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- Geser, F, et al.
(författare)
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The European Multiple System Atrophy-Study Group (EMSA-SG)
- 2005
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Ingår i: Journal of Neural Transmission. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0300-9564 .- 1435-1463. ; 112:12, s. 1677-1686
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction. The European Multiple System Atrophy-Study Group (EMSA-SG) is an academic network comprising 23 centers across Europe and Israel that has constituted itself already in January 1999. This international forum of established experts under the guidance of the University Hospital of Innsbruck as coordinating center is supported by the 5th framework program of the European Union since March 2001 (QLK6-CT-2000-00661). Objectives. Primary goals of the network include (1) a central Registry for European multiple system atrophy (MSA) patients, (2) a decentralized DNA Bank, (3) the development and validation of the novel Unified MSA Rating Scale (UMSARS), (4) the conduction of a Natural History Study (NHS), and (5) the planning or implementation of interventional therapeutic trials. Methods. The EMSA-SG Registry is a computerized data bank localized at the coordinating centre in Innsbruck collecting diagnostic and therapeutic data of MSA patients. Blood samples of patients and controls are recruited into the DNA Bank. The UMSARS is a novel specific rating instrument that has been developed and validated by the EMSA-SG. The NHS comprises assessments of basic anthropometric data as well as a range of scales including the UMSARS, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), measures of global disability, Red Flag list, MMSE (Mini Mental State Examination), quality of live measures, i.e. EuroQoL 5D (EQ-5D) and Medical Outcome Study Short Form (SF-36) as well as the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). In a subgroup of patients dysautonomic features are recorded in detail using the Queen Square Cardiovascular Autonomic Function Test Battery, the Composite Autonomic Symptom Scale (COMPASS) and measurements of residual urinary volume. Most of these measures are repeated at 6-monthly follow up visits for a total study period of 24 months. Surrogate markers of the disease progression are identified by the EMSA-SG using magnetic resonance and diffusion weighted imaging (MRI and DWI, respectively). Results. 412 patients have been recruited into the Registry so far. Probable MSA-P was the most common diagnosis (49% of cases). 507 patients donated DNA for research. 131 patients have been recruited into the NHS. There was a rapid deterioration of the motor disorder (in particular akinesia) by 26.1% of the UMSARS II, and - to a lesser degree - of activities of daily living by 16.8% of the UMSARS I in relation to the respective baseline scores. Motor progression was associated with low motor or global disability as well as low akinesia or cerebellar subscores at baseline. Mental function did not deteriorate during this short follow up period. Conclusion. For the first time, prospective data concerning disease progression are available. Such data about the natural history and prognosis of MSA as well as surrogate markers of disease process allow planning and implementation of multi-centre phase II/III neuroprotective intervention trials within the next years more effectively. Indeed, a trial on growth hormone in MSA has just been completed, and another on minocycline will be completed by the end of this year.
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- Caillaud, B., et al.
(författare)
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Safe and ergonomic welding masks by fast liquid crystals
- 2008
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Ingår i: Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1563-5287 .- 1542-1406. ; 494, s. 195-204
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent developments in welding technology, in particular the high intensity pulsed welding arc, have sharpened the requirements on speed and adjustable attenuation for safe and ergonomic operations. With this advent the conventional welding helmets based on nematic liquid crystals are facing difficulties because the nematics are not responding fast enough to stroboscopically follow the changing intensity of the arc during pulsed welding. We propose here a new generation of welding shutters based on smectic (ferroelectric or antiferroelectric) liquid crystals which are fast enough to be synchronized to follow pulsed arc regimes and hence permitting a better visibility of the object under work. The two varieties of smectic materials used are polymer-stabilized in order to make the device shock-proof, to prevent the formation of specific defects such as stripes and chevrons, and to reduce the back-relaxation time in the antiferroelectric case.
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- Dahlberg, C., et al.
(författare)
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Refining the model system of central nervous system regeneration in Ciona intestinalis
- 2009
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Ingår i: PLoS One. ; 4:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background New, practical models of central nervous system regeneration are required and should provide molecular tools and resources. We focus here on the tunicate Ciona intestinalis, which has the capacity to regenerate nerves and a complete adult central nervous system, a capacity unusual in the chordate phylum. We investigated the timing and sequence of events during nervous system regeneration in this organism. Methodology/Principal Findings We developed techniques for reproducible ablations and for imaging live cellular events in tissue explants. Based on live observations of more than 100 regenerating animals, we subdivided the regeneration process into four stages. Regeneration was functional, as shown by the sequential recovery of reflexes that established new criteria for defining regeneration rates. We used transgenic animals and labeled nucleotide analogs to describe in detail the early cellular events at the tip of the regenerating nerves and the first appearance of the new adult ganglion anlage. Conclusions/Significance The rate of regeneration was found to be negatively correlated with adult size. New neural structures were derived from the anterior and posterior nerve endings. A blastemal structure was implicated in the formation of new neural cells. This work demonstrates that Ciona intestinalis is as a useful system for studies on regeneration of the brain, brain-associated organs and nerves.
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- Knape, J. T. A., et al.
(författare)
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Guidelines for sedation and/or analgesia by non-anaesthesiology doctors
- 2007
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Ingår i: European Journal of Anaesthesiology. - 1365-2346. ; 24:7, s. 563-567
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The still ever increasing demand for sedation and/or analgesia for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures puts high pressure on anaesthesia care providers all over Europe. Since the capacity to provide that service by anaesthetists is limited in most European countries, guidelines for non-anaesthetist doctors who want to sedate patients on a high-quality level and especially in a safe way are mandatory. This paper, produced by a working party of the European Board of Anaesthesiology of the European Union of Medical Specialists (EUMS/UEMS), gives direction to those practitioners who feel responsibilities in this area of medicine. Close cooperation with anaesthesiologists seems mandatory to achieve and sustain a high-quality standard for our patients undergoing medical or surgical procedures under sedation.
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- Krönström, Jenny, 1978, et al.
(författare)
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Serotonin and nitric oxide interaction in the control of bioluminescence in northern krill, Meganyctiphanes norvegica (M. Sars)
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Experimental Biology. - : The Company of Biologists. - 0022-0949 .- 1477-9145. ; 210:18, s. 3179-3187
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The role of nitric oxide (NO) in the control of bioluminescence (light production) in the crustacean Meganyctiphanes norvegica (krill) was investigated using pharmacological and immunohistochemical methods. All nitrergic drugs tested failed to induce bioluminescence per se but modulated light production stimulated by 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). NO donors [sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP)] injected in live specimens significantly reduced light production stimulated by 5-HT, whereas inhibition of the enzyme NO synthase (NOS) with L-NAME (NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester) resulted in an enhancement of the 5-HT response. The effects of NO do not seem to be mediated via production of cGMP as injections of a cGMP analogue (8-Bromoguanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate) gave inconclusive effects on the 5-HT-stimulated light response. Inhibition of cGMP production with ODQ (1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one) did not affect the light response. Moreover, a few individuals showed a considerably higher response to 5-HT in April and June compared with specimens collected in the autumn and winter. Furthermore, both NOS-like and 5-HT-like materials were detected by immunohistochemistry inside the light organs. NOS-like immunoreactivity was primarily observed in structures associated with vessels inside the light organs, whereas 5-HT-like material was abundant in nerve fibres throughout the whole light organ. The results suggest that NO has a modulatory role at several levels in the control of light production in M. norvegica and that NO and 5-HT interact in this regulation.
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- Ledoux, X, et al.
(författare)
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A neutron beam facility at SPIRAL-2
- 2007
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Ingår i: International Conference on Nuclear Data for Science and Technology, Nice, France, April 22-27, 2007, (accepted).
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)
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