Publications by authors named "Marilena Mangiardi"

Introduction: This study is based on the hypothesis that, in men, the initial sexual response to erotic stimuli is triggered by a psycho-sensory pelvic reflex, mediated by the contraction of the pelvic floor muscles (PFM), rather than by an erection.

Objective: The objective is to determine, using a questionnaire that evokes an erotic image, whether there is a correlation between an erotic psycho-sensory stimulus and PFM contraction in men and females and whether this contraction encourages the subject to seek sexual activity.

Materials And Methods: An online questionnaire was administered to 270 respondents (134 males, 136 females; mean age = 36.

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  • Dropped head syndrome (DHS) involves severe neck flexion due to neck muscle tone imbalance, often linked to neuromuscular conditions like myasthenia gravis (MG), while Parkinson's disease (PD) may present with a similar issue called antecollis without muscle weakness.
  • A case study of a 71-year-old man showed symptoms of neck flexion and Parkinsonism, including rigidity and reduced arm swing, but also revealed significant neck muscle weakness and confirmed MG with specific tests.
  • Successful treatment involved medications for both MG (pyridostigmine and plasma exchange) and PD (carbidopa/levodopa), emphasizing the importance of detailed clinical evaluations to address the complex interplay between these conditions
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  • - Argyria is a condition caused by the chronic buildup of silver in various body tissues, including the skin, liver, and brain, and its connection to neuropsychiatric issues is still under discussion.
  • - The authors conducted a narrative review of case reports to explore the relationship between silver accumulation and neurological or psychiatric symptoms, highlighting a case of a man who developed severe depression after using a silver nasal spray.
  • - They identified 15 cases where patients with argyria displayed symptoms like epilepsy, neurodegenerative diseases, and psychiatric disorders, emphasizing the importance of understanding the mechanisms and symptoms to prevent potential brain complications.
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  • Management of cerebral hemorrhage in patients on anticoagulants is complex due to a lack of clear guidelines.
  • There can be multiple causes for bleeding, so it's important to conduct thorough diagnostic tests rather than assume the anticoagulation is the sole reason.
  • A specific case is highlighted involving a 73-year-old man with atrial fibrillation and other medical devices who experienced a minor ischemic stroke and recurrent cerebral hemorrhages while on anticoagulant therapy.
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Cerebral collateral circulation is a network of blood vessels which stabilizes blood flow and maintains cerebral perfusion whenever the main arteries fail to provide an adequate blood supply, as happens in ischemic stroke. These arterial networks are able to divert blood flow to hypoperfused cerebral areas. The extent of the collateral circulation determines the volume of the salvageable tissue, the so-called "".

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Stroke is a major cause of seizures and epilepsy in adults. Stroke severity, younger age, hemorrhagic subtype of stroke, and alcohol use have been identified as risk factors for the development of stroke-related epilepsy. Despite being a common complication in stroke survivors, current guidelines do not provide strong recommendations about the optimal treatment of post-stroke seizures.

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Objectives: To assess acute lipid profiles, atrial fibrillation and other cardiovascular risk factors in patients undergoing treatments by thrombectomy (EVT) with acute ischemic stroke (AIS).

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of the lipid profile and vascular risk factor in 1639 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke between January 2016 and December 2021. To assess lipid profiles, laboratory tests, including total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglycerides (TG), were obtained the day after admission.

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Introduction: Recent anticoagulant intake represents a contraindication for thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke. Idarucizumab reverses the anticoagulant effect of dabigatran, potentially allowing for thrombolysis. This nation-wide observational cohort study, systematic review, and meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of thrombolysis preceded by dabigatran-reversal in people with acute ischemic stroke.

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The association between atrial fibrillation (AF), acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and stroke is a complex scenario in which the assessment of both thrombotic and hemorrhagic risk is necessary for scheduling an individually tailored therapeutic plan. Recent clinical trials investigating new antithrombotic drugs and dual and triple pathways in high-risk cardiovascular patients have revealed a new therapeutic scenario. In this paper, we review the burden of ischemic stroke (IS) in patients post-myocardial infarction with and without atrial fibrillation and the possible therapeutic strategies from a stroke point of view.

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  • The study investigates the relationship between weather conditions and pollution levels and their effect on the daily risk of acute cerebrovascular events (CVE).
  • Data from a major CVE center was analyzed over 2534 days, revealing significant correlations between CVE occurrences and factors like temperature, pressure, and specific pollutants (CO, NO2, etc.).
  • Findings suggest that CO and NO2 are particularly strong predictors of CVE, indicating the potential for using environmental data to implement public health interventions to reduce CVE risks.
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Background: Despite mounting evidence, the impact of the interplay between weather and pollution features on the risk of acute cardiac and cerebrovascular events has not been entirely appraised. The aim of this study was to perform a comprehensive cluster analysis of weather and pollution features in a large metropolitan area, and their association with acute cardiac and cerebrovascular events.

Methods: Anonymized data on acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and acute cerebrovascular events were obtained from 3 tertiary care centers from a single large metropolitan area.

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A wide range of acute neurological disorders may present with symptoms similar to a stroke, so-called 'stroke mimics'. Migraine aura and seizures account for the most extensive stroke mimics population. A large number of patients with a definite stroke mimics diagnosis (most commonly those with psychiatric disorders or seizures) had been treated with IV alteplase without adverse related events.

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Background: The major endovascular mechanic thrombectomy (MT) techniques are: Stent-Retriever (SR), aspiration first pass technique (ADAPT) and Solumbra (Aspiration + SR), which are interchangeable (defined as switching strategy (SS)). The purpose of this study is to report the added value of switching from ADAPT to Solumbra in unsuccessful revascularization stroke patients.

Methods: This is a retrospective, single center, pragmatic, cohort study.

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Objective: The goal of this study is to understand how very elderly patients (VEP) after ischemic stroke are currently treated in a Stroke Unit (SU) Hub in Italy. We designed a retrospective monocentric study on patients admitted in the SU of "AO San Camillo Forlanini" over an 8-year period.

Material And Methods: Data were collected among patients with acute ischemic stroke admitted to SU between January 2012 and December 2019.

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Takayasu's arteritis (TA) is a chronic progressive vasculitis affecting large and medium-sized vessels, mainly in young subjects. It is most common in women with a higher prevalence in the Asian population. Stroke is a rare complication of TA, and these patients usually have a poor therapeutic response to revascularization treatments (thrombolysis and/or thrombectomy).

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Dystonia is the third most common movement disorder. Cervical dystonia is the most common form of dystonia, a subtype of Primary Focal Dystonia due to the phasic and/or tonic involuntary contractions of different combinations of neck muscles, generally treated with good clinical results with botulin toxin type A or B injection. The etiology of cervical dystonia is still unknown.

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Background: Nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (NFLE) is a focal epilepsy with seizures arising mainly during sleep and characterized by complex motor behavior or sustained dystonic posturing. First described in 1981, it was considered a motor disorder of sleep and was indicated as nocturnal paroxysmal dystonia (NPD). The debated on epileptic origin of this condition was demonstrated in 1990 and the term NFLE was introduced.

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