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- Holmer, Helene, et al.
(author)
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Psychosocial health and levels of employment in 851 hypopituitary Swedish patients on long-term GH therapy
- 2013
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In: Psychoneuroendocrinology. - : Elsevier. - 0306-4530 .- 1873-3360. ; 38:6, s. 842-852
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context: The psychosocial health and working capacity in hypopituitary patients receiving long-term growth hormone (GH) therapy are unknown. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanObjective: Psychosocial health and levels of employment were compared between GH deficient (GHD) patients on long-term replacement and the general population. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanDesign and participants: In a Swedish nationwide study, 851 GHD patients [101 childhood onset (CO) and 750 adult onset (AO)] and 2622 population controls answered a questionnaire regarding current living, employment and educational level, alcohol consumption and smoking habits. The median time on GH therapy for both men and women with CO GHD was 9 years and for AO GHD 6 years, respectively. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanResults: As compared to the controls, the GHD patients were less often working full time, more often on sick leave/disability pension, and to a larger extent alcohol abstainers and never smokers (all; P andlt; 0.05). Predominantly CO GHD women and men, but to some extent also AO GHD women and men, lived less frequently with a partner and more often with their parents. Particularly AO GHD craniopharyngioma women used more antidepressants, while AO GHD men with a craniopharyngioma used more analgesics. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanConclusions: A working capacity to the level of the general population was not achieved among hypopituitary patients, although receiving long-term GH therapy. Patients were less likely to use alcohol and tobacco. The CO GHD population lived a less independent life.
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- Becher, Paul, et al.
(author)
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Yeast, not fruit volatiles mediate Drosophila melanogaster attraction, oviposition and development
- 2012
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In: Functional Ecology. - : Wiley. - 1365-2435 .- 0269-8463. ; 26:4, s. 822-828
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- 1.In nature, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is attracted to fermenting fruit. Micro-organisms like Saccharomyces yeasts growing on fruit occupy a commonly overlooked trophic level between fruit and insects. Although the dietary quality of yeast is well established for D.melanogaster, the individual contribution of fruit and yeast on host finding and reproductive success has not been established. 2.Here, we show that baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae on its own is sufficient for fruit fly attraction, oviposition and larval development. In contrast, attraction and oviposition were significantly lower if non-fermented grape juice or growth media were used, and yeast-free grapes did not support larval development either. 3.Despite a strong preference for fermented substrates, moderate attraction to and oviposition on unfermented fruit might be adaptive in view of the fly's capacity to vector yeast. 4.Signals emitted by fruit were only of secondary importance because fermenting yeast without fruit induced the same fly behaviour as yeast fermenting on fruit. We identified a synthetic mimic of yeast odour, comprising ethanol, acetic acid, acetoin, 2-phenyl ethanol and 3-methyl-1-butanol, which was as attractive for the fly as fermenting grape juice or fermenting yeast minimal medium. 5.Yeast odours represent the critical signal to establish the flyfruityeast relationship. The traditional plantherbivore niche concept needs to be updated, to accommodate for the role of micro-organisms in insectplant interactions.
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- Bengtsson, Anders A, et al.
(author)
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Pharmacokinetics, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of ABR-215757, a new quinoline-3-carboxamide derivative, in murine and human SLE
- 2012
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In: Arthritis and Rheumatism. - : Wiley. - 0004-3591 .- 1529-0131. ; 64:5, s. 1579-1588
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of ABR-215757, a new immunomodulatory small molecule in a murine SLE model, to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and tolerability in SLE patients at doses predicted to be efficacious and safe, and to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD). METHODS: The efficacy of ABR-215757 was studied in lupus prone MRLlpr/lpr mice and compared with established SLE treatments. Dose response data of ABR-215757 were together with pharmacokinetic data used to calculate effective and safe clinical doses. The pharmacokinetics and tolerance of ABR-215757 were evaluated in a Phase Ib double-blind, placebo controlled, dose-escalation study where cohorts of SLE patients received daily oral treatment for 12 weeks. RESULTS: Disease inhibition in MRLlpr/lpr mice, comparable to that of prednisolone and mycophenolate mofetil, was obtained with ABR-215757. Prominent effects on disease manifestations, serological markers and a steroid sparing effect were seen for ABR-215757. The pharmacokinetic properties in SLE patients were linear and well suitable for once daily oral treatment. The majority of the adverse events (AEs) were mild or moderate and transient. The most frequent AEs were arthralgia and myalgia, reported at the highest (4.5 and 6 mg/day) dose levels. At 4.5 mg and higher some AEs of severe intensity and serious adverse events (SAEs) were reported. CONCLUSION: ABR-215757 effectively inhibited disease and had a steroid sparing effect in experimental lupus. Clinical doses up to 3 mg/day, dose levels predicted from pre-clinical studies to be efficacious and safe, were well tolerated in the SLE patients. The MTD was concluded to be 4.5 mg/day.
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- Bengtsson, Anton, 1979, et al.
(author)
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Effects of thermal processing on the in vitro bioaccessibility and microstructure of beta-carotene in orange-fleshed sweet potato
- 2010
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In: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0021-8561 .- 1520-5118. ; 58:20, s. 11090-11096
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The effects of different preparation methods on the bioaccessibility of beta-carotene in orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP), an important food crop in sub-Saharan Africa, have been evaluated using an in vitro digestion procedure. The preparation methods included, on fresh roots, boiling followed by pureeing and oil addition (BOL) and homogenization followed by boiling and oil addition (HOM); on milled flour from freeze-dried fresh roots, cooking of porridge followed by oil addition (POA) and oil addition to flour followed by cooking of porridge (POB). The retention of all-trans-beta-carotene ranged from 58% (POB) to 72% (BOL). The presence of oil during heating resulted in a significantly higher formation of 13-cis-beta-carotene for the POB-treated samples than for the other samples. The efficiency of micellarization of all-trans-beta-carotene after in vitro digestion was 50% (HOM), 48% (POB), 31% (POA), and 16% (BOL). Brightfield microscopy of the cell structure after processing and in vitro digestion showed a high degree of cell-wall rupture for the HOM-treated samples, whereas cells appeared intact for the BOL samples. Also, coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy showed smaller beta-carotene bodies residing in the HOM samples than in the BOL samples after digestion. These results suggest that the in vitro bioaccessibility of beta-carotene in an OFSP meal can be improved by processing methods that promote cell-wall rupture.
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- Bengtsson, Anders, et al.
(author)
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Pharmacokinetics, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of paquinimod (ABR-215757), a new quinoline-3-carboxamide derivative: Studies in lupus-prone mice and a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, repeat-dose, dose-ranging study in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
- 2012
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In: Arthritis and Rheumatism. - : Wiley. - 1529-0131 .- 0004-3591. ; 64:5, s. 1579-1588
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective To assess the efficacy of paquinimod, a new immunomodulatory small molecule, in a murine lupus model, and to evaluate its pharmacokinetics and tolerability in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients at doses predicted to be efficacious and safe and determine the maximum tolerated dose. Methods The efficacy of paquinimod was studied in lupus-prone MRL-lpr/lpr mice and compared with that of established SLE treatments. Dose-response data and pharmacokinetic data were used to calculate effective and safe clinical doses of paquinimod. The pharmacokinetics and tolerability of paquinimod were evaluated in a phase Ib double-blind, placebo controlled, dose-ranging study in which cohorts of SLE patients received daily oral treatment for 12 weeks. Results Paquinimod treatment resulted in disease inhibition in MRL-lpr/lpr mice, comparable to that obtained with prednisolone and mycophenolate mofetil; prominent effects on disease manifestations and serologic markers and a steroid-sparing effect were observed. In patients with SLE, the pharmacokinetic properties of paquinimod were linear and well suitable for once-daily oral treatment. The majority of the adverse events (AEs) were mild or moderate, and transient. The most frequent AEs were arthralgia and myalgia, reported with the highest dose levels of paquinimod (4.5 mg/day and 6.0 mg/day). At the 4.5 mg/day dose level and higher, some AEs of severe intensity and serious adverse events were reported. Conclusion Paquinimod effectively inhibited disease and had a steroid-sparing effect in experimental lupus. Results from preclinical models together with pharmacokinetic data were successfully translated into a safe clinical dose range, and doses of up to 3.0 mg/day were well tolerated in the SLE patients. Taken together, the promising combined data from a murine model and human SLE support the future clinical development of paquinimod.
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- Bengtsson, Christine, et al.
(author)
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Effect of Medication on Microvascular Vasodilatation in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
- 2010
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In: Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology. - : Wiley. - 1742-7843 .- 1742-7835. ; 107:6, s. 919-924
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this study was to investigate the microvascular responses in the skin, to local heat, iontophoretically administered acetylcholine and to sodium nitroprusside in relation to cardiovascular damage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and matched controls. We also wanted to examine if the ongoing medication in SLE patients influenced this vascular response. We investigated 30 women with SLE and compared them with 20 age and sex-matched controls. The cutaneous blood flow response to local heat (+44 degrees C), iontophoretically administered endothelium-dependent (acetylcholine), as well as independent (sodium nitroprusside) vasodilatation, was measured by laser Doppler flowmetry. Clinical data and medication were retrieved from the clinical database and patient records. The cutaneous microvascular reactivity did not differ between SLE patients and a group of matched controls nor did it correlate with cardiovascular damage [assessed by Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index (SLICC/ACR-DI)]. However, patients on antimalarial drugs (hydroxychloroquine n = 8 and chloroquine diphosphate n = 3) responded more strongly to sodium nitroprusside (endothelium-independent vasodilatation) compared with those without antimalarial drugs (p < 0.01). The response to acetylcholine was higher among patients on warfarin compared with those without (p < 0.05), whereas glucocorticoid use (>= 5 mg daily) was associated with reduced response to acetylcholine (p < 0.05). Smokers in general tended to have a lower response to acetylcholine (p = 0.064). Smoking SLE patients versus non-smoking SLE patients had a significantly lower response to acetylcholine (p = 0.01). Medication with antimalarial drugs-enhanced endothelium-independent vasodilatation, while glucocorticoid use was associated with reduction and warfarin-treatment with enhancement of endothelium-dependent vasodilatation. Therefore, despite there is no difference in microvascular endothelium-dependent vasodilatation, other factors such as medication and smoking may affect vasodilatation in SLE patients.
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