Frontal dysfunction blocks the therapeutic effect of THA on attention in Alzheimer's disease.

We evaluated the effect of a single dose of a cholinesterase inhibitor, tetrahydroaminoacridine (THA; 25 and 50 mg, orally), on attention in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). THA 50 mg improved performance in attentional measures (Trail Making Test, Big/Little Circle, Simple and Choice Reaction Time) in nine of 28 patients with AD. We analysed retention of 99mTc-labelled ethylene dicysteinate (ECD) in the cortical areas using single photon emission computed tomography.

Flexion relaxation of the hamstring muscles during lumbar-pelvic rhythm.

Objective: This study investigated the simultaneous activity of back muscles and hamstring muscles during sagittal forward body flexion and extension in healthy persons. The study was cross-sectional.

Design: A descriptive study of paraspinal and hamstring muscle activity in normal persons during lumbar-pelvic rhythm.

Results and views of women in population-wide pregnancy screening for trisomy 21 in east Finland.

The serum screening test for trisomy 21 was offered to all pregnant women in East Finland during 1993. The results and the women's views on trisomy screening are reported here. A total of 9,343 (89%) of the pregnant women participated in the screening.

Serum tumour markers CEA, AFP, CA 15-3, TPS and Neu in diagnosis of breast cancer.

The aim of the present study was to assess the clinical value of five serum tumour markers AFP, CA 15-3, CEA, TPS and Neu oncoprotein (p 185) in the diagnosis of breast cancer. The serum values were measured in a prospective series of patients with breast cancer (n = 233), benign breast disease (n = 176) and healthy control subjects (n = 215). The cut-off levels (90% specificity) were determined for each test.

Comparison of tropisetron, droperidol, and saline in the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting after gynecologic surgery.

This study was performed to compare the efficacy of tropisetron, droperidol, and saline in the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and to compare the possible adverse effects of these drugs in gynecologic incontinence surgery. Using a randomized, double-blind study design, we studied 150 women undergoing gynecologic incontinence surgery with standardized general anesthesia. At the end of surgery, the patients received either tropisetron 5 mg, droperidol 1.

Familial intracranial aneurysms.

Background: We set out to determine the prevalence of incidental intracranial aneurysms in first-degree relatives aged 30 years or more of people with intracranial aneurysms, and to see if polycystic kidney disease contributes to the aggregation of familial intracranial aneurysms.

Methods: 91 families with two or more affected members had previously been identified from a 14 year series of 1150 intracranial aneurysm patients treated at the University Hospital of Kuopio, Finland. Magnetic resonance angiography was used as a preliminary screening method, followed by conventional four-vessel angiography to verify suspected aneurysms.

The ability of THA treatment to increase cortical alpha waves is related to apolipoprotein E genotype of Alzheimer disease patients.

In a previous study, we reported that Alzheimer disease (AD) patients with an apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilon 4 allele (+ APOE4) show more severe loss of nucleus basalis (NB) cholinergic cells than patients without epsilon 4 alleles (-APOE4). The present study investigates the effects of a single oral administration of THA 25 or 50 mg on cortical spectral EEG activity in + (five APOE4/4, six APOE4/3) and -APOE4 (eight APOE3/3) AD patients. THA 25 mg had no significant effect on EEG activity in any AD patients.

Relationship between EEG reactivity and neuropsychological tests in vascular dementia.

17 patients with vascular dementia (VaD) representing moderate to severe stage of the disease and 11 age-matched control subjects were examined with spectral analysis of EEG and a neuropsychological test battery comprising visual, praxic, verbal and memory functions as well as Mini-Mental Status test. VaD patients did not have less activity in the alpha band than control subjects, but the alpha amplitude ratio between eyes closed (EC) and eyes open (EO) situations (EC/EO ratio) was decreased in VaD patients, compared to controls. In VaD the variables of the awake background EEG with eyes closed (amplitude of alpha, beta, theta and delta activity; mean frequency) had only a few correlations to neuropsychological test scores.

Contrast sensitivity in patients with silicone intraocular lenses.

Contrast sensitivity in 64 patients aged from 50 to 69 years with an intraocular lens (IOL) was studied. There were 23 eyes with a silicone and 31 eyes with a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) IOL. Ten patients had a silicone IOL in one eye and a PMMA IOL in the other.

Age-dependent correlation of low-back pain and lumbar disc regeneration.

The prevalence of lumbar disc degeneration in subjects suffering from low-back pain (n = 207; age range 10-49 years) and in age-matched asymptomatic controls (n = 216) was investigated by magnetic resonance imaging. The percentage of subjects with degenerated discs increased with age; starting from the age of 15 years, this increase was more rapid in subjects with low-back pain. Concurrently, the number of degenerated discs was higher in the pain group than in controls.

Reactivity of tixocortol pivalate-positive patients in intradermal and oral provocation tests.

Pivalone/tixocortol pivalate commonly yields positive reactions in the patch test series. The clinical relevance of these positive reactions was investigated in more detail. In the standard patch test series 5.

Long-term cognitive and EEG effects of tiagabine in drug-resistant partial epilepsy.

A new anti-epileptic drug, tiagabine, is a potent inhibitor of GABA uptake into neurons and glia. Tiagabine has shown promising efficacy and safety profiles as add-on treatment for partial seizures. We evaluated the long-term effects of tiagabine on cognition and EEG in 37 patients with partial epilepsy.

Elevated midtrimester maternal serum hCG in chromosomally normal pregnancies is associated with preeclampsia and velamentous umbilical cord insertion.

This study was undertaken to determine whether patients with unexplained, elevated second-trimester maternal serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) concentrations are at increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcome. In a retrospective study, perinatal outcomes of 355 patients showing elevated second-trimester maternal serum hCG concentrations (> or = 2.0 multiples of median) were compared with those of patients from the same clinic showing normal values (N = 4935), using multiple regression analysis.

Prognostic factors in gastric cancer: the value of vascular invasion, mitotic rate and lymphoplasmacytic infiltration.

A retrospective analysis of 321 gastric cancer patients was made to assess the prognostic value of TNM classification, tumour differentiation, Laurén classification, proliferative rate, inflammatory reaction and tumour invasion in vascular or neural structures of the gastric wall. The TNM classification showed the strongest correlation with survival in univariate and multivariate analyses (P < 0.0001).

Effect of in vitro fertilization on human chorionic gonadotropin serum concentrations and Down's syndrome screening.

Objective: To investigate the association between IVF and Down's syndrome screening analytes (alpha-fetoprotein [AFP] and hCG) during the second trimester.

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Setting: University-based tertiary care infertility clinic.

Uterine malformation: a cause of elevated maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein concentrations.

This study was undertaken to investigate the association between uterine anomalies and unexplained elevated maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP) concentrations during the early second trimester. The incidence of uterine anomalies was retrospectively evaluated among pregnant women showing elevated (> 2.5 multiples of the median) mid-trimester maternal serum AFP (N = 312) concentrations in otherwise normal singleton pregnancies and then compared with that amongst patients from the same clinic showing normal serum AFP results (N = 28410).

Endometrial and fetoplacental markers in pregnancies with fetal congenital nephrosis.

Objective: Congenital nephrotic syndrome of the Finnish type [CNF] is an autosomal recessive disorder leading to death in early childhood, if treated conservatively without early renal transplantation. Prenatal screening at midtrimester is feasible by measuring maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein [MSAFP], elevated amniotic fluid [AF] AFP being the only diagnostic test in population screening. We studied whether concentrations of other pregnancy-related markers offer any ancillary procedure for screening.

Blood loss in long-term aspirin users undergoing transurethral prostatectomy.

As aspirin is now widely used for preventing recurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disorders, many men selected for transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) are aspirin users. The previous indication for aspirin as a preoperatively administered antithrombotic agent is no longer common. In this study we investigated the blood loss in long-term aspirin users (250 mg/day) undergoing TURP.

Cognitive Adverse Effects of Antiepileptic Drugs : Incidence, Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications.

Several early studies suggested that differences exist between antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in terms of their propensity to cause adverse effects on cognitive functions, favouring carbamazepine over phenobarbital (phenobarbitone), phenytoin and valproic acid (sodium valproate). The combined results of recent studies in patients and healthy volunteers reveal that at therapeutic serum concentrations phenobarbital, phenytoin, carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine and valproic acid produce nearly comparable adverse effects on higher cognitive functions.The newer AEDs (with the exception of zonisamide and topiramate) appear to induced fewer cognitive adverse effects than the older agents.

Early surgery improves the cure of aneurysm-induced oculomotor palsy.

Background: Aneurysm of the internal carotid-posterior communicating artery (ICA-PCoA) is the most frequent cause of sudden unilateral oculomotor palsy. Timely surgery for the aneurysm is the most important factor for third nerve recovery.

Methods: We scrutinized the world literature with nearly one thousand cases of isolated unilateral oculomotor palsy caused by intracranial aneurysms and treated with surgery.

Effects of combined block of alpha 1-adrenoceptors and NMDA receptors on spatial and passive avoidance behavior in rats.

The present study was designed to investigate the interactions between alpha 1-adrenoceptors and NMDA receptors in modulating spatial navigation and passive avoidance behavior in rats. Pretraining treatment with prazosin, and alpha 1-adrenoceptor antagonist, at 2 mg/kg i.p.

Contact allergy to gold in dental patients.

Gold sodium thiosulphate (GSTS) in patch test series commonly yields positive reactions. In this study of dental patients, the clinical relevance of these positive reactions, the suitability of gold compounds as patch test materials, and value of the lymphocyte proliferation test in gold contact allergy, were evaluated. The frequency of positive patch test reactions to GSTS was 12.

Magnetic resonance angiographic screening for asymptomatic intracranial aneurysms: the problem of false negatives: technical case report.

To emphasize the limitations of magnetic resonance angiographic screening for intracranial aneurysms, we present the case of a patient with a false-negative screening result, unfortunately advancing to rupture of the aneurysm. An asymptomatic woman underwent magnetic resonance angiographic screening in an investigational setting. Three years later, she had an onset of sudden headache, after which her condition rapidly deteriorated.

Prenatal screening for congenital nephrosis in east Finland: results and impact on the birth prevalence of the disease.

Congenital nephrosis of the Finnish type (CNF) is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait which maps to the long arm of chromosome 19. The disease causes massive proteinuria, and renal transplantation in early neonatal life is the only effective treatment. Prenatal diagnosis, usually in high-risk families, depends on the analysis of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels in maternal serum (MS) or amniotic fluid (AF).

Dural arteriovenous fistulas of superior sagittal sinus: case report and review of literature.

A case report and review of the literature of 16 dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) involving the superior sagittal sinus region are presented. In our case, magnetic resonance angiography detected the DAVF with multiple arterial feeding vessels from both external carotid arteries. The patient was successfully treated endovascularly, with complete occlusion of arterial feeders and a total resolution of symptoms.