Alcoholic epilepsy: review of a series and proposed classification and etiopathogenesis.

A review of the convulsive seizures of 153 alcoholics is followed by a proposed classification with the aim of defining more precisely the pattern of so-called alcoholic epilepsy and distinguishing it from the other alcohol-related seizures (due to sudden changes in alcohol intake: convulsive inebriation or alcohol withdrawal seizures) and seizures in which alcohol is only one of the pathogenetic factors. Particular attention is devoted to an analysis and comparison of alcohol withdrawal seizures and alcoholic epilepsy, which are a source of nosological confusion. The results of oral glucose tolerance tests suggest an etiopathogenesis for alcoholic epilepsy based on the carbohydrate metabolism.

[Four cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob's disease (author's transl)]. / La malattia di Creutzfeldt-Jakob considerazioni su quattro casi.

The clinico-pathological features of 4 cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a transmissible virus dementia, are reported. The onset of the disease varied between 54 and 81 years of age: the course is dramatic and the demise occurs 1-4 months after the onset of symptoms. The clinical picture includes mental deterioration with amnesia, aphasia, apraxia and neurologic symptoms, mainly consisting in progressive rigidity and myoclonus. All cases show the typical 1/sec pseudorithmic spikes on EEG. Histological changes include severe astrocytosis of the cerebral cortex, status spongiosus and mild neuronal loss. The changes are more marked in the parieto-occipital lobes. Criteria of clinical and pathological diagnosis are reviewed. The precautions to be taken in handling biological as well as bioptic and autoptic specimens are emphasized, in order to avoid accidental transmission of the disease. It seems essential to institute a register of cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in Italy to assess the incidence and diffusion of the disease in our country.

[Partial syndrome of cerebello pontine region due to an aneurysm of the internal auditory artery (author's transl)]. / Aneurisma dell'arteria uditiva interna rivelato da una sindrome parziale dell'angolo ponto cerebellare

An aneurysm of the distal portion of the middle cerebellar artery was first clipped and then, given the type of neck, removed. The case is reported because of its extreme rarity, the unusual succession of symptoms, the difficulty of diagnosing the malformation, (thanks to modern radiological techniques) and the successful outcome of surgery.