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Biomedical subjects

A Jakobsson

Publications and source records attributed to A Jakobsson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Oral microbiota associated with hyposalivation of different origins.

We analysed and compared the oral microbial flora in four groups with hyposalivation caused by radiation therapy (RT), primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS), medication or unknown factors (Unknown), or neuroleptic treatment (Neuro). A control group with normal salivary secretion was also included. The subjects included were 54 +/- 8 years old and had 25 +/- 4 teeth. We analysed their microflora in rinsing samples using a cultivation technique. A marked increase in Lactobacillus spp. and Candida albicans was characteristic of the RT group. In the pSS group, 85% of subjects had high numbers of mutans streptococci despite good oral hygiene, frequent dental visits and fluoride use. The Unknown group had an oral flora similar to that of the controls. In the Neuro group, with a stimulated secretion rate similar to that of the Unknown group, the numbers of aciduric and acidogenic microorganisms were close to those in the pSS group. The results indicate that changes in the oral microflora associated with hyposalivation are related to the reason for the hyposalivation rather than to the magnitude of the decrease in the salivary secretion rate.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2001

A controlled vocabulary for nursing and allied health in Norway.

Nursing and allied health libraries at educational institutions in Norway have generally indexed their book collections with uncontrolled terms. With the reorganization of higher education in 1994, the majority of these libraries joined BIBSYS, which is a joint library system for higher education and research in Norway. This has led to chaos when searching the joint catalogue for literature on nursing and related fields. A term such as 'behaviour problems' may have up to five synonyms. In an attempt to improve the quality of searching the health literature, BIBSYS appointed a working group in the Spring of 1999 to find a suitable controlled vocabulary for this subject area, and to see how this vocabulary could be integrated into BIBSYS. The group presented its recommendations in October 1999. The report has been well received by the BIBSYS Board and by user groups. There are no Norwegian vocabularies that are suitable for use in nursing and allied health, therefore it will be necessary to translate and combine existing thesauri. The group has looked at the Nordic Multilingual Thesaurus on Health Promotion, the Swedish Spriline Thesaurus, MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) and CINAHL Subject Heading List. Other relevant thesauri are AMED/CATS Thesaurus, Bioethics Thesaurus (Bioethicsline) and the RCN thesaurus. The group recommends the development of a Norwegian thesaurus based on a translation of parts of MeSH and CINAHL Subject Heading List.

Abstracting and Indexing↗
PubMed2000

Role of a new mammalian gene family in the biosynthesis of very long chain fatty acids and sphingolipids.

Whereas the physiological significance of microsomal fatty acid elongation is generally appreciated, its molecular nature is poorly understood. Here, we describe tissue-specific regulation of a novel mouse gene family encoding components implicated in the synthesis of very long chain fatty acids. The Ssc1 gene appears to be ubiquitously expressed, whereas Ssc2 and Cig30 show a restricted expression pattern. Their translation products are all integral membrane proteins with five putative transmembrane domains. By complementing the homologous yeast mutants, we found that Ssc1 could rescue normal sphingolipid synthesis in the sur4/elo3 mutant lacking the ability to synthesize cerotic acid (C(26:0)). Similarly, Cig30 reverted the phenotype of the fen1/elo2 mutant that has reduced levels of fatty acids in the C(20)-C(24) range. Further, we show that Ssc1 mRNA levels were markedly decreased in the brains of myelin-deficient mouse mutants known to have very low fatty acid chain elongation activity. Conversely, the dramatic induction of Cig30 expression during brown fat recruitment coincided with elevated elongation activity. Our results strongly implicate this new mammalian gene family in tissue-specific synthesis of very long chain fatty acids and sphingolipids.

Acetyltransferases↗
PubMed2000

Hypersecretion of ovarian androgens may be gonadotrophin dependent many years after menopause.

BACKGROUND: In fertile women both adrenals and ovaries contribute to androgen production, whereas after the menopause the ovarian contribution normally decreases. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this case study was to assess whether ovarian androgen secretion was responsive to decreased gonadotrophin stimulation and whether gonadotrophins were sensitive to negative feedback from sex steroids many years after the menopause. METHODS: In this uncontrolled case study a 72 years old slightly overweight woman with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus presented with hirsuitism and elevated serum testosterone concentrations. The woman was reluctant to have an oophorectomy, and received an oral estradiol/progestagene preparation. Serum testosterone and gonadotrophin concentrations were measured before and after steroid hormone therapy. RESULTS: Serum gonadotrophin concentrations decreased and testosterone levels returned to normal during therapy. When the hormone therapy was stopped for 1 month the high testosterone concentrations returned, but were again normalized when the hormone therapy was reinitiated. CONCLUSION: The ovaries of this woman were apparently still responsive to pituitary stimulation and her hypothalamic pituitary ovarian feed-back system still seemed to be working after 70 years of age.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

To see or not to see. Perceptions of equality in a Swedish university hospital.

In order to examine the perceptions of sex equality among medical doctors (MDs) and registered nurses (RNs), a survey was conducted in a Swedish University Hospital in May 1995. A questionnaire was sent to 475 MDs and RNs of three different age groups. The results showed that women tend to have similar opinions irrespective of occupation and age, which differed significantly from those of men. Men believed that equality in general exists in the hospital, while women think the values and conditions in the workplace mainly benefit men. No evidence was found to indicate a change in the sex hierarchy within the health care system. Rather, the status quo will be maintained and gender stereotypes reinforced from one generation to the next.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1997

Increased prevalence of large bites in 12-lead vectorcardiograms of diabetic patients.

The vectorcardiographic (VCG) bites in diabetic patients were compared with those in nondiabetic control subjects using automated analysis of the conventional electrocardiogram (ECG). A 12-lead ECG was recorded from each of the 154 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and 128 control subjects. The orthogonal leads X, Y, and Z were derived from the 12-lead ECG, from which a so-called 12-lead VCG was calculated for each of the 282 participants. A computer-based method for the detection and quantification of bites was applied to the 12-lead VCGs. Bite amplitudes in the horizontal loop had an average of 0.062 +/- 0.089 mV in the diabetic group, and 0.039 +/- 0.045 mV in the control group (P < .01). In the sagittal plane, the mean bite amplitude was also greater in the diabetic group than in the control group: 0.095 +/- 0.084 versus 0.069 +/- 0.058 mV, respectively (P < .01). A bite greater than 0.1 mV in the horizontal or sagittal planes was found in 56 diabetic patients (36%) and 27 control subjects (21%) with (P < .05) considered significant. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that automated analysis of the 12-lead VCG can be valuable in diagnosing diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Spatial and temporal evaluation of locally induced skin trauma recorded with laser Doppler techniques.

The single-fiber laser Doppler flowmetry (SF-LDF) technique has been used to study perfusion within tissues. The insertion of the SF-LDF probe into human skin locally alters microcirculation for more than 70 min after positioning. In this study the SF-LDF and a newly developed laser Doppler imager (LDI) were used to describe the spatial distribution, the intensity, and the temporal course of the trauma following intracutaneous insertion of the probe. The LDI scanned a human skin area of 6 x 6 cm (36 x 36 pixels). A flexible SF-LDF probe was inserted intradermally in the same measuring region. Recordings were performed for 120 min with the two techniques simultaneously. With the SF-LDF probe maximal hyperemia was recorded after 5-30 min. After a gradual and slow decrease most of the subjects reached a steady-state level within 80-100 min. A 3-min tourniquet occlusion test was performed 120 min after SF probe positioning. A significant hyperemic response was recorded, indicating that almost no posttraumatic activity was present at this time. The area of increased perfusion recorded with the LDI had an oval to circular configuration with a maximal extension after 5-10 min (radius 1.5-2 cm, area 8.9 cm2). The zone of maximal hyperemia was distributed adjacent to the intradermal probe, gradually decreasing toward the periphery. No significant hyperemia was shown with LDI after 100 min. There was a concordance between the time courses of the hyperemic response obtained with the two techniques.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Mast-cell histamine is angiogenic through receptors for histamine1 and histamine2.

The activation of mast-cells in situ induces angiogenesis in normally vascularized, adult mammalian tissue. Since the secreting mast-cell characteristically releases histamine, we studied the possible role of histamine in the outcome of mast-cell mediated angiogenesis using the rat mesenteric window assay. One H1-receptor antagonist, brompheniramine maleate (BPA), and one H2-receptor antagonist, metiamide, were separately administered systemically (s.c.) at non-toxic doses during the period of angiogenesis induction. Angiogenesis was effected by i.p. injections of the mast-cell secretagogue compound 48/80 for 5 consecutive days. The animals were killed 14 days after the start of the i.p. and s.c. treatment, close to the middle of the expanding angiogenic phase of the angiogenic reaction studied. Angiogenesis was quantified in terms of (a) the number of vessel profiles per unit tissue length (No/UL), which reflects mainly the degree of branching and/or tortuosity, (b) the relative vascularized area (VA), which is a measure of spatial extension, and (c) the vascular density (VD), a measure of vessel density per unit area of vascularized tissue. Whereas BPA significantly suppressed No/UL, metiamide significantly reduced No/UL and VD in statistical terms suggesting that endogenous mast-cell histamine is angiogenic through both H1- and H2-receptors. This appears to be the first paper to report that the occupancy of H2-receptors is angiogenic.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Endotoxin is angiogenic.

The formation of new blood vessels, angiogenesis, is an important event in inflammation, wound healing and tumour growth. Mediators produced by various cells when exposed to endotoxin include cytokines (tumour necrosis factor, interleukins 1 and 6, and basic fibroblast growth factor) which, it has been suggested, stimulate angiogenesis. The angiogenic effect of endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) was studied in rats using the quantitative mesenteric window assay. Adult rats were injected intraperitoneally with Escherichia coli LPS (5 pg/ml-20,000 ng/ml) twice daily for 4.5 consecutive days and were sacrificed 14 days after the start of this treatment. An angiogenic response was observed at concentrations of > 2 ng/ml in a dose-dependent manner. No inflammatory cellular exudate was seen in the test tissue at the time of angiogenesis analysis. Suppressed body-weight gain, a marker of the systemic effect of LPS in the rat, was significant only at the highest dose tested. The data suggest that endotoxin-mediated neovascularization could be a component of inflammation and wound healing.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Prediction of sampling depth and photon pathlength in laser Doppler flowmetry.

Monte Carlo simulation of photon migration in tissue was used to assess the sampling depth, measuring depth and photon pathlength in laser Doppler flowmetry. The median sampling depth and photon pathlength in skin, liver and brain tissue were calculated for different probe geometries. The shallowest median sampling depth found was 68 microns for a 120 microns diameter single fibre probe applied to a one-layered skin tissue model. By using separate transmitting and receiving fibres, the median sampling depth, which amounted to 146 microns for a 250 microns fibre centre separation, can be successively increased to 233 microns when the fibres' centres are separated by 700 microns. Total photon pathlength and thereby the number of multiple Doppler shifts increase with fibre separation, thus favouring the choice of a probe with a small fibre separation when linearity is more important than a large sampling depth. Owing mainly to differences in the tissue g-value and scattering coefficient, the median sampling depth is shallower for liver and deeper for brain, in comparison with skin tissue. For skin tissue, the influence on the sampling depth of a homogeneously distributed blood volume was found to be limited to about 1 per cent per percentage increase in tissue blood content, and may, therefore, be disregarded in most practical situations. Simulations show that the median measuring depth is strongly dependent on the perfusion profile.

Humans↗
PubMed1993

Electrocardiographic signs of coronary heart disease in a "low risk" population in rural Crete.

BACKGROUND: Ischemic heart disease (IHD) has been shown to be very uncommon in the population of Crete. Therefore, we established a research project in a rural part of Crete to survey the cardiovascular risk profile and follow the incidence of cardiovascular disease over time. This study investigated the prevalence of ECG abnormalities in the population of five villages and compared the prevalence of hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia in those with and without ECG signs of IHD. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a group from 15 to 79 years of age (n = 1218); overall attendance was 926 (76%). Studies included case history, clinical status, laboratory variables, and 12-lead ECG. Technically acceptable ECGs were read and coded blindly for 895 subjects (97%). RESULTS: Minnesota codes suggesting "Probable IHD" were recorded in 3.3% of the women and 3.5% of the men from 45 to 79 years of age. Hypertension was more common in subjects with than in those without "Probable IHD." This also tended to be the case for diabetes. Cholesterol and body mass index were relatively high in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: The present prevalence of "Probable IHD" in Cretans appears to be very similar to that observed in other population surveys. Also, the contemporary cardiovascular risk factor profile in the population was quite unfavorable, with a relatively high prevalence of smoking, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes. The prevalence of "Probable IHD" was lowest in the village where the health center was situated (1% vs 4.5%), and this difference was also reflected in differences among the villages of some important risk factors for IHD as well as in the way patients with hypertension and other diseases were cared for. Thus, it seems IHD is becoming more prevalent in the "low risk" population of Crete. This may very well be a result of a more unfavorable lifestyle and a higher rate of risk factors than before.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Laser Doppler perfusion imaging by dynamic light scattering.

Imaging of tissue perfusion is important in assessing the influence of peripheral vascular disease on microcirculation. This paper reports on a laser Doppler perfusion imaging technique based on dynamic light scattering in tissue. When a laser beam sequentially scans the tissue (maximal area approximately 12 cm *12 cm), moving blood cells generate Doppler components in the back-scattered light. A fraction of this light is detected by a remote photodiode and converted into an electrical signal. In the signal processor, a signal proportional to the tissue perfusion at each measurement point is calculated and stored. When the scanning procedure is completed, the system generates a color-coded perfusion image on a monitor. A perfusion image is typically built up of data from 4,096 measurement sites, recorded during a time period of 4 min. This image has a spatial resolution of about 2 mm * 2 mm. A theory for the system inherent amplification factor dependence on the distance between individual measurement points and detector is proposed and correction measures are presented. The performance of the laser Doppler perfusion imager was evaluated using a flow simulator. The correlation coefficient between the estimated flow parameter and the perfusion through a mechanical flow simulator was calculated to r = 0.996. To assess the sampling depth of the laser beam, light scattering in tissue was simulated by a Monte Carlo technique. The average sampling depth for skin tissue was calculated to 200-240 microns, depending on the blood content.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Humans↗
PubMed1993

Establishing a Swedish instrument measuring hope.

Hope has been identified as an important component for individuals coping with stress in life-threatening situations. The purpose of this study was to establish a Swedish instrument measuring hope. The instrument is based on an American hope scale developed by J.F. Miller to measure hope in adults. The Miller Hope Scale (MHS) is a 40-item 5-point Likert-type scale with a score range of 40-200. The MHS was translated into Swedish and examined in three stages before it was tested on a group of nursing students (n = 120). The test results in the Swedish sample were in accordance with Miller's evaluation of the psychometric properties of the MHS. The mean hope score was 170.4 (SD = 16.52) and the internal alpha coefficient was 0.88. The factor analysis on the Swedish sample resulted in the factors: I. Satisfaction with self, others and life; II. Avoidance of hope threats; III. Ability, capacity to influence the outcome in life.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1993

Two potentially angiostatic factors, a steroid and L-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid, antagonize one another.

The proline analogue L-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid (LACA) systemically suppressed mast-cell-mediated angiogenesis, as measured by the rat mesenteric-window method. Dexamethasone and methylprednisolone at very low and non-toxic s.c. doses also somewhat inhibited the angiogenesis. Most interestingly, the co-administration of either of these steroids with LACA paradoxically stimulated angiogenesis. These findings suggest that in the future search for candidates for clinically-useful systemic angiostatic remedies, one may have to focus not only on the effect of individual drugs or agents, but also on the effect of such putative anti-angiogenic agents when co-administered. The fact that two potentially angiostatic agents can antagonize one another has not previously been reported.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Characteristics of the 'metabolic syndrome X' in a cardiovascular low risk population in Crete.

We have studied hypertension, obesity, diabetes and hypercholesterolaemia in those aged 45-79 years in the Cretan low risk population of Spili (n = 249; attendance 82%) to see if these conditions interacted in the same way as previously described for high risk populations. Hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and hypercholesterolaemia were found to be at least as prevalent in Spili as in Sweden. Furthermore, the previously described 'Metabolic Syndrome X', with insulin resistance and hyperinsulinaemia as a common denominator also seemed to exist in the Spili population where patients with these conditions had higher insulin and C-peptide levels than normals. Our finding should be viewed against the low prevalence of past myocardial infarction in Cretan men from Spili reported by us and confirming the results of the Seven Countries Study.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Regeneration of CALLA (CD10+), TdT+ and double-positive cells in the bone marrow and blood after autologous bone marrow transplantation.

In this prospective study we investigated the frequency of CD10+, TdT+ and CD10+TdT+ mononuclear cells in the bone marrow (BM) and peripheral blood (PB) before and after autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT). 49 patients treated for acute lymphoblastic or myeloblastic leukaemia, malignant lymphoma or multiple myeloma were included. A significant increase in CD10+ cells occurred in BM in both children and adults after ABMT. In children, we also found a significant increase in CD10+ cells in PB. In individual patients remaining in remission, up to 34% CD10+ cells having a normal Ig kappa/lambda light chain ratio were recorded after ABMT. In children, the percentage of TdT+ and CD10+ TdT+ cells increased significantly in BM. In most cases the CD10/TdT-ratio was greater than 1.0, but during early regeneration after ABMT this ratio was less than 1.0 in several patients remaining in complete remission. In patients remaining in remission, CD10+TdT+ cells were detected in the blood in only 2 out of 140 samples tested, and the proportion of these cells never exceeded 0.03%. We conclude that quantitation of CD10+TdT+ cells in peripheral blood is helpful in the evaluation of complete remission in patients treated for pre-B-ALL.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Influence of fibre diameter and probe geometry on the measuring depth of laser Doppler flowmetry in the gastrointestinal application.

The measuring depth of laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) was studied in isolated segments of feline small intestine, using five probes having different fibre geometry, fibre core diameter and fibre centre separation. Recordings were made on the mucosal side at constant systemic blood pressure and venous outflow from the bowel segment. The insertion of a layer of unperfused intestine (average thickness 2.4 mm), between the probe and the perfused bowel wall, reduced the output signal from the flowmeter to an average of 42% of the initial value when a probe with large diameter fibres (700 microns) was used. No LD-signal was obtained through the unperfused tissue layer using the probes with small core diameter fibres (120 microns). Application of a mirror at the serosal surface opposite to the probe, resulted in an average increase of the output signal by 50% using the large fibre diameter probe, whereas no increase was observed with the small fibre probe. Probes based on intermediate fibre diameter and fibre centre separations, gave intermediate results in both experiments. It is concluded that the measuring depth of laser Doppler flowmetry in the gastrointestinal application is highly dependent on the fibre diameter and geometry of the probe. It is possible that, by taking into account these factors, probes may be constructed that are suitable for superficial and transmural measurements.

Animals↗