Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Hodinka

Publications and source records attributed to L Hodinka.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Improving the risk-benefit ratio of NSAID therapy in the elderly.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely prescribed to elderly patients. This population may have a decreased capacity to metabolize and excrete NSAIDs and other agents. Furthermore, older patients frequently use NSAIDs concomitantly with other commonly prescribed drugs, thereby increasing the potential for drug interactions. A major challenge in rheumatology is to improve the risk-benefit ratio of NSAID therapy in older patients. Clinicians first must identify which patients are at increased risk. Several studies have shown that compromised cardiovascular and renal functions in older individuals may be important factors in increasing their vulnerability to the adverse effects of NSAIDs. Epidemiologic studies have provided valuable information concerning risk factors for adverse drug reactions in the elderly. Older patients with rheumatic diseases, osteoporosis, degenerative changes and certain autoimmune diseases and neoplasms should be treated less aggressively than younger patients. Statistical analyses of data bases correlating specific adverse events with NSAID use in the elderly may help clinicians in their therapeutic decisions. These data bases are now available in several readily accessible forms.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Clinical and histological evaluation of synovial needle-biopsies in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. I. Relationship between clinical activity and histological pattern.

In 50 patients suffering for 1-15 years from rheumatoid arthritis, needle-biopsy of the synovial membrane was carried out. The finding correlated with the general clinical activity of the disease. Each type of histological change was evaluated with regard to its diagnostic value in assessing clinical activity. Among the histological changes, oedema, synovial cell proliferation, lymphocyte-plasma cell proliferation and necrotic vasculitis showed a negative correlation with clinical activity, while a positive correlation was observed between clinical activity and the presence of fibrin (fresh and old), fibrinoid, fibrinoid basophilia, fibroblast proliferation, synovial cell desquamation, concentric perivascular sclerosis, fibrosis and hyalinosis. Vascular changes of the synovial membrane such as oedema, fresh fibrin exudate, necrotic vasculitis showed a negative correlation with clinical activity while hyalinization and concentric sclerosis and clinical activity were found to be in positive correlation. It is concluded that in the course of rheumatoid arthritis the histological changes do not necessarily run parallel with the clinical activity of the disease.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1984

Clinical and histological evaluation of synovial needle-biopsies in rheumatoid arthritis. II. Relationship between local clinical activity and histological pattern.

The histological pattern of synovial needle-biopsies of 50 patients suffering from classical or definitive rheumatoid arthritis has been compared with the clinical activity of the disease. Each histological change was evaluated in terms of its value in characterizing local clinical activity. It was shown that most changes of the synovial ground tissue are in a positive correlation with local clinical activity. Among the vascular changes of the synovial membrane, oedema of vascular walls, exudation of fresh fibrin, leukocyte infiltration and thickening of vascular walls were in negative correlation, while chronic fibrin, lymphocytic or plasma cell infiltration and hyalinosis were in positive correlation with local clinical activity.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1979

Skin manifestations and serum IgE levels in levamisole-treated rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Skin manifestations may occur as adverse effects of immunostimulant therapy with Levamisole. They are generally regarded as drug-induced hypersensitivity reactions. Our observations revealed that, in Levamisole-treated rheumatoid arthritis patients, urticaria was accompanied by an elevation of serum IgE, but other types of skin reactions were not. Moreover, elevation of IgE occurred without any skin reactions in some cases. It is suggested that Levamisole - stimulating T lymphocytes - may also stimulate IgE-mediated atopic responses.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1979

Antibodies to native DNA in connective tissue disease. A comparison of radioimmunoassay, counterimmunoelectrophoresis and indirect immunofluorescence on Crithidia luciliae substrate.

Sera of patients with symptoms of connective tissue diseases were investigated for the presence of antinuclear antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence on rat liver substrate. In positive cases antibodies to native DNA were determined by radioimmunoassay and by counterimmunoelectrophoresis. Twenty seven selected sera were also tested by indirect immunofluorescence on Crithidia luciliae substrate to test the sensitivity and specificity of this method. Immunofluorescent antinuclear antibodies could be found in all groups of connective tissue diseases while anti-native DNA antibody was demonstrated in higher amount only in the cases of systemic lupus erythematosus and therefore determination of anti-native DNA antibody may be helpful in the diagnosis of oligosymptomatic SLE. Counterimmunoelectrophoresis and immunofluorescence on Crithidia smears may serve as screening methods for anti-native DNA while radioimmunoassay provides a quantitative determination, although there are minor differences in the sensitivity and the specificity of these three methods.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Defects in opsonization activity of the serum of patients with chronic arthritis].

The opsonizing capacity of sera from 22 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), from 14 with psoriatic arthritis (AP), from seven with ankylosing spondylitis, and from healthy control persons was investigated by luminol-dependent chemiluminescence, induced during yeast phagocytosis of normal polymorphonuclear leukocytes. The chemiluminescence response using opsonizing sera was compared to that induced by no-opsonized yeast and the opsonizing capacity was expressed as a percentage. For the opsonization, fresh native serum, in some experiments Mg2+-EGTA and EDTA-treated serum, was used. In RA and AP sera, a significantly diminished opsonizing capacity (p less than 0.005) was observed. In healthy controls and in SPA patients, the opsonizing capacity of their sera was over 200%, while in seronegative RA patients, it was only 175%, in seropositive RA 125%, and in AP 150% was measured. There was no correlation between opsonizing capacity and complement or immunoglobulin content of the investigated sera. The amount of C3b, IgG and IgM covalently bound to yeast particles was determined, too. Yeast particles bind significantly less (p less than 0.01) IgG when opsonized with RA and AP sera, while a higher relative amount of IgM (p less than 0.01) was bound to yeast incubated in the sera of seropositive RA patients. No significant differences in the C3b binding were observed.

Arthritis↗