| 1. |
- Andersen, Niels S., et al.
(författare)
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Pre-Emptive Treatment With Rituximab of Molecular Relapse After Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation in Mantle Cell Lymphoma
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of Clinical Oncology. - 0732-183X .- 1527-7755. ; 27:26, s. 4365-4370
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose Minimal residual disease (MRD) is predictive of clinical progression in mantle-cell lymphoma (MCL). According to the Nordic MCL-2 protocol we prospectively analyzed the efficacy of pre-emptive treatment using rituximab to MCL patients in molecular relapse after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Patients and Materials MCL patients enrolled onto the study, who had polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detectable molecular markers and underwent ASCT, were followed with serial PCR assessments of MRD in consecutive bone marrow and peripheral blood samples after ASCT. In case of molecular relapse with increasing MRD levels, patients were offered pre-emptive treatment with rituximab 375 mg/m(2) weekly for 4 weeks. Results Of 160 MCL patients enrolled, 145 underwent ASCT, of whom 78 had a molecular marker. Of these, 74 were in complete remission (CR) and four had progressive disease after ASCT. Of the CR patients, 36 underwent a molecular relapse up to 6 years (mean, 18.5 months) after ASCT. Ten patients did not receive pre-emptive treatment mainly due to a simultaneous molecular and clinical relapse, while 26 patients underwent pre-emptive treatment leading to reinduction of molecular remission in 92%. Median molecular and clinical relapse-free survival after pre-emptive treatment were 1.5 and 3.7 years, respectively. Of the 38 patients who remain in molecular remission for now for a median of 3.3 years (range, 0.4 to 6.6 years), 33 are still in clinical CR. Conclusion Molecular relapse may occur many years after ASCT in MCL, and PCR based pre-emptive treatment using rituximab is feasible, reinduce molecular remission, and may prevent clinical relapse.
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| 2. |
- Geisler, Christian H., et al.
(författare)
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Long-term progression-free survival of mantle cell lymphoma after intensive front-line immunochemotherapy with in vivo-purged stem cell rescue : a nonrandomized phase 2 multicenter study by the Nordic Lymphoma Group
- 2008
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Ingår i: Blood. - : American Society of Hematology. - 0006-4971 .- 1528-0020. ; 112:7, s. 2687-93
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is considered incurable. Intensive immunochemotherapy with stem cell support has not been tested in large, prospective series. In the 2nd Nordic MCL trial, we treated 160 consecutive, untreated patients younger than 66 years in a phase 2 protocol with dose-intensified induction immunochemotherapy with rituximab (R) + cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, prednisone (maxi-CHOP), alternating with R + high-dose cytarabine. Responders received high-dose chemotherapy with BEAM or BEAC (carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, and melphalan/cyclophosphamide) with R-in vivo purged autologous stem cell support. Overall and complete response was achieved in 96% and 54%, respectively. The 6-year overall, event-free, and progression-free survival were 70%, 56%, and 66%, respectively, with no relapses occurring after 5 years. Multivariate analysis showed Ki-67 to be the sole independent predictor of event-free survival. The nonrelapse mortality was 5%. The majority of stem cell products and patients assessed with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) after transplantation were negative. Compared with our historical control, the Nordic MCL-1 trial, the event-free, overall, and progression-free survival, the duration of molecular remission, and the proportion of PCR-negative stem cell products were significantly increased (P < .001). Intensive immunochemotherapy with in vivo purged stem cell support can lead to long-term progression-free survival of MCL and perhaps cure. Registered at www.isrctn.org as #ISRCTN 87866680.
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| 3. |
- Johansson, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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Systemic antibodies to the leukotoxin of the oral pathogen Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans correlate negatively with stroke in women
- 2005
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Ingår i: Cerebrovascular Diseases. - Basel : Karger. - 1015-9770 .- 1421-9786. ; 20:4, s. 226-232
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Chronic infections and associated inflammatory markers are suggested risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and stroke. The proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-1β is suggested to play a role in the regulation of local inflammatory responses in both CVD and periodontitis. The leukotoxin from the periodontal pathogen Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans has recently been shown to cause abundant secretion of IL-1β from macrophages. The aim of the present study was to compare the prevalence of systemic antibodies to A. actinomycetemcomitansleukotoxin in stroke cases (n = 273) and matched controls (n = 546) in an incident case-control study nested within the Northern Sweden MONICA and Västerbotten Intervention cohorts. Methods: Antibodies to A. actinomycetemcomitans leukotoxin were analyzed in a bioassay with HL-60 cells (leukocytes), purified A. actinomycetemcomitans leukotoxin, and plasma. Plasma samples which inhibited lactate dehydrogenase release from leukotoxin-lysed cells by ≥50% were classified as antibody positive. Results: Antibodies to A. actinomycetemcomitans leukotoxin were detected in 18.8% of the women and 15.2% of the men. Women with those antibodies had a significantly decreased risk for stroke (OR = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.13–0.59), but not men (OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.52–1.51). Conclusion: The immunoreactivity to A. actinomycetemcomitans leukotoxin correlates negatively with a future stroke in woman, but not in men. Further studies are needed to explain the underlying mechanisms, as well as the biological relevance of this finding.
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| 4. |
- Naylor, Andrew Stuart, 1977, et al.
(författare)
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Voluntary running rescues adult hippocampal neurogenesis after irradiation of the young mouse brain.
- 2008
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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. - 1091-6490. ; 105:38, s. 14632-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cranial radiation therapy is commonly used in the treatment of childhood cancers. It is associated with cognitive impairments tentatively linked to the hippocampus, a neurogenic region of the brain important in memory function and learning. Hippocampal neurogenesis is positively regulated by voluntary exercise, which is also known to improve hippocampal-dependent cognitive functions. In this work, we irradiated the brains of C57/BL6 mice on postnatal day 9 and evaluated both the acute effects of irradiation and the effects of voluntary running on hippocampal neurogenesis and behavior 3 months after irradiation. Voluntary running significantly restored precursor cell and neurogenesis levels after a clinically relevant, moderate dose of irradiation. We also found that irradiation perturbed the structural integration of immature neurons in the hippocampus and that this was reversed by voluntary exercise. Furthermore, irradiation-induced behavior alterations observed in the open-field test were ameliorated. Together, these results clearly demonstrate the usefulness of physical exercise for functional and structural recovery from radiation-induced injury to the juvenile brain, and they suggest that exercise should be evaluated in rehabilitation therapy of childhood cancer survivors.
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| 5. |
- Wressle, Ewa, et al.
(författare)
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Relatives perspective on the quality of geriatric care and rehabilitation - development and testing of a questionnaire
- 2008
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Ingår i: SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF CARING SCIENCES. - : Wiley. - 0283-9318 .- 1471-6712. ; 22:4, s. 590-595
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Relatives perspective on the quality of geriatric care and rehabilitation - development and testing of a questionnaireWe perceived a need for relatives evaluation of geriatric care and rehabilitation during the care period as well as the first few weeks after discharge. The aim of this study was therefore to develop and test a questionnaire for use in telephone interviews with relatives of patients discharged from geriatric wards to measure their perceptions of the quality of care. The instrument development process comprised a literature review, focus group interviews, construction of items, test of content validity, a pilot study and finally the main data collection to test the construct validity and reliability. A Likert-type questionnaire was used containing 26 items with five response alternatives; totally disagree, partly disagree, doubtful, partly agree and totally agree. The main data collection comprised 238 telephone interviews. The factor analysis revealed four factors with an eigenvalue > 1.0. Cronbachs alpha coefficient was 0.89, which indicates high reliability. The duration of the telephone interview was approximately 10-20 minutes. The relatives appreciated the opportunity to evaluate the care, and a majority stated that they preferred a telephone interview to answering in writing. The questionnaire is considered reliable, valid and useful for identifying areas in need of quality improvement interventions.
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| 6. |
- Alenius, Gerd-Marie, et al.
(författare)
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Interleukin-6 and soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha-markers of inflammation in patients with psoriatic arthritis?
- 2009
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Ingår i: Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology. - 0392-856X .- 1593-098X. ; 27:1, s. 120-123
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a possible systemic effect of joint inflammation in contrast to skin disease only, by measuring IL-6 and IL-2sRalpha. METHODS: Two hundred and nineteen patients (111 male / 108 female, age 50.4+/-14.5 yrs (mean+/-SD)) with psoriasis were clinically and laboratory examined. 134 patients had inflammatory joint manifestations defined as peripheral arthritis and/or axial disease, of whom 37 had measurable inflammation, defined as ESR >25 mm/h and/or CRP >15 mg/L. RESULTS: Interleukin-6 was significantly higher in patients with joint disease and measurable inflammation ((median, Q1-Q3) 4.07, 0.92-14.60), and in patients without measured inflammation (1.22, 0.70-3.46), compared to patients with skin disease only (0.70, 0.70-1.73, p<0.001 and p=0.002 respectively). The difference between the two groups of patients with inflammatory joint manifestations was significant (p=0.001). The levels of IL-6 correlated with the actual number of joints affected with arthritis (p<0.001; rs=0.248), ESR (p<0.001; rs=0.459), CRP (p<0.001; rs=0.314) and IL-2sRalpha (p=0.002; rs=0.210). The levels of IL-2sRalpha. did not differ between the 3 groups. CONCLUSION: In this study, IL-6 was significantly higher in patients with psoriasis and inflammatory joint disease with or without routine measurable inflammatory activity compared with patients having psoriasis of the skin. We found that patients with psoriasis and joint inflammation may have systemic effects that could be captured by serum measurements of IL-6. Soluble IL-2Ralpha was not a marker of inflammation in this study.
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| 7. |
- Andersson, Kerstin, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of biological treatment on the chemical structure of dissolved lignin-related substances in effluent from thermomechanical pulping
- 2008
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Ingår i: Nordic Pulp & Paper Research Journal. - 0283-2631 .- 2000-0669. ; 23:2, s. 164-171
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Effluent from a TMP-based pulp and paper mill was collected at the inlet and outlet of the mill's biological treatment plant and fractionated by sorption on XAD-8 resin and MTBE precipitation. Fractionation indicated that the refractory dissolved organic material in biologically treated effluent was mainly composed of lignin-related substances. Characterisation of the lignin-related substances by chromatographic and spectrometric methods confirmed the similarities of the isolated material and milled wood lignin. Fractionation and characterisation of alkali-extracted material from solids (biosludge) in biologically treated effluent found evidence of lignin-related material. Results indicated that biological treatment had altered the chemical structure and molar-mass distribution of dissolved lignin-related substances.
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| 8. |
- Andersson, Kerstin I., et al.
(författare)
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Effects of biological treatment on the chemical structure of dissolved lignin-related substances in effluent from thermomechanical pulping
- 2008
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Ingår i: Nordic Pulp & Paper Research Journal. - : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 0283-2631 .- 2000-0669. ; 23:2, s. 164-171
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Effluent from a TMP-based pulp and paper mill was collected at the inlet and outlet of the mill's biological treatment plant and fractionated by sorption on XAD-8 resin and MTBE precipitation. Fractionation indicated that the refractory dissolved organic material in biologically treated effluent was mainly composed of lignin-related substances. Characterisation of the lignin-related substances by chromatographic and spectrometric methods confirmed the similarities of the isolated material and milled wood lignin. Fractionation and characterisation of alkali-extracted material from solids (biosludge) in biologically treated effluent found evidence of lignin-related material. Results indicated that biological treatment had altered the chemical structure and molar-mass distribution of dissolved lignin-related substances.
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| 9. |
- Annerbrink, Kristina, 1974, et al.
(författare)
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Acute and chronic treatment with serotonin reuptake inhibitors exert opposite effects on respiration in rats: possible implications for panic disorder.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England). - : SAGE Publications. - 1461-7285 .- 0269-8811. ; 24:12, s. 1793-1801
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Prompted by the suggested importance of respiration for the pathophysiology of panic disorder, we studied the influence of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) as well as other serotonin-modulating compounds on respiration in freely moving rats. The effect on respiration after acute administration of compounds enhancing synaptic levels of serotonin, that is, the serotonin reuptake inhibitors paroxetine and fluoxetine, the serotonin-releasing agents m-chlorophenylpiperazine and d-fenfluramine, and the selective 5-HT1A antagonist WAY-100635, were investigated. All serotonin-releasing substances decreased respiratory rate in unrestrained, awake animals, suggesting the influence of serotonin on respiratory rate under these conditions to be mainly inhibitory. In line with a previous study, rats administered fluoxetine for 23 days or more, on the other hand, displayed an enhanced respiratory rate. The results reinforce the assumption that the effect of subchronic administration of a serotonin reuptake inhibitor on certain serotonin-regulated parameters may be opposite to that obtained after acute administration. We suggest that our observations may be of relevance for the fact that acute administration of SRIs, d-fenfluramine, or m-chlorophenylpiperazine often is anxiogenic in panic disorder patients, and that weeks of administration of an SRI leads to a very effective prevention of panic.
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| 10. |
- Asplund, Kjell, et al.
(författare)
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Patient dissatisfaction with acute stroke care
- 2009
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Ingår i: Stroke. - : American Heart Association, Inc.. - 0039-2499 .- 1524-4628. ; 40:12, s. 3851-3856
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Riks-Stroke, the Swedish Stroke Register, was used to explore patient characteristics and stroke services as determinants of patient dissatisfaction with acute in-hospital care. METHODS: All 79 hospitals in Sweden admitting acute stroke patients participate in Riks-Stroke. During 2001 to 2007, 104,876 patients (87% of survivors) responded to a follow-up questionnaire 3 months after acute stroke; this included questions on satisfaction with various aspects of stroke care. RESULTS: The majority (>90%) were satisfied with acute in-hospital stroke care. Dissatisfaction was closely associated with outcome at 3 months. Patient who were dependent regarding activities of daily living, felt depressed, or had poor self-perceived general health were more likely to be dissatisfied. Dissatisfaction with global acute stroke care was linked to dissatisfaction with other aspects of care, including rehabilitation and support by community services. Patients treated in stroke units were less often dissatisfied than patients in general wards, as were patients who had been treated in a small hospital (vs medium or large hospitals) and patient who had participated in discharge planning. In multivariate analyses, the strongest predictor of dissatisfaction with acute care was poor outcome (dependency regarding activities of daily living, depressed mood, poor self-perceived health). CONCLUSIONS: Dissatisfaction with in-hospital acute stroke care is part of a more extensive complex comprising poor functional outcome, depressive mood, poor self-perceived general health, and dissatisfaction not only with acute care but also with health care and social services at large. Several aspects of stroke care organization are associated with a lower risk of dissatisfaction.
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