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Biomedical subjects

H Leinonen

Publications and source records attributed to H Leinonen.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

The effect of exposure to high and low frequency hand-arm vibration on finger systolic pressure.

Twenty-three patients with hand-arm vibration exposure and diagnosed vibration syndrome were given a thorough clinical and neurophysiological examination, together with finger strain gauge plethysmography. Eleven of the patients were forest workers regularly using chain saws (low frequency vibration exposure), and twelve were metal grinders (higher frequency vibration exposure). Both groups had significantly lower finger blood pressures than healthy controls, and comparisons between the groups indicated that the mean values tended to be lower in the grinders. The findings suggest that hand-arm vibration exposure is associated with obstructive changes in the distal arteries of the fingers, and that vibration frequency is one of the factors determining the severity of the changes and the time of onset of the symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Value of routine echocardiography in new-onset atrial fibrillation.

We studied 100 patients with new-onset atrial fibrillation to assess the role of echocardiography in their initial cardiac evaluation. Clinical examination with routine laboratory tests and chest radiography was sufficient in establishing or excluding an underlying condition in 96% of the cases. Echocardiography uncovered a heart condition in three of 38 patients (8%) classified as having isolated atrial fibrillation, but this had no effect on short-term treatment. Routine echocardiography adds very little to a careful clinical examination in these patients.

Atrial Fibrillation↗
PubMed1987

Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease.

A 50-year-old female patient with a long history of Raynaud's phenomenon and rapidly deteriorating right-sided cardiac failure is presented. Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease was diagnosed from typical clinical and hemodynamic findings using a Swan-Ganz balloon catheter. The diagnosis was definitely confirmed at necropsy. There was no clinical, laboratory, or histologic evidence of a connective tissue disease.

Cardiomegaly↗
PubMed1987

Alcohol and new onset atrial fibrillation: a case-control study of a current series.

The aetiological role of alcohol in new onset atrial fibrillation was evaluated in a case-control study of 100 consecutive patients aged 21-64 years. Clinical examination, routine diagnostic tests, and echocardiography revealed an underlying disease or other identifiable factor for atrial fibrillation in 65 patients (group 1); 35 patients had idiopathic atrial fibrillation (group 2). The most common diseases associated with atrial fibrillation were ischaemic heart disease (21%), hypertension (13%), and cardiomyopathy (8%). Data on alcohol consumption were obtained by interviewing the patients and their age and sex matched controls on admission. The mean daily alcohol intake of group 2 patients during the week preceding atrial fibrillation was significantly larger than that of either controls or group 1 patients. Compared with controls significantly more patients in both groups with atrial fibrillation had consumed alcohol within two days of the onset of the arrhythmia. Significantly more patients had onset of arrhythmia on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday than on any other weekday, including patients with high alcohol intake. This study establishes alcohol as an important precipitating factor for new onset atrial fibrillation.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Limited effect of magnesium sulphate on torsades de pointes ventricular tachycardia.

A patient with thioridazine-induced torsades de pointes ventricular tachycardia treated with magnesium sulphate is presented. Due to incessant recurrence of tachycardias it was possible to observe the time course of the effect of 1 g intravenous doses. Suppression of torsades de pointes lasted at best for no more than 18 min and a maintenance infusion was not effective without overdrive pacing. Magnesium sulphate may have value as first aid therapy for drug-induced torsades de pointes ventricular tachycardia. However, its effect disappears rapidly, and, therefore, should not alone be relied on as prophylactic treatment.

Electrocardiography↗
PubMed1986

Cardiac amyloidosis. Therapeutic and diagnostic difficulties with reference to two different forms of the disease.

Two male patients with primary cardiac amyloidosis are described. Patient 1 presented with typical effort angina pectoris with no ischemic electrocardiographic changes and a normal coronary angiogram. At necropsy, a severe diffuse, intravascular amyloid deposition was observed in the intramural coronary arteries. In patient 2 the presenting symptom was congestive heart failure with echocardiographic evidence of asymmetric septal hypertrophy and pericardial effusion. Technetium-99m pyrophosphate scintigraphy showed diffuse myocardial uptake, and the diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis was confirmed in the postmortem examination. The diagnostic and therapeutic problems associated with cardiac amyloidosis are discussed in the light of these case reports.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Duchenne-like muscular dystrophy in two sisters with normal karyotypes: evidence for autosomal recessive inheritance.

Two sisters, products of a consanguineous marriage (with a total of 12 children) showed muscle weakness at ages 7 and 6 yrs, respectively. The symptoms progressed rapidly and the patients were confined to wheelchairs at ages of 12 and 11 yrs, respectively. They had mild facial weakness and pseudohypertrophy of the calves, but neither cardiomyopathy nor mental retardation. Serum CK activities exceeded upper normal limit by 70 to 85-fold. Muscle biopsies were compatible with muscular dystrophy. Both girls had a normal karyotype. The healthy mother had mild CK elevations in two out of three occasions, but the muscle biopsy was normal. Three out of the six unaffected sibs had mild CK elevations. The findings support the concept of severe progressive muscular dystrophy with autosomal recessive inheritance. The condition is clinically indistinguishable from Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Creatine Kinase↗
PubMed1984

Lorcainide in the prophylaxis of ventricular arrhythmias in acute myocardial infarction.

Lorcainide, a new class I antiarrhythmic agent, was administered intravenously to eight patients with acute myocardial infarction for 24 hours, and thereafter given by mouth, 200 mg daily for ten days. Ten control infarction patients were given lidocaine 3 mg/min during the first 24 hours and the oral betablocking agent, pindolol, for the following ten days. The two groups were comparable with respect to age, sex, onset-admission interval, and site and size of infarction. Ventricular premature beats were monitored with a 24-hour continuous ECG recording on days 1, 6 and 10. Complex ventricular premature beats were common during the first 24 hours of infarction; their occurrence and severity were similar in both groups, as judged by the Lown grading system. The plasma levels of lorcainide after the 24-hour infusion ranged 72-144 ng/ml (mean 95 ng/ml). On the sixth day, 12 hours after previous oral dose, lorcainide plasma levels ranged 11-82 ng/ml (mean 42 ng/ml). No major adverse effects were noticed, mild insomnia being the most disturbing reaction. It is concluded that lorcainide is an acceptable alternative to lidocaine in the treatment of ventricular arrhythmias in the acute stage of myocardial infarction. It has the advantage of being effective by oral route, too.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1982

Permeability and morphology of skeletal muscle capillaries in type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus.

Muscle blood flow and capillary diffusion capacity were determined in 21 Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetic patients and in 12 age-matched healthy subjects by measuring the simultaneous clearance of 133xenon and 131iodide from hyperaemic anterior tibial muscle. Blood flow was significantly lower (mean +/- SD: 46.7 +/- 14.1 versus 59.4 +/- 12.9 ml 100 g-1 min-1, p less than 0.02) and capillary diffusion capacity was significantly greater (mean +/- SD: 8.0 +/- 2.1 versus 5.9 +/- 1.3 mol/min, p less than 0.005) in the diabetic patients than in the control subjects. Ultrastructural dimensions and density of capillaries in the gastrocnemius muscle of 11 diabetic patients and six control subjects were also studied. Diabetic and control capillaries did not differ in total capillary area. Compared with normal capillaries, the percentage area of basement membrane and the apparent basement membrane thickness were significantly greater (1.21 +/- 0.6 versus 0.78 +/- 0.2 mu, p less than 0.05) in diabetic capillaries, while there were no significant differences in luminal, endothelial and pericytial areas. There was no difference in capillary density between the two groups. No correlation was found between basement membrane thickness and capillary diffusion capacity in the diabetic patients. We conclude that the greater capillary diffusion capacity is due to increased permeability of diabetic capillaries, and that the basement membrane is probably not rate-limiting in the transcapillary transport of hydrophilic substances in diabetic subjects.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Capillary permeability in skeletal muscle of normal subjects.

Capillary diffusion capacity (CDC) and muscle blood flow (MBF) were determined from the anterior tibial muscle in 25 normal subjects by measuring the simultaneous clearance of 133xenon and sodium131iodide. The subjects were divided into two groups: one with a mean age of 31 years and the other with a mean age of 51. The older group had a significantly lower MBF (54.6 +/- 9.0 vs. 64.2 +/- 9.5 ml/100 g/min; p less than 0.05) and a significantly greater CDC (7.6 +/- 1.2 vs. 6.1 +/- 1.3 mol/min; p less than 0.01) than the younger group. There was a significant correlation between the CDC increase and the age of the subjects (r = 0.61; p less than 0.01). Furthermore, MBF decreased with increasing age (r = 0.48; p less than 0.05). No differences were found in MBF or CDC between female and male subjects. The mechanisms of increased capillary permeability are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Peripheral blood flow in chronic ergotism.

Muscle blood flow (MBF) was determined in 11 patients on chronic overdoses of ergotamine tartrate and in 12 controls, using the local 133xenon clearance method. The difference in MBFs between the groups was insignificant, 59.7 +/- 21.4 and 61.6 +/- 10.8 ml/100 g/min, respectively. Six patients taking ergotamine in doses exceeding 0.25 mg/kg/week showed a significant (p less than 0.01) reduction of MBF (45.2 +/- 10.7 ml/100 g/min). This reduction could be measured before the manifestation of symptoms or signs of circulatory insufficiency.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Capillary circulation and morphology in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Muscle blood flow (MBF) and capillary diffusion capacity (CDC) were determined in 8 patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and 5 age-matched control males by measuring the simultaneous clearance of 133Xe and 131I-. MBF was significantly decreased in older patients with severe dystrophy: 35.1 +/- 5.8 ml/100 g/min in 4 advanced Duchenne patients and 45.8 +/- 6.5 ml/100 g/min in controls (p less than 0.005). MBF in 4 early cases did not differ from controls (44.0 +/- 7.9 ml/100 g/min). There was no significant difference in CDC in Duchenne patients and controls. No structural abnormalities in muscle microvasculature were found by light microscopy. In the electron microscope, the Duchenne basement membranes had duplicated or multiple layers of electron-dense material in 63.9% of muscle capillaries while only 6.6% of the control capillaries showed this. These results do not support an ischemic etiology of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Adolescent↗