| 1. |
- Agardh, Elisabet, et al.
(författare)
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Visual acuity and perimetry as measures of visual function in diabetic macular oedema
- 2006
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Ingår i: Diabetologia. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-0428 .- 0012-186X. ; 49:1, s. 200-206
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: We examined to what extent visual acuity and perimetric sensitivity as measures of central and paracentral visual function would be useful for evaluating the presence and severity of diabetic macular oedema.MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated 59 eyes of 59 diabetic patients by identifying the presence (n=20) or absence (n=39) of macular oedema on stereo fundus photographs. The area of oedema and its distance to the centre of the macula were measured. Ischaemic macular damage was quantified by measuring the foveal avascular zone and adjacent perifoveolar intercapillary areas on fluorescein angiograms. Visual function was assessed by visual acuity charts and by short-wavelength perimetry and standard white-on-white perimetry of the central 10 degrees field.RESULTS: Visual acuity did not differ between eyes with and without macular oedema. In eyes with oedema, visual acuity was correlated to the distance of the oedema from the centre of the macula (log of minimum angle of resolution {LogMar} score decreased by 0.15/mm; p=0.006) and to the thickness of the retina when the centre was affected (LogMar score decreased by 0.003/mum of thickness; p=0.0002). Multivariate analyses confirmed the results (R (2)=0.46 and 0.77, respectively). Short-wavelength perimetry sensitivity was more depressed in eyes with oedema (p=0.033) but was not significantly associated with the presence of oedema after correction for macular ischaemic damage. There was no correlation between these field defects and the severity of oedema.CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Visual acuity was a useful measure of visual function in diabetic macular oedema involving the centre. Visual field defects were more common in eyes with macular oedema but reflected ischaemic damage of the macula rather than macular oedema itself.
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| 2. |
- Nayak, RC, et al.
(författare)
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Circulating anti-pericyte autoantibodies are present in Type 2 diabetic patients and are associated with non-proliferative retinopathy
- 2003
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Ingår i: Diabetologia. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-0428 .- 0012-186X. ; 46:4, s. 511-513
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims/Hypothesis. This study aims to determine the prevalence of anti-pericyte autoantibodies in Type 2 diabetes and to characterize these autoantibodies as new markers of disease activity in diabetic retinopathy. Methods. A total of 299 patients with Type 2 diabetes participated in this study. Retinopathy was assessed by 7-field stereo fundus photography and was graded according to the ETDRS scale. Serum anti-pericyte autoantibodies were detected by immunofluorescence on tissue cultured bovine retinal pericytes. Results. The prevalence of anti-pericyte autoantibodies in Type 2 diabetic patients was 54% and was approximately equal in men and women. The prevalence was approximately 55% with retinopathy at grades from 10 to 53. At grades above 53 the prevalence declined to 23% (p<0.0001). The highest prevalence by duration of diabetes, 70%, was found at 0 to 5 years and the lowest, 25% at more than 25 years duration (p<0.0001). Conclusion/interpretation. Anti-pericyte autoantibodies are present at high prevalence in Type 2 diabetes. Their presence during earlier stages of retinopathy could be due to a reaction with antigens expressed by "activated" pericytes. The decline in antibody prevalence in advanced retinopathy could mark pericyte loss and progression to an angiogenic retinal milieu.
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| 3. |
- Nilsson, Margareta, 1957-
(författare)
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Female urinary incontinence : impact on sexual life and psychosocial wellbeing in patients and partners, and patient-reported outcome after surgery
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Urinary incontinence (UI) and urgency are common conditions and can have a profound influence on many aspects of life. Approximately one in four women has UI and one in ten has daily symptoms. Knowledge is lacking, however, on the impact of UI and urgency on the lives of affected women and their partners and on the situation of women with urinary leakage one year postoperatively. Aims: To study the consequences of female UI and urgency for patients and their partners on quality of life (QoL), the partner relationship, and their sexual lives. Also to evaluate the success rates of three operation methods: tension-free vaginal tape (TVT), tension-free vaginal tape-obturator (TVT-O), and transobturator tape (TOT) for stress urinary incontinence (SUI), with a particular focus on women who still have urinary leakage one year after surgery. Methods: Women seeking healthcare for UI and/or urgency and their partners were invited to answer questionnaires. The women completed disease-specific questionnaires and both the women (n = 206) and their partners (n = 109) answered questions about their psychosocial situation, partner relationship, and sexual life. Patient-reported outcomes one year after surgery with TVT, TVT-O, or TOT (n = 3334) were derived from the Swedish National Quality Register for Gynaecological Surgery. Results: Most of the women reported that their urinary problems negatively affected their physical activities, and almost half reported negative consequences for their social life. Women aged 25–49 years were less satisfied with their psychological health, sexual life, and leisure than women aged 50–74 years. One third of both the women and their partners (all the partners were men) experienced a negative impact on their relationship, and sexual life was negatively affected in almost half of the women and one in five of their men. Coital incontinence was reported in one third of the women. Most of their men did not consider this a problem, but the majority of the affected women did. Satisfaction with outcome of the operation did not differ between TVT, TVT-O, and TOT, but TVT showed a higher success rate for SUI than TOT did. Higher age, higher body mass index, a diagnosis of mixed urinary incontinence, and a history of urinary leakage in combination with urgency each constitute a risk for a lower operation success rate. After one year, 29% of the women still had some form of UI, but half of these were satisfied with the outcome and most reported fewer negative impacts on family, social, working, and sexual life than before the operation. Conclusions: Female UI and/or urgency impaired QoL, particularly in young women, and had negative effects on partner relationships and on some partners’ lives. Sexual life was also affected, more often in women with UI and/or urgency than in their partners. At one-year follow-up after surgery, about one third of the women still had some form of UI, but the negative impact on their lives was reduced. A challenge for health care professionals is to initiate a dialogue with women with urinary symptoms about sexual function and what surgery can realistically be expected to accomplish.
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| 4. |
- Rosengren, Ulrika, et al.
(författare)
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Functional Biodiversity Aspects on the Nutrient Sustainability in Forests–: Importance of Root Distribution
- 2006
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Ingår i: Journal of Sustainable Forestry. - 1054-9811. ; 21:2-3, s. 75-98
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Nutrient availability is of major importance for plant productivity. When estimating long-term sustainability from a nutrient perspective it is therefore interesting to focus on long-term changes in the soil nutrient pools when comparing different forest types. Here, we have highlighted some factors of importance for long term nutrient sustainability (e.g., several forest rotations) and pointed out some important features that differ between forest tree species and also between monocultures and mixed species stands. Using computer models like PROFILE reveals tree rooting depth to be a crucial factor when assessing long-term nutrient sustainability. Literature studies show that soil type and other soil conditions have a strong effect on root distribution. However, Norway spruce is generally a very shallow rooted species, with approximately 80% of it fine roots in the top 20-25 cm, whereas for pendiculate oak, generally 80% of the roots are found down to 60 cm soil depth. Rooting depth of Scots pine and beech seem to be intermediate with 80% of the roots down to approximately 25-30 cm and 30-35 cm, respectively. Importance of mycorrhiza for nutrient uptake in a sustainability perspective is discussed in the paper.
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