| 1. |
- Hedman, Linnea, et al.
(author)
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Receiving support to quit smoking and quit attempts among smokers with and without smoking related diseases : Findings from the EUREST-PLUS ITC Europe Surveys
- 2018
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In: Tobacco Induced Diseases. - Heraklion : European Publishing. - 1617-9625. ; 16
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- INTRODUCTION Having a chronic disease either caused or worsened by tobacco smoking does not always translate into quitting smoking. Although smoking cessation is one of the most cost-effective medical interventions, it remains poorly implemented in healthcare settings. The aim was to examine whether smokers with chronic and respiratory diseases were more likely to receive support to quit smoking by a healthcare provider or make a quit attempt than smokers without these diseases.METHODS This population-based study included a sample of 6011 adult smokers in six European countries. The participants were interviewed face-to-face and asked questions on sociodemographic characteristics, current diagnoses for chronic diseases, healthcare visits in the last 12 months and, if so, whether they had received any support to quit smoking. Questions on smoking behavior included nicotine dependence, motivation to quit smoking and quit attempts in the last 12 months. The results are presented as weighted percentages with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and as adjusted odds ratios with 95% CI based on logistic regression analyses.RESULTS Smokers with chronic respiratory disease, those aged 55 years and older, as well as those with one or more chronic diseases were more likely to receive smoking cessation advice from a healthcare professional. Making a quit attempt in the last year was related to younger age, high educational level, higher motivation to quit, lower nicotine dependence and having received advice to quit from a healthcare professional but not with having chronic diseases. There were significant differences between countries with smokers in Romania consistently reporting more support to quit as well as quit attempts.CONCLUSIONS Although smokers with respiratory disease did indeed receive smoking cessation support more often than smokers without disease, many smokers did not receive any advice or support to quit during a healthcare visit.
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| 2. |
- Aldenbratt, Annika, et al.
(author)
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Reduced renal function in patients with Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 and the association to CTG expansion and other potential risk factors for chronic kidney disease
- 2017
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In: Neuromuscular Disorders. - : Elsevier BV. - 0960-8966 .- 1873-2364. ; 27:11, s. 1038-1042
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) affects several organs. Disease severity and age at onset are correlated to the CTG repeat expansion. The aim of this study was to assess renal function and the association to numbers of CTG repeat expansion in patients with DM1. Ninety-eight patients with DM1 were included. Glomerular filtration rate (measured GFR) was measured using iohexol clearance. Data on CTG repeats were available in 83/98 (85%) patients. The overall mGFR was 74 (16) ml/min/1.73 m(2) (range 38-134). Sixty-four patients (69%) had a mild and sixteen patients (17%) a moderate decrease in renal function (mGFR 60-89 and 30-59 ml/min/1.73 m(2), respectively). No correlations were found between CTG repeats and mGFR (r = 0.10, p = 0.4) or between CTG repeats and serum cystatin C (r = 0.12, p = 0.29). CTG repeats was positively correlated to creatinine-based estimates of GFR (eGFR) (modified diet in renal disease r = 0.49, p < 0.001, CKD-EPI creatinine equation; r = 0.50, p < 0.001), but analyses using Structural Equation Modeling showed no correlation. The correlation was explained by an indirect effect via serum creatinine and skeletal muscle mass index. In conclusion, patients with DM1 seem to have a slight decrease in renal function but there is no association between renal function and the number of CTG repeats, a marker of disease severity.
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| 3. |
- Cahlin, Birgitta Johansson, 1959, et al.
(author)
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Cerebral palsy and bruxism: Effects of botulinum toxin injections—A randomized controlled trial
- 2019
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In: Clinical and Experimental Dental Research. - : Wiley. - 2057-4347. ; 5:5, s. 460-468
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: Cerebral palsy (CP) includes disturbances in muscular control caused by perinatal brain injury. Masticatory muscle involvement hampers functions such as chewing and talking. Bruxism and temporomandibular disorders are overrepresented. Neuromuscular blocks with botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) may alleviate problems due to muscular hyperactivity. The aim was to evaluate masticatory muscle BTX-A injections in subjects with CP and bruxism. Methods: A prospective, parallel, randomized, placebo-controlled, and double-blind trial in 12 patients with CP was performed. End points were alterations in objective and subjective oral capacities after two BTX-A or corresponding placebo injections. Matched, healthy references were also evaluated. Results: The reference group demonstrated stronger and more efficient oral functions compared with the CP group. Subjective and objective oral capacities appeared to vary considerably between CP patients and also over time in this patient group and were poorly correlated. No significant effect of BTX-A compared with placebo on outcome variables was observed at group level, but continued treatment with BTX-A was requested by the majority of the patients. Conclusion: The evidence is unable to support the use of BTX-A for the treatment of affected masticatory muscles in CP, but the findings are inconclusive in certain respects. Larger, more homogeneous groups of CP patients need to be evaluated in future trials. ©2019 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Dental Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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| 4. |
- Cinque, Elena, et al.
(author)
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Toward a Standard-Compliant Implementation for Consensus Algorithms in Vehicular Networks
- 2018
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In: IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference. - 1550-2252. ; 2018-August
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cooperative Intelligent Transport System (C-ITS) applications require a continuous exchange of information between road users and roadside infrastructures. In this regard, distributed consensus algorithms can play an essential role in the definition of the information exchange rules between an ITS station and its neighbors. Although the consensus approach for networked systems is well-established, the efficiency of consensus methods under real-world vehicular communication constraints is largely unknown. This paper provides an ITS standard-compliant framework for analysis of consensus algorithms in vehicular networks with an emphasis on the role of robustness to changes in network topology in highly dynamic and dense environments. Our simulations reveal that in regular traffic conditions, the implemented consensus algorithm is able to achieve good performances in terms of both convergence time and needed consensus iterations. However, numerical results demonstrate that under dense and high-mobility traffic conditions the frequent exchange of large amounts of range information increases the Channel Busy Ratio (CBR) of the vehicular network and reduces the effectiveness of the algorithm as well.
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| 5. |
- Dahlbom, Kathe, et al.
(author)
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Association between muscle strength, histopathology, and magnetic resonance imaging in sporadic inclusion body myositis
- 2019
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In: Acta Neurologica Scandinavica. - : Hindawi Limited. - 0001-6314. ; 139:2, s. 177-182
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: Inclusion body myositis is characterized by inflammatory and degenerative changes, but the temporal relation of these events is unknown. Materials and Methods: In nineteen patients with inclusion body myositis, muscle strength was correlated with inflammatory and degenerative findings on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and in muscle biopsies in three different muscles (tibialis anterior, vastus lateralis, and biceps brachii). Muscle strength, measured with a handheld dynamometer, was described as percentage of muscle strength in age- and sex-matched normal individuals. The muscles were categorized as the strongest, the intermediate, and the weakest muscle in each individual. T1-weighted sequences on MRI were used to evaluate the degree of fatty infiltration and muscle atrophy and STIR sequences to evaluate edematous changes. Results: The vastus lateralis, which in general was the weakest muscle, was significantly more atrophic compared to the other two muscles and also demonstrated most edema. The biceps brachii had in most cases an intermediate degree of weakness and atrophy but the most pronounced inflammatory cell infiltration on biopsy. Cytochrome c oxidase-negative muscle fibers were significantly more prevalent in the vastus lateralis and biceps brachii muscles than in the tibialis anterior and thus correlated with muscular atrophy, indicating that this is a secondary change. Inflammatory changes as assessed by MRI and muscle biopsy were seen in all muscles irrespective of atrophy and thus appear to be prevalent at all stages of the disease. Conclusions: Our study could not provide an answer to the question which comes first, the inflammation or the degenerative changes.
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| 6. |
- Edofsson, Ulrika, et al.
(author)
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The Reliability and Validity of the Swedish Version of the Fatigue and Daytime Sleepiness Scale (FDSS)
- 2017
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In: Conference book for IDMC-11. San Fransisco, California, Usa: 5-9 September.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Introduction: Fatigue and excessive daytime sleepiness are frequently experienced by patients with DM1 and these symptoms have a negative impact on daily activity, participation and quality of life. Although there are few successful treatment options, there exists a need to develop instruments with the aim to reliably measure symptoms and follow patients over time in clinical practice and research. The aim of this study was to translate and psychometrically evaluate the Fatigue and Daytime Sleepiness Scale (FDSS). Shortly, the FDSS has been devised with the aim to measure these symptoms as a single clinical entity, consisting of 12 self-assessment questions covering both fatigue and daytime sleepiness. The original version of FDSS has been found to be reliable and valid. The study was performed at the Neuromuscular Centre, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. Methods: The FDSS was translated into Swedish using the forward-and backward procedure. The scale was administered to 43 patients on two occasions at a two week interval. At baseline assessment, the patients also received the question of whether they experienced fatigue and/or sleepiness (yes or no). The group of patients consisted of 24 women and 19 men with an average age of 46.9 years (four with the childhood form, 32 classical and seven with a late onset). The statistical analysis included an evaluation of intra-rater reliability, internal consistency and construct validity. Results: The FDSS showed an excellent intra-rater reliability (PCC = .91) and acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .71). The scale successfully distinguished patients experiencing fatigue and sleepiness from those who did not (mean FDSS score of 10.8 vs 7.1, p = .002). Discussion: The present study supports the use of the translated version of the FDSS for the measurement of fatigue and daytime sleepiness in patients with DM1. Grant Support: West Sweden Muscle Foundation.
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| 7. |
- Fröhle, Markus, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Cooperative Localization of Vehicles without Inter-vehicle Measurements
- 2018
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In: IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference, WCNC. - 1525-3511.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- While cooperation among vehicles can improve localization, standard communication technologies (e.g., 802.11p) cannot provide reliable range or angle measurements. To allow cooperation without explicit inter-vehicle measurements, we propose a cooperative localization method whereby vehicles track mobile features in the environment and use associations of features among vehicles to improve the vehicles' localization accuracy. The proposed algorithm, which scales linearly in the number of vehicles and quadratically in the number of tracked features, shows superior localization performance compared to a non-cooperative approach.
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| 8. |
- Fröhle, Markus, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Multisensor Poisson Multi-Bernoulli Filter for Joint Target-Sensor State Tracking
- 2019
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In: IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles. - 2379-8858. ; 4:4, s. 609-621
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In a typical multitarget tracking (MTT) scenario, the sensor state is either assumed known, or tracking is performed in the sensor's (relative) coordinate frame. This assumption does not hold when the sensor, e.g., an automotive radar, is mounted on a vehicle, and the target state should be represented in a global (absolute) coordinate frame. Then it is important to consider the uncertain location of the vehicle on which the sensor is mounted for MTT. In this paper, we present a multisensor low complexity Poisson multi-Bernoulli MTT filter, which jointly tracks the uncertain vehicle state and target states. Measurements collected by different sensors mounted on multiple vehicles with varying location uncertainty are incorporated sequentially based on the arrival of new sensor measurements. In doing so, targets observed from a sensor mounted on a well-localized vehicle reduce the state uncertainty of other poorly localized vehicles, provided that a common non-empty subset of targets is observed. A low complexity filter is obtained by approximations of the joint sensor-target state density minimizing the Kullback-Leibler divergence (KLD). Results from synthetic as well as experimental measurement data, collected in a vehicle driving scenario, demonstrate the performance benefits of joint vehicle-target state tracking.
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| 9. |
- Gouveia-Figueira, Sandra, et al.
(author)
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Plasma levels of the endocannabinoid anandamide, related N-acylethanolamines and linoleic acid-derived oxylipins in patients with migraine
- 2017
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In: Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids. - : Elsevier BV. - 0952-3278 .- 1532-2823. ; 120, s. 15-24
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- There is evidence that patients with migraine have deficient levels of the endogenous cannabinoid receptor ligand anandamide (AEA). It is not known, however, if this is a localised or generalised phenomenon. In the present study, levels of AEA, related N-acylethanolamines (NAEs) and linoleic acid-derived oxylipins have been measured in the blood of 26 healthy women and 38 women with migraine (26 with aura, 12 without aura) who were matched for age and body-mass index. Blood samples were taken on two occasions: the first sample near the start of the menstrual cycle (when present) and the second approximately fourteen days later. For a subset of migraine patients, two additional blood samples were taken, one during a migraine attack and one approximately 1 month later (to be at the same stage in the menstrual cycle, when present). NAEs and oxylipins were measured by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Twenty-nine lipids were quantified, of which 16 were found to have a high reproducibility of measurement. There were no significant differences in the levels of AEA, the related NAEs stearoylethanolamide and oleoylethanolamide or any of the nine linoleic acid derived oxylipins measured either between migraine patients with vs. without aura, or between controls and migraine patients (after stratification to take into account whether or not the individuals had regular menstruation cycles) in either of the first two samples. Levels of linoleoylethanolamide were lower in the patients with vs. without aura on the second sample but not in the first sample, but the biological importance of this fording is unclear. Due to time-dependent increases in their concentrations ex vivo prior to centrifugation, AEA and oleoylethanolamide levels in the samples collected during migraine attacks were not analysed, but for the other fourteen lipids, there were no significant differences in plasma concentrations during migraine vs. one month later. It is concluded that migraine is not associated with a generalised (as opposed to localised) deficiency in these lipids.
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| 10. |
- Hammarén, Elisabet, et al.
(author)
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Muscle force, balance and falls in muscular impaired individuals with myotonic dystrophy type 1: A five-year prospective cohort study
- 2015
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In: Neuromuscular Disorders. - : Elsevier BV. - 0960-8966. ; 25:2, s. 141-148
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Individuals with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) have progressive muscle weakness with gait and balance impairments. We explored prospectively the natural history of muscle force, gait, balance, balance confidence and walking ability in muscular affected individuals with DM1. After five years data from 43 individuals (m/f:18/25) were analysed. All measures of balance showed statistically significant deterioration (p < 0.001) with averaged yearly loss of function by 3–4%. In the group as a whole, loss of muscle force was statistically significant in all lower limb muscles measured after five years: changes relative to baseline force were median −6% to −18%. For males muscle force loss was statistically significant in all leg muscles, but only in hip flexors for women. After five years 100% of the men had fallen during the previous year and 67% three times or more, in contrast only 60% of the women had fallen in the previous year and 36% three times or more. The proportion of individuals seeking medical care the previous year, after falling, was more than doubled after five years, albeit the number of falls had not changed.Awareness of this increased risk of falls is important for caregivers and patients.
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