T Bertorini

Publications (9)31.57 Total impact

• Article: Muscle and nerve imaging techniques in neuromuscular diseases.

  H Halford, A Graves, T Bertorini
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  ABSTRACT: Imaging of muscle and nerve has become increasingly useful and of promising value in the evaluation of patients with various neuromuscular disorders. These techniques include ultrasonography, radionuclide scanning, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging. They have different applications, advantages. and disadvantages. This review assesses these imaging modalities and describes the findings in pathologic conditions. The usefulness of these methods in the evaluation of various neuromuscular diseases is discussed.
  Journal of clinical neuromuscular disease 10/2000; 2(1):41-51.
• Article: Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbosacral roots in the dysimmune inflammatory polyneuropathies.

  T Bertorini, H Halford, J Lawrence, D Vo, M Wassef
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  ABSTRACT: The diagnosis of acute Guillain-Barré syndrome and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy is based on clinical characteristics, abnormalities on nerve conduction studies, and nerve biopsy specimens indicating demyelination. Inflammation and edema are also common findings in nerve specimens. Immunotherapy is helpful in these dysimmune conditions. Occasionally the diagnosis is difficult to make, particularly when electrophysiological testing or nerve biopsy findings are not characteristic. The authors found contrast enhancement of lumbosacral roots in patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy and Guillain-Barré syndrome, but not in those with other demyelinating neuropathies. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging could be a useful tool in the diagnosis of the dysimmune inflammatory neuropathies.
  Journal of Neuroimaging 02/1995; 5(1):9-15. · 1.51 Impact Factor
• Article: Immunohistochemical analysis of the distribution of MyoD1 in muscle biopsies of primary myopathies and neurogenic atrophy

  D. M. Parham, T. Bertorini, P. Dias, M. A. v. Wronski, P. Houghton, T. Bertorim, L. Horner
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  ABSTRACT: The expression of the myogenic determination gene MyoD1 plays a primary role in the commitment of primitive mesenchymal cells to a striated muscle lineage and is down-regulated during later stages of differentiation. To determine the potential role of this gene in myopathic conditions, we examined its expression by means of immunohistochemical analysis, using a series of muscle biopsies from 14 patients with a variety of primary myopathies and neurogenic disorders. Utilizing the avidin-biotin-complex technique, cryostat sections were stained with monoclonal antibody 5.8 A, which we have previously described as having a high level of specificity for tumors with rhabdomyoblastic differentiation. Of special interest was the observation in 4 of 8 cases of neurogenic atrophy of varying levels of cytoplasmic positivity of muscle fibers, appearing to correlate with their degree of atrophy, in addition to weak nuclear staining. Muscle biopsies from 2 patients with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy and 2 patients with autoimmune inflammatory myopathies demonstrated various levels of nuclear positivity in scattered foci that appeared to correlate with areas of regeneration. A biopsy from a single case of neurogenic atrophy secondary to infantile spinal muscular atrophy (Werdnig-Hoffmann's disease) demonstrated diffuse but relatively weak staining of myofiber nuclei, in contrast to sections of normal striated muscle and muscle biopsies from patients with unexplained myoglobinuria, which exhibited only minimal amounts of staining. These data are compatible with observations that MyoD1 expression is related to electrical activity and muscle regeneration.
  Acta Neuropathologica 05/1994; 87(6):605-611. · 9.32 Impact Factor
• Article: Muscle hypertrophy secondary to the tethered cord syndrome.

  T Bertorini, C Woodhouse, L Horner
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  ABSTRACT: Segmental muscle enlargement occurs in a variety of neurogenic conditions. We present a case with calf hypertrophy, likely produced by partial denervation and continuous neuromuscular irritability, which was caused by a tethered spinal cord that was demonstrated by MRI. Muscle MRI correlated with muscle biopsy findings in which atrophy and hypertrophy were accompanied by rimmed vacuoles.
  Muscle & Nerve 04/1994; 17(3):331-5. · 2.37 Impact Factor
• Article: Immunohistochemical analysis of the distribution of MyoD1 in muscle biopsies of primary myopathies and neurogenic atrophy.

  D M Parham, P Dias, T Bertorini, M A von Wronski, L Horner, P Houghton
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: The expression of the myogenic determination gene MyoD1 plays a primary role in the commitment of primitive mesenchymal cells to a striated muscle lineage and is down-regulated during later stages of differentiation. To determine the potential role of this gene in myopathic conditions, we examined its expression by means of immunohistochemical analysis, using a series of muscle biopsies from 14 patients with a variety of primary myopathies and neurogenic disorders. Utilizing the avidin-biotin-complex technique, cryostat sections were stained with monoclonal antibody 5.8 A, which we have previously described as having a high level of specificity for tumors with rhabdomyoblastic differentiation. Of special interest was the observation in 4 of 8 cases of neurogenic atrophy of varying levels of cytoplasmic positivity of muscle fibers, appearing to correlate with their degree of atrophy, in addition to weak nuclear staining. Muscle biopsies from 2 patients with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy and 2 patients with autoimmune inflammatory myopathies demonstrated various levels of nuclear positivity in scattered foci that appeared to correlate with areas of regeneration. A biopsy from a single case of neurogenic atrophy secondary to infantile spinal muscular atrophy (Werdnig-Hoffmann's disease) demonstrated diffuse but relatively weak staining of myofiber nuclei, in contrast to sections of normal striated muscle and muscle biopsies from patients with unexplained myoglobinuria, which exhibited only minimal amounts of staining. These data are compatible with observations that MyoD1 expression is related to electrical activity and muscle regeneration.
  Acta Neuropathologica 02/1994; 87(6):605-11. · 9.32 Impact Factor
• Article: Psychophysiological parameters of migraine and muscle-contraction headaches.

  K L Lichstein, S M Fischer, T L Eakin, J I Amberson, T Bertorini, P W Hoon
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  ABSTRACT: Previous headache studies have been unable to verify the presumed presence of headache. Attempting to correct this design fault, the present study assessed four psychophysiological measures (frontalis EMG, temporal BVP, temporal and finger skin temperature) and salient subjective measures in 13 migraineurs, eight muscle-contraction headache sufferers, and 13 age-matched normals. All subjects submitted to two 30-minute sessions of quiet monitoring, and for the headache subjects, one of the sessions was headache active. A bogus, but convincing preliminary "assessment" revealed insufficient headache activity in the headache active session, forcing subjects to reschedule that session in the future when a strong headache was present. A parallel manipulation was employed with the normal subjects. A MANOVA failed to discriminate within- or between-group differences on the psychophysiological measures. Self-reported pain was uncorrelated with the psychophysiological indices. These results cast further doubt on the validity of the psychophysiological measures employed in this study, the same ones routinely endorsed by headache researchers and therapists. We discuss problems of recruitment, compliance, and attrition in basic headache research.
  Headache The Journal of Head and Face Pain 02/1991; 31(1):27-34. · 2.52 Impact Factor
• Article: Headaches due to spontaneous internal carotid artery dissection magnetic resonance imaging evaluation and follow up.

  L K Cox, T Bertorini, R E Laster
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  ABSTRACT: Spontaneous internal carotid artery (ICA) dissection is not an infrequent cause of headache and acute neurologic deficits in the younger population. Angiography has been the imaging modality of choice for both diagnosis and follow-up. The use of magnetic resonance imaging, (MRI), in conjunction with angiography, is described in three patients shown to have ICA dissection. Our clinical findings suggest that MRI may provide a less expensive, non-invasive, diagnostic and particularly a follow up modality in patients with headache and signs suggestive of ICA dissection.
  Headache The Journal of Head and Face Pain 02/1991; 31(1):12-6. · 2.52 Impact Factor
• Article: Congenital muscular dystrophy with cerebellar atrophy.

  W A Knubley, T Bertorini
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  ABSTRACT: Congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD) is a disorder which usually presents at birth with skeletal muscle dysfunction. Cases have been described with associated severe central nervous system (CNS) abnormalities, but usually the condition proceeds without CNS impairment, particularly in less severe cases. A 25-year-old patient is described with clinical and pathological features of CMD accompanied by cerebellar dysfunction, most likely the result of cerebellar atrophy. This patient is thought to have a benign variety of CMD with CNS involvement, and this report stresses the fact that CMD can be associated with minimal CNS abnormalities and have a benign course.
  Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology 07/1988; 30(3):378-83. · 2.92 Impact Factor
• Article: Duchenne muscular dystrophy: normal ATP turnover in cultured cells.

  I H Fox, R Shefner, G M Palmieri, T Bertorini
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  ABSTRACT: We examined ATP metabolism in cultured muscle cells and fibroblasts from patients with Duchenne dystrophy. ATP and ADP levels were the same in cultured cells from normal subjects and patients and there was no difference in ATP synthesis or degradation. Although there was a significant decrease in radioactively labelled ATP after incubation with deoxyglucose in Duchenne muscle cells, there was no difference in ATP concentration or ADP metabolism.
  Advances in experimental medicine and biology 02/1986; 195 Pt B:493-9. · 1.09 Impact Factor