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Biomedical subjects

L Murri

Publications and source records attributed to L Murri.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Evoked potentials in the evaluation of patients with mitochondrial myopathy.

Multimodality evoked potentials and pattern electroretinograms (PERGs) were performed in seventeen patients with histologically defined mitochondrial myopathy (MM). Brainstem auditory evoked potentials showed abnormalities in 47% and somatosensory evoked potentials in 76%. Visual evoked potentials were outside the normal range in 71%; PERGs exhibited a decreased amplitude or delayed P50 in 78%. These findings may be considered as an expression of impairment of the central nervous system in MM, even if the specific mechanism, 'structural' or 'functional', needs further investigation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Phenobarbital in the prophylaxis of late posttraumatic seizures.

390 patients with severe head injuries were treated with phenobarbital (PB) orally for a period of 12 months in order to determine whether this drug could reduce the incidence of posttraumatic epilepsy (PTE). An intramuscular PB dose of 2.5-3 mg/kg body weight per day was administered within 24 hours after the trauma; after 5 days, or longer if the coma persisted, the drug was administered orally. Maintenance dosage adjustments, when necessary, were based on serial plasma concentrations of the drug, sustained at between 5 and 30 micrograms/ml. 293 patients completed the study. 66% of these presented one risk factor, while 34% presented two or more. 6 patients (2.04%) had at least one seizure during the twelve months. Plasma drug levels at the time of the seizure, with one exception of 15 micrograms/ml, ranged from 20 to 28 micrograms/ml. The results of the study indicate that PB administered during the first twelve months after the trauma, even at relatively low doses, can have a prophylactic effect on PTE.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Emotivity, personality, and task-dependent EEG asymmetry.

In order to verify if task-dependent EEG asymmetry is related to emotivity or personality traits, the relationship between EEGraphic (EEG mapping) asymmetry, personality aspects, and emotional-affective state in 12 healthy volunteers was evaluated by means of standardized methods (SAD and CPI). Our subjects show an EEG asymmetry which is currently attributed in the literature to anxiety. In our subject the absence of anxiety and the presence of hyperthymic characteristics suggests that the different individual trends observed in various studies which have used methods similar to ours, could, at least partly, depend on interference on these variables.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Dream structure in Parkinson's patients.

Dream reports of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) were analyzed to ascertain whether cognitive deficits associated with this nonfocal brain pathology influence dream structure or dream recall. Fifteen outpatients with idiopathic PD were sampled (diagnosed from 1 to 10 years and currently in stage II or III of Hoehn and Yarh's scale); all were without psychiatric symptoms or major medical illnesses and were currently being treated with L-dopa. After an adaptation night in the sleep laboratory, each patient spent a night in which he/she was awakened at least twice in rapid eye movement sleep and asked to report dream experience. Thirteen patients were able to report at least one dream. Overall frequency of dream recall (71.4%) was fully compatible with normative data for the elderly. Multiple regression analyses showed that both the length of the dream report as story and the organization of contents into coherent episodes (analyzed using Mandler and Johnson's story grammar) varied significantly in relation to level of cognitive functioning and, in part, of language comprehension, but not in relation to age, illness duration, and dose of L-dopa.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1992

Evaluation of antihistamine-related daytime sleepiness. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study with terfenadine.

The daytime sleepiness potentially associated with antihistamines was evaluated by the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) in a study comparing terfenadine with placebo. According to a double-blind, randomized, cross-over design, 12 healthy men were given either 120 mg terfenadine or placebo once daily in the morning, for 3 consecutive days with a 5-day interval. EEG-polygraphic recordings were made each study day at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m., and 1:30, 3:30, and 5:30 p.m., and the tendency to fall asleep was measured. All mean stage-1 sleep latencies throughout the study failed to show any significant difference between terfenadine and placebo. Accordingly, psychomotor performance assessed by visual and auditory reaction time did not change after treatment. The results of this study confirmed that terfenadine does not induce daytime sleepiness as objectively measured by MSLT.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Electroencephalographic mapping.

Topographic electroencephalographic (EEG) mapping is a non-invasive technique which assesses the functional state of the brain. Its recent application to diverse aspects of basic research reflects the increasing interest being shown in this technique. Clinical applications are as yet limited, but studies carried out so far seem to indicate that EEG mapping provides more subtle and detailed information than conventional inspection of background EEG activity.

Brain↗
PubMed1991

Clinical-instrumental evaluation of the effects of mesoglycan sulphate in chronic vascular encephalopathy.

15 patients with chronic cerebrovascular disease were studied using carotid Doppler and B-mode echography, transcranial Doppler, EEG and clinical evaluation before and 3 and 6 months after treatment with mesoglycan sulphate at doses of 96 mg/day per os. A subjective improvement was reported by 7 out of 15 patients while no significant variations in Doppler, TCD, echographic and EEG data were observed. During treatment no side effects or laboratory abnormalities were found.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Multimodality evoked potentials in myotonic dystrophy.

Multimodality evoked potentials were performed in 18 patients affected by myotonic dystrophy (8 males and 10 females); the aim was to make an electrophysiological evaluation of the central nervous system involvement in this disease. We observed brainstem, somatosensory and visual evoked potential abnormalities respectively in 53%, 62.5% and 71.4% of cases, with no apparent relationship to the severity of the disease. Our abnormal findings provide further confirmation of CNS involvement in myotonic dystrophy and occur in various combinations suggesting an aspecific involvement at different levels, reflecting the multisystemic character of this disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

A study of the interhemispheric correlation during sleep in elderly subjects.

The interhemispheric relationship during sleep in elderly subjects was studied throughout the night by a minute-by-minute computation of two linear correlation coefficients between right and left EEG activities. One of these coefficients (X delta) related to the 1-4-Hz band activity, and the other (X sigma) to the 12.5-14.5-Hz band activity. For five of the six subjects examined, it was found that the rapid-eye-movement (REM) mean values of both coefficients were significantly different from the nonrapid-eye-movement (NREM) values. A comparison between this elderly group and a control group of young subjects, examined previously, did not reveal any significant shift, either for the REM or for the NREM mean values of the coefficients.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Trigemino-cervical reflex in pathology of the brain stem and of the first cervical cord segments.

The trigemino-cervical reflex (CR) sensitivity and specificity in the assessment of cervico-bulbar lesions was evaluated in eleven selected subjects (4 multiple sclerosis, 3 tumoural processes and 4 cervical cord spondilogenetic myelopathies). Results were compared with those obtained from others neurophysiological investigations (EMG and blink-reflex) and with neuroimaging findings. Significant abnormal responses of CR were found in all patients varying from absent responses, to delayed or reduced amplitude patterns. These data stress the utility of CR in the check of cervico-bulbar lesions, where it can be considered complementary to other electrophysiological tests.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Changes in the interhemispheric correlation during sleep in normal subjects.

The correlation coefficients between left and right activity in the various frequency bands of the EEG signal were computed during sleep for 11 normal adults. The values of the correlation during REM sleep were compared with those for NREM sleep. This comparison was performed 'locally,' i.e., during each period of the REM-NREM cycle, as well as over the whole night. For 9 out of the 11 examined subjects, both a visual comparison with the hypnogram and a statistical analysis showed the existence of cyclic variations during the night in the delta and/or sigma correlation coefficient. These variations lasted for the whole night and were synchronized with the REM-NREM cycle. A possible connection between these results and data on the interhemispheric relationship given by amplitude analysis is briefly discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Dream recall after sleep interruption in brain-injured patients.

Nineteen patients with unilateral hemispheric lesions of a vascular or neoplastic nature were studied. Before the onset of disease, these patients had experienced dream recall at least once a week. During hospitalization their dream recall was investigated using a morning diary for 10 consecutive days. During this period, seven patients reported having dreamed, whereas 12 had no dream recall. Subsequently, the patients' sleep was interrupted during both stage 2 NREM and REM sleep. With this method, 11 patients reported having dreamed at least once, whereas eight had no dream recall. Patients with lesions in the temporo-parieto-occipital region had a more frequent loss of dream recall than those with lesions outside this area. The agreement between the results obtained using the diary and those from provoked awakening was significant. The results obtained from compilation of a diary on morning awakening appear sufficiently reliable to reveal the presence or absence of dream recall in patients with focal cerebral lesions in the acute phase of the disease.

Aged↗
PubMed1985

Effects of carbamazepine on prolactin secretion in normal subjects and in epileptic subjects.

The effects of carbamazepine (CBZ) on spontaneous secretion of prolactin (PRL) and after stimulation with thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) were evaluated. Volunteer subjects after acute CBZ administration, and epileptic subjects with complex partial seizures chronically treated with CBZ, were examined. In an epileptic group, CBZ did not change TRH stimulatory effect on PRL secretion. No appreciable changes of PRL spontaneous secretion were observed, and only a small increase of sleep-entrained values with preservation of the normal secretory circadian rhythm was noted, both in normal subjects and in epileptic subjects. This result could be explained by a serotoninergic activity of PRL changes produced by CBZ in these various conditions agrees with the absence of published reports of CBZ side effects associated with hyperprolactinemia.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Dream recall in patients with focal cerebral lesions.

Rare case reports have indicated that brain lesions may cause a loss of dream recall. We investigated reports of dream recallers with acute unilateral brain lesions who did not have clinical agnosia and examined 53 patients with such focal lesions clinically and radiologically. Patients with posterior lesions showed a frequent loss of dream recall while those with anterior lesions rarely did so. The cessation of dream recall was associated with defective performance in tests for visuoperceptive functions. We concluded that patients with acute posterior hemispheric lesions frequently lose their ability to recall dreams.

Brain Diseases↗
PubMed1980

Spontaneous nocturnal plasma prolactin and growth hormone secretion in patients with Parkinson's disease and Huntington's chorea.

Plasma prolactin (PRL) and growth hormone (GH) levels were measured in 8 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and in 6 patients with Huntington's chorea (HC) during the night. The sleep was evaluated with all-night poligraphic recordings. Plasma PRL levels were significantly lower in parkinsonian patients than in age-matched controls. Plasma GH values did not differ between the two groups. In HC patients no statistically significant differences were found in the PRL and GH secretory patterns when compared to the age-matched control subjects. These data indicate that changes of nocturnal PRL and GH profile in PD and HC patients in respect to age-matched healthy subjects, may be present, but a straight forward differentiation among groups is not possible because of the wide individual variations.

Aged↗
PubMed1980

Evaluation of twenty-four-hour secretory patterns of growth hormone and insulin in patients with myotonic dystrophy.

Twenty-four-hour secretory patterns of GH and insulin were evaluated in seven patients with myotonic dystrophy. We found an impairment of sleep-related GH secretion and an increase of nocturnal serum insulin levels. There was no correlation between hormonal behavior and severity of disease. It is possible that the observed hormonal dysfunction is related to a multisystem disorder in myotonic dystrophy.

Adult↗