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- Fritzell, Peter, et al.
(author)
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Cost-effectiveness of lumbar fusion and nonsurgical treatment for chronic low back pain in the Swedish lumbar spine study : A multicenter, randomized, controlled trial from the Swedish Lumbar Spine Study Group
- 2004
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In: Spine. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0362-2436 .- 1528-1159. ; 29:4, s. 421-434
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Study Design. A cost-effectiveness study was performed from the societal and health care perspectives. Objective. To evaluate the costs-effectiveness of lumbar fusion for chronic low back pain (CLBP) during a 2-year follow-up. Summary of Background Data. A full economic evaluation comparing costs related to treatment effects in patients with CLBP is lacking. Patients and Methods. A total of 284 of 294 patients with CLBP for at least 2 years were randomized to either lumbar fusion or a nonsurgical control group. Costs for the health care sector ( direct costs), and costs associated with production losses ( indirect costs) were calculated. Societal total costs were identified as the sum of direct and indirect costs. Treatment effects were measured using patient global assessment of improvement, back pain ( VAS), functional disability (Owestry), and return to work. Results. The societal total cost per patient ( standard deviations) in the surgical group was significantly higher than in the nonsurgical group: Swedish kroner (SEK) 704,000 ( 254,000) vs. SEK 636,000 ( 208,000). The cost per patient for the health care sector was significantly higher for the surgical group, SEK 123,000 ( 60,100) vs. 65,200 ( 38,400) for the control group. All treatment effects were significantly better after surgery. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio ( ICER), illustrating the extra cost per extra effect unit gained by using fusion instead of nonsurgical treatment, were for improvement: SEK 2,600 ( 600 - 5,900), for back pain: SEK 5,200 ( 1,100 - 11,500), for Oswestry: SEK 11,300 ( 1,200 - 48,000), and for return to work: SEK 4,100 ( 100 21,400). Conclusion. For both the society and the health care sectors, the 2-year costs for lumbar fusion was significantly higher compared with nonsurgical treatment but all treatment effects were significantly in favor of surgery. The probability of lumbar fusion being cost-effective increased with the value put on extra effect units gained by using surgery.
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2. |
- Annertz, Mårten, et al.
(author)
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Isthmic lumbar spondylolisthesis with sciatica. MR imaging vs myelography
- 1990
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In: Acta Radiologica. - 1600-0455. ; 31:5, s. 449-453
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Seventeen patients with sciatica and isthmic lumbar spondylolisthesis were studied with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. In 13, myelography was also performed: 5 had dural sac deformation and root sleeve shortening, 2 had deformation with unilateral root sleeve shortening, one had bilateral root sleeve shortening only, and one had sac deformation only. In 4, myelography was normal. On sagittal MR examinations the neural foramen had an altered shape bilaterally with the long axis horizontal in all cases. In addition to altered shape the following was found in the 33 foramina evaluated. I: normal nerve (n = 8); II: compressed nerve (n = 16); III: disappearance of fat, nerve not possible to identify (n = 9). In patients with unilateral sciatica, the degree of foraminal stenosis correlated well with the side of symptoms. Coronal views showed the course of the nerve and pedicular kinking. Eight patients underwent decompressive surgery which revealed nerve compression by hypertrophic fibrous tissue and pedicular kinking, which correlated well with the findings on MR. Since the site of nerve compression often was peripheral to the root sleeves, myelography did not give complete information.
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4. |
- Hansson, L, et al.
(author)
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Expression of human milk beta-casein in Escherichia coli : comparison of recombinant protein with native isoforms.
- 1993
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In: Protein Expression and Purification. - : Elsevier BV. - 1046-5928 .- 1096-0279. ; 4:5, s. 373-81
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Studies on physiological function and on structure-function relationships of human milk beta-casein have been limited. In this study, we have introduced the human beta-casein cDNA into vectors designed for expression in Escherichia coli. The inducible T7-based expression system resulted in high-level expression of recombinant beta-casein. The recombinant beta-casein, localized intracellularly in E. coli, was purified to homogeneity and compared with purified native beta-casein, in particular with respect to phosphorylation. The E. coli-produced beta-casein was found to comigrate with the full-length, nonphosphorylated native human beta-casein isoform on SDS-PAGE. An N-terminal peptide containing all tentative phosphorylation sites was isolated from the recombinant protein and analyzed by mass spectrometry. The molecular mass as well as the migration of this peptide on reversed-phase chromatography confirmed that it was unphosphorylated.
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