[Carpal tunnel syndrome. Results of electrodiagnostic studies.].

The results of electrodiagnostic studies on 557 hands of 383 patients with the clinical diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) are described. History taking, examination and electrodiagnostic studies were performed by the same neurologist (MPH). The diagnostic sensitivity for the distal motor latency (DML) was 68%, while the sensitivity for the distal sensory latency (DSL) was 77% and the combined sensitivity for these parameters was 83%.

[Carpal tunnel syndrome].

Analysed are the clinical data of 557 involved hands in 383 patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) diagnosed and treated in a private neurological practice in Reykjavik, Iceland over a seven year period. The subjects form a selected group as the patients are referred by medical practitioners or seek assistance on their own initiative. The study involved 241 females and 142 males.

Effect of total lymphoid irradiation on functional status in chronic multiple sclerosis: importance of lymphopenia early after treatment--the pros.

To determine whether immunosuppression by total lymphoid irradiation (TLI) slowed deterioration of chronic progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), functional impairment score and blood lymphocyte counts were compared at 6-month intervals through 4 years following treatment of MS patients by either TLI (n = 27) or sham irradiation (n = 21). At each interval, 20 to 30% fewer TLI-treated patients had deteriorated (p less than 0.05 at 6, 12, and 18 months), and the difference in mean functional impairment score between groups became progressively greater (p less than 0.

T cell subsets and disease progression after total lymphoid irradiation in chronic progressive multiple sclerosis.

T lymphocyte subset percentages were determined in 16 total lymphoid irradiation (TLI) treated and 18 sham treated control patients with chronic progressive multiple sclerosis. During the first year after treatment, the ratio of T helper/inducer to T suppressor/cytotoxic cells (Th/Ts ratio) was significantly higher in sham treated multiple sclerosis patients who worsened clinically compared with TLI treated and sham treated multiple sclerosis patients who remained clinically stable. TLI caused a fall in the percentage of T helper cells in treated patients, while the percentage of T suppressor cells remained stable during the first year after treatment.

Total lymphoid irradiation for multiple sclerosis.

Although chemical immunosuppression has been shown to benefit patients with chronic progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), it appears that chemotherapy has an appreciable oncogenic potential in patients with multiple sclerosis. Accordingly, we developed a modified total lymphoid irradiation (TLI) regimen designed to reduce toxicity and applied it to a randomized double blind trial of TLI or sham irradiation in MS. Standard TLI regimens were modified to reduce dose to 1,980 rad, lowering the superior mantle margin to midway between the thyroid cartilage and angle of the mandible (to avert xerostomia) and the lower margin of the mantle field to the inferior margin of L1 (to reduce gastrointestinal toxicity by dividing abdominal radiation between mantle and inverted Y), limiting spinal cord dose to 1,000 rad by custom-made spine blocks in the mantle and upper 2 cm of inverted Y fields, and also protecting the left kidney even if part of the spleen were shielded.

Total lymphoid irradiation in multiple sclerosis: blood lymphocytes and clinical course.

We have found a significant relationship between blood lymphocyte count and prognosis in 45 patients receiving either total lymphoid irradiation or sham irradiation for chronic progressive multiple sclerosis. Patients with sustained lymphocyte counts less than 900 mm-3 for prolonged periods after treatment showed less rapid progression over the ensuing 3 years than did patients with multiple sclerosis who had lymphocyte counts above this level (p less than 0.01).

Effect of total lymphoid irradiation in chronic progressive multiple sclerosis.

Total lymphoid irradiation (TLI; 1980 cGy) or sham irradiation was given to 40 patients with chronic progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) in a prospective, randomised, double-blind study. During mean follow-up of 21 months, MS patients treated with TLI had less functional decline than sham-irradiated MS patients (p less than 0.01).

The effect of oral corticosteroid dosage on CT enhancing multiple sclerosis plaques.

Fifty high-dose delayed CT scans were performed on 36 patients with definite MS within 4 months of a clinical relapse. The number of enhancing lesions visualized was compared in patients being treated with high- or low-dose oral corticosteroids and untreated controls. High-dose oral corticosteroid treatment significantly but incompletely reduced enhancement of MS plaques.

Effect of high-dose intravenous steroid administration on contrast-enhancing computed tomographic scan lesions in multiple sclerosis.

Six consecutive patients with multiple sclerosis and lesions contrast enhancing on computed tomographic scan were treated with high-dose intravenous infusions of methylprednisolone. Double-dose delayed computed tomographic scans were repeated at varying intervals during corticosteroid treatment. Contrast enhancement of sclerotic plaques was reduced or eliminated within as little as 8 hours after the first infusion.