Search results for "Reference value"
showing 10 items of 536 documents
Visuospatial attention shifts by gaze and arrow cues: an ERP study.
2007
Orienting of visual attention can be automatically triggered not only by illumination changes occurring in the visual periphery but also by centrally presented gaze and arrow cues. We investigated whether the automatic shifts of visuospatial attention triggered by centrally displayed gaze and arrow cues rely on the same neural systems. To this end we measured event-related potentials (ERPs) time-locked to the cue and target onsets while the participants (n=17) performed a spatial cuing task. In the task, the participants detected and responded to laterally presented targets preceded by centrally presented, non-predictive, gaze or arrow cues. Manual reaction times and target-triggered ERP da…
Emotion recognition from facial expressions: a normative study of the Ekman 60-Faces Test in the Italian population.
2013
The Ekman 60-Faces (EK-60F) Test is a well-known neuropsychological tool assessing emotion recognition from facial expressions. It is the most employed task for research purposes in psychiatric and neurological disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases, such as the behavioral variant of Frontotemporal Dementia (bvFTD). Despite its remarkable usefulness in the social cognition research field, to date, there are still no normative data for the Italian population, thus limiting its application in a clinical context. In this study, we report procedures and normative data for the Italian version of the test. A hundred and thirty-two healthy Italian participants aged between 20 and 79 years…
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Naltrexone and 6β-Naltrexol During Anti-craving Treatment in Alcohol Dependence: Reference Ranges.
2018
Aims Aim of this study was to associate concentration of naltrexone and its major active metabolite 6β-naltrexol in blood with therapeutic outcome during treatment with naltrexone in subjects with alcohol dependence. Treatment with the μ-opiate receptor antagonist naltrexone has been shown to reduce craving for alcohol and alcohol intake in patients suffering from alcohol dependence. Short summary This article shows the use of therapeutic drug monitoring in alcohol dependent patients, who are treated with naltrexone. The plasma concentrations of naltrexone and 6β-naltrexol showed high inter-individual variability. They were predictive for treatment response, as they correlated significantly…
Multichannel functional testing in normal subjects, glaucoma suspects, and glaucoma patients
2012
Purpose.: To evaluate visual function with a novel multichannel functional test named the ATD Multichannel Functional Test. Methods.: This multicenter study had a prospective and cross-sectional design. A total of 186 eyes were included: 42 with glaucoma, 14 glaucoma suspects due to optic nerve characteristics, 25 ocular hypertensives, and 105 normal eyes. All patients performed standard visual fields (Humphrey 24-2) and ATD with eight stimuli configurations: four achromatic (A), two red-green (T), and two blue-yellow (D). To derive main outcome measures, mean sensitivity, mean defect (MD), and pattern standard deviation (PSD) were calculated and compared among groups and types of stimuli w…
Focal nodular hyperplasia-like lesions in patients with cavernous transformation of the portal vein: prevalence, MR findings and natural history.
2011
PURPOSE: To retrospectively investigate the prevalence, MR findings, natural history, and association with other hepatic lesions of focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH)-like lesions in a cohort of consecutive patients with cavernous transformation of the portal vein (CTPV). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective IRB-approved study comprised 58 patients (32 men, 26 women; average age, 50 years) with CTPV who underwent liver MR imaging between 2000 and 2008. MR images were assessed by two radiologists in consensus for the presence of (a) FNH-like lesions and other liver lesions, and (b) other imaging findings. Patients were assigned to a stable or progressive clinical course based on lesion cha…
Reproducibility of isometric strength: measurement of neck muscles
1999
Abstract Objective. To evaluate the repeatability of an advanced method of measuring the strength of functionally different groups of neck muscles using an isometric apparatus. Design. A repeated measures design was used within and between sessions. Background. Chronic neck pain has been associated with poor isometric neck strength. In rehabilitation, strength measurements may thus help to evaluate the basic condition and show whether or not treatments and exercises have been beneficial for improving strength. Previous tests have concentrated on testing strength while trying to bend forwards and backwards, but no biomechanics device, able to test rotator muscles, has been presented. Method.…
The Candy Smell Test in Clinical Routine
2011
Background The “Candy Smell Test” (CST) has been introduced as a new testing method for the evaluation of the human sense of smell. In contrast to other established orthonasal smell tests, the CST addresses the retronasal application of odors, typical for food aroma effects during mastication and swallowing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the CST in a clinical setting in patients with olfactory dysfunction and normal controls against the Sniffin’ Sticks test. Furthermore, cutoff points for normal and pathological results in the CST should be determined. Methods The olfactory performance of 96 patients presenting with olfactory disorders and 71 healthy controls was evaluated with the …
Polymorphonuclear leukocyte membrane fluidity before and after activation in subjects with insulin resistance.
2000
The aim of this research was the evaluation of polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) membrane fluidity in subjects with insulin resistance. Insulin sensitivity, in fact, may be influenced by plasma membrane fluidity. We enrolled 19 subjects with insulin resistance previously demonstrated during an euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp. PMN membrane fluidity was studied by labeling intact cells with the fluorescent probe 1-[4-(trimethylamino)phenyl]-6-phenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene and calculating the fluorescence polarization degree. The measurement was made before and after incubation of PMNs with two activating agents: 4-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (…
Micro-lightguide spectrophotometry as an intraoral monitoring method in free vascular soft tissue flaps.
2003
Abstract Purpose: The aim of this prospective study was to measure the hemoglobin oxygen saturation (HbO2%) and relative Hb concentration of free vascular soft tissue flaps using micro-lightguide spectrophotometry. The objective was to measure the normal range and topographic differences in HbO2% and rel. Hb conc. in tissue transfers before establishing this as a clinical method for monitoring perfusion and vitality. Patients and Methods: In 39 patients who had received free vascular soft tissue flaps (34 radial forearm flaps; 8 latissimus flaps) to cover defects after tumor surgery, the capillary HbO2% in transferred tissue was measured spectrophotometrically preoperatively at the donor si…
Alliesthesia in visual and auditory sensations from environmental signals.
2007
'Alliesthesia' describes the fact that sensory stimuli can arouse pleasant or unpleasant sensations according to the internal state of a person. In the present work, the hedonicity aroused by stimuli from the environment in visual and auditory sensations was evaluated in 5 situations: 1) daytime without sensory stimulations (no video-tape); 2) daytime with poor sensory stimulations (uninteresting video-tape film); 3) daytime with rich sensory stimulations (interesting chosen movie on video-tape); 4) night-time without sensory stimulations (no video-tape); 5) night-time with poor sensory stimulations (uninteresting video-tape). During the day, hedonic ratings decreased with time in the no- a…