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Biomedical subjects

K Laiho

Publications and source records attributed to K Laiho.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis and musculoskeletal diseases in the elderly population.

The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and musculoskeletal diseases was determined in a random sample of 1,317 people aged 65, 75, 80, and 85 years. Detailed clinical examinations were carried out in 1989-1990. A total of 6 men and 18 women (1.8% together) fulfilled the 1987 American College of Rheumatology criteria for RA. The prevalence of RA was highest (2.4%) in subjects aged 65 years and tended to decline with age. No RA cases were found in men aged 80 years or more. The prevalence of musculoskeletal diseases, defined as lack of an extremity or restriction of mobility in a joint or the spine, was high, reaching up to 49% in the highest age group.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed2001

The cervical spine in mutilant rheumatoid arthritis.

The purpose of this study was to detect the frequency of inflammatory cervical spine changes and characteristic features such as resorption in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with arthritis mutilans (AM) hand deformity. The series included 23 patients with AM hand deformity who fulfilled the 1987 American Rheumatism Association criteria for RA. Cervical spine radiographs were evaluated for subluxations, atlantoaxial impaction (AAI), and apophyseal joint ankylosis. Assessment of the severity of inflammatory changes in the cervical spine was based on former radiographic criteria for operation. Twenty patients (87%) showed subluxations, AAI, or apophyseal joint ankylosis in the cervical spine. Anterior atlantoaxial subluxation (aAAS) was observed in nine (39%), AAI in 13 (57%), and apophyseal joint ankylosis in 12 (52%). Six (26%) had been operated on the cervical spine. Patients with AM hand deformity evinced frequent and severe inflammatory cervical spine changes often requiring operation. Resorptive change (AAI) in the upper cervical spine and ankylosis of apophyseal joints were the most characteristic abnormalities in these patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

The cervical spine in mutilant juvenile chronic arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To describe inflammatory cervical spine disorders in juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA) patients with arthritis mutilans (AM) hand deformity. METHODS: The series consisted of 18 patients affected by AM hand deformity who fulfilled the European League of Associations for Rheumatology criteria for JCA. The patient records and the most recent cervical spine radiographs were evaluated for subluxations, atlantoaxial impaction (AAI) and apophyseal joint ankylosis. RESULTS: Seventeen (94%) patients had subluxation, AAI or apophyseal joint ankylosis in the cervical spine. Apophyseal joint ankylosis was noted in 12 (67%) patients and AAI in 10 (56%). Anterior atlantoaxial subluxation was detected in five (28%) patients. CONCLUSION: Almost all of the JCA patients with AM hand deformity evinced some inflammatory changes in the cervical spine. Apophyseal joint ankylosis, AAI and multiplicity of changes in cervical spine may be considered characteristic in this subset of JCA patients. Patients with JCA and AM hand deformity tend to have severe changes also in the cervical spine.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Breast milk--immunomodulatory signals against allergic diseases.

Breastfeeding holds a key position with regard to the increasing burden of allergic diseases in the industrialized countries. Not only does it provide the infant with nutrients for growth and development, it also confers immunological protection during a critical period in life, when the infant's own defense mechanisms are immature. A delicate balance of stimulatory, even inflammatory, maturational signals, together with a myriad of anti-inflammatory compounds, is transferred from mother to infant via breastfeeding. Breastfeeding mothers, however, do not constitute a uniform group. The composition of breast milk shows marked individual variation and so, consequently, does the success of breastfeeding in reducing the risk of disease. Recent clinical studies indicate that the potential of breastfeeding to counteract allergic disease may be promoted by dietary means. While uncoordinated elimination diets result in a risk of general nutritional inadequacy or deficiency of essential single nutrients, a balanced diet following current dietary recommendations, specifically containing fresh fruits and vegetables (antioxidants) and fat of predominantly vegetable origin, may be associated with a lower incidence of atopy in the infant. As early nutrition appears to program the subsequent health of the child, the importance of the maternal dietary composition during breastfeeding should be emphasized. In future, an improved understanding of the mechanisms of this programming may offer specific therapeutic modalities for the prevention of allergic disease.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed2001

Rise in serum C reactive protein after hip and knee arthroplasties in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Serum C reactive protein (CRP) concentration was evaluated in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA) to ascertain the postoperative CRP response. METHODS: Thirty seven consecutive patients with RA who had undergone THA or TKA were included in the study. The CRP concentration was measured in every patient once preoperatively and every other day for one week postoperatively. RESULTS: The peak median CRP concentration (94 mg/l) was achieved on the first and second day postoperatively and was seven times higher than the median preoperative concentration (13 mg/l). CRP declined to the preoperative concentration in about one week. The rise of the CRP concentration was significant (p< 0.001). No infection was encountered in this series. CONCLUSION: A rapid rise in the postoperative CRP concentration is normal in patients with RA treated by THA or TKA. The CRP concentration decreases to the preoperative value in about one week. Serial CRP measurements, including at least one preoperative measurement, are needed when the clinical significance of the postoperative CRP values is evaluated. When the postoperative CRP concentration remains raised for several days compared with the preoperative value, or even rises, it may indicate the presence of a complication in these patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Apolipoprotein E phenotypes in rheumatoid arthritis with or without amyloidosis.

The role of apolipoprotein (apo) E in the pathogenesis of reactive amyloidosis is unclear. Here we evaluated the apoE phenotype distribution and apolipoprotein e allele frequencies in 55 adult patients with seropositive, erosive RA with amyloid and compared them with 55 matched RA patients without amyloid The apoE isotypes were determined by isoelectric focusing and immunoblotting. RA patients without amyloid had more often the apoE 3/3 phenotype (71%) than the RA+A patients (49%, P<0.05) or Finnish control subjects (47%, P<0.01) and the frequency of the apo epsilon3 allele was significantly higher among the RA patients without amyloid than among RA+A patients (P<0.05) or control subjects (P<0.01). The prevalence of the apoE3/4 phenotype among the RA+A patients, although higher, did not significantly differ from the RA patients without amyloid (40% and 26%, respectively, NS) or Finnish control subjects (40% and 35%, respectively, NS). The frequency of the apo epsilon4 allele among the RA+A patients did not signficantly differ from that of RA patients without amyloid (0.23 and 0.13, respectively, NS) or Finnish control subjects (both 0.23). However, the apo epsilon4 frequency of 0.13 among the RA patients without amyloid was significantly lower than that of Finnish control subjects (0.23, P<0.05). We conclude that the prevalence of the apoE4 isotype is not increased in patients with RA complicated by amyloidosis when compared with Finnish control subjects. Since the frequency of the apo epsilon4 allele is significantly decreased in RA patients without amyloid when compared with Finnish control subjects, the presence of the apoE4 in a patient with RA could, though, represent a relative risk factor for developing reactive amyloidosis.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

A simple and accurate method for determination of microsatellite total allele content differences between DNA pools.

DNA pooling is a potential tool for the efficient analysis of the large numbers of samples and DNA markers that are necessary for genome-wide association studies. A simple accurate method for measuring total allele differences in comparisons between two pools containing large numbers of DNA samples is presented. This method compares relative peak height differences between electrophoretograms for each allele of a microsatellite. The method was evaluated by the analysis of 11 microsatellite markers and DNA pooled sample sizes of 50, 100, and 200 individual DNA samples from the same number of different subjects. Pools were created from previously individually genotyped subjects and constructed so that the pool comparisons would provide real total allele differences varying from 0% to 55%. Calculated pool differences were then compared with the real total allele differences determined by individual genotyping results. Together over 200 comparisons demonstrated a correlation coefficient of 0.96, which compared favorably with other previous methods of analysis. This method could provide a rapid screen for total allele differences of greater than 10%, a threshold that should be applicable to detecting low relative risk genes in common diseases. Therefore, these studies suggest that DNA pooling could be a useful tool in association studies for the determination of candidate regions for a range of complex genetic diseases.

Alleles↗
PubMed1999

Secondary amyloidosis has decreased in patients with inflammatory joint disease in Finland.

We studied whether the high incidence of secondary amyloidosis (SA) is a consistent finding in patients with inflammatory joint disease. A total of 4508 biopsies of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis were studied at the Rheumatism Foundation Hospital during 1987-1997. The results show that the annual number of findings of SA was reduced from 68 to less than 10. We suggest that a change in medication towards more frequent use of cytostatic agents is the reason for the reduction in incidence of SA.

Amyloidosis↗
PubMed1999

Prophylactic Lactobacillus GG reduces antibiotic-associated diarrhea in children with respiratory infections: a randomized study.

OBJECTIVES: Antimicrobial treatment may disturb the colonization resistance of gastrointestinal microflora, which may induce clinical symptoms, most commonly diarrhea. The severity of antibiotic-associated diarrhea may range from a brief, self-limiting disease to devastating diarrhea with electrolyte disturbances, dehydration, crampy abdominal pain, pseudomembranous colitis, toxic megacolon, or even death. The incidence of diarrhea in children receiving a single antimicrobial treatment is unclear. In addition to more critical use of antimicrobials, adjunctive preventive measures to antibiotic-associated diarrhea are needed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the incidence of diarrhea after antimicrobial treatment in children with no history of antimicrobial use during the previous 3 months. Another aim of this study was to assess the preventive potential of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (Lactobacillus GG; American Type Culture Collection 53103), a probiotic strain with a documented safety record and a therapeutic effect in viral gastroenteritis on antibiotic-associated diarrhea. METHODS: Oral antimicrobial agents were prescribed for the treatment of acute respiratory infections at the clinics of the Health Care Center of the City of Tampere or Tampere University Hospital, Finland, to 167 patients who were invited to participate in the study. Of the patients, 48 were lost to follow-up; therefore, the final study population consisted of 119 children from 2 weeks to 12. 8 years of age (mean: 4.5 years). All study subjects met the inclusion criteria: they had not received any antimicrobial medication during the previous 3 months, they did not suffer from gastrointestinal disorders, and they did not need intravenous antimicrobial treatment. The patients were randomized to receive placebo or 2 x 10(10) colony-forming units of Lactobacillus GG in capsules given twice daily during the antimicrobial treatment. Lactobacillus GG and placebo capsules were indistinguishable in appearance and taste. The parents kept a daily symptom diary and recorded stool frequency and consistency at home for 3 months. Diarrhea was defined as at least three watery or loose stools per day for a minimum of 2 consecutive days. In the case of diarrhea, viral (adenovirus, rotavirus, calicivirus and astrovirus) and bacterial (Salmonella, Shigella, Yersinia, Campylobacter, Clostridium difficile, Staphylococcus aureus, and yeasts) analyses were studied in fecal samples. The metabolic activity of the gut microflora was assessed by analysis of fecal urease, beta-glucosidase, and beta-glucuronidase activities. The primary outcome measure was diarrhea during the first 2 weeks after the beginning of the antimicrobial treatment, because this period most likely reflects the effects of antimicrobial use. Secondary outcome measures were the activities of fecal urease, beta-glucuronidase, and beta-glucosidase. RESULTS: On the entire follow-up, 80% of any gastrointestinal symptoms were reported during the first 2 weeks after the beginning of the antimicrobial treatment. The incidence of diarrhea was 5% in the Lactobacillus GG group and 16% in the placebo group within 2 weeks of antimicrobial therapy (chi(2) = 3.82). The treatment effect (95% confidence interval) of Lactobacillus GG was -11% (-21%-0%). In diarrheal episodes, the viral and bacterial analyses were positive for Clostridium difficile in 2 cases and for Norwalk-like calicivirus in 3 cases. The age of the patients with diarrhea was between 3 months and 5 years in 75% of cases in both groups. The severity of diarrhea was comparable in the study groups, as evidenced by similar stool frequency (mean: 5 per day; range: 3-6) and the duration of diarrhea (mean: 4 days; range: 2-8). The activities of fecal urease and beta-glucuronidase, but not beta-glucosidase, changed significantly after the beginning of the antimicrobial treatment in the Lactobacillus GG group and in the placebo group alike. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1998

Serum C-reactive protein is rarely lost into urine in patients with secondary amyloidosis and proteinuria.

We studied whether the low serum C-reactive protein (S-CRP) level in patients with inflammatory arthritis and proteinuria was due to the loss of CRP into urine. In 19 patients with secondary amyloidosis (14 with rheumatoid arthritis and five with juvenile chronic arthritis), S-CRP was measured with both immunoturbidimetric and radioimmunoassays. The concentration of urinary CRP was measured with a double-antibody radioimmunoassay. One patient with the most extensive proteinuria (12 g/24 h) excreted CRP at 14 mg/24 h, while in 18 of 19 patients only negligible, if any, amounts of CRP were found in 24-h urine samples. Proteinuria of < 8 g/24 h did not reduce the S-CRP level. Proteinuria exceeding this level may result in increased excretion of CRP into urine and consequently may result in a reduced S-CRP level.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Myeloperoxidase activity in skin lesions. I. Influence of the loss of blood, depth of excoriations and thickness of the skin.

The measurement of the myeloperoxidase activity was used to quantify the acute granulocyte reaction. A 35% loss of blood resulted in a clear decrease of the myeloperoxidase activity at the edges of experimental incision wounds in rat skin in the first day after inflicting the wounds. After 12 h only about one-third and after 24 h about half of the activity observed in the wounds without the loss of blood remained. After 3 days however the activity had returned to the same level as in the wounds without any loss of blood. In very deep excoriations of the rat skin where only a narrow zone of the dermis was left about double the activity increase was observed after 12 and 24 h when compared to values observed in very superficial or moderate excoriations. When the same type of excoriations were made in both thin inguinal skin and thick dorsal skin then a much higher peroxidase activity increase was observed over 4, 12 and 24 h in the thin inguinal skin than in the excoriations made in the thick dorsal skin.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Myeloperoxidase activity in skin lesions. II. Influence of alcohol and some medicines.

The measurement of myeloperoxidase activity was used to quantify the acute granulocyte reaction. Ethyl alcohol given intraperitoneally in rats as doses of 3, 4 and 5 g per kg body weight resulted in a clear decrease of the myeloperoxidase activity at the edges of incision wounds. When one-half of the LD 50 dose of chlorpromazine was given intraperitoneally a remarkable decrease in the myeloperoxidase activity was observed. Moderate decreases were obtained with one-half of the LD 50 dose of acetyl salisylic acid and Na-pentobarbital and with high therapeutic doses of hydrocortisone and indomethacin.

Animals↗