| 1. |
- Pesonen, Erkki, et al.
(författare)
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Elevated infection parameters and infection symptoms predict an acute coronary event.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Therapeutic Advances in Cardiovascular Disease. - : SAGE Publications. - 1753-9447 .- 1753-9455. ; 2:6, s. 419-424
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The etiology and significance of flu-like symptoms often appearing before myocardial infarction should be clarified. METHODS: In a case-control study of 323 matched controls and a random sample of 110 out of 351 cases the presence of infection symptoms during the preceding four weeks before admission were asked and blood samples taken. RESULTS: Enterovirus (EV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), and Chlamydia pneumoniae IgA titers were significantly higher in cases than in controls (p<0.001, 0.008 and 0.046, respectively). Flu-like symptoms appeared significantly more often in patients than in controls the most common one being fatigue (p<0.001). In controls with fatigue, EV and HSV titers showed a trend to be higher (1.50 vs 1.45 and 4.29 vs 3.73) than in controls without fatigue but only HSV titers were statistically significantly higher (3.47 vs 3.96, p = 0.02). Even CRP and amyloid A concentrations (3.49 vs 2.08, p<0.0001 and 5.70 vs 3.77 mg/l, p = 0.003, respectively) as well as C4 (0.40 vs 0.44, p = 0.02) were higher in controls with fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: Odds ratios for a coronary event in a logistic regression model were 4.79 for fatigue and 2.72 for EV antibody levels in their fourth quartile. A linear-by-linear association test showed increasing number of single symptoms with higher EV titer quartiles (p = 0.004).
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| 2. |
- Midlöv, Patrik, et al.
(författare)
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Medication report reduces number of medication errors when elderly patients are discharged from hospital
- 2008
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Ingår i: PHARMACY WORLD & SCIENCE. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0928-1231 .- 1573-739X. ; 30:1, s. 92-98
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective To investigate whether a Medication Report can reduce the number of medication errors when elderly patients are discharged from hospital. Method We conducted a prospective intervention with retrospective controls on patients at three departments at Lund University Hospital, Sweden that where transferred to primary care. The intervention group, where patients received a Medication Report at discharge, was compared with a control group with patients of the same age, who were not given a Medication Report when discharged from the same ward one year earlier. Main outcome measures The main outcome measure was the number of medication errors when elderly patients were discharged from hospital. Results Among 248 patients in the intervention group 79 (32%) had at least one medication error as compared with 118 (66%) among the 179 patients in the control group. In the intervention group 15% of the patients had errors that were considered to have moderate or high risk of clinical consequences compared with 32% in the control group. The differences were statistically significant (P < 0.001). Conclusion Medication errors are common when elderly patients are discharged from hospital. The Medication Report is a simple tool that reduces the number of medication errors.
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| 3. |
- Almquist, Martin, et al.
(författare)
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Reproductive history, lifestyle factors and season as determinants for serum calcium concentrations in women.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Clinical & Laboratory Investigation. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1502-7686 .- 0036-5513. ; 68, s. 777-785
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective. Serum calcium concentrations have been associated with the risk of malignant disease, especially breast cancer. Thus, determinants of serum calcium concentrations, with special regard to risk factors of breast cancer, are of great interest. Material and methods. Previous studies have either been small or they have not focused on reproductive factors. The present study examined serum calcium concentrations in relation to reproductive history, selected lifestyle factors and screening season in a large population-based cohort study comprising 8,114 women. ANOVA followed by the Bonferroni t-test were used for comparison of means, and logistic regression and multiple regression analysis were used to test associations. Results. Serum calcium concentrations were lower in hormone replacement therapy users versus non-users (2.321 mmol/L versus 2.364; p<0.001) and in users of oral contraceptives versus non-users (2.304 versus 2.348; p<0.001). They were higher in peri-/postmenopausal versus premenopausal women (2.357 versus 2.319; p<0.001). Overweight and obese women had higher mean calcium concentrations (2.350 and 2.355) than women with body mass index between 20 and 25 (2.342; p<0.001). Serum calcium concentrations were higher in spring and autumn than in winter (2.352 and 2.353 versus 2.343; p = 0.002). Both younger (40-45 years) (2.334; p = 0.001) and older age groups (>55 years) (2.363; p<0.001) had higher mean calcium concentrations compared to those of women aged 45-50 years (2.320), even when adjusting for menopausal status, suggesting that age has an independent influence on calcium concentrations. Conclusions. It is concluded that reproductive factors such as menopausal status, use of oral contraceptives or hormone-replacement therapy, and age, BMI and season are associated with serum calcium concentrations.
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| 4. |
- Holmer, Helene, et al.
(författare)
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Nonfatal stroke, cardiac disease, and diabetes mellitus in hypopituitary patients on hormone replacement including growth hormone
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. - : The Endocrine Society. - 1945-7197 .- 0021-972X. ; 92:9, s. 3560-3567
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context: The impact of long-term GH replacement on cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus in hypopituitary patients is unknown. Objective: The incidence of nonfatal stroke and cardiac events, and prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus ( T2D) and cardioprotective medication were compared between cohorts of GH-deficient (GHD) patients and population controls. Design and Participants: The incidence of nonfatal stroke and cardiac events was estimated retrospectively from questionnaires in 750 GHD patients and 2314 matched population controls. A prevalence of T2D and cardioprotective medication was recorded at the distribution of questionnaires. Time since first pituitary deficiency to start of GH therapy was 4 and 2 yr, and time on GH therapy was 6 yr for GHD women and men, respectively. Results: Lifelong incidence of nonfatal stroke was tripled in GHD women and doubled in GHD men, but a decline was seen in both genders during periods after first pituitary hormone deficiency and GHD, during which most patients had GH therapy. The lifelong incidence of nonfatal cardiac events declined in GHD men during first pituitary hormone deficiency and GHD periods. GHD women had a higher prevalence of T2D and lipid-lowering medication, whereas GHD men had a higher prevalence of antihypertensive medication. Conclusions: The declined risks of nonfatal stroke in both genders and of nonfatal cardiac events in GHD men during periods on GH replacement may be caused by prescription of cardioprotective drugs and 6-yr GH replacement. GHD women had an increased prevalence of T2D, partly attributed to higher body mass index and lower physical activity.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Liu, Yawei, et al.
(författare)
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Neuron-mediated generation of regulatory T cells from encephalitogenic T cells suppresses EAE.
- 2006
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Ingår i: Nature Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-170X .- 1078-8956. ; 12:5, s. 518-525
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Neurons have been neglected as cells with a major immune-regulatory function because they do not express major histocompatibility complex class II. Our data show that neurons are highly immune regulatory, having a crucial role in governing T-cell response and central nervous system (CNS) inflammation. Neurons induce the proliferation of activated CD4+ T cells through B7-CD28 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1–TGF-beta receptor signaling pathways, resulting in amplification of T-cell receptor signaling through phosphorylated ZAP-70, interleukin (IL)-2 and IL-9. The interaction between neurons and T cells results in the conversion of encephalitogenic T cells to CD25+TGF-beta1+CTLA-4+FoxP3+ T regulatory (Treg) cells that suppress encephalitogenic T cells and inhibit experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Suppression is dependent on cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen (CTLA)-4 but not TGF-beta1. Autocrine action of TGF-beta1, however, is important for the proliferative arrest of Treg cells. Blocking the B7 and TGF-beta pathways prevents the CNS-specific generation of Treg cells. These findings show that generation of neuron-dependent Treg cells in the CNS is instrumental in regulating CNS inflammation.
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| 7. |
- Magnusson, Marie, et al.
(författare)
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A placebo-controlled study of retinal blood flow changes by pentoxifylline and metabolites in humans
- 2006
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Ingår i: British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. - : Wiley. - 0306-5251 .- 1365-2125. ; 61:2, s. 138-147
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIM: To investigate the possible effects of pentoxifylline metabolites on retinal blood flow in humans. METHODS: A randomized, placebo-controlled, four-period cross-over study that was observer blinded and partly blinded for the eight participants. On one occasion a placebo was given as an intravenous (i.v.) infusion over 100 min. On the other three occasions pentoxifylline was administered as i.v. infusions over 100 min at a rate of 3 mg min(-1). Before two of the pentoxifylline infusions the subjects were pretreated with either ciprofloxacin or rifampicin. Retinal blood flow was measured by scanning laser doppler flowmetry (SLDF) in a selected area of the central temporal retina before, during and until 5 h after the end of infusion. Blood samples for concentration analyses of pentoxifyllin, R-M1, S-M1, M4 and M5 were taken serially and areas under the curves (AUCs) were calculated. Linear mixed models were used for the statistical analyses. RESULTS: Mean AUCs (ng h ml(-1)) were significantly increased for pentoxifylline (1964 vs. 1453) and S-M1 (5804 vs. 4227), but not R-M1 when pentoxifylline was co-administered with ciprofloxacin. The mean AUC for M5 was significantly reduced when subjects were pretreated with rifampicin (2041 vs. 3080). Pentoxifylline with and without pretreatment with rifampicin significantly increased retinal blood flow assessed as mean flow, pulsation (i.e. 1-systole/diastole), and diastolic flow (but not during systole), compared with placebo. The increases over placebo were more pronounced on diastolic flow, 9.7% (95% confidence interval 4.2, 15.5) than on mean flow, 4.6% (1.1, 8.3) after pentoxifylline administration. With pentoxifylline after rifampicin pretreatment the corresponding differences were 11.7% (5.8, 17.9) and 5.1% (1.4, 7.8) over placebo, respectively. After co-administration of pentoxifylline and ciprofloxacin we saw only a nonsignificant trend towards increased flow during diastole, but a significant decrease in pulsation. When AUCs for pentoxifylline and its metabolites were used as regressor variables to retinal mean flow we found that pentoxifylline, R-M1 and M5 had coefficients with a positive sign indicating that they enhanced the retinal blood flow. In contrast, S-M1 and M4 had coefficients with negative sign and thus appeared to decrease the blood flow in subjects treated with pentoxifylline. CONCLUSION: The R-M1 and M5 metabolites of pentoxifylline contributed significantly to the effects of pentoxifylline on retinal blood flow.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Warkentin, Siegbert, et al.
(författare)
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rCBF pathology in Alzheimer's disease is associated with slow processing speed
- 2008
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Ingår i: Neuropsychologia. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-3514 .- 0028-3932. ; 46:5, s. 1193-1200
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Decreased information processing speed (mental slowing) is a known sequelae of many brain disorders, and can be assessed by continuous naming tasks. Functional imaging studies have shown that pause and articulation times in continuous speech are normally associated with different brain regions, but knowledge about such association in dementia is lacking. We therefore tested the hypothesis that perfusion deficits in Alzheimer's disease (AD) are not only associated with slower processing, but also with these speech measures. Using regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) measurements during the performance of a continuous colour and form-naming task, we found that naming speed was substantially slower in AD patients than in controls. This slower naming was exclusively determined by an increase in mean pause time, and only to a limited extent by articulation time. The increased pause time was uniquely associated with temporo-parietal rCBF reductions of the patients, while articulation was not. By contrast, the rCBF of healthy elderly control subjects was consistently accompanied by substantially shorter articulation and pause times, although the naming measures were not statistically associated with rCBF. These findings suggest that pause time (in contrast to articulation time) may serve as a sensitive measure in the assessment of information processing speed deficits in dementia, by virtue of its close association with brain pathology. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 10. |
- Fava, Cristiano, et al.
(författare)
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Novel mutations in the SLC12A3 gene causing Gitelman's syndrome in Swedes
- 2007
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Ingår i: DNA Sequence. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1029-2365 .- 1042-5179. ; 18:5, s. 395-399
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: Gitelman's syndrome (GS) is an inherited autosomal recessive disorder due to loss of function mutations in the SLC12A3 gene encoding the Na-Cl co-transporter (NCCT), the target of thiazide diuretics. The defective function of the NCCT, which normally is expressed in the apical membrane of the distal convolute tubule in the kidney, leads to mild hypotension, hypokalemia, hyperreninemic hyperaldosteronism, mild metabolic alkalosis, hypomagnesemia and hypocalciuria. Up to now, more than 100 mutations of the SLC12A3 gene have been described in GS patients. METHODS: We have collected 30 patients from Sweden with a clinical diagnosis of GS and undertaken a mutation screening by SSCP and successive sequencing of the 26 exons and intronic boundaries. Both mutations were identified in most (n = 28, 93%) and at least one mutation was identified in all patients. RESULTS: We found 22 different mutations evenly distributed throughout the gene, 11 of which have not been described previously. The new variants include 8 missense mutations (Glu68Lys, His69Asn, Argl45His, Vall53Met, Gly230Asp, Gly342Ala, Val677Leu and Gly867Ser), 1 insertion (c.834_835insG on exon 6) and 2 splice-site mutations (c.2667 + lT>G substitution in splicing donor site after exon 22, c.1569-1G>A substitution in the splicing acceptor site before exon 13). CONCLUSION: In Swedish patients with the clinical features of GS, disease-causing mutations in the SLC12A3 gene were identified in most patients. The spectrum of GS mutations is wide making full mutation screening of the SLC12A3 gene necessary to confirm the diagnosis.
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