Carbamazepine therapy in neuropsychiatric patients.

We reviewed the charts of 106 patients treated with carbamazepine. Age, sex, race, seizure type, seizure focus, age at onset, duration of epileptic illness, reasons for discontinuing treatment, other medications, and response to treatment of seizures, psychiatric symptoms, and behavioral symptoms were recorded. Statistical analysis was done to determine clinical factors influencing response to carbamazepine. Increasing duration of epileptic illness leads to a decreased response to carbamazepine, which controls both seizure and behavioral symptoms effectively; concurrent medication decreases behavioral symptom control without affecting the control of the seizures. We found a strongly negative correlation between duration of seizures and improvement of psychiatric symptoms with carbamazepine therapy. We provide a clinical profile of the carbamazepine responder to guide clinicians in their use of this drug.

Carbamazepine as therapy for psychiatric sequelae of herpes simplex encephalitis.

We have presented a case of herpes simplex encephalitis that is interesting in that seizure activity was detected in mesial temporal structures, without manifestations of seizure activity except for severe emotional lability with explosive emotional outbursts. Response to carbamazepine (Tegretol) included marked reduction in EEG-detected seizure activity and in the frequency of emotional outbursts, extending to one year after treatment.

[Monitoring of high-risk pregnancies (author's transl)]. / Monitoraggio delle gravidanze a rischio.

The AA. have monitored 202 patients affected by several pathological conditions and at different stages of their pregnancies. Among them, 173 were pregnancies without complications. Monitoring was performed on the basis of the following 3 indices: HCS radioimmunological assay, total plasmatic estriol, and vaginal cytology. Results show, as demonstrated in the graphs and the final discussion, that already within the first weeks of gestation the pathological cases under observation presented marked modifications of the indices studied when compared to controls.

[New views referred to gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase (author's transl]. / Nuove acquisizioni sulla gamma-glutamil-transpeptidasi

The AA. have observed some patients suffering from persistent chronic hepatitis, aggressive chronic hepatitis, severe virus hepatitis, hepatic cirrhosis, hepatic metastasis, cholecystolithiasis, hepatic abscess, congestic heart disorder, alcoholism also patients treated with barbiturics and benzodiazepine, comparising in the meanwhile gamma-glutamyl-transaminase. They would suggest a new interpretation: the observed enzyme was higher in the obstructive diseases, gamma-GT also notable higher in the cellular hepatic diseases (hepatitis, cirrhosis and so on). In their opinion gamma-GT should be a regular enzymatic screening for liver diseases, but should not anyway eliminate the till now used enzymes.

[Rate meaning of estriol-dosage in the pregnant wife pointing out the phoetus development (author's transl)]. / Il valore del dosaggio dell'estriolo nella donna gravida quale indice dello sviluppo del feto

The AA. point out the meaning of the urinary estriol dosage in high risk pregnancy. The screening must be frequent and regular, with constant growing curve all time along. A sudden fall down of the rate shows a severe malaise of the phoetus and proper therapy is badly needed. Extemporary screenings dont supply any sufficient knowledge.

[Treatment of obesity with chorionic gonadotropins. Relations between obesity, dyslipidemia and arthero-arteriosclerosis]. / Terapia dell'obesità con gonadotropina corionica. Correlazioni tra obesità turbe dislipidemiche e atero-arteriosclerosi

A long account of the many factors responsible form atherosclerosis (dysmetabolism, physical, genetic and familial factors, immunobiological features, diet) is followed by an assessment of obesity as a main risk factor in the local pathology of atherosclerosis. Results obtained in the treatment of obesity with chorionic gonadotropin and a 500 calorie standard diet are presented. These were highly satisfactory with respect to weight loss, tolerance, and marked improvement (or even normalisation) of blood lipid values, which were initially pathological in many cases.

[Hepato-Quick: a new diagnostic test for liver diseases (author's transl)]. / Un nuovo test nella diagnostica delle epatopatie. L'Epato-Quick

The AA. have adopted usual biohumoral examinations and the Hepato-Quick test for a group of patients affected by various liver diseases. Hepato-Quick contains thromboplastine from monkey brain and plasma absorbed on barium sulphate. It is particularly sensitive for II, VII and X factor and it does not react on deficit of V factor and fibrinogen both already present with optimal concentration in the Hepato-Quick test. II, VII and X factor are synthetized by the liver and reveal in an outstanding way every hepatocytic lesion: therefore is the Hepato-Quick test a fine and responsive test for the liver function and in order to control the liver diseases, especially if chronic. We have seen the new test is strong altered by hepatic cirrhosis, but there are no significant alterations in different liver diseases.