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Biomedical subjects

J J Nordlund

Publications and source records attributed to J J Nordlund.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Psychological reaction to chronic skin disorders: a study of patients with vitiligo.

Diseases that cause physical handicaps can seriously interfere with the life of a patient. Some disorders such as vitiligo cosmetically disfigure patients without producing any physical disabilities. The effects of such diseases as vitiligo on the life of a patient have not been widely investigated. The investigation reported here utilized a questionnaire survey to focus on emotional disturbances caused by vitiligo and on the factors that differentiated patients who cope well from those who cope poorly with this stress. The results indicate that the cosmetic disfigurement of a seemingly inconsequential skin disease also can seriously disrupt the lives of a large number of patients. Those who cope well with their disfigurement have higher self-esteem than a matched control group without the disorder. Those who cope poorly have significantly lower self-esteem, which suggests that response to disfiguring diseases is affected by basic ego strength. Younger patients and those individuals in the lower socioeconomic groups show especially poor adjustment. A number of suggestions for better patient care are offered.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1979

Ocular abnormalities occurring with vitiligo.

One hundred twelve patients with vitiligo were examined for ocular abnormalities. Discrete areas of depigmentation with associated pigment hyperplasia clinically appearing to involve the choroid and retinal pigment epithelium were observed in 44 patients, and active uveitis was seen in nine patients. The changes observed suggest that the spectrum of diseases that includes Harada's disease and the Vogt-Koyanagi syndrome may be broader than previously appreciated. Patients with these syndromes may represent the most severe examples of vitiligo and uveal inflammation. The occurrence of symptoms of night blindness in 12 patients and a family history of retinitis pigmentosa in two of these may signify a possible malfunction of the retinal pigment epithelium. Further evidence for a pigment epithelium disorder is suggested by the high incidence of an unusually prominent choroidal pattern in these patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Persistence of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 in infected individuals.

During a 23-month period, 18 patients with facial or genital herpetic lesions were examined; culture specimens from each patient were obtained three times per week for virologic studies. The isolated viruses were identified, and the average duration of herpesvirus in lesions was determined. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) was isolated from facial lesions for a mean duration of 3 1/2 days. In contrast, herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) was isolated from genital lesions for a mean duration of 5 1/2 days. The duration of viral persistence in lesions of patients with mild primary infection did not seem to differ from that in patients with recurrent infection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Vitiligo, chronic thrombocytopenia, and autoimmune hemolytic anemia.

A 12-year-old boy with vitiligo, chronic thrombocytopenia, and a Coombs's positive autoimmune hemolytic anemia was treated with oral psoralens and exposure to ultraviolet light. An acute hemolytic crisis developed and he died. The association of autoimmune hemolytic anemia and vitilligo should be looked for in other cases. Until more information is available, patients with vitiligo and thrombocytopenia should not be treated with psoralens and exposure to ultraviolet light.

Anemia, Hemolytic, Autoimmune↗
PubMed1977

The effects of oral melatonin on skin color and on the release of pituitary hormones.

We studied the effects of prolonged ingestion of melatonin, 1 g per day, on skin color and the serum levels of pituitary hormones in 5 human subjects with hyperpigmented skin. Melatonin lightened hyperpigmented skin of one patient with untreated adrenogenital syndrome, but had no effect on three patients' skin with idiopathic hyperpigmentation and one patient with treated Addison's disease. Melatonin appeared to depress the level of luteinizing hormone (LH) in serum and may have inhibited in some patients the release of growth hormone from the pituitary gland after stimulation by stress or L-dopa. The subjects all noted increased drowsiness but through studies on the eyes, liver, kidneys, and bone marrow revealed no other evidence of toxicity.

17-Hydroxycorticosteroids↗
PubMed1977

On the cause of green hair.

Two silver-blond young women developed green, tinted hair from exposure to tap water containing excessive amounts of copper. Results from analyses of tracemetal content of hair as an indication of excessive ingestion, systemic toxicity, or metabolic derangement should be interpreted with caution in view of the demonstrated ease of external contamination from common sources.

Adsorption↗
PubMed1977

Hypomelanosis of Ito.

Hypomelanosis of Ito appears to be a disorder of hypopigmentation. Findings from histochemical and electronmicroscopic studies indicate that pigment cells from the hypopigmented areas have short dendrites and synthesize less than normal amounts of melanin. The syndrome may have two forms; a cutaneous and neurocutaneous variety. In the more severe neurocutaneous variety, the phenotypic pigmentary abnormalities probably reflect a biochemical defect in all tissues derived from the neuro-ectodermal anlage.

Adult↗