Marco Calabresi - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Marco Calabresi

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Advances in neurology, 2003

Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD), formerly called fibromuscular fibroplasia, is a group of nonathero... more Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD), formerly called fibromuscular fibroplasia, is a group of nonatherosclerotic, noninflammatory arterial diseases that most commonly involve the renal and carotid arteries. The prevalence of symptomatic renal artery FMD is about 4/1000 and the prevalence of cervicocranial FMD is probably half that. Histological classification discriminates three main subtypes, intimal, medial and perimedial, which may be associated in a single patient. Angiographic classification includes the multifocal type, with multiple stenoses and the 'string-of-beads' appearance that is related to medial FMD, and tubular and focal types, which are not clearly related to specific histological lesions. Renovascular hypertension is the most common manifestation of renal artery FMD. Multifocal stenoses with the 'string-of-beads' appearance are observed at angiography in more than 80% of cases, mostly in women aged between 30 and 50 years; they generally involve the middle and distal two-thirds of the main renal artery and in some case also renal artery branches. Cervicocranial FMD can be complicated by dissection with headache, Horner's syndrome or stroke, or can be associated with intracerebral aneurysms with a risk of subarachnoid or intracerebral hemorrhage. The etiology of FMD is unknown, although various hormonal and mechanical factors have been suggested. Subclinical lesions are found at arterial sites distant from the stenotic arteries, and this suggests that FMD is a systemic arterial disease. It appears to be familial in 10% of cases. Noninvasive diagnostic tests include, in increasing order of accuracy, ultrasonography, magnetic resonance angiography and computed tomography angiography. The gold standard for diagnosing FMD is catheter angiography, but this invasive procedure is only used for patients in whom it is clinically pertinent to proceed with revascularization during the same procedure. Differential diagnosis include atherosclerotic stenoses and stenoses associated with vascular Ehlers-Danlos and Williams' syndromes, and type 1 neurofibromatosis. Management of cases with renovascular hypertension includes antihypertensive therapy, percutaneous angioplasty of severe stenoses, and reconstructive surgery in cases with complex FMD that extends to segmental arteries. The therapeutic options for securing ruptured intracerebral aneurysms are microvascular neurosurgical clipping and endovascular coiling. Stenosis progression in renal artery FMD is slow and rarely leads to ischemic renal failure.

Pediatrics, 2018

The capsular group B meningococcal vaccine (4CMenB) is recommended for children with complement d... more The capsular group B meningococcal vaccine (4CMenB) is recommended for children with complement deficiencies, asplenia, and splenic dysfunction; however, data on the immunogenicity of 4CMenB in these "at-risk" children are missing. Participants aged 2 to 17 years in Italy, Spain, Poland, the United Kingdom, and Russia with complement deficiencies, asplenia, or splenic dysfunction received 2 doses of 4CMenB 2 months apart, as did healthy children in the control group. Exogenous and endogenous human complement serum bactericidal activity (SBA) was determined at baseline and 1 month after the second immunization against 4 test strains: H44/76 (assessing vaccine antigen factor H binding protein), 5/99 (Neisserial adhesion A), NZ98/254 (Porin A), and M10713 (Neisserial heparin binding antigen). Of 239 participants (mean age 10.3 years, 45% female), 40 children were complement deficient (9 eculizumab therapy, 4 terminal-chain deficiencies, 27 "other"), 112 children had...

Vaccine, Jun 16, 2017

This study evaluated the immunogenicity and safety of a licensed meningococcal serogroup B vaccin... more This study evaluated the immunogenicity and safety of a licensed meningococcal serogroup B vaccine (4CMenB) administered alone according to reduced schedules in infants or catch-up series in children. In this open-label, multicentre, phase 3b study (NCT01339923), infants randomised 1:1:1 received 4CMenB: 2+1 doses at 3½-5-11months or 6-8-11months of age, 3+1 doses at ages 2½-3½-5-11months. Children aged 2-10years received 2 catch-up doses administered 2months apart. Immune responses were measured by hSBA assays against 4 strains specific for vaccine components fHbp, NadA, PorA and NHBA. Sufficiency of immune responses was defined in groups with 2+1 doses schedules as a lower limit ≥70% for the 97.5% confidence interval of the percentage of infants with hSBA titres ≥4, 1month post-dose 2 for fHbp, NadA, PorA. Adverse events were collected for 7days post-vaccination; serious adverse events (SAEs) throughout the study. 754 infants and 404 children were enrolled. Post-primary vaccinatio...

EuroIntervention : journal of EuroPCR in collaboration with the Working Group on Interventional Cardiology of the European Society of Cardiology, Jan 23, 2015

Bindarit (BND) is a selective inhibitor of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1/CCL2), which pla... more Bindarit (BND) is a selective inhibitor of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1/CCL2), which plays an important role in generating intimal hyperplasia. Our aim was to explore the efficacy and safety of bindarit in preventing restenosis following percutaneous coronary intervention. A phase II, double-blind, multicentre randomised trial included 148 patients randomised into three arms (BND 600 mg, n=48; BND 1,200 mg, n=49; PLB, n=51). Bindarit was given following PCI and continued for 180 days. Monthly clinical follow-up and six-month coronary angiography were conducted. The primary endpoint was in-segment late loss; the main secondary endpoints were in-stent late loss and major adverse cardiovascular events. Efficacy analysis was carried out on two populations, ITT and PP. There were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics among the three treatment groups. In-segment and in-stent late loss at six months in BND 600, BND 1,200 and PLB were: (ITT 0.54 vs. 0.52 vs. 0....

The Journal of Headache and Pain, 2007

We describe a case of atypical primary headache strongly responsive to prolonged pressure in the ... more We describe a case of atypical primary headache strongly responsive to prolonged pressure in the anterior aspect of the neck. We hypothesize that, at least in this case, the trigemino-cervical system and its connections with the vagus nerve are involved.

Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 2012

The determination of the minimum clinically important difference (MCID) is an important aspect of... more The determination of the minimum clinically important difference (MCID) is an important aspect of scale development. The Neurological Fatigue Index for multiple sclerosis (NFI-MS) was administered before and after expected change or stability in fatigue in 208 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The overall change scores of the NFI-MS accorded with perceived direction of change; importantly, no change was seen when none was perceived. Using the interval level NFI-MS scores, the largest MCID equated to 2.49 points on the Summary scale, 2.36 points on the Physical scale, 0.84 points on the Cognitive scale, 0.97 on the Diurnal Sleep scale and 1.95 on the Nocturnal Sleep scale. Our conclusion is that the NFI-MS responds as expected to changes in fatigue and has desirably small MCID scores.

Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2012

Background: Monocyte chemotactic proteins (MCP) play important role generating intimal hyperplasi... more Background: Monocyte chemotactic proteins (MCP) play important role generating intimal hyperplasia in stents. Bindarit (BND), a selective inhibitor of MCP synthesis, reduces intimal hyperplasia in animal models. In this first-in-man trial, we tested the efficacy and safety of BND to inhibit intimal hyperplasia following coronary stenting. Methods: A phase II, double-blind, multi-centre randomized trial, included 108 patients with 128 lesions in 23 centres (3 countries). Patients were randomized into 3-arms (BND 600 mg, n=35; BND 1200 mg, n=34; placebo, n=39). Treatment started the day of the procedure and continued for 180-days following PCI with bare metal stents (Multi-Link Vision). Monthly clinical follow-up and 6-month coronary angiography were conducted. In-segment late loss and in-stent loss were primary and secondary end-points. Results: The 3 groups had no significant differences in the demographics. Treatment compliance was > 90%. Figure 1 shows Results: There were no significant side effects. Conclusions: The significant reduction of in-stent late loss suggests a possible role of BND to decrease in-stent proliferation. Dosages higher than 600 mg did not show additional advantage. A larger study utilizing a pre-treatment or a loading dose may be warranted.

Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 2012

This study investigated the effects of relapses and levels of disability on resource use in a mul... more This study investigated the effects of relapses and levels of disability on resource use in a multidisciplinary MS clinic. Data were collected over a 12-month period on the number of clinic visits, relapse rate, use of disease modifying therapies (DMTs), use of the multidisciplinary team, and treatment of individual symptoms. 41/427 patients had a relapse. Relapsing patients had lower levels of disability but had more clinic visits (mean 4.63 vs 2.79, p<0.001), and were more likely to see the specialist nurse (82% vs 62% p=0.019), physiotherapist (65.9% vs 46.1%, p=0.021) and orthoptist (41.5% vs 22.3% p=0.001). Relapsing patients were more likely to receive DMTs (49% vs 14%, p<0.001). In order to investigate the effects of higher levels of disability, 107 ambulatory patients with progressive MS and an EDSS of <=6.5 were compared with 105 non-ambulatory patients with an EDSS of >=7.0. The more disabled group were more likely to see the speech therapist (14.3 % vs 3.7%, p=0.007) and had a lower rate of fatigue (52.3% vs 22.9%, p=0.001). This study shows that relapses are a greater driver of resource use than the overall level of disability. Thus the beneficial effect of DMTs in reducing relapse frequency will play an important role in reducing cost of care. Very few differences in rates of symptom treatment were found between patients with different levels of disability and relapse rates. This data supports the use of multidisciplinary clinics in all phases of MS.

Clinical and Experimental Hypertension, 2002

The ischaemic penumbra was described for the first time in the late 1970s as a ring of hypoperfus... more The ischaemic penumbra was described for the first time in the late 1970s as a ring of hypoperfused zone surrounding the region of complete infarction. The penumbral zone is a functionally silent tissue which is able to regain its function if promptly reperfused. This implies that the ischaemic penumbra is not a static but a &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;dynamic&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; and &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;time-dependent&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; concept. In this paper we describe the role of neuroimmaging tecniques such as single photon emission tomography (SPET), positron emission tomography (PET), and diffusion-weighted and perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI and PWI) in the study of ischaemic penumbra. These functional imaging techniques have the advantage of giving &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;in vivo&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; quantitative estimate of cerebral blood flow (CBF) as well as information on how the ischaemic tissue metabolic changes develop. It follows that, as therapeutic options for treating acute stroke evolve, neuroimaging strategies are assuming an increasingly important role in the initial evaluation and management of the acute ischaemic patient. In this regard, a wide range of therapeutic approaches have been investigated for either ameliorating the perfusion, or interfering with the pathobiochemical cascade leading to ischaemic neuronal damage, or improving endogenous neuroprotection pathways. The &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;time windows&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; required for these treatments to be effective varies being rather short for reperfusion and longer for neuroprotection. Salvaging more penumbra would enhance recovery and thereby allow the most appropriate candidate for therapeutic trials to be selected.

Differenze di genere nelle dimensioni rabbia, depressione e ansia ... Gender differences in anger... more Differenze di genere nelle dimensioni rabbia, depressione e ansia ... Gender differences in anger, depression and anxiety dimensions and psychometric screening of psychopathology in a sample of students ... FRANCESCA BATTISTI*, ALESSANDRA DE FRANCISCIS*, ...

Brain and Language, 2012

Previous studies have found a late frontal-central audiovisual interaction during the time period... more Previous studies have found a late frontal-central audiovisual interaction during the time period about 150-220 ms post-stimulus. However, it is unclear to which process is this audiovisual interaction related: to processing of acoustical features or to classification of stimuli? To investigate this question, eventrelated potentials were recorded during a words-categorization task with stimuli presented in the auditory-visual modality. In the experiment, congruency of the visual and auditory stimuli was manipulated. Results showed that within the window of about 180-210 ms post-stimulus more positive values were elicited by category-congruent audiovisual stimuli than category-incongruent audiovisual stimuli. This indicates that the late frontal-central audiovisual interaction is related to audiovisual integration of semantic category information.

Aim - To determine whether single-word speechreading is sensitive to prior phrase context. Backgr... more Aim - To determine whether single-word speechreading is sensitive to prior phrase context. Background - We used a well-established Event Related Potential (ERP) paradigm to elicit the N400, a negative wave around 400 ms. The N400 reflects activation by lexical semantic features and is modulated by contextual integration. Methods - Seventeen adult native English speakers participated. They were shown written three-word contexts followed by a final word (cloze) presented as a silent video clip. Context and cloze formed typical phrases (60 trials, e.g. "No smoke without fire") and anomalous phrases (120 trials, e.g. "Two of a trade"). Subjects were instructed to identify the cloze at the end of each trial. Typicality (typical/anomalous) and accuracy were used to classify trials. ERPs were computed off-line by averaging epochs aligned to the onset of articulatory movements. Results and discussion - For all four conditions, reliable evoked activity emerged only after ...

Multisensory Development, 2012