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Biomedical subjects

K Aho

Publications and source records attributed to K Aho.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Development of thyroid autoimmunity.

Two blood samples were taken at an interval of 5 years in a continuing epidemiological study of a rural population in south-western Finland with an age range of 40-64 years at commencement. Paired sera of 680 subjects were tested for antibodies against thyroglobulin and thyroid microsomal antigen. In the seroconversion cases the titres in the second specimens were either low or medium but never high. In the cases selected on the basis of the highest titres in the follow-up specimens, the titres in the baseline specimens were either high or medium but never low. These findings suggest that the emergence and the development of thyroid autoimmune seroreactions are slow processes.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Rheumatoid factor seroconversions in relation to clinical rheumatoid arthritis.

Two blood samples were taken with an interval of five years in a continuing epidemiological study of a rural population with an age range of 40-64 at the commencement. Paired sera from 1805 subjects were tested for rheumatoid factors using Waaler-Rose and latex tests. Simultaneous conversion in both tests from negative to positive occurred in seven cases and from positive to negative in eight cases, corresponding to 20% of the Waaler-Rose positives. The mean Waaler-Rose titre in the cases converting to positive was nearly four times higher than in the cases converting to negative. Five subjects developed Waaler-Rose-positive rheumatoid arthritis after the baseline survey. In three of them, positive rheumatoid factor reactions were observed to precede the joint disease; in two others the chronological order could not be established.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Thyroid autoimmunity and cardiovascular diseases.

The relationship of thyroid autoantibodies and elevated TSH level to indices of cardiovascular diseases was studied in two population series monitored for 5 years and in a cross-sectional hospital series. In a cohort of 1105 males, initially 55-74 years of age, deaths due to cardiovascular causes occurred in 19% of subjects with thyroid autoantibodies and in 11% of controls matched for age (P less than 0.05). In another cohort of 1045 males and 1223 females, initially 40-64 years of age, no difference emerged in males, while 6 out of 20 females who died of cardiovascular causes had thyroid autoantibodies, compared with 18% in the whole series. In a series of 97 hospital patients with myocardial infarction, 7 patients had thyroid autoantibodies as opposed to 12 antibody-positive subjects among controls matched for age and sex. Elevated TSH level appeared to be no better an indicator of cardiovascular morbidity or mortality than thyroid autoantibodies. It is concluded that thyroid autoimmunity may act as a cardiovascular risk factor under certain circumstances, but it does not have any general significance and the mechanism of action remains unclear.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Validity of hospital discharge data in a prospective epidemiological study on stroke and myocardial infarction.

The validity and coverage of hospital records of stroke and myocardial infarction were evaluated in a Finnish epidemiological cohort consisting of 57000 men and women. Information on their hospitalizations after the baseline examination was obtained by record linkage to the National Hospital Discharge Register. As compared to data based on re-examination of survivors after five years, the discharge register covered 78.2% of hospital treatments. A specific diagnosis code had been recorded for 81.7% of the definite strokes and for 84.7% of the definite myocardial infarctions. The 5-year incidence rates based on both hospital records and deaths were clearly lower than the rates previously reported from local registers of stroke and myocardial infarction in Finland. Although hospital discharge information underestimates morbidity in the population, the data are sufficiently valid for many epidemiological purposes, e.g. research on predictors of diseases.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Serum acute-phase glycoproteins and immune complexes in relation to smoking and respiratory symptoms: an epidemiological study.

A nephelometric assay of concanavalin A binding was used to measure serum acute-phase glycoproteins in young conscripts, in middle-aged males, and in adults with persistent respiratory symptoms. The findings in conscripts, irrespective of the smoking status, did not differ from those in blood donors, whereas, a strikingly higher portion (38%) of the middle-aged heavy smokers exhibited elevated values. In subjects with persistent respiratory symptoms the corresponding figure was even higher (52%), but no difference was recorded between smokers and non-smokers. Elevated amounts of circulating immune complexes, as measured by conglutinin-binding assay, were detected in 6% of the middle-aged males and in 20% of the subjects with persistent respiratory symptoms.

Acute-Phase Proteins↗
PubMed1984

Nephelometry of acute-phase glycoproteins by binding to concanavalin A.

Nephelometry of serum acute-phase glycoproteins by binding to concanavalin A (con-A) was compared with assays for haptoglobin and alpha 1-acid glycoprotein, and for C-reactive protein. The cutoff points for positive reactions were determined on the basis of results for a random sample (n = 130) from a middle-aged population. The sensitivity of the con-A binding assay compared favorably with that of individual acute-phase glycoproteins in a follow-up cohort of 198 patients with inflammatory joint diseases. Unlike the case in many individual acute-phase glycoprotein assays, the distribution of con-A binding values in healthy subjects is remarkably symmetrical, allowing an easy distinction between abnormal and normal values.

Acute-Phase Proteins↗
PubMed1983

Yersinia reactive arthritis.

A review of Yersinia reactive arthritis is presented with a description of clinical manifestations and immunological features. The pathogenesis of the reactive lesion has so far not been resolved since no conclusive data on the existence or nonexistence of Yersinia antigens in the inflamed joints have been reported. It does not appear that Yersinia is involved in rheumatoid arthritis.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Reaginic and non-reaginic antibodies against mammalian danders.

Solid phase enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and passive haemagglutination techniques were used to study the occurrence of IgG-type antibodies against feline and bovine epithelial extracts among RAST-positive patients, senior veterinary students, cat fanciers (representing exposed subjects) and healthy controls. In most groups both techniques exhibited equal sensitivity being positive in about half of the RAST-positive cases. The levels of both EIA-reactive IgG-class and IgA-class antibodies were increased in most of the sera (greater than mean + 2 s.d. of controls), while only a few sera showed increased IgM values.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Pontocerebellitis--a rare manifestation of mononucleosis.

A patient with pontocerebellitis associated with infectious mononucleosis is described. The clinical picture with transitory limb and truncal ataxia was compatible with previous reports of cerebellitis. CT showed wide pontocerebellar cisterns and a hypodense area in the pons.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Late irradiation-induced lesions of the lumbosacral plexus.

Lumbosacral plexus lesions developed in two women 8 and 14 years, respectively, after operation and irradiation for carcinoma of the uterus. In both patients, a left femoral nerve lesion was the presenting sign. The irradiation dose was about 5,000 rad on both sides in patient 1 and 8,400 rad on the affected side in patient 2. Both patients had low-frequency periodic discharges in the EMG.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Pneumatic tourniquet paralysis. Case report.

We describe a 31-year-old man in whom a paresis and sensory defect of the left arm developed after amputation of the index finger. The operation was performed in a bloodless field, using a pneumatic tourniquet. The sensory defect resolved in two months and the paresis in five and a half months. We consider that direct pressure produced by the tourniquet caused the nerve lesion. It is probable that the tourniquet was inflated to a pressure of 500 millimetres of mercury instead of the intended 250 millimetres of mercury because of a faulty gauge. In order to avoid this rare complication, it is advisable to check the tourniquet gauge each time before use.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Technical falsely positive rheumatoid factor by ELISA in sera with elevated IgM levels.

One half of sera with monoclonally or polyclonally raised IgM levels showed substantial IgM adsorption on to polystyrene plates coated with tetanus toxoid-human antitoxin complexes, plain tetanus toxoid and human serum albumin. In three latex-negative sera out of 56 sera with monoclonal IgM components this adsorption exceeded the rheumatoid factor binding from rheumatoid sera on to plates coated with tetanus toxoid-human antitoxin complex. The nonspecificity of this IgM adsorption was further substantiated by the lack of inhibition with heat-aggregated human immunoglobulin. The falsely positive rheumatoid factor phenomenon was largely restricted to sera with raised IgM levels.

Antigen-Antibody Complex↗
PubMed1983

Thyroid autoimmunity in siblings: a population study.

Familial occurrence of thyroid autoantibodies and elevated TSH levels was investigated among siblings from a middle-aged rural population in Finland. The initial sample consisted of 801 subjects representing 311 sibling groups. Paired sera taken at a five-year interval were available for testing from most of them. Thyroglobulin antibodies were detected in 26% of the siblings of probands with thyroglobulin antibodies, compared with 11% among siblings of probands who did not have these antibodies. The corresponding figures for thyroid microsomal antibodies were 32% and 11%, respectively. The frequency of positive test results among the siblings was about the same irrespective of the antibody titre of the proband. When the proband had only thyroid microsomal antibodies, most (66%) of the autoantibody-positive siblings were positive in this system only. When the proband had only thyroglobulin antibodies, the pattern among siblings was less clear. Nearly half of the cases with elevated TSH level but negative in the thyroid autoantibody tests were in families in which other members had evidence of thyroid autoimmunity. The findings are compatible with the concept that a few major genes affect susceptibility to thyroid autoimmune diseases.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Smoking and influenza in the elderly: a sero-epidemiological study.

Two blood samples were taken at an interval of five years in a continuing epidemiological study of a rural population with an age range of 40-64 years at commencement. Paired sera of 111 light smokers and their non-smoker controls, matched for age and sex, and of 68 heavy smokers and their respective controls were tested for haemagglutination inhibiting antibodies against four different influenza strains. Antibodies were detected in the baseline specimens more frequently and in higher titres among the smokers than among the controls. Significant rises in titre between the baseline specimens and the follow-up specimens occurred slightly more frequently among the smokers.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Vitamin E does not influence plasma lipoprotein metabolism in healthy subjects with normal nutritional status.

The effect of a 6-week treatment with large doses (600 IU/day) of vitamin E on plasma lipoprotein metabolism has been studied in six healthy middle-aged subjects. No consistent change was observed during the treatment in the plasma concentrations of cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol or apolipoproteins AI, AII and B or in the activity of postheparin plasma lipoprotein lipase or hepatic lipase. It is concluded that vitamin E does not influence plasma lipoprotein metabolism in healthy subjects with normal nutritional status.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Genetics of autoantibodies in relation to disease. An epidemiological study of two population series.

Familial occurrence of three types of autoantibodies, viz. rheumatoid factors, antinuclear antibodies and thyroid autoantibodies, was investigated in two population series: twins from the Finnish Twin Registry representing the adult twin population living in an urban area (76 monozygotic and 82 dizygotic same-sex twin pairs) and siblings from a middle-aged rural population subject to an ongoing epidemiological study (311 sibling groups comprising 801 subjects and 584 married couples). The observations were compatible with the concept of two components in the above autoantibody system. The major component is determined predominantly by environmental factors and is manifested with increasing age. The autoantibodies belonging to the minor, familial component occur in somewhat higher titers, exhibit certain specificity features of their own (RF reacting with rabbit gamma globulin), and are associated with "autoimmune" diseases.

Adult↗