0000000000359740

AUTHOR

R. Cammalleri

The IHS classification criteria for migraine headaches in adolescents need minor modifications

The operational and diagnostic criteria for migraine and all other headache disorders released in 1988 by the International Headache Society are universally considered reliable and exhaustive. These criteria, however, cannot be considered as satisfactory for population-based studies on migraine prevalence, especially if adolescents are the subjects of the study. Using these diagnostic criteria, we conducted an epidemiological study in order to assess the prevalence of migraine headache in a student population aged 11 to 14 years. Our survey made it possible to code IHS 1.1 (migraine without aura) in 2.35%, IHS 1.2 (migraine with aura) in 0.62%, IHS 1.7 (migrainous disorders not fulfilling m…

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Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis. A case report

A 33-year-old woman three weeks after a febrile illness presented with a syndrome of ophthalmoplegia, ataxia and areflexia (SOAA) that characterizes clinically both Bickerstaff and Miller Fisher syndromes. The normality of the electrophysiological tests performed, the CSF findings and the magnetic resonance images proved that the syndrome stemmed from brainstem pathology.

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Transient topographical amnesia and cingulate cortex damage: A case report

Transient topographical amnesia (TTA) is the temporary inability to find one's way in familiar or unfamiliar surroundings due to the inability to use well known environmental landmarks for route finding. The syndrome has not been described as having any obvious aetiology and has been thought to be caused by a vascular deficit in right hemispheric structures which are crucial for topographic recognition, i.e. parietal association and parahippocampal cortex. The patient described in the present study complained of several critical episodes of TTA and tonic rigidity of the left limbs. Neuropsychological assessment was normal except for a deficit in spatial memory tasks. Magnetic resonance (MR)…

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Migraine headaches in adolescents: a student population-based study in Monreale.

We assessed the prevalence of migraine headaches in an epidemiological survey of an 11 to 14-year-old student population. Migraine headaches were classified on the basis of questionnaires and neurological examination using the operational diagnostic criteria of the International Headache Society. Prevalence of migraine without aura (IHS code 1.1) was 2.35%; that of migraine with aura (IHS code 1.2) was 0.62%. Migraine without aura was equally distributed among males and females, whereas migraine with aura was preponderant in the female cohort. The prevalence of migraine headaches in males was constant through the ages studied, whereas the prevalence of migraine headaches in females reached…

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Monosymptomatic presentation of type I Arnold-Chiari malformation: report of two cases.

Two cases of type I ACM are described, one of which presented with dizziness in late childhood (case 1), the other with mild intention tremor in adulthood (case 2). Cerebellar ectopia should be considered in monosymptomatic patients even in the absence of other symptoms and signs of C.N.S. dysfunction. Magnetic resonance imaging of the craniocervical junction should be performed because it may be diagnostic for type I ACM.

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