Treatment of acute pain of ureteral and biliary colic with naproxen sodium administered by the parenteral route

Non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs), wellknown inhibitors of prostaglandins, have been used in the treatment of biliary and ureteral pain since the end of the 1970s. The efficacy and tolerance of a new injectable formulation of naproxen sodium in ureteral and biliary pain was investigated in 77 out-patients, observed in an emergency ward, and affected by acute lithiasic symptomatology. Forty-four patients received one 275 mg vial of naproxen sodium intramuscularly, while 33 patients were given one vial at the same dosage intravenously. In 56% of the cases complete relief of pain was achieved within 30 minutes of injection, while in 86% pain was completely relieved or greatly decreased within one hour. Side-effects (nausea, vomiting) occurred in three patients, but were linked to a simultaneous aggravation of the ureteral colic.     

Sciatic nerve stimulation increases the degree of histopathological damage in lumbosacral segments after short lasting spinal cord ischemia in rabbit

To characterize the influence of primary afferent activation on the development of histopathological changes in the spinal cord after reversible ischemia, the left sciatic nerve was stimulated at the intensity of myelinated fibers before, during and for 1 h after 10 min of abdominal aortic ligation in halothane anesthetized rabbits. In control animals, only 10 min of spinal cord ischemia or sciatic nerve stimulation was employed. One hour after reperfusion all animals were perfusion fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde. Histopathological analysis using the suppressive Nauta method revealed significantly higher number of argyrophilic neurons in dorsal horns and in the intermediate zone in animals in which spinal cord ischemia was combined with sciatic nerve stimulation in comparison with the animals with spinal cord ischemia, but without stimulation. These histopathological changes corresponded with signs of irreversible damage analyzed on the ultrastructural level. Stimulation of sciatic nerve, but without ischemia did not evoke any detectable neuronal changes. The data from the present study suggest that increased activity of spinal cord neurons evoked by peripheral nerve stimulation can be an important factor in determining the extent of irreversible damage after short lasting ischemia.     

Postischemic hyperoxia enhances vulnerability in the rabbit spinal cord ischemic model

This study evaluated whether or not reperfusion of the rabbit ischemic spinal cord under conditions of varying blood oxygen tension combined with low blood viscosity can alter the neurological outcome after 15 min of infrarenal aortic occlusion. In group A (n = 20), hyperoxic reperfusion was performed during the initial 30 min of recirculation (pO2 = 460 ± 72 mmHg). In group B (n = 20), no attempt was made to manipulate the physiological arterial pO2 tension. In group C (n = 20), graded postischemic reoxygenation was applied during 15 min of recirculation beginning with 48 ± 12 mmHg as the initial arterial pO2. Neurological analysis revealed a high incidence of paraplegic animals after hyperoxic reperfusion as opposed to relatively undamaged animals after normoxic or graded postischemic reoxygenation. The possible role of different pathobiochemical events, specifically the high molecular oxygen availability and oxygen free-radical overproduction, is discussed below with attention to the interneuronal destructive process, detected during the early reoxygenation phase by means of the Nauta method permitting the visualization of the early signs of somatic and dendritic argyrophilia.     

Multifocal nivolumab immune-related adverse effects during asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection: causality or casuality?

Neurological Sciences -     

Restless legs syndrome is not associated with migraine with aura: a clinical study

Based on recent data about the association between restless legs syndrome (RLS) and migraine, we performed an observational study on the occurrence of RLS in patients affected by “pure” migraine with aura (pMA). We recruited 63 patients (33 females and 30 males) affected by MA without other types of primary headache among all patients referred in five Italian headache centers in a 1-year period. The prevalence of RLS in pMA patients (9.5%) is similar to that observed in Italian headache-free subjects (8.3%). No significant differences were found between pMA patients with and without RLS about clinical features of MA attacks and systemic and psychiatric diseases were investigated. Moreover, no association appeared between RLS and familial cases of MA. Differently from migraine without aura, our data do not confirm the existence of an association between RLS and MA, not even when a genetic factor is involved.