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Biomedical subjects

J van Gijn

Publications and source records attributed to J van Gijn.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

[Clinical judgment and decision making in clinical practice. A free spirit with imminent paraplegia].

A 45-year-old man was admitted because of loss of strength in the legs and urinary retention. MRI showed enlargement of the thoracic and lumbar spinal cord from T11 to the conus medullaris. Magnetic resonance angiography and spinal angiography showed a dural arteriovenous fistula. The abnormal connection was clipped surgically after which the patient recovered fully.

Arteriovenous Fistula↗
PubMed1997

[140 years Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde. 140 volumes: looking back, looking in and looking forward].

The Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde was founded in 1856 when five of the nine medical journal in the Netherlands decided to join hands and launch a new medical weekly (in Dutch). About 800 manuscripts are now submitted each year, most of which are peer reviewed before acceptance. The editorial board consists of about twenty medical specialists who have agreed to carry out the bulk of the peer review for a period of three years each. After retirement from the editorial board, they are a lifelong member of the Association of the Dutch Journal of Medicine. After acceptance, articles are thoroughly scientifically and linguistically edited to ensure that the general medical readership will understand them. About 50% of the accepted papers are published within twenty weeks. In the near future the journal pages will have more illustrations and more coloured ones, educative panels, and a digest of Dutch research published in international journals.

History, 20th Century↗
PubMed1997

Psychogenic pseudoptosis.

Three patients with psychogenic pseudoptosis of one eyelid are reported. All showed depression of the eyebrow on the affected side. The clinical course varied: in two patients the symptom resolved spontaneously after positive reassurance; in the third patient it remained unchanged for 2 years.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Family history of subarachnoid haemorrhage: supplemental value of scrutinizing all relatives.

OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: To assess the validity of the family history obtained at the bedside of patients with recent subarachnoid haemorrhage by subsequently contacting all first and second degree relatives, with verification from medical record data. RESULTS: In a prospectively collected series of 163 patients with recent subarachnoid haemorrhage the history or cause of death could be ascertained in 1259 (98%) of the first degree relatives and in 3038 (85%) of the second degree relatives. For first degree relatives only, the sensitivity of the family history at the bedside was 0.75 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.35-0.97) and the positive predictive value was 0.55 (95% CI 0.23-0.83); for first and second degree relatives together the sensitivity was 0.58 (95% CI 0.28-0.85) and the positive predictive value was 0.64 (95% CI 0.31-0.89). CONCLUSION: The accuracy of the family history taken at the bedside is modest; a more thorough collection of data is crucial if the decision is taken to screen relatives based on the family history.

Cause of Death↗
PubMed1997

Symptomatic carotid artery occlusion. A reappraisal of hemodynamic factors.

BACKGROUND: Over the last several years evidence has accumulated that in addition to embolism, a compromised cerebral blood flow may play an important role in causing transient ischemic attacks and ischemic stroke in patients with occlusion of the internal carotid artery. This evidence is found in both clinical features and ancillary investigations, particularly measurements of cerebral blood flow. SUMMARY OF REVIEW: On the basis of 20 follow-up studies in patients with transient ischemic attacks or minor ischemic stroke associated with an occluded carotid artery, the annual risk of stroke was 5.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.0% to 6.0%), and that of ipsilateral stroke (distinguished in 11 of the 20 studies) was 2.1% (95% CI, 1.6% to 2.8%). Patients with a compromised cerebral blood flow as measured by positron emission tomography, single-photon emission CT, transcranial Doppler, or stable xenon CT (six studies) have an even higher annual risk of stroke (all strokes: 12.5%; 95% CI, 8.9% to 17.6%; ipsilateral stroke: 9.5%; 95% CI, 6.4% to 14.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Because a compromised cerebral blood flow may be an important causal factor in patients with symptomatic carotid artery occlusion, medical and surgical options for treatment are reviewed in this light.

Arterial Occlusive Diseases↗
PubMed1997

Soluble adhesion molecules reflect endothelial cell activation in ischemic stroke and in carotid atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Activation of endothelial cells and platelets plays an important role in the development of atherosclerosis and thrombotic disorders. Soluble adhesion molecules originating from these cells can be demonstrated in plasma. We hypothesized that elevated plasma concentrations of soluble P-selectin (sP-selectin), soluble intercellular adhesion mole-cule-1 (sICAM-1), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), and soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin) can reflect activation of endothelial cells and/or platelets in acute ischemic stroke and in previously symptomatic internal carotid artery stenosis. METHODS: Plasma was sampled from patients within 2 days of acute ischemic stroke (n = 28), from patients with a previous (> 1 week) transient or persistent ischemic neurological deficit associated with stenosis of the internal carotid artery (n = 34), and from control patients without a history of vascular disease (n = 34). Concentrations of sP-selectin, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, and sE-selectin were measured by means of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Compared with control subjects, sP-selectin and sE-selectin were significantly elevated in the acute stage of ischemic stroke (P < .0001 and P = .001, respectively) as well as in previously symptomatic carotid stenosis (P < .0001 and P = .0007). sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 were not increased. CONCLUSIONS: The elevated levels of sE-selectin indicate that endothelial cell activation occurs both in the acute stage of ischemic stroke and in previously symptomatic carotid atherosclerosis. Increased sP-selectin concentrations reflect endothelial cell activation as well but may also be caused by platelet activation.

Arteriosclerosis↗
PubMed1997

Case-fatality rates and functional outcome after subarachnoid hemorrhage: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: During the last three decades, new management strategies have been developed for patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. To assess whether the case-fatality rate has improved after the introduction of new management strategies, we studied outcome in all population-based studies from 1960 onward. SUMMARY OF REVIEW: To identify population-based studies that reported on case-fatality rate in subarachnoid hemorrhage, we performed a MEDLINE search and checked all reference lists of the studies found. Two authors (J.W.H. and G.J.E.R.) independently assessed all studies for eligibility, using predefined criteria for case finding and diagnosis, and extracted data on case-fatality rates. We used weighted linear regression analysis to quantify change in case-fatality rate over time. We found 21 studies, describing 25 study periods between 1960 and 1992. Case-fatality rates varied between 32% and 67%, with the exception of one recent study. The case-fatality rate decreased by 0.5% per year (95% confidence interval, -0.1 to 1.2); the decline was steeper after adjustment for age and sex (0.9% per year; 95% confidence interval, -0.7 to 2.6; data from 12 studies). CONCLUSIONS: The case-fatality rate after subarachnoid hemorrhage has decreased during the last three decades. A plausible explanation for this decrease is the improved management of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Australia↗
PubMed1996

The Babinski sign: the first hundred years.

The year 1996 marks the centenary of Babinski's description of the toe responses (normal and pathological) after stimulation of the sole of the foot. The upgoing toe response is normal in the 1st year of life and forms part of the flexion synergy of the leg, which had been known before 1896. Babinski also recognized the relation between the toe phenomenon (phénomène des orteils) in older children and adults and dysfunction of the pyramidal system. Neurologists became so fascinated by toe responses alone that many competing signs were proposed; most of these consisted of stimuli at other parts of the leg and were actually part of the same-but temporarily forgotten-flexion synergy. From 1910 to 1915 Marie and Foix and also Walshe re-emphasized this relationship and pointed out the analogy with the flexion reflex of the dog that had been extensively studied by Sherrington; the toe "extensors" shorten the leg and therefore they are flexors in a physiological sense. The normal (downward) toe response of the toes does not belong to a more complex movement, although Babinski originally believed this; it is a monosegmental skin reflex, akin to abdominal reflexes. Babinski correctly predicted that dysfunction of the pyramidal tract is not synonymous with a lesion, and that this dysfunction of the pyramidal system is necessary but not sufficient to produce a phénomène des orteils.

Eponyms↗