The prognostic role of iron deficiency in acute ischemic stroke patients: A prospective multicentric cohort study.

Background And Aims: Iron deficiency (ID) is a prognostic factor in heart failure and acute coronary syndrome. However, its role in cerebrovascular diseases is controversial. We aimed to determine the impact of ID on the functional outcome of acute ischemic stroke patients.

Association of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Atrial Fibrillation in Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Cross-Sectional Study.

: There is a growing body of evidence suggesting a link between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and atrial fibrillation (AF). The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the association between OSA and AF in acute ischemic stroke. The secondary objective is to describe the clinical features of patients with acute ischemic stroke and concomitant OSA.

Suitability of electroencephalography in brain death determination: a monocentric, 10-year retrospective, observational investigation of 428 cases.

Background: We aimed to verify the usefulness of electroencephalographic (EEG) activity recording (that is mandatory according to the Italian law), in addition to two clinical evaluations spaced 6 h, among the procedures of brain death determination (BDD) in adult individuals.

Methods: The study is a monocentric, retrospective analysis of all BDDs performed in the last 10 years at Policlinico Le Scotte in Siena (Italy).

Results: Of the 428 cases revised (mean age 67.

Homotopic reduction in laser-evoked potential amplitude and laser-pain rating by abdominal acupuncture.

Background: The neural mechanism underlying the analgesic effect of acupuncture is largely unknown. We aimed at investigating the effect of abdominal acupuncture (AA) on the laser-evoked potential (LEP) amplitude and laser-pain rating to stimulation of body parts either homotopic or heterotopic to the treated acupoint.

Methods: Laser-evoked potentials were recorded from 13 healthy subjects to stimulation of the right wrist (RW), left wrist (LW) and right foot (RF).

Abnormal Circadian Modification of A-Fiber Pathway Excitability in Idiopathic Restless Legs Syndrome.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is characterized by unpleasant sensations generally localized to legs, associated with an urge to move. A likely pathogenetic mechanism is a central dopaminergic dysfunction. The exact role of pain system is unclear.

Polysomnographic and psychometric correlates of napping in primary insomnia patients.

This study aims to evaluate napping in patients with insomnia compared with two control groups and to investigate the relationships between psychometric measures and napping habitude. Sixty-eight adult patients with chronic primary insomnia were enrolled; 27 men and 41 women, mean age 53.6 ± 13.

Autonomic Nervous System Modifications During Wakefulness and Sleep in a Cohort of Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Goal: The aims of our study were to investigate autonomic modifications in wakefulness and sleep in a cohort of patients with acute ischemic stroke and to evaluate whereas these modifications were dependent by sleep stage and stroke lateralization.

Materials And Methods: We prospectively enrolled 42 patients (22 men and 20 women, mean age: 69.8 ± 11.

Low-Frequency rTMS of the Primary Motor Area Does Not Modify the Response of the Cerebral Cortex to Phasic Nociceptive Stimuli.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive technique of cortical stimulation. Although the exact mechanism of action is not clearly understood, it has been postulated that rTMS action on pain depends most on stimulation sites and stimulation parameters. Most studies concern high-frequency rTMS of the primary motor cortex (M1).

Usefulness of psychoeducational intervention in chronic insomnia: an actigraphic study.

: Chronic Insomnia is a severe and disabling condition characterized by difficulty in initiating or maintaining sleep, waking up too early, despite adequate opportunity and circumstances for sleep. Maladaptive thoughts and dysfunctional beliefs about sleep are considered crucial factors in developing and perpetuating this disorder.: The aim of the study was to explore the usefulness, in patients with chronic insomnia, of a one-session psychoeducational intervention on sleep-related maladaptive thoughts and beliefs, and on sleep perception.

Dysphagia and Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Acute, First-Ever, Ischemic Stroke.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and dysphagia are common in acute stroke and are both associated with increased risk of complications and worse prognosis. The aims of the present study were (1) to evaluate the prevalence of OSA and dysphagia in patients with acute, first-ever, ischemic stroke; (2) to investigate their clinical correlates; and (3) to verify if these conditions are associated in acute ischemic stroke.

Methods: We enrolled a cohort of 140 consecutive patients with acute-onset (<48 hours), first-ever ischemic stroke.

Sleep and fatigue in multiple sclerosis: A questionnaire-based, cross-sectional, cohort study.

Introduction: Fatigue and sleep disorders are frequently reported in patients affected by Multiple Sclerosis (MS) but the causes and the relationship are not yet fully understood. This study aimed at evaluating their prevalence, at determining the relationships between clinical findings of MS and the occurrence of sleep disorders and at investigating the relations between sleep disorders and fatigue.

Methods: One hundred and two MS patients were enrolled in the study.

Post-Encephalitic Parkinsonism and Sleep Disorder Responsive to Immunological Treatment: A Case Report.

We describe a 70-year-old man who, after a viral encephalitis associated with pneumonia, progressively developed a parkinsonism associated with lethargy. Encephalitis manifested with persistent hiccups, seizures and impairment of consciousness. After 2 weeks, the initial neurologic symptoms subsided and the patient progressively developed movement disorders (rigidity and bradykinesia, resistant to L-DOPA), lethargy and behavioral hypersomnia.

Hyperventilation in Patients With Focal Epilepsy: Electromagnetic Tomography, Functional Connectivity and Graph Theory - A Possible Tool in Epilepsy Diagnosis?

Purpose: Hyperventilation (HV) is a commonly used electroencephalogram activation method.

Methods: We analyzed EEG recordings in 22 normal subjects and 22 patients with focal epilepsy of unknown cause. We selected segments before (PRE), during (HYPER), and 5 minutes after (POST) HV.

Expectation to feel more pain disrupts the habituation of laser-pain rating and laser-evoked potential amplitudes.

Increased pain perception due to the expectation to feel more pain is called nocebo effect. The present study aimed at investigating whether: (1) the mere expectation to feel more pain after the administration of an inert drug can affect the laser-pain rating and the laser-evoked potential (LEP) amplitude, and (2) the learning potentiates the nocebo effect. Eighteen healthy volunteers were told that an inert cream, applied on the right hand, would increase the laser pain and LEP amplitude to right hand stimulation.

Regional distribution of ventilation in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: the role of thoracic electrical impedance tomography (EIT) monitoring.

Purpose: The aim of our study was to apply the electrical impedance tomography (EIT) technique to the study of ventilation during wake and NREM and REM sleep in patients with obstructive sleep apneas (OSA).

Methods: This is a prospective, observational, monocentric, pilot study in a neurology department with a sleep disorder center. Inclusion criteria were age ≥18 years, both gender, and diagnosis of OSA.

Focal Mechanical Vibration Does not Change Laser-Pain Perception and Laser-Evoked Potentials: A Pilot Study.

Background: Nonpainful tactile and electrical stimulation of the large myelinated fibers reduces spontaneous pain and the amplitude of laser-evoked potentials (LEPs), which represent the most reliable technique to assess the nociceptive pathway function. Focal mechanical vibration stimulates the Aβ afferents selectively; thus, it is conceivable its action on nociceptive pathways.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of vibratory stimuli, activating either both muscle and skin receptors or cutaneous afferents only on the LEPs and subjective laser-pain rating.

Warmth and nociceptive evoked potentials in cold-induced sweating syndrome type 1.

Introduction: Cold-induced sweating syndrome type 1 (CISS1), is a rare, severe, autosomal recessive disease. It is characterized by morphological alterations and profuse sweating when ambient temperature is <22 °C. Although some individuals with CISS1 have decreased pain perception, no study has been conducted to evaluate thermal and pain sensations in these patients.

Cortical inhibition of laser pain and laser-evoked potentials by non-nociceptive somatosensory input.

Although the inhibitory action that tactile stimuli can have on pain is well documented, the precise timing of the interaction between the painful and non-painful stimuli in the central nervous system is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate this issue by measuring the timing of the amplitude modulation of laser evoked potentials (LEPs) due to conditioning non-painful stimuli. LEPs were recorded from 31 scalp electrodes in 10 healthy subjects after painful stimulation of the right arm (C6-C7 dermatomes).

Neurophysiological correlates of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing sessions: preliminary evidence for traumatic memories integration.

We have investigated the potential role of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) in enhancing the integration of traumatic memories by measuring EEG coherence, power spectra and autonomic variables before (pre-EMDR) and after (post-EMDR) EMDR sessions during the recall of patient's traumatic memory. Thirteen EMDR sessions of six patients with post-traumatic stress disorder were recorded. EEG analyses were conducted by means of the standardized Low Resolution Electric Tomography (sLORETA) software.

Upper airway surgery of obstructive sleep apnea in pycnodysostosis: case report and literature review.

Pycnodysostosis is an autosomal recessive disorder due to a mutation in the cathepsin K gene, which causes a decrease of the bone turnover; a review of the literature suggests that pycnodysostosis is frequently associated with severe respiratory obstruction, which needs surgical treatment. The aim of this paper is to describe the surgical treatment of a 3½-year-old girl affected by Pycnodysostosis complicated by a severe sleep-related respiratory disorder. The surgical treatment, consisting of adenotonsillectomy and palatoplasty, resulted in a striking amelioration of respiratory parameters and increased posterior airway space, and allowed the patient to avoid tracheotomy while awaiting for maxillo-mandibular surgery.

Modification of EEG power spectra and EEG connectivity in autobiographical memory: a sLORETA study.

The aim of the present study was to explore the modifications of scalp EEG power spectra and EEG connectivity during the autobiographical memory test (AM-T) and during the retrieval of an autobiographical event (the high school final examination, Task 2). Seventeen healthy volunteers were enrolled (9 women and 8 men, mean age 23.4 ± 2.

Rivastigmine for refractory REM behavior disorder in mild cognitive impairment.

Background: Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and REM Behavior Disorder (RBD) are both associated with a degeneration of ponto-medullary cholinergic pathways.

Methods: We conducted a placebo-controlled, cross-over pilot trial of Rivastigmine (RVT) in 25 consecutive patients with MCI, who presented RBD refractory to conventional first-line treatments (melatonin up to 5 mg/day and clonazepam up to 2 mg/day).

Results: RVT treatment was followed by a significant reduction of RBD episodes when compared with placebo.

Polysomnographic findings in a cohort of chronic insomnia patients with benzodiazepine abuse.

Study Objectives: To evaluate sleep modifications induced by chronic benzodiazepine (BDZ) abuse.

Methods: Cohort study, comparison of sleep measures between BDZs abusers and controls. Drug Addiction Unit (Institute of Psychiatry) and Unit of Sleep Disorders (Institute of Neurology) of the Catholic University in Rome.