| 1. |
- Bengtsson Boström, Kristina, et al.
(author)
-
Interaction between the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene insertion/deletion polymorphism and obstructive sleep apnoea as a mechanism for hypertension
- 2007
-
In: J Hypertens. - 0263-6352. ; 25:4, s. 779-783
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) confers a risk of hypertension and cardiovascular complications. Both the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and OSA are important determinants of blood pressure, but it is not fully known how they interact. The aim of this study was to explore the interaction between the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism and OSA in the association with hypertension. DESIGN: A community-based, case-control design with hypertensive patients in primary care (n = 157) and normotensive population controls (n = 181). METHODS: All subjects underwent ambulatory polysomnography during one night. OSA was defined by a minimum of 10 apnoea/hypopnoea events per hour. Office blood pressure was measured and hypertension status was assessed. The genotypes were determined using polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: An interaction analysis including sex, ACE I/D polymorphism (DD and ID versus II), and OSA identified a significant interaction between OSA and the ACE I/D polymorphism: odds ratio (OR) 6.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.8-22.5, P = 0.004 as well as between OSA and sex: OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.1-9.6, P = 0.033. OSA was significantly associated with hypertension in men but not in women. CONCLUSION: The interaction between the ACE gene I/D polymorphism and OSA appears to be an important mechanism in the development of hypertension, particularly in men.
|
|
| 2. |
|
|
| 3. |
- Bengtsson, Torbjörn, 1955-, et al.
(author)
-
Role of the actin cytoskeleton during respiratory burst in chemoattractant-stimulated neutrophils
- 2006
-
In: Cell Biology International. - : Wiley. - 1065-6995 .- 1095-8355. ; 30:2, s. 154-163
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this study was to clarify the role of the actin cytoskeleton during chemotactic peptide fMet-Leu-Phe (fMLF)-stimulated respiratory burst in human neutrophil granulocytes. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured as luminol-amplified chemiluminescence (CL) and F-actin content as bodipy phallacidin fluorescence in neutrophils treated with latrunculin B or jasplakinolide, an inhibitor and activator of actin polymerization, respectively. Latrunculin B markedly decreased, whereas jasplakinolide increased, the F-actin content in neutrophils, unstimulated or stimulated with fMLF. Latrunculin B enhanced the fMLF-triggered ROS-production more than tenfold. Jasplakinolide initially inhibited the fMLF-induced CL-response, however, caused a potent second sustained phase (>400% of control). Both actin drugs triggered a substantial CL-response when added 5-25 min after fMLF. This was also valid for chemotactic doses of fMLF, where latrunculin B and jasplakinolide amplified the ROS-production 5-10 times. By using specific signal transduction inhibitors, we found that the NADPH oxidase activation triggered by destabilization of the actin cytoskeleton occurs downstream of phospholipase C and protein kinase C but is mediated by Rho GTPases and tyrosine phosphorylation. In conclusion, rearrangements of the actin cytoskeleton are a prerequisite in connecting ligand/receptor activation, generation of second messengers and assembly of the NADPH oxidase in neutrophil granulocytes. © 2005 International Federation for Cell Biology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
|
|
| 4. |
|
|
| 5. |
- Bøg-Hansen, Erik, et al.
(author)
-
Predictors of acute myocardial infarction mortality in hypertensive patients treated in primary care.
- 2007
-
In: Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0281-3432 .- 1502-7724. ; 25:4, s. 237-243
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective. To explore risk factors for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) mortality in hypertensive patients treated in primary care. Design. Community-based cohort study. Setting. Hypertension outpatient clinic in primary health care. Subjects. Patients who consecutively underwent an annual follow-up during 1992-1993 (n =894; 377 men and 517 women). Methods. All events of fatal AMI were ascertained by record linkage to the National Mortality Register to December 31, 2002. Gender-specific predictors for AMI mortality were analysed by Cox regression. Main outcome measure. AMI mortality. Results. During a mean follow-up of 8.7 years 32 cases (8.5%) of fatal AMI were observed in men and 31 cases (6.0%) were observed in women. Most important predictors for AMI mortality in men were microalbuminuria (HR 3.8, CI 1.8-8.0) and left ventricular hypertrophy (HR 4.0, CI 1.7-9.4), whilst in women type 2 diabetes (HR 4.8, CI 2.4-9.8) was an important predictor. In hypertensive patients without diabetes male gender was associated with high AMI mortality (HR 2.7, CI 1.4-5.3), but in patients with both hypertension and type 2 diabetes the higher risk in men disappeared (HR 0.8, CI 0.4-1.7). Conclusion. Cardiovascular disease risk factors remain strong predictors of AMI mortality in hypertensive patients but with a different pattern in the two genders. Markers of organ damage are more important predictors in men, whereas markers of impaired glucose metabolism are more important predictors in women.
|
|
| 6. |
|
|
| 7. |
- Dalemo, Sofia, et al.
(author)
-
Diagnosis of patients with raised serum calcium level in primary care, Sweden.
- 2006
-
In: Scandinavian journal of primary health care. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0281-3432 .- 1502-7724. ; 24:3, s. 160-5
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To study the diagnosis of hypercalcaemic patients and to evaluate whether frequent analyses of serum calcium can detect more patients with hypercalcaemia. DESIGN: Retrospective study of serum calcium analyses performed during the time period 1992-2000 and of the medical records of patients with elevated serum calcium levels between 1995 and 2000. SETTING: Primary care in Tibro, Sweden. SUBJECTS: Patients from the local community attending the primary healthcare centre. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Frequency of serum calcium analyses, hypercalcaemic patients, and their diagnosis. RESULTS: Doubling the number of serum calcium analyses did not increase the detected number of raised calcium levels. On the other hand, more frequent parathyroid hormone (PTH) analyses resulted in a corresponding increase in detected high PTH levels. In Tibro, 15% (n = 22) of the patients with hypercalcaemia were diagnosed with primary hyperparathyroidism, giving a rate of 0.22%. This is comparable to the prevalence in other population studies. Over 40% (n = 9) of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism in the study had only slightly raised serum calcium levels (2.55-2.60 mmol/l). In 70% (n = 99) of the cases, the cause of hypercalcaemia was unknown. The second most common diagnosis was skeletal disorders followed by kidney disease. CONCLUSION: An increase in the number of serum calcium analyses did not result in increased detection of raised calcium levels. In contrast, an increase in the number of PTH analyses resulted in increased detection of primary hyperparathyroidism. Therefore, PTH analyses should be used more frequently.
|
|
| 8. |
- Ekdahl, Kristina N., et al.
(author)
-
Use of serum or buffer-changed EDTA-plasma in a rapid, inexpensive, and easy-to-perform hemolytic complement assay for differential diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus and monitoring of patients with the disease
- 2007
-
In: Clinical and Vaccine Immunology. - 1556-6811 .- 1556-679X. ; 14:5, s. 549-555
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We previously described a simplified quantitative hemolytic assay for classical pathway (CP) hemolytic function in serum that has been shown to correlate with the 50% hemolytic complement (CH50) assay. In the present study, we used this assay to compare CP functions; plasma levels of C3, C4, and C3dg; and ratios of C3dg to C3 in healthy individuals and patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with different degrees of complement activation. A significant depression in CP function and levels of C4 and C3 and increased C3dg levels and C3dg/C3 ratios were observed in the SLE patients. In patients with RA, CP function was normal, whereas C3, C4, and C3dg levels and the C3dg/C3 ratio were elevated. The SLE results are compatible with systemic complement consumption, whereas the RA data suggest an acute-phase reaction with a normal C3 catabolic rate. To facilitate the handling of patient samples, we also developed a method to restore the hemolytic function of EDTA-plasma by transferring it to Veronal-buffered saline containing the thrombin inhibitor lepirudin. This process inhibits coagulation and enables complement activation, allowing a longer time lag between sample harvesting and testing. These results, combined with previous correlation studies, suggest that the CP hemolytic assay can effectively replace the CH50 assay for routine SLE differential diagnosis and monitoring of disease activity.
|
|
| 9. |
- Florez, Jose C., et al.
(author)
-
The Kruppel-like factor 11 (KLF11) Q62R polymorphism is not associated with type 2 diabetes in 8,676 people
- 2006
-
In: Diabetes. - : American Diabetes Association. - 1939-327X .- 0012-1797. ; 55:12, s. 3620-3624
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Kruppel-like factor 11 is a pancreatic transcription factor whose activity induces the insulin gene. A common glutamine-to-arginine change at codon 62 (Q62R) in its gene KLF11 has been recently associated with type 2 diabetes in two independent samples. Q62R and two other rare missense variants (A347S and T220M) were also shown to affect the function of KLF11 in vitro, and insulin levels were lower in carriers of the minor allele at Q62R. We therefore examined their impact on common type 2 diabetes in several family-based and case-control samples of northern-European ancestry, totaling 8,676 individuals. We did not detect the rare A347S and T220M variants in our samples. With respect to Q62R, despite > 99% power to detect an association of the previously published magnitude, Q62R was not associated with type 2 diabetes (pooled odds ratio 0.97 [95% Cl 0.88-1.08], P = 0.63). In a subset of normoglycemic individuals, we did not observe significant differences in various insulin traits according to genotype at KLF11 Q62R. We conclude that the KLF11 A347S and T220M mutations do not contribute to increased risk of diabetes in European-derived populations and that the Q62R polymorphism has, at best, a minor effect on diabetes risk.
|
|
| 10. |
- Hedner, Jan A, 1953, et al.
(author)
-
Hypertension prevalence in obstructive sleep apnoea and sex: a population-based case-control study
- 2006
-
In: European Respiratory Journal. - : European Respiratory Society (ERS). - 1399-3003 .- 0903-1936. ; 27:3, s. 564-70.
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a recognised risk factor for hypertension (HT). The current authors investigated confounders of this association in a sex-balanced community-based sample of patients with HT (n=161) from the Skaraborg Hypertension and Diabetes Project (n=1,149) and normotensive controls (n=183) from an age and sex stratified community-based population sample (n=1,109). All participants underwent ambulatory home polysomnography. Severe OSA (apnoea-plus-hypopnoea index (AHI) >= 30 events center dot h(-1)) was found in 47 and 25% of hypertensive and normotensive males, respectively. The corresponding numbers in females were 26 and 24%, respectively. The odds ratio (OR) for HT increased across AHI tertiles from 1.0 to 2.1 (95% confidence interval: 0.9-4.5) and 1.0 to 3.7 (95% CI: 1.7-8.2) in males, but not in females where the OR increased from 1.0 to 1.8 (95% CI: 0.8-3.9) and 1.0 to 1.6 (95% CI: 0.7-3.5). Regression analysis correcting for age, body mass index (or waist-hip ratio) and smoking did not eliminate the association between OSA and HT in males. The present data suggest that obstructive sleep apnoea is highly prevalent in both the general population and in patients with known hypertension. The contribution of obstructive sleep apnoea to hypertension risk may be sex dependent and higher in males than in females.
|
|
