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In 1906 Perusini began his scientific career publishing three papers. These articles were important for the understanding of degenerative dementia. Perusini studied the difference between Senile and Presenile Dementia. Emil Kraepelin distinguished its two forms, but Perusini didn't take a clear position because of his early heroic death on the slopes of Mount Sabotino on December in 1915.

Two cases of calcification of Striopallidodentate System will be considered. The first refers to a 20-years-old patient and features two small bilateral and symmetrical calcifications in the medial segment of globus pallidum. The first symptom, observed from the age 5 years was, behaviour disorder and, some years later, dystonia. The second case refers to a 54-years-old patient and features huge bilateral and symmetrical calcifications above and below the tentorium. The first symptoms started at the age of 32 with paraesthesiae and muscular contractions of the upper limbs, later with convulsive seizures and tetany and eventually right hemiplegia with aphasia. Study of Ca and P metabolism showed normoparathyroidism in the first case and idiopathic hypoparathyroidism in the second.

On the light of previous reports on a possible correlation between echinocytogenesis and primitive muscular dystrophies, we have investigated the presence and time dependent development of echinocytes in the blood of normal subjects, patients and healthy carriers of D.M.D. A very few echinocytes are present in the fresh blood of all the patients and some carriers, but not in the blood of control normal subjects. With time, more echinocytes develop in all cases but much more markedly for sick people and carriers. These results might explain conflicting data on the echinocyte content in the blood reported in the literatura and provide a guideline for a correct analysis of the phenomenon and its possible relevance in the eugenetic diagnosis of carriers.

The Authors, after a brief review of the factors which influence the echino and stomatocytic erythrocyte's deformations and of the biochemical basis of these alterations, report the comparative study of the echino-stomatocytogenesis in both normal subjects and myodystrophic patients. In order to investigate whether this phenomenon is more developed in pathological condition, the results confirm that between normal subjects and myodystrophic patients or healthy carriers there is a quantitative significant difference which can be utilized for diagnostic and eugenic purposes. To obtain reliable results, the evaluation should be made at regular intervals of time from the blood drawing and after the exclusion of the presence of other disease or echino-stomatocytogenetic factors (drugs, etc.).