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Carotid artery atherosclerosis and risk factors for stroke in a selected population of asymptomatic men.

The prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis in the general population is variable. Also, the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and carotid atherosclerosis has yet to be clearly defined. We carried out a cross-sectional study of 441 asymptomatic male subjects to investigate possible relationships between extracranial carotid plaques, cardiovascular risk factors and asymptomatic coronary obstructive disease. Carotid atheromatous plaques, detected by means of B-mode ultrasonography, were present in 31.7% of the study population. Prevalence and severity of atherosclerosis were significantly correlated with age, total cholesterol and signs of ischemia upon exercise stress test. However, hypercholesterolemia seemed to play a significant pathogenic role only in the youngest subjects (<55 years old). Our study confirms the high prevalence of asymptomatic carotid plaques in the general population, especially in elderly subjects. The only reversible risk factor related to carotid atherosclerosis is hypercholesterolemia, and this is reversible only at a young age.

Age Factors↗