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Biomedical subjects

L M Odkvist

Publications and source records attributed to L M Odkvist.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Visual influence on postural reactions to sudden antero-posterior support surface movements.

Visual influence on force reactions to sudden antero-posterior (AP) translations of the support surface in 10 healthy men 23-58 years old (mean 36 years) were studied. Displacements ranged between 13 and 127 mm in both backwards and forwards directions. The experiment was conducted using a modified EquiTest dynamic posturography apparatus. An interactive menu-driven software enabled selection of a suitable translation pattern (i.e. square wave) in the AP direction. Data from four vertical force transducers were acquired and the position of centre of pressure (CP) in the AP direction was computed as function of time. The movement of CP in response to AP translation was characterized by the amplitude of the maximum CP displacement relative to the platform and the latency until maximum CP displacement occurred. The experiment unveiled that the latency to maximum CP displacement was larger for conditions with vision present. Furthermore, both the amplitude and latency to maximum CP deflection were increasing functions of translation amplitude. It is proposed that visual feedback influences the neural control on the postural reactions to sudden support surface translations. Absence of visual cues seems to cause a more rapid correction of the body position.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Treatment of hay fever with loratadine--a new non-sedating antihistamine.

The efficacy and safety of loratadine, a new orally active specific H1-receptor blocking antihistamine with poor penetration into the CNS, was evaluated in a double blind comparative study. One hundred and seven hay fever patients, sensitive to birch pollen, were randomized into three parallel groups receiving loratadine 40 mg once daily, clemastine 1 mg twice daily, or placebo during the birch pollen season. Both active treatments showed reduction of symptoms in comparison with placebo, but the results were more pronounced with loratadine treatment, which significantly reduced the overall allergic condition as well as all separate allergic rhino-conjunctivitis symptoms except nasal stuffiness. Compared with placebo the sedation rate was significantly higher with clemastine treatment (P less than 0.05) but not with loratadine. Loratadine was thus concluded to be efficacious in hay fever treatment with a sedation rate not differing from placebo.

Clemastine↗
PubMed1989

Usher syndrome: an otoneurologic study.

Usher syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by severe hearing loss or deafness and retinitis pigmentosa. Eleven families with 25 affected members were studied. The test battery included genetic studies, clinical examination, audiological, ophthalmologic, and otoneurological tests, and magnetic resonance imaging. Sixteen affected persons had profound hearing loss or were considered anacusic, with absent bilateral vestibular responses. These patients had varying degrees of retinitis pigmentosa. These 16 patients were considered to have type I Usher syndrome. Nine persons were diagnosed as Usher type II with a moderate to profound hearing loss, normal vestibular function, and retinitis pigmentosa of varying degree. Magnetic resonance imaging was normal in all cases. Otoneurological tests indicated no central nervous system disturbances. The conclusion is that hearing loss and balance problems in Usher syndrome are due to inner ear damage with no evidence of central nervous system disturbances. Furthermore, the ataxia seen in Usher type I is due to a combination of retinitis pigmentosa and bilateral peripheral vestibular deficiency.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Visual suppression tests in acoustic neuroma patients.

Fifty-five patients with a unilateral acoustic neuroma were investigated preoperatively with visual suppression tests during rotatory oscillation and caloric irrigation. During a sinusoidal oscillation, 29% of the patients showed a reduced suppression compared to 9% during pseudo-random oscillation and 11% in the caloric test. In the sinusoidal and caloric tests the majority of the patients with deficient suppression had large or medium-sized tumors. In a few patients with small tumors, pathology was observed in both sinusoidal and randomized tests, presumably as a sign of unconcentration. The study shows that the sinusoidal visual suppression test and to a lesser degree suppression during caloric irrigation are of value for identification of brainstem-cerebellum compression of acoustic neuromas.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Middle ear ototoxic treatment for inner ear disease.

Twenty-nine patients seriously disabled by Ménière's disease due to frequent attacks were treated with Gentamicin administered in the middle ear once daily until first sign of an inner ear disturbance, usually a spontaneous nystagmus and a sensation of unsteadiness. All patients except one were relieved from their vertiginous attacks and returned to normal activities. Tinnitus was usually diminished or absent, as was the feeling of pressure in the ear. The hearing was slightly improved in 5 patients, worse in 9 patients and two treated ears became deaf. The indication for an intratympanal treatment with Gentamicin should be a disabling form of Ménière's disease not responding to medical treatment. The risk for the cochlea increases after 6 days of treatment. The advantage versus intracranial surgery is the absence of the surgical risks for complications. The mode of action exerted by the ototoxic drug is a destruction of the vestibular sensory epithelium and the endolymph producing cells.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Vestibular disturbances after neck muscle sectioning in rat.

The nystagmus response to rotatory acceleration was investigated in rats. The stimulus was exerted by a turntable accelerated 13.3%/sec2 for 9 seconds and after 1-2 minutes decelerated accordingly. Eye movements were recorded using the search coil technique. The duration of postrotatory nystagmus and speed of slow component velocity gain were recorded. After unilateral neck muscle sectioning no change appeared. After bilateral sectioning the nystagmus response was increased with a remaining high gain and prolonged response duration. The experiments show the influence by the muscles on the velocity storage mechanism.

Acceleration↗
PubMed1988

Vestibulo-oculomotor disturbances caused by occupational hazards.

Air-borne pollutants inhaled by workers when welding or in environments containing hydrocarbon solvents can result in occult CNS disturbances. The disturbances can appear as a psycho-organic syndrome, but early symptoms such as vertigo or dizziness may indicate the presence of a vestibular involvement.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1988

Broad-frequency rotatory testing.

The method of broad-frequency-band rotatory testing with results from normal subjects and patients with peripheral uni- and bilateral loss as well as central vestibular disorders are reviewed. The following conclusions are drawn: adequate testing of the vestibulo-ocular reflex including side detection of unilateral loss in light or in darkness can only be done with either random or high-frequency (2.5-3 Hz) sinusoidal stimulation. Measurements of compensatory eye movements at lower frequencies where vestibular and non-vestibular signals interact are of interest for central vestibular diagnosis. A decreased ability to suppress vestibular nystagmus is not an uncommon finding in patients with large acoustic neuromas or pathology in the brainstem or cerebellum.

Central Nervous System Diseases↗
PubMed1988

Artifacts in electronystagmographic recordings.

Electronystagmography is an important part of the otoneurological investigation. It is mandatory that it is performed in an efficient way, avoiding the many pitfalls and sources of error that the method entails. High quality results crave that the patient is well informed and motivated, relaxed and not under the influence of tranquillizers, hypnotics or alcohol. The technician should be familiar with the equipment, in order to avoid mistakes concerning shielding, time constant and filtering. The most common errors, however, tend to appear in the patient-equipment contact, i.e. the electrodes. A thorough preparation of the skin and high quality Ag/AgCl electrodes and use of electrolyte paste are necessary.

Electrodes↗
PubMed1988

Drop attacks in Menière's disease.

An inner ear etiology for drop attacks is easily overlooked and seldom mentioned in the literature. Cardiovascular pathology is what generally is looked for, e.g. transitory ischemic attacks. Twenty-nine patients with frequent and severe Meniere attacks were treated with gentamicin intratympanally, when they had reached a stage of incapacitation due to vertigo and dread of further attacks and all medical treatments had failed. All but one patient were suffering from more or less frequent drop attacks. The attacks of vertigo were successfully cured in all patients except 2, who had recurrence of the inner ear problem. The drop attacks disappeared in all patients, which indicates that they had an inner ear origin.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Otoneurological diagnostics in posterior fossa lesions.

When investigating patients with suspicion of a posterior fossa lesion, case history and clinical examination are important. Additional information is obtained by using an otoneurological test battery consisting of electronystagmography and audiology, primarily brain stem audiometry. In the electronystagmography one should look for spontaneous, positional and gaze nystagmus and asymmetry in the caloric test. In our material of 78 patients with acoustic neuromas, spontaneous nystagmus was present in 58%, positional nystagmus in 43% gaze nystagmus in 5% and caloric asymmetry in 88%. To reveal CNS disturbances in the posterior fossa, whether due to pressure from a pontine angle tumour or a vascular loop, or caused by cerebellobrainstem infarction, bleeding or tumour, certain special tests have proved valuable: computerized sinusoidal vs. randomized rotatory and smooth pursuit tests and ocular saccade test. A visual suppression test performed in the rotatory chair makes it possible to compare suppression and pursuit at identical stimulation patterns, which adds a new diagnostic tool.

Audiometry, Evoked Response↗
PubMed1988

Physiotherapy in vertigo.

Physiotherapy is often of great value in the treatment of vertigo. In patients with a vestibular loss the physiotherapy should be directed towards the enhancement of central compensation. The inflow of different sensory modalities, visual, proprioceptive and vestibular, should be exercised simultaneously for integration. In cases of orthopedic cervical vertigo, physiotherapy should be directed with caution towards the affected vertebral joints. In muscle tension cervical vertigo, the physiotherapist must include ergonomy and psychological factors in the vertigo treatment.

Headache↗
PubMed1988

Value of vestibular function tests in the differential diagnosis of vertigo.

In patients with vertigo, with unilateral auditory problems, or for whom there is a suspicion of a posterior fossa lesion, vestibular testing is mandatory. After anamnesis, and clinical investigation, it should be decided what parts of the vestibulo-oculomotor and auditory test batteries are to be used. Apart from auditory brain stem responses, the most fruitful tests seem to be the broad-frequency rotatory tests, which are of considerably greater diagnostic value than the visual suppression test and the smooth pursuit test.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed1988

Vestibular and audiologic functions in gentamicin-treated Menière's disease.

Fifteen patients with disabling Meniere's disease were treated with local intratympanic administration of gentamicin once daily. They had suffered from frequent attacks of vertigo and vomiting, the hearing in the affected ears was decreased permanently, and spontaneous nystagmus was observed. The number of treatment days ranged between 3 and 11. Follow-up time was 1 to 6 years. For evaluation of the treatment, audiologic and vestibular examinations were used, including the broad frequency-band rotatory test (0.4-4.5 Hz). Fourteen patients were free from vertigo after treatment. In 5 patients, there was an increased hearing loss, and in 10 it remained unchanged. Tinnitus and fullness sensations were diminished. After treatment, all ears were unresponsive to caloric stimulation. The clinical examination and rotatory testing in light with sinusoidal stimulation revealed good central compensation of the vestibular loss. However, with pseudorandomized oscillations in darkness, the broad frequency-band rotatory test quantified the loss of peripheral vestibular function and was able to detect the side of the lesion in eight of nine patients.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1987

Audiological and vestibulo-oculomotor findings in workers exposed to solvents and jet fuel.

Three groups of subjects with long-term (5-41 years) occupational exposure to industrial solvents have been evaluated with extensive audiological and vestibular test batteries. Group A comprised 16 subjects with a confirmed diagnosis of psycho-organic syndrome (POS), while group B consisted of 7 subjects with suspected POS. Both groups had been exposed to mixtures of aliphatic and aromatic solvents. Eight subjects with long-term exposure to jet fuel constituted group C. In the audiological test battery, discrimination of interrupted speech and evoked cortical potentials in response to frequency glides were the tests that yielded significantly abnormal results. In the vestibular test battery, considerable pathology was seen in electronystagmography, and in addition, visual suppression test and saccade test indicated CNS disturbance. In general, when a test yielded pathological results, the incidence of pathology was highest in group A and lowest in group C.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Peripheral facial palsy in children. A cerebrospinal fluid study.

Seven children and five adults with acute, peripheral facial palsy were investigated by clinical, blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examinations. Routine blood examinations and blood and CSF serological tests were normal. In all children studied the CSF showed an increased number of mononuclear white cells despite the absence of clinical signs of meningitis in all but one. Two of the twelve patients studied had normal CSF. Contrary to that in adults the outcome in children was excellent, all recovered totally within three months. The present study indicates that acute, peripheral facial palsy is a manifestation of a generalized disorder with subclinical pathology of the central nervous system, and that in children a lumbar puncture should be done, even if there are no signs of meningitis.

Adult↗