The validation of the Hungarian version of the ID-migraine questionnaire

Despite its high prevalence, migraine remains underdiagnosed and undertreated. ID-Migraine is a short, self-administrated questionnaire, originally developed in English by Lipton et al. and later validated in several languages. Our goal was to validate the Hungarian version of the ID-Migraine Questionnaire.Patients visiting two headache specialty services were enrolled. Diagnoses were made by headache specialists according to the ICHD-3beta diagnostic criteria. There were 309 clinically diagnosed migraineurs among the 380 patients. Among the 309 migraineurs, 190 patients had only migraine, and 119 patients had other headache beside migraine, namely: 111 patients had tension type headache, 3 patients had cluster headache, 4 patients had medication overuse headache and one patient had headache associated with sexual activity also. Among the 380 patients, 257 had only a single type headache whereas 123 patients had multiple types of headache. Test-retest reliability of the ID-Migraine Questionnaire was studied in 40 patients.The validity features of the Hungarian version of the ID-Migraine questionnaire were the following: sensitivity 0.95 (95% CI, 0.92-0.97), specificity 0.42 (95% CI, 0.31-0.55), positive predictive value 0.88 (95% CI, 0.84-0.91), negative predictive value 0.65 (95% CI, 0.5-0.78), missclassification error 0.15 (95% CI, 0.12-0.19). The kappa coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.77.The Hungarian version of the ID-Migraine Questionnaire had adequate sensitivity, positive predictive value and misclassification error, but a low specificity and somewhat low negative predictive value

FPGA-based Low-cost Automatic Test Equipment for Digital Integrated Circuits

Digital circuits complexity and density are increasing while, at the same time, more quality and reliability are required. These trends, together with high test costs, make the validation of VLSI circuits more and more difficult. Beside high-end ATE machines, strictly necessary in ASIC production phase, low-cost ATE test systems take place into market to implement a valid support in ASIC development phase. In this paper a case study of low-cost, reconfigurable, versatile and easy-to-use FPGA-based test environment is presented. It allows patterns to be extracted from HDL-simulation and stimuli to be generated to ASIC prototypes, especially when a high-end test machine setup isn't foreseen or isn't available yet. This is the ideal solution for engineers to develop test programs and perform device tests and yield analysis on their desktop and then transfer the test program directly to production. The result is low-cost automatic test equipment, able to execute a preliminary digital test, using just a Laptop and an FPGA-equipped board

Bromocriptine and speech therapy in non-fluent chronic aphasia after stroke

The objectives of this study were to investigate the efficacy of bromocriptine (BR) combined with speech therapy (ST) to improve a late recovery in non-fluent aphasic stroke patients. We performed a double-blind study with high dosage of BR, prescribed according to a dose-escalating protocol, comprehensive of clinical data, relatives' impression, and language evaluations. The study was divided into the following phases: t-0, inclusion; t-30, language re-test to evaluate the stability of aphasia; t-90, placebo (PL) and ST; t-150, BR and ST; t-210, BR; t-270, wash-out. With respect to the baseline assessment, a significant improvement was observed in the following tests: dictation (F, 4.8; p <.004), reading-comprehension (F, 8.1;p <.0003), repetition (F, 3.8; p <.01) and verbal latency (F, 4.9; p <.01). High dosage of BR promoted a late recovery in stable chronic non-fluent aphasia and this improvement was enhanced by combination with ST

High-throughput NMR-based screening with competition binding experiments.

The Achilles heel of ligand-based NMR screening methods is their failure to detect high-affinity ligands and molecules that bind covalently to the receptor. We have developed a novel approach for performing high-throughput screening with NMR spectroscopy that overcomes this limitation. The method also permits detection of potential high-affinity molecules that are only marginally soluble, thus significantly enlarging the diversity of compounds amenable to NMR screening. The techniques developed utilize transverse and/or selective longitudinal relaxation parameters in combination with competition binding experiments. Mathematical expressions are derived for proper setup of the NMR experiments and for extracting an approximate value of the binding constant for the identified ligand from a single-point measurement. With this approach it is possible to screen thousands of compounds in a short period of time against protein or DNA and RNA fragments. The methodology can also be applied for screening plant and fungi extracts

A comparative study of hydrocortisone versus deflazacort in drug-resistant epilepsy of childhood.

Steroids are commonly used for the treatment of intractable epilepsy. Deflazacort has shown similar effects to prednisone, but with a less worrying adverse-effect profile. In this study, we first compared the efficacy, safety, and seizure relapse rate of deflazacort versus hydrocortisone in children affected by drug-resistant epilepsies. This was an open, non-blinded, randomized clinical study of 35 children affected by drug-resistant epilepsies. The study lasted 12 months. Group 1 (16 patients) received hydrocortisone for 6 months; group 2 (19 patients) was treated with deflazacort for the entire study period. Drug efficacy and tolerability were evaluated after 6 months of therapy. Seizure relapse rates were evaluated 12 months after the start of the study. After 6 months of therapy, hydrocortisone was effective in 44% of patients (responders, with a decrease in seizure frequency of >50%). Deflazacort was effective in 47% of patients (P=0.9). Adverse events occurred in 37% of patients using hydrocortisone and in none of those using deflazacort (P=0.002). At the end of the study, seizure relapse rate resulted significantly higher in group 1 than in group 2 (P=0.04). Hydrocortisone may be useful in the treatment of severely drug-resistant childhood epilepsies. However, its effects may be transient. Deflazacort should be considered in the therapeutic armamentarium for epileptic encephalopathies. The drug is as effective as hydrocortisone and may be used in therapy for a long period, with a less worrying adverse-effect profile

FPGA-Based Advanced Digital Signal Inspector for Internal Signals of Pin-limited Systems-on-Package

The paper presents an Advanced Digital Signal Inspector (ADSI) used for acquisition and analysis of the internal digital of a System on Package (SoP) with a limited number of pins. The system is made of a commercial FPGA-board, connected to the module for data sampling and controlled by PC via USB; a suited graphical interface allows for configuration, multi trace real time data display and post processing. The proposed platform can be used to extract and monitor simultaneously up to 4 digital signals, and an ADC is used to monitor one additional analog signal. The ADSI has been successfully applied for the characterization of an automotive SoP based on a MEM gyro sensor interfaced to an ASIC for proper signal conditioning. The ADC was connected to an external accelerometer to evaluate the module behaviour when applying mechanical shocks

NEUROPROTECTION AND STROKE

The current goal of acute stroke therapy is to restore cerebral perfusion and to protect cerebral tissue before the development of an irreversible damage. This latter is due to the duration and the severity of cerebral ischemia [1]. Recanalization operated by thrombolysis represents the most intuitive and effective treatment of acute cerebral ischemia. Unfortunately, because of the strictly clinical criteria that make thrombolysis feasible, this approach is limited only to few patients, and it is estimated that only about 5% of all acute cerebrovascular patients are suitable for rtPA treatment [2]. The need for new therapeutic strategies appropriate for the majority of acute stroke patients is therefore evident, in order to save as much ischemic brain tissue as possible