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- Eusebio, Alexandre, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of low-frequency stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus on movement in Parkinson's disease.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Experimental Neurology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0014-4886 .- 1090-2430. ; 209:1, s. 125-30
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Excessive synchronization of basal ganglia neural activity at low frequencies is considered a hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, few studies have unambiguously linked this activity to movement impairment through direct stimulation of basal ganglia targets at low frequency. Furthermore, these studies have varied in their methodology and findings, so it remains unclear whether stimulation at any or all frequencies < or = 20 Hz impairs movement and if so, whether effects are identical across this broad frequency band. To address these issues, 18 PD patients chronically implanted with deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrodes in both subthalamic nuclei were stimulated bilaterally at 5, 10 and 20 Hz after overnight withdrawal of their medication and the effects of the DBS on a finger tapping task were compared to performance without DBS (0 Hz). Tapping rate decreased at 5 and 20 Hz compared to 0 Hz (by 11.8+/-4.9%, p=0.022 and 7.4+/-2.6%, p=0.009, respectively) on those sides with relatively preserved baseline task performance. Moreover, the coefficient of variation of tap intervals increased at 5 and 10 Hz compared to 0 Hz (by 70.4+/-35.8%, p=0.038 and 81.5+/-48.2%, p=0.043, respectively). These data suggest that the susceptibility of basal ganglia networks to the effects of excessive synchronization may be elevated across a broad low-frequency band in parkinsonian patients, although the nature of the consequent motor impairment may depend on the precise frequencies at which synchronization occurs.
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- Lindblom, Bertil, 1951, et al.
(författare)
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A multicentre, retrospective study of resource utilization and costs associated with glaucoma management in France and Sweden.
- 2006
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Ingår i: Acta ophthalmologica Scandinavica. - : Wiley. - 1395-3907. ; 84:1, s. 74-83
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: To assess resource utilization and costs associated with glaucoma management in France and Sweden. METHODS: A total of 267 patient records (121 in France, 146 in Sweden) with diagnoses of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and ocular hypertension (OH), treated medically, were reviewed for a 2-year period (beginning during 1997-99) for relevant clinical and resource utilization data. Economic data were applied to estimate treatment costs. RESULTS: The annual cost of treating glaucoma was estimated at SEK5305 (531 euro )/patient in Sweden and 390 euro/patient in France. In both countries, medication costs comprised about half of the total costs. Surgical procedures and hospitalizations represented greater proportions of total cost in France (7.0% and 9.6%, respectively) than in Sweden (3.7% and 0.6%, respectively). CONCLUSION: Medication costs represent a high proportion of total treatment costs. These findings highlight the relative importance of medical therapy and of assessing the cost-effectiveness of medications in glaucoma.
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- Martin, Francis, et al.
(författare)
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The genome of Laccaria bicolor provides insights into mycorrhizal symbiosis
- 2008
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 452:7183, s. 7-88
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mycorrhizal symbioses -- the union of roots and soil fungi -- are universal in terrestrial ecosystems and may have been fundamental to land colonization by plants1,2. Boreal, temperate, and montane forests all depend upon ectomycorrhizae1. Identification of the primary factors that regulate symbiotic development and metabolic activity will therefore open the door to understanding the role of 2 ectomycorrhizae in plant development and physiology, allowing the full ecological significance of this symbiosis to be explored. Here, we report the genome sequence of the ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete Laccaria bicolor (Fig. 1) and highlight gene sets involved in rhizosphere colonization and symbiosis. This 65-million-base genome assembly contains ~ 20,000 predicted protein-encoding genes and a very large number of transposons and repeated sequences. We detected unexpected genomic features most notably a battery of effector-type small secreted proteins (SSP) with unknown function, several of which are only expressed in symbiotic tissues. The most highly expressed SSP accumulates in the proliferating hyphae colonizing the host root. The ectomycorrhizae-specific proteins likely play a decisive role in the establishment of the symbiosis. The unexpected observation that the genome of L. bicolor lacks carbohydrate-active enzymes involved in degradation of plant cell walls, but maintains the ability to degrade non-plant cell walls, reveals the dual saprotrophic and biotrophic lifestyle of the mycorrhizal fungus which enables it to grow within both soil and living plant roots. The predicted gene inventory of the L. bicolor genome, therefore, points to previously unknown mechanisms of symbiosis operating in biotrophic mycorrhizal fungi. The availability of this genome provides an unparalleled opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the processes by which symbionts interact with plants within their ecosystem in order to perform vital functions in the carbon and nitrogen cycles that are fundamental to sustainable plant productivity.
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