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Biomedical subjects

J Lauharanta

Publications and source records attributed to J Lauharanta.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Effects of haem arginate on variegate porphyria.

Four patients with variegate porphyria (VP) were treated with repeated haem arginate infusions daily for 4 days and then weekly for 4 weeks. After the initial four daily doses of haem arginate (haem 3 mg/kg), the excretion of faecal protoporphyrin (mean 579 nmol/g dry wt) fell to an almost normal level (mean 123 nmol/g dry wt), and that of coproporphyrin (mean 162 nmol/g dry wt) to the normal level (mean 21 nmol/g dry wt) in all patients. However, during the period of the four weekly infusions of haem the excretion of porphyrins increased almost to the pretreatment level. Phototesting showed no changes in the photoreactivity of the skin, and no improvement in skin lesions was seen during the treatment. Except for one case of thrombophlebitis no side-effects occurred. In a child with homozygous VP, four daily infusions of haem arginate (2 mg/kg) normalized the faecal protoporphyrin content, but had no effect on the increased erythrocyte protoporphyrin concentration.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Ultrastructure of cultured mouse S91 melanoma cells with special emphasis on viral particles.

Mouse S91 melanoma cells which grow as a monolayer in culture were studied by transmission and scanning electron microscopy after fixation in situ. The cells were spindle-shaped and tended to grow in dense colonies. Melanosomes at all stages of melanization (stages I-IV) were observed. Other cell organelles reflected high cellular activity. Both A-type and C-type viral particles were abundantly observed. A-type particles were 60-90 nm in diameter. They had an electron-lucent center surrounded by a double shell. They were abundantly observed in the cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum but never extracellularly. C-type retrovirus particles were larger, 80-110 nm in diameter. They had an electron-dense core surrounded by an electron-lucent area and a limiting membrane. They were seen to bud from the plasma membrane into intracellular vacuoles or into the intercellular space.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Cleansing of hands with emulsion--a solution to skin problems of hospital staff?

In this study of hand cleansing, nursing staff with skin problems used emulsion followed by rinsing with water, while control groups, with or without skin problems, used liquid soap and water. Clinical evaluation of the without skin problems, used liquid soap and water. Clinical evaluation of the skin by a dermatologist, as well as by self-assessment, suggested that when the staff with skin problems used emulsion their skin was in better condition than that of controls with similar skin problems. This favourable effect on skin was later confirmed in extended use of emulsion for hand cleansing in other hospital wards. Objective evaluation of skin condition with biophysical measurements was unsuccessful. Emulsion cleansing of the hands seems to offer a favourable alternative to washing with soap and water, especially for persons with skin problems.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

A double-blind comparison of acitretin and etretinate in combination with bath PUVA in the treatment of extensive psoriasis.

Thirty-four patients with extensive psoriasis were treated in a double-blind parallel fashion with either acitretin plus bath PUVA (trimethylpsoralen bath + UVA) or etretinate plus bath PUVA. Each group consisted of 17 patients. The dose of retinoid was 40 mg/day during the 2-week monotherapy phase and subsequently 20 mg/day during the combination treatment. Bath PUVA was given three times a week starting with a UVA dose of 0.06 J/cm2. Remission (greater than 90% improvement) was achieved in all patients in 6-10 weeks. There were no significant differences in clinical response between the two groups; the mean +/- SD PASI score (psoriasis area and severity index) before treatment was 22.6 +/- 7.1 in the acitretin-PUVA group and 19.4 +/- 7.8 in the etretinate-PUVA group. The corresponding figures after treatment were 0.6 +/- 0.6 and 1.0 +/- 0.5, respectively. Side-effects related to retinoid treatment were frequent in both groups but they were usually mild and well-tolerated. There was only one case of diffuse alopecia after 8 weeks in the etretinate-PUVA group. Scaling of the palms and soles was seen in six patients in the acitretin-group but only in two patients in the etretinate-group. Triglycerides were elevated in about half of the patients in both groups. The present study shows that acitretin is as effective as etretinate in the combination with bath PUVA.

Acitretin↗
PubMed1989

A double-blind comparison of acitretin and etretinate in the treatment of severe psoriasis. Results of a Nordic multicentre study.

Acitretin, the free acid of etretinate, is less lipophilic and has a much shorter terminal half-life than the parent compound. The present double-blind, randomized study compared the therapeutic effectiveness and the tolerability of acitretin (n = 127) and etretinate (n = 41) in psoriasis. Patients were treated with 40 mg daily for the first 4 weeks and with an individually adjusted dose for the subsequent 8 weeks. The average daily doses of acitretin (0.54 mg/kg/day) and etretinate (0.65 mg/kg/day) were similar. The PASI (Psoriasis Area and Severity Index) scores improved in parallel in the 2 treatment groups. At the completion of the study, the PASI score improvement was 75.8% for acitretin and 70.8% for etretinate. Both acitretin and etretinate resulted in mucocutaneous side effects. Assessments of tolerability by investigators and patients showed a statistically significant difference in favour of etretinate. These results demonstrate that acitretin and etretinate have similar therapeutic effectiveness in psoriasis. Although the tolerance to acitretin was lower than to etretinate, acitretin offers the important advantage of a much shorter period of potential teratogenicity and is, therefore, to be preferred in women of childbearing potential.

Acitretin↗
PubMed1989

Plasmin-like proteinase associated with high molecular weight complexes in blister fluid of bullous pemphigoid.

Blister fluid from tense bullae of 10 patients with bullous pemphigoid was investigated using a radial caseinolysis assay and zymography. Proteolytic activity, varying from 4.7 to 10 micrograms/ml, was found in 3 out of 10 patients, by using the caseinolysis assay. Zymography revealed that a major part of this caseinolytic activity co-migrated with plasmin standard. In addition, in the zymography, proteolytically active high molecular weight complexes were seen. This characteristic pattern was seen in the zymography of both positive and negative samples in the caseinolysis assay. These high molecular weight complexes were not seen in the zymography of the blister fluid of 2 patients with epidermolysis bullosa or in the suction blister fluid of 3 healthy control patients. These findings suggest that plasmin is generated at some phase of the blister formation, being possibly involved in the pathomechanism of bullous pemphigoid.

Blister↗
PubMed1988

Clinical and ultrastructural effects of acitretin in Darier's disease.

Thirteen patients with Darier's disease with a mean extent of the lesions of 29.4 +/- 10% of the total skin area were treated with acitretin (the main metabolite of etretinate) for 16 weeks. The dose was 30 mg/day during the initial 8 weeks and was later adjusted individually to 10-30 mg/day in order to achieve optimal results. Three patients cleared completely, 7 patients showed marked improvement and 3 patients became slightly better during treatment. The mean extent of the lesions after the treatment was 7.3 +/- 8% of the skin area. Despite good clinical clearing, the improvement at the ultrastructural level was incomplete in the 3 patients studied by electron microscopy. Normal stratification did not develop and the size and number of desmosomes remained reduced. The main side effects during treatment were pruritus in 5 patients, diffuse alopecia in 2 patients and marked elevation in serum triglycerides in 4 patients. On the basis of this study, acitretin would seem to be a useful alternative to etretinate for the treatment of Darier's disease.

Acitretin↗
PubMed1988

Rapid appearance of plasmin in tear fluid after ocular allergen exposure.

Specific allergens were applied topically to the conjunctivae of 18 allergic patients. In cases with positive allergic reaction, proteolytic activity, identified as plasmin using zymographic analysis and a monoclonal anticatalytic antibody to plasmin, was found to appear within 3-5 min in the tear fluid, reaching concentrations of 2.2-28.6 micrograms/ml. No plasmin was detected, either in the tear fluid of 30 unchallenged non-atopic control persons, or atopic patients provoked with a test material that had given no reaction in a skin prick test. These findings suggest that generation of plasmin is a consequence of the conjunctival allergic reaction.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1987

Baseline water loss and sweat gland response in acne patients during treatment with isotretinoin.

Eleven acne patients were treated with isotretinoin for 3-7 months. The water barrier function and the response of sweat glands to dilute methacholine injections were examined on upper back skin at onset and at several visits during therapy. Bilaterally located test sites representing healthy skin or skin sites which were least affected by acne lesions were selected for the study. The same sites were used at each visit for assessing the parameters. Although skin dryness was a common finding on the face and arms, no significant changes in baseline water loss (BWL) rates were found on the back skin during isotretinoin treatment. Instead there was a significant increase in the sweat gland responsiveness to methacholine during isotretinoin treatment as measured by the evaporimetric technique. Furthermore, in four out of five patients the numbers of active sweat glands, counted in plastic imprints from the stimulated test sites, showed a similar increase during therapy when compared to pretreatment values.

Acne Vulgaris↗
PubMed1986

Midsummer solar UV-radiation in Finland compared with the UV-radiation from phototherapeutic devices measured by different techniques.

Midsummer solar UV-radiation in southern Finland was measured by a spectroradiometer, polysulphone film dosimeters, and a solid-state UV-meter. Solar UV-irradiance was compared with radiation from different phototherapy devices (UVB, SUP, and PUVA therapy equipment). Measured by the spectroradiometer, the solar UVB irradiance at noon was 55 microW/cm2; it varied from 60 to 79 microW/cm2 according to the doses received by the film dosimeters on clear, sunny days in June. A solid-state detector gave a markedly overestimated UVB irradiance of 235 microW/cm2. Solar UVB radiation would lead to 1.5 MEDs in 2 hours around midday, 2.9 MEDs in 4 h and 8 MEDs in 12 h in midsummer at latitudes in southern Finland. Solar UVB radiation corresponds to that emitted from PUVA treatment devices, but the UVA (315-400 nm) radiation of the latter is about 3-fold that of solar radiation. The UVA radiation from SUP and PUVA treatment devices resembled each other but the former emitted more radiation at the lower wavelengths of 315-340 nm. The UVB irradiance of the UVB therapeutic device was 25-55 times the irradiance of the sun.

Finland↗
PubMed1986

Assessment of the dose response of polysulphone film badges for the measurement of UV-radiation.

The dose response and accuracy of polysulphone film badges for monitoring UVB radiation (280-315 nm) were assessed by spectroradiometric measurements of the radiation source. A new formula is presented to calculate the UVB exposure of film badges. It is based on absorbance change at 330 nm and takes into account the saturation of the optical density of the badges. A good correlation was found between measured and radiated dose. Differences from previous formulae and limitations of the polysulphone films are discussed.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1985

Epidermodysplasia verruciformis. Clinical and light- and electron-microscopic observations during etretinate therapy.

Three patients with epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) were treated with etretinate for 9-13 months. The patients had lesions characteristic of EV, including flat warts, common genital warts, pityriasis-versicolor-like lesions and malignant changes such as actinic keratosis and Bowenoid cancer in situ. During etretinate treatment, some flattening of the warts was observed in all three patients, and the lesions on the chest and back became less red and scaling. However, none of the lesions disappeared completely, and when the treatment was discontinued, the lesions relapsed. No malignant changes were detected during the period of therapy. Electron microscopy revealed the presence of typical large, clear cells containing viral particles in the upper epidermis. Etretinate therapy induced the same type of fine-structural changes as those seen in keratinization disorders and genodermatoses. The clear cells and virus particles persisted throughout the treatment period. More long-term, controlled studies are necessary to make possible an estimate of the curative and cancer-inhibitory effect of etretinate treatment in patients with EV.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

The effect of etretinate compared with different regimens of PUVA in the treatment of persistent palmoplantar pustulosis.

Eighty-four patients with persistent palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP) of long duration were treated with either etretinate or one of three PUVA regimens. PUVA was given either with oral methoxsalen (thirteen cases), with a 1% methoxsalen cream (thirty-three cases) or with trioxsalen baths (eighteen cases). Twenty patients were treated with etretinate. Patients were assessed every fourth week. A mean score for each group was calculated at each visit based on erythema, desquamation, induration and pustulation. In addition, the number of pustules was calculated at each visit. After 12 weeks four of twenty-eight patients treated with local methoxsalen and fourteen of seventeen patients treated with etretinate had completely cleared. At this stage no patient treated with local trioxsalen or oral methoxsalen showed complete clearance.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed1985

PUVA--lentigo.

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Cell Nucleus↗
PubMed1984

Ichthyosis hystrix (Curth-Macklin). Light and electron microscopic studies performed before and after etretinate treatment.

Clinical and light and electron microscopic observations of a 16-year-old male patient suffering from ichthyosis hystrix (Curth-Macklin) are presented. The patient had no family history for this disease. The diagnosis was based on the distinct electron microscopic finding of continuous perinuclear tonofibril shells in the keratinocytes. About 10% of the keratinocytes were binucleate and one third contained conspicuous vacuoles. The steroid sulphatase activity in a skin biopsy was normal. Etretinate treatment proved beneficial during the first year of therapy. Later the treatment was less effective. The basic genetic defect persisted in the phenotype of the keratinocytes during etretinate therapy, but the exceedingly thick horny layer was considerably thinned.

Adolescent↗