| 1. |
- Abs, Roger, et al.
(författare)
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Determinants of cardiovascular risk in 2589 hypopituitary GH-deficient adults - a KIMS database analysis.
- 2006
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Ingår i: European Journal of Endocrinology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0804-4643 .- 1479-683X. ; 155:1, s. 79-90
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: The aim of the present study was to clarify the relationship between GH deficiency (GHD) andsome cardiovascular risk factors and to analyse the effect of GH replacement therapy in a large numberof patients over a prolonged period of time.Design: Data for analysis were retrieved from KIMS (Pfizer International Metabolic Database). Serumconcentrations of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein(LDL)-cholesterol and triglycerides were obtained from 2589 patients at baseline and from 1206patients after 1 and 2 years of GH replacement therapy. Body mass index (BMI), waist and hip, restingblood pressure and body composition were also measured.Results: At baseline, the unfavourable effects of GHD were most obvious in the lipid profiledemonstrating elevated mean total and LDL-cholesterol, in the increased waist circumference and theelevated BMI. The cholesterol concentration, BMI and body composition were significantly adverselyaffected by a number of factors, including age, sex and the use of anti-epileptic drugs. The therapeuticeffect of GH was essentially uniform across the whole population. GH replacement reduced significantlythe mean total and LDL-cholesterol, the waist circumference and the fat mass and was maintainedduring 2 years.Conclusions: This analysis of a large number of patients confirmed that GHD adults present with anincreased cardiovascular risk. The sustained improvement of the adverse lipid profile and bodycomposition suggests that GH replacement therapy may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease andthe premature mortality seen in hypopituitary patients with untreated GHD.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Ahlén, Gerd, 1951, et al.
(författare)
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Physician patient questionnaire to assess physician patient agreement at the consultation.
- 2007
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Ingår i: Family practice. ; 24:5, s. 498-503
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this study was to validate an instrument of physician-patient agreement in the consultation. A secondary aim was to assess this agreement. METHOD: The setting was a county in the southwest of Sweden with a cross-sectional survey of primary care patients and physicians using separate coded questionnaires. Forty-six physicians and 316 patients aged 16 or more with a new complaint lasting 1 week or more. Thirteen items were evaluated and index of proportional agreement for the dichotomized answers agree (P(pos)) and disagree (P(neg)) was calculated. RESULTS: In 10 of the 13 items, a high level of agreement between physician and patient was seen. Discussion. Index of proportional agreement was useful in finding statements in a questionnaire on agreement for both physicians and patients that could be used for educational purposes and as a check-up for the GP in daily practice.
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| 4. |
- Aznar, Marianne C., et al.
(författare)
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A Monte Carlo study of the energy dependence of Al2O3:C crystals for real-time in vivo dosimetry in mammography
- 2005
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Ingår i: Radiation Protection Dosimetry. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0144-8420 .- 1742-3406. ; 114:Nos 1-3, s. 444-449
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In a previous experimental study, a novel method for in vivo dosimetry has been investigated, based on radioluminescence (RL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). However, because of the large difference in atomic composition between the detector material and the breast tissue, relatively large energy dependence in low-energy X-ray beams can be expected. In the present work, the energy dependence of Al2O3:C crystals was modelled with the Monte Carlo code EGSnrc using three types of X-ray spectra. The results obtained (5.6-7.3%) agree with a previously determined experimental result (9%) within the combined standard uncertainty of the two methods. The influence of the size of the crystal on the energy dependence was investigated together with the effect of varying the thickness of the surrounding light-protective material. The results obtained indicate a minor effect owing to the thickness of the light-protective material, and a somewhat larger effect from reducing the diameter of the crystal. The outcome of this study can be used to improve the future design of the RL/OSL dosimetry system for use in mammography.
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| 5. |
- Aznar, MC, et al.
(författare)
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In vivo absorbed dose measurements in mammography using a new real-time luminescence technique
- 2005
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Ingår i: British Journal of Radiology. - : British Institute of Radiology. - 1748-880X .- 0007-1285. ; 78:928, s. 328-334
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A dosimetry system based on radioluminescence (RL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) from carbon doped aluminium oxide (Al2O3:C) crystals was developed for in vivo absorbed dose measurements in mammography. A small cylindrical crystal of Al2O3:C (diameter 0.48 mm and length 2 mm) was coupled to the end of a 1 mm diameter optical fibre cable. Owing to their small size and characteristic shape, these probes can be placed on the body surface in the field of view during the examination, without compromising the reading of the mammogram. Our new technique was tested with a mammography unit (Siemens Mammomat 3000) and screen-film technique over a range of clinically relevant X-ray energies. The results were compared with those obtained from an ionization chamber usually used for the determination of absorbed dose in mammography. The reproducibility of measurements was around 3% (1 standard deviation) at 4.5 mGy for both RL and OSL data. The dose response was found to be linear between 4.5 mGy and 30 mGy. The energy dependence of the system is around 18% between 23 kV and 35 kV. In vivo measurements were performed during three patient examinations. It was shown that entrance and exit doses could be measured. The presence of the small probes did not significantly interfere with the diagnostic quality of the images. Entrance doses estimated by RL/OSL results agreed within 3% with entrance surface dose values calculated from the ionization chamber measurements. These results indicate a considerable potential for use in routine control and in vivo dose measurements in mammography.
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| 6. |
- Bergh, Håkan, 1958, et al.
(författare)
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Predictive factors for long-term sick leave and disability pension among frequent and normal attenders in primary health care over 5 years.
- 2007
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Ingår i: Public health. - : Elsevier BV. - 0033-3506. ; 121:1, s. 25-33
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: To find predictive factors for long-term sick leave (SL) and disability pension (DP) among frequent attenders (FAs) and normal attenders (NAs) in primary health care. STUDY DESIGN: A cohort study with follow-up over 5 years. METHODS: Groups of FAs and NAs were followed over 5 years. Information about background, situation, sociodemography, life events, social support and sense of coherence were gathered at baseline. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine the influence of each variable on long-term SL and receipt of a DP. RESULTS: During the study period, 18.9% of FAs received long-term SL/DP compared with 6% of NAs. Chronic disease was a predictive factor for long-term SL/DP among FAs [odds ratio (OR) 7.0] and NAs (OR 3.4). Among FAs, a life event was also a predictive factor (OR 2.1). Each additional life event increased the ratio of FAs with long-term SL/DP by 110%. Conflicts and losses had the greatest negative effects on FAs. CONCLUSIONS: FAs are a high-risk group for long-term SL/DP. Besides chronic disease, a life event was the only predictive factor for long-term SL/DP among FAs. These findings indicate that FAs are a vulnerable group for stressful events. Consequently, healthcare personnel should take more notice of life events among FAs.
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| 7. |
- Boström, Elisabeth Almer, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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Salivary resistin reflects local inflammation in Sjögrens syndrome
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Rheumatology. - 0315-162X .- 1499-2752. ; 35:10, s. 2005-2011
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To assess the role of resistin in primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) and its relation to local inflammation. METHODS: Blood and saliva were collected from 37 patients with pSS (duration of symptoms 12.6+/-1 yrs) and 32 healthy controls. Expression of resistin in salivary glands was visualized immunohistologically, and levels of resistin were detected by ELISA. Levels of resistin were evaluated at baseline and following oral dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) treatment (50 mg/day). The effect of DHEA treatment on the secretion of resistin was assessed in vitro in human leukocytes after challenge with insulin and lipopolysaccharide. RESULTS: Levels of resistin in saliva were significantly higher in patients with pSS than in controls, while circulating levels of resistin were similar in both groups. Resistin was expressed in the epithelial cells of striated ducts and in the lymphocytic foci. Resistin levels in saliva were related to the intensity of inflammation in the minor salivary glands of pSS patients. No changes of the levels of resistin in blood or saliva were observed during DHEA treatment. Exposure of naive leukocytes to DHEA in vitro induced significant expression of resistin compared to nonstimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (p=0.031). CONCLUSION: We showed that levels of resistin are upregulated locally in the salivary glands of patients with pSS; and that the levels of resistin correspond to the intensity of lymphocytic inflammation in patients with pSS. We suggest that resistin is expressed in the salivary glands of patients with pSS and may be a driving factor of local inflammation.
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| 8. |
- Börjesson, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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A software tool for increased efficiency in observer performance studies in radiology.
- 2005
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Ingår i: Radiation protection dosimetry. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0144-8420 .- 1742-3406. ; 114:1-3, s. 45-52
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Observer performance studies are time-consuming tasks, both for the participating observers and for the scientists collecting and analysing the data. A possible way to optimise such studies is to perform them in a completely digital environment. A software tool-ViewDEX (Viewer for Digital Evaluation of X-ray images)-has been developed in Java, enabling it to function on almost any computer. ViewDEX is designed to handle several types of studies, such as visual grading analysis (VGA), image criteria scoring (ICS) and receiver operating characteristics (ROC). The results from each observer are saved in a log file, which can be exported for further analysis in, for example, a special software for analysing ROC results. By using ViewDEX for an ROC experiment, an evaluation rate of approximately 200 images per hour can be achieved, compared to approximately 25 images per hour using hard copy evaluation. The results are obtained within minutes of completion of the viewing. The risk of human errors in the process of data collection and analysis is also minimised. The viewer has been used in a major trial containing approximately 2700 images.
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| 9. |
- Carlsson, Thomas, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of grafted serotonin and dopamine neurons on development of L-DOPA-induced dyskinesias in parkinsonian rats is determined by the extent of dopamine neuron degeneration.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Brain. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1460-2156 .- 0006-8950. ; 132, s. 319-335
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Previous studies have shown that serotonin neurons play an important role in the induction and maintenance of l-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in animals with lesion of the nigrostriatal dopamine system. Patients with Parkinson's disease that receive transplants of foetal ventral mesencephalic tissue, the graft cell preparation is likely to contain, in addition to dopamine neurons, serotonin neurons that will vary in number depending on the landmarks used for dissection. Here, we have studied the impact of grafted serotonin neurons-alone or mixed with dopamine neurons-on the development of l-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in rats with a partial 6-hydroxydopamine lesion of the host nigrostriatal projection. In these rats, which showed only low-level dyskinesia at the time of transplantation, serotonin grafts induced a worsening in the severity of dyskinesia that developed during continued l-DOPA treatment, while the dopamine-rich graft had the opposite, dampening effect. The detrimental effect seen in animals with serotonin neuron grafts was dramatically increased when the residual dopamine innervation in the striatum was removed by a second 6-hydroxydopamine lesion. Interestingly, rats with grafts that contained a mixture of dopamine and serotonin neurons (in approximately 2:1) showed a marked reduction in l-DOPA-induced dyskinesia over time, and the appearance of severe dyskinesia induced by the removal of the residual dopamine innervation, seen in the animals with transplants of serotonin neurons alone, was blocked. FosB expression in the striatal projection neurons, which is associated with dyskinesias, was also normalized by the dopamine-rich grafts, but not by the serotonin neuron grafts. These data indicate that as long as a sufficient portion, some 10-20%, of the dopamine innervation still remains, the increased host serotonin innervation generated by the grafted serotonin neurons will have limited effect on the development or severity of l-DOPA-induced dyskinesias. At more advanced stages of the disease, when the dopamine innervation of the putamen is reduced below this critical threshold, grafted serotonin neurons are likely to aggravate l-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in those cases where the dopamine re-innervation derived from the grafted neurons is insufficient in magnitude or do not cover the critical dyskinesia-inducing sub-regions of the grafted putamen. We conclude that it is not the absolute number of serotonin neurons in the grafts, but the relative densities of dopamine and serotonin innervations in the grafted striatum that is the critical factor in determining the long-term effect of foetal tissue graft, beneficial or detrimental, on dyskinesia in grafted Parkinson's disease patients.
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