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Biomedical subjects

B Andersen

Publications and source records attributed to B Andersen.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Salicylazosulfapyridine (Salazopyrin) effect on endotoxin-induced production of interleukin-1-like factor from human monocytes in vitro.

Monocytes (M phi) were simultaneously preincubated with salicylazosulfapyridine (Salazopyrin) (SAZ), 0.78-12.5 mM, and lipopolysaccharide from E. coli, 1 X 10(-9) g/ml. Presence of SAZ resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in the co-stimulatory activity in M phi culture supernatants, corresponding to a 50% reduction by SAZ, 2.0 mM. Co-stimulatory activity was estimated by the mitogen-induced thymocyte proliferation assay (THY assay). The results indicate an inhibitory effect of SAZ in vitro on the production of IL-1 and other possible co-stimulatory factors. This inhibitory effect was not due to decreased M phi viability, production of suppressive substances, or to drug interference with the THY assay. Equimolar preincubations with sulfapyridine, 5-aminosalicylic acid and N-acety-1-5-aminosalicylic acid were without effect on the production of co-stimulatory factors.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Placebo-controlled, randomised trial of warfarin and aspirin for prevention of thromboembolic complications in chronic atrial fibrillation. The Copenhagen AFASAK study.

From November, 1985, to June, 1988, 1007 outpatients with chronic non-rheumatic atrial fibrillation (AF) entered a randomised trial; 335 received anticoagulation with warfarin openly, and in a double-blind study 336 received aspirin 75 mg once daily and 336 placebo. Each patient was followed up for 2 years or until termination of the trial. The primary endpoint was a thromboembolic complication (stroke, transient cerebral ischaemic attack, or embolic complications to the viscera and extremities). The secondary endpoint was death. The incidence of thromboembolic complications and vascular mortality were significantly lower in the warfarin group than in the aspirin and placebo groups, which did not differ significantly. 5 patients on warfarin had thromboembolic complications compared with 20 patients on aspirin and 21 on placebo. 21 patients on warfarin were withdrawn because of non-fatal bleeding complications compared with 2 on aspirin and none on placebo. Thus, anticoagulation therapy with warfarin can be recommended to prevent thromboembolic complications in patients with chronic non-rheumatic AF.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Scientific articles in Ugeskrift for Laeger during a 25-year period. Types of articles and experimental design].

The purpose of this study was to examine possible trends in the research designs used in Ugeskrift for Laeger during 25 years. The scientific articles in 12 issues of the journal selected at random from each of the years 1959, 1964, 1969, 1974, 1979, and 1984 were reviewed. From each article, the following information was obtained: type of article (original paper, case report, or review), origin of the paper and number of authors. For the original papers, it was noted whether it was a longitudinal or a cross-sectional study, and whether it was a cohort or a trohoc study. Furthermore the number of subjects and the use of control group, randomization and blinding were registered. The number of articles and the number of authors per article increased during the period. Contrary to similar studies of some widely circulated English-language journals, we could not demonstrate any increase of the frequency of studies with weak research design. On the other hand, no striking improvement was observed either. Most studies had no control group and randomization and blinding were used in less than 10% of the original papers. The present study does not permit an evaluation of whether the research designs used i Ugeskrift for Laeger are satisfactory.

Denmark↗
PubMed1989

[Scientific articles in Ugeskrift for Laeger during a 25-year period. Analysis and interpretation of research results].

During a period of 25 years from 1959 to 1984, no essential alteration in the employment of descriptive statistics was observed in the original articles in the Ugeskrift whereas analytical statistics was employed to an increasing extent. In all of these volumes, defective, incorrect or less suitable employment of statistics could be demonstrated. Common problems were: analyses of materials in which some patients participated once while others participated on several occasions; debatable analyses of data on ranking scales; employment of 2-group tests on several groups; insufficient analysis of cross-over trials; lack of confidence intervals, and circular reasoning.

Denmark↗
PubMed1989

Counselors' reports of their use of self-disclosure with clients.

Ninety-six counselors indicated the frequency of their use of 11 types of self-disclosure, which varied in intimacy from incidental information (age, race) to personal weaknesses. Positive emotional responses to clients were used most frequently, and opinions/attitudes were used least frequently. A factor analysis showed three factors to describe the data best. Factor 1 was represented by information related to the personal identify and experiences of the therapist. Factor 2 involved the emotional responses of the therapist to the client. Factor 3 was principally the disclosure of professional experiences and identity. Implications are considered.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The diagnosis of ruptured breast implants.

This study is a retrospective review of 18 patients treated by the authors and 14 reported patients with ruptured breast implants. A history of trauma was absent in 11 patients; 17 patients had closed capsulotomies. The physical findings of ruptured implants were nodules, decreased breast size, asymmetry, tenderness, and a softer texture. Mammograms were 90 percent accurate when silicone had migrated. In seven of eight false-negative mammograms, silicone was contained within the fibrous capsule. Mammography signs of rupture are summarized. The diagnosis of ruptured implants should be facilitated by recognition of the clinical presentations and radiographic signs.

Breast↗
PubMed1989

Assessment of pain: a comparison between patients and doctors.

In a trial based on 52 patients admitted because of acute abdominal pain, we compared the assessment of pain intensity by doctors and patients according to a visual analogue scale. We found significant differences with regard to the median score of the doctors (3.4 cm) compared to the patients (6.1 cm). The correlation was 0.64 while the differences in dispersion were insignificant. Our findings indicate that it is far from unimportant who makes the pain assessment--the patient who experiences it or the doctor who evaluates it--but they also suggest that the differences could be a matter of scaling.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1989

CRE-binding proteins interact cooperatively to enhance placental-specific expression of the glycoprotein hormone alpha-subunit gene.

The 18-bp direct repeat occurring between positions -146 and -111 in the 5'-flanking region of the human alpha-subunit gene serves two functions: it mediates the transcriptional effect of cAMP and it acts in conjunction with an adjacent cis-acting element (URE) to confer properties of placental-specific expression to the alpha-subunit promoter. Functional activity of the URE and CRE requires binding of a trans-acting factor; each element binds a different factor. Analysis of saturation isotherms provides good evidence that cooperativity is involved in binding of CREB to the 18-bp direct repeat. This cooperativity could account for the synergistic effect of two CRE on both basal and cAMP-stimulated transcription. It remains to be determined whether heterotropic cooperativity is involved in binding of trans-acting factors to the URE and CRE. A major difference between the 5'-flanking region of the human alpha-subunit gene and comparable regions from bovine, rat, and mouse alpha-subunit genes is that the latter contain a single CRE homolog which appears incapable of binding the trans-acting factor that binds to the human alpha CRE. Lack of a functional CRE provides at least one explanation for inactivity of the bovine alpha-subunit promoter in choriocarcinoma cells and probably in bovine placenta as well. Yet, the same bovine promoter-regulatory region that lacks a functional CRE is capable of conferring pituitary-specific expression to the CAT gene in transgenic mice (data not shown). This suggests that the CRE is not required for pituitary-specific expression of the bovine alpha-subunit gene. Instead, another cis-acting element(s) must confer this property to the alpha-subunit promoter. While it is tempting to suggest that bovine, rat, and mouse alpha-subunit genes are not regulated by cAMP because of their inactive CRE homolog, it is also quite possible that other CRE are located further upstream. Accordingly, it will be of interest to obtain additional 5'-flanking sequence and determine whether functional homologs of the human alpha CRE are present in the bovine, rat, and mouse alpha-subunit genes, or whether another class of cis-acting elements provide cAMP-responsiveness.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1989

Expression of the glycoprotein hormone alpha-subunit gene in the placenta requires a functional cyclic AMP response element, whereas a different cis-acting element mediates pituitary-specific expression.

The single-copy gene encoding the alpha subunit of glycoprotein hormones is expressed in the pituitaries of all mammals and in the placentas of only primates and horses. We have systematically analyzed the promoter-regulatory elements of the human and bovine alpha-subunit genes to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying their divergent patterns of tissue-specific expression. This analysis entailed the use of transient expression assays in a chorionic gonadotropin-secreting human choriocarcinoma cell line, protein-DNA binding assays, and expression of chimeric forms of human or bovine alpha subunit genes in transgenic mice. From the results, we conclude that placental expression of the human alpha-subunit gene requires a functional cyclic AMP response element (CRE) that is present as a tandem repeat in the promoter-regulatory region. In contrast, the promoter-regulatory region of the bovine alpha-subunit gene, as well as of the rat and mouse genes, was found to contain a single CRE homolog that differed from its human counterpart by a single nucleotide. This difference substantially reduced the binding affinity of the bovine CRE homolog for the nuclear protein that bound to the human alpha CRE and thereby rendered the bovine alpha-subunit promoter inactive in human choriocarcinoma cells. However, conversion of the bovine alpha CRE homolog to an authentic alpha CRE restored activity to the bovine alpha-subunit promoter in choriocarcinoma cells. Similarly, a human but not a bovine alpha transgene was expressed in placenta in transgenic mice. Thus, placenta-specific expression of the human alpha-subunit gene may be the consequence of the recent evolution of a functional CRE. Expression of the human alpha transgene in mouse placenta further suggests that evolution of placenta-specific trans-acting factors preceded the appearance of this element. Finally, in contrast to their divergent patterns of placental expression, both the human and bovine alpha-subunit transgenes were expressed in mouse pituitary, indicating differences in the composition of the enhancers required for pituitary- and placenta-specific expression.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Dissociation of changes in plasma cholesterol and hepatic cholesterol synthesis, assessed by precursors in bile, after jejunoileal bypass with 3:1 and 1:3 jejunoileal ratio.

Hepatic cholesterol synthesis, assessed by the biliary content of post-squalene cholesterol precursors relative to cholesterol, was related to fasting plasma cholesterol fractions in obese patients before (n = 7) and after jejunoileal bypass surgery with either a 3:1 ratio (n = 15) or a 1:3 ratio (n = 14) between jejunum and ileum left in function. The content of precursors increased after bypass surgery, and more so with a 3:1 than with a 1:3 jejunoileal ratio. However, the two types of bypass resulted in similar reductions in plasma concentrations of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Within the unoperated group and the 3:1 bypass group the precursor content and plasma cholesterol levels were, as expected, inversely correlated, but within the 1:3 bypass group there were either weaker or even positive correlations. These findings suggest that the link between stimulation of hepatic cholesterol synthesis and reduction in plasma cholesterol may depend on the length of jejunum and ileum left in function.

Bile↗
PubMed1989

Endoscopic suspension of the bladder neck by the Stamey method for urinary incontinence.

Eighteen women with stress incontinence underwent endoscopic suspension of the bladder neck by the method of Stamey. The procedure was carried out in a department of general surgery. Pre- and postoperatively the patients were evaluated by pelvic examination with stress test, colpo-cysto-urethrography, urinary flow rate measurement, cystometry, and culture of the urine. Fifteen became fully continent at once, another two after having been treated further by posterior colpoperineorraphy, while one remained incontinent. The median postoperative follow-up was 27 months. Complications were rare and mild. It is concluded that the method is applicable in departments of general surgery and that the result can be improved in selected patients by posterior colpoperineorraphy.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Cyclic AMP and phorbol esters interact synergistically to regulate expression of the chorionic gonadotropin genes.

Previous studies have shown that activators of the protein kinase A pathway increase transcription of the genes encoding the alpha- and beta-subunits of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in choriocarcinoma cell lines. Here, we show that treatment of choriocarcinoma cells with activators of protein kinase C, such as phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and dioctanoylglycerol, increases accumulation of the mRNAs for both subunits of hCG by 3-4-fold. In contrast, a phorbol ester which fails to activate protein kinase C, phorbol 12 beta,13 alpha-didecanoate, has no effect on hCG mRNA levels. To test the possibility that these two major intracellular signaling pathways interact, we treated choriocarcinoma cells with PMA, forskolin, or PMA and forskolin together. Treatment with either agent led to a 2-3-fold increase in hCG mRNA levels, whereas treatment with both agents resulted in a 9-fold increase. This synergistic response also occurred when choriocarcinoma cells were treated with PMA and 8-Br-cAMP. Furthermore, PMA did not increase intracellular cAMP levels, suggesting that these two pathways interact subsequent to cAMP generation. PMA also increased transcription of the hCG alpha- and beta-genes by 2-3-fold. Whereas transcription of the alpha subunit gene increases synergistically after treatment with both PMA and forskolin, transcription of the hCG beta-gene was limited to the increase caused by either agent alone. This latter result suggests that regulation of hCG beta mRNA accumulation is more complex than that of alpha-subunit mRNA and probably involves both transcriptional and post-transcriptional components.

8-Bromo Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate↗
PubMed1988

Polyamines control human chorionic gonadotropin production in the JEG-3 choriocarcinoma cell.

The effect of inhibition of ornithine decarboxylase with difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) and the resultant lowering of polyamine levels upon human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) production in JEG-3 choriocarcinoma cells was investigated. DFMO (10 mM) totally inhibited ornithine decarboxylase activity. In DFMO-treated cells, cellular spermidine concentrations fell to nondetectable levels (less than 1% of control values) within 24 h and spermine concentrations were reduced to 41.9% of controls over 6 days. DFMO caused a 70-80% inhibition of hCG production. Levels of mRNA for both the alpha and beta subunits of hCG were also inhibited relative to mRNA for tubulin. Exogenous putrescine normalized hCG production in a dose-dependent manner. Other diamines, including cadaverine, 1,3-diaminopropane, 1,6-diaminohexane, and 1,7-diaminoheptane, were ineffective in reestablishing hCG production in DFMO-treated cells. Dibutyryl cAMP (1 mM) stimulated hCG production and increased levels of mRNA for the alpha and beta subunit 5-40-fold in both DFMO-treated and control cells. Polyamines appear to have a fundamental role in hCG production in JEG-3 choriocarcinoma cells. However, dibutyryl cAMP can partially overcome or circumvent the requirement for polyamines in hCG biosynthesis.

Bucladesine↗
PubMed1988

Adrenal function in children with bronchial asthma treated with beclomethasone dipropionate or budesonide.

The effect of inhaled beclomethasone dipropionate and budesonide on the adrenal function was studied in 30 children (aged 7 to 15 years) with mild bronchial asthma. The trial was designed as a prospective double-blind parallel study of the effect of stepwise increase of either beclomethasone dipropionate or budesonide from 200 micrograms through 400 micrograms, to 800 micrograms daily in three consecutive periods of 4 weeks. At the end of each period, the adrenal stress response was evaluated by measurements of serum cortisol and androstenedione during a short adrenocorticotropic hormone test. The unstimulated diurnal production of glucocorticosteroids was assessed by measurements of free cortisol in 24-hour urine samples. Free cortisol in urine was found a valid measure of the total diurnal excretion of cortisol metabolites, since it exhibited a good correlation to the fractional cortisol metabolites measured by gas chromatography. The adrenal response to adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation was unaffected by treatment or dose. The unstimulated diurnal production of glucocorticosteroids demonstrated a highly significant dose-related suppression in response to the inhaled steroids. No significant difference was found between the two topical steroids (probability value 5.3%), and yet the suppression was apparent in the group of children treated with beclomethasone dipropionate but not in the group of children treated with budesonide. Further studies are desirable in order to ascertain whether budesonide offers an improved ratio between beneficial anti-inflammatory effect and unwanted systemic activity.

Adolescent↗