The content of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and homovanillic acid in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with acute schizophrenia

The level of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and homovanillic acid in the cerebrospinal fluid were determied in a group of acute untreated schizophrenic patients and an age-matched group of other acute phychiatric patients as controls. No significant differences could be shown between the patients and the controls. When all paranoid patients are compared to all non-paranoid patients of the series, those patients with dominant paranoid thought content and/or paranoid hallucinations had a significantly higher level of HVA (p < 0.01) than the patients with no manifest paranoid symptomatology.     

Attendance pattern and continuity of dental care of Finnish adults over a 5 year period

The study deals with the frequency of using dental services and continuity of visting the same dentist by adults in Finland during the 5 years up to 1981. A representative sample of 17-65 year old Finnish adults was interviewed by telephone or when this was not possible, personally. The data were collected by the Central Statistical Office of Finland in autumn 1981. Twenty-two per cent of the subjects had not visited a dentist during the past 5 years. One-third had had more than three treatment courses during the same period. The number of treatment periods increased with higher educational and professional status. Half of the subjects who had had more than one treatment period had continued to attend the same dentist during different treatment periods. Young persons had changed dentist more often than older ones. The most common reason for changing dentist was change of residence. Nine percent did not wish to continue treatment with the same dentist. Income, age, profession and region of living accounted for 10% of the number of changes of dentist.     

The amygdala and schizophrenia: a volumetric magnetic resonance imaging study in first-episode, neuroleptic-naive patients.

BACKGROUND: The attempts to evaluate amygdaloid volumes using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with schizophrenia have yielded highly divergent results. METHODS: Volumes of the amygdala were measured in 22 healthy participants and 18 neuroleptic-naive patients with first-episode schizophrenia, while controlling for intracranial area, gender, age, and handedness. RESULTS: Persons with schizophrenia presented significantly lower amygdaloid volumes bilaterally. No significant correlations were found between the amygdaloid volumes and either the duration of the disease or the symptom severity. CONCLUSIONS:Amygdaloid volume anomalies are already present in the early phases of schizophrenia.     

Coronary and aortic atherosclerosis in chronic alcoholics

Summary The severity of the atherosclerotic involvement of the coronary arteries and the abdominal aorta was compared in a medico-legal autopsy series of chronic alcoholics and violent deaths. Atherosclerosis was quantitated by surface area measurements made by the point—counting technique. Coronary fatty streaks were less extensive in chronic alcoholics than in violent deaths. The extent of coronary and aortic raised lesion and the severity of coronary stenosis did not differ in medico-legally autopsied chronic alcoholics from that in persons who died of violent causes.

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Zusammenfassung Atherosklerose der Herzkranzschlagadern und der abdominalen Aorta wurde bei Alkoholikern und bei Unfalltoten in einem gerichtsmedizinischen Sektionsmaterial untersucht. Die Fetteinlagerungen in der Intima der Coronararterien waren leichter bei Alkoholikern als bei Unfalltoten. Es war keine signifikante Differenz zwischen Alkoholikern und Unfalltoten in der Stärke der Atheromatose und Coronarstenosen.

     

Coronary and aortic atherosclerosis in finnish men born in various regions of the country

The severity of atherosclerotic involvement in the coronary arteries and the abdominal aorta was studied in 205 men who died violently in Helsinki. The men were subdivided into 3 groups: (1) the western group, which included 52 men born in western counties of the country, where the mortality rate of coronary heart disease is below the mean level of the country; (2) the eastern group: 88 men born in counties in eastern, central and northern Finland, where the CHD mortality rate is above the mean level of the country; and (3) the Helsinki-Uusimaa group: 65 men born in the capital city or in the county surrounding it.

There was no significant difference between the groups in the extent of coronary and aortic fatty streaks, raised lesions and complicated lesions, or in the severity of aortic calcification. The extent of radiologically-determined coronary calcification significantly differed between the western and eastern groups. The trend towards a difference in the severity of coronary stenosis between these groups did not achieve statistical significance. It is concluded that the more severe CHD in eastern than western Finland is related to the earlier and more severe secondary degeneration of coronary plaques in the east than in the west.     

Oral hygiene, dental visits and age of denture for prevalence of denture stomatitis

Abstract A representative sample of Finnish denture wearers (n= 3875) aged 30 or over were examined clinically and interviewed about their oral hygiene habits, use of dental services and possible prosthetic treatment during last visit to a dentist. Of these denture wearers, over 80% brushed their dentures at least once a day, and 16% visited a dentist at least once in 2 yr. For denture stomatitis the age-standardized risk ratio decreased with brushing frequency in women and increased in men. For frequency of dental visits the prevalence of denture stomatitis increased in both men and women when visits were made over 2-yr intervals. The prevalence of denture stomatitis was higher in the group with dentures over 1 yr old. It seems that the oral hygiene measures as they are generally carried out and regular dental visits are not effective enough methods in preventing denture stomatitis.     

Coronary behavior in three regions of Finland

A brief coronary behavior questionnaire was administered to subjects living in three geographical regions in Finland. Two regions (East and West Finland) were rural, the third (Helsinki) was urban. When controlled for differences in coronary heart disease prevalence, East Finns showed significantly more striving and time urgency behavior than West Finns, and significantly less work dissatisfaction. Helsinki post-MI survivors showed significantly higher striving and time-urgency behavior than post-MI patients in East and West Finland. No coronary behavior differences were found between abrupt coronary death victims and survivors of myocardial infarction in Helsinki. Finally, work dissatisfaction was seen to be negatively related to striving and time urgency dimensions as well as to autopsy evidence of prolonged heart disease in a sample of coronary death victims.     

A volumetric MRI study of the entorhinal cortex in first episode neuroleptic-naive schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: Imaging studies have frequently reported volume loss of limbic structures in schizophrenia, yet there appears to be no quantitative data on entorhinal cortex volumes in patients with neuroleptic naive first-episode schizophrenia. METHODS: The volume of the entorhinal cortices of 22 control subjects and 18 patients with neuroleptic-na?ve first-episode schizophrenia were measured from magnetic resonance images (MRI) scans using recently designed anatomic criteria for MRI anatomy of the entorhinal cortex. RESULTS: Smaller entorhinal volumes were found bilaterally in the schizophrenic patients. This volume loss did not correlate with items on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest early involvement of the entorhinal cortex in schizophrenia.     

Prevalence of oral mucosal lesions associated with wearing removable dentures in Finnish adults

Of a representative sample of 8000 persons aged 30 and over living in Finland, 3875 users of removable dentures were examined. The condition of the oral mucosa was recorded during clinical examinations. The prevalence of oral mucosal lesions associated with removable dentures was analyzed according to age, sex, place of residence, geographical region of living, and type and location of prosthesis. Lesions were found in about 50% of the denture wearers. Women were affected more often than men. The prevalence of lesions decreased with age and differed slightly according to region of living and place of residence. Compared with the wearing of partial dentures, wearing complete dentures increased the risk of lesions. Only one of the 72 denture users who wore a denture with metallic base plate had oral mucosal lesions associated with wearing a denture.