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The Italian Multiple Sclerosis Database Network (MSDN): The risk of worsening according to IFNβ exposure in multiple sclerosis

2006

We evaluated the risk of worsening according to the length of exposure to interferon beta (IFNβ)ina large cohort of 2090 multiple sclerosis patients collected by the Italian MS Database Network. Overall 44-140 patient-visits with a follow-up of 22-143 patient-years were evaluated. Forty-one per cent of patients were exposed to IFNβ for up to 2 years, 39% for 2- 4 years and 20% for more than 4 years. A Cox regression model was used to analyse two clinical outcomes: disability progression and worsening of relapse rate. The technique of propensity score was applied to reduce bias in the comparison of non-randomized groups. The risks of disability progression (HR=0.23; 95% CI: 0.17 - 0.30) and …

The hippocampus is required for short-term topographical memory in humans.

2007

The hippocampus plays a crucial role within the neural systems for long-term memory, but little if any role in the short-term retention of some types of stimuli. Nonetheless, the hippocampus may be specialized for allocentric topographical processing, which impacts on short-term memory or even perception. To investigate this we developed performance-matched tests of perception (match-to-sample) and short-term memory (2 s delayed-match-to-sample) for the topography and for the nonspatial aspects of visual scenes. Four patients with focal hippocampal damage and one with more extensive damage, including right parahippocampal gyrus, were tested. All five patients showed impaired topographical m…

Primary motor area contribution to attentional reorienting after distraction

2008

The anatomical structures involved in distraction-related processing in the auditory domain were investigated using magnetoencephalography. Participants performed a duration-discrimination task on a sequence of 200 and 400 ms long tones. Infrequent (12%) task-irrelevant pitch changes resulted in slower discriminative responses and more errors. Event-related potentials to these changes show an increased N1, a mismatch negativity, a P3a, and a reorienting negativity. The event-related magnetic fields revealed focal activities in superior and medial temporal areas in the N1/mismatch negativity time range. No significant activity was found in the P3a interval. In the reorienting negativity inte…

Alternatives to Endotracheal Intubation for Patients with Neuromuscular Diseases

2005

To evaluate the usefulness of continuous noninvasive mechanical ventilation and mechanical coughing aids to avoid endotracheal intubation and tracheostomy during episodes of acute respiratory failure in patients with neuromuscular disease.We conducted a prospective cohort study at the respiratory medicine ward of a university hospital to study the success rate of the use of continuous noninvasive mechanical ventilation and manually and mechanically (CoughAssist) assisted coughing to avert endotracheal intubation in 24 consecutive episodes of acute respiratory failure for 17 patients with neuromuscular disease. The noninvasive mechanical ventilation and coughing aids were used to reverse dec…

Working Memory in Children: A Time-Constrained Functioning Similar to Adults

2009

International audience; Within the Time-Based Resource-Sharing (TBRS) model, we tested a new conception of the relationships between processing and storage in which the core mechanisms of WM are time constrained. However, our previous studies were restricted to adults. The present study aimed at demonstrating that these mechanisms are present and functional before adulthood. For this purpose, we investigated the effect on maintenance of the duration of the attentional capture induced by processing. In two experiments using computer-paced WM span tasks, 10- year-old children were asked to maintain letters while performing spatial location judgments. The duration of this processing was manipu…

Streptococcal bacteraemia in patients submitted to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: the role of tooth brushing and use of chlorhexidine.

2009

A retrospective evaluation of 73 consecutive recipients of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) was conducted to investigated the role of oral care and incidence of streptococcal bacteremia in patients submitted to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Patients were retrospectively evaluated and divided into group A (GA=38) and group B (GB=35). During hospitalization patients from GA performed oral hygiene daily with extra soft toothbrush and toothpaste besides performing mouth cleaning with an ethanol-free 0.12% chlorhexidine solution tree times a day. In contrast GB patients performed mouth cleaning with extra soft toothbrush and toothpaste, but no chlorhexidine was used. Usi…

Statement of severe trauma management in France; teachings of the FIRST study

2013

Abstract Introduction The blunt trauma victim management is still a matter of debate and comparing studies involving different emergency medical services and health care organization remains fictitious. Hence, the French Intensive care Recorded in Severe Trauma (FIRST) was conducted in order to describe the severe blunt trauma management in France. The present paper aimed at recalling the main results of FIRST study. Methods The FIRST study was based on a multicenter prospective cohort of patients aged 18 or over with severe exclusive blunt trauma requiring admission to university hospital care unit within the first 72 h and/or managed by medical-Staffed Emergency Mobile Unit (SMUR). Multip…

Dimension reduction: additional benefit of an optimal filter for independent component analysis to extract event-related potentials.

2011

The present study addresses benefits of a linear optimal filter (OF) for independent component analysis (ICA) in extracting brain event-related potentials (ERPs). A filter such as the digital filter is usually considered as a denoising tool. Actually, in filtering ERP recordings by an OF, the ERP' topography should not be changed by the filter, and the output should also be able to be modeled by the linear transformation. Moreover, an OF designed for a specific ERP source or component may remove noise, as well as reduce the overlap of sources and even reject some non-targeted sources in the ERP recordings. The OF can thus accomplish both the denoising and dimension reduction (reducing the n…

Keratinizing Desquamative Squamous Metaplasia of the Upper Urinary Tract: Leukoplakia—Cholesteatoma

1982

Relaxin in Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Relationship with Blood Pressure and Inflammatory Mediators

2015

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with nocturnal intermittent hypoxia, which may be responsible for increased circulating levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and inflammatory mediators, such as metalloproteinases (MMPs), and which contributes to the pathogenesis of systemic hypertension. Why some OSA patients remain normotensive is poorly understood. Relaxin-2, a pregnancy hormone, may sometimes circulate in men and could increase in hypoxic conditions. It exerts a vasodilatory activity and can modulate the release of molecules, such as MMPs and VEGF. <b><i>Objectives:</i></b> The objective o…