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Biomedical subjects

B Hedberg

Publications and source records attributed to B Hedberg.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Surgical management of intestinal complications of radiotherapy for gynecological malignancies.

Sixty patients treated for gynecological malignancies with radiation therapy and operated upon because of late intestinal complications of the treatment were studied. Among patients irradiated for cervical carcinoma an incidence of 3.2% of operated intestinal lesions was encountered. Fifty-nine per cent of the women had a history of previous pelvic inflammatory disease on pelvic surgery. The most common symptoms leading to surgery were mechanical subileus/ileus, pain and fistulas. The majority of patients (53%) were operated upon within 2 years after irradiation, but an interval up to 20 years was recorded. 50% were operated upon within 2 years after irradiation, but an interval up to 20 years was recorded. 50% were reoperated during follow-up. Intestinal resections (38%) and by-passes (15%) were the most frequent surgical procedures at first operation. 57% of the patients were operated upon due to acute conditions and 31% were due to chronic problems, 12% due to tumour suspicion. An operation mortality rate of 5% was found. No obvious correlation could be seen between accumulated irradiation dose and severity of complications. The results of surgical intervention and complications are analysed and different strategies in handling these patients discussed.

Adult↗

A stable prostacyclin analogue (iloprost) in the treatment of ischaemic ulcers of the lower limb. A Scandinavian-Polish placebo controlled, randomised multicenter study.

The clinical efficacy of the prostacyclin analogue iloprost was studied during a 2 week treatment and 6 month follow-up period in 103 patients with ischaemic ulcers who were randomised to receive active treatment or placebo. Responders were defined as those patients who achieved healing of at least one third of the ulcer area during the study period. The overall responder rate was 41.3%, compared with 25% for the control group (P = 0.086). Side effects including flushing and headache, were common. The study population had a mortality of 23% during the 6 month period, the amputation rate was 43.5% for iloprost and 50% for placebo treated patients. In this severely diseased population of patients a treatment period limited to 2 weeks did not sufficiently improve ulcer healing.

Adult↗

Absence of leakage by insertion of peritoneal dialysis catheter through the rectus muscle.

To reduce leakage of peritoneal dialysis fluid, insertion of a 2-cuff Tenckhoff catheter (TeC) was performed under local anaesthesia by a lateral approach on 30 occasions in 26 patients. Incision was 3 cm laterally of the linea alba. The inner cuff of the TeC was fixed by a purse-string suture of the peritoneal membrane on the abdominal side of the cuff and another purse-string suture, of the inner fascial blade, around the distal end of the cuff. A third purse-string suture was placed around the TeC at the exit through the outer fascial blade. A subcutaneous tunnel completed the insertion. In all patients, dialysis was started immediately after TeC insertion. The median treatment time was 6.5 months (range 3 days-15 months). No leakage developed in any patient and no hernia was created from this approach. Peritonitis was treated on 8 occasions over a period of 163 months. We conclude that the technique is simple, enables immediate start of dialysis with low risk for leakage.

Abdominal Muscles↗

Fibre loss and distribution in skeletal muscle from patients with severe peripheral arterial insufficiency.

Cross-sections of whole calf muscles (m soleus and m gastrocnemius) were obtained from five previously clinically health individuals who had died accidentally (controls) and from amputated legs of five patients of similar age with severe peripheral arterial insufficiency. In the controls, but not in the patients, a characteristic distribution of different fibre types over the entire cross-sections was found, with a relative increase in number of (slow twitch) type 1 fibres in the central parts of both m soleus and m gastrocnemius. A pronounced neuromuscular pathomorphology was found in the patients, especially in m gastrocnemius. The findings suggested widespread damage to the fibres. There was also a lower total number of fibres in these ischaemic muscles; about 50% of the fibres of m gastrocnemius seemed to have disappeared. The results suggested that the relative inactivity as such may be responsible for some of the structural changes, above all the dedifferentiated distribution of different fibres over the cross-section. However, repeated acute and chronic subacute ischaemia may also cause, in the long term, irreparable damage and loss of many individual fibres. This may explain why muscles of patients with peripheral arterial insufficiency are also weaker, during single contractions. The lack of corresponding muscular atrophy in these patients seems to a large extent to be explained by an increase in connective tissue.

Aged↗

Isokinetic strength and endurance in peripheral arterial insufficiency with intermittent claudication.

Isokinetic plantar flexor peak torques (PT) and contractional work (CW) of the triceps surae muscle have been measured in 24 patients with peripheral arterial insufficiency and intermittent claudication and in 15 controls. Tests were performed both during non-fatiguing (30-180 degrees/s) and fatiguing (200 repeated plantar flexions at 60 degrees/s) conditions. The electromyographic signals (iEMG) from all three heads of the triceps surae were measured. The patients were significantly weaker (PT) and produced significantly less contractional work (CW) than the controls. In contrast, similar iEMGs of the triceps surae heads indicated similar levels of activation. At 40 contractions the majority of the patients had already given up and the remainder showed significantly greater declines in PT (50%) and CW (55%) than did the controls (13% and 18%, respectively). The decline in muscular excitations was similar in both groups. The ratio CW/iEMG showed a dramatic decline in the patients but was virtually constant in the controls. These results indicate a fatigue of low-frequency type in the patient group. There were close correlations between maximum walking tolerance and total work production.

Aged↗

Elemental analysis of histochemically defined cells in the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris.

A method for preparation of biological specimens for electron probe X-ray microanalysis is described, that aims at retaining the original elemental distribution within the tissue at the cellular level. The tissue is without any chemical fixation, quench-frozen, and 16-micron sections are prepared with a conventional cryomicrotome, transferred to a carbon specimen holder and freeze-dried. Adjacent serial sections, collected on glass slides and stained with various histological procedures, are used to correlate the data obtained by X-ray microanalysis with other histochemical information on the same cell or tissue. To demonstrate the possibilities of the method, sections of the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris were analyzed. In the chloragogenous cells, high concentrations of Ca, Zn and P were found. The inner and outer muscle layer show slightly different properties, both with regard to elemental composition and to myofibrillar ATPase activity.

Animals↗

Heart rate control and aversive stimulation.

College students were required to train heart rate control (heart rate increase and decrease) with visual feedback for three sessions in a within-person design. In the second and third sessions a test period was added when electric shocks were delivered during half in the trials. Subjects had been grouped in advance in an Aware and an Unaware group on the basis of the Automatic Perception Questionnaire (APQ). The results contradicted some findings by other authors which claim that biofeedback can be used to ameliorate subjective effects of aversive stimulation. Alternative interpretations of the discrepant findings were discussed in terms of expectancy effects that may influence autonomically Aware subjects more strongly than Unaware subjects.

Adult↗

Peripheral arterial insufficiency and the fine structure of the gastrocnemius muscle.

A detailed light- and electron microscopical study was carried out on biopsies from m. gastrocnemius of 14 male individuals with intermittent claudication. The morphometric data obtained showed a large number of significant correlations with clinical and physical parameters. Practically all sections also showed morphological abnormalities, such as a fibre necrosis, regeneration, angular fibres, fibre type grouping and abundant connective tissue. Finally, there were significant differences in the muscle fine structure between those patients recommended physical training and those selected for surgery. The results clearly show that the structure of the muscle fibres is well adapted to the functional circumstances. They also show that widespread fibre damage do occur in intermittently ischaemic musculature, even if no signs of macroscopical tissue damage are found at routine clinical examination. Furthermore, although the clinical and physical data on patients selected for physical training and vascular surgery respectively, are very similar, there seems to be other factors that clinically influence the differentiation of the patients into these two groups. When evaluating effects of different treatments on these two groups of patients, it is thus important to take into account that there may be differences in morphology even before they are subjected to the different treatments.

Biopsy↗

Isokinetic plantar flexor performance and fatiguability in peripheral arterial insufficiency. Effects of training vs. vascular surgery.

Seventeen men with peripheral arterial insufficiency and intermittent claudication (maximum walking tolerance less than 1000 m) underwent a bypass operation (group A, n = 8) or carried out simple exercises (repeated heel-raising) at home (group B, n = 9). The effects of treatment on the isokinetic performance of the plantar flexors and on fatiguability were assessed. Before treatment both groups had similarly low Doppler pressure indices, maximum performance and fatiguability level. Maximum walking tolerance was increased by treatment in both groups. Maximum plantar flexor output rose in group A, partly due to increased range of motion, but was only slightly changed in group B. Bypass surgery also led to increased electrical efficacy (contractional work/integrated electromyogram). Plantar flexor fatiguability normalized in six of the eight group A men, but in only a few from group B. Improvement in group B may be explained by specific adaptation of (mainly type 2B) muscle fibres. After bypass the increased capacity to remove combustion products may be the major reason for normalized fatiguability. Bypass surgery is preferable for most cases of intermittent claudication.

Arterial Occlusive Diseases↗