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K Olafsson

Publications and source records attributed to K Olafsson.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Fluvoxamine in the treatment of demented elderly patients: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

The efficacy of fluvoxamine on cognitive functioning and behavioral changes was evaluated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 46 elderly demented patients. The patients had a DSM-III diagnosis of primary degenerative dementia or multi-infarct dementia and were aged greater than or equal to 65 years. Twenty-two patients were given 150 mg fluvoxamine per day and 24 received placebo tablets; 14 and 15 patients, respectively, completed 6 weeks of treatment. Within treatments, there were no significant changes in median scores on neuropsychological tests (picture recall and recognition, trail making and finger tapping) or the GBS scale scores (degrees of dementia) or GBS subscale score (clinical profiles, including symptoms common in dementia, motor, emotional and intellectual functioning). Between treatments, the median changes in psychometric test scores did not differ significantly. However, within and between treatments, there were trends favoring fluvoxamine on symptoms common in dementia (confusion, irritability, anxiety, fear-panic, mood level and restlessness). In conclusion, the study does not support the hypothesis that fluvoxamine improves cognitive functioning or behavioral changes in elderly dementia patients.

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PubMed1991

Prolactin responses to thyrotropin-releasing hormone in multi-infarct dementia and senile dementia of the Alzheimer type.

The serum prolactin (PRL) responses to stimulation with thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) (500 micrograms Protirelin) were compared in 14 patients with multi-infarct dementia (MID) and 10 patients with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT). Between the MID and the SDAT patients, there were no statistically significant differences in the median serum PRL concentrations, median changes in serum PRL concentrations or median proportional changes in serum PRL concentrations. Further, the serum PRL responses did not correlate with the GBS scale scores (degrees of dementia) or the GBS subscale scores (clinical profiles, including motor functioning, emotional functioning and intellectual functioning). In conclusion, the study does not support the hypothesis that serum PRL responses to TRH stimulation are of diagnostic value in differentiating between MID and SDAT.

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PubMed1991

Variation of HIV infectibility of macrophages as a function of donor, stage of differentiation, and site of origin.

Heterosexual transmission of HIV-1 is likely to involve transmission of virus present in seminal fluid to inflammatory cells, particularly macrophages, present in the endometrium and peritoneal cavity. We have investigated the susceptibility of peritoneal macrophages and the corresponding autologous blood monocytes from normal women to infection by the BA-L strain of HIV-1. In 10 of 18 examples, peritoneal macrophages showed signs of infection within 4-5 days, which was earlier than the autologous monocytes. In contrast to peritoneal macrophages, lung macrophages from 10 of 11 normal donors failed to show significant reverse transcriptase (RT) values 3 weeks post infection. Monolayer cultures of monocytes cultured for 5 days prior to infection developed RT values similar overall to those of freshly isolated cells although individual donors varied as to which culture condition was optimal. The ease of infection of peritoneal macrophages did not correlate with levels of CD4 antigen or degree of pelvic inflammatory development, nor were macrophages harvested from women early in the menstrual cycle significantly more susceptible to infection than those collected from midcycle on. This unexplained heightened infectibility of peritoneal macrophages in a proportion of normal women suggests that those individuals could be more at risk for heterosexual transmission of HIV-1 infection.

CD4 Antigens↗
PubMed1990

Flow cytometric versus immunohistochemical analysis of ovarian cancer class I antigen expression: differences may represent a defect in antigen expression.

Class I antigen expression by ovarian epithelial neoplasms was determined by flow cytometric analysis and an immunoperoxidase technique for each specimen. The numbers of class I positive tumors determined by the methods were compared. The more subjective immunohistochemical analysis and the more objective flow cytometric technique revealed similar results as long as strict criteria for the interpretation of results was applied. Most of the tumor specimens revealed a homogeneous Gaussian distribution of green fluorescence, class I antigen expression, by flow cytometry. There were two specimens that exhibited a less than characteristic type of membrane staining. The antigen-antibody reaction product was expressed in the extracellular matrix, as well as on the cell membrane of certain cells. This may represent a defect in antigen expression and, if so, might alter the immune response to these tumors.

Antigens, Surface↗
PubMed1990

Class I histocompatibility antigen expression: a prognostic factor for aneuploid ovarian cancers.

Epithelial ovarian cancers with aneuploid DNA content are associated with a poorer clinical course than diploid tumors. Flow cytometric analysis may further categorize aneuploid tumors based on the relative expression of cell surface histocompatibility (HLA) antigens. Surgical specimens from 20 patients with aneuploid tumors were stained using an indirect immunofluorescence method with primary murine monoclonal antibodies W36/22 (class I HLA surface antigens) and L5.1 (irrelevant antibody), counterstained with propidium iodide (DNA stain), and analyzed with the flow cytometer using a computer program to correct staining intensity for cell size. Patients with high or low class I expression were similar with respect to age, stage, histology, grade, and residual disease following surgical debulking; all patients were treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Women with low class I HLA antigen expression had higher progression rates and death rates than patients with high class I HLA expression. Low class I HLA antigen expression is a poor prognostic factor among patients with aneuploid ovarian cancers.

Aneuploidy↗
PubMed1989

The GBS scale in multi-infarct dementia and senile dementia of Alzheimer type.

The GBS profile was assessed for 39 patients with multi-infarct dementia (MID) and 34 patients with senile dementia of Alzheimer type (SDAT). The MID patients fulfilled the DSM-III criteria for multi-infarct dementia and had a score of 7 points or more on the Hachinski Ischemic Scale (HIS) and a score of 4 points or less on the Gustafson/Nilsson Alzheimer Scale (GNAS). The SDAT patients fulfilled DSM-III criteria for primary degenerative dementia and had a score of 5 points or more on the GNAS and a score of 6 points or less on the HIS. The total GBS score, the GBS subscale and relative subscale scores for intellectual functioning were significantly higher in patients with SDAT as compared with patients with MID. However, these subscale scores were considerably dispersed and nearly totally overlapping between patients with MID and SDAT, which implicates that the discriminative value is minimal. The validity between the GBS versus HIS and between the GBS versus GNAS was divergent, suggesting that the GBS scale has its own unique validity. In conclusion, the study does not support the hypothesis that the GBS profile may be of diagnostic value in clinical differentiation between multi-infarct dementia (MID) and senile dementia of Alzheimer type (SDAT).

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