PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Odkvist

Publications and source records attributed to L Odkvist.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

Long-term findings in patients with facial palsy and antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi.

Little is known about the long-term effects of Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) infection in untreated patients with peripheral facial palsy. We investigated 12 patients with elevated serum Bb antibody levels, with a median follow-up time of 11 years, during which 3 of the 12 still exhibited intrathecal antibody production of antibodies against Bb flagellar antigen, and 2 of the 3 had normal serum Bb antibodies. Four of the 12 had elevated serum antibody titres at the late follow-up examination. Arthralgia, reported by 7 patients, was the single most common complaint. Four patients showed extensive oculomotor disturbances, which were not correlated to antibody titres or intrathecal antibody synthesis. In 1 of the patients with intrathecal Bb antibody production, most symptoms were eradicated by antibiotic treatment 6 years after the initial infection. We conclude that even several years after a Bb infection, intrathecal Bb antibody production can still occur in serum Bb IgG antibody negative patients with a history of facial palsy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Pharmacologic labyrinthectomy.

Pharmacologic labyrinthectomy has become an alternative to surgery for treatment of severe Ménièr's disease. The use of systemic streptomycin has been replaced by intratympanal instillations of gentamicin that are administered once daily for a limited number of days. Gentamicin provides a high success rate for ablation of vertigo without causing any unnecessary negative effects on hearing. Future development of more selective vestibulotoxic chemicals could mean that pharmacologic labyrinthectomy will become a simple and ultimate treatment for disabling Ménière's disease.

Aminoglycosides↗
PubMed1991

Acute peripheral facial palsy: CSF findings and etiology.

CSF and serum were examined in acute and convalescence phase from 56 patients with acute idiopathic peripheral facial palsy. CSF protein analysis, viral and borrelia serology were performed. Borrelia infection was found in 9/56 cases and was often associated with inflammatory CSF findings. One patient each had serological evidence for a recent or ongoing infection with herpes simplex, varicella zoster, adeno, influenza B, echo and Epstein-Barr virus, but none had specific intrathecal antibody synthesis; 11 patients had a serological pattern compatible with a reactivated Epstein-Barr virus infection. Eleven patients displayed mononuclear CSF pleocytosis. Four of them had a borrelia infection. A disturbed blood-brain barrier was observed in 19 patients. Intrathecal immunoglobulin synthesis as indicated by elevated IgM-indices was found in 16 patients and by IgG indices in three. Nine patients had oligoclonal IgG bands in serum and CSF, three exclusively in CSF. It is concluded that patients with facial palsy often have inflammatory CSF findings, indicating a generalised central nervous system affection, and not only a mononeuritis. The importance of viral infections in the pathogenesis is still obscure. Borrelia is the most common infectious cause of facial palsy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Correlation between dynamic posturography, clinical investigation, and neurography in patients with polyneuropathy.

Dynamic posturography (PG) is a new objective method to study functional performance in diseases affecting balance. It measures muscle response latencies and sway angles to standardized alterations of a moveable platform and moveable surroundings. Twenty-eight patients with polyneuropathy (PN) were studied by clinical investigation, vibrametry, neurography, and dynamic PG. The results of dynamic PG and vibrametry were compared with those of 29 healthy controls. In the patients with PN, clinical scores correlated to the latencies of the muscle response when the platform was suddenly moved forward, and to equilibrium performance (sway angles) in dynamic PG test conditions with eyes closed and the platform either stable or 'sway-referenced'. That is, the platform moves in response to the patient's anterior-posterior sway, creating a disturbed proprioceptive input to the brain. Clinical scores also correlated to the equilibrium performance when both platform and surroundings were sway-referenced. In conclusion dynamic PG, in addition to clinical investigations and neurophysiology, is a valuable and objective method for estimating the equilibrium performance in patients with PN.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Dynamic posturography in cervical vertigo.

Cervical vertigo, the entity of neck disorder and associated vestibular symptoms, was investigated in 15 suspected subjects and results were compared with 15 age-matched controls. A modified dynamic posturography investigation with different head positions was used. Head position was recorded 3-dimensionally with electrogoniometry. Differences on a sway-referenced forceplate were found.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

A multicentre study of loratadine, clemastine and placebo in patients with perennial allergic rhinitis.

This multicentre, double-blind, randomized parallel-group study compared 3 weeks' treatment with either loratadine (Clarityn) 10 mg once daily, or clemastine (Tavegyl) 1 mg twice daily, and placebo in outpatients with active perennial allergic rhinitis. 155 patients were evaluated for efficacy and safety. Grading of four nasal and three non-nasal symptoms, rhinoscopy signs, and therapeutic response was performed on treatment days 6, 13, and 20. Patients recorded daily symptoms and possible adverse experiences in a diary, also indicating when symptoms of active rhinitis were relieved. Loratadine and clemastine were statistically significantly superior to placebo throughout the study (P less than 0.05), based on assessment of patients' nasal and eye symptoms, patients' diary scores, rhinoscopy signs of symptoms, and onset of relief. The loratadine group showed a statistically significantly (P less than 0.05) faster onset of relief of symptoms compared with the group treated with clemastine. Concerning nasal stuffiness, loratadine was significantly (P less than 0.05) superior to clemastine after 1 week's treatment. Reports of adverse reactions showed that significantly (P less than 0.05) more patients complained of sedation in the clemastine than in the loratadine group. Regarding other adverse experiences and laboratory tests, the three treatment groups were statistically comparable (P less than 0.05). The study showed that compared with placebo both loratadine and clemastine were effective in relieving nasal and eye symptoms in patients with perennial allergic rhinitis. Loratadine was safe and well tolerated and was significantly less sedative than clemastine; loratadine may therefore possess an advantage in clinical use in the treatment of perennial allergic rhinitis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Otoneurological findings in workers exposed to styrene.

An otoneurological test battery was administered to 18 workers with long-term exposure (6-15 years) to styrene at levels well below the current Swedish limit (110 mg/m3). The results were compared with those of a reference group. Disturbances were found in the central auditory pathways of seven workers. Tests reflecting central processing of impulses from different sensory equilibrium organs were abnormal for 16 workers. The most relevant tests seemed to be static posturography and the rotatory visual suppression test. In the posturography the styrene group had a significantly larger sway area than the reference group. In the visual suppression test, the styrene workers displayed a significantly poorer ability to suppress vestibular nystagmus than the reference group. It was concluded that styrene exposure in industrial environments at moderate or low levels causes central nervous system disturbances which are not always diagnosable with psychometric tests but can be apparent in special otoneurological tests.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Occupational exposure to formaldehyde and histopathological changes in the nasal mucosa.

To study the cytotoxic effect of formaldehyde on the human nasal mucosa 75 men with occupational exposure to formaldehyde or to formaldehyde and wood dust, were examined, looking particularly at early signs of irritative effects and histopathological changes in the nasal mucosa. All men underwent a medical examination and a nasal biopsy specimen was examined by a pathologist and graded from 0-8 according to the morphological changes. A high frequency of nasal symptoms, mostly a running nose and crusting, was related to exposure to formaldehyde. Only three men had a normal mucosa; the remainder had loss of cilia and goblet cell hyperplasia (11%) and squamous metaplasia (78%); in six cases (8%) there was a mild dysplasia. The histological grading showed a significantly higher score when compared with unexposed contents (2.9 v 1.8). There was no dose response relation, no malignancies, and no difference in the histological score between those exposed to formaldehyde or to formaldehyde and wood dust.

Environmental Exposure↗
PubMed1987

Occupational formaldehyde exposure and the nasal mucosa.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the possible cytotoxic effect of formaldehyde on the nasal mucosa in man. 38 men with an average age of 38 years and average exposure time of 10.5 years were studied. They were exposed to formaldehyde when processing laminae. All men passed a medical examination and a nasal biopsy. The histological findings were scored, 0-8, according to a system proposed by Torjussen. The findings were compared with a non-exposed reference group of 25 men (mean age 35 years). 35% of the exposed were smokers compared to 48% of the nonexposed. The average histological score was 2.8 for the exposed versus 1.8 for the non-exposed (p less than 0.05, Wilcoxon). The more common findings in the exposed were loss of cilia, goblet cell hyperplasia and squamous metaplasia. In four cases (11%) there was a mild dysplasia. Smoking had a slight modifying effect on the histological picture. The results indicate that the suspected precancerous findings in animal studies after exposure to formaldehyde might be present in workers exposed to formaldehyde at relatively low levels.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Vestibulo-oculomotor disturbances caused by industrial solvents.

Animal experiments show that intoxication with hydrocarbon solvents influences the vestibulo-oculomotor reflex arc and indicate that the solvents block the inhibition of the vestibulo-oculomotor reflex presumably exerted by the cerebellum. The blood concentrations necessary to elicit oculomotor disturbances in animals were smaller than those that disturbed the vestibular function. Accordingly, in human experiments styrene and toluene exposure did not elicit any positional nystagmus but caused an increased saccade speed and a diminished visual suppression of vestibular nystagmus. Some cerebellar clinical pathologic process in patients who suffer from a psycho-organic syndrome caused by solvents leads us to believe that the cerebellum might be the most vulnerable part of the brain. Some patients had a positional nystagmus, but the most prominent pathologic signs were elicited by the visual suppression test. Our findings compare well with the increased saccade speed and diminished visual suppression in patients with cerebellar tumors and infarctions.

Benzene Derivatives↗
PubMed1982

Benign paroxysmal vertigo in childhood.

Fifteen children with a syndrome called benign paroxysmal vertigo are presented. This syndrome is characterized by attacks of vertigo of sudden onset lasting a few minutes and in extreme cases several hours or even up to 2 days. Additional symptoms are pallor, sweating, vomiting and nystagmus. Consciousness is not impaired. The attacks usually occur in the first 4 years of life. They are recurrent, the appearance varying from several times a week to once a year, and they may cease spontaneously after only months but usually years. The most important differential diagnoses are epilepsy and posterior fossa tumour. The etiology is unknown, but there may be a vascular disturbance affecting the posterior cerebral circulation with secondary disturbances of the vestibular nuclei.

Child↗
PubMed1981

Bell's palsy - part of a polyneuropathy?

Some authors have suggested that Bell's palsy should be considered a part of a polyneuritis cranialis and others, reporting Bell's palsy in patients with diabetes mellitus, proposed that it is an overt sign of a subclinical polyneuropathy. To study whether nerves other than the facial nerve were affected, the clinical findings of 112 patients with Bell's palsy were correlated with a quantitative EMG done on an asymptomatic leg muscle. The electromyographic results obtained from these leg muscles showed changes similar to those occurring in peripheral nerve lesions, and the changes correlated well with the degree of facial palsy. The results indicate that the patients with symptomatic facial dysfunction have an acute subclinical polyneuropathy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

The immotile-cilia syndrome in a newborn infant.

A newborn infant was suspected to have the immotile-cilia syndrome. He had situs inversus, atelectasis and other pulmonary changes. A biopsy from the nasal mucosa at the age of 21 months confirmed the diagnosis and showed a lack of ciliary orientation and absent dynein arms. Chymotrypsin values, sweat test and most immunoglobulins were normal. The boy is now three years old. So far he has had rather mild respiratory symptoms. The importance of early diagnosis for management and prognosis is stressed.

Age Factors↗