Biomedical subjects

Oili Salonen

Publications and source records attributed to Oili Salonen.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

High dose intravenous methylprednisolone pulse therapy versus oral prednisone for thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy.

PURPOSE: To compare the effectiveness of intravenous (i.v.) methylprednisolone pulse therapy and oral prednisone when used as the initial treatment of patients with mild or moderate thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy. METHODS: Thirty-three consecutive patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy in Helsinki and Turku University Hospitals were randomly assigned either i.v. methylprednisolone pulse therapy (group A, n = 18) or oral prednisone (group B, n = 15). Treatment outcomes were measured by subjective changes in the grade of diplopia and quantitatively in several ophthalmic variables at 3 and 12 months. Any decision to proceed with additional treatment at 3 months was made on clinical grounds. The study was open in respect of both the initial treatment and the need for additional therapy. RESULTS: No significant differences in the grade of diplopia, proptosis or soft tissue activity scores were noted between groups A and B from 0 to 3 months. However, group A required additional forms of therapy at 3 months less frequently than did group B (p = 0.038). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that i.v. methylprednisolone pulse therapy and oral prednisone are equally effective as initial treatments for thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy where diplopia, proptosis and signs of soft tissue inflammation are concerned. When additional treatment is required, i.v. methylprednisolone pulse therapy may be more effective than oral prednisone. However, the study's limitations meant that any decision to give additional treatment after the initial therapy was made on clinical grounds.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMed2002

Leukoaraiosis, ischemic stroke, and normal white matter on diffusion-weighted MRI.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Leukoaraiosis is a radiological finding of uncertain pathogenesis with bilateral patchy or diffuse areas of hyperintensity of the cerebral white matter (WM) on T2-weighted MRI. Using diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI), we aimed to test (1) whether the average apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC(av)) values of the regions of leukoaraiosis vary according to the degree of the severity of leukoaraiosis and whether the regions of leukoaraiosis could be distinguished (2) from normal WM or (3) from ischemic strokes of various ages. METHODS: We compared 85 patients with leukoaraiosis, 22 healthy subjects with no leukoaraiosis on the conventional MR images, and 10 patients with ischemic strokes serially imaged <6 hours, 24 hours, 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after stroke onset. All subjects were studied with DWI in 3 orthogonal directions with 2 b values (b=0 and b=1000 s/mm(2)) at 1.5 T. ADC(av) values were determined for the regions of leukoaraiosis, ischemic lesions, and normal WM. RESULTS: The more severe the leukoaraiosis was, the higher the ADC(av) values of the leukoaraiotic regions became. The ADC(av) values (in 10(-3) mm(2)/s) of the regions of leukoaraiosis (0.92 to 1.27) were significantly higher than that of the normal WM (0.69+/-0.04) and that of the ischemic strokes at 6 hours (0.38+/-0.07), 24 hours (0.36+/-0.10), and 1 week (0.51+/-0.09). One-month-old ischemic strokes (1.08+/-0.33) had ADC(av) values similar to those of leukoaraiotic regions, whereas 3-month-old infarcts (1.59+/-0.32) showed significantly higher ADC(av) values than the leukoaraiotic regions. CONCLUSIONS: The regions of leukoaraiosis show characteristic changes in ADC(av) values, and DWI can be used to differentiate acute and chronic ischemic stroke lesions from leukoaraiosis.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2002

Contributions of genetic risk and fetal hypoxia to hippocampal volume in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, their unaffected siblings, and healthy unrelated volunteers.

OBJECTIVE: The authors examined in an epidemiologic sample the contributions of genetic predisposition and history of fetal hypoxia to hippocampal volume in patients with psychosis. METHOD: High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure hippocampal volumes in 72 psychotic probands (60 with schizophrenia and 12 with schizoaffective disorder, ascertained so as to be representative of all such probands in a Helsinki birth cohort), 58 nonpsychotic full siblings of the probands, and 53 demographically similar healthy comparison subjects with no family history of psychosis. RESULTS: Hippocampal volume differences occurred in a stepwise fashion with each increase in genetic load for schizophrenia. The probands had smaller hippocampal volumes than did their full siblings, who in turn had smaller hippocampal volumes than did the healthy comparison subjects. Among the probands, smaller hippocampal volumes were seen in those who experienced fetal hypoxia than in those who did not, a difference not noted within the other two groups. Finally, within the schizophrenic/schizoaffective disorder patients, smaller hippocampal volumes correlated positively with age at onset independent of duration of illness. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, hippocampal volume is influenced in part by schizophrenia susceptibility genes and an interaction of these genes with fetal hypoxia. They further suggest that hippocampal volume in schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder may be linked to time of disease onset.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Diffusion-weighted MR imaging in normal human brains in various age groups.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Few studies have concerned the absolute apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in the normal human brain and the effect of aging on diffusion. Therefore, our purpose was to determine whether the average ADC (ADC(av)) values in the various regions of the brain differ with age, sex, or hemisphere and to establish reference values of the absolute ADC(av) for further studies. METHODS: Subjects (40 men and 40 women) were chosen from a healthy population; age groups were 20-34, 35-49, and 50-64 years and 65 years or older (n = 20 each). All subjects were examined with MR imaging, including conventional and diffusion-weighted imaging in three orthogonal directions with two b values (0 and 1000 s/mm(2)) at 1.5 T. Bilateral ADC(av) values were determined in 36 regions of interest encompassing the entire brain. RESULTS: ADC(av) values were highest in the cortical gray matter ([0.89 +/- 0.04] x 10(-3) mm(2)/s; range, 0.78-1.09 x 10(-3)), lower in the deep gray matter ([0.75 +/- 0.03] x 10(-3) mm(2)/s; range, 0.64-0.83 x 10(-3)), and lowest in the white matter ([0.70 +/- 0.03] x 10(-3) mm(2)/s; range, 0.62-0.79 x 10(-3)). The ADC(av) values did not significantly change with aging, except for an increase in the lateral ventricles. No difference was observed between women and men or between the hemispheres. CONCLUSION: The data reported herein are representative, and the ADC(av) values can be used for reference in future studies and in clinical settings.

Adult↗