Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

B Hood

Publications and source records attributed to B Hood.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

[3H]noradrenaline efflux from platelets and synaptosomes of ethanol-treated rats.

Platelets have the ability to take up, store and release biogenic amines and have therefore been used as models for neurons in studies of neuropsychiatric disorders and hypertension. We have studied the spontaneous efflux of [3H]noradrenaline from platelets and synaptosomes of rats chronically treated with ethanol. Male control rats had a more rapid [3H]noradrenaline efflux both from synaptosomes and platelets than female control rats. Ethanol treatment increased efflux in female rats, again both in platelets and synaptosomes. These results suggest that a parallelism exists in noradrenaline release between synaptosomes and platelets, both basal and in situations which stimulate the release.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

The stress of the transition to university: a longitudinal study of psychological disturbance, absent-mindedness and vulnerability to homesickness.

A longitudinal study was conducted to examine the effects of the transition to university in residential and home-based students. All students showed evidence of raised psychological disturbance and absent-mindedness following the transition. Although there were no differences between resident and home-based students in this respect, those who reported homesickness were distinguished from the remainder in terms of higher levels of psychological disturbance and cognitive failure following the transition to university. Covariate analysis established that the gain in psychological disturbance following the transition was greater for the homesick group. The results are discussed in terms of the effects of stressful transitions on psychological state and the concept of personal vulnerability.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1985

Screening and intervention for alcohol-related disease in middle-aged men: the Malmö Preventive Programme.

In the Malmö Preventive Programme the tracing and prevention of alcohol-related disease was attempted by means of the enzyme serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) in a large unselected population of middle-aged men. Alcohol was considered to be the underlying factor in 70% of subjects with raised GGT values. In a prospective analysis, alcohol-related death turned out to be a major contributor to death in men who died within five years of the screening. GGT was the variable that was most predictive for premature death in this population. There were also statistically significant correlations between alcohol-related death and a questionnaire, the Mm-MAST, positively, and serum creatinine and serum cholesterol, negatively. In the randomized intervention programme, reductions in sickness benefit days, hospital admissions and mortality were seen in the intervention group in comparison with the control group, after four years of follow-up. The intervention programme was therefore effective in preventing the consequences of heavy drinking, and a risk factor approach to alcohol-related diseases seems feasible. This approach, however, encounters several problems, such as the recruitment of the non-participants in the screening, the investigation of the GGT-high/non-alcoholic subjects, and the identification of the GGT-normal/alcoholic subjects.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1985

The relation between in vitro efflux of noradrenaline from platelets and vas deferens in man.

The efflux of isotope-labelled noradrenaline from platelets and vas deferens was compared in 29 healthy males. Platelets and a preparation of tissue from vas deferens were incubated with isotope-labelled noradrenaline until equilibrium in the uptake was obtained. The spontaneous efflux of noradrenaline in buffer was measured for 20 min. There was a significant positive correlation between the efflux of noradrenaline from platelets and vas deferens (r = 0.56, P less than 0.001).

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase induction levels in patients with malignant tumors associated with smoking.

The levels of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) inducibility were assessed in 173 patients with cancers statistically associated with smoking, i.e., squamous cell and transitional cell carcinomas, at various sites. In 34 patients with carcinomas of the oral cavity, 41 patients with laryngeal carcinomas, and 22 patients with pulmonary carcinomas there was a highly significant overrepresentation of high inducers, whereas 30 patients with carcinomas of the renal pelvis and ureter and 46 patients with urinary bladder carcinomas did not differ significantly in this respect from a control population comprising 92 subjects with no history of neoplastic disease. The results add further support to the concept of AHH as a major activator of carcinogens belonging to the group of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) when these affect the oral cavity and/or the respiratory tract. The role of AHH in urothelial carcinogenesis seems to be less explicit.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Premature death and associated risk factors in urban middle-aged men.

The full range of premature mortality and associated risk factors was analyzed for a follow-up period of three and a half to eight years in a uniform group of 7,935 middle-aged males (46 to 48 years old at screening) participating between the years 1975 and 1979 in the preventive population program in Malmö (participation rate 76.7 percent). Of the 218 deaths that occurred, necropsy was performed in 181 (83.0 percent). Three major causes of death were established: cancer (61/218), alcohol-related deaths (55/218), and coronary heart disease (50/218). In these three main categories of male premature mortality, significant and distinctly differential risk factor patterns were found. In coronary heart disease, smoking (p = 0.0062), serum cholesterol level (p = 0.00014), serum triglyceride level (p = 0.00013), systolic blood pressure (p = 0.000012), and diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.0021) were the strongest single determinants, but the independent role of the diastolic blood pressure disappeared in a multivariate analysis whereas all the others could be combined in a highly predictive logistic model. In the alcohol-related group, equal or stronger risk factor associations were present for serum gamma-glutamyltransferase level (p less than 0.0001), questionnaire alcoholism screening response (p less than 0.0001) and, inversely, serum cholesterol level (p = 0.0046) and serum creatinine level (p less than 0.0001), all of which were independent and could be combined in an even more predictive logistic model than in the coronary heart disease group. In the cancer deaths, significant associations were found for serum urate level (p = 0.023) and, inversely, serum cholesterol level (p = 0.056 - 0.031). Malignant and alcohol-related diseases constituted at least equally prominent groups as the cardiovascular disorders of the total premature deaths that occurred during middle age in these cohorts of Malmö males. All of these conditions are potentially avoidable and seem to be associated with significant and distinctive risk factor patterns. It seems possible that these factors may be applied, in current alcohol-related disorders and in future malignant diseases, both as indicators of the respective risks and as signals and instruments for directed preventive measures like the previously well established and tested methods for the regulation of blood pressure, serum lipids levels, and so on.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1984

Major determinants of premature mortality in middle-aged urban males. Alcohol-related deaths and degree of participation in a preventive population program against alcohol and its complications.

The total, consecutive mortality in a population of 10,353 middle-aged males invited to participate in a preventive medical population program in Malmö was followed up 1.5-6.5 years, mean 4.5 years, after the time of invitation and analyzed in relation to participation or nonparticipation, forensic or in-hospital autopsy and possible intervention effects. The total mortality was twice as high in the nonparticipants as in the participants, and the death rate due to alcohol-related diseases was five times higher. There were no significant differences in other causes of death, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases. In the nonparticipants autopsied at the Forensic Department the proportion of alcohol-related deaths was 60.5%, compared with 10.0% in participants autopsied in hospital. A history of alcohol abuse was present in 45.2% of the total sample, and in 61.0% of the group autopsied at the Forensic Department. In participants with increased screening gamma-glutamyltransferase, mortality at 48-72 months' follow-up was lower in an intervention group in comparison with a control group matched for sex, age and gamma-glutamyltransferase. The results support findings that alcohol-related deaths, nonparticipation in a preventive population program, and intervention effects in a public health strategy against alcohol and its complications are major determinants of premature mortality in middle-aged urban males.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1984

Alcohol-related death and associated risk factors in urban middle-aged males.

Alcohol-related disorders belong to the spectrum of major non-infectious diseases in Western societies which can be prevented by means that have not yet been fully implemented. Total consecutive mortality in a population of 10353 middle-age males invited to take a part in a preventive medical population program in Malmö was followed up for 3.5-8.5 years (mean 4.5) after the time of invitation and analysed in relation to participation or non-participation and forensic or in-hospital autopsy. Entry characteristics in the 7935 males who attended the screening were compared in order to evaluate risk factor patterns for the major categories of premature death during the follow-up period. Even in the males participating in the screening, alcohol-related deaths (ARD) constituted a major mortality category, comprising 55 of 218 cases, whereas cancer comprised 61 and coronary heart disease (CHD) 50 of the premature deaths in this group. Both in the ARD and CHD categories of male premature mortality, significant and distinctly differential risk factor patterns were found; in CHD for smoking, cholesterol, serum triglycerides and systolic blood pressure, and in ARD for gamma-glutamyltransferase, questionnaire alcoholism screening test and, inversely, serum cholesterol and serum creatinine. In both groups of diseases, these risk factors could be combined into highly predictive multiple logistic risk factor functions. The discriminative power of this instrument was even higher in ARD than in CHD deaths. In consequence, these factors may be applied both as indicators of the ARD risk and as signals and instrument for directed preventive measures in analogy with previously well established and tested methods for the regulation of blood pressure, serum lipids, etc. in the conquest of the cardiovascular diseases.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1983

Comparison of gamma-glutamyltransferase and other health screening tests in average middle-aged males, heavy drinkers and alcohol non-users.

Physical and biochemical health screening variables were compared in matched, middle-aged male samples of (a) ideological teetotallers, (b) average men, (c) self-reported alcohol abstainers, (d) low gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) activity, and (e-f) high GGT activity with or without admitted alcohol consumption background. The alcohol non-user groups and the individuals with low GGT had significantly lower mean values of relative body weight, pulse, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, haematocrit, serum urate, triglyceride, cholesterol, and zero and 120 min blood glucose than individuals with elevated GGT and alcohol overconsumption. The average men had intermediate levels. The frequency of increased values of the same tests was notably higher in the subjects with elevated GGT and heavy alcohol consumption than in the teetotallers and the other groups; and was lowest in the teetotallers.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1983

Identification and intervention of heavy drinking in middle-aged men: results and follow-up of 24-60 months of long-term study with randomized controls.

In a continuing screening and intervention programme in Malmó, elevated serum-gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) values were used for selection of heavy drinkers. The study population consisted of 585 individuals born 1926-1933 with two consecutive GGT values in the upper decile of the GGT distribution, randomly allocated either to an intervention group of to a control group. The subjects in the intervention group were further investigated and 75% of them were judged to have elevated GGT values caused by alcohol consumption. These individuals were repeatedly encouraged to lower their overall alcohol consumption and GGT measurements were used as biofeedback method in the treatment program. The controls were informed by letter to be restrictive with their alcohol consumption and that they should receive new invitations for measurements of their liver enzymes after 2, 4, and 6 years. The intervention and control groups were well matched and followed over a 2-6-year period. Two and 4 years after the screening investigation, the GGT values in both groups were significantly decreased. There were differences, however, between the two groups with regard to sick absenteeism, hospitalization, and mortality. A significant reduction was found in sick absence during 4 years by 80%, in hospital days during 5 years by 60%, and in mortality during 6 years by 50% in the intervention group compared with the control group. Thus, the intervention program was effective in preventing medico-social consequences of heavy drinking.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1983

Relation between plasma insulin and blood glucose in a cross-sectional population study of the oral glucose tolerance test.

In a material of 3596 oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) performed in a population investigation of middle-aged males in Malmö, fasting and 120 min values of blood glucose and plasma insulin immunoreactivity (IRI) were studied while taking factors like body weight, smoking, alcohol, gastric resection and selfreported diabetes heredity into account. The fasting as well as the 120 min levels of both glucose and IRI were markedly influenced by body weight and smoking habits but not by the hereditary background. At 120 min, but not in the fasting state, there was a linear correlation between the IRI and glucose levels. The increase of IRI on glucose was significantly steeper in most of the hereditary subjects in comparison with their non-hereditary controls.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1982

Effects of thrombin, acetyl salicylic acid and prostaglandins on spontaneous efflux of norepinephrine and beta-thromboglobulin from platelets in calcium/magnesium deficient environment.

The effect of different substances on the spontaneous efflux of 14C-norepinephrine (14C-NE) and beta-thromboglobulin (beta TG) from platelets in Ca2+ - and Mg2+ - free buffer was tested. Addition of increasing concentrations of thrombin (0.015-0.625 U/ml) resulted in an immediate increase of 14C-NE detectable in the supernatants, but the slopes of the efflux curves from 10 min after thrombin addition were almost identical and parallel with the slope before thrombin addition. Also beta-thromboglobulin was steadily released after thrombin addition. Prostaglandin E1 and prostacyclin in concentrations that gave a 30-fold increase in cAMP accumulation resulted in a moderate decrease in efflux of 14C-NE from 10 to 30 min but did not influence the efflux thereafter up to 80 min. Acetyl salicylic acid in vivo and in vitro (200-500 mumol/l) did not influence the efflux of 14C-NE or beta TG. The conclusions are that factors known to exert considerable effects on aggregation, desaggregation and acute release produce only transitory effects in a Ca2+ - and Mg2+ - free environment and that the basal efflux of alpha-granule components seems to be a stable process.

Alprostadil↗
PubMed1982

Spontaneous efflux of platelet alpha-granule components in relation to 14C-norepinephrine in buffers.

In an investigation of the spontaneous efflux of beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG), 14C-norepinephrine (14C-NE) and growth stimulating activity (GSA), measured as incorporation of 3H-thymidine in rabbit aortic smooth cells, from platelets resuspended in Ca++- and Mg++-free buffer a continuous increase in 3H-thymidine incorporation was seen during 120 min. There was good stoichiometric parallelism between beta-TG and 14C-NE during the 80 minutes the experiment lasted, indicating that norepinephrine is incorporated in alpha-granules and release by exocytosis.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Hospitalization and alcohol-related morbidity within three years after screening in middle-aged men.

All men living in Malmö who were born in 1926-1929 were invited for a health screening examination which included, among many other things, measurement of gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT). They were followed up and within three years after the screening 963 of 4571 men had been hospitalized. They had 17158 hospital days or almost 6 days per individual each year. The impact of alcohol on the admissions was analysed both according to the International Classifications of Diseases and a new design where all the diagnoses were grouped and coded in conditions which were judged to be alcohol-related, potentially alcohol-influenced and non-alcohol-related. Of the total days in hospital, alcohol psychosis and alcoholism accounted for 13.6 per cent. Altogether 29.2% of the days were caused by alcohol-related and potentially alcohol-influenced conditions. GGT values at the screening investigation were significantly increased in 25% of the hospitalized men. Alcohol-related admissions were seven times as many in men with GGT values in the highest quintile compared with those who had values in the lowest quintile.

Alcoholism↗