Pearls and pitfalls in brain functional analysis by event-related potentials: a narrative review by the Italian Psychophysiology and Cognitive Neuroscience Society on methodological limits and clinical reliability-part I.

Event-related potentials (ERPs) are obtained from the electroencephalogram (EEG) or the magnetoencephalogram (MEG, event-related fields (ERF)), extracting the activity that is time-locked to an event. Despite the potential utility of ERP/ERF in cognitive domain, the clinical standardization of their use is presently undefined for most of procedures. The aim of the present review is to establish limits and reliability of ERP medical application, summarize main methodological issues, and present evidence of clinical application and future improvement.

Information Processing in Migraine: A Review of Studies on P300.

Subjective cognitive dysfunction is common among migraineurs. The aim of this review is to evaluate the usefulness of psychophysiology by means of the P300 component of the event-related potential in the understanding of subtle and sub-clinical changes in cognition that may occur during and between migraine episodes. Some P300 studies suggest a potential impairment of information processing, as reflected by only few findings of interictal decreased amplitude and prolonged latency, ictal augmented amplitude and prolonged latency, changes in cognitive habituation, and limited capacity to relocate attention away from painful stimuli.

First case of an gene mutation causing frontotemporal dementia preceded by adult onset psychiatric symptoms.

Recently, mutations in genes related to frontotemporal dementia and/or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis have been described as the cause of late onset psychosis. Here, we report a 68-year-old patient, carrier of a mutation in the gene encoding ubiquilin-2 (), who presented adult onset psychotic manifestations followed by a dysexecutive syndrome compatible with the diagnosis of behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia. Therefore, we suggest that variants in should be sought in patients with this clinical condition preceded by psychiatric disorders.

Submandibular gland excision: From external surgery to robotic intraoral and extraoral approaches.

Submandibular gland excision is generally performed through a transcervical approach, a safe procedure that, however, carries few neurological, functional and aesthetic drawbacks. Intraoral approach to the submandibular gland has been described many years ago but it has been newly proposed in recent years thanks to endoscope-assisted and robot-assisted surgical procedures. The main purpose of intraoral approaches is to avoid cosmetic sequelae and to reduce the risk of marginal nerve injury although the recent introduction of retroauricular, postauricular, facelift and transhairline neck incisions has overcome the need for an alternative to traditional transcervical approach.

Liver metastasis from a non-recurrent atypical cranial meningioma: a case report.

Extracranial metastases from atypical meningioma are rare, and even more so in the liver. We report a case of a 68-years-old patient with atypical meningioma, treated with partial surgical resection in 2012, and gamma knife radiotherapy in 2014 in another hospital, exhibiting a liver metastasis 6 years after the initial surgical resection.

Safety and efficacy of Staged Extubation Set in patients with difficult airway: a prospective multicenter study.

Background: A safe extubation is the extension of any airway management strategy. Despite different guidelines, a number of extubation accidents still occurs. Re-intubation failure could be fatal, thus a strategy and safe and efficient devices for this purpose are essential.

Long-term Complications of Palate Surgery: A Multicenter Study of 217 Patients.

Objectives/hypothesis: To investigate long-term complications of newer reconstructive palate surgery techniques.

Study Design: Retrospective case-series analysis.

Methods: Retrospective six-country clinical study of OSA patients who had nose and palate surgery.

Phantom Restless Legs Syndrome.

Background: Amputees often experience a phantom limb consisting in the vivid impression that the limb is not only still present, but in many cases, painful. These patients may also become restless legs syndrome (RLS) sufferers; conversely, a preexisting RLS may persist after limb amputation.

Summary: In this brief essay, papers on phantom RLS (pRLS) are reviewed in order to provide clinical elements for the diagnosis and treatment of this peculiar condition.

Transoral robotic surgery for hilo-parenchymal submandibular stones: step-by-step description and reasoned approach.

The conservative transoral approach to hilo-parenchymal submandibular stones has been proposed as an alternative to traditional sialadenectomy. The main purpose is to preserve the gland and eliminate the risk of a cervical scar and damage to the marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve. The spread of transoral robotic surgery has favoured its application not only in the oropharynx, but also in the anterior oral cavity.

Barbed Reposition Pharyngoplasty in Indian Population: A New Palatal Surgery for OSAS.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a common problem affecting almost 4% of the population. Although continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is considered the standard of care, the patient compliance for long term use is poor. Clinicians have explored surgical options for cure with varying success.

Efficacy of virtual reality to reduce chronic low back pain: Proof-of-concept of a non-pharmacological approach on pain, quality of life, neuropsychological and functional outcome.

Objectives: Chronic pain, such as low-back pain, can be a highly disabling condition degrading people's quality of life (QoL). Not every patient responds to pharmacological therapies, thus alternative treatments have to be developed. The chronicity of pain can lead to a somatic dysperception, meaning a mismatch between patients' own body perception and its actual physical state.

Uncertain Effectiveness of Prophylactic Anticonvulsive Medication in Predicting Cognitive Outcome of Neurosurgical Patients.

Objectives: To evaluate the influence of prophylactic anticonvulsive medication, above all levetiracetam monotherapy, in predicting the cognitive outcome of neurosurgical patients with post-traumatic brain injury, intracerebral hemorrhage, and encephalic tumors.

Methods: We examined data concerning 232 of 327 adult patients admitted to the Neurorehabilitation Department of the San Raffaele Hospital (Milan, Italy) after discharge from the Neurosurgery Department. Cognitive status was evaluated by means of the "Mini-Mental State" examination and the Functional Independence Measure at baseline and at the end of a rehabilitation care with an average duration of about four weeks.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: prognostic impact of histologic honeycombing in transbronchial lung cryobiopsy.

Background: Prognostic evaluation in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) may be important as it can guide management decisions, but the potential role of honeycomb changes in providing information about outcome and survival of patients with IPF, particularly if diagnosed using cryobiopsy, has not been evaluated. Aim of this study was to determinate whether a relationship exists between honeycombing on cryobiopsy and clinical/radiological picture and outcome in patients with IPF and to assess whether the same pathologic criteria that have been used to define the UIP pattern (usual interstitial pneumonia) for surgical biopsy can also be applied to cryobiopsy.

Methods: Sixty-three subjects with a multidisciplinary diagnosis of IPF and a UIP pattern on cryobiopsy were evaluated.

Biopsy needles for mediastinal lymph node sampling by endosonography: current knowledge and future perspectives.

Due to the increasing role of endosonography [endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) and esophageal ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA)] in the diagnosis of several lung diseases, the knowledge of technical aspects is mandatory to optimize the success of the procedure. Among those technicalities related to the procedure, the choice of a needle over another one-either in terms of dimension and type-may have a role in the diagnostic process, especially in some diseases such as lymphoproliferative disorders. In this review, we analyze the current knowledge about the biopsy needle for endosonography, providing also some hints for the future.

Transoral Robotic Surgery for Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Past, Present, and Future.

Nocturnal upper airway collapse often involves the obstruction at the tongue base. Several surgical procedures have been developed in recent years to address this area in continuous positive airway pressure-nonadherent patients and include hyolingual advancement, tongue suture suspension, and various lingual resection techniques. Traditional tongue base resection is generally done either via a transcervical technique or transorally with an endoscope for visualization.

Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Narcolepsy: A Review of the Literature.

Narcolepsy is a chronic disorder characterized by symptoms of excessive daytime sleepiness, irresistible sleep attacks that may be accompanied by cataplexy brought on by emotions, sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic hallucinations. This is a review of 32 empirical articles on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) published in peer-reviewed journals over the past 37 years. Deleterious implications on education, recreation, driving, sexual life, and personality are associated with the disease with a consequent negative psychosocial impact.

Diagnostic yield and risk/benefit analysis of trans-bronchial lung cryobiopsy in diffuse parenchymal lung diseases: a large cohort of 699 patients.

Background: Standardization of trans-bronchial lung cryobiopsy in diffuse parenchymal lung diseases is imminent; however, the majority of published series on cryobiopsy include a limited number of patients and are characterized by several differences in procedural technical details.

Methods: This is an observational, retrospective cohort study. Aim of the study was to suggest some sampling strategies related to transbronchial cryobiopsy in the diagnostic work-up of patients with diffuse parenchymal lung diseases.

Two cases of relapsed HIV-associated visceral leishmaniasis successfully treated with combination therapy.

Background: The management of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in HIV-infected patients is often complex with patients experiencing higher mortality rates, more toxic side effects and a higher possibility of treatment failure and relapse than HIV-negative individuals with VL.

Case Presentation: We report on successful salvage therapy in two HIV-infected patients suffering with disseminated cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis, recalcitrant to therapy with liposomal amphotericin B. After the employment of combination anti-leishmanial treatment, parasite genomes were not detectable up to the last follow up visit, 57 and 78 weeks after treatment onset, respectively.

Inability of Asian risk scoring systems to predict intravenous immunoglobulin resistance and coronary lesions in Kawasaki disease in an Italian cohort.

Since resistance to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is associated with coronary lesions (CALs) in Kawasaki disease (KD), it is crucial to identify patients at risk to protect them from coronary involvement. The available risk scores to predict IVIG resistance were developed in Asian populations in whom their effectiveness has been proven, but data on non-Asian children are limited. The aim of this study is to evaluate the ability of the Kobayashi, Egami, and Formosa risk scores to predict IVIG resistance and CALs in Italian patients with KD.

Health-related quality of life in clinically isolated syndrome and risk of conversion to multiple sclerosis.

Background And Objectives: A few studies have found that low scores on self-rated health and quality of life measures are associated with following worsening disability in multiple sclerosis (MS). We wanted to estimate the association between self-rated quality of life scores among patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) and the risk of subsequent conversion to definite MS.

Methods: One hundred sixty-two patients from the GERONIMUS cohort with a symptom or sign suggestive of MS and without a definite diagnosis of MS at the time of inclusion were asked to evaluate their health-related quality of life according to MSQoL-54 scale.