New frontiers of cognitive rehabilitation in geriatric age: the Mozart effect (ME)

The ME was described for the first time in 1993. Subsequently other studies with similar designs were performed. The present study, therefore, proposes: (i) to verify the existence of the benefits of exposure to music in elderly subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), (ii) to explore whether it is possible to find any lasting improvement after training, conducted for a long period of time, with such musical pieces, in the measurable cognitive performances. The study we conducted showed that the ME is present in geriatric patients with MCI; the influence on spatial–temporal abilities remains constant in time if the stimulation is maintained. The continuation of our study will consist of increasing the number of individuals examined and in having them listen to music during the study of ECG rhythms and during the acquisition of cerebral functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and, at the same time, testing them by neuropsychometric methods

Montelukast therapy and psychological distress in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): a preliminary report

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an alteration in which ventilatory function, exercise capacity and health status of patients progressively decline and it is characterized by an increase of inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-a, LTB4, IL-8, etc. In this study we considered twenty patients (15 males and 5 females; mean age: 72.8 6.3) with stable COPD. All patients were performed evaluation of psychological stress at enrollment and were treated with leukotriene receptor antagonists (montelukast tablets) 10 mg/day for 12 months. After 12 months we observed a significant decrease of serum levels of LTB4, IL-8 and also a decrease of the number of outpatient clinic visits, of the number of hospitalizations and of the duration of hospitalizatio

Third degree of atrioventricular block: A rare geriatric complication that may cause sudden death Remarks on two clinical cases

Two clinical cases are reported that have in common the electrocardiographic detection of a third degree atrioventricular block (AVB), which occurred in the first case in a man of 78 years, hospitalized in our unit after an accidental fall with an ensuing head trauma, and in the second case, in a woman of 67 years, after cataract surgery on her left eye. The complete or third degree AVB is a bradyarrhythmia characterized by the absence of paroxystic or permanent atrioventricular conduction. Several studies conducted on subjects between the ages of 60 and 85 pointed out that the incidence of AVB-type bradyarrhythmias of a degree greater than the first is extremely rare, i.e., it is close to zero. It is, however, necessary to make an early diagnosis of the AVB, as in many cases it may complicate the patient's clinical progress and may often lead to sudden death. Clinical and experimental observations have shown that electrocardiographic alterations and arrhythmias are frequent complications of cerebral accidents such as head traumas, or of ophthalmic surgery. It is therefore necessary, especially in elderly patients in whom bradyarrhythmias are characterized by the presence of widespread histological alterations of the conduction system, to perform a 24-h monitoring of all adverse events that may lead to an AVB. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd

Prediction of empirical antibiotic therapy in respiratory infections using an artificial neural network : preliminary results. Atti 112 th National Congress of the Italian Society of Internal Medicine. 2011, Rome. Intern Emerg Med, 2011.

Preliminary results of a study using an artificial neural networ