Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to G Scollo-Lavizzari.
After mentioning the therapeutic effect of anti-convulsant medication on the pathophysiology of epileptic seizures the principal anticonvulsive drugs are characterized in a table. Furthermore their interactions with non-anticonvulsive drugs are pointed out, as well as side-effects. Some statements are made concerning genetic and psychosocial considerations.
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The action of intravenously injected taurine, glycine and GABA has been tested on convulsions induced by strychnine using electroencephalographic and electromyographic recordings. The dose of strychnine necessary to produce a generalized tonic-clonic seizure was 0.55 +/- 0.15 mg/kg intravenously for rabbits pretreated with taurine, which was significantly higher than for control animals (0.38 +/- 0.13 mg/kg). After pretreatment with glycine, the strychnine dose required to evoke convulsions (0.51 +/- 0.22 mg/kg) was also higher than the control values, but the difference was statistically not significant. The convulsive dose of strychnine in animals pretreated with GABA was slightly but not significantly lower than in control animals (0.31 +/- 0.13 mg/kg). These results suggest that taurine is the most effective amino acid to protect rabbits from seizures induced by strychnine.
7 adult cases with petit mal status are described; most of these patients had clinical recurrences of petit mal seizures after time intervals ranging from 15 to 50 years. Electroencephalography (EEG) and computerized transverse axial tomography (CT) findings are described and correlated. All CT studies showed frontal lobe abnormalities. When speaking of absence status in the adult, it is useful to distinguish between such an event within the course of primary generalized epilepsy and its reactivation after a very long seizure-free period at an older age. Such reactivations occur preferentially in women. CT supplies more structural information on the living brain and thus we could identify a dysplastic configuration of the skull and hemispheres in a 28-year-old patient and frontocortical and moderate subcortical lesions in the older age-group. The role of the frontal lobe in releasing spike-and-wave discharges of different degrees of generalization appears to be a new aspect worthy of further investigation.
99 patients with late epilepsy were investigated in our EEG laboratory. In intervals of maximal 100 days (averaged 23 days) a waking EEG recording and a CTAT were carried out. The average age was 43. 62.5% of the pathological CTATs were found in partial seizures with elementary symptomatology. In patients with generalized seizures the diagnosis of symptomatic epilepsy could be made in 20 cases (34%) with the help of computerized tomography. Generalized seizures were related to tumors only in 8.5% in our case material. In 20 of 99 EEGs in our patients there was a continuous delta wave focus, 12 of these with epileptogenic activity. Of these 20 patients, 18 showed a pathological result in computerized tomography. Eight tumors or metastases, 8 cases of atrophy (7 local and 1 diffuse) as well as 1 case of encephalitis could be diagnosed. 12 EEGs showed continuous or intermittent theta wave foci. Computerized tomography never gave a pathological finding in these patients. If one compares the results of CTAT and EEG in cases of tumor, the agreement between positive tomography and the pathological EEG is very high (97%): 33 positive CTATs comapred with 31 positive EEGs. Our investigations with computerized tomography show organic findings in 34 of 99 epilepsies, that is about 34%.
In the present work, on the basis of an unselected collection of patients suspected of epilepsy, the diagnostic value of waking and sleep recordings each after 24 h sleep deprivation are compared with one another. Indicative findings of epilepsy were found in 16.7% of the cases in the waking EEG after sleep deprivation. In the sleep EEG after sleep deprivation this amounted to 57.1%. These figures speak for the advantage of the second method. The result is highly significant with a chi2 value of 13.01 (p less than 0.01).
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193 patients with epilepsy were investigated by EEG and by computerized tomography (C.T.). 55.5% of the pathological C.T. scans were found in partial seizures with elementary symptomatology. In patients with generalized seizures the diagnosis of symptomatic epilepsy could be made in 40 cases (35.7%) with the help of computerized tomography. In 38 EEG there was a continual delta-wave focus, 18 of these with epileptogenic activity. Of these 38 patients, 34 showed a pathological result in computerized tomography. 19 tumors or metastases, 11 cases of atrophy (10 local and one diffuse) as well as one case of encephalitis could be diagnosed. The remaining 3 patients showed indefinate findings with C.T. 19 EEG showed intermittent theta-wave foci. Computerized tomography gave 5 pathological scans in these patients. If one compares the results of computerized tomography and EEG in cases of tumor, the agreement between positive tomography and the pathological EEG is very high (95%): 64 positive C.T. compared with 61 positive EEG. Our investigations with computerized tomography show organic findings in 67 of 193 epilepsies, that is about 35%.
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This paper reports on 294 patients with presumptive symptoms of epilepsy but no noteworthy, or only suspicious, EEG findings. With recording during sleep after 24-27 h of sleep deprivation, 138 persons showed definite epilepsy potentials. The remainder of the group showed no noteworthy findings. Nevertheless, on the basis of clinical observations and the course of the patient's illness, epilepsy was diagnosed in 27 patients of this second group. Neurophysiological aspects of the electroencephalographic provocation method are discussed.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.