The impact of executive dysfunctions on Theory of Mind abilities in Parkinson's disease.

Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to infer and reason about others' mental states, a process impaired by Parkinson's disease (PD). ToM performance in PD seems to be strongly related to executive functioning but the exact nature of this relationship is still unclear. We aim to investigate the direct impact of several executive dysfunctions on ToM deficits (Affective and Cognitive ToM) in PD patients.

The role of the motor subtypes on the relationship between anxiety and cognitive dysfunctions in Parkinson's disease.

Anxiety is a common neuropsychiatric symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD). Until now, anxiety has been consistently related to cognitive deficits and severity of motor symptoms, whereas the association between anxiety and motor subtypes (TD-PD, tremor dominant and PIGD-PD, postural instability/gait disturbances dominant) revealed contrasting results. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between PD motor subtypes and anxiety and to explore whether the relationship between anxiety and cognitive deficits occurs in a specific PD motor subtype.

Prospective memory in Parkinson's disease: the role of the motor subtypes.

Background: Prospective memory (PM) is defined as memory for future intentions and it is typically divided into time-based and event-based PM. Deficit of PM has been reported in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) but no study has yet explored the association between motor subtypes (tremor dominant and rigidity/bradykinesia dominant) and performance on PM tasks. The aim of the study was to explore the role of motor subtypes in the defect of PM.

[Cystic lymphangioma of the abdominal wall in childhood: case report].

Intra-abdominal lymphangiomas are rare benign tumours that can cause various symptoms, mainly during childhood. They are diagnosed by ultrasonography, CT scanning or at laparotomy; ultrasonographic examination often shows a voluminous tumoral cystic formation with septa. The location of the cyst may be determined either by ultrasonography alone or by CT scanning.

[The Currarino syndrome: two case reports].

The association of congenital anal stenosis, or other anal and rectal malformation, sacral defect and a presacral mass is known as the Currarino syndrome described for the first time in 1981. Currarino et al. proposed that abnormal endoectodermal adhesions and notochordal defects in early fetal life may result in a fistula between the gut and the spinal canal with enteric elements ventrally and neural elements dorsally.

A long-term follow-up of autoaugmentation in myelodysplastic children.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term results of patients who underwent bladder autoaugmentation (BA) in whom BA was used to treat a neuropathic bladder secondary to myelomeningocele, and who presented with a high-pressure/poorly compliant bladder.

Patients And Methods: Eleven patients (eight girls and three boys, mean age 12.8 years, mean follow-up 6.

[Biliary atresia syndrome and splenic malformation. A case report].

Biliary atresia is a severe neonatal malformation in which the entire extrahepatic biliary tract or part of it is absent and replaced by fibrosclerotic tissue. Having been described for the first time by Thomson in 1891, biliary atresia has an incidence of 1:10,000-15,000 live neonates with a slight predominance in the female sex; it is associated with other malformations in 25% of cases. In 1993 Davenport et al.

Functional evaluation of tubularized-incised plate repair of midshaft-proximal hypospadias using uroflowmetry.

Objective: To determine objectively, using uroflowmetry, the functional results of the tubularized-incised plate urethroplasty to repair midshaft-proximal hypospadias.

Patients And Methods: Twenty-one patients (mean age 4 years, mean follow-up 1.8 years) were selected from those undergoing surgery between January 1996 and January 1998 at our institution.

[Value of uroflowmetry in a long-term follow-up study in hypospadias surgery].

Background: Many authors have shown the role of uroflowmetry in the follow-up of patients operated on for hypospadias. This technique has also been used to assess the validity of the operative technique.

Methods: Sixty patients have been selected among those operated on for hypospadias from January 1990 till January 1996 at the Pediatric Surgery Department of the Second University of Naples, Italy.

[The correlation between psittacosis-ornithosis and the immune status in childhood: apropos 5 cases].

The authors studied 5 children affected with a pneumopathy by Chlamydia psittaci. They discuss the effects of a transitory immunodeficiency relative to NK cells in predisposing little patients to the infective disease.

[Clinico-epidemiological considerations of 30 cases of pulmonitis and pleuropulmonitis in childhood].

The authors studied 30 children affected with pneumonia or pleuropneumonia. They point out some clinical and epidemiological features pertinent to the pathology examined.