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Biomedical subjects

K Lehtinen

Publications and source records attributed to K Lehtinen.

53 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Effects of long-term aurothiomalate and D-penicillamine treatments on renal function and urinary excretion of prostanoids in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The effects of long-term aurothiomalate and D-penicillamine treatments on renal function and the urinary excretion of prostanoids were studied in 20 patients with classic or definite rheumatoid arthritis. Twelve-hour urine was collected overnight, on the following day blood samples were taken in the morning and 12-hour urine was collected during the following day. Albumin excretion into the urine was determined by a sensitive quantitative method. Beta-2-microglobulin (B2MIGLO) and N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (NAG) serum concentrations and excretions into the urine were measured to detect possible tubular or glomerular damage, respectively. The excretions of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), thromboxane B2 and 6-keto-PGF1 alpha into urine were determined. In the aurothiomalate group, albumin excretion ranged 1-16 mg/12 h, and in the penicillamine group 0.8-31 mg/12 h. In the penicillamine group, but not in the aurothiomalate group, total protein, B2MIGLO and PGE2 excretions were higher (p less than 0.05) during the daytime than during the night. The daytime excretion of PGE2 was higher (p less than 0.01) in the penicillamine than in the aurothiomalate group. In the penicillamine group B2MIGLO excretion into urine correlated (p less than 0.01) with PGE2 excretion in the daytime. According to the results, not even long-term aurothiomalate treatment affects renal prostanoid excretion, while penicillamine increases urinary PGE2 excretion. This could be related either to the cofactor-like activity of penicillamine in the prostanoid synthesis or to damage in tubular cells. The role of prostanoids in maintaining blood flow and filtration may be more important in patients with renal damage than in normal conditions.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Work capacity of patients with inflammatory joint diseases. An eight-year follow-up study.

In a prospective study of recent arthritis, 103 patients had rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 63 seronegative oligoarthritis (SO), 67 reactive arthritis (REA), 20 ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and 13 psoriatic arthritis (PA). At the 8-year check-up, 36% of patients with RA were at work, compared with 69% in PA (p less than 0.002), and 85-90% in AS, SO, and REA (p less than 0.001). Correspondingly 43% of the RA patients were disabled by arthritis, compared with 23% in PA (NS), 15% in AS (p less than 0.005), none in SO, and 4% in REA (p less than 0.001). No significant differences in work capacity were noted between patients with PA, AS, SO or REA. In RA, the educational backgrounds of patients unable to work (44 patients) and able to work (37 patients) did not differ from each other or from the overall population of Finland, but a significantly (p less than 0.01) smaller number of patients with arduous work were able to continue at work. The mean age of 49 years for RA patients unable to work differed highly significantly (p less than 0.001) from the 35 years of RA patients at work. However, the weightiest cause of limited work capacity was severity of disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Comparison of the analgesic effect of ten nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

The analgesic effect of 10 anti-inflammatory drugs was compared using a single-blind method in 90 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Each patient received two different drugs, for three days each and each drug was evaluated in 18 patients. After the trial, the patients considered which of the drugs they preferred. The greatest relief from pain was achieved by diclofenac, indomethacin, naproxen and tolfenamic acid, each of these being preferred by the majority of patients and being significantly (p less than 0.01) better than the least effective drugs ketoprofen and proquazone. Acetylsalicylic acid, azapropazone, carprofen and ibuprofen were considered intermediate in efficacy.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

The mortality and causes of death of patients with "hypergamma type" of ankylosing spondylitis.

The mortality and causes of death of 64 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) were investigated. The mean follow-up time was 30 years. Eighteen patients had hypergammaglobulinaemia (serum gammaglobulin level less than 23.6 milligrams). A total of 36 deaths occurred during the follow-up time, 13 in the hypergammaglobulinaemia group and 23 in the control group. Six patients in the hypergammaglobulinaemia group and three in the control group died from uraemia caused by renal amyloidosis. The difference was statistically significant (p less than 0.01). It seems that hypergammaglobulinaemia may be a bad prognostic sign, at least when possible renal amyloidosis and uraemia are concerned.

Female↗
PubMed1983

76 patients with ankylosing spondylitis seen after 30 years of disease.

Seventy-six patients treated for ankylosing spondylitis at the Rheumatism Foundation Hospital during the 1950s were re-examined. The mean duration of the disease was 30.5 years. The main interest was in the clinical and radiological progression of the disease, functional and working ability and the number of complications and their severity. The results seem to show that the long-term prognosis for AS is good, on average. A detailed description of the results is presented.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Pharmacokinetics and tolerance of slow-release indomethacin tablets in rheumatoid arthritis.

The pharmacokinetics, efficacy and tolerance of a new formulation of slow-release indomethacin tablet were compared with those of a conventional indomethacin capsule in 30 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The slow-release tablet was absorbed more slowly than the capsule (tmax 3.7 h and less than 2 h, respectively) and produced more even serum drug levels in 10 subjects. Side-effects, especially dizziness and diarrhoea, were less frequent after the slow-release tablet than during the capsule period.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Proteolytic enzymes in joint destruction.

An increase in both neutral and acid proteolytic activity and proteinase inhibitors is reported in synovial fluid of osteoarthrotic and rheumatoid joints, compared with controls, but in subchondral bone and articular cartilage only Cathepsin D and in synovial tissue only neutral caseinolysis were elevated. Especially high proteolytic activities were found in joint compartments of seronegative rheumatoid and in sera of osteoarthrotic patients. The source of the main part of neutral caseinolytic activity in joint fluid is inflammatory cells, in the case of Cathepsin D the tissues of origin seem to be bone and cartilage.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1981

Working ability of 76 patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

The working ability of 76 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) diagnosed between 1952 and 1959 was investigated. After 25 years of AS, 48% of the patients were still able to work at their original occupation and only 30% were unable to work at all. 17% of the patients had had to change their occupation and 5% had retired because of age. This finding does not differ from those reported in earlier studies.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Cause of death in 79 patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

The causes of death of 79 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) diagnosed between 1952 and 1959 were investigated. The basic cause of death was a cardiovascular disease in 35.4% of the patients, AS in 29.1%, violent death in 10.1%, malignancy in 8.9%, gastrointestinal diseases in 6.3%, pulmonary tuberculosis in 2.5%, urogenital diseases in 2.5%, respiratory diseases in 3.8% and diabetes mellitus in 1.3%. Only one patient had a lymphoma and another patient chronic lymphatic leukaemia despite the X-ray therapy that almost every patient received. The immediate cause of death was uraemia caused by renal amyloidosis in 18% of the cases. In addition, uraemia from renal amyloidosis was part of the basic cause of death or a contributory factor in 3.8%. Thus, uraemia caused by renal amyloidosis in one way or another affected the cause of death in 21.5% of the cases. This figure is considerably higher than those given in earlier works.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Clinical and radiological features of ankylosing spondylitis in the 1950's and in 1976 at the same hospital.

The clinical and radiological pictures of AS in two patient series were compared to ascertain whether or not the course of AS has changed since the 1950's. Clinical and radiological features were analysed from X-ray pictures and records of patients with a diagnosis of AS treated at the Rheumatism Foundation Hospital in 1952--59 (168 patients) and 1976 (160 patients). No significant difference in the clinical findings could be demonstrated between the two patient series. The radiological progression in the sacroiliacal joints and the lumbar spine was more rapid in the 1950's than in 1976. In the 1950's 82.1% of all patients had grade III or IV sacro-iliitis, whereas the figure for 1976 was 67.5%. The difference is statistically significant (p less than 0.01). Two-thirds of patients with a duration of the disease of less than 4 years had grade III or IV sacro-iliitis in the 1950's compared with only one-third in 1976. 14.6% of the patients in the 1950's and 4.8% in 1976 had more than 10 lumbar syndesmophytes. The difference is statistically significant (p less than 0.01). Possible reasons for the difference observed are discussed.

Female↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Periarticular corticosteroid treatment of the sacroiliac joint in patients with seronegative spondylarthropathy.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of periarticular corticosteroid injection of the sacroiliac joint (SIJ) in patients with seronegative spondylarthropathy in a double blind, controlled study. METHODS: 20 patients with seronegative spondylarthropathy and clinical sacroiliitis entered the study. In 10 patients one affected SIJ was treated with periarticular injection of 1.5 ml (40 mg/ml) methylprednisoloneacetate and 1.5 ml (20 mg/ml) lignocaine (MP group), whereas 10 patients received 1.5 ml isotonic sodium chloride and 1.5 ml (20 mg/ml) lignocaine (non-MP group). Clinical assessment at the onset of the study and after two months follow-up included the patients' estimation of pain in the SIJ by the visual analogue scale (VAS) and by a pain index which was calculated from tenderness and stressing tests on the SIJ. RESULTS: At the two months follow-up examination the VAS (p = 0.02) and the pain index (p = 0.01) had improved significantly in the MP group compared with the non-MP group. CONCLUSION: The results of our study indicate that the periarticular injection of methylprednisolone may be effective in the treatment of clinical sacroiliitis in patients with seronegative spondylarthropathy.

Adult↗