| 11. |
- Pendharkar, Sonal, et al.
(author)
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Vaginal colonisation by probiotic lactobacilli and clinical outcome in women conventionally treated for bacterial vaginosis and yeast infection
- 2015
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In: BMC Infectious Diseases. - : BioMed Central. - 1471-2334. ; 15, s. 1-12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the colonisation by lactobacilli and clinical outcome in women with bacterial vaginosis (BV) and recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (R-VVC) receiving antibiotic or anti-fungal treatment in combination with the probiotic EcoVag(R) capsules. Methods: A total of 40 Scandinavian women diagnosed with BV or VVC on the basis of Amsel's criteria or clinical symptoms were consecutively recruited in two pilot open label clinical trials. In trial I, women with BV were treated with clindamycin and metronidazole followed by vaginal EcoVag(R) capsules, containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus DSM 14870 and Lactobacillus gasseri DSM 14869, for 5 consecutive days after each antibiotic treatment. In trial II, women were recruited in three groups as follows: women with BV receiving clindamycin and metronidazole treatment together with a prolonged administration of EcoVag(R) (10 consecutive days after each antibiotic treatment followed by weekly administration of capsules for next four months), women with R-VVC receiving extended fluconazole and EcoVag(R) treatment, and women receiving extended fluconazole treatments only. The difference in frequency of isolation of EcoVag(R) strains or other lactobacilli between groups was compared by Fisher's exact test. Results: The 6-month cure rate for BV was 50 % in trial I while both the 6- and 12-month cure rates were 67 % in trial II. The 6- and 12-month cure rates for VVC were 100 % and 89 % in women receiving fluconazole and EcoVag(R), and 100 % and 70 % in women receiving fluconazole only. The frequency of isolation of any Lactobacillus species during the course of the study was associated with cure of BV in trial I and II, whereas the frequency of isolation of EcoVag(R) strains was significantly associated with the cure of BV in trial II only. As previously observed, a change in sexual partner was associated with relapse of BV with an Odds ratio of 77 (95 % CI: 2.665 to 2225). Conclusions: The study suggests that the treatment with antibiotics or anti-fungal medication in combination with EcoVag(R) capsules provide long-term cure against BV and R-VVC as compared to previous reports.
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| 12. |
- San Sebastian, Miguel, et al.
(author)
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Socioeconomic inequalities in functional somatic symptoms by social and material conditions at four life course periods in Sweden : a decomposition analysis
- 2015
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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ. - 2044-6055. ; 5:8, s. 1-10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: Socioeconomic inequalities in health are deemed a worldwide public health problem, but current research is lacking on key points including determinants of socioeconomic differences in health, and not the least variations of these determinants over the life course. Using a 26-year prospective Swedish community-based cohort, we aim at decomposing socioeconomic inequalities in functional somatic symptoms by social and material life circumstances, at 4 periods of the life course. Design: Repeated cross-sectional study. Setting: Participants came from the Northern Swedish Cohort (n= 1001), who completed questionnaires about occupational class, social and material living conditions, and symptoms at ages 16, 21, 30 and 42. Socioeconomic inequalities were estimated and decomposed using the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analysis. Results: Inequalities in symptoms between blue-collar and white-collar socioeconomic groups increased along the life course in the sample. In the decomposition analysis, a high proportion of the gap between socioeconomic groups could be explained by social and material living conditions at ages 16 (84% explained), 30 (45%) and 42 (68%), but not at age 21. Specific social (parental illness at age 16 and violence at ages 30 and 42) and material (parental unemployment at age 16, and own unemployment and financial strain at ages 30 and 42) factors contributed jointly to the health gaps. Conclusions: Socioeconomic inequalities in functional somatic symptoms increased along the life course in this Swedish cohort. A considerable portion of the social gaps in health was explained by concurrent social and material conditions, and the importance of specific adversities was dependent on the life course stage. Our findings suggest that socioeconomic inequalities in functional somatic symptoms may be reduced by addressing both social and material living conditions of disadvantaged families, and also that the life course stage needs to be taken into consideration.
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| 13. |
- Sekijima, Yoshiki, et al.
(author)
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Pathological, biochemical, and biophysical characteristics of the transthyretin variant Y114H (p.Y134H) explain its very mild clinical phenotype
- 2015
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In: Journal of the peripheral nervous system. - : WILEY-BLACKWELL. - 1085-9489 .- 1529-8027. ; 20:4, s. 372-379
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Transthyretin (TTR) is a homotetrameric protein that must misfold in order to form amyloid fibrils. Misfolding includes rate limiting tetramer dissociation, followed by fast tertiary structural changes of the monomer that enable aggregation. Hereditary ATTR amyloidosis is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder with systemic deposition of amyloid fibrils induced by TTR gene mutation. We identified a rare Y114H (p.Y134H) TTR variant in a Japanese patient presenting with late-onset, very mild clinical course. The patient had an extremely low serum variant TTR concentration (18% of total TTR), whereas the composition of variant TTR was 55% in amyloid fibrils in tenosynovial tissues obtained at carpal tunnel release surgery. The amyloid fibril deposits in the ATTR Y114H patient had an altered structure compared with that in wild-type ATTR patients, as determined by luminescent conjugated poly/oligo-thiophene fluorescence spectroscopy. Biophysical studies using recombinant protein showed that Y114H TTR was markedly destabilized both thermodynamically and kinetically and was highly amyloidogenic in vitro. These data suggest that extremely low serum variant Y114H TTR concentration, probably due to endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation of unstable variant TTR protein, protected this patient from severe amyloidosis, as self-assembly of the amyloidogenic intermediate is a concentration-dependent process.
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| 14. |
- Sjölander, Daniel, et al.
(author)
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Sensitive and rapid assessment of amyloid by oligothiophene fluorescence in subcutaneous fat tissue
- 2015
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In: Amyloid. - : Informa Healthcare. - 1350-6129 .- 1744-2818. ; 22:1, s. 19-25
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Systemic amyloidosis (SA) is often diagnosed late. Combining clinical and biochemical biomarkers is necessary for raising suspicion of disease. Fine needle aspiration (FNA) of subcutaneous fat enables SA detection by Congo red staining. The luminescent conjugated probe heptameric formic thiophene acetic acid (h-FTAA) is a sensitive alternative to Congo red-staining of tissue samples. Our objective was to compare h-FTAA fluorescence with the Congo red stain for amyloid detection in FNA-obtained fat tissue. Herein, we studied samples from 57 patients with established SA (19 with AA, 20 with AL, and 18 with ATTR) and 17 age-matched controls (34–75 years). Positivity for h-FTAA was graded according to a Congo red-based grading scale ranging from 0 to 4+. Amyloid grading by both methods correlated strongly (r = 0.87). Here h-FTAA was positive in 53 of 54 Congo red-positive cases (sensitivity 98%) and h-FTAA was negative in 7 of 17 Congo red-negative controls (specificity 41%), but was also positive for 3 Congo red-negative SA cases. We conclude that h-FTAA fluorescence is more sensitive than Congo red staining in this small exploratory study of fat tissue samples, implicating potential sensitivity for prodromal amyloidosis, but is less specific for clinical amyloidosis defined by Congo red positivity. Given its simplicity h-FTAA staining may therefore be the most appropriate method for rapid screening of fat tissue samples but should presently treat grade 1+ as only suggestive, whereas 2+ or higher as positive for amyloidosis. Parallel assessment of h-FTAA and Congo red staining appears highly promising for clinical applications.
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| 15. |
- Wennberg, Maria, et al.
(author)
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Poor breakfast habits in adolescence predict the metabolic syndrome in adulthood
- 2015
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In: Public Health Nutrition. - 1368-9800 .- 1475-2727. ; 18:1, s. 122-129
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: To analyse whether poor breakfast habits in adolescence predict the metabolic syndrome and its components in adulthood. Previous studies suggest that regular breakfast consumption improves metabolic parameters. Design: Prospective. Breakfast habits and other lifestyle variables at age 16 years were assessed from questionnaires. Poor breakfast habits were defined as skipping breakfast or only drinking or eating something sweet. At age 43 years, the effective sample consisted of 889 participants defined as having the metabolic syndrome or not, using the International Diabetes Federation criteria. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios and confidence intervals. Setting: The Northern Swedish Cohort, a longitudinal population-based cohort with 27-year follow-up. Subjects: Adolescents (age 16 years). Results: Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome at age 43 years was 27.0%. Of the participants, 9.9% were classified with poor breakfast habits at age 16 years. Adjusted odds for the metabolic syndrome at age 43 years was OR = 1.68 (95% CI 1.01, 2.78) for those with poor breakfast habits at age 16 years compared with breakfast eaters. Looking at the metabolic syndrome components, poor breakfast habits at age 16 years were associated with central obesity (OR = 1.71; 95% CI 1.00, 2.92) and high fasting glucose (OR = 1.75; 95% CI 1.01, 3.02) at age 43 years, even after multivariate adjustments. Conclusions: Poor breakfast habits in adolescence predicted the metabolic syndrome in adulthood. Of the metabolic syndrome components, poor breakfast habits in adolescence predicted central obesity and high fasting glucose in adulthood. Further research is needed to fully understand the relationship between early breakfast habits and adult metabolic syndrome.
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| 16. |
- Westerlund, Hugo, et al.
(author)
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Parental academic involvement in adolescence as predictor of mental health trajectories over the life course : a prospective population-based cohort study
- 2015
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In: BMC Public Health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2458. ; 15
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Mental health problems are rising, especially among younger people, indicating a need to identify determinants of the development of mental health over the life course. Parental involvement in their children's studies, particularly in terms of academic socialisation, has been shown to predict better mental health in adulthood, as well as other more favourable health outcomes, but no study published so far has examined its impact on trajectories of mental health. We therefore sought to elucidate the role of parental involvement at age 16 on the life course development of internalised mental health symptoms. Methods: In a population-based cohort (452 women and 488 men, 87 % of the eligible participants), we examined the association between parental involvement in their offspring's studies, measured by teacher and pupil ratings at age 16, and an index of internalised mental health symptoms at the ages of 16, 18, 21, 30, and 43. Using latent class trajectory analysis, 5 different trajectories were derived from these indices: Very low stable (least symptoms), Low stable, Increasing, Moderate stable, and High decreasing (most symptoms). Multinomial logistic regression was used to regress trajectory membership on the parental involvement variables. Results: Teacher-rated parental interest in their offspring's studies during the last year of compulsory school was associated with a lower risk of entering the Moderate stable (OR = 0.54; 95 % CI 0.30 to 0.98) and High decreasing (OR = 0.41; 0.18 to 0.91) trajectories, compared with the Low stable, also after adjustment for sex, parental social class and mental health, family unemployment and own school grades. Both these associations were present only in children with grades above the national average. Student-rated availability of assistance with homework was associated with a higher chance of entering the Very low stable trajectory in the whole sample (OR = 1.24; 1.07 to 1.43), in men (OR = 1.25; 1.05 to 1.48) and in those with above average grades (OR = 1.39; 1.13 to 1.72), and with a lower risk of entering the Moderate stable in women (OR = 0.74; 0.55 to 0.99), also after the same adjustments. Conclusions: Parental involvement in their offspring's studies may buffer against poor mental health in adolescence which may track into adulthood.
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