Carla Buttinelli

Carla Buttinelli
Sapienza University of Rome | la sapienza · Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sense Organs NESMOS

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155
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Publications

Publications (155)
Article
Full-text available
Here we tested the hypothesis of a relationship between the cortical default mode network (DMN) structural integrity and the resting-state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms in patients with Alzheimer’s disease with dementia (ADD). Clinical and instrumental datasets in 45 ADD patients and 40 normal elderly (Nold) persons originated from the PD...
Article
Background Abnormalities in the neurophysiological oscillatory mechanisms generating dominant resting‐state eyes closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms portray the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) continuum, from the preclinical to the dementia stage. Here, we tested whether these abnormalities may be reproducible by analyzing the rsEEG signals acq...
Article
Background Graph theory models a network by its nodes and connections. “Degree” hubs reflect node centrality, while “connector” hubs are those linked to several clusters of nodes. Here we compared hubs modelled from measures of interdependencies of between‐electrode resting‐state eyes‐closed electroencephalography (rsEEG) rhythms in normal old (Nol...
Article
Here, we tested that standard eyes-closed resting-state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms may characterize patients with mild cognitive impairment due to chronic kidney disease at stages 3-4 (CKDMCI-3&4) in relation to CKDMCI patients under hemodialysis (CKDMCI-H) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients with cerebrovascular disease (CVMC...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction: Graph theory models a network by its nodes (the fundamental unit by which graphs are formed) and connections. 'Degree' hubs reflect node centrality (the connection rate), while 'connector' hubs are those linked to several clusters of nodes (mainly long-range connections). Methods: Here, we compared hubs modeled from measures of int...
Article
Abnormalities in cortical sources of resting-state eyes closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms recorded by hospital settings (10-20 montage) with 19 scalp electrodes characterized Alzheimer's disease (AD) from preclinical to dementia stages. An intriguing rsEEG application is the monitoring and evaluation of AD progression in large populati...
Article
Abnormalities in cortical sources of resting-state eyes-closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms recorded by hospital settings (10–20 electrode montage) with 19 scalp electrodes provide useful markers of neurophysiological dysfunctions in the vigilance regulation in patients with Alzheimer's disease dementia (ADD). Here we tested whether thes...
Article
Here we tested if the reactivity of posterior resting-state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) alpha rhythms from the eye-closed to eyes-open condition may differ in patients with dementia due to Lewy Bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer's disease (ADD), as a functional probe of the dominant cortical neural synchronization mechanisms regulating the vigilance in...
Article
Background Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the first‐most common neurodegenerative disorder due to an abnormal accumulation of amyloid and tau proteins in the brain and explains about 60‐70% of 50 million of patients with dementia worldwide (WHO report, www.who.int ). Disease with Lewy Bodies (DLB) is emerging as another important cause of dementia wit...
Article
In the present retrospective and exploratory study, we tested the hypothesis that sex may affect cortical sources of resting state eyes-closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms recorded in normal elderly (Nold) seniors and patients with Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment (ADMCI). Datasets in 69 ADMCI and 57 Nold individuals wer...
Article
Background: In relaxed adults, staying in quiet wakefulness at eyes closed is related to the so-called resting state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms, showing the highest amplitude in posterior areas at alpha frequencies (8-13 Hz). Objective: Here we tested the hypothesis that age may affect rsEEG alpha (8-12 Hz) rhythms recorded in norma...
Article
Extending Başar's theory of event-related EEG oscillations, here we hypothesize that even in quiet wakefulness, transient increases in delta rhythms may enhance global cortical arousal as revealed by the desynchronization of alpha rhythms in normal (Nold) seniors with some derangement in Alzheimer's disease dementia (ADD). Clinical and EEG datasets...
Article
Background Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second‐most common neurodegenerative disorder that affects 2–3% of the population ≥ 65 years of age and may belong to cognitive deficits and dementia in 50% of cases. Disease with Lewy Bodies (DLB) is emerging as another important cause of dementia in pathological aging. PD and DLB are both due to intra‐ne...
Article
In normal old (Nold) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) persons, a high cognitive reserve (CR) makes them more resistant and resilient to brain neuropathology and neurodegeneration. Here, we tested whether these effects may affect neurophysiological oscillatory mechanisms generating dominant resting state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) alpha rhythms in...
Article
Objective Here we tested if cortical sources of resting state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms may differ in sub-groups of patients with prodromal and overt dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) as a function of relevant clinical symptoms. Methods We extracted clinical, demographic and rsEEG datasets in matched DLB patients (N = 60) and control A...
Article
Introduction The global COVID-19 pandemic has affected the economy, daily life, and mental/physical health. The latter includes the use of electroencephalography (EEG) in clinical practice and research. We report a survey of the impact of COVID-19 on the use of clinical EEG in practice and research in several countries, and the recommendations of a...
Article
Compared with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD) shows peculiar clinical manifestations related to vigilance (i.e., executive cognitive deficits and visual hallucinations) that may be reflected in resting state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms. To test this hypothesis, clinical and rsEEG rhythms in age-, sex-, and education-m...
Article
Full-text available
Epilepsy in brain tumors (BTE) may require medical attention for a variety of unique concerns: epileptic seizures, possible serious adverse effects of antineoplastic and antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), physical disability, and/or neurocognitive disturbances correlated to tumor site. Guidelines for the management of tumor-related epilepsies are lacking....
Article
Previous evidence has shown different resting-state eyes-closed electroencephalographic delta (<4 Hz) and alpha (8–10.5 Hz) source connectivity in subjects with dementia due to Alzheimer's (ADD) and Lewy body (DLB) diseases. The present study tested if the same differences may be observed in the prodromal stages of mild cognitive impairment (MCI)....
Article
This study tested whether resting state alpha rhythms (8-13 Hz) may characterize mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease (ADMCI) compared with MCI due to chronic kidney disease (CKDMCI). Clinical and resting state eyes-closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms from 40 ADMCI, 29 CKDMCI, and 45 cognitively normal elderly (Nold) subj...
Article
We hypothesized that dopamine neuromodulation might affect cortical excitability in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients set in quiet wakefulness, as revealed by resting state eyes-closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms at alpha frequencies (8–12 Hz). Clinical and rsEEG rhythms in PD with dementia (N = 35), PD with mild cognitive impairment (N...
Article
The present study tested the hypothesis that cortical sources of resting state eyes-closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms reveal different abnormalities in cortical neural synchronization in groups of patients with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease (ADMCI) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLBMCI) as compared to cognitively...
Article
Full-text available
Objective: This study tested the hypothesis that markers of functional cortical source connectivity of resting state eyes-closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms may be abnormal in subjects with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's (ADMCI) and Parkinson's (PDMCI) diseases compared to healthy elderly subjects (Nold). Methods: rsEEG...
Article
Previous evidence showed abnormal posterior sources of resting-state delta (<4 Hz) and alpha (8-12 Hz) rhythms in patients with Alzheimer's disease with dementia (ADD), Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD), and Lewy body dementia (DLB), as cortical neural synchronization markers in quiet wakefulness. Here, we tested the hypothesis of additional...
Article
Full-text available
Epilepsy is the most common comorbidity in patients with brain tumors. Study Aims: To define characteristics of brain tumor-related epilepsy (BTRE) patients and identify patterns of care. Nationwide, multicenter retrospective cohort study. Medical records of BTRE patients seen from 1/1/2010 to 12/31/2011, followed for at least one month were examin...
Article
The aim of this retrospective and exploratory study was that the cortical sources of resting state eyes-closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms might reveal different abnormalities in cortical neural synchronization in groups of patients with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease (ADMCI) and Parkinson's disease (PDMCI) as comp...
Article
The aim of this retrospective exploratory study was that resting state eyes-closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms might reflect brain arousal in patients with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease dementia (ADD), Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD), and dementia with Lewy body (DLB). Clinical and rsEEG data of 42 ADD, 42 PDD, 34 DLB, and 40 h...
Article
Full-text available
Previous evidence showed a 75.5% best accuracy in the classification of 120 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients with dementia and 100 matched normal elderly (Nold) subjects based on cortical source current density and linear lagged connectivity estimated by eLORETA freeware from resting state eyes-closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms (Babil...
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Full-text available
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the incidence and dose-dependency of mitoxantrone (MTX)-associated acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) in the network of Italian multiple sclerosis (MS) clinics. METHODS: We performed a multicenter retrospective cohort study of patients treated with MTX in MS centers under the Italian national health care system between 1998 a...
Article
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To investigate factors related to hopelessness in a sample of epileptic patients, including measures of depression and quality of life (QOL). Sixty-nine participants were administered the following psychometric instruments: Beck Depression Inventory-II, Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and QOL in Epilepsy (QOLIE)-89. Patients were dichotomized into t...
Article
Experimental and epidemiological evidence suggests the benefit of exposure to microbial products (in the absence of infection, e.g., through vaccination) in multiple sclerosis (MS). In a pilot study, the bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine was safe and effective in reducing disease activity as measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and...
Article
To evaluate Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) effects after clinically isolated syndromes (CIS). In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, participants were randomly assigned to receive BCG or placebo and monitored monthly with brain MRI (6 scans). Both groups then entered a preplanned phase with IM interferon-β-1a for 12 months. From month 18 onwar...
Article
Cortical gray matter volume and resting state cortical electroencephalographic rhythms are typically abnormal in subjects with amnesic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here we tested the hypothesis that in amnesic MCI and AD subjects, abnormalities of EEG rhythms are a functional reflection of cortical atrophy across th...
Article
Antiepileptic drug therapeutic regimens often need to be adjusted individually on the basis of serum assays. We aimed to develop a quantitative, fast, and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method to simultaneously analyze carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, and the 10-11 epoxide carbamazepine and 10-hydroxy carbazepine (mono-hydrox...
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Sleep spindles and K-complexes are EEG hallmarks of non-REM sleep. However, the brain regions generating these discharges and the functional connections of their generators to other regions are not fully known. We investigated the neuroanatomical correlates of spindles and K-complexes using simultaneous EEG and fMRI. EEGs recorded during EEG-fMRI s...
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To demonstrate the clinical importance of using a high quality photic stimulator for recording EEGs to diagnose photosensitivity. We performed EEG examinations on 2 adult and 2 paediatric patients with a history of visually induced seizures; routinely we used a Grass PS 40 photic stimulator (rectangular Xenon lamp giving flashes of 10 μs duration,...
Article
The vertex sharp transient (VST) is an electroencephalographic (EEG) discharge that is an early marker of non-REM sleep. It has been recognized since the beginning of sleep physiology research, but its source and function remain mostly unexplained. We investigated VST generation using functional MRI (fMRI). Simultaneous EEG and fMRI were recorded f...
Article
Among patients who underwent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination during a 5-year period, we found 18 patients at the multiple sclerosis center of the University of Rome and clinically definite multiple sclerosis, MRI white matter abnormalities, normal CSF examination, a disease duration of at least 1 year and...
Article
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Migrainous headache is reported by patients with photosensitive epilepsy, whereas their relatives complain more often about headache than the relatives of patients with other types of epilepsy. We therefore investigated whether headache itself could be an epileptic symptom related to photosensitivity. Four probands with headache and photosensitive...
Article
Although photosensitivity is a comparatively frequent trait in children with epilepsy, and has been amply documented clinically, its physpathological bases remain unclear. Several studies have demonstrated that only selected visual stimuli, with precise physical characteristics, are likely to trigger epileptic photosensitivity. The major part playe...
Article
Full-text available
The comorbidity between epilepsy and migraine has been well known for a century, yet it is still not fully understood; the two disorders also share some risk factors, symptoms, and preventive drug therapy. A series of clinical observations and scientific data support the hypothesis of alteration of cortical excitability as a possible mechanism unde...
Article
Clinical practice and studies (1-3) have shown that individual differences in sensitivity to colour exist. We investigated if the role of colour might be helpful in genetic research. In 11 photosensitive patients and 11 control patients, including first-degree family members without a PPR, standardised IPS has been performed with a Grass PS 33: pho...
Article
Mitoxantrone (MTX) is an antineoplastic agent approved for treatment of secondary progressive and rapidly worsening relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). We designed a longitudinal open-label prospective study to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of MTX over a 2-year treatment period with a further 3-year follow-up. Fifty consecutive MS pat...
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Full-text available
We report the history of a 14-year-old girl with atypical childhood occipital epilepsy "Gastaut type" whose first generalized tonic-clonic seizure was preceded by migraine without aura and followed by a status migrainosus. This status lasted for 3 days despite standard analgesic therapy. An EEG recording revealed an occipital status epilepticus dur...
Article
Six members of two families with both epilepsy and migraine have been investigated. Extensive visual stimulation has been applied in all six during video-EEG recording. We found a clinical correlation between epileptiform EEG abnormalities and migraine in two subjects.
Article
Knowledge about the balance between heritable and nonheritable risk in multiple sclerosis (MS) is based on twin studies in high-prevalence areas. In a study that avoided ascertainment limitations and directly compared continental Italy (medium-prevalence) and Sardinia (high-prevalence), we ascertained 216 pairs from 34,549 patients. This gives a tw...
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We determined whether epileptic clinical manifestations evoked by playing video games (VG) differ from those evoked by intermittent photic stimulation (IPS) or striped patterns (P). We exposed nine children who had TV- and VG-evoked seizures in daily life to 12 VG after standardized photic stimulation and pattern stimulation. Their EEGs were record...
Article
It is very important to consider the Quality of Life in patients with epilepsy both for their management and moreover for the social implications that this pathology could give. Therefore we studied 2 groups of patients, on in monotherapy with Levetiracetam the other with Carbamazepine, through the Quality of life in epilepsy inventory-89 (QOLIE-89...
Article
Epileptic manifestations related to video-games (VG) have been well known since the early 1980s but knowledge of correlative clinical and electro-encephalographic (EEG) manifestations in VG playing is actually still limited. We conducted a clinical study to identify and compare the clinical manifestations related to Intermittent Light Stimulations...
Article
Despite the vast amount of literature on non-specific immune mechanisms in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), little is known about the role of antigen-specific immune responses. We investigated T cell reactivity to fragment 1–42 of amyloid-β (Aβ) and to N-terminal peptides of human mitochondrial and control microbial proteins. Thirty subjects with a diagno...
Article
Information from patients who are unable to continue their visits to a study centre may be of major importance for the interpretation of results in multiple sclerosis (MS) clinical trials. To validate a questionnaire based on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), patients in five different European centres were assessed independently by pair...
Article
Despite the vast amount of literature on non-specific immune mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease (AD), little is known about the role of antigen-specific immune responses. We investigated T cell reactivity to fragment 1-42 of amyloid-beta (Abeta) and to N-terminal peptides of human mitochondrial and control microbial proteins. Thirty subjects with a...
Article
There are few long-term clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data on patients treated with interferon-beta (IFN-beta) for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The aim of this study was to provide clinical and MRI data on 68 patients with RRMS treated over a 6-year period and to investigate whether a baseline MRI predicts their lo...
Article
Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a frequent condition which carries a significant risk for stroke when associated with deep venous thrombosis and primary or secondary coagulation abnormalities. Here, we describe a patient in which scuba diving is thought to be associated with stroke in a subject with an otherwise clinically silent PFO. During a rapid...
Article
We present the first evidence of a T lymphocyte response to N-formylated peptides in humans. N-formylated peptide sequences from self (mitochondrial) and foreign (microbial) antigens were used to isolate antigen-specific T cell clones from healthy individuals, including a set of monozygotic twins. The observed response differed from that previously...
Article
Ischemic stroke in young adults is rare (5%-10% of all ischemic strokes) and, in absence of other risk factors, may be associated with migraine. We describe the case of a 34-year-old woman, with a history of migraine without aura, who presented a sudden onset of headache with Horner's syndrome, and in whom neuroimaging showed evidence compatible wi...
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We have screened the whole genome for linkage in 40 Italian multiplex families with multiple sclerosis using 322 markers. The GENEHUNTER-PLUS program was used to analyse these data and revealed eight regions of potential linkage where the lod score exceeds the nominal 5% significance level (0.7). No region of linkage with genome-wide significance w...
Chapter
Multiple sclerosis (MS) and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) are complex traits [1–3] that result from the concurrence of various factors (hence classified among the multifactorial diseases). Classical epidemiological observations have suggested the existence of environmental and genetic influences, active at the population level, for bot...
Article
A case with stable multiple sclerosis (MS) and T cell responses which initially focused on peptide 16-38 of myelin basic protein (MBP) allowed us to investigate the dynamics of the MBP-specific T cell repertoire and its relationship with disease progression. Epitope mapping experiments and T cell receptor usage of MBP-reactive T cell lines (obtaine...
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Increasing evidences show a global immune disregulation in multiple sclerosis (MS). The possible involvement of myelin and non-myelin (auto-)antigens in the autoaggressive process as well as the disregulation of both adaptive and innate immunity challenge the concept of specific immunotherapy. T cells at the boundary between innate and adaptive imm...
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Though many lines of evidence support the importance of myelin basic protein (MBP) in the pathogenesis of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), its role in multiple sclerosis (MS) is still debated as well as the significance of epitope spreading in disease progression. We characterised the response to MBP in eight MS subjects and three o...
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We investigated whether and how molecular mimicry affects the shaping of the helper T cell repertoire. We implemented an algorithm that measures the probability of mimicry between epitopes of known immunogenicity and self or nonself proteomes. This algorithm yields 'similarity profiles', which represent the probability of matching between all conti...
Article
We studied the effect of Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine as an immunomodulator in MS. According to the guidelines for clinical trials in MS, a single crossover, MRI-monitored trial was performed in 14 patients with relapsing-remitting MS. After treatment, MRI activity was significantly reduced. No major adverse effects were reported. Adjuvant...
Article
Studies on the in vivo effects of interferon-beta (IFNbeta) therapy on autoreactive T cells have never been carried out in multiple sclerosis (MS). We investigated the T cell response to myelin basic protein (MBP), before and after IFN-beta therapy, raising MBP-specific T cell lines (TCL) from the peripheral blood of six MS patients with a satisfac...
Article
We selected two multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, compatible for HLA-DR2 subtype, and differing for HLA-DM haplotype as well as for the myelin basic protein (MBP) epitope recognized by the vast majority of their T cell lines (TCL) (residues 16-38 and 86-99, respectively). TCL sharing the same restriction element were re-assayed in the presence of r...
Article
The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of recent technological developments that will change genetic research on multifactorial diseases, including multiple sclerosis, in the near future. These methodologies may, in the long-run, improve our ability to monitor disease activity and response to treatments. The majority of the new techno...
Chapter
In multiple sclerosis (MS), as well as in other putatively T cell mediated diseases, much attention has been devoted to possible dysregulations at the level of the adaptive immune response, with particular emphasis on the search for potential T lymphocyte autoantigens. These investigations have been, in many cases, unrewarding. One reason may be th...
Chapter
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) with myelin damage (loss of myelin sheaths and eventually secondary axon damage). In most of cases it evolves from a relapsing-remitting phase to a chronic progressive one which brings about stable disability and handicap. In spite of the scanty certainties about its...
Chapter
Immune-mediated damage is probably the most relevant event among those that contribute to the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). The search for autoantigens inducing T cell responses in MS as well as in other immune-mediated, organ-specific diseases was initated as soon as efficient techniques for the isolation and expansion of antigen-specif...
Article
Alzheimer's disease (AD) has a significant social and economic impact on patients, their families and society as a whole. The diagnosis is difficult at the onset of symptoms, when the memory decline or a behavioral changes are easily explained with stress or general age-related asthenia, slowing down the correct diagnosis and often requires very ex...
Article
In multiple sclerosis (MS), the signs of inflammation that can be detected in the central nervous system are not mirrored by unequivocal markers of activation of the immune system in the periphery. We performed a serial monitoring of serum amyloid A protein (SAA), a major acute phase reactant, in peripheral blood of patients with relapsing-remittin...