Publications by authors named "Massimiliano Godani"

: Diabetic striatopathy (DS) is a rare condition with a debated pathophysiology; a local metabolic dysfunction is the most likely hypothesis. We present a case of DS mimicking an acute stroke, outline a few uncommon/atypical features, and report for the first time the parenchymal transcranial sonography (pTCS) findings. : An 86-year-old man, treated for insulin-dependent diabetes, presented at an emergency department because of the occurrence of isolated choreo-athetotic movements in his left limbs with fluctuations in the location, frequency, and duration.

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Idiopathic rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is a prodromal stage of α-synucleinopathies, such as Parkinson's disease (PD), which are characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra, associated with abnormal iron load. The assessment of presymptomatic biomarkers predicting the onset of neurodegenerative disorders is critical for monitoring early signs, screening patients for neuroprotective clinical trials and understanding the causal relationship between iron accumulation processes and disease development. Here, we used Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) and 7T MRI to quantify iron deposition in Nigrosome 1 (N1) in early PD (ePD) patients, iRBD patients and healthy controls and investigated group differences and correlation with disease progression.

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We have read with interest the Letter to the Editor by Drs. Zhuang and Zhong, who presented the clinical data of 68 patients with Wilson's disease (WD) who were admitted to the hospital before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and appreciated their findings on hepatic and some extrahepatic manifestations. Nevertheless, given the strong impact of the pandemic on patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders, we would have expected a worsening of the psychiatric and/or neurological impairments in these patients.

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Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is one of the major types of cerebral small vessel disease, and a leading cause of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage and cognitive decline in elderly patients. Although increasingly detected, a number of aspects including the pathophysiology, the clinical and neuroradiological phenotype, and the disease course are still under investigation. The incomplete knowledge of the disease limits the implementation of evidence-based guidelines on patient's clinical management and the development of treatments able to prevent or reduce disease progression.

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Background: The spectrum of autoimmune neurological diseases associated with voltage-gated potassium channel (VGKC)-complex antibodies (Abs) ranges from peripheral nerve disorders to limbic encephalitis. Recently, low titers of VGKC-complex Abs have also been reported in neurodegenerative disorders, but their clinical relevance is unknown.

Objective: The aim of the study was to explore the prevalence of VGKC-complex Abs in slow-progression motor neuron disease (MND).

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Tauopathies are sporadic or familial neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the accumulation of phosphorylated tau in neurons and glial cells and include encephalitis related to measles virus such as subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. We describe a 45-year-old woman, with a history of lymphoma treated with immunosuppressant therapy who underwent an open biopsy of the right frontal cortex for a suspect of encephalitis, and died 4 days later. The neuropathological assessment on the bioptic sample revealed edema, severe gliosis and microglial activation, with lymphomonocytic perivascular cuffing and neurons containing both nuclear and cytoplasmic eosinofilic inclusions that ultrastructurally appeared as tubular and curvilinear non-membrane-bound 12-18 nm structures, leading to the diagnosis of measles inclusion-bodies encephalitis.

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Introduction: Mycosis Fungoides (MF) is a rare malignant T-cell lymphoma, involving mainly the skin. In 50%-75% of cases, it can involve organs other than skin, with a 11%-14% Central Nervous System involvement (CNS).

Case Report: A 82-year-old woman presented to our Department with a 15-years history of MF with skin lesions.

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Spinocerebellar ataxia type15 (SCA15) is a pure ataxia characterized by very slow progression. Only seven families have been identified worldwide, in which partial deletions and a missense mutation of the inositol triphosphate receptor type I gene (ITPR1) have been reported. We examined a four-generation Italian family segregating an autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia, in which linkage analysis was positive for the SCA15 locus.

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