Biomedical subjects

Kaj Metsärinne

Publications and source records attributed to Kaj Metsärinne.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Asbestos exposure as a risk factor for retroperitoneal fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF) is an uncommon disease with unknown causation in most cases. The pathognomonic finding is a fibrous mass covering the abdominal aorta and the ureters. Our aim was to clarify the possible role of asbestos exposure in the development of RPF. The hypothesis was based on the ability of asbestos to cause fibrosis in pulmonary and pleural tissue. METHODS: We undertook a case-control study of 43 patients with the disease (86% of eligible cases) treated in three university hospital districts of Finland in 1990-2001. For every patient, five population-based controls were selected, matched by age, sex, and central hospital district. We assessed asbestos exposure and medical history using a postal questionnaire and a personal interview. Of the 215 eligible controls, 179 (83%) participated in the study. FINDINGS: The age-standardised incidence of RPF was 0.10 (95% CI 0.07-0.14) per 100?000 person-years. The disease was strongly associated with asbestos exposure. The odds ratio (OR) was 5.54 (1.64-18.65) for less than 10 fibre-years of asbestos exposure and 8.84 (2.03-38.50) for 10 or more fibre-years, the attributable fraction being 82% and 89%, respectively. Other risk factors were previous use of ergot derivates (OR 9.92 [1.63-60.26]), abdominal aortic aneurysm (OR 6.73 [0.81-56.08]), and smoking for more than 20 pack-years (OR 4.73 [1.28-17.41]). INTERPRETATION: Our results show that occupational asbestos exposure is an important causal factor for RPF. For patients with work-related asbestos exposure, RPF should be considered an occupational disease.

Aged↗

PubMed2003

[Diabetic nephropathy].

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists↗

PubMed2002

Amino acid uptake in the skeletal muscle measured using [11C]methylaminoisobutyrate (MEAIB) and PET.

An amino acid analogue, [(11)C]MeAIB, recently introduced for oncological positron emission tomography (PET) studies, is a highly selective substrate for insulin-sensitive amino acid transport system A. The aim of this study was to study the uptake kinetics of [(11)C]MeAIB in skeletal muscle in the fasting state and during insulin stimulation. Two dynamic PET studies were carried out in 11 healthy subjects, once in the fasting state and once during euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemia (serum insulin 67+/-12 mU l(-1)). Graphical analysis was used to calculate the fractional [(11)C]MeAIB uptake rate ( K(i)). Amino acid uptake was estimated by multiplying K(i) by the serum amino acid concentration. After tracer injection, rapid uptake in muscle tissue was detected both in the fasting state and during insulin stimulation and femoral muscles were clearly visualised in both studies. In the graphical analysis, the volume of distribution of [(11)C]MeAIB plotted against normalised plasma time yielded a linear curve (the slope of which = K(i)). The fractional [(11)C]MeAIB uptake rate ( K(i)) in the femoral muscle regions increased from 0.0070+/-0.0018 min(-1) (mean+/-SD) in the fasting state to 0.0079+/-0.0020 min(-1) ( P<0.05) during insulin stimulation. When compared with the fasting state, serum total amino acid concentration decreased from 2.49+/-0.22 to 2.16+/-0.18 mmol l(-1) ( P<0.0001) and the serum concentration of six amino acids typically using system A for their transport decreased from 0.72+/-0.1 to 0.63+/-0.07 mmol l(-1) ( P=0.0001) during hyperinsulinaemia. The calculated skeletal muscle total amino acid uptake and the uptake of the six amino acids typically using system A were similar in the fasting state and during insulin clamp (17.1+/-3.2 vs 17.7+/-3.7 micro mol kg(-1) min(-1), NS, and 5.0+/-1.3 vs 5.0+/-1.4 micro mol kg(-1) min(-1), NS, respectively). The uptake rates correlated with perfusion both in the fasting state and during hyperinsulinaemia ( P<0.05). [(11)C]MeAIB PET appears to be a feasible method for measurement of amino acid uptake in human skeletal muscle. As a tracer that is not metabolised in the tissues, [(11)C]MeAIB provides simple modelling and robust data analysis and thus provides a means to investigate amino acid uptake into muscle tissue in various disease conditions known to affect protein metabolism.

Amino Acids↗

PubMed2002

Neurophysiologic parameters and symptoms in chronic renal failure.

We studied: (1) the sensitivity of various neurophysiologic parameters in the diagnosis of uremic polyneuropathy, (2) the relationship between subjective symptoms and neurophysiologic parameters, and (3) the effect of a single hemodialysis on the neurophysiologic parameters in 21 patients undergoing hemodialysis. The following parameters were studied: sensory and motor nerve conduction, including F-wave parameters; vibration detection thresholds; and thermal thresholds. The clinical findings and subjective symptoms were studied using a standardized questionnaire. The most sensitive parameters in the diagnosis of uremic neuropathy were F-wave parameters from lower limbs, vibration detection thresholds from the feet, and the sural nerve sensory action potential amplitude. The nerves from the upper extremities on the side of the fistula should not be used in the diagnosis of uremic polyneuropathy due to numerous mild local nerve lesions. The positive neuropathic symptoms correlated with quantitative vibratory detection thresholds and sensory nerve conduction studies, especially the amplitude of the sensory nerve action potential in the sural nerve. We found no significant change in any of the neurophysiologic parameters following a single hemodialysis session.

Chronic Disease↗