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Biomedical subjects

M Kotila

Publications and source records attributed to M Kotila.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Pharmacokinetics and metabolism of selegiline.

Selegiline is readily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. It is distributed rapidly into the tissues, including the brain. It is the L-form of selegiline that is an active MAO-B inhibitor, the D-(+)-form being 25 times less active. Selegiline is metabolised into L-(-)-desmethylselegiline (DES), L-(-)-amphetamine (A) and L-(-)-methamphetamine (MA), mainly in the liver. We measured the steady state concentrations of the metabolites in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with Parkinson's or Alzheimer's diseases who were on continuous selegiline therapy. The mean concentrations in serum and CSF were similar, and were not affected by the addition of levodopa. The mean concentrations of patients with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease were 6.5 +/- 2.5 ng/ml for A, 14.7 +/- 6.5 ng/ml for MA and 0.9 +/- 0.7 ng/ml for DES. The metabolites of selegiline were excreted in urine, and the recovery as metabolites was 87%. Due to the stereospecificity and the low CSF concentrations of the (-)amphetamine metabolites during the therapy with 10 mg selegiline, these metabolites do not seem to contribute significantly to the clinical efficacy of selegiline.

Aged

Quality of life 4 years after stroke.

The quality of life for 46 stroke survivors under the age of 65 years in a stroke register was studied 4 years after their first stroke. A questionnaire covering four domains of life (working conditions, activities at home, family relationships, and leisure time activities) was used for investigation of the quality of life. The results showed that in spite of a good recovery in terms of discharge from the hospital, activities of daily living, and return to work, the quality of life of most patients (83%) had not been restored to the prestroke level. Deterioration among the several domains of life ranged from 39% to 80%, the lowest being in the domain of activities at home and the highest in the domain of leisure time activities. Hemispheral localization of the lesion, paresis, coordination disturbances, and especially subjective tendency to depression were highly correlated with a deterioration in the quality of life. Dependence in activities of daily living and an inability to return to work were also associated with the lack of restoration. Our results suggest that much more attention should be paid to the quality of life of stroke patients.

Activities of Daily Living

Dementia after stroke.

The aim of this 4-year follow-up study was to find out how often dementia appears after stroke in unselected material. All patients younger than 65 years (52) still alive 4 years after stroke in a stroke register (total 255 patients) were studied neurologically and neuropsychologically. Three patients with brain infarction filled the criteria for mild dementia. This is more than was to be expected. All 3 demented patients could be classified as multi-infarct dementia. The findings concerning dementia are discussed.

Adolescent

Four-year prognosis of patients under the age of 65 surviving their first ischaemic brain infarction.

A 4-year follow-up study was carried out on the prognosis of 54 patients (36 men and 18 women) who survived their first ischaemic brain infarction which had occurred under the age of 65. Twenty patients (15 men and 5 women) already had documented atherosclerotic vascular disease other than ischaemic brain infarction at the time of the hospital admission (atherosclerotic group). When both sexes were considered together, mortality during the 4-year follow-up was significantly higher in the atherosclerotic group than in the non-atherosclerotic group (6/20 versus 3/34; p less than 0.05) and this was due to an excess of cerebrovascular mortality (4/20 versus 0/34; p less than 0.05). The incidence of recurrent fatal or non-fatal ischaemic brain infarction was significantly higher in the atherosclerotic group than in the non-atherosclerotic group (8/20 versus 3/34; p less than 0.01). Among those patients who survived the 4-year follow-up period the incidence of new non-fatal atherosclerotic vascular events (cerebrovascular accident, myocardial infarction, other heart disease or intermittent claudication) was significantly higher in the atherosclerotic group than in the non-atherosclerotic group (8/14 versus 8/31; p less than 0.05). It is concluded, that the presence of atherosclerotic vascular disease at the time of first ischaemic brain infarction in patients under the age of 65 is associated with a significantly increased risk for recurrent ischaemic brain infarction or other new atherosclerotic vascular events.

Arteriosclerosis

Four-year prognosis of stroke patients with visuospatial inattention.

The four-year prognosis of patients with visuospatial inattention in a stroke register (altogether 255 patients) was studied. Sixty-six surviving patients under the age of 65 were examined neurologically and neuropsychologically after 3 months and 1 year from stroke. Fifty-two of these 66 patients were still reexamined after 4 years from onset. Twelve patients with ischaemic brain infarction had visuospatial inattention: 7 had a clear-cut and contralateral neglect and 5 had milder and less lateralized inattention. The recovery of these 12 patients was poorer in ADL than the other 54 patients. Even when hemiparesis was taken into account, the difference still existed in ADL. The recovery of the 7 neglect patients was poorer than that of the 5 inattention patients. During the follow-up the visuospatial neglect persisted in all 7 cases and the visuospatial inattention disappeared in only one case.

Adult

Dolichols are elevated in brain tissue from Alzheimer's disease, but not in urinary sediment from Alzheimer's disease and Down's syndrome.

Long-chain polyisoprenoid alcohols (dolichols) were measured in different brain regions dissected postmortem from 26 histopathologically confirmed cases of Alzheimer's disease and 24 age-matched nonAlzheimer control patients. They were significantly elevated in all parts of the cerebrum, but not in the cerebellum, of Alzheimer patients. The highest values were found in the temporal cortex and hippocampus. Out of the individual dolichol molecular species, the one with the most isoprene units (C105) was significantly increased in the temporal cortex, hippocampus, and basal forebrain of Alzheimer patients, compared with the controls. Dolichols were normal in the urinary sediment of 10 Alzheimer patients and nine patients with Down's syndrome, in comparison to age-matched controls for both groups. This is in contrast to neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis patients in whom dolichols are elevated in cerebral cortex, as well as in the cells of the urinary sediment, indicating generalized ceroid-lipofuscin storage.

Aged

Epilepsy after stroke.

A retrospective follow-up of 200 consecutive stroke patients [ischemic brain infarction (IBI) 157, intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) 20, subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) 23] who were in need of ambulatory rehabilitation was conducted for a mean period of 40 months after stroke. Epilepsy developed in 33 (17%) patients. The occurrence of epilepsy was 14% in IBI, 15% in ICH, and 35% in SAH. Significantly more patients developed epilepsy in the SAH group than in the IBI group (8 of 23 vs. 22 of 157, p less than 0.05). Of the 33 patients, 15% had their first seizures within the first 2 weeks after stroke, and 55% developed epilepsy in 6 months. Forty-eight percent of the patients had generalized seizures. Antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment was started in 28 of 33 patients, of whom 17 still had seizures during follow-up. Epilepsy was an important consequence of stroke among patients who needed rehabilitation, especially in SAH patients. In most, this was due to arterial spasm leading to IBI.

Anticonvulsants