Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J F Laguna

Publications and source records attributed to J F Laguna.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Anamnestic studies in multiple sclerosis: a relationship between familial multiple sclerosis and neoplasia.

A survey of family histories of malignant neoplasia in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients indicates that a positive history of cancer in near relatives is present in 44 percent of patients and 46 percent of controls. However, those MS patients having such a positive history were much more likely than others to also have a family history of MS. Contrariwise, MS patients with a positive family history of MS had a significantly higher rate of cancer in first degree relatives (71 percent) than others. There was a trend indicating less cancer in families of MS patients possessing the HLA-B7 and DW2 histocompatibility antigens.

Female↗

Influenza vaccination in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Vaccination was well tolerated by 93 patients with multiple sclerosis who received a total of 209 doses of influenza vaccine. In one patient, evidence of a new lesion developed after vaccination; the relapse rate was less than would be expected in the natural course of the illness. Toxic and allergic reactions appeared with 7% and 0.5% of the vaccinations, respectively--a rate no higher than that observed in the general population.

Acute Disease↗

Postictal blindness.

Transient loss of vision occasionally follows an epileptic seizure. This rare phenomenon is seen chiefly in children and may be related to the relative electrical instability of the occipital cerebral cortex. Occipital foci are more common in the juvenile electroencephalogram and, with maturity, tend to be seen more rostrally in the temporal areas. We have seen three cases of postictal blindness in children; all have cleared within 24 hours.

Adolescent↗

Acquired esotropia as initial manifestation of Arnold-Chiari malformation.

A 13-year-old patient originally presented with a divergence palsy and gaze-evoked nystagmus. Over a short period of time, the esotropia became increasingly comitant and was successfully treated with strabismus surgery. Three years later, she developed downbeat nystagmus. An Arnold-Chiari Malformation could only be demonstrated using nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Subsequent neurosurgical decompression resulted in resolution of the downbeat nystagmus with maintenance of single binocularity.

Adolescent↗