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Biomedical subjects

H Saarni

Publications and source records attributed to H Saarni.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Is there need for change of health examinations for sea pilots?

Sea pilots must be capable of carrying out their work in all situations. Thus, they must not have any disease or defect, that could impair their job performance. By periodic medical examinations attempts are made to ensure their working capacity. In most countries these examinations are carried out by a general practitioner and they include only few if any objective laboratory tests. The aim of the present investigation was to study the effectiveness of the periodic medical examinations to find out in the population of pilots examined persons with health risks, especially risks for cardiovascular diseases. All the pilots examined were over 45 years old (n = 135, response rate 88%). Self-evaluation of health was carried out by a questionnaire. Blood analyses were made and chest X-ray as well as exercise-ECC were taken. The most common subjective symptoms concerned musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal systems; sleep disturbances were also quite common. The three most frequent diseases diagnosed earlier by a doctor were musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal diseases, and arterial hypertension. About 24% of pilots had a lower physical working capacity than predicted. The body mass index indicated at least 11% overweight in half of the cases. At exercise-ECG four pilots appeared to have an ischaemic heart disease and additionally eleven pilots had abnormal ECG. Over 80% of pilots had a serum cholesterol value higher than 5 mmol/l, and serum triglyceride values exceeded the normal value of 2.0 mmol/l in every fourth case. Serum glutamyl transaminase was pathological in over 20% of the cases, and serum glucose level in 8%. The findings by routine physical examinations were very few consisting of stiffness in musculoskeletal system, two cases of elevated blood pressure, two heart murmurs, varicose veins etc. In two cases an inguinal hernia was suspected. The current periodic health examinations does not seem to effectively prevent a person with possible health defect from working as a sea pilot. More objective tests must be included in these examinations and more attention should be paid to prevention of overweight, effective treatment of musculoskeletal symptoms, improving physical working capacity and helping pilots to manage their psychic stress.

Body Mass Index↗
PubMed1979

Effect of sera from hyperlipidemic subjects and high-density lipoproteinemic runners on the synthesis of DNA and glycosaminoglycans by cultured human aortic smooth muscle cells.

Effects of hyperlipidemic, normolipidemic and high-density-lipoproteinemic (HD lipoproteinemic) sera from active runners were studied on cultured human aortic smooth muscle cells. The synthesis of DNA, hyaluronic acid and sulphated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in the presence of the various sera was measured by the incorporation of [3H]-thymidine and [3H]-glucosamine. The HD lipoproteinemic sera from runners stimulated the synthesis of DNA and sulphated GAGs less than normolipidemic and hyperlipidemic sera. The hyperlipidemic sera stimulated the synthesis of DNA slightly more than the other sera, but only after a 24 h preincubation. Accordingly, the concentration of HDL-cholesterol in serum was negatively correlated with the synthesis of DNA (r = -0.77, P less than 0.01) and sulphated glycosaminoglycans (r = -0.81, P less than 0.01). The sulphated GAGs/hyaluronate ratio was smaller in the presence of HD lipoproteinemic serum as compared with the other sera. The proliferation of aortic smooth muscle cells and the rate at which they synthesize sulphated GAGs have been considered important during the initiation of atherosclerosis in vivo. The present results suggest that sera having differences in the relative amounts of various lipoprotein fractions differ significantly in their influence on both of these arterial smooth muscle cell functions in vitro.

Aorta↗
PubMed1979

Erythromycin levels in serum during treatment with erythromycin stearate and base.

The serum concentrations of erythromycin during treatment with erythromycin stearate and erythromycin base were compared in a randomised cross-over study with 21 hospital patients. No statistically significant differences between the brands were found in the serum erythromycin levels at any time or in the areas under the serum level-time curve.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1978

The decrease of hyaluronate synthesis by anti-inflammatory steroids in vitro.

The effect of anti-inflammatory steroids (prednisolone and derivatives of hydrocortisone, dexamethasone and betamethasone) on the synthesis of hyaluronic acid and sulphated glycosaminoglycans in human skin fibroblast culture was studied. The concentrations of steroids varied between 1 x 10(-10)M and 1 x 10(-6)M. All tested steroids decreased the synthesis of hyaluronic acid to the same final level which was about 40--50% of the controls, but the concentrations required varied between different steroids. The relative inhibitory potencies of the steroids were calculated based on concentrations needed to decrease the synthesis of hyaluronate. When the inhibitory potency of hydrocortisone was calculated as one, the values of the other steroids were: prednisolone 5, hydrocortisone 17- butyrate 20, betamethasone alcohol 30, dexamethasone alcohol 38, betamethasone 17-valerate 350--400, dexamethasone monosodium phosphate and betamethasone disodium phosphate over 400. Hydrocortisone sodium succinate was as potent an inhibitor of hyaluronate synthesis as hydrocortisone alcohol. None of the tested steroids affected the synthesis of sulphated glycosaminoglycans at these concentrations. The changes ovbserved in glycosaminoglycans in the medium were in accordance with the changes in the cell layer. The possible significance of hyaluronate synthesis inhibition by anti-inflammatory steroids is discussed.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents↗
PubMed1977

Amino acids in the synaptic vesicle fraction from calf brain: content, uptake and metabolism.

A synaptic vesicle fraction was prepared from calf brain cortex, containing 10 identified amino acids and two unidentified ninhydrin-positive compounds, one of which is apparently a peptide. The most plentiful amino acids were taurine (1.8 nmol/g original tissue), glutamic acid (1.8), serine (0.9), aspartic acid (0.8) and GABA (0.8); the others identified were cysteic acid (or cysteinesulphinic acid), glutamine, alanine, glycine and lysine. The unknown peptide occurred in a high concentration (about 16 alanine equivalents/g), and contained mainly aspartic acid and serine. Cysteic acid (or cysteinesulphinic acid) also occurred in relatively high amounts, but its peak contained acid-labile impurities. The influx of [14C]glutamate into the vesicles took place by means of non-saturable migration, while two saturable systems having very similar properties were dominant only at low glutamate concentrations. Influx constants for these quantitatively low uptake systems were Km, 34 and 92 micrometer, and Vmax, 33 and 49 nmol/min/g obtained by v versus v/S plot. Almost the same values were also obtained by a 1/v versus 1/S plot. GAD and GABA-T activities in the vesicles were only 1/200th of those in the synaptosomes.

4-Aminobutyrate Transaminase↗
PubMed1977

Effects of cortisol on glycosaminoglycans synthesized by normal and rheumatoid synovial fibroblasts in vitro.

Cultivated rheumatoid synovial fibroblasts synthesize hyaluronic acid which has a changed molecular weight distribution in Sepharose 2B gel chromatography, when compared with normal synovial fibroblasts. Cortisol has no effect on the molecular weight distribution of either normal or rheumatoid hyaluronate. However, it does reduce the hyaluronic acid synthesis, by more than 50% in both cell types at low, near physiological plasma concentrations of the steroid.

Adult↗