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Biomedical subjects

J H Larsen

Publications and source records attributed to J H Larsen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

HIV infections and AIDS in Danish general practice--the role of the GP in AIDS prevention.

The occurrence and geographical distribution of HIV infections and AIDS (HIV/AIDS) in Danish general practice were examined in a questionnaire study sent to a 10% random sample of the GPs. Response rate was 92%. In 1988, a total of 2969 patients were tested, median 10 patients per GP. GPs had 148 HIV-positive patients (66 in Greater Copenhagen) and 60 AIDS patients (27 in Greater Copenhagen). In Greater Copenhagen 37% of the GPs had neither HIV nor AIDS patients, vs. 71% in the rest of the country. Instruction in infection prophylaxis was usually initiated by the GPs, while HIV testing was mainly on the patient's initiative. 52% of GPs indicated a change in their routine, particularly with respect to sterilization of instruments and avoidance of direct contact with blood. An extrapolation of the results of this study indicates that about 1,500 of the estimated 2,000 HIV positive patients in Denmark are known by general practitioners.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Integrated health work with 'the new family'.

In this Copenhagen practice couples receive antenatal and postnatal care in group sessions. The health care professionals believe they provide a better service. Parents learn from shared experiences and benefit from the social network that is established.

Child, Preschool

Medical students experience early patient contact in general practice. A description and evaluation of a new course in the medical curriculum.

In the first year of the medical curriculum at the University of Copenhagen, a new discipline has been introduced, in which general practice has the key position in providing experiences of early patient contact to the students. The course consists of three principal elements: student-patient contacts in the patient's home; lessons with the general practitioner; and lessons at the Institute of General Practice. The compulsory course is completed by a student's report, and the first course has been evaluated by qualitative analysis of these reports and by questionnaires to the students and GPs. The results indicate that it is possible to provide considerable improvement of the medical education as regards communication skills and understanding of the patients' perceptions, by letting the student establish contact with a patient in the very beginning of the curriculum. General practice provides an appropriate setting for this education for both teachers and patients.

Curriculum

Ultrastructure and histochemistry of the vas deferens of the salamander Rhyacotriton olympicus: adaptations for sperm storage.

The vas deferens of the salamander Rhyacotriton olympicus is composed of (1) a peritoneal epithelium, (2) connective tissue with fibroblasts, melanophores, circular smooth muscle, capillaries, and unmyelinated nerves within a collagenous matrix, and (3) an inner layer of cuboidal epithelium partially covered by ciliated squamous cells at the lumen. The lumen and apical cytoplasm of both epithelial cell types contain strongly PAS-positive granules. The cuboidal cells contained numerous swollen rough endoplasmic reticulum cisternae, mitochondria, and apical dense granules suggesting a high degree of secretory activity possibly involved in sperm maintenance. Fewer mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticula, and granules in squamous cells suggest less secretory activity. Squamous cells may protect the cuboidal cells from possible abrasion by sperm masses and/or their cilia may aid in distributing secretory products in the lumen.

Animals

Comparison of a fluorescent monoclonal antibody assay and a tissue culture assay for routine detection of infections caused by Chlamydia trachomatis.

The applicability of a commercial direct immunofluorescent monoclonal antibody assay for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis elementary bodies was studied on endocervical smears from 506 women attending a venereal disease clinic. The aim of this prospective examination was to simulate a daily routine. The results were compared to those of a well-functioning tissue culture assay. The overall positivity was 22.7%. Based on a positivity criterion of greater than or equal to 1 elementary body in the fluorescent antibody assay, the two assays agreed in 84.8% of the cases. In 50 specimens the antibody assay was positive and the culture assay negative, whereas in 23 the culture assay was positive and the antibody assay negative. The positive predictive value was 63.8%. Most of the discrepancies were found in specimens containing few elementary bodies or inclusions. Based on a criterion of greater than or equal to 10 elementary bodies, the positive predictive value was 70.9%, but the sensitivity fell to 67.5%.

Antibodies, Monoclonal

The determination of specific IgA-antibodies to Yersinia enterocolitica and their role in enteric infections and their complications.

Specific serum IgA-antibodies, mainly produced in the lymphoid tissue of the gastrointestinal tract (GALT) might exhibit some special characteristics deviating from IgM- and IgG-antibodies: they do not agglutinate nor fix complement. They cannot be determined by usual routine antibody techniques; indirect methods must be used. An antiglobulin-assay was used in an extensive investigation over a two-year period on sera from 8,445 patients to determine IgA-antibodies specific to Yersinia enterocolitica, serotype 3. Y. enterocolitica agglutinins were found in 965 patients, 508 of them with significant titres of greater than or equal to 80. 347 of the 2,111 patients with low titres (10 to 40) had a significantly elevated amount of IgA antibodies. The diagnoses of the IgA-positive patients fell into three groups: acute infections, acute reactive complicatory inflammations, mainly arthritis, chronic inflammatory connective tissue diseases. The IgA-antibody pattern was: In early samples from patients with acute enteric infections they might be the only antibodies present following, largely, during the course of the disease the agglutinating IgM and IgG antibodies, except in patients with long-lasting or chronic complications where IgA antibodies were elevated. It is concluded that determination of specific antibodies of IgA class in cases of Y. enterocolitica infections is an important diagnostic test and, moreover, of prognostic value in the evaluation of chronicity.

Adolescent

Microfilaments interacting with heavy meromyosin and deoxyribonuclease I in cells of the ovarian follicle of a lizard.

Two types of filaments (microfilaments 4--6 nm in diameter, and intermediate filaments 7--10 nm in diameter) are common in the surface epithelial cells and theca fibroblasts of vitellogenic ovarian follicles of the lizard Anolis carolinensis. Heavy meromyosin (HMM), which forms complexes with actin filaments, interacts only with the microfilaments of theca fibroblasts. After myosin extraction of follicles no filaments disappeared, but when this treatment was followed by incubation with deoxyribonuclease I (DNA-ase I), which depolymerizes F-actin to G-actin, microfilaments disappeared from the theca fibroblasts. It is concluded that microfilaments in theca fibroblasts are actin-like and may contract to provide the mechanism of expulsion for the oocyte during ovulation. The intermediate filaments of the surface epithelial cells and theca fibroblasts may serve as a skeletal system for the large (up to 8 mm in diameter) vitellogenic follicle.

Animals

Glomerulonephritis in infections with Yersinia enterocolitica O-serotype 3. II. The incidence and immunological features of Yersinia infection in a consecutive glomerulonephritis population.

In a consecutive series of 38 patients with acute glomerulonephritis (GN), 17 showed serological or immunological signs of current or previous yersiniosis. None of these 17 patients had raised antistreptolysin-o titres. Only half of these patients had had clinical symptoms of Yersinia infection. Light microscopic examination revealed that 12 of the 17 patients had proliferative and 4 epimembranous GN. In 8 out of 14 biopsy specimens, Yersinia antigen could be demonstrated by immunoglobulins and complement. Immunofluorescence microscopy examination of all biopsy specimens containing sufficient tissue for a valid analysis showed deposits of complement and immunoglobulin G, most specimens also immunoglobulins A and M. It is considered highly likely that Y. ent. O:3 may be, and frequently is, an etiological factor for development of acute GN. It would be advisable not only to investigate all patients with acute GN for streptococcal infections, but also to carry out serological and bacteriological tests for Y. eng. O:3 infection and to institute an active therapeutic approach to acute infections caused by this bacterium.

Acute Disease