Head trauma and Parkinson's disease: results from an Italian case-control study.

We evaluated the possible association between head trauma and Parkinson's disease (PD). The FRAGAMP (Fattori di Rischio Ambientali e Genetici Associati alla Malattia di Parkinson) study is a large Italian multicenter case-control study carried out to evaluate the possible role of environmental and genetic factors in PD. Cases and controls were enrolled from six movement disorders centers located in the Central-Southern Italy.

Quantitative estimation of motor fluctuations in Parkinson's disease.

Objectives: To provide a quantitative estimation of motor fluctuations in PD through a 12-h Waking-day Motor Assessment (WDMA) and to develop new WDMA-based tools, the Motor Fluctuation Indices.

Methods: Two independent samples of PD patients (exploratory population N = 51, testing population N = 109) were examined. Patients underwent a WDMA using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and were classified as either having or not having motor fluctuations.

Computer-assisted cognitive rehabilitation on freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease: A pilot study.

Background: In Parkinson's Disease (PD), effects of a cognitive training have been systematically evaluated only for cognitive and behavioral outcome measures, with mild to moderate effects. Despite the demonstrated interplay between cognition and gait, no studies have investigated the effect of cognitive rehabilitation protocols on gait in PD.

Methods: Patients affected by PD with freezing of gait were treated twice a week for six weeks with one hour sessions of computer-assisted training of attention ability and information processing tasks.

CT-guided radiofrequency ablation of spinal osteoblastoma: treatment and long-term follow-up.

Objective: Osteoblastoma (OB) is a painful, rare, benign bone tumour usually observed in young populations, and this condition involves the spine in up to one-third of cases. We sought to focus on the minimally invasive treatment of spinal OB with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) under computed tomography (CT) guidance. When performed near the spinal cord, surgery can lead to instability of the spine, sometimes requiring additional interventions to stabilise the segments involved, and can cause the precocious onset of arthrosis or other degenerative diseases.

Magnetic fields exposure from high-voltage power lines and risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in two Italian populations.

The aetiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rare and extremely severe neurodegenerative disease, has been associated with magnetic fields exposure. However, evidence for such a relation in the general population is weak, although the previous null results might also be due to exposure misclassification, or a relationship might exist only for selected subgroups. To test such a hypothesis we carried out a population-based case-control study in two Northern and Southern Italy regions, including 703 ALS cases newly diagnosed from 1998 to 2011 and 2737 controls randomly selected from the residents in the study provinces.

Imaging of the coracoglenoid ligament: a third ligament in the rotator interval of the shoulder.

Objective: The coracoglenoid ligament (CGL) forms part of the anterosuperior capsuloligamentous complex of the shoulder. Although it has received attention in the anatomical literature, it has not been investigated on imaging. The purpose of this study is to determine the percentage value and the interobserver agreement of identification and classification of the CGL on MR and MR arthrography (MRA) imaging.

Electroclinical findings of minor motor events during sleep in temporal lobe epilepsy.

Objective: It is well known that sleep-related motor seizures can originate from the temporal lobe. However, little is known about the clinical features of minor motor manifestations during sleep in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. The main objective of our study was to verify the existence of minor motor events during sleep in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) and to define their clinical features and electroencephalography (EEG) correlations.

Topiramate for essential tremor.

Background: Essential tremor (ET) is one of the most common movement disorders. The management is primarily based on pharmacological agents and in clinical practice propranolol and primidone are considered the first-line therapy. However, these treatments can be ineffective in 25% to 55% of people and are frequently associated with serious adverse events (AEs).

Percutaneous needle biopsy of mediastinal masses under C-arm conebeam CT guidance: diagnostic performance and safety.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of percutaneous needle biopsy of mediastinal masses under conebeam computed tomography (CBCT) and "XperGuide" navigation guidance. From September 2013 to April 2016, 40 patients (25 men and 15 women; mean age 52.5 years; range 18.

Iron and Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

A possible association between iron serum levels and Parkinson's disease (PD) using a meta‑analytic approach was evaluated. A systematic MEDLINE search was conducted to identify published observational, case‑control studies dealing with the association between iron blood levels and PD. In both groups, iron blood levels were extracted as means and standard deviations to calculate the standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Minimally invasive treatments of painful bone lesions: state of the art.

The role of the interventional radiology (IR) in the musculoskeletal system, and in particular in the bone, is a field of knowledge that is growing significantly in the last years with indications for treatment of both benign and malign lesions. In this paper, we review the state of the art of this application of the IR in the bone (bone metastasis and benign bone lesions) with discussion about all the techniques today used.

MR imaging evaluation of the postoperative meniscus.

MR imaging has been widely evaluated in the assessment of patients with recurrent or residual symptoms following meniscal surgery. Importantly, the causes of such symptoms may relate to failure or complication of the surgical procedure, a possible recurrent or residual meniscal tear, or may be related to other causes of joint symptoms, including tears of the contralateral meniscus, or local hyaline cartilage, or marrow abnormalities subjacent to or distant to the meniscal surgical site. The complex diagnostic issues involved in the MR imaging evaluation of the postoperative meniscus were identified in early MR imaging studies.

Postoperative imaging in arthroscopic hip surgery.

Arthroscopic surgery of the hip, compared to that of the knee or the shoulder, has only recently been developed in any significant way. Current indications for arthroscopic surgery of the hip include: diagnosis and treatment of lesions symptomatic of the acetabular labrum, femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), chondral lesions, joint infections, lesions of the teres ligament, impingement of the psoas tendon, pathology of the peritrochanteric space, external snapping hip (coxa saltans), and traumatic and atraumatic instability. Principal indications for imaging of the hip with arthroscopic techniques are represented by persistent groin pain which may be caused by inadequate recognition or treatment of bone alteration of FAI, fractures in the site of resectioned bones, intra-articular adhesion, development of cartilaginous lesions, iatrogenic chondral lesions, recurrent lesions of the fibrocartilaginous acetabular labrum and heterotopic ossification.

Side effects induced by the acute levodopa challenge in Parkinson's Disease and atypical parkinsonisms.

Introduction: Acute levodopa challenge may be performed to predict levodopa chronic responsiveness. The aim of the study was to investigate frequency of side effects during the acute levodopa challenge in PD and atypical parkinsonisms.

Methods: We enrolled 34 de novo PD patients and 29 patients affected by atypical parkinsonisms (Multiple System Atrophy, MSA, n = 10; Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, PSP, n = 12 and Corticobasal Degeneration, CBD, n = 7) who underwent an acute levodopa challenge.

Follow-up of surgical and minimally invasive treatment of Achilles tendon pathology: a brief diagnostic imaging review.

The follow-up of an operated tendon is primarily clinical, although clinical examination may not be sufficient in the presence of certain complications. The imaging techniques are of great value not only in the diagnosis of tendon pathologies, but also as an adjunct to clinical evaluation. This is particularly true in the follow-up of patients submitted to surgical tendon reconstruction, by monitoring morphological effects of different interventions and evaluating tendon healing processes.

Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: MR imaging findings.

More than two million people tear their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) each year, and ACL reconstruction occupies a significant proportion of everyday orthopedic practice, being one of the most commonly performed sports medicine surgical procedures. Patients with postoperative symptoms are frequently imaged to monitor ligament grafts and to identify complications. Given the number of patients undergoing ACL reconstruction, knowledge of the potential complications of this surgery is essential for radiologists.

What can be seen after rotator cuff repair: a brief review of diagnostic imaging findings.

Diagnostic imaging plays an important role in the postoperative evaluation of the rotator cuff, as pain and disability may occur or persist after treatment. Postoperative imaging is therefore of paramount importance for clinicians before planning additional treatments. Multimodality imaging of the postoperative shoulder includes radiography, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, MR arthrography, computed tomography (CT), CT arthrography, and ultrasound.

Imaging of postoperative shoulder instability.

Postoperative imaging in shoulder instability is still a challenge for radiologists due to various postsurgical anatomical findings that could be considered pathologic in treated shoulder. For this reason is very important a deep knowledge about surgical procedures, anatomical changes after surgery and the appropriate diagnostic imaging modalities to work up the symptomatic postoperative shoulder. Postoperative imaging options include use conventional radiography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), MRI arthrography, computed tomography (CT) and CT arthrography.

Cognitive-motor dual-task interference: A systematic review of neural correlates.

Cognitive-motor interference refers to dual-tasking (DT) interference (DTi) occurring when the simultaneous performance of a cognitive and a motor task leads to a percentage change in one or both tasks. Several theories exist to explain DTi in humans: the capacity-sharing, the bottleneck and the cross-talk theories. Numerous studies investigating whether a specific brain locus is associated with cognitive-motor DTi have been conducted, but not systematically reviewed.

Migraine causes retinal and choroidal structural changes: evaluation with ocular coherence tomography.

Few studies have evaluated whether the retina is involved in migraine through the evaluation of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) examined with ocular coherence tomography (OCT) with conflicting results. Aim of this case-control study is to evaluate the retina and the choroid in migraine. Patients having migraine with aura (MwA) or without aura (MoA) and chronic migraine (CM) were evaluated.

Gender effect on non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease: are men more at risk?

Introduction: Several gender differences have been reported in Parkinson's Disease (PD). We evaluated the burden of non-motor symptoms (NMS) in PD and the possible gender differences in their occurrence.

Methods: The FRAGAMP study is a large multicenter case-control study.

Arthroscopic Bankart repair associated with subscapularis augmentation (ASA) versus open Latarjet to treat recurrent anterior shoulder instability with moderate glenoid bone loss: clinical comparison of two series.

Purpose: The treatment of chronic anterior shoulder instability with glenoid bone loss is still debated. The purpose of this study is to compare short-term results of two techniques treating chronic shoulder instability with moderate glenoid bone loss: bone block according to open Latarjet-Patte procedure and arthroscopic Bankart repair in association with subscapularis augmentation.

Methods: Ninety-one patients with moderate anterior glenoid bone loss underwent from 2011 to 2015.