Myotonia levior: contribution to the nosography.

Two family are described affected by a mild myotonic syndrome, characterized by almost exclusively presence of myotonic phenomenon, in absence of symptoms as muscular weakness, hypotrophy or hypertrophy ("myotonia levior"). The nosographic classification of this disease in the congenital myotonias is today uncertain, and it could be a case of a low expressivity variant of the dominant form (Thomsen disease), or the heterozygotic phenotype of the recessive form (Becker disease). Family history, clinical and electrophysiological data obtained in the patients seem to support first hypothesis, providing an useful element for a correct genetic counselling in these cases

Effects of anticholinergic agents on the excitability of the blink reflex in Meige syndrome.

Blink reflex recovery cycle, before and after acute administration of orphenadrine chlorhydrate, was tested in Meige syndrome. Data here reported show, after the drug, a decrease of the unconditioned polysynaptic responses, without a significant modification of the blink reflex recovery curves. This fact rules out a specific effect of anticholinergic drugs on the pathological reduction of the inhibitory process, at an interneuronal level of these polysynaptic pathways, in Meige syndrome

Pain threshold and polysynaptic components of the blink reflex in Parkinson's disease.

This study was conducted on 15 outpatients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease, 10 on chronic levodopa therapy and 5 drug free, all complaining of painful syndromes. We investigated the perceptive and pain thresholds and the threshold of polysynaptic components of the blink reflex in patients and 8 controls. Our data indicate that as regards the perceptive, pain and R2, R3 thresholds, patients with and without levodopa therapy do not differ significantly from controls

Selective techniques of apheresis in polyneuropathy associated with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance.

Three cases affected by peripheral neuropathy associated to monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) were treated by using selective apheretic techniques, chosen on the basis of the serological characteristics of the gammopathy. Double filtration plasmapheresis was used in the first two cases, respectively affected by gammopathy of IgM type, kappa chains, and IgG type, lambda chains; protein A immunoadsorption in Case 3 with IgG type, lambda chains. Apheretic sessions were performed for three-four months, in association with low-dose immunosuppressive therapy. Clear and stable improvement of the neuropathy over 12-month follow-up period was observed both from a clinical and electrophysiological point of view. It is concluded that in peripheral neuropathy associated with MGUS selective techniques of apheresis can prove useful both in obtaining positive results and in avoiding the collateral effect of the original plasma exchange

Further evidence of involvement of central and peripheral sensory pathways in olivopontocerebellar atrophy.

We report the electrophysiological findings of the central and peripheral somatosensory pathways in 20 patients with olivopontocerebellar atrophy. Changes in sensory action potentials of the median nerve were observed in 14 patients and consisted of reduced sensory potential amplitudes associated in 10 cases with an increase in distal latencies. Sixteen out of 20 patients also showed changes in somatosensory evoked potentials after stimulation of the median nerve, consisting of decreased amplitude of N13 (13 cases) and N20 (16 cases) components, associated with increased N9-N13 interpeak latency in 9 and N13-N20 in 14 patients. The origin of these alterations is discussed

Evaluation of the Possible Effect of the Grinders Installed in Fully Automatic Espresso Coffee Machines on the Element Content in Brewed Coffees

This investigation was aimed at evaluating whether the element release from the grinding systems installed in fully automatic coffee machines could cause their increase in coffee brews to become worrying. Thus, the content of 24 elements was determined by ICP-MS in roasted coffee beans ground in six fully automated machines, in two of which heavily used grinders were deliberately installed in order to evaluate the effect of their deterioration. These contents were compared with those found in the same type of roasted coffee beans hand-ground in an agate mortar. The content of the same elements in both spent coffee pucks, residual from either hand grinding or automatic grinding, and coffee drinks prepared with the assayed fully automatic machines fed with either automatically ground coffee beans or hand-ground coffee powder, were determined and compared with one another. The results showed only very small differences due to the grinding method adopted, which were largely lower than the standard deviations affecting our determinations