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Biomedical subjects

C Franck

Publications and source records attributed to C Franck.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Prevalence of objective eye manifestations in people working in office buildings with different prevalences of the sick building syndrome compared with the general population.

A cross-sectional clinical epidemiological study was carried out among 169 office workers in four Copenhagen town halls with different prevalences of the sick building syndrome. The results were compared with those in 112 subjects randomly selected from the general population. Biomicroscopic eye manifestations, such as premature break-up of the precorneal tear film, absence of foam at the inner eye canthus and epithelial damage of the bulbar conjunctiva, were investigated together with self-reported eye complaints. Although intercorrelated, the objective eye manifestations independently were statistically associated with self-reported eye complaints in office workers. The prevalence of the objective eye manifestations was significantly elevated in office workers compared with the general population and most pronounced for the buildings with a high prevalence of the sick building syndrome (P < 0.001). In the general population, subjects with a non-industrial occupation, including office workers, had a significantly higher prevalence of objective eye manifestations than those with an industrial occupation (P = 0.03), but the prevalence was still significantly lower than that among the office workers in buildings with a high prevalence of the sick building syndrome (P < 0.001). Since possible confounders were found not to explain the difference in prevalence of objective eye manifestations and complaints among the two populations, it is concluded that the office environment (buildings and/or type of office work) promotes these objective changes accompanied by self-reported complaints.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Break-up time and lissamine green epithelial damage in 'office eye syndrome'. Six-month and one-year follow-up investigations.

Break-up time and lissamine green epithelial damage were re-investigated among 90 office workers after six months in 60 and after one year in 73. There was fairly good correlation with a rank correlation of about 0.40 between both break-up time and lissamine green staining epithelial damage at the initial investigation and at the two re-investigations. All correlations were found highly statistically significant. The results indicate that the manifestation of dry eyes in office workers to a great extent is chronic and without seasonal variation, at least as long as the subject remains in the office environment.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1991

Fatty layer of the precorneal film in the 'office eye syndrome'.

The thickness of the fatty layer of the precorneal film was estimated by the semiquantitative inteference method in 70 office workers from two town halls in Copenhagen County and compared with that in 110 controls from the general population. There were significant correlations between use of eye make-up and a thin fatty layer (less than or equal to 50 nm, P = 0.023) and between investigation time before 12 h and a thick fatty layer (greater than or equal to 150 nm, P = 0.046). After correction for these confounders, the fatty layer was significantly reduced in the office population compared with the controls (P = 0.0032). Furthermore, absence of biomicroscopically dry eyes (expressed as a combination of premature break-up of the tear film and lissamine green-stained epithelial damage of the bulbar conjunctiva) was significantly correlated to a thick fatty layer (greater than or equal to 150 nm, P = 0.015), indicating that a thick fatty layer may protect the eyes against development of dry eyes. The results indicate that deficiency in available Meibomina oil is involved in the dry eye syndrome we earlier found to be associated with eye irritation in the office environment and termed the 'office eye syndrome'. Together with observation of foam in the eye canthus, estimation of break-up time, and examination for clusters of epithelial damage on the bulbar conjunctiva, measurement of the fatty layer appears to be an easy tool for diagnosing the 'office eye syndrome' or for differentiating this disorder from other conditions with complaints of dryness or irritation.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Long-term changes in the outer part of the eye in welders. Prevalence of spheroid degeneration, pinguecula, pterygium, and corneal cicatrices.

Biomicroscopical examination of possible cumulative changes in the outer part of the eye in 217 male welders with variable welding exposure time showed conjunctival spheroid degeneration in 24% of the welders. The prevalence of changes was significantly increased in welders with the higher exposure time in an age-matched reduced material (98 x 2 eyes; respectively, over and under 40 h.y (number of daily hours of welding multiplied by number of years of welding), welders with stays abroad over one year being withdrawn. The prevalence was also increased in the latter group (41%, N = 40, against 21%, N = 177). Pinguecula was present in 57% of the welders, with a tendency towards larger area with increasing welding exposure. The frequency was increased as compared with that in a control material examined on a previous occasion (41%). Pterygium proper was found in only one subject, pseudopterygium in 5%. Corneal cicatrices were present in about one half of the subjects. The prevalence increased with increasing welding exposure (24% in subjects with short, 42% in those with long exposure; 98 x 2 eyes). Acute welding light keratopathy was experienced by 73%. The mean number of attacks in the 217 welders was 6.4. The frequency was highest in subjects with long welding exposure. The risk of chronic impairment of sight owing to cumulative welding light injuries is very little in the present material, since only 2% had spheroid degeneration on the cornea (only discrete, peripherally located); there was no preponderance of pterygium. On the other hand, the many foreign bodies on the cornea (cicatrices) constitute a risk that apparently does not decrease with increasing welding experience nor repeated attacks of welding light keratopathy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Fractionation of elastase-type enzyme activity in biological fluids using a centrifugal analyser.

We here describe a simple, rapid and sensitive spectrophotometric method for fractionation of elastase-type enzyme activity on a centrifugal analyser using the chromogenic substrate Suc-[Ala]3-pNA. For quantitation of metalloelastase and serine elastase, respectively, the method utilizes 20mM EDTA as ametalloenzyme inhibitor and the serine enzyme inhibitor soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI) in a final concentration of 2.5 g/l. Containing both serine- and metalloelastase, a pool of synovial fluids from patients with rheumatoid arthritis was used. The method is suitable for clinical studies on different body fluids or cell constituents. The investigation points out the necessity of using inhibitors when chromogenic substrates are used to measure elastase activity in biological fluids.

Body Fluids↗