[Unidentified bright objects and neuropsychiatric disturbances].

Aim: The neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant neurocutaneous disease. In 40-70% of cases are described signal hyperintensity on MRI, called unidentified bright objects (UBO). Their correlation with clinical disorders is still debated.

Brain volumetric abnormalities in patients with anorexia and bulimia nervosa: a voxel-based morphometry study.

Recent studies focussing on neuroimaging features of eating disorders have observed that anorexia nervosa (AN) is characterized by significant grey matter (GM) atrophy in many brain regions, especially in the cerebellum and anterior cingulate cortex. To date, no studies have found GM atrophy in bulimia nervosa (BN) or have directly compared patients with AN and BN. We used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to characterize brain abnormalities in AN and BN patients, comparing them with each other and with a control group, and correlating brain volume with clinical features.

Learning disabilities: case study of the Piedmont Region in the years 2006-2007-2008.

Aim: The aim of the study is to analyse the comorbidity of learning disabilities (LD), its variation relating to the age of the children and to interpret the possible meaning of these data.

Methods: All patients in age of compulsory education (aged 5-16) diagnosed as LD in Piedmont, registered in the Regional Informative System NPI.net, in the years 2006-2007-2008, were considered.

Parental attitudes, attachment styles, social networks, and psychological processes in autism spectrum disorders: a cross-cultural perspective.

In this study the authors used a cross-cultural approach to examine parental attitudes, attachment styles, social networks, and some of the psychological processes involved in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Fifty-two children (aged 4-11 years) took part in the study: 30 Italians (15 with ASD and 15 controls) and 22 Cubans (11 with ASD and 11 controls). Findings indicated significant differences between the two cultural groups in terms of the structure of the children's social network and parental attitudes toward their children.

Amenorrhea in eating disorders: poor stability of symptom after a one-year treatment.

Objective: To examine whether patients with Eating Disorders (ED) who restore menses differ from those who remain amenorrheic after treatment and to provide longitudinal data about this debated criterion of Anorexia Nervosa (AN).

Methods: 184 outpatients were recruited: 50 patients with AN Restrictive type, 75 amenorrheic Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) patients, 24 patients who recovered from AN with persistent amenorrhea, and 35 amenorrheic patients without ED. All participants were clinically assessed by psychiatrists and gynaecologists at the beginning of treatment and at the one-year follow-up.

Urinary p-cresol is elevated in small children with severe autism spectrum disorder.

Several studies have described in autistic patients an overgrowth of unusual gut bacterial strains, able to push the fermentation of tyrosine up to the formation of p-cresol. We compared levels of urinary p-cresol, measured by high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet, in 59 matched case-control pairs. Urinary p-cresol was significantly elevated in autistic children smaller than 8 years of age (p < 0.

Screening anxious-depressive symptoms and pain in medical inpatients.

Aim: Several studies indicate a relationship among depression, anxiety, pain and hospitalization. Depression has a bidirectional relationship with cardiovascular disease, and it is observed in HIV-positive individuals, in cancer patients and it often complicates chronic pain.

Methods: In order to assess dimensionally depressive and anxious symptoms and pain in medical inpatients, 327 non-psychiatric inpatients were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Visual Analogical Scale (for pain, VAS).

Are dyslexia and dyscalculia associated with Rolandic epilepsy? A short report on ten Italian patients.

Rolandic epilepsy (RE) is the most common childhood epilepsy syndrome with a good, long-term outcome. Nevertheless, some studies indicate that children with RE have more scholastic and neuropsychological problems than controls. The purpose of this study was to describe neuropsychological findings in a small group of Italian children with RE, focusing on dyslexia and dyscalculia.

Clinical, psychological and personality features related to age of onset of anorexia nervosa.

Background: To investigate the relationship between age of onset and clinical and personality features of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN).

Sampling And Method: We assessed 250 outpatients with AN with the Temperament and Character Inventory, the Eating Disorder Inventory 2, the Beck Depression Inventory and the Body Shape Questionnaire. The patients were subdivided into 3 groups: early (n=73), intermediate (n=96) and late onset (n=81), based on age of onset of symptoms.

Neurophysiologic exploration: a reliable tool in HIV-1 encephalopathy diagnosis in children.

Background: HIV-1 related encephalopathy has a bad prognostic meaning in the course of AIDS disease, but the early association of different drugs can modify its course. For this reason it is very important to recognize CNS involvement as soon as possible. As shown in the literature, at least in adult studies, EEG and Evoked Potentials (EP) are good tools in evaluating CNS alterations.

Evolution of HIV-1 encephalopathy in children.

Background: This study has been conducted on a series of HIV-1 infected children, with the aim of illustrating the features of encephalopathy onset, its evolution and its influence on life expectancy. The most useful exams for diagnosis are also outlined.

Methods: The perspective study lasted from January 1989 to June 1997.

Diagnostic value of multimodal evoked potentials in HIV-1 infected children.

Evoked potentials (EP) help guide the diagnosis of central nervous system involvement in demyelinating pathologies regarding both children and adults, and in human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) correlated pathologies only in regard to adult patients. EP have been shown to be useful in highlighting early signs of the disease. We therefore studied EP in HIV-1 infected children with the aim of verifying the association of results with disease progression, clinical signs and electroencephalogram, and individualizing the most reliable test.

EEG diagnostic and predictive value on HIV infection in childhood.

This prospective study evaluated the electroencephalographic (EEG) diagnostic and prognostic value in childhood HIV infection. It was carried out on 125 subjects and included all Piemonte's seropositive children. The EEG was repeated every three months during the first 15 months of life, and then, at least, annually in the P1 and P2 group.