Levetiracetam in clinical practice: efficacy and tolerability in epilepsy.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate efficacy and tolerability of levetiracetam (LEV) in patients with different epilepsy syndromes. METHODS: We evaluated epileptic patients seen in the previous 18 months, including all patients with present or past exposure to LEV. Tolerability of LEV therapy was evaluated in all patients; efficacy was evaluated only in patients who had received LEV for at least six months. Two hundred and two patients were included in the study. Patients were considered responsive when showing a > 50% reduction in seizures frequency and non-responders when seizure frequency was unchanged, worsened or showed a reduction < 50%. RESULTS: Thirty patients did not complete six months of LEV treatment and dropped out. 57.4% of the patients with uncontrolled seizures treated for at least six months were responders, with 27.7% seizure free. Adverse effects were observed in 46 patients (23%) and were responsible for early drop out in 26. Adverse effects occurred significantly more often in females than in males (30.6% vs 13.2%); moreover, nearly 30% of women with adverse effects complained of more than one adverse effect, while this was never observed in male patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows LEV as a well tolerated and effective treatment, both in monotherapy and as an add-on. Further investigations on larges samples are needed to investigate the issue of gender-related tolerability

Transient epileptic amnesia: an emerging late-onset epileptic syndrome.

Transient epileptic amnesia (TEA) is a distinct neurologic condition occurring in late-middle/old age and presenting with amnesic attacks of epileptic nature and interictal memory disturbances. For many years this condition has been associated with the nonepileptic condition of transient global amnesia (TGA) and still today is poorly recognized by clinicians. Despite the clinical and laboratory findings that distinguish TEA from TGA, differential diagnosis may be difficult in the individual patient. Every effort must be employed for an early diagnosis, since antiepileptic treatment may readily control both ictal episodes and memory disturbances

Actividad inhibidora de la tintura de conyza bonariensis (L.) cronquist contra hongos y bacterias causantes de infecciones superficiales

Introducción: Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronquist es una planta herbácea de distribución mundial que forma parte del grupo de las malezas y es utilizada para tratar diversas afecciones de la piel. Objetivo: Evaluar la actividad inhibitoria in vitro de la tintura de las hojas de C. bonariensis contra hongos y bacterias causantes de infecciones superficiales. Métodos: La tintura se obtuvo mediante maceración alcohólica de las hojas secas de C. bonariensis. La concentración inhibitoria mínima (MIC) de la tintura se determinó en 53 aislados de pacientes con lesiones superficiales y en 6 cepas de referencia; 20 Malassezia (7 M. sympodialis, 7 M. furfur, 6 M. globosa), 16 Candida (8 C. albicans, 8 C. parapsilosis), 17 dermatofitos (6Trichophyton rubrum, 6 Trichophyton mentagrophytes, 5 Microsporum canis) y 6 Staphylococcus aureus. Resultados: Se obtuvo una marcada reducción de la viabilidad de la mayoría de los microorganismos evaluados con bajas concentraciones (menores a 10 % v/v) de la tintura de C. bonariensis. Conclusiones: Los resultados permitieron concluir que la tintura de C. bonariensis tiene actividad antibacteriana contra Staphylococcus aureus y actividad antifúngica contra los principales hongos que causan infecciones superficiales como dermatofitos, Candida y Malassezia. Se observaron variaciones de las MIC entre género y entre especies, pero no se observaron variaciones de las MIC dentro de las especies. Estos resultados contribuyen a dar una explicación científica del uso empírico del extracto de C. bonariensis en el tratamiento de varias infecciones cutáneas y a revalorizar el conocimiento etnomédico tradicional.Introduction: Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronquist is a herbaceous plant of the underbrush group. It is distributed worldwide and is used to treat a variety of skin conditions.Objective: Evaluate the in vitro inhibitory activity of the tincture from C. bonariensis leaves against fungi and bacteria causing superficial infections. Methods: The tincture was obtained by alcoholic maceration of dry leaves of C. bonariensis. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the tincture was determined against 53 isolates from patients with superficial lesions and 6 reference strains; 20 Malassezia (7 M. sympodialis, 7 M. furfur, 6 M. globosa), 16 Candida (8 C. albicans, 8 C. parapsilosis), 17 dermatophytes (6 Trichophyton rubrum, 6 Trichophyton mentagrophytes, 5 Microsporum canis) and 6 Staphylococcus aureus. Results: A notable reduction in the viability of most of the microorganisms evaluated was obtained at low concentrations (under 10 % v/v) of the C. bonariensis tincture.Conclusions: Results allow to conclude that the C. bonariensis tincture displays antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and antifungal activity against the main fungi causing superficial infections, such as dermatophytes, Candida and Malassezia. MIC variations were found between genera and species, but not within each species. These results may help experts find a scientific explanation for the empirical use of the C. bonariensis extract to treat various skin infections and revalue traditional ethnomedical knowledge.Fil: Mussin, Javier Esteban. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Instituto de Medicina Regional; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; ArgentinaFil: Manzano, Patricia. Universidad de Guayaquil; EcuadorFil: Mangiaterra, Magdalena Leonilda. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Instituto de Medicina Regional; ArgentinaFil: Giusiano, Gustavo Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Instituto de Medicina Regional; Argentin

Cranial neuralgias: from physiopathology to pharmacological treatment

Cranial neuralgias are paroxysmal painful disorders of the head characterised by some shared features such as unilaterality of symptoms, transience and recurrence of attacks, superficial and "shock-like" quality of pain and the presence of triggering factors. Although rare, these disorders must be promptly recognised as they harbour a relatively high risk for underlying compressive or inflammatory disease. Nevertheless, misdiagnosis is frequent. Trigeminal and glossopharyngeal neuralgias are sustained in most cases by a neurovascular conflict in the posterior fossa resulting in a hyperexcitability state of the trigeminal circuitry. If the aetiology of trigeminal neuralgia (TN) and other typical neuralgias must be brought back to the peripheral injury, their pathogenesis could involve central allodynic mechanisms, which, in patients with inter-critical pain, also engage the nociceptive neurons at the thalamic-cortical level. Currently available medical treatments for TN and other cranial neuralgias are reviewed

Fungos e Bactérias no ar condicionado em residências, escritórios e veículos no Brasil: uma breve revisão

A UNILA, a Prefeitura Municipal de Foz do Iguaçu, a Alfândega da Receita Federal em Foz do Iguaçu, a Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná (Unioeste) e o Instituto Federal do Paraná (IFPR) promoverão conjuntamente, este ano, a Semana Integrada do Servidor Público. O evento pretende ser um espaço de análise e discussão sobre o tema “Valorização e integração: contribuições e desafios do servidor público na atualidade”. As atividades serão realizadas entre os dias 22 e 27 de outubro. O lançamento da Semana foi realizado nesta segunda-feira (27), no auditório da UnioesteO objetivo deste artigo é realizar uma pesquisa bibliográfica sobre a presença de fungos e/ou bactérias no ar condicionado em residências, escritórios e veículos, no Brasil. Realizou-se a revisão bibliográfica de artigos de 2000-2018. Além disso, citou-se a legislação brasileira sobre a qualidade de ar de interiores e a manutenção de instalações e equipamentos de sistemas de climatização de ambientes. Como resultados, identificou- se quatro artigos que contemplam os tópicos do objetivo proposto. Em alguns artigos, verificou-se que foram citados os procedimentos para a diminuição da presença de fungos quando ultrapassados os limites estabelecidos na legislação brasileira. Este estudo também pretende ressaltar a importância da ventilação, manutenção e limpeza nos sistemas de condicionadores de ar para a saúde human

Open Architecture Curricular Design and the Teaching of Corporate English

In this article, the authors describe how Open Architecture Curricular Design is a preferable strategy to fixed Business English curricula offered by traditional providers such as Cambridge English and Berlitz. The authors cite three cases in which OACD, used in blended learning platforms, makes language learning effective. They include (1) Online Safety English, a program designed for nonnative English-speaking agribusiness employees; (2) Boardroom English® designed for senior corporate executives; and (3) The Business Trip, a virtual reality unit designed for the needs of corporations who send their employees abroad. They posit that the use of OACD is a strategy to boost the proficiency levels of B1 business practitioners, agronomists, and engineers to C1, the level required by many multinational corporations. @font-face {font-family: Cambria Math ; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent: ; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family: Times New Roman ,serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Times New Roman ;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family: Calibri ,sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times New Roman ; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;

Differential neuropsychological profiles in Parkinsonian patients with or without vascular lesions.

The purpose of this study is to compare the neuropsychological profile of patients affected by parkinsonism and vascular lesions to that in patients with PD alone (PD) and to evaluate whether the brain vascular lesion load is associated with neuropsychological variables. Thirty-six nondemented patients with parkinsonism were divided into 3 groups of 12 patients each, according to both clinical history and the presence of brain vascular lesions and/or dopaminergic denervation as revealed by magnetic resonance and dopamine transporter imaging, respectively. The first group had vascular lesions without dopaminergic denervation (VP group); the second group had vascular lesions and dopaminergic denervation (DD) (VP+DD group); and the third group consisted of patients with dopaminergic denervation (PD group) without vascular lesions. All patients underwent neurological and neuropsychological assessments. The groups differed in disease duration, age at onset, and cerebrovascular risk factors. The VP and VP+DD groups performed worse than the PD group on frontal/executive tasks. Regardless of the presence of dopaminergic denervation, cerebrovascular lesions in hemispheric white matter, basal ganglia, and cerebellum have an important effect in determining early onset and severity of cognitive impairment in patients with parkinsonism

Transformações da midiatização presidencial: corpos, relatos, negociações, resistências

Com 18 capítulos e uma entrevista, o livro apresenta o resultado de pesquisas realizadas por pensadores da área da comunicação que discutem sobre as transformações da midiatização presidencial de grandes figuras da arena política dos Estados Unidos, Europa e América Latina cuja presença na mídia causou impacto na sociedade contemporânea. As pesquisas também analisam como essas figuras lidaram com os dispositivos midiáticos, assim como o tipo de estratégias de visibilidade construídas pelos candidatos na campanha eleitoral e, em certos casos, durante o seu mandato como presidente