ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: A multicentre randomized double-blind parallel group study was carried out on 68 patients suffering from idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) treated with L-dopa for at least 1 year with inadequate therapeutic responsiveness. The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy of alpha-dihydroergocryptine (alpha-DHEC) vs lisuride as an adjunct therapy to L-dopa on dyskinesias and clinical fluctuations (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale [UPDRS] part IV), on the symptoms pattern (Columbia University Rating Scale [CURS]), on disability (Northwestern University Disability Scale [NUDS]), and to evaluate the incidence of adverse events. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-two patients (18 males, 14 females with a mean age of 64.5+/-1.5 SEM) were randomized to alpha-dihydroergocryptine and 36 (16 males, 20 females with a mean age of 61.8+/-1.4) to lisuride. The treatment lasted 3 months and the dosage was increased until it reached 60 mg/day of alpha-dihydroergocryptine and 1.2 mg/day of lisuride, while the L-dopa dosage was kept constant in both groups. Per protocol and intention to treat analyses were performed on response variables. RESULTS: The adjunctive treatment with the two dopamine agonists determined a significant improvement of PD symptoms in both groups. Alpha-dihydroergocryptine showed a superior efficacy in reducing the clinical complications (P < 0.01 by ANOVA). The number of patients complaining of adverse events was 8 out of 32 (25%) for alpha-dihydroergocryptine and 24/36 (67%) for lisuride (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Alpha-dihydroergocryptine effect seems to be superior to that of lisuride both in terms of reduction of L-dopa therapy long term motor complications (UPDRS part IV) as well as in terms of the incidence and severity of adverse events.
Subject(s)
Dihydroergotoxine/therapeutic use , Dopamine Agonists/therapeutic use , Parkinson Disease/drug therapy , Aged , Antiparkinson Agents/therapeutic use , Dihydroergotoxine/adverse effects , Disabled Persons , Dopamine Agonists/adverse effects , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Double-Blind Method , Drug Therapy, Combination , Female , Humans , Levodopa/therapeutic use , Lisuride/therapeutic use , Male , Middle Aged , Movement Disorders/drug therapy , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Complex mechanisms of various nature, not only physical, can influence the patterns of metastases. We compared the patients with recurrences to the brain as the only metastatic site from breast cancer with the patients relapsing in the brain and other organs. All cases were staged and treated following professional protocols. When brain metastases were diagnosed, the patients were accurately restaged before being submitted to radiation therapy; the whole brain was irradiated with various total doses and the same fractionation. The patients underwent clinical examination before and after irradiation. Survival analysis was carried out using the product-limit method considering the following periods: total survival, relapse-free survival, elapsed time till the appearance of brain metastases, and survival after radiation therapy. The cases were grouped and compared using Mantel-Cox and Breslow methods according to the following prognostic factors: brain as the first site of recurrence, pausal state, total radiation dose, stage (TNM), T and N. No significant difference in survival was observed between the cases with brain as the first metastasized organ and the others. The patients were grouped according to the extant prognostic factors: longer total and postirradiation survival rates were observed in patients in premenopausal state (Breslow: p = 0.025 and 0.005) and in the cases treated with total radiation doses greater than 40 Gy (Breslow: p = 0.023 and 0.005). T levels seemed to significantly affect all the examined periods--which influences the stage effect. Conversely, N levels seemed to be of no significant value. The menopausal factor may reflect the effects of age, from which it cannot be separated. These results can be useful for treatment planning.
Subject(s)
Brain Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Breast Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Carcinoma/radiotherapy , Brain Neoplasms/mortality , Brain Neoplasms/pathology , Brain Neoplasms/secondary , Breast Neoplasms/mortality , Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Carcinoma/mortality , Carcinoma/pathology , Female , Humans , Menopause , Neoplasm Staging , Prognosis , Radiotherapy Dosage , Survival AnalysisABSTRACT
A 30 days therapeutical trial with trazodone has been performed in 47 patients suffering from different types of tremor. No significant improvement was detected in patients suffering from parkinsonian syndromes, multiple sclerosis, psycogenic tremor and hyperthyroidism. After the double-blind trial with trazodone, a significant improvement (p less than 0.025) was, instead, evident in 5 out of 6 patients with essential tremor, while the score did not change in the 3 patients with essential tremor who were treated with placebo.
Subject(s)
Trazodone/therapeutic use , Tremor/drug therapy , Adult , Aged , Clinical Trials as Topic , Double-Blind Method , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Multiple Sclerosis/drug therapy , Parkinson Disease/drug therapy , Somatoform Disorders/drug therapy , Tremor/psychologyABSTRACT
An unusual case of bilateral aneurysms of the internal cervical carotid arteries in a 38 year old man with right hemiplegia and aphasia is described.
