| 1. |
- Sundvall, Pär-Daniel, et al.
(författare)
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Interleukin-6 concentrations in the urine and dipstick analyses were related to bacteriuria but not symptoms in the elderly: a cross sectional study of 421 nursing home residents
- 2014
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Ingår i: BMC Geriatrics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2318. ; 14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Up to half the residents of nursing homes for the elderly have asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU), which should not be treated with antibiotics. A complementary test to discriminate between symptomatic urinary tract infections (UTI) and ABU is needed, as diagnostic uncertainty is likely to generate significant antibiotic overtreatment. Previous studies indicate that Interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the urine might be suitable as such a test. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between laboratory findings of bacteriuria, IL-6 in the urine, dipstick urinalysis and newly onset symptoms among residents of nursing homes. Methods: In this cross sectional study, voided urine specimens for culture, urine dipstick and IL-6 analyses were collected from all residents capable of providing a voided urine sample, regardless of the presence of symptoms. Urine specimens and symptom forms were provided from 421 residents of 22 nursing homes. The following new or increased nonspecific symptoms occurring during the previous month were registered; fatigue, restlessness, confusion, aggressiveness, loss of appetite, frequent falls and not being herself/himself, as well as symptoms from the urinary tract; dysuria, urinary urgency and frequency. Results: Recent onset of nonspecific symptoms was common among elderly residents of nursing homes (85/421). Urine cultures were positive in 32% (135/421), Escherichia coli was by far the most common bacterial finding. Residents without nonspecific symptoms had positive urine cultures as often as those with nonspecific symptoms with a duration of up to one month. Residents with positive urine cultures had higher concentrations of IL-6 in the urine (p < 0.001). However, among residents with positive urine cultures there were no differences in IL-6 concentrations or dipstick findings between those with or without nonspecific symptoms. Conclusions: Nonspecific symptoms among elderly residents of nursing homes are unlikely to be caused by bacteria in the urine. This study could not establish any clinical value of using dipstick urinalysis or IL-6 in the urine to verify if bacteriuria was linked to nonspecific symptoms.
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| 2. |
- Nordberg, Marika, et al.
(författare)
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Aetiology of tick-borne infections in an adult swedish population-are co-infections with multiple agents common
- 2014
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Ingår i: Open Journal of Clinical Diagnostics. - Scientific Research : Scientific Research Publishing, Inc.. - 2162-5816 .- 2162-5824. ; 4:1, s. 31-40
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Scandinavia, tick-borne infections affecting humans include Lyme borreliosis (LB), tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA). Each of these infections can present with unspecific symptoms. In this prospective clinical study, we recruited patients based on two independent inclusion criteria; 1) patients with unspecific symptoms, i.e. fever (≥38.0˚C) or a history of feverishness and/or any combination of headache, myalgia or arthralgia and 2) patients with erythema migrans (EM), following an observed tick bite or tick exposure within one month prior to onset of symptoms. A total of 206 patients fulfilled the study. Among these, we could identify 186 cases of LB (174 with EM), 18 confirmed and two probable cases of HGA and two cases of TBE. Thirteen of the HGA cases presented without fever. Furthermore, 22 of the EM patients had a sub-clinical co-infection with Anaplasma phagocytophilum, based on serology. Both TBE cases had co-infections, one with Borrelia burgdorferi and one with Anaplasma phagocytophilum. We conclude that it is important to consider several causative agents and possible co-infections in the clinical management of infectious diseases where ticks may be suspected as vectors.
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| 3. |
- Paulsson, Kajsa, et al.
(författare)
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High modal number and triple trisomies are highly correlated favorable factors in childhood B-cell precursor high hyperdiploid acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated according to the NOPHO ALL 1992/2000 protocols.
- 2013
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Ingår i: Haematologica. - : Ferrata Storti Foundation (Haematologica). - 1592-8721 .- 0390-6078. ; 98:9, s. 1424-1432
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Between 1992 and 2008, 713 high hyperdiploid acute lymphoblastic leukemias in children aged 1-15 years were diagnosed and treated according to the Nordic Society for Pediatric Hematology and Oncology acute lymphoblastic leukemia 1992/2000 protocols. Twenty (2.8%) harbored t(1;19), t(9;22), der(11q23), or t(12;21). The median age was lower in the patients with 'classic' high hyperdiploidy than in those with translocation-positive high hyperdiploidy (P<0.001). Cases with triple trisomies (+4, +10, +17), comprising 50%, had higher modal numbers than the triple trisomy-negative cases (P<0.0001). The probabilities of event-free survival and overall survival were lower for those with white blood cell counts ≥50 x 109/L (P=0.017/P=0.009), ≥5% bone marrow blasts at day 29 (P=0.001/0.002), and for high risk patients (P<0.001/P=0.003), whereas event-free, but not overall, survival, was higher for cases with gains of chromosomes 4 (P<0.0001), 6 (P<0.003), 17 (P=0.010), 18 (P=0.049), and 22 (P=0.040), triple trisomies (P=0.002), and modal numbers >53/55 (P=0.020/0.024). In multivariate analyses, modal number and triple trisomies were significantly associated with superior event-free survival in separate analyses with age and white blood cell counts. When including both modal numbers and triple trisomies, only low white blood cell counts were significantly associated with superior event-free survival (P=0.009). We conclude that high modal chromosome numbers and triple trisomies are highly correlated prognostic factors and that these two parameters identify the same patient subgroup characterized by a particularly favorable outcome.
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| 4. |
- Wahlin, Björn Engelbrekt, et al.
(författare)
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T Cells in Tumors and Blood Predict Outcome in Follicular Lymphoma Treated with Rituximab
- 2011
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Ingår i: Clinical Cancer Research. - : American Association for Cancer Research. - 1078-0432 .- 1557-3265. ; 17:12, s. 4136-4144
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: T cells influence outcome in follicular lymphoma, but their contributions seem to be modified by therapy. Their impact in patients receiving rituximab without chemotherapy is unknown. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Using flow cytometry, we evaluated the T cells in tumors and/or blood in a total of 250 follicular lymphoma patients included in two Nordic Lymphoma Group randomized trials that compared single rituximab with IFN-α2a-rituximab combinations. RESULTS: In univariate analysis, higher levels of CD3(+), CD4(+), and CD8(+) T cells in both tumors and blood correlated with superior treatment responses, and in multivariate analysis, tumor-CD3(+) (P = 0.011) and blood-CD4(+) (P = 0.029) cells were independent. CD4(+) cells were favorable regardless of treatment arm, but CD8(+) cells were favorable only in patients treated with single rituximab, because IFN-α2a improved responses especially in patients with low CD8(+) cell levels. Higher levels of blood-CD3(+) (P = 0.003) and blood-CD4(+) (P = 0.046) cells predicted longer overall survival, and higher levels of blood-CD8(+) cells longer times to next treatment (P = 0.046). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that therapeutic effects of rituximab are augmented by tumor-associated T cells for rapid responses and by systemic T cells for sustained responses. CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells are both favorable in patients treated with rituximab. IFN-α2a abrogates the negative impact of few CD8(+) cells.
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| 5. |
- Nordström, Lena, et al.
(författare)
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SOX11 and TP53 add prognostic information to MIPI in a homogenously treated cohort of mantle cell lymphoma : a Nordic Lymphoma Group study
- 2014
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Ingår i: British Journal of Haematology. - : Wiley. - 0007-1048 .- 1365-2141. ; 166:1, s. 98-108
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an aggressive B cell lymphoma, where survival has been remarkably improved by use of protocols including high dose cytarabine, rituximab and autologous stem cell transplantation, such as the Nordic MCL2/3 protocols. In 2008, a MCL international prognostic index (MIPI) was created to enable stratification of the clinical diverse MCL patients into three risk groups. So far, use of the MIPI in clinical routine has been limited, as it has been shown that it inadequately separates low and intermediate risk group patients. To improve outcome and minimize treatment-related morbidity, additional parameters need to be evaluated to enable risk-adapted treatment selection. We have investigated the individual prognostic role of the MIPI and molecular markers including SOX11, TP53 (p53), MKI67 (Ki-67) and CCND1 (cyclin D1). Furthermore, we explored the possibility of creating an improved prognostic tool by combining the MIPI with information on molecular markers. SOX11 was shown to significantly add prognostic information to the MIPI, but in multivariate analysis TP53 was the only significant independent molecular marker. Based on these findings, we propose that TP53 and SOX11 should routinely be assessed and that a combined TP53/MIPI score may be used to guide treatment decisions.
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| 6. |
- Andersson, Sandra, et al.
(författare)
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The Transcriptomic and Proteomic Landscapes of Bone Marrow and Secondary Lymphoid Tissues
- 2014
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 9:12, s. e115911-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The sequencing of the human genome has opened doors for global gene expression profiling, and the immense amount of data will lay an important ground for future studies of normal and diseased tissues. The Human Protein Atlas project aims to systematically map the human gene and protein expression landscape in a multitude of normal healthy tissues as well as cancers, enabling the characterization of both housekeeping genes and genes that display a tissue-specific expression pattern. This article focuses on identifying and describing genes with an elevated expression in four lymphohematopoietic tissue types (bone marrow, lymph node, spleen and appendix), based on the Human Protein Atlas-strategy that combines high throughput transcriptomics with affinity-based proteomics. Results: An enriched or enhanced expression in one or more of the lymphohematopoietic tissues, compared to other tissue-types, was seen for 693 out of 20,050 genes, and the highest levels of expression were found in bone marrow for neutrophilic and erythrocytic genes. A majority of these genes were found to constitute well-characterized genes with known functions in lymphatic or hematopoietic cells, while others are not previously studied, as exemplified by C19ORF59. Conclusions: In this paper we present a strategy of combining next generation RNA-sequencing with in situ affinity-based proteomics in order to identify and describe new gene targets for further research on lymphatic or hematopoietic cells and tissues. The results constitute lists of genes with enriched or enhanced expression in the four lymphohematopoietic tissues, exemplified also on protein level with immunohistochemical images.
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| 7. |
- Khezri, Banafsheh, et al.
(författare)
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Estimation of the possible economic effects of a sequential testing strategy with NT-proBNP before echocardiography in primary care
- 2014
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Ingår i: Clinical Laboratory. - 1433-6510. ; 60:7-8, s. 881-886
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND:The object of the study was to estimate the possible economic effects of a sequential testing strategy with NT-proBNP from a primary care payer perspective.METHODS:The study data were collected from primary care physicians in the County of Uppland from 2005 through 2012. Two different cut-off levels were used for negative NT-proBNP in the rule-out test: 300 and 400 pg/mL. The cost-effectiveness of the testing strategy was estimated through the short-term cost avoidance and reduction in demand for echocardiographies.RESULTS:The female patients were slightly older than the males. Based on the data from 2012, the estimated costs for NT-proBNP tests and echocardiographies per county were reduced by EUR 300000/100000 inhabitants with the 300 pg/mL cut-off and EUR 350000/100000 inhabitants with the 400 pg/mL.CONCLUSIONS:The use of NT-proBNP as a rule-out test in a sequential testing strategy reduced the cost for diagnostic work-up of primary care patients with suspected heart failure.
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| 8. |
- Geisler, Christian H., et al.
(författare)
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The Mantle Cell Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (MIPI) is superior to the International Prognostic Index (IPI) in predicting survival following intensive first-line immunochemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT)
- 2010
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Ingår i: Blood. - : American Society of Hematology. - 0006-4971 .- 1528-0020. ; 115:8, s. 1530-1533
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) has a heterogeneous clinical course. The recently proposed Mantle Cell Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (MIPI) predicted the survival of MCL better than the International Prognostic Index in MCL patients treated with conventional chemotherapy, but its validity in MCL treated with more intensive immunochemotherapy has been questioned. Applied here to 158 patients of the Nordic MCL2 trial of first-line intensive immunochemotherapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation, the MIPI and the simplified MIPI (s-MIPI) predicted survival significantly better (P < .001) than the International Prognostic Index (P > .004). Both the MIPI and the s-MIPI mainly identified 2 risk groups, low and intermediate versus high risk, with the more easily applied s-MIPI being just as powerful as the MIPI. The MIPI(B) (biological), incorporating Ki-67 expression, identified almost half of the patients as high risk. We suggest that also a simplified MIPI(B) is feasible.
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| 9. |
- Hjalgrim, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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HLA-A alleles and infectious mononucleosis suggest a critical role for cytotoxic T-cell response in EBV-related Hodgkin lymphoma
- 2010
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 107:14, s. 6400-6405
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A proportion of classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is believed to be causally related to infection with the ubiquitous lymphotropic EBV. The determining factors for development of EBV-related HL remain poorly understood, but likely involve immunological control of the viral infection. Accordingly, markers of the HLA class I region have been associated with risk of EBV-related HL. To study the host genetic component of EBV-related HL further, we investigated the lymphoma's association with HLA-A*01 and HLA-A*02 simultaneously in the setting of infectious mononucleosis (IM), a risk factor for EBV-related HL, in a case-series analysis including 278 EBV-related and 656 EBV-unrelated cases of HL. By logistic regression, HLA-A*01 alleles [odds ratio (OR) per allele, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.60-2.88] were associated with increased and HLA-A*02 alleles (OR per allele, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.51-0.97) with decreased risk of EBV-related HL. These allele-specific associations corresponded to nearly 10-fold variation in risk of EBV-related HL between HLA-A*01 and HLA-A*02 homozygotes. History of IM was also associated with risk of EBV-related HL (OR, 3.40; 95% CI, 1.74-6.66). The association between history of IM and EBV-related HL was not seen in the presence of HLA-A*02 because this allele appeared to neutralize the effect of IM on EBV-related HL risk. Our findings suggest that HLA class I-restricted EBV-specific cytotoxic T-cell responses and events in the early immune response to EBV infection in IM play critical roles in the pathogenesis of EBV-related HL.
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| 10. |
- Kolstad, Arne, et al.
(författare)
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Nordic MCL-3 study : 90Y-ibritumomab-tiuxetan added to BEAM/C in non-CR patients before transplant in mantle cell lymphoma
- 2014
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Ingår i: Blood. - : American Society of Hematology. - 0006-4971 .- 1528-0020. ; 123:19, s. 2953-2959
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The main objective of the MCL3 study was to improve outcome for patients not in CR before transplant by adding (90)Y-ibritumomab-tiuxetan (Zevalin) to the high-dose regimen. 160 consecutive, untreated stage II-IV MCL patients < 66 years received rituximab (R)- maxi-CHOP alternating with R-high-dose Ara-C (6 cycles total), followed by high-dose BEAM or BEAC and autologous stem cell transplantation 2005-2009. Zevalin (0.4 mCi/kg) was given to responders in only CRu/PR prior to high-dose therapy. The overall response rate (ORR) pre-transplant was 97%. After a median follow-up of 4.4 years the outcome did not differ from that of the historic control, the MCL2 trial with the same treatment except for Zevalin. Overall (OS), event free (EFS), and progression-free survival (PFS) at 4 years were 78, 62 and 71%, respectively. For patients in CRu/PR before transplant who received Zevalin duration of response was shorter than in the CR group. Inferior PFS, EFS- and OS were predicted by PET-positivity pre-transplant and detectable minimal residual disease (MRD) before and after transplant. In conclusion, a positive PET prior to transplant and MRD are strong predictors of outcome. Late intensification with Zevalin may be too late to improve the outcome of patients not in CR before transplant.
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