Diagnostic criteria for CADASIL in the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-II): are they appropriate?

We reviewed the characteristics of headache in patients with cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), to verify the appropriateness of the International Classification of Headache Disorders, second edition (ICHD-II) criteria. Available data were found through Medline/PubMed using the keyword "cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL)". The search was restricted to studies published in English in the years between 1993 and 2008.

Protective effect of human amniotic fluid stem cells in an immunodeficient mouse model of acute tubular necrosis.

Acute Tubular Necrosis (ATN) causes severe damage to the kidney epithelial tubular cells and is often associated with severe renal dysfunction. Stem-cell based therapies may provide alternative approaches to treating of ATN. We have previously shown that clonal c-kit(pos) stem cells, derived from human amniotic fluid (hAFSC) can be induced to a renal fate in an ex-vivo system.

[Impact of prenatal corpus callosum agenesis diagnosis on pregnancy outcome. Evaluation of 155 cases between 2000 and 2006].

The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes between 2000 and 2006 in pregnancy outcome when a diagnosis of either isolated or associated fetal corpus callosum agenesis (CCA) was made, given that beginning in 2003, the information provided to couples facing this problem related a good prognosis in nearly 80 % of cases of isolated CCA and a poor prognosis in 20 % of cases. We retrospectively analyzed all pregnancies with a fetal diagnosis of CCA between 2000 and 2006 (n=155) and compared two periods: the first group from 2000 to June 2003, the second from July 2003 to 2006. For each group, we analyzed the type of CCA during pregnancy - either isolated or associated - and the outcome of pregnancy.

Human amniotic fluid as a potential new source of organ specific precursor cells for future regenerative medicine applications.

Purpose: Human amniotic fluid contains multiple cell types, including pluripotent and committed progenitor cells, and fully differentiated cells. We characterized various cell populations in amniotic fluid.

Materials And Methods: Optimum culture techniques for multiple cell line passages with minimal morphological change were established.

Flaxseed does not antagonize the effect of ultra-low-dose estrogen therapy on bone mineral density and biomechanical bone strength in ovariectomized rats.

A previous study showed that flaxseed (FS) combined with low-dose (LD) estrogen therapy, resembling LD transdermal estrogen therapy in postmenopaual women, inhibited loss of bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral content (BMC), and strength in lumbar vertebrae in ovariectomized rats. Whether FS combined with an even lower dose of estrogen is effective at preserving bone or whether FS interferes with the effect of this lower dose of estrogen is unknown. Thus, this study determined whether an ultra-low-dose (ULD) estrogen therapy, half the dose previously studied, in combination with FS preserved bone mass and strength in the lumbar vertebrae in ovariectomized rats.

[Surveillance of the health status of the population of the city of Parona (Italy), Phase 2].

This study is part of a prospective study, which started in the year 2000, to monitor the health status of the population of the city of Parona, a previously agricultural area which has been transformed in a prevalently industrial area. This is the second phase of a project regarding the epidemiological surveillance of this population. The aim of the project was to detect changes in the health status of the population, particularly with regard to respiratory diseases associated with air pollution.

Effects of monthly intramuscular neridronate in rheumatic patients in chronic treatment with low-dose glucocorticoids.

Objectives: To assess the effects of intramuscular (im) neridronate (NE) on lumbar and femoral neck BMD and on markers of bone turnover in rheumatic patients under chronic low-dose glucocorticoids (GC) therapy.

Methods: Sixty-nine osteopoenic and osteoporotic patients, affected by rheumatic diseases and gastric or esophageal conditions which contraindicated treatment with oral bisphosphonates (BPs), were randomly assigned to: Group A (23 patients) administered with daily calcium 1 g and vitamin D 800 UI; Group B (46 patients) receiving daily calcium 1 g, vitamin D 800 UI and im NE 25 mg monthly.

Results: After 12 months of therapy (M12) lumbar BMD was reduced of 2.

Cardiac autonomic regulation after lung exposure to carbon nanotubes.

The ultrafine (UF) component of airborne pollution may impair cardiovascular autonomic control, a high-risk condition for cardiovascular adverse events. Since engineered nanoparticles, such as single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) share physicochemical properties with UF, they might have similar adverse effects. Aim of the study was to evaluate arterial baroreflex function (BRF) at baseline, 24 h after the first instillation, immediately before the second one, and 2 weeks later, in adult Wystar-Kyoto conscious rats undergoing two intratracheal instillations of SWCNT (eight rats) or phosphate buffer saline (PBS) (five rats) at 2-week interval.

Homocysteine and stroke: another brick in the wall.

After a long debate, due to conflicting data from clinical studies, homocysteine is now largely accepted as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases including stroke. To date, the role of elevated homocysteine levels in stroke recurrences has not been evaluated. In the present issue of Clinical Science, Zhang and co-workers prove that Chinese patients with high homocysteine levels have an increased risk of stroke recurrence and of all-cause mortality with respect to patients with lower levels.

Incidence, case-fatalities and 10-year survival of subarachnoid hemorrhage in a population-based registry.

Objective: To evaluate incidence, case fatalities and prognosis of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

Subjects And Methods: Prospective population-based registry (1994-1998) including patients with a first-ever stroke followed up to 10 years.

Results: In a 5-year period we included 118 patients (55 men and 63 women; mean age +/- SD 60.

Gender and stroke: acute phase treatment and prevention.

Stroke is the third most common cause of death in women and a major cause of disability. Many aspects of stroke are similar in men and women, including clinical presentation, main risk factors, and distribution of the main subtypes. There are, however, some gender differences and specificities in stroke including some aspects related to treatment.

[Smoking habits among 13-18 year old students in Lombardy].

Objective: to describe the prevalence of smokers among 13- 18-years-old students in Lombardy and to evaluate some related motives.

Design: a survey has been carried out with anonymous questionnaires, distributed at the beginning of the school year 2005-2006.

Setting: the study involved 3,593 classes of the third year of middle school and 2,893 classes of the second and the fifth year of high school, sampled among all the schools of Lombardy.

Flaxseed combined with low-dose estrogen therapy preserves bone tissue in ovariectomized rats.

Objective: Flaxseed is rich in lignans and alpha-linolenic acid, compounds that may promote healthy skeletons. Many postmenopausal women consume complementary health products such as flaxseed or its components in addition to pharmacological agents such as low-dose estrogen therapy for additional support for menopausal symptoms and related conditions. However, their combined effect on bone health is unknown.

Acute stroke admission and diagnostic procedures according to the hour and day of onset: the SIRIO collaborative data.

Background: Variations in stroke onset are related to stroke type and severity. We evaluated the impact of hourly and daily stroke onset variations on the pattern of patient hospital referral and on the time interval from stroke onset to hospital admission and brain neuroimaging investigations.

Methods: This multicenter observational study recorded all incident acute strokes within a 4-month period.

Incidence and 10-year survival of intracerebral hemorrhage in a population-based registry.

Background And Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence and prognosis of intracerebral hemorrhage.

Methods: We analyzed data referring to our prospective population-based registry, including patients with a first-ever stroke followed up to 10 years.

Results: In a 5-year period, we included 549 patients (247 men and 302 women; mean age+/-SD, 73.

Investigating feedforward neural regulation of circulation from analysis of spontaneous arterial pressure and heart rate fluctuations in conscious rats.

It has been suggested in anesthetized animals that the occurrence of sequences of consecutive beats characterized by systolic arterial pressure (SAP) and RR or pulse interval (PI) changing in the opposite direction (SAP(+)/RR(-) and SAP(-)/RR(+), nonbaroreflex sequences) might represent the expression of neural cardiovascular regulatory mechanisms operating with feedforward characteristics. The aim of the present study was to study nonbaroreflex sequences in a more physiological experimental model, i.e.

Impairment of cerebello-thalamo-frontal pathway in Rab-GDI mutated patients with pure mental deficiency.

Background: Rab-GDI mutations are responsible for "pure" mental deficiency, without any specific clinical features or brain malformation. Therefore, screening for mutations in mentally retarded patients is not available on a routine basis. Moreover, neuronal networks involved in mental deficiency still remain largely unknown.

CADASIL presenting as status migrainosus and persisting aura without infarction.

Different types of migraine have been reported in 20-40% of patients with cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL). We describe a novel migrainous manifestation of CADASIL consisting in status migrainosus and persistent aura without infarction. The symptoms resolved after i.

Ovariectomy-induced hyperphagia does not modulate bone mineral density or bone strength in rats.

The ovariectomized (OVX) rat is a widely used animal model for the development of prevention and treatment strategies for postmenopausal osteoporosis. However, ovariectomy-induced hyperphagia results in weight gain and adiposity. To prevent potential protective effects of increased body weight on bone from confounding outcomes of preclinical studies, pair-feeding is used in some but not all studies to control food intake, but its importance is not well elucidated.

The role of the corpus callosum in the perception of reversible figures in children.

To test the role of interhemispheric competition through the corpus callosum in the perceptual alternation of reversible figures, we compared children with callosal pathology and typically developing children on a bistable stimulus task. The children with corpus callosum pathology reported significantly less changes of percepts per minute than the age-matched typically developing children. In addition, older typically developing children reported significantly more changes of percepts than the younger ones.

Comorbid neuropathologies in migraine: an update on cerebrovascular and cardiovascular aspects.

Several conditions are comorbid with migraine; our review is focused on the relation between migraine, and cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases. Despite many studies showed an association between migraine and patent foramen ovale, it is still not known whether its presence might be causal for the migraine pathogenesis and currently its closure cannot be recommended for migraine prevention. On the contrary, conflicting epidemiological data link migraine to arterial hypertension and the use of antihypertensive agents acting on the renin-angiotensin system sounds promising in migraine prevention.