Radical Verses: Aku Päiviö's Literary Influence on the Finnish Working-Class

Aku Päiviö was one of the most influential voices of the Finnish labor movement in North America—a poet who also wrote plays and novels, and an editor who worked for a variety of newspapers across the United States and Canada. During the height of the Finnish socialist movement from around 1904-1916, Päiviö published a number of poems that identified with the actions and ideologies of the working-class. He also edited for newspapers such as Kansan Lehti and Raivaaja, further extending his literary reach. Despite his prodigious publications and influence, however, little of Päiviö’s writing has been translated into English. This paper celebrates Päiviö’s legacy with some English translations of his poems, specifically those commemorating the 1913-14 Michigan Copper Strike, and illuminates how various thematic and structural relationships in these poems relate to the ideologies and movements of the time.

Limited value of cyclosporine A for the treatment of patients with uveitis associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

AIMS: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is often associated with severe chronic anterior uveitis (CAU), and immunosuppressive therapy may be required. In this study, the value of cyclosporine A (CsA) as monotherapy or as combination therapy for treating uveitis was studied in a large cohort of JIA children. METHODS: Multicentre retrospective study including 82 JIA children (girls n=60) suffering from unilateral or bilateral (n=55) CAU. The indication for CsA was active uveitis, although patients were on topical or systemic corticosteroids, MTX, or other immunosuppressive drugs. RESULTS: Inactivity of uveitis during the entire treatment period (mean 3.9 years) was obtained with CsA monotherapy in 6 of 25 (24%) patients, but more often when CsA was combined with the immunosuppressives (35/72 patients; 48.6%, P=0.037), or MTX (18/37 patients, 48.6%, P=0.065), which had already been given. With CsA (mean dosage 2.9 mg/kg), systemic immunosuppressive drugs and steroids could be reduced by >or=50% (n=19) or topical steroids reduced to

Early diagnosis of temporomandibular joint involvement in juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a pilot study comparing clinical examination and ultrasound to magnetic resonance imaging

OBJECTIVES: To study the validity of both rheumatological and orthodontic examinations and ultrasound (US) as screening methods for early diagnosis of TMJ arthritis against the gold standard MRI. METHODS: Thirty consecutive juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) patients were included in this pilot study. Rheumatological and orthodontic examinations as well as US were performed within 1 month of the MRI in a blinded fashion. Joint effusion and/or increased contrast enhancement of synovium or bone were considered signs of active arthritis on MRI. RESULTS: A total of 19/30 (63%) patients and 33/60 (55%) joints had signs of TMJ involvement on MRI. This was associated with condylar deformity in 9/19 (47%) patients and 15/33 (45%) joints. Rheumatological, orthodontic and US examinations correctly diagnosed 11 (58%), 9 (47%) and 6 (33%) patients, respectively, with active TMJ arthritis, but misdiagnosed 8 (42%), 10 (53%) and 12 (67%) patients, respectively, as having no signs of inflammation. The best predictor for active arthritis on MRI was a reduced maximum mouth opening. CONCLUSION: None of the methods tested was able to reliably predict the presence or absence of MRI-proven inflammation in the TMJ in our cohort of JIA patients. US was the least useful of all methods tested to exclude active TMJ arthritis.

Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy with photosensitivity in a female with Velocardiofacial syndrome (del(22)(q11.2))--causal relationship or coincidence?

We report on an adolescent female with Velocardiofacial syndrome (del(22)(q11.2)) and an epilepsy phenotype resembling juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). Clinically, the patient has characteristic signs of both disorders. JME has been linked to several chromosomes, but has not been related to 22q11.2 and is rarely observed in other genetic syndromes. We discuss possible explanations for a relationship between the chromosomal aberration and epilepsy as well as the importance of precise delineation of both epilepsy phenotypes and genetic defects in chromosomal disorders.

[Eye complications in chronic juvenile arthritis]

BACKGROUND: The relationship between uveitis anterior in childhood and juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA, respectively JRA) has been known since 1950. In a review, the clinical picture of uveitis anterior, its prevalence, pathogenesis, prognosis and current therapy of ocular complications are presented. In addition, we will report our results of a clinical study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, 64 patients with juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA) had an ophthalmological screening for eye complications either from the disease itself or from the treatment. RESULTS: In 16% of the patients, an iridocyclitis was found, in one case acute, in 9 cases chronic. The cases of chronic uveitis anterior showed in 43% a combination with the classic risk factors (ANA-positive, oligoarticular, female). At the beginning of uveitis, the patients had a mean age of 81 months, at the beginning of JCA disease a mean age of 37 months. Four of 10 patients (= 40%) had eye complications from uveitis (cataract, posterior synechiae, glaucoma). Complications from therapy were found in 27%, mostly cataract as a complication of systemic and topical steroid treatment. Eighteen % had a visual acuity of 0.4 or less. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the often asymptomatic progression of chronic uveitis anterior, the risk of severe undetected eye complications is high. Therefore, an intensive interdisciplinary cooperation between rheumatologists, pediatrics and ophthalmologists is required.

[Juvenile chronic arthritis: a rare disease with potentially serious consequences]

The term juvenile chronic arthritis covers several nosological entities with very different clinical presentation, course and prognosis. This review addresses non-rheumatologists and non-pediatricians. Diagnostic criteria, clinical presentation of the most common nosological subgroups and relevant investigations are spotlighted. Therapeutic guidelines are presented, bearing in mind, that for each child an individual interdisciplinary plan has to be elaborated. This would involve close cooperation between the pediatrician, the pediatric rheumatologist, the family doctor, parents and, if necessary, the physiotherapist, ergotherapist, social worker, ophthalmologist, orthopedic surgeon and school teachers. It is essential that each member of this therapeutic team reports regularly.

[Juvenile chronic arthritis: therapeutic strategy 1990]

Therapeutic strategies based on experience with 119 patients with juvenile chronic arthritis are reviewed. Therapeutic goals are formulated and the means of attaining them (NSAIDs, the so-called disease modifying drugs gold, chloroquine and penicillamine, the antimetabolite methotrexate, intra-articular and systemic corticosteroids, physio- and ergotherapy, technical and orthopedic measures, as well as vocational and medicosocial aspects) are discussed. As the individual prognosis normally depends less on drugs than on preventive and rehabilitative measures, the outcome is largely determined by the quality of a well-coordinated inter-disciplinary team approach.