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Biomedical subjects

J F Laguna

Publications and source records attributed to J F Laguna.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

A prospective study of physical trauma and multiple sclerosis.

During an eight year period 170 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and 134 controls without physical impairment were followed closely to record all episodes of physical trauma and to measure their effect on exacerbation rate and progression of MS. There was a total of 1407 instances of trauma, which were sorted into various categories. Overall there was no significant correlation between all-traumas and disease activity. There was, however, a statistically significant negative correlation between traumatic episodes and exacerbations in 95 patients who had exacerbations during the programme, due primarily to less activity of the disease during a three month period following surgical procedures and fractures. Electrical injury had a significant positive association with exacerbation using a three month at-risk period, but there were no other significant positive correlations in any other category of trauma, including minor head injuries; there were no cases of head injury with prolonged unconsciousness. There was no linkage between the frequency of trauma and progression of disability. MS patients had two to three times more trauma than controls.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

From letters to words: procedures for word recognition in letter-by-letter reading.

There are two alternative interpretations of how word recognition is accomplished in letter-by-letter reading. One postulates that it relies on the spelling system operating "in reverse," whereas the other claims that it is mediated by the reading system. Because of the close association between patterns of reading and spelling in previously reported cases of letter-by-letter reading, both hypotheses may be considered equally plausible. We now report a patient with letter-by-letter reading who demonstrated a striking dissociation between reading and spelling. Our observations in this patient argue against the concept of "reading via spelling" and suggest that word recognition in letter-by-letter reading is mediated by the orthographic input lexicon used in normal reading.

Agraphia↗
PubMed1979

Paraneoplastic vasculitis of nerve: a remote effect of cancer.

The development of mononeuritis multiplex brought three men to medical attention weeks to months prior to the diagnosis of a malignancy. In each case, sural nerve biopsy exhibited active wallerian degeneration with vasculitis. Two of the men died and at autopsy were found to have clinically unrecognized oat cell carcinoma and carcinomatous sensory neuropathy with brainstem encephalitis. The third patient is still alive but was found to have a lymphoma and has subsequently developed a liposarcoma. The vasculitis in all 3 cases seems limited mainly to the peripheral nervous system. Mononeuritis multiplex due to vasculitis may represent a new remote effect of cancer on the nervous system.

Brain Stem↗
PubMed1978

The modification of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis with epsilon aminocaproic acid.

Epsilon aminocaproic acid, an inhibitor of plasminogen and trypsinogen activators, can decrease the severity of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in rats. The drug was tried because of a number of observations suggesting that neutral proteases, such as plasmin, might be chemical mediators of demyelination. The highest concentrations of plasminogen activator are found in the walls of veins and venules, around which demyelination is common in many demyelinating diseases, including MS. Indeed, the earliest lesion in MS is often demyelination with little cellular infiltration. In vitro studies have shown that neutral proteases secreted by activated macrophages selectively lyse myelin basic protein.

Aminocaproates↗
PubMed1978

Anamnestic studies in multiple sclerosis: a relationship between familial multiple sclerosis and neoplasia.

A survey of family histories of malignant neoplasia in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients indicates that a positive history of cancer in near relatives is present in 44 percent of patients and 46 percent of controls. However, those MS patients having such a positive history were much more likely than others to also have a family history of MS. Contrariwise, MS patients with a positive family history of MS had a significantly higher rate of cancer in first degree relatives (71 percent) than others. There was a trend indicating less cancer in families of MS patients possessing the HLA-B7 and DW2 histocompatibility antigens.

Female↗
PubMed1976

Influenza vaccination in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Vaccination was well tolerated by 93 patients with multiple sclerosis who received a total of 209 doses of influenza vaccine. In one patient, evidence of a new lesion developed after vaccination; the relapse rate was less than would be expected in the natural course of the illness. Toxic and allergic reactions appeared with 7% and 0.5% of the vaccinations, respectively--a rate no higher than that observed in the general population.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1976

Postictal blindness.

Transient loss of vision occasionally follows an epileptic seizure. This rare phenomenon is seen chiefly in children and may be related to the relative electrical instability of the occipital cerebral cortex. Occipital foci are more common in the juvenile electroencephalogram and, with maturity, tend to be seen more rostrally in the temporal areas. We have seen three cases of postictal blindness in children; all have cleared within 24 hours.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Acquired esotropia as initial manifestation of Arnold-Chiari malformation.

A 13-year-old patient originally presented with a divergence palsy and gaze-evoked nystagmus. Over a short period of time, the esotropia became increasingly comitant and was successfully treated with strabismus surgery. Three years later, she developed downbeat nystagmus. An Arnold-Chiari Malformation could only be demonstrated using nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Subsequent neurosurgical decompression resulted in resolution of the downbeat nystagmus with maintenance of single binocularity.

Adolescent↗