Choroidal neovascularization with retinal pigment epithelial folds.
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Aged↗
Biomedical subjects
B Lindblom
Publications and source records attributed to B Lindblom.
Confocal fundus imaging with a scanning laser ophthalmoscope in eyes with cataract.
AIMS/BACKGROUND: The study aimed to determine the influence of increased intraocular light scatter on the contrast in scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) images and to examine to what extent SLO images can visualise the fundus through media opacities due to cataract. METHODS: Intraocular light scatter was estimated from measurements of letter contrast sensitivity before and after cataract surgery in five eyes. SLO images were obtained before and after surgery using confocal apertures of 1, 2, 4, and 10 mm, at laser wavelengths of 633 and 780 nm. Visibility of the fundus was determined by measurements of retinal contrast. SLO images were compared with standard fundus photographs. RESULTS: SLO images obtained before surgery revealed details of the retina that were unresolvable in the fundus photographs because of light scattering. By using one of the three smallest apertures, image contrast was further improved. However, no simple relations between aperture size, estimated light scatter, and image contrast could be found. CONCLUSION: SLO imaging was found to be superior to fundus photography for viewing the retina in eyes with cataract. Owing to the inhomogeneous nature of cataracts, the optimal choice of confocal aperture and laser wavelength is not simple and must be individualised.
Aged↗
[Myoma: uterus can be saved with new therapeutic methods].
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Adult↗
Linguistic experience alters phonetic perception in infants by 6 months of age.
Linguistic experience affects phonetic perception. However, the critical period during which experience affects perception and the mechanism responsible for these effects are unknown. This study of 6-month-old infants from two countries, the United States and Sweden, shows that exposure to a specific language in the first half year of life alters infants' phonetic perception.
Analysis of Variance↗
Calculation of restriction fragment lengths by image processing.
The image processing system, LabEye Profile, calculates the size of DNA restriction fragments according to the formula MD = f(x); x = 1/log bp. The migration distances (MD) of known fragment sizes are interpolated by the use of cubic splines. Cubic splines are also used to correct for gel distortions. A comparison to the Biotrac system, which uses the reciprocal method, gives almost identical standard deviations for calculated sizes compared to known sizes, 0.88% for LabEye Profile and 0.89% for Biotrac. The measurement error for LabEye Profile is 0.24% of the size of the fragments.
Base Composition↗
Effects of laser-induced retinal lesions on perimetric thresholds.
Differential light sensitivity and high-pass resolution thresholds were studied before and after pan-retinal photocoagulation in subjects with proliferative diabetic retinopathy. The photocoagulated retinal area was measured and the relative change in ganglion cell separation was estimated. The change in differential light thresholds after treatment, when expressed in decibels, appeared to be linearly related to the calculated change in ganglion cell separation. At present, this empirical finding lacks a theoretical explanation. For high-pass resolution, theory predicts a direct proportionality between the change in ganglion cell separation and resolution threshold. This relationship was confirmed, supporting the claim that high-pass resolution directly reflects the number of functional retino-cortical neural channels.
Adult↗
Fertility outcome after conservative surgical treatment of ectopic pregnancy evaluated in a randomized trial.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the fertility outcome after laparoscopic surgery for ectopic pregnancy. DESIGN: A randomized trial versus laparotomy was performed between May 1987 and June 1989. SETTING: The study was conducted in a clinical university center, the Sahlgrens Hospital. PATIENTS: A group of 105 patients with tubal pregnancy were stratified with regard to risk determinants and age and randomized to laparoscopy or laparotomy. Eighty-seven patients who desired pregnancy were evaluated for subsequent fertility outcome. INTERVENTIONS: Linear salpingotomy was performed in both surgical groups. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: We evaluated the fertility outcome after laparoscopic salpingotomy for comparison with the outcome after laparotomy. RESULTS: There was no difference between the groups in the overall fertility outcome. A substantially higher proportion of patients in the laparotomy group were subjected to adhesiolysis performed at a second-look laparoscopy. CONCLUSIONS: The fertility prospects are not impaired by laparoscopic surgery. Adhesiolysis at a second-look laparoscopy, especially after laparotomy, might be beneficial in selected cases and may serve to improve subsequent fertility.
Female↗
High-pass resolution perimetry in neuro-ophthalmology. Clinical impressions.
High-pass resolution perimetry is a new technique for visual field testing that determines extrafoveal resolution thresholds. The authors used this method in a neuro-ophthalmology clinic and compared it with other visual field tests. The main advantages of the technique were the short test time and the strong preference by patients for this technique over conventional automated perimetry. The sensitivity and specificity of the test seemed to be as good as or better than conventional perimetry. A minor disadvantage was its slightly less precise spatial definition of field defects. In this report, the authors present their experiences with this new perimetric technique.
Adult↗
Optic nerve sheath meningioma. Definition of intraorbital, intracanalicular, and intracranial components with magnetic resonance imaging.
Magnetic resonance imaging with fat saturation after the administration of gadolinium-DTPA can detect and demarcate meningioma of the optic nerve sheath with a precision not attainable with any other current imaging technique. This article describes some of the clinical implications of this technique and illustrates the appearance of this tumor on magnetic resonance images.
Adolescent↗
Placental protein 14 in human in-vitro fertilization early pregnancies.
Placental protein 14 (PP14) and human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) were analysed in patients participating in an in-vitro fertilization-embryo transfer programme which did not include any kind of luteal support. Women with normal pregnancies, spontaneous abortions, ectopic pregnancies, biochemical pregnancies and non-pregnant women were compared. A combination of HCG and PP14 analyses distinguished between normal and abnormal implantation as early as 15 days after oocyte retrieval. The product of HCG (IU/l) and PP14 (micrograms/l) concentrations differed significantly between normal pregnancy, spontaneous abortion and ectopic pregnancy (P = 0.0248). It is concluded that both endometrial (PP14) and trophoblastic (HCG) markers, when used in combination, exhibit changes in abnormal implantation which may be clinically useful.
Abortion, Spontaneous↗
Spatial uncertainty in stereoacuity tests: implications for clinical vision test design.
In an attempt to design a new stereo vision test we found that the spatial uncertainty effect had substantial impact on the measured stereo acuity thresholds. This effect is present whenever there is uncertainty of where the critical information occurs in a visual target. We studied the spatial uncertainty effect for stereo acuity and for line length estimation. In addition, we determined the temporal uncertainty effect in a stereoacuity test. In foveal vision, uncertainty effects increased visual thresholds, sometimes dramatically. For example, for an uncertainty factor of 25 (i.e., the critical information occurred randomly in any of 25 positions) stereo thresholds increased more than four-fold compared to those obtained without uncertainty. Although the uncertainty effect has been well described theoretically, we think that it is not always appreciated in the design of clinical or experimental visual tests. In tests aimed at determining visual thresholds, spatial and temporal uncertainty factors should be minimized.
Adult↗
Uncertainty effects in orientation discrimination of foveally seen lines in human observers.
1. The effect of spatial uncertainty on line orientation thresholds was studied in normal observers. Vertical lines, 5 min of arc long, built up a matrix in which one of the line elements could be tilted to the left or right. The orientation thresholds depended strongly on the number of alternative test positions. There was a linear relation between log (threshold) and log (P), where P is the probability that a particular line element was the one being tested. 2. The uncertainty effect was shown to be time dependent. The effect was more marked for the shortest stimulus duration (1 s). However, even with a 6 s stimulus duration, allowing several re-fixations, the thresholds were significantly higher in the presence of uncertainty, compared to the situation in which the test position was fixed and known to the observer. 3. When the measurements were restricted to the centre line in a matrix, thresholds were more than twice as high when the test line could be in any of the centre 3 x 3 positions, compared to the case in which there was no uncertainty as to the test position. Foreknowledge of location of the test line within the matrix improved the threshold further, even if the whole matrix was displaced to different retinal positions. 4. It is concluded that the physiological mechanism mediating threshold improvement probably operates on a cortical processing apparatus more central than V1.
Adult↗
Formant frequency estimates for abruptly changing area functions: a comparison between calculations and measurements.
Vocal tract area functions may contain quite abrupt changes in cross-sectional area. In formant frequency calculations for such area functions, an inner length correction (ILC) should be applied. The relevance of this correction was investigated by comparing acoustic measurements obtained from a physical model of the vocal tract with data gathered by means of computer simulations. Calculating formant frequencies without applying internal length corrections caused substantial errors, particularly for area functions representing apical stops just anterior to occlusion. Decentering and axial symmetry in the arrangement of the area elements of the physical model were briefly studied and found to have effects on the formant frequency values.
Humans↗
Differential diagnosis of early human pregnancies: impact of different diagnostic measures.
A total of 261 women in early pregnancy, either with mild symptoms of ectopic pregnancy (EP) or being at an increased risk for this condition, were included in a longitudinal study. The effectiveness of different diagnostic measures in obtaining correct final diagnoses was analyzed. In addition to clinical findings and symptoms, the use of serum human chorionic gonadotropin, serum progesterone, endovaginal sonography and a risk score for EP were all proven to be valuable in distinguishing normal intrauterine pregnancies from pathological pregnancies.
Chorionic Gonadotropin↗
Intestinal symptoms and serological response in patients with complicated and uncomplicated Yersinia enterocolitica infections.
Clinical course, serological response and effect of antibiotic treatment were evaluated in 34 patients with uncomplicated enterocolitis and in 27 patients with reactive arthritis (ReA) due to Yersinia enterocolitica. Patients participating in this prospective multicentre trial were randomised to treatment or no treatment with antibiotics. Only 3 (11%) of the patients who later developed ReA asked for medical care because of intestinal symptoms and fever and they all developed arthritis within 2 days after admission to hospital, i.e. before an etiological diagnosis was obtained. Patients with ReA had a history of milder intestinal symptoms than patients with uncomplicated enterocolitis. The peak IgA titer to Y. enterocolitica, as measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, was higher in ReA patients and it was not affected by the presence of HLA-B27 antigen. On the other hand, untreated patients with uncomplicated enterocolitis had the longest duration of IgG antibodies. The duration of IgG antibody response was shortened in uncomplicated enterocolitis patients treated with antibiotics, but not in ReA patients. Treatment did not influence intestinal or ReA symptoms. It is concluded, that patients with uncomplicated enterocolitis due to Y. enterocolitica differ in intestinal symptoms and serological response, compared with patients who develop ReA. These parameters could however not be used to predict the development of arthritis in individual patients.
Abdominal Pain↗
Low-dose oral methotrexate as second-line therapy for persistent trophoblast after conservative treatment of ectopic pregnancy.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of methotrexate as second-line treatment for ectopic pregnancy. Oral methotrexate was used in 15 patients with evidence of persistent trophoblast after conservative laparoscopic surgery for tubal pregnancy. The treatment was successful in 14 of 15 cases, and the mean time for decline of serum hCG to nonpregnant levels was 24 days. In the remaining case, hCG continued to rise. Side effects were noticed, even at a low dosage, but only in those subjects not receiving citrovorum rescue. As an alternative to a second operation, oral methotrexate appears to be an effective and well-tolerated therapy for persistent trophoblast.
Chorionic Gonadotropin↗
Ectopic pregnancy: laparoscopic and medical treatment.
Today ectopic pregnancies can be recognized before the appearance of dramatic symptoms, mainly because of improved diagnostic methods, eg, endovaginal sonography and serial human chorionic gonadotropin determinations. The condition can therefore be treated by more elegant methods and emergency laparotomy is seldom indicated. A variety of new surgical modalities have been introduced during recent years: laparoscopic salpingotomy, tubal resection, or salpingectomy. Large-scale trials have documented the advantages of the techniques in terms of operative time, hospitalization, and convalescence, although the risk for retained trophoblast may be increased. Systemic medical treatment with methotrexate is effective in approximately 95% of cases. In addition, minimally invasive methods such as local medical therapy have been designed: transabdominal, transvaginal, and transuterine injection of compounds such as prostaglandins, methotrexate, and hyperosmolar glucose. So far, large-scale, randomized trials are lacking and the techniques should still be considered investigational.
Female↗
Diagnosis and treatment of tubal pregnancy as related to risk determinants.
To evaluate whether identification of 'high risk' patients for ectopic pregnancy (EP) is beneficial for early recognition and treatment, 178 cases of tubal pregnancy were analysed. Patients with 'high risk' and 'low risk' for EP were compared for diagnostic procedures, clinical features and surgical management. The 'high risk' patients presented a shorter gestational length, lower blood loss volume, a smaller size of the tubal gestation, a lower rate of tubal rupture and underwent more conservative treatment. We conclude that identification of risk determinants may be of great importance for early recognition and hence, application of the new modalities for treatment of ectopic pregnancy.
Adult↗