[Insurance medicine as a specialty].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to I Torstila.
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A randomized double-blind study was made in 67 modestly hypercholesterolemic subjects by replacing 50 g of daily dietary fat by the same amount of a rapeseed oil preparation without and with fat-soluble sitostanol esters. The diet became relatively rich in dietary fat (37%) especially in subjects with a low basal calorie intake. The esters were prepared by transesterification of sitostanol with rapeseed oil fatty acids. The effects of sitostanol esters were studied on serum cholesterol and cholesterol synthesis (measuring cholesterol precursors in serum) and absorption (measuring serum plant sterols). The results were related to different apoE phenotypes. A 6-week regimen of about 3.4 g/day of sitostanol lowered total and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels by 7.5% and 10%, respectively, over that due to rapeseed oil alone. High density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations were unchanged. Thus, the HDL/LDL cholesterol ratio was significantly increased. The decrease in LDL cholesterol level was more consistent in subjects with the epsilon 4 allele than in those with homozygous epsilon 3 alleles. Sitostanol markedly decreased serum campesterol (-46%) and sitosterol (-30%), especially in subjects with the epsilon 4 alleles known to have high cholesterol absorption . The decreases of LDL cholesterol and plant sterols were interrelated, suggesting that reduced cholesterol absorption contributed to the lowering of LDL cholesterol. Serum sitostanol was unchanged, while the serum cholesterol precursors, delta 8-cholestenol, desmosterol, and lathosterol, were compensatorily increased by 10% (P < 0.05), most consistently in the subjects with epsilon 4 alleles, indicating an increase in cholesterol synthesis. The study demonstrates that sitostanol esters dissolved in dietary fat can be recommended for treatment of modest primary hypercholesterolemia and are apparently practical and suitable for cholesterol lowering in a general population.
Complex contact activation systems may play a major role in the side effects of i.v. contrast media (CM). This is why quantitative measurements of several factors (plasma prekallikrein, hematocrit (hct), alpha-2-macroglobulin, alpha-1-antitrypsin, and C1-esterase inhibitor) were determined prior to and following the injection of CM during body CT examination in 5 patient groups, each (n = 10) receiving one of 5 different CM, including ioxaglate, meglumine iodamide, metrizamide, iohexol, and meglumine diatrizoate. The initial plasma prekallikrein level was available from 45 patients and was statistically lower in reactors (mean 90.6 mumol TAMe/ml/h; n = 13) than in nonreactors (mean 107 mumol TAMe/ml/h; n = 32) (p = 0.006), but there was no statistically significant difference in the decrease of plasma prekallikrein before and at 5 min after the injection for those 2 groups. The initial plasma C1-esterase inhibitor level was lower in reactors, while the plasma alpha-2-macroglobulin level was higher in that group than in nonreactors. The results indicate that the measurement of plasma prekallikrein combined with plasma C1-esterase inhibitor and alpha-2-macroglobulin measurement could be useful when predicting which patients are prone to CM reactions.
Complex contact activation systems may have major involvement in side effects of i.v. contrast media. To investigate this, quantitative measurements of several factors (plasma prekallikrein, kallikrein inhibitory activity, haematocrit, alpha-2-macroglobulin, antithrombin III, alpha-1-antitrypsin and beta-thromboglobulin) were made before and after i.v. contrast phlebography in two groups of patients (each containing 21 patients) with no thrombosis, using a high- (meglumine iodamide) and a low-osmolality (ioxaglate) contrast medium. A statistically significant decrease in plasma prekallikrein was observed after the high-osmolality contrast medium, which is a sign of the activation of the kallikrein-kinin system and an indicator of the activation of the intrinsic coagulation. These events may play an important role in the adverse effects of contrast media.
Serial measurements of plasma beta-thromboglobulin concentration were made in 25 patients with acute myocardial infarction. The beta-thromboglobulin level was elevated in 18 patients on the day of presentation and the mean beta-thromboglobulin of the patients (83 ng/ml) differed significantly from the normal mean (26 ng/ml; p less than 0.001). When grouped according to the clinical severity, the most severely affected patients had the highest values (mean 128 ng/ml; n = 11). Two patients with a mild or moderate clinical course had a normal beta-thromboglobulin level throughout the study. The patients showed a distinct pattern in the evolution of the plasma beta-thromboglobulin values. The initial elevation was followed by a decrease in beta-thromboglobulin levels (mean 37 ng/ml on day 3), when only the severely affected patients differed from the normals. The beta-thromboglobulin level started to increase thereafter, reaching in many cases the highest and in some cases the only abnormally high values at the end of the second week (mean 75 ng/ml) in the survivors. The levels were mostly normal again 4-6 months after the infarction.
A case of an adult woman with a Bartter-like syndrome after jejunoileal bypass for obesity is described. Diarrhoea, hypokalaemia, high plasma renin activity, hyperaldosteronism, alkalosis, increased urinary prostaglandin E and hyperplasia of the juxtaglomerular apparatus with low or normal blood pressure were the major features. After corrective surgery the values turned only transiently towards normal, despite permanent disappearance of the diarrhoea. Spironolactone, amiloride or propranolol had no real effect on clinical symptoms or biochemical aberrations. Indomethacin, a prostaglandin synthetase inhibitor, normalized most of the aberrations, but--inexplicably--not the prostaglandinuria.
The effects of gemfibrozil on plasma prekallikrein, kallikrein inhibitors, kininogen and plasma lipids were investigated in 31 male subjects having either type IIA or IIB dyslipidaemia. During gemfibrozil use, plasma prekallikrein and kininogen were increased significantly while kallikrein inhibitors increased only slightly. Total cholesterol and triglycerides decreased while HDL cholesterol was increased. Changes in prekallikrein and HDL cholesterol were correlated, whereas no other significant correlations between changes in lipid and kinin parameters were seen. The observed changes in prekallikrein and kininogen possibly indicate a shift in the thrombo-haemorrhagic balance in favour for increased fibrinolysis. If so, the effects of gemfibrozil in prevention and management of atherosclerosis would not be solely due to correlation of the dyslipidaemia but also to protection against the accelerated coagulation tendency seen in type II dyslipidaemia.
The plasma beta-thromboglobulin level was studied serially in 14 patients with acute myocardial infarction. In 7 patients the plasma beta-thromboglobulin was initially high. The most severely affected patients had the highest values. Three patients with a mild or moderate clinical course had a normal beta-thromboglobulin level at every stage. The remaining patients had a distinct pattern in the evolution of the plasma beta-thromboglobulin values. The initial phase was followed by a uniform fall during the first days and then by an increase. The highest values were in many cases measured at discharge. Platelet counts showed a similar pattern. Signs of activation of platelets were seen before changes in coagulation and fibrinolysis.
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In this prospective study of ice hockey injuries in Finland we have investigated the incidence of injury at two playing levels and the causal factors, mechanisms, types, and consequences of the injuries. Seven Finnish ice hockey teams were observed during the 1988 to 1989 season. There were a total of 189 injuries. There were 134 injuries in 4 teams of the highest level, the Finnish National League, and 55 injuries in 3 teams of the second highest level, Division I. The incidence of injuries during games was 66 per 1000 player-game hours in the National League and 36 per 1000 player-game hours in Division I. As for severity, 10 (5%) injuries were classified as major. Of all injuries, 15 (8%) were fractures and 34 (18%) were to the head or face. The most severe injuries were tears of a knee ligament or fractures of an upper extremity. Ongoing surveillance and an exact reporting system are needed for establishing the trends in the number and severity of the injuries.