PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R Salvesen

Publications and source records attributed to R Salvesen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

[Horner's syndrome. With special reference to topographical diagnosis].

The triad miosis, ptosis and hemifacial anhidrosis make up the well-known Horner's syndrome. This is caused by a lesion or a dysfunction in the "oculosympathetic pathway" running from the hypothalamus to the eye. Various disease entities may manifest themselves in this way, and it is important to be able to determine whether the dysfunction is localized to the central, preganglionic or postganglionic neurone. This review presents the various tests used for this purpose, describes our recent contributions in the field, and finally proposes a simple scheme that is suitable for topographical diagnosis.

History, 19th Century↗
PubMed1989

Horner's syndrome. Sweat gland and pupillary responsiveness in two cases with a probable 3rd neurone dysfunction.

Two patients with a Horner's syndrome due to a probable 3rd neurone lesion were examined with regard to the pupillometric and evaporimetric patterns. The results are compared with those found in patients with a Horner's syndrome due to a 1st or 2nd neurone lesion, previously described by our group. Concurring with observations by others, the pupil on the symptomatic side did not dilate at all when stimulated with hydroxy-amphetamine eye drops. Postganglionic dysfunction may thus be distinguished from 1st and 2nd neurone dysfunction. Supersensitivity was present on the side of the Horner's syndrome, both on pupillometry (phenylephrine stimulation) and in the medial part of the forehead at evaporimetry (pilocarpine stimulation). The lateral part of the forehead, however, did not demonstrate deficient evaporation in these postganglionic sympathetic lesions.

Horner Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

Cluster headache: pupillometric patterns as a function of the degree of anisocoria.

Fifty-three patients with cluster headache, mean age 42.6 years, were examined by means of pupillometry. Pharmacological stimulation was carried out by the instillation of eye drops; the sympathomimetic agents hydroxyamphetamine (a norepinephrine releaser) and phenylephrine (an agent acting directly on the postsynaptic receptors) were applied. Pupillary dilatation was measured at set time intervals, comparing the responses of the symptomatic and non-symptomatic sides. The material was divided into groups according to the degree of basal anisocoria. The subgroup with the most pronounced basal miosis of the symptomatic side demonstrated a uniform pattern of deficient symptomatic side dilatation after OH-amphetamine and supersensitivity to phenylephrine. The other groups demonstrated the same general pattern, but to a far lesser degree. In cluster headache, the extent of nonresponsiveness to OH-amphetamine and of phenylephrine supersensitivity on the symptomatic side thus, at least partly, seems to be a function of the degree of anisocoria. The response pattern in cluster headache seems to differ from that of 3rd neuron Horner's syndrome with an anisocoria of the same extent.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Shortlasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks with conjunctival injection, tearing, sweating, and rhinorrhea.

Three grown-up males with a long-lasting history of rather uniform, unilateral headache in the ocular-periocular area, in cluster fashion, are examined. Pain paroxysms of short duration (15-60 sec) appear up to 5-30 times per h. The headache is unilateral without side shift. Conjunctival injection appears at the very beginning of the attack and is partly massive, lasting the entire duration of the attack, and fading away at the end of it. Tearing (massive), forehead sweating (subclinical) and rhinorrhea, all on the symptomatic side, accompany the attack. In the youngest patient, the headache became chronic after clustering for six months initially, and after approximately 3 1/2 years it became bilateral. However, even in this patient, a clear unilateral pain preponderance prevails, and the autonomic disturbances are all on the original pain side. Attacks can partly be precipitated by chewing, eating (e.g. citrus fruits), moving the head, etc. The headache is completely refractory to drug therapy, including indomethacin.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Cluster headache: combined assessment with pupillometry and evaporimetry.

Twenty-nine patients with cluster headache have been examined with the pupillometer and the evaporimeter. Pupils were dilated by sympathicomimetic drugs instilled into the conjunctival sacs, and responses of the two sides were compared. Forehead sweating was stimulated by body heating and by pilocarpine injection, and sweat evaporation on the two sides was compared. Most patients demonstrated the known patterns of hyposecretion on heating, of pilocarpine supersensitivity, and of deficient pupillary dilatation on OH-amphetamine stimulation on the symptomatic side and a supersensitivity of this pupil to phenylephrine. There were deviations from the rule for all methods of testing. Sixteen patients demonstrated a typical supersensitivity response of the pupil and of the sweat glands on the symptomatic side. Six patients had no such response, and seven patients had a discrepancy between the pupillary and the sweat gland response to stimulation, supersensitivity being present in one system only. There was a high degree of concordance between the results of the various methods of examination.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Chronic paroxysmal hemicrania. XIII. The pupillometric pattern.

Pupillometric studies were carried out in eight patients with chronic paroxysmal hemicrania (CPH) and in age- and sex-matched controls in the basal condition and after instillation of 2% tyramine (CPH, n = 5; controls, n = 17), 1% OH-amphetamine (CPH, n = 6; controls, n = 12), and 1% phenylephrine (CPH, n = 6; controls, n = 17). The pupil on the symptomatic and non-symptomatic sides in CPH patients was significantly smaller in the basal condition than in controls, particularly on the symptomatic side. The mydriatic responses to pharmacologic stimulation were essentially similar on the symptomatic and non-symptomatic sides. An evaporimetric study of the forehead sweat glands, using the body heating and pilocarpine tests, was also carried out in these patients and in age- and sex-matched controls. "Early", "intermediate", and "late" measurements demonstrated symmetry of forehead sweating. The findings for both methods of examination thus contrast with those in cluster headache patients. Pupillometric and forehead sweating patterns therefore suggest differences in the pathogenesis of the two headache entities. These tests may be used to distinguish CPH and cluster headache clinically.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Cluster headache: forehead sweating pattern during heating and pilocarpine tests. Variation as a function of time.

Thirty-one patients with cluster headache were examined with regard to their forehead sweating pattern, by means of the Evaporimeter. Sweating was stimulated in two different ways: by body heating and by parenterally administered pilocarpine. The resulting increase in evaporation was frequently measured at different positions on both sides of the forehead, and the possibility of variations in the pattern related to the passage of time was specifically scrutinized. Some typical patterns emerged. The previously reported, marked asymmetries of response (deficient heat-induced sweating and pilocarpine supersensitivity of the symptomatic side) at the medial positions in the forehead were confirmed. However, the asymmetries invariably faded to some extent with the passage of time. Patients with cluster headache show gross similarities with, but also some minor differences from, the sweat pattern of patients with brain stem lesions causing a Horner's syndrome. A subdivision of the material into groups in accordance with the pupillometric pattern after sympathomimetic stimulation made it clear that the cases of definite evaporimetric asymmetries ("typical reactions") belonged to the group with a typical pupillometric pattern. These results suggest that from an "autonomic" point of view, subpopulations may exist within the clinical entity of cluster headache.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Sympathetic iris function in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Autonomic fibres are generally regarded as being spared in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Anatomical studies have cast some doubt upon this hypothesis. The present study describes the pupillary responses to tyramine, a norepinephrine releaser, and to phenylephrine, a directly acting sympathomimetic, in 11 patients with ALS and matched controls. Patients and controls showed a similar sensitivity to sympathomimetic agents, and our results lend some support to the hypothesis that sympathetic functions are not involved in ALS.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Side effects after diagnostic lumbar puncture and lumbar iohexol myelography.

A prospective, controlled study was performed to compare side effect incidences after lumbar iohexol myelography (n = 97) and diagnostic lumbar puncture (n = 85). No significant side effect incidence differences (iohexol vs. controls) were found regarding number of patients with any side effect (63 vs. 73%), headache (44 vs. 54%), nausea, dizziness, visual, auditory, or psychic symptoms. Early-onset headache occurred significantly more often in the iohexol group (17 vs 5%), while postural headache occurred most frequently after lumbar puncture (25 vs. 41%). These results suggest that apart from the slight early-onset headache, most side effects after lumbar iohexol myelography are related to the puncture per se, not to the contrast agent.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

The sweating anomaly in cluster headache. Further observations on the underlying mechanism.

We describe a patient with a typical history of cluster headache for more than 18 years. During the first approximately 10 years of his disease, the pain was right-sided, and pupillometric and evaporimetric measurements indicated a sympathetic deficiency on this same side. However, for the next greater than 6 years, his pain was consistently left-sided, although the signs of sympathetic dysfunction still were more marked on the right side. This was also true for the findings obtained during the interictal period and for the heating test performed within an attack. The implications of this interesting case are discussed. The view that two separate lines of symptom production lead to the pain and the autonomic phenomena seems to be supported by this case history. The cluster headache syndrome may also be a bilateral disorder, with only the weight of balance pointing one way or the other. Finally, the autonomic test results of this patient could reflect an autonomic "scar" in the previous headache side.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Sweat gland and pupillary responsiveness in Horner's syndrome.

Eight patients with Horner's syndrome (five with a 1st neuron lesion and three with a 2nd neuron lesion) were examined for their pupillary responses to pharmacologic stimulation with tyramine (2%) and with phenylephrine (1%) eye drops. The same patients were also evaluated for their forehead sweating pattern on stimulation with body heating and pilocarpine injection, using the Evaporimeter. Five patients had a brain stem (1st sympathetic neuron) lesion, while three patients had had a traumatic C8-Th1 root avulsion and hence had a preganglionic neuron lesion. The average response with the phenylephrine eye test and the pilocarpine sweat test differed markedly between the two groups; only the central neuron lesion group had a supersensitivity reaction to both drugs. These procedures may be of diagnostic value in localizing the lesion in patients with a Horner's syndrome of unknown etiology. Patients with 3rd neuron lesion have not been examined with this combination of techniques.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Cluster headache pathogenesis: a pupillometric study.

Thirty-two cluster headache patients and healthy controls (n = 16-20 for the various tests) were examined by means of a Whitaker pupillometer during pain-free intervals. Eye drops of the sympathomimetic agents tyramine, hydroxyamphetamine, and phenylephrine were instilled into the conjunctival sacs on separate occasions, and pupillary diameters recorded at standard time intervals. The mydriatic responses of the two pupils were compared. A moderate, but statistically significant, basal relative miosis was found on the pain side in cluster headache. The symptomatic-side pupils were less responsive than their counterparts when stimulated with tyramine and hydroxyamphetamine, the difference being statistically significant for the OH-amphetamine test. With the phenylephrine test, however, the mydriasis on the symptomatic side significantly exceeded that of the contralateral pupil. This pattern of reactions does not quite correspond to those of "ordinary" Horner's syndrome (1st, 2nd, and 3rd neuron lesion). There are, however, gross similarities with the recently reported pattern in central sympathetic neuron dysfunction. In cluster headache there is probably a "Horner-like picture" rather than a proper Horner's syndrome.

Adult↗