Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

E Karlsson

Publications and source records attributed to E Karlsson.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Sensitivity of 880 blood culture isolates to 24 antibiotics.

Blood culture isolates (n = 880) collected during 2.5 years (period I n = 515, July 1988 to December 1989; period II n = 365, January 1992 to December 1992) were analysed with the agar dilution method to ascertain their sensitivity to 24 antibiotics. The susceptibility of bacteria was classified according to MIC values and susceptibility grouping used in the SIR system (sensitive-S, intermediate-I, resistant-R). Comparison of percentage S+I values for the 2 periods revealed no major development of resistance. Co-trimoxazole and some cephalosporins (cefpirom, cefepime and cefotaxime) were active (S+I) against 88-92% of the strains. Imipenem and the combination piperacillin-tazobaclam were active against 95% of the strains. A very large number of strains (98.2 to 98.6%) were inhibited (S+I) by the quinolones tested, ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin. Comparison of the present results with those of our 1980-81 study yielded no evidence of resistance development, except for an increase in betalactamase-producing S. aureus strains, from 67% to 85%.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1994

Clinical and laboratory features of Sjögren's syndrome in young women with previous postpartum thyroiditis.

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the possible development of Sjögren's syndrome in young women with previous postpartum thyroiditis, a clinical and laboratory case-control followup study was undertaken. METHODS: Forty female patients (mean age 36 years) with well documented postpartum thyroiditis 5 years previously and 30 healthy mothers (mean age 36 years) who all had undergone normal partus an average of 5 years previously, were included in the study. RESULTS: Symptoms of dry eyes, caries, arthralgias, swollen joints and fatigue were reported significantly more often in women with previous postpartum thyroiditis compared with healthy mothers of the same age (p < 0.05). Using an ELISA with purified (SSA)Ro and (SSB)La proteins derived from a human cell line as antigens, 34% of the women were anti-SSB positive and 46% were anti-SSA positive at followup. Furthermore, 15/35 women with a history of postpartum thyroiditis (43%) had objectively impaired tear and/or saliva production; 5 of 24 investigated women had keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) and 2 of 7 salivary gland biopsies showed chronic lymphocytic sialadenitis. Three women (8.6%) had the combination of KCS and xerostomia. CONCLUSION: Laboratory and clinical features of Sjögren's syndrome are frequently seen in younger women with previous postpartum thyroiditis.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

A potassium channel toxin from the secretion of the sea anemone Bunodosoma granulifera. Isolation, amino acid sequence and biological activity.

A peptide toxin affecting potassium channels was isolated from the sea anemone Bunodosoma granulifera. It facilitates acetylcholine release at avian neuromuscular junctions, competes with dendrotoxin I, a probe for voltage-dependent potassium channels, for binding to synaptosomal membranes of rat brain with a Ki of 0.7 nM and suppresses K+ currents in rat dorsal root ganglion neurones in culture. It represents a new structural type of potassium channel toxin with the sequence V1RCDWFKETA10CRHAKSLGNC20RTSQKYRANC30AKTLQCC37 (M(r) 4275, three disulfides).

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Captopril and spironolactone therapy for refractory congestive heart failure.

Short- and long-term clinical effects of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor captopril in severe congestive heart failure (CHF) were evaluated during a 3-year open study of 124 inpatients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III or IV CHF refractory to treatment with cardiac glycosides and high doses of loop diuretics. Captopril was added to each patient's regimen, which comprised combinations of furosemide (124 patients), digitalis (117 patients), and spironolactone (90 patients). By the end of the first month of captopril administration, improvement in NYHA functional class was seen in 89 patients (72%). During the first year of captopril treatment, the number of hospital admissions and hospital days declined significantly (p < 0.001) and functional class improved significantly (p < 0.001). Although most patients tolerated captopril well, 44% experienced hypotension, which in 10% of patients necessitated termination of captopril therapy. Although mean serum potassium levels tended to increase, serious hyperkalemia did not occur. After 1 year, a subset of 30 patients who had not initially received spironolactone deteriorated clinically and manifested increasing urinary aldosterone levels. Hypotension precluded increasing the captopril dose, but introduction of spironolactone improved clinical status in this cohort. The results suggest that rational therapy for severe CHF includes addition of the aldosterone antagonist spironolactone to low doses of captopril (or another ACE inhibitor) and high doses of loop diuretics, provided renal function is adequate.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Interactions of drugs acting against Staphylococcus aureus in vitro and in a mouse model.

Two combinations of antibiotics, clindamycin with rifampicin and cloxacillin with netilmicin, were investigated for their activity against two strains of Staphylococcus aureus (a sensitive reference strain and a methicillin-resistant clinical isolate) by means of the in vitro checkerboard technique and an in vivo infected mouse model. The mouse model allowed drug interactions to be evaluated both from the changes in the number of bacteria surviving treatment and from the measured exposure to antibiotics at the site of infection. Specimens from the latter were evaluated twice (day 0 and day 2) in each experiment. The combination of cloxacillin and netilmicin exhibited a synergistic effect against the reference strain both in vitro and in vivo, whereas synergism was obtained under in vitro conditions only against the methicillin-resistant strain. The clindamycin and rifampicin combination acted synergistically or indifferently against both strains in vitro and at day 0 of the in vivo experiments. In contrast, on day 2 of infection, this combination had significantly greater bactericidal effect (synergism) compared to the combination of cloxacillin and netilmicin. These results illustrate the difficulties of interpreting in vitro results for clinical use.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

The effects of prophylactic dixyrazine on postoperative vomiting after two different anaesthetic methods for squint surgery in children.

The incidence of postoperative vomiting after squint surgery was studied for two anaesthetic techniques with and without prophylactic dixyrazine. After induction, anaesthesia was maintained with either fentanyl/pancuronium/nitrous oxide or halothane/nitrous oxide in two randomly selected groups of 58 children each. Half of the children in each group were randomly allocated to receive dixyrazine 0.25 mg kg-1 i.v. after surgery had been completed but before reversal of muscle relaxants or termination of anaesthesia. With prophylactic dixyrazine the incidence of postoperative vomiting was significantly reduced from 69% (20/29) to 21% (6/29) in the fentanyl group and from 45% (13/29) to 10% (3/29) in the halothane group. Without prophylactic dixyrazine, 20 of 29 children in the fentanyl group vomited compared to 13 of 29 in the halothane group (n.s.). Thus, prophylactic dixyrazine reduced the incidence of vomiting in children given either opioid or halothane anaesthesia for squint surgery. In comparable groups avoidance of opioid anaesthetic technique and use of prophylactic dixyrazine resulted in a greatly reduced incidence of vomiting.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Also with a restrictive transfusion policy, screening with second-generation anti-hepatitis C virus enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay would have reduced post-transfusion hepatitis C after open-heart surgery.

The incidence of post-transfusion hepatitis non-A, non-B (PTH-NANB) was prospectively assessed among open-heart surgery patients from the southeast region of Sweden before the introduction of antihepatitis C virus (HCV) blood donor screening. Blood samples for alanine aminotransferase analysis were drawn before and 2, 3, and 4 months after transfusion. Surgery was performed in four centres. Of 190 transfused and followed-up patients 2 (1.1%) contracted PTH-NANB, both operated on at the centre with significantly fewer transfusions than the other centres. One patient had antibodies to HCV detected by first-generation (C100-3) and later by second-generation anti-HCV enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA-2) and by positive second-generation recombinant immunoblot assay (4-RIBA). The other patient, although negative by first-generation anti-HCV ELISA, was positive by second-generation ELISA and by 4-RIBA. Both patients were hepatitis C-viremic by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). All the six donors implicated in the two hepatitis cases were first-generation anti-HCV-negative, but two, one for each patient, were positive by second-generation anti-HCV ELISA. This finding was confirmed by positive 4-RIBA in only 1 donor, the other being 'indeterminate'. However, in both donors hepatitis C viremia was found by PCR. This study shows that the second-generation anti-HCV ELISA will further reduce the risk for PTH-NANB/C and draws attention to the problem of evaluation of confirmatory tests.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Muscle water and electrolytes in severe chronic congestive heart failure before and after treatment with enalapril.

To investigate the electrolyte and water content in peripheral skeletal muscle in patients suffering from severe chronic congestive heart failure, New York Heart Association functional class IV, and to study the influence of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, enalapril, 22 patients were randomized in a double-blind study to receive either placebo (n = 11) or enalapril (n = 11) in addition to their conventional treatment. The patients included a subgroup in the previously published CONSENSUS study. At the beginning of the study, the content of potassium and magnesium was significantly reduced in muscle as compared with healthy subjects while sodium and water were increased. The muscle content was not predictable from the serum concentrations of the electrolytes. Following study treatment no significant changes occurred, neither within nor between the two subgroups. Thus, patients with severe chronic congestive heart failure, New York Heart Association functional class IV, displayed disturbed electrolyte and water content in muscle, which, in this study, was not corrected by treatment with enalapril.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Muscle energy metabolism in severe chronic congestive heart failure--effect of treatment with enalapril.

By using biopsies, skeletal muscle metabolism was investigated in 22 patients with severe chronic heart failure. All the patients were in New York Heart Association functional class IV and constituted a subgroup of the previously published CONSENSUS trial. After this initial investigation of muscle metabolism in patients with chronic heart failure, the influence of the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, enalapril, on skeletal muscle metabolism was studied by randomizing the patients in a double-blind manner to receive either placebo (n = 11) or enalapril (n = 11) in addition to conventional treatment. At the time of inclusion, the muscle content of energy-rich compounds, i.e. glycogen and the high energy phosphates, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and phosphocreatine, was reduced as compared with healthy subjects and muscle lactate content tended to be higher than normal. Following study treatment, no significant changes occurred, neither within nor between the two subgroups. Thus, patients with severe chronic congestive heart failure display metabolic derangement in muscle, which, in this study, was not corrected by treatment with enalapril.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1991

Amino acid sequence of a snake venom toxin that binds to the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor.

The green mamba, Dendroaspis angusticeps, has two protein toxins that bind to the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor. The sequence of muscarinic toxin 2 was determined with an automatic gas phase sequencer. The C-terminal residue is Asp as determined by hydrazinolysis and amino acid analysis. Toxin 2 has 65 amino acid residues and a formula weight of 7040. It is homologous to a large number of other snake venom toxins as short alpha-neurotoxins, cardiotoxins/cytotoxins and angusticeps-type toxins of mamba venoms. The sequence is confirmed in the accompanying article (Ducancel, F., Rowan, E.G., Cassart, E., Harvey, A. L., Menez, A. and Boulain, J.-C. Toxicon 29, 516-520, 1991).

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Langerhans cells and subsets of lymphocytes in the nasal mucosa.

Langerhans cells and different lymphocytes were studied in the nasal mucosa of 39 woodwork teachers and a control group of 14 healthy subjects. Ten of the woodwork teachers were sensitized as determined by skin prick test. A panel of different monoclonal antibodies was applied on the frozen nasal mucosal specimens. Intraepithelial CD1-positive dendritic cells were found in all specimens. However, there was no difference between the number of these Langerhans cells found in the study group and the number found in the controls. In every specimen the intraepithelial lymphocyte population was dominated by T lymphocytes, and there were relatively few B cells. Similarly the ratio between CD4- and CD8-positive lymphocytes in the study group and the controls was the same. In all specimens there was a dominance of T suppressor/cytotoxic cells compared with T helper/inducer cells. The study confirms that Langerhans cells are present in normal nasal surface epithelium, and suggests that there is no basic difference in the number of Langerhans cells between healthy persons, persons with nasal complaints, and persons with nasal allergy. The dominance of T lymphocytes in the epithelium may indicate the existence of a local cell-mediated immunity other than that associated with the regulation of IgE.

Antigens, CD↗
PubMed1990

Recognition of the acetylcholine receptor binding site of a long-chain neurotoxin by toxin-specific monoclonal antibodies.

The present paper reports the preparation and characterization of two neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (Mabs), called MST1 and MST2, which bind at the central loop of a long-chain neurotoxin from cobra venom. The central loop is a critical region for the binding of the toxin to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Some of the residues incorporated in the epitopes recognized by MST1 and MST2 have been identified on the basis of competition experiments using a set of 'chemical mutants' of the toxin. We show that MST1 and MST2 bind at the base and at the tip of the central loop of the toxin, respectively, however, only MST2 actually overlaps the acetylcholine receptor binding site. Accordingly, only MST2 is capable of recognizing all homologous toxins so far examined. MST2, therefore, mimicks, at least partially, the site by which the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor recognizes a long-chain neurotoxin.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Postanaesthetic nausea in children.

The incidence of emetic episodes during the first 24 h after anaesthesia was studied prospectively in 485 children aged 0-16 years in relation to age, premedication, type of induction, type and duration of anaesthesia, type of surgery and use of postoperative analgesics. The incidence of emetic episodes was 25% in the whole material. The majority of the emetic episodes were recorded after the immediate recovery period. In children under 2 years of age, vomiting was only recorded in 5%. Nausea and vomiting was most common after squint surgery (75%) and least common after endoscopies (17%). Neither premedication with diazepam nor the method of induction (thiopentone, i.v., thiopentone rectally, inhalation with halothane) influenced the incidence of nausea. For the same type of surgery, maintenance of anaesthesia with halothane resulted in a lower incidence of nausea than anaesthesia with fentanyl-pancuronium.

Adolescent↗