Publications by authors named "Joseph Staffetti"

This is a case of a previously healthy middle-aged woman who presented with dyspnea after several days of an acute diarrheal illness. She developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) requiring mechanical ventilation and met clinical and laboratory criteria for toxic shock syndrome (TSS). Stool studies were positive for After a literature review, this was found to be the only reported case of gastroenteritis leading to TSS.

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Background: Essential tremor (ET) is one of the most common tremor disorders in the world. Despite this, only one medication, propranolol, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat it.

Objectives: We analyzed controlled clinical trials in ET, spanning the last 50 years, to identify potential shortcomings in the therapeutic clinical pipeline.

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Article Synopsis
  • - An elderly man with lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma developed weakness while on anticoagulants for atrial fibrillation, leading to an esophagogastroduodenoscopy.
  • - The procedure revealed herpes esophagitis and suspicious lesions, but biopsies confirmed Russell bodies without signs of Barrett's esophagus.
  • - This case is the first documented instance of Russell body esophagitis without Barrett's and suggests that the presence of Russell bodies in the gastrointestinal tract could indicate a need for evaluation of blood cancers.
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Introduction: Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA) are a group of rare neurodegenerative diseases that dramatically affect the lives of affected individuals and their families. Despite having a clear understanding of SCA's etiology, there are no current symptomatic or neuroprotective treatments approved by the FDA.

Areas Covered: Research efforts have greatly expanded the possibilities for potential treatments, including both pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions.

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Description Esophageal respiratory fistulas, commonly found as a tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF), are abnormal connections between the esophagus and trachea. These can be congenital (infants) or acquired (malignancy). A more rare form of an esophageal respiratory fistula is an abnormal connection between the esophagus and the lung parenchyma-also known as an esophagopulmonary fistula.

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Description rarely serves as a human pathogen, and only 6 cases of this microbe inoculating humans have been documented. We present an elderly female with a marked vascular history presenting with epigastric pain and diarrhea, followed by shaking chills. Laboratory findings revealed leukocytosis, with imaging showing diffuse colonic thickening.

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Purpose: To analyze the effects of different methods of measurement on the photopic negative response (PhNR), recorded as part of a standard ISCEV Photopic 3.0 ERG responses from patients with a variety of clinical diagnoses.

Methods: ERGs were recorded from both eyes of 97 patients (187 eyes) as part of a standard clinical assessment.

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A 65-year-old woman presented with right lower quadrant (RLQ) abdominal pain of three days duration. During her hospitalization, she underwent computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen, duplex ultrasound of the abdomen, esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), and colonoscopy as part of a diagnostic workup. The workup identified high-grade obstructions of the celiac artery (CA), superior mesenteric artery (SMA), atypical appearing gastric ulcers, and a diffusely ulcerated cecum, which created a mass-like appearance.

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Vascular pathology, including blood-CNS barrier (B-CNS-B) damage via endothelial cell (EC) degeneration, is a recently recognized hallmark of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) pathogenesis. B-CNS-B repair may be a new therapeutic approach for ALS. This study aimed to determine effects of transplanted unmodified human bone marrow CD34+ (hBM34+) cells into symptomatic G93A mice towards blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) repair.

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Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) is an inherited, progressive neurodegenerative disease that typically affects teenagers and young adults. Therapeutic strategies and disease insight have expanded rapidly over recent years, leading to hope for the FRDA population. There is currently no US FDA-approved treatment for FRDA, but advances in research of its pathogenesis have led to clinical trials of potential treatments.

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Rotigotine (RTG) is a dopamine agonist that is used as mono and adjunct therapy to treat Parkinson's disease, and as therapy for moderate-to-severe restless legs syndrome. RTG is the only dopamine agonist currently available as a 24-hour/day transdermal system, providing once-a-day dosing. As a transdermal patch, RTG bypasses the gastrointestinal tract, making it a treatment option for patients with dysphagia.

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Background: Tremors may be difficult to classify.

Case Report: An 83-year-old male presented with an unusual left wrist tremor. The tremor could be reproducibly elicited by making a fist or carrying a weighted object (e.

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Essential tremor is one of the most common movement disorders in the world. Although millions of people worldwide are affected by ET, only one medication, propranolol, is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration to treat it. None of the medications currently used as ET therapy were developed specifically for this purpose, and select antihypertensive and antiepileptic medications remain at the forefront of ET therapy.

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Medical therapy for essential tremor (ET), a common movement disorder, is often inadequate. We performed a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of zonisamide (ZNS), an antiepileptic agent, in treating ET. Twenty patients (mean age, 60 +/- 15 years) with ET were randomized to receive ZNS or placebo.

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We performed a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled pilot study to determine the efficacy of tegaserod (Zelnorm) in treating constipation in 15 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). There was a trend for improvement in the Subject's Global Assessment (SGA) of satisfaction with bowel habits (NS) and the total SGA (including abdominal discomfort, bothersome constipation, and satisfaction; NS).

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