An exploratory case-control study on spinal and bulbar forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the province of Rome.

Several environmental and life-style factors reported as possibly associated with ALS have been analysed in the present study, focusing on the two clinical onsets of ALS. A case-control study (77 cases and 185 controls) has been performed in the province of Rome in the period 2005-2006. Increased risks were observed in bulbar cases for former smokers (OR: 4.

An unexpected recovery from permanent vegetative state.

Primary Objective: To challenge the Multi-Society Task Force's ruling that a persistent vegetative state (PVS) can be judged to be permanent for non traumatic brain injury after three months.

Method: We report the case of a 44-year-old man who had recovery of consciousness with persistent severe disability 19 months after a non-traumatic brain injury at least in part triggered and maintained by intrathecal baclofen administration.

Result: This unexpected and late recovery of consciousness raises an interesting hypothesis of possible effects of partially regained spinal cord outputs on reactivation of cognition.

Postoperative EEG and seizure outcome in temporal lobe epilepsy surgery.

Objective: To assess the prognostic value of scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) after epilepsy surgery, we investigated whether postoperative EEG abnormalities (interictal epileptiform discharges, IED; interictal slow activity, ISA) were associated with seizure outcome and other patient characteristics after resective surgery in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE).

Methods: Sixty-two patients with medically refractory TLE who underwent surgery were studied. Patients were categorized according to etiology (mesiotemporal sclerosis vs.

Ictal heart rate increase precedes EEG discharge in drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe seizures.

Objective: Heart rate (HR) changes, mainly tachycardia, are often observed during seizures originating from the temporal lobe. The aim of this study was to analyze the role of ictal HR changes in localizing both mesial and lateral temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in a group of 68 patients. The influence of the gender and the side of epilepsy on HR modulation was also evaluated.

Expression of human epileptic temporal lobe neurotransmitter receptors in Xenopus oocytes: An innovative approach to study epilepsy.

Poly(A(+)) RNA was extracted from the temporal lobe (TL) of medically intractable epileptic patients which underwent surgical TL resection. Injection of this mRNA into Xenopus oocytes led to the expression of ionotropic receptors for gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), kainate (KAI) and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA). Membrane currents elicited by GABA inverted polarity at -15 mV, close to the oocyte's chloride equilibrium potential, were inhibited by bicuculline, and were potentiated by pentobarbital and flunitrazepam.