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Biomedical subjects

J Wikström

Publications and source records attributed to J Wikström.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Histocompatibility antigens in familial multiple sclerosis in a high-risk area of the disease.

Fourteen Finnish families, each with two or more cases of multiple sclerosis (MS), were analysed for HLA antigens. Seventy family members were studied. They were all born in a high-risk area of MS and came from families with an unusually high frequency of MS. The frequencies of B7, B12 and DR2 were increased both in patients and their healthy relatives, whereas A1, B8 and DR1 were decreased in patients. MS patients shared the HLA haplotypes more often than expected.

Disease Susceptibility↗
PubMed1983

The epidemiology of multiple sclerosis in Finland: increase of prevalence and stability of foci in high-risk areas.

Reliable data on the epidemiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Finland are available from 1964 and 1972. They show that the whole country is a high-risk area of MS with clustering in the western part. A reassessment of the prevalence data was carried out in the southern province of Uusimaa and in the western province of Vaasa, the prevalence day being January 1, 1979. The age-adjusted prevalence was 52.9 per 100,000 in Uusimaa and 92.9 per 100,000 in Vaasa, figures that were three times higher than those recorded for the same areas in 1964. The communities with the highest prevalence rates in the province of Vaasa were the same as those in the survey of 1972; some rates exceeded 200 per 100,000. The increase in the prevalence rates may be due to a better registration of MS cases, but it may also represent a true increase, a possibility that only can be answered by further incidence studies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Accuracy of clinical diagnosis in primary degenerative dementia: correlation with neuropathological findings.

Neuropathological features and causes of death are presented in 27 deceased patients belonging to a prospective series of 71 hospitalised patients with primary degenerative dementia. The clinical criteria for primary degenerative dementia used in the present study were accurate enough to exclude patients with multi-infarct dementia. At necropsy, 82% of the cases had neuropathological changes of Alzheimer's disease. The clinical features of patients with other neuropathological changes are described. The most common immediate cause of death was bronchopneumonia which accounted for 59% of deaths in Alzheimer's disease.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Classic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with dementia.

Documented cases of classic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) combined with severe dementia are few and come from the isolated populations of the Western Pacific. In this report, three women had a clinically and neuropathologically documented combination of ALS and dementia. In all cases the symptoms and signs of ALS were mainly bulbar. In two of them dementia appeared first, followed by ALS. At autopsy, there was a marked discrepancy between the severe degree of dementia of Alzheimer's type and the sight nonspecific neuropathologic findings without Alzheimer's changes. Our cases bear a close resemblance to recently published Japanese cases. It may be concluded that the combination of sporadic ALS and progressive dementia seems to be a clinical entity without consistent neuropathologic changes and that it also occurs in the western countries.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

[Endocrinological findings in patients with multiple sclerosis (author's transl)].

In 15 patients with multiple sclerosis about half of the patients showed decreased gonadotropin and estrogen values in the urine. A control examination of these findings in 19 additional patients showed normal plasma FSH and LH values. Except for one slightly elevated value the prolactin levels were normal in this group.

17-Ketosteroids↗
PubMed1981

Uptake of 5-hydroxytryptamine by blood platelets in Huntington's chorea and Alzheimer type of presenile dementia.

Kinetics of 5-HT uptake by blood platelets was studied om eleven patients with Huntington's chorea and in ten patients with presenile dementia of Alzheimer type. In both groups of patients 5-HT uptake was unchanged in comparison to that of respective controls of the same age. The results do not confirm earlier reports of an increased 5-HT uptake by blood platelets in Huntington's chorea. Platelet 5-HT uptake does not seem to serve as biological test in either disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

HLA antigens in Alzheimer's disease.

The histocompatibility antigens of the A, B and C loci were typed for 32 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 35 controls of the same age. The results were also compared to the distribution of HLA antigens in a series of 900 healthy blood donors. No statistically significant differences were found between the Alzheimer patients and the controls. HLA--Cw1 was found significantly less frequently in the group comprising the patients with Alzheimer's disease and their controls together, than in the younger blood group. This leads us to suggest that an age-matched control group may be needed, at least when the patients are elderly.

Aged↗
PubMed1980

Optic neuritis as an initial symptom in multiple sclerosis.

The present study is based on a multicenter documentation system which includes standardized information on a total of 1271 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In 441 (34.7%) cases the optic nerve was involved at the first appearance of the disease, and in 212 (16.6%) subjects optic neuritis (ON) was the sole initial sign. For all MS patients with ON at the onset of the disease the female to male ratio was 1.3, whereas it was 1.5 for the whole series. The mean age at onset was 2 years lower for patients with initial ON as compared with the whole series (29.0 and 31.1 years, respectively). Correlation of the disability of the patients to the duration of the disease revealed the best prognosis for patients with ON as the sole inital sign of MS. The frequency of brainstem/cerebellar and pyramidal signs was lowest among these patients at the time of the present examination. The difference was more pronounced during the first years of the disease and disappeared after longer duration. The correlation curves of disability to the present age of the patients confirmed this pattern. Our findings do not support the idea of initial ON as being a favorable sign of the later course. As an initial bout of MS, it reflect more precisely the mean age of onset of the disease than other signs.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Clinical data and the identification of special forms of multiple sclerosis in 1271 cases studied with a standardized documentation system.

In a multicenter study the clinical data of 1271 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) were recorded in a standardized manner and analysed by a computer program. Some of the retrospective data are compared with previous reports. The frequency of optic nerve involvement in the present series was close to the Japanese figures. The development of signs and symptoms during the course of MS was given for the 1271 patients and differences in the reversibility of symptoms are presented. In this study, one of the chief purposes was the selection of groups of MS patients with particular symptomatology and course of the disease for prospective, detailed study. The following groups were selected and are under further investigation: 109 patients with an exclusively spinal symptomatology throughout the course of their disease; 441 patients with optic neuritis as initial symptom; 110 patients with early brain-stem involvement; 64 benign cases (duration of the disease more than 14 years and disability not more than 3 according to Kurtzke), 35 malignant cases (duration of the disease under 5 years and disability grade of 7 or more); 83 families with more than one member with MS; 289 females with a history of pregnancy, childbirth and/or use of oral contraceptives. In 339 patients a lumbar puncture was performed at the present examination. The parameters determined constitute a pathognomonic pattern highly indicative of the diagnosis of MS.

Brain Stem↗
PubMed1979

Effect of birthplace on the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis. A study among Finnish war evacuees.

After World War II the southeastern part of Finland was ceded to the Soviet Union and its entire population evacuated to other areas of the country. The prevalences of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple sclerosis (MS) were studied among the evacuees and compared to the corresponding data among the nonevacuated population. The prevalence of ALS among the war evacuees was two times higher than among the nonevacuated population (18.0 and 8.8 per 100,000, respectively). The prevalence of MS among the evacuees was only half of that found among the nonevacuated population, 38.3 and 73.0 per 100,000, respectively. The findings for ALS indicate that birthplace may have an effect on the later development of the disease and that there may have existed some environmental factor(s) which have made the evacuees more liable to contract the disease later in their lives. The low figure of MS for evacuees supports our previous results of an uneven geographic distribution of MS in Finland with the high-risk areas in the western and southwestern parts of the country. No accumulation of MS was found among the evacuees living in the high-risk areas.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis↗
PubMed1978

Multiple sclerosis and malignant neoplasms in the central nervous system: a clinical anatomical report of three cases.

There is some evidence that the incidence of malignant neoplasms in the central nervous system of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) is more infrequent than amoung the general population. The examination of 3 MS cases with different type of neoplasms in the central nervous system revealed mainly inactive demyelinated plaques. These plaques and the neoplastic lesions were dispersed diffusely and coincidentally all over the brain and spinal cord. The benign course of MS in all three cases is discussed in relation to the malignant diseases.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Clinical features of the spinal form of multiple sclerosis.

Out of a data pool of 1271 patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) a total of 109 cases are selected having a sole spinal symptomatology throughout the course of the disease. This group differs in three particular features from the non-spinal forms of MS: In this group there is a higher percentage of females, the age at onset of the disease is higher, and the course of the disease is more often chronic progressive from the beginning. After the mean duration of 11 years, the spinal and the non-spinal cases show the same grade of disability. The ability to work is slightly better for spinal cases; office workers are able to keep their jobs longer after the onset to the disease than patients with any other occupation. The spinal form of MS is discussed in respect to its relationship to the classical form of MS and as a differential diagnosis to other spinal processes.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Determination of k/l immunoglobulin light chain ratios in CSF from patients with multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases.

Using antisera against Bence-Jones protein, the concentration of light chains type k and l can be determined in CSF. The calculation of the ratio of type k to type I light chains in CSF represents a sensitive measure for the evaluation of immunological processes involving the CNS. Our results demonstrate that an increase k/l ratio is encountered in 48% of CSF specimen from multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, but also in 50% from patients with other inflammatory diseases involving the CNS, in contrast to only 18% from other neurological diseases. In none of the MS or inflammatory cases is the altered k/l ratio the only indicator of a CNS inflammation, most commonly it is accompanied by an overproportional CSF-IgG elevation (increased QG ratio), an increased cell count or both. For these reasons determination of CSF k/l ratios is helpful in the differentiation of MS and other neurological diseases, but not for the differentiation of other inflammatory CNS diseases from MS.

Central Nervous System Diseases↗
PubMed1977

Malignant diseases among patients with multiple sclerosis.

The frequency of malignant diseases among 1866 living and 340 deceased multiple sclerosis (MS) patients was investigated in Finland. The study revealed a low prevalence (0.64%) and mortality (0.07%) rate of cancer among MS patients. The difference between MS patients and general population was significant. The highest rate was found in the group from 40 to 49 years while in the general population the rate of cancer among MS patients tended to fall after the age of 50. The possible role of selenium, one of the antioxidants in the pathogenesis of MS and cancer, is discussed because recent data have shown a very high negative correlation between selenium and cancer death rates.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Serological response of multiple sclerosis patients and controls to 6/94-parainfluenza virus.

The serological responses of 195 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and 251 controls were tested against 6/94-parainfluenza virus, which was previously isolated from brain tissue of two patients with MS. The hemagglutination-inhibition titers of greater than or equal to 1: 128 were found more frequently in MS patients (21.5%) than in controls (14.0%). However, the geometric mean titers did not differ between these two groups. The present study concludes that a causal relationship of 6/94-virus to MS, based on a specific immune response, is improbable, although it does not exclude the possibility of a pathogenetic significance of the agent in the cases from which the autopsy material was derived.

Adult↗