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Biomedical subjects

A Larsson

Publications and source records attributed to A Larsson.

589 records · Page 33Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Serum concentrations of VEGF and b-FGF in renal cell, prostate and urinary bladder carcinomas.

Sixty nine patients with urogenital cancers (renal, bladder and prostate cancer) were studied to determine whether the serum concentrations of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (b-FGF) reflected the status of the patients and/or the prognosis of the disease. Of the patients included in this study, renal cell carcinoma patients expressed the highest levels of VEGF indicating that these tumours are more VEGF dependent. The values of b-FGF could be considered normal in all three malignancies. No correlation was observed between the expression of VEGF and b-FGF, nor between VEGF and b-FGF and patients survival.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Angiogenic factors: vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF) are not necessarily elevated in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Serum analysis of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (b-FGF) levels were studied in 53 patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Approximately 2/3 of the patients had disseminated disease at diagnosis, the remainder had no evidence of metastases. The results confirmed that VEGF has a major role in the angiogenesis of RCC. No correlation was observed between VEGF and/or b-FGF and the presence or absence of metastases, nor was any correlation observed between VEGF and/or b-FGF and patient survival. Thus, to utilise VEGF and/or b-FGF as a tumour marker at the time of diagnosis to predict patients with a high risk of progression, where an adjuvant therapeutic approach would be of great value, seems to be limited. Not all patients with RCC exhibited elevated serum levels of VEGF and/or b-FGF. No correlation was observed between tumour stage and serum levels of these angiogenic peptides.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Levels of angiogenic peptides in sera from patients with carcinoid tumours during alpha-interferon treatment.

BACKGROUND: Alpha-interferon, a known inhibitor of angiogenesis and cell proliferation, is used in the standard treatment of patients with carcinoid tumors. We studied the levels of two angiogenic peptides (bFGF and VEGF) in sera from patients with carcinoid tumours before and during treatment with alpha-interferon. The aim was to investigate if the antitumoral effect of alpha-interferon in these patients could be at least in part explained by a reduction in the measured angiogenetic peptides. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sera from 29 patients with carcinoid tumours were collected before and during alpha-interferon treatment and analyzed using commercially available ELISA-kits. RESULTS: Interferon alpha treatment did not cause reduction of bFGF and VEGF levels in serum from patients with carcinoid tumours. In fact there was no correlation between changes in bFGF or VEGF levels and treatment effect. CONCLUSION: The action of alpha-interferon does not seem to be mediated by bFGF or VEGF in patients with carcinoid tumours. If alpha-interferon has an anti-angiogenic effect in this patient group, it is probably mediated by angiogenic peptides other than bFGF and VEGF.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Serum p53 autoantibodies as prognostic marker in patients with oesophageal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Oesophageal carcinoma is one of the more aggressive cancers and the patients usually seek medical attention only when the disease is already advanced. Therefore it is important to have a tool, which is simple and fast, to measure and to predict the prognosis for these patients. Mutations in the p53 gene are among the most common genetic abnormalities in oesophageal carcinoma. The present study is the first study, to our knowledge, in which the relationship between the presence of p53 autoantibodies in the serum and survival has been investigated in patients with oesophageal carcinoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Serum from patients with oesophagal carcinoma was collected between 1996 and 1999 at the Department of Oncology, Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden. The serum samples were analysed for the presence of p53 autoantibodies using a sandwich ELISA. RESULTS: In a multivariate analysis, the presence of p53 autoantibodies was associated with decreased survival (p=0.047). Patients with extensive disease had a poor prognosis and time to death was decreased in these patients (p=0.000022). The one-year survival was 0% for these patients if they had p53 autoantibodies compared to 36% for patients with no p53 autoantibodies and extensive disease. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the presence of serum p53 autoantibodies is associated with decreased survival for patients with oesophageal carcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Intermittent-flow expiratory ventilation (IFEV): delivery technique and principles of action--a preliminary communication.

The ventilator support utilized in acute respiratory failure can exacerbate an underlying lung injury. Various ventilation techniques have been introduced to prevent such damage by limiting tidal volume and inflation pressure, ensuring uniform expansion of the lung, and stabilizing lung volume during expiration. Acceptance of such methods has been limited. Intermittent-flow expiratory ventilation (IFEV) is the latest development in limited-excursion pulmonary ventilation. The method involves the delivery of fresh gas to the respiratory tree during expiration, thereby flushing out the anatomic deadspace and ensuring that the gas initially delivered to the alveolus with the succeeding inspiration is able to participate in gas exchange. By eliminating end-tidal gas in the conducting air passages, series deadspace is functionally reduced, permitting lowering of tidal volume and airway pressures without a corresponding reduction in CO2 removal. This effect may benefit patients who have acute lung injury by permitting ventilator settings with lower tidal volumes and peak airway pressures. The technique of IFEV delivery, a successful clinical application, and possible ways to improve IFEV efficiency are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Autoimmune thyroiditis and primary Sjögren's syndrome: clinical and laboratory evidence of the coexistence of the two diseases.

The prevalence of primary Sjögren's syndrome (primary SS) among patients with autoimmune thyroiditis (AT), and that of AT among patients with primary SS were studied prospectively. Of 63 patients with AT, one had precipitating antibodies against SS-A/Ro antigen together with objectively verified primary SS, and none had precipitating anti-SS-B/La antibodies; in contrast 17/63 (27%) had above normal values of anti-SS-B/La antibodies, as tested with ELISA. Of 19 AT patients tested objectively for xerostomia and keratoconjunctivitis sicca, six (32%) had keratoconjunctivitis sicca together with xerostomia and four (21%) had autoimmune sialadenitis. The prevalence of AT in patients with primary SS (n = 28) was 18%; of the 28 patients, 64% had an enlarged or abnormal thyroid gland on palpation and four of them (14%) had cytology verified AT. Ten (36%) had anti-thyroglobulin and/or antimicrosomal autoantibodies. Based upon the present investigation we conclude that the prevalence of primary SS is ten times higher among patients with AT, and that of AT is nine times higher among patients with primary SS, compared with the general population.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Spontaneous lymphocytic infiltrates of oral mucosa in HgCl2 induced autoimmunity of BN rats: phenotypic characteristics and contact hypersensitivity to Hg.

It has previously been shown that HgCl2 injected subcutaneously in Brown Norway (BN) rats (RT1n) induces an autoimmune syndrome with glomerulonephritis and epiphenomena in various tissues. We have, with monoclonal antibodies, investigated cellular infiltrates of the oral mucosa in Hg-treated BN rats. Our results show an infiltration of CD45RB- T cells and ED1+ monocytes. In comparison with experimental contact hypersensitivity to 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene, we found a low expression of RT1B and RT1D. No B cells were found. SD rats (RT1(1/u], treated identically, did not respond. Intense reactions with dense mononuclear cell infiltrates were seen in BN rats injected with HgCl2 and subsequently challenged in the oral mucosa with low doses of HgCl2 in acetone/olive oil. In contrast, no significant infiltrates appeared in BN rats epicutaneously painted with HgCl2 followed by oral challenge. Thus, the route by which Hg is introduced to the immune system seems to be decisive for the appearance of oral lesions in BN rats. The findings indicate that low-dose exposure to Hg can bring about epiphenomena resulting in an increased T cell dependent reactivity of the oral mucosa to Hg in genetically predisposed individuals.

Administration, Cutaneous↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Lung mechanics during upper abdominal surgery.

Functional residual capacity (FRC) and breath-by-breath compliance of the respiratory system (Crs) were studied after induction of anaesthesia, after insertion of retractors and after wound closure in patients undergoing upper abdominal surgery via a subcostal (n = 8) or a midline (n = 8) incision. After anaesthesia induction the mean FRC was 1.6 +/- 0.3 l. In the subcostal incision group FRC did not change between the studied stages, but Crs fell after retractor placement from 51 +/- 3 to 43 +/- 5 ml/cmH2O (p less than 0.01). In the midline incision group FRC rose by 21% (p less than 0.01) when the retractors were inserted, but regained outset level after wound closure. Crs in this group did not change significantly after retraction, but after closure of the wound it fell to 44 +/- 6 ml/cmH2O, i.e. less (p less than 0.05) than the outset value (52.6 ml/cmH2O). FRC thus did not decrease in either group, but Crs fell by about 15%. The authors conclude that the known difference in postoperative pulmonary complications between midline vs. subcostal incisions is not caused by the studied intraoperative events.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Radiation dose to patients and personnel during fluoroscopy at percutaneous renal stone extraction.

The radiation dose to patients and personnel was estimated during 11 percutaneous renal stone extractions. For the patients the energy imparted, the mean absorbed dose to various organs, and the effective dose equivalent were estimated. For different personnel categories some organ doses and the effective dose equivalent were also estimated. Large differences in the radiation dose between patients were observed. The mean effective dose equivalent to the patient was 4.2 (range 0.6-8.3) mSv, and the energy imparted 285 (range 50-500) mJ. These figures are comparable to those reported for routine colon examination and urography. For the personnel there were also large differences between individuals and categories. The highest radiation dose was received by the radiologist. It was estimated that a radiologist who performs 150 percutaneous renal stone extractions per year will receive a yearly contribution to his/her effective dose equivalent of 2.4 mSv. Even when the contribution from other diagnostic and interventional radiologic procedures is added, the total effective dose equivalent hardly exceeds 5 mSv or 1/10 of the present dose limit for persons engaged in radiologic work. For the hands of the radiologist there is a risk of doses closer to the present limit for single organs or tissues of 500 mSv/year.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Basic fibroblast growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor in sera from non-small cell lung cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: The formation of new microvessels from the existing vascular bed is known as angiogenesis and is normally under the tight regulatory control of angiogenic factors. This control is lost in malignant tumours. Previous studies have correlated increased microvessel density with poor prognosis in patients with primary lung cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our group measured levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in sera from 68 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and compared elevated levels of VEGF and bFGF with clinical outcome. Serum basic FGF and VEGF were measured using commercially available enzyme- linked immunosorbent assays (R & D Systems Inc., Minneapolis, MN USA). RESULTS: In 26/68 (38%) patients we found that elevated circulating levels of bFGF and in 27/68 (39%) serum samples levels of VEGF were elevated. Elevated bFGF values in sera was a statistically significant good prognostic factor, p- value = 0.048, when adjusted to stage and there was a trend in that patients with elevated levels of bFGF had a higher fraction of adenocarcinomas compared with squamous epithelial carcinomas (chi 2 = 2.0). No significant correlations could be demonstrated when elevated levels of VEGF in serum was present. Elevated levels of both VEGF and bFGF was present in 45% of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: We found that elevated levels of bFGF is a good prognostic factor when measured in sera from NSCLC patients. As this result disagrees with earlier studies on other malignancies the results from our study needs to be further investigated in a prospective study.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

P53 auto-antibodies in non-small cell lung cancer patients can predict increased life expectancy after radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND: In this study we investigated whether the presence of p53 antibodies in sera before of during/after radiation therapy can predict increased survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. PATIENTS AND MATERIALS: Sera from 67 patients with a histopathologically confirmed diagnosis of nonsmall cell lung cancer have been investigated using sandwich ELISA (Dianova, Hamburg, Germany). Sera was collected before or during/after radiation therapy. RESULTS: Antibodies were detected in 18 (27%) patients. 46/67 (69%) of the sera had been taken before start of radiation therapy and the presence of p53 antibodies was a statistically significantly good prognostic factor in terms of increased survival (p = 0.025). CONCLUSION: p53 antibodies in sera, before the start of radiation therapy, can predict increased survival after radiation treatment in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗