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Biomedical subjects

B Sjögren

Publications and source records attributed to B Sjögren.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Exclusion of linkage between the serotonin2 receptor and schizophrenia in a large Swedish kindred.

Family, twin, and adoption studies suggest that genetic factors play an important role in the etiology of schizophrenia. Detection of single gene(s) involved in a higher susceptibility to a hereditary disease is possible with linkage analysis. The effects of serotonin2-receptor antagonists on symptoms of schizophrenia suggest that a mutation in the gene coding for this receptor subtype might be involved in the pathophysiology of this disease. Recently a copy DNA encoding the serotonin 5-HT2 receptor has been isolated and with a human 5-HT2 receptor copy DNA probe the HTR2 locus has been mapped to chromosome 13. Using multipoint linkage analysis between schizophrenia and genetic markers spanning the region of the HTR2 locus, we were able to exclude linkage between this candidate gene and schizophrenia in a Swedish kindred. Given this result, we conclude that the serotonin 5-HT2 receptor gene itself is not a major susceptibility gene for schizophrenia in this family.

Chromosomes, Human, Pair 13

Future use and development of prenatal diagnosis. Consumers' attitudes.

The rapid progress of prenatal diagnosis and genetic tests makes it important to investigate attitudes towards this development. A total of 40 women and 20 men with personal experience of prenatal diagnosis for chromosome aberrations were interviewed about their moral opinion of the development. The majority (88 per cent) considered it certain or probable that all new methods developed will also be used in the future. The majority (62 per cent) were hesitant about testing for common disorders, e.g., diabetes mellitus and rheumatoid arthritis, but regarded it justified in some situations. One-third of the individuals (31 per cent) wanted some kind of restrictions for the use of the tests, but only 13 per cent recommended legislation for this purpose. The majority (84 per cent) believed that ethical principles are influenced by scientific progress. In most aspects, the women and their partners had similar attitudes. However, 82 per cent of the women but only 20 per cent of the men considered that the couple itself should decide about prenatal diagnosis. The results demonstrated a considerable respect regarding the difficult choices associated with the development of prenatal diagnosis, also among those who have decided favour of the test. The study indicated a greater need for autonomy among women than among men.

Adult

Colectomy-proctomucosectomy with S-pouch: operative procedures, complications, and functional outcome in 69 consecutive patients.

Sixty-nine patients were operated upon in a three-stage procedure. Early complications occurred in 29 percent after colectomy-ileostomy, in 25 percent after proctomucosectomy with ileoanal anastomosis and loop ileostomy, and in 9 percent after closure of loop ileostomy. Only three of these were considered serious. Seventy-one percent of the patients were readmitted into the hospital between the three operations or after the last one. Total hospital stay was 49 days (median); the range was 20 to 345 days. Reconstruction of the reservoir was performed in four patients owing to defecation problems, with satisfying functional results in two patients, while two emptied by catheter. There was no postoperative mortality or pelvic sepsis, and no pouches were excised. Ileostomy was re-established in two patients. At histopathologic re-evaluation of colectomy specimens, the diagnosis was changed from ulcerative colitis to Crohn's disease in three patients and to indeterminate colitis in five. Median follow-up was 4.3 years. Continent anal defecation without ileostomy was achieved in 67 patients (97 percent), with 4.1 bowel movements per day and 0.6 per night. Perfect continence was achieved in 55 percent in the daytime and in 43 percent at night. The low rate of reservoir-threatening complications is attributed to the three-stage procedure and the technical details in the surgical procedures.

Adolescent

Evidence of aluminium accumulation in aluminium welders.

Using atomic absorption spectrometry the aluminium concentrations in blood and urine and in two iliac bone biopsies obtained from welders with long term exposure to fumes containing aluminium were measured. The urinary excretion of two workers who had welded for 20 and 21 years varied between 107 and 351 micrograms Al/l, more than 10 times the concentration found in persons without occupational exposure. Urinary aluminium excretion remained high many years after stopping exposure. Blood and bone aluminium concentrations (4-53 micrograms Al/l and 18-29 micrograms Al/g respectively) were also raised but not to the same extent as urine excretion. It is concluded that long term exposure to aluminium by inhalation gives rise to accumulation of aluminium in the body and skeleton of health persons, and that the elimination of retained aluminium is very slow, in the order of several years.

Aluminum

Blood and urine concentrations of aluminium among workers exposed to aluminium flake powders.

In a group of workers exposed to aluminium flake powders, blood and urine concentrations of aluminium were assessed before and after vacation. Another group was investigated after retirement. Workers currently exposed to aluminium flake powders had urinary concentrations of the metal 80-90 times higher than those in occupationally non-exposed referents. The calculated half life for concentrations of aluminium in urine was five to six weeks based on four to five weeks of non-exposure. Among the retired workers the half lives varied from less than one up to eight years and were related to the number of years since retirement. These results indicate that aluminium is retained and stored in several compartments of the body and eliminated from these compartments at different rates.

Adult

Pulmonary reactions caused by welding-induced decomposed trichloroethylene.

This is the report of a welder who performed argon-shielded electric arc welding in an atmosphere containing trichloroethylene. He developed immediate respiratory symptoms, pulmonary edema 12 hours after exposure, and recurring dyspnea ten days after exposure. These pulmonary reactions might be explained by inhalation of decomposition products of trichloroethylene such as dichloroacetyl chloride and phosgene.

Dyspnea

Fever and respiratory symptoms after welding on painted steel.

Electric-arc welding generates particles and gases that can induce chronic bronchitis and airway obstruction. In this case report two welders are described who had fever, spirometric deterioration, and bronchial hyperreactivity after welding steel painted with chloro-containing polymer lacquer. Pyrolysis of this paint releases many different compounds, for example, hydrogen chloride and complex chlorinated compounds.

Air Pollutants, Occupational

Prenatal diagnosis for psychological reasons: comparison with other indications, advanced maternal age and known genetic risk.

In Sweden, about 20 per cent of women undergoing prenatal diagnosis (PND) have the test for 'psychological reasons', which means that they strongly fear giving birth to a disabled child, but have not reached the age limit. Women undergoing amniocentesis or chorionic villus biopsy for these reasons (n = 38) were studied by questionnaires with regard to distress during test procedures. They were compared to women examined because of a known or strongly suspected high risk of giving birth to a congenitally disabled child (n = 27) and to women examined because of an age more than 37 years (n = 144). The most distressed were women who had a high genetic risk. The women who had the test because of their age reported less distress. Women examined for psychological reasons, were moderately distressed, but reported the highest frequency of influence by the distress on their daily living. Women in all groups, however, felt a similar support by the normal test result and reported the whole procedure as rather easy. Different psychological determinants of anxiety of giving birth to a disabled child are discussed. The 'psychological indication' for PND means that the women's private interpretation of her risk, and not only the statistical limit, motivates PND.

Anxiety

Neuropsychiatric symptoms among welders exposed to neurotoxic metals.

Neuropsychiatric symptoms in 65 welders exposed to aluminium and 217 railroad track welders were studied with the aid of a previously validated questionnaire. Semiquantitative data on exposure to the metals aluminium, chromium, lead, manganese, and nickel were also recorded by questionnaire. Logistic regression was employed to study the relation between exposure and the prevalence of symptoms. Welders exposed to aluminium, lead, or manganese for a long period had significantly more neuropsychiatric symptoms than welders not exposed to these metals. The results indicate that detailed psychometric studies should be performed on welders exposed long term to specific metals as such exposures might affect their nervous system.

Adult

Prenatal diagnosis and psychological distress: amniocentesis or chorionic villus biopsy?

The psychological reactions of 211 women undergoing prenatal diagnosis (PND) with amniocentesis (group A, n = 122) or chorionic villus biopsy (group V, n = 90) were examined by questionnaires and interviews. The distress experienced while waiting for the test, during the test procedure, and while waiting for the result was reported by the women, both in questionnaires and in interviews. In the questionnaires, no difference between the two diagnostic methods was observed. In the interviews, however, the women undergoing amniocentesis appeared significantly more distressed by the procedure. In group A 97 per cent and in group V 100 per cent wished a method which, like chorionic villus biopsy, could be used in the first weeks of pregnancy. The risk of miscarriage was, as described in other studies, regarded as a serious threat by the pregnant women.

Adult

Molecular genetic studies in schizophrenia.

Despite many years of research, the genetic factors in schizophrenia are not well understood. Recent developments in DNA technology allow new methods of testing genetic hypotheses in the etiology of this debilitating disorder. We have found evidence against linkage of schizophrenia in a Swedish kindred to markers on chromosome 5; another research group has reported positive evidence for linkage to this same chromosomal region in British and Icelandic families. This article presents a set of data expanded from our previous report, discusses the issue of heterogeneity, and reviews the current status of linkage studies in schizophrenia.

Chromosomes, Human, Pair 5

The effects of altered nutritional status upon insulin-like growth factors and their binding proteins in neonatal rats.

To investigate the role of nutrition in the regulation of IGFs during the perinatal period, 10-d-old rats were infused intravenously with various concentrations of nutrients for 24 h. Breast-fed litter mates served as controls. The effect of caloric intake on concentrations of IGF-I and IGF-II as well as IGF-binding proteins in serum, liver, and brain of neonatal rats was studied. A total of 45 rats from 10 litters was infused with solutions ranging from a caloric intake of 0 (saline) to 75% (glucose, amino acids, and lipids) of the estimated intake of control rats. In serum, both IGF-I and -II concentrations fell markedly in response to fasting. Serum IGF-II levels were linearly related to caloric intake in the pooled data from all groups. Concentrations of IGF-II, but not IGF-I, in liver and brain were depressed by caloric restriction. In contrast to the fall in IGF concentrations, activity of IGF-associated binding proteins rose in serum and in liver cytosol 2- to 4-fold in response to decreased nutrient intake. In serum, but not liver, the rise in binding protein activity was inversely related to to caloric intake. In liver, cytosol, but not serum, the rise in binding protein activity was inversely related to total serum amino acid concentration. Thus, IGF concentrations in preweanling rats change in response to alterations of nutrient intake. The fasting induced decrements in IGF levels, as well as the elevations in IGF-associated binding protein activity, may serve as a protective mechanism to depress growth in times of caloric restriction.

Animals

Information on prenatal diagnosis at the antenatal clinic. The women's experiences.

The issue of information and autonomy (informed consent) in prenatal diagnosis (PND) was studied by questionnaires given to women undergoing amniocentesis (group A, n = 122) or chorionic villus biopsy (group V, n = 90). About 1/4 of the women were also interviewed. Sixty-eight percent of the women had learnt most about PND already before visiting the antenatal clinic. More women in group A (75%) than in group V (51%) were satisfied with the information given at the clinic, probably because amniocentesis is a well-known routine, while chorionic villus biopsy is not. Further, in both groups, more of the women who underwent PND because of age were satisfied with the information than those having PND because of strong fear of giving birth to a handicapped baby. This might be explained by the complicated character of this fear, which the medical staff could not always understand and meet. Also the women who were investigated because of a known genetic problem seemed to need more specialized genetic counselling. Fifty-eight percent of the women were well informed about the risk of giving birth to a child with a congenital disorder and 83% about which disorders could be detected by the procedure they were undergoing. Seventy-three percent had not felt any uneasiness when they were offered PND by their midwife or gynecologist; 18% had initiated the discussion themselves. Seventy-four percent of the women recommended that the medical staff actively offered PND. Most women (87%) answered that the midwife's or gynecologist's attitude towards PND had been positive. The majority (85%) considered that there is a risk of persuasion in counselling.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amniocentesis

Decision making during the prenatal diagnostic procedure. A questionnaire and interview study of 211 women participating in prenatal diagnosis.

Counselling in connection with prenatal diagnosis (PND) is a common task for the obstetrician and the midwife. However, the decision making processes of pregnant women are not completely known, for instance, the questions of women's autonomy, the decision on how to act in the case of an abnormal test, and the partner's participation in the decision. A questionnaire and interview study was carried out among 211 women undergoing PND by amniocentesis or chorionic villus biopsy. Most women in the sample indicated that PND was completely voluntary. However, at the same time almost every woman reported that it was difficult to decline from PND when offered. Even before the visit to register at the antenatal clinic, most of the women (83 per cent) had made up their minds to have PND. At the time of the test, many of the participants (62 per cent) had decided in favour of a legal abortion if the test indicated an abnormality in the fetus. At the same time, however, the data indicate a need for reflection and ambivalence, which the medical staff have to accept. In the questionnaire most of the women stated that they and their partners had similar attitudes towards PND, but when interviewed 38 per cent of the women admitted some differences between their own attitudes and their partners'. Although some women reported considerable deliberation and ambivalence, most of them said that they would undergo PND in another pregnancy.

Abortion, Legal

Uptake and urinary excretion of aluminum among welders.

The urinary excretion of aluminum was measured in 23 welders before and after an exposure-free interval of 16 to 37 days. In addition, the concentration of aluminum in the air was measured at the work site of 16 aluminum welders on the same workday as the first urine sample was taken. The concentration of aluminum in the urine depended on both the level and duration of exposure. The postshift urinary concentration of aluminum prior to an exposure-free interval was mainly related to the current air concentration, whereas the urinary concentration of aluminum determined after the exposure-free interval was related to total exposure duration (years). Among welders exposed for less than 1 year, the half-time for urinary concentration was about 9 days whereas welders exposed for more than 10 years had half-times calculated to be 6 months or longer. The results indicate that aluminum is retained and stored in at least two functional compartments of the body and is eliminated from these compartments at different rates.

Adult