Laura Scarciolla

Increased alpha band functional connectivity following the quadrato motor training: A longitudinal study

Quadrato Motor Training (QMT) is a new training paradigm, which was found to increase cognitive flexibility, creativity and spatial cognition. In addition, QMT was reported to enhance inter- and intra-hemispheric alpha coherence as well as Fractional Anisotropy (FA) in a number of white matter pathways including corpus callosum. Taken together, these results seem to suggest that electrophysiological and structural changes induced by QMT may be due to an enhanced interplay and communication of the different brain areas within and between the right and the left hemisphere. In order to test this hypothesis using the exact low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (eLORETA), we estimated the current neural density and lagged linear connectivity (LLC) of the alpha band in the resting state electroencephalography (rsEEG) recorded with open (OE) and closed eyes (CE) at three different time points, following 6 and 12 weeks of daily QMT. Significant changes were observed for the functional connectivity. In particular, we found that limbic and fronto-temporal alpha connectivity in the OE condition increased after 6 weeks, while it enhanced at the CE condition in occipital network following 12-weeks of daily training. These findings seem to show that the QMT may have dissociable long-term effects on the functional connectivity depending on the different ways of recording rsEEG. OE recording pointed out a faster onset of Linear Lag Connectivity modulations that tend to decay as quickly, while CE recording showed sensible effect only after the complete 3-months training.

Osteofibrous dysplasia: A case report and review of the literature

Osteofibrous dysplasia (OFD) is a rare bone tumor affecting young individuals. The differential diagnosis between OFD and adamantinoma may be challenging in some cases on imaging. We present a case of OFD and discuss the key imaging and histological findings. We also discuss the differential diagnosis between OFD and classical adamantinoma on the basis of recent literature.

The Effect of Intra-Articular Hyaluronic Acid (Sinovial® One) on Knee Osteoarthritis: A Preliminary Study

Intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid are a valid treatment option for patients with osteoarthritis. Differences in purity, origin, and molecular weight may influence the efficacy and safety of hyaluronic acid products, therefore, we evaluated the safety, efficacy, and duration of improvements following a single intra-articular injection of a low-medium molecular weight hyaluronic acid product of bacterial synthesis, Sinovial® One, on patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. The double-blind study enrolled 21 patients (24 knees) with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis, classified into moderate, severe and very severe osteoarthritis using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis (WOMAC) pain functional Index and the Kellgren and Lawrence scales. At four months there was improvement in measured clinical parameters in 77.6% of the 24 treated knees, particularly in patients with moderate and severe osteoarthritis (improvement in 100% and 66.7%, respectively). No local or systemic adverse events were observed. These preliminary findings suggest that Sinovial® One is safe and effective for patients with knee osteoarthritis, providing long-lasting improvement in clinical parameters.

Cordarone Extravasation Inducing Volkmann's-like Syndrome

We report a case of Volkmann’s-like syndrome occurred after an extravasation of 300 mg of cordarone administrated for a cardiac arrest.The day following the extravasation, an extensive necrosis of the skin and soft tissues occurred. The patient progressively developed a retraction of the muscles of her forearm. To the best of our knowledge this is first the reported case of an acute necrosis of the soft tissue inducing a Volkmann’s-like retraction of the upper limb subsequent to a cordarone extravasation. The imaging findings are provided along with a review of the literature.