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L Nyberg

Publications and source records attributed to L Nyberg.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Prefrontal cortex and episodic memory retrieval mode.

A multistudy analysis of positron emission tomography data identified three right prefrontal and two left prefrontal cortical sites, as well as a region in the anterior cingulate gyrus, where neuronal activity is correlated with the maintenance of episodic memory retrieval mode (REMO), a basic and necessary condition of remembering past experiences. The right prefrontal sites were near the frontal pole [Brodmann's area (BA) 10], frontal operculum (BA 47/45), and lateral dorsal area (BA 8/9). The two left prefrontal sites were homotopical with the right frontal pole and opercular sites. The same kinds of REMO sites were not observed in any other cerebral region. Many previous functional neuroimaging studies of episodic memory retrieval have reported activations near the frontal REMO sites identified here, although their function has not been clear. Many of these, too, probably have signaled their involvement in REMO. We propose that REMO activations largely if not entirely account for the frontal hemispheric asymmetry of retrieval as described by the original hemispheric encoding retrieval asymmetry model.

Humans

Pharmacokinetics of bambuterol during oral administration of plain tablets and solution to healthy adults.

AIMS: The pharmacokinetics of orally administered bambuterol were investigated in healthy adult subjects, with particular regard to time to steady state, pharmacokinetic linearity, intraindividual variability for the parent drug and its active beta2-adrenergic metabolite terbutaline and bioequivalence between tablet and solution. METHODS: Twenty-six healthy Caucasian subjects were included and 23 (12 women) completed this open, randomised, crossover study. Racemic bambuterol hydrochloride was administered orally as 10 mg, 20 mg, and 10 + 20 mg tablets, and as a solution once daily for 2 weeks at about 19.00 h. Plasma concentrations and urinary recoveries of bambuterol and terbutaline were measured after single doses and during repeated treatments. RESULTS: Absorption of bambuterol was biphasic. The initial rate could not be assessed directly, but it was faster than that during the second phase where absorption was rate-limiting for elimination (mean terminal half-life: 16 h). Steady-state AUC(0,24 h) of bambuterol, reached within 1 week, was not dose-linear. Mean terminal half-life of terbutaline was 22 h and steady-state was reached within one week of bambuterol treatment. Contrary to bambuterol, overall pharmacokinetics of terbutaline indicated dose-linearity. Day-to-day intraindividual variation in AUC(0,24 h) of terbutaline, 15% with the tablet, was half that of bambuterol. Urine data indicated that intraindividual variability was slightly smaller with the solution. Tablets were bioequivalent with the solution with regard to terbutaline (90% confidence interval: 87-100%). CONCLUSIONS: With oral bambuterol steady state was reached within 1 week. Regarding generated terbutaline, pharmacokinetics judged to be were linear, intraindividual variability of AUC at steady state was on average 15% with the tablet, and tablets were bioequivalent with the solution.

Absorption

Imaging cognition II: An empirical review of 275 PET and fMRI studies.

Positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have been extensively used to explore the functional neuroanatomy of cognitive functions. Here we review 275 PET and fMRI studies of attention (sustained, selective, Stroop, orientation, divided), perception (object, face, space/motion, smell), imagery (object, space/motion), language (written/spoken word recognition, spoken/no spoken response), working memory (verbal/numeric, object, spatial, problem solving), semantic memory retrieval (categorization, generation), episodic memory encoding (verbal, object, spatial), episodic memory retrieval (verbal, nonverbal, success, effort, mode, context), priming (perceptual, conceptual), and procedural memory (conditioning, motor, and nonmotor skill learning). To identify consistent activation patterns associated with these cognitive operations, data from 412 contrasts were summarized at the level of cortical Brodmann's areas, insula, thalamus, medial-temporal lobe (including hippocampus), basal ganglia, and cerebellum. For perception and imagery, activation patterns included primary and secondary regions in the dorsal and ventral pathways. For attention and working memory, activations were usually found in prefrontal and parietal regions. For language and semantic memory retrieval, typical regions included left prefrontal and temporal regions. For episodic memory encoding, consistently activated regions included left prefrontal and medial temporal regions. For episodic memory retrieval, activation patterns included prefrontal, medial temporal, and posterior midline regions. For priming, deactivations in prefrontal (conceptual) or extrastriate (perceptual) regions were consistently seen. For procedural memory, activations were found in motor as well as in non-motor brain areas. Analysis of regional activations across cognitive domains suggested that several brain regions, including the cerebellum, are engaged by a variety of cognitive challenges. These observations are discussed in relation to functional specialization as well as functional integration.

Adult

Large scale neurocognitive networks underlying episodic memory.

Large-scale networks of brain regions are believed to mediate cognitive processes, including episodic memory. Analyses of regional differences in brain activity, measured by functional neuroimaging, have begun to identify putative components of these networks. To more fully characterize neurocognitive networks, however, it is necessary to use analytical methods that quantify neural network interactions. Here, we used positron emission tomography (PET) to measure brain activity during initial encoding and subsequent recognition of sentences and pictures. For each type of material, three recognition conditions were included which varied with respect to target density (0%, 50%, 100%). Analysis of large-scale activity patterns identified a collection of foci whose activity distinguished the processing of sentences vs. pictures. A second pattern, which showed strong prefrontal cortex involvement, distinguished the type of cognitive process (encoding or retrieval). For both pictures and sentences, the manipulation of target density was associated with minor activation changes. Instead, it was found to relate to systematic changes of functional connections between material-specific regions and several other brain regions, including medial temporal, right prefrontal and parietal regions. These findings provide evidence for large-scale neural interactions between material-specific and process-specific neural substrates of episodic encoding and retrieval.

Adult

Age-related differences in neural activity during item and temporal-order memory retrieval: a positron emission tomography study.

Positron emission tomography (PET) was used to investigate the hypothesis that older adults' difficulties with temporal-order memory are related to deficits in frontal function. Young (mean 24.7 years) and old (mean 68.6 years) participants studied a list of words, and were then scanned while retrieving information about what words were in the list (item retrieval) or when they occurred within the list (temporal-order retrieval). There were three main results. First, whereas the younger adults engaged right prefrontal regions more during temporal-order retrieval than during item retrieval, the older adults did not. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that context memory deficits in older adults are due to frontal dysfunction. Second, ventromedial temporal activity during item memory was relatively unaffected by aging. This finding concurs with evidence that item memory is relatively preserved in old adults and with the notion that medial temporal regions are involved in automatic retrieval operations. Finally, replicating the result of a previous study (Cabeza, R., Grady, C. L., Nyberg, L., McIntosh, A. R. , Tulving, E., Kapur, S., Jennings, J. M., Houle, S., and Craik, F. I. M., 1997), the old adults showed weaker activations than the young adults in the right prefrontal cortex but stronger activations in the left prefrontal cortex. The age-related increase in left prefrontal activity may be interpreted as compensatory. Taken together, the results suggest that age-related changes in brain activity are rather process- and region-specific, and that they involve increases as well as decreases in neural activity.

Adult

Functional changes in brain activity during priming in Alzheimer's disease.

Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are often impaired on certain forms of implicit memory, such as word-stem completion priming (WSCP). Lesion data suggest that deficient WSCP may be associated with abnormal functioning in the posterior neocortex. Using positron emission tomography (PET), we here provide direct support for this view. Compared with normal old adults, AD patients showed reduced priming on a word-stem completion task. The normal old showed decreased activity in right occipital cortex (area 19), whereas the AD patients showed increased activity in this region during priming. To the extent that decreased activity during priming reflects an experience-dependent reduction of the neuronal population involved, these results indicate that shaping of the relevant neurons is slower in AD, possibly as a result of inadequate initial stimulus-processing.

Adult

Brain regions associated with episodic retrieval in normal aging and Alzheimer's disease.

OBJECTIVE: To examine patterns of brain activation during verbal episodic retrieval in normal elderly subjects and patients in an early phase of AD. BACKGROUND: It is established that 1) a profound episodic memory impairment is a cardinal symptom of AD; and 2) some of the earliest brain changes in this disease occur in regions critical to episodic memory, such as the hippocampus and neighboring regions. Yet, it remains largely unknown whether the episodic memory deficit seen in AD is paralleled by concomitant alterations in brain activity during actual task performance in these or other brain areas. METHODS: Using PET, blood flow was assessed in normal elderly subjects and patients with early AD during two retrieval conditions involving completion of word stems: baseline and cued recall. RESULTS: The patients with AD showed a marked performance deficit in cued recall, although the two groups were indistinguishable in the baseline task condition. Both groups showed bilateral activity in orbital and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, left precuneus, and right cerebellum, as well as decreased activity in distinct left temporal regions during cued recall. The normal elderly alone activated the left parietal cortex and the left hippocampal formation during episodic retrieval. By contrast, AD-related increases in activity during cued recall were observed in the left orbital prefrontal cortex and left cerebellum. CONCLUSIONS: The similar patterns of activations in the two groups suggest that a large distributed network involved in episodic memory retrieval functions relatively normally in early AD. Those retrieval activations seen in the normal elderly, as opposed to the patients, may reflect AD-related failures in semantic processing and successful recollection of the target information, respectively. Finally, the AD-related increases in activity were interpreted in terms of compensatory reactions to the difficulties in performing the episodic memory task.

Aged

Positron emission tomography correlations in and beyond medial temporal lobes.

This article discusses the potential usefulness of brain/ behavior correlational analyses in functional neuroimaging studies of memory, and how such analyses can illuminate the role of medial temporal lobes (MTL) and the hippocampus in episodic and declarative memory processes such as encoding and retrieval. Reanalysis of the results of four previously reported positron emission tomography (PET) studies yielded evidence of both positive and negative between-subjects correlations between recognition-memory accuracy and regional blood flow. The sites of these correlations were in MTL regions as well as in other cortical and subcortical areas, including frontal lobes (Brodmann areas 6, 9, 10, 11, and 47), temporal lobes (BAs 21, 22, and 38), insula, fusiform gyrus, and cuneus/precuneus. These findings were discussed with respect to issues such as localization of the correlation sites, the distinction between brain sites revealed by brain/cognition correlational analyses ("how" sites) and those yielded by cognitive subtraction methods ("what" sites), the tendency of the "how" sites in MTL to occur in the left hemisphere, the tendency of other "how" sites to occur in one or the other hemisphere, rather than bilaterally, and the meaning and "reality" of both brain/behavior correlations and task-related activations. Because of the known incidence of false-positives, all neuroimaging data, including those involving the localization of "what" and "how" memory sites in MTL and other brain regions, need to be interpreted cautiously, and findings of individual studies should not be overinterpreted.

Brain

Progressive hemiosteoporosis on the paretic side and increased bone mineral density in the nonparetic arm the first year after severe stroke.

Fractures are a common and serious complication after stroke and the risk of hip fractures among stroke patients is 2 to 4 times greater than among other elderly people. The aim of this study was to investigate prospectively the change in bone mineral density (BMD) after severe stroke and to study the association between motor impairment, disability and the development of hemiosteoporosis. The study comprised 24 stroke patients, with no persistent paresis from previous strokes or previous osteoporotic fractures, included 1 month after stroke onset. BMD, motor function, ambulation and activities of daily living (ADL) were assessed at 1, 4, 7 and 12 months after stroke onset. At inclusion, the patients' BMD was normal for their age. During the study, there was a significant loss of BMD in the total body (-2.0%; p < 0.05), but not in the head or spine. BMD differed significantly between the paretic and the non-paretic arm at inclusion (-4.8%; p < 0.001). Decrease in BMD was most pronounced in the affected humerus (-17.4%; p < 0.001) and proximal femur (-12.2%; p < 0.01). BMD decreased significantly in both lower extremities during follow-up, but the losses were more pronounced on the paretic side (p < 0.01). In the nonaffected ultradistal radius there was a significant increase in BMD from inclusion to the end of the study (+5.8%; p < 0.01). There was no pattern in the bone losses correlating with presumptive risk factors for hemiosteoporosis such as motor function, ability to perform ADL or ambulation. Two patients had fractures at follow-up, both on the paretic side. Loss of bone mineral density in the paretic extremities is thus pronounced and progressive during the first year after stroke, indicating that loss of BMD is probably an important risk factor for post-stroke fractures. Surprisingly, BMD in the nonaffected arm increased significantly during the first year after stroke, most likely due to increased physical activity, and perhaps a redistribution of bone minerals from the paretic extremities.

Aged

The diagnosis of interstitial cystitis revisited: lessons learned from the National Institutes of Health Interstitial Cystitis Database study.

PURPOSE: The lack of a precise working definition of interstitial cystitis may have resulted in the de facto use of the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) "research" definition by clinicians. We evaluated these strict criteria in light of the broader inclusion criteria for patients evaluated in the Interstitial Cystitis Database study to determine their utility in clinical practice as a useful basis for the diagnosis of interstitial cystitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 379 women who completed screening for the Interstitial Cystitis Database before January 1, 1996 met the basic criteria of urinary frequency, urgency or pain for at least 6 months in duration without a diagnosable etiology. Of these patients 148 underwent cystoscopy and hydrodistention of the bladder as a part of the evaluation. All patients were followed for a minimum of 1 year. Comparisons were made between patients judged to have a clinical diagnosis of interstitial cystitis and those who met the NIDDK research definition of the syndrome. RESULTS: Almost 90% of patients potentially meeting NIDDK criteria are believed by experienced clinicians to have interstitial cystitis, confirming the research value of these criteria in defining a homogeneous population for study. However, strict application of NIDDK criteria would have misdiagnosed more than 60% of patients regarded by researchers as definitely or likely to have interstitial cystitis. CONCLUSIONS: The NIDDK criteria are too restrictive to be used by clinicians as the diagnostic definition of interstitial cystitis.

Cystitis, Interstitial

Pharmacokinetics of bambuterol during oral administration to asthmatic children.

AIMS: To investigate dose proportionality, dosing frequency, and ethnic aspects of the pharmacokinetics of bambuterol in asthmatic children, and to discuss the relationship with previous observations in adults. METHODS: Forty-eight children in four different studies completed two double-blind bambuterol treatments each (daily doses of bambuterol hydrochloride): 12 preschool (5 mg x 2 vs 10 mg) and 12 school (10 mg vs 20 mg) Caucasians, 12 preschool (2.5 mg vs 5 mg), and 12 school (10 mg vs 20 mg) Orientals. Peak plasma concentrations and dosing interval area under curve (AUC) of bambuterol and the active metabolite terbutaline were assessed at steady state. Treatment differences were analysed statistically within each study. Differences between the studies and the relation to steady-state AUC in adults were described. RESULTS: Dose proportionality was seen for terbutaline but not for bambuterol. Twice-daily dosing (2 x AUC(0,12 h)) could not be shown to differ from once-daily dosing (AUC(0,24 h)) in the preschool Caucasians. Mean AUC of terbutaline was 128 and 242 nmol l-1 h in the preschool Caucasians (5 mg/12 h; 10 mg/24 h), 213 and 406 nmol l-1 h in the Caucasian school children (10 mg; 20 mg), 87.4 and 202 nmol l-1 h in the Oriental preschool children (2.5 mg; 5 mg), and 356 and 640 nmol l-1 h in the Oriental school children (10 mg; 20 mg). Oriental school children had higher plasma concentrations of bambuterol and terbutaline than Caucasian school children. The strict ethnic implication of the difference could not be elucidated, because demographic data were not perfectly matched. Terbutaline AUC was only moderately increased in the Caucasian school children compared with Caucasian adults. The increase was more pronounced in Oriental children and in some preschool Caucasians. The highest concentration of terbutaline, 58 nmol l-1, was seen in an Oriental school child after a 20 mg dose. CONCLUSIONS: Caucasian school children can be given bambuterol hydrochloride very much as Caucasian adults, 10 or 20 mg once daily, but Oriental preschool and school children plus preschool Caucasians should be given lower doses.

Administration, Oral

A pilot study of daily subcutaneous interleukin-10 in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection.

The Th1/Th2 cytokine balance is important in persistence of infection and liver injury in chronic hepatitis C. The aim of this study was to administer the anti-inflammatory cytokine, recombinant human interleukin-10 (rHuIL-10), for 28 days in patients with chronic hepatitis C and to assess the safety and measure the effect on alanine aminotransferase (ALT, a marker of hepatic inflammation) levels and serum hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA values. Three treatment-naive and 13 interferon (IFN) nonresponder patients (total 16 patients) with compensated chronic HCV infection were enrolled in this study. Patients were randomized to receive rHuIL-10 at a dose of 4 or 8 microg/kg/day as a single daily subcutaneous injection for 28 days. ALT values and serum HCV RNA were measured at days 0, 1, 3, 8, 15, 22, and 28 during therapy and at follow-up 2 and 4 weeks after cessation of the 4-week treatment period. ALT values normalized in 9 of 16 patients during therapy and remained normal until the end of treatment in 8 patients. The decreases in ALT values occurred in both the 4 microg and 8 microg dosage groups and were seen in both IFN naive and nonresponder patients. Mean ALT values fell significantly during the study period but usually returned to pretreatment levels by the end of the 4-week follow-up period (p < 0.05). HCV RNA concentrations did not vary significantly during or after therapy. (No patient had either an increase or a decrease in HCV RNA levels of > or =1.5 log during the study.) The drug was well tolerated, with no adverse symptoms noted. Platelet counts fell transiently to 73,000 and 63,000 in 2 patients. No other toxicity was observed, and no patients discontinued therapy. In chronic hepatitis C, short-term therapy with IL-10 was well tolerated and caused transient normalization of ALT values in 50% of patients, which returned to pretreatment levels on cessation of treatment. There were no significant changes observed in serum HCV RNA concentrations during the study. These immunomodulatory effects are similar to those observed with ribavirin monotherapy in chronic hepatitis C. Further study of rHuIL-10 alone or in combination with antiviral agents in chronic hepatitis C is warranted.

Alanine Transaminase

Changes in serum hepatitis C virus RNA in interferon nonresponders retreated with interferon plus ribavirin: a preliminary report.

Ribavirin, a nucleoside analogue, inhibits replication of RNA and DNA viruses and may control hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection through modulation of anti-inflammatory and antiviral actions. Ribavirin monotherapy has no effect on serum HCV RNA levels. In combination with interferon, this agent appears to enhance the efficacy of interferon. The aim of this study was to monitor serum HCV RNA levels early during therapy with interferon and ribavirin compared with that previously seen in the same patients during interferon monotherapy. Five patients who previously showed no response to therapy with interferon alfa 3 MU three times weekly for 6 months were retreated with the identical dose of interferon alfa 2b in combination with oral ribavirin 1,000 mg/day. Serum HCV RNA levels were monitored at baseline, week 4, week 8, and week 12 of therapy by a quantitative multicycle polymerase chain reaction assay. In the first 8 to 12 weeks, serum HCV RNA levels showed a greater decrease in all patients when retreated with combination therapy compared with interferon alone. Mean (+/- SEM) serum HCV RNA levels for interferon therapy alone were 3.3 +/- 0.95, 1.2 +/- 0.95, 1.6 +/- 1.2, and 2.3 +/- 1.2 x 10(6) copies/ml at week 0, 4, 8, and 12, respectively. This was compared with 3.3 +/- 0.83, 0.3 +/- 0.2, 0.03 +/- 0.02, and 0.15 +/- 0.14 x 10(6), respectively, for the interferon and ribavirin group (p < 0.07 at week 8). Two of five patients had undetectable serum HCV RNA during combination therapy. Combination therapy with interferon and ribavirin in prior interferon nonresponders reduces serum HCV RNA levels compared with interferon alone. This may suggest some additional antiviral effect of ribavirin when given with interferon.

Adult

Psychological well-being 3 years after severe stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Stroke often has a very negative influence on the victims' perception of their life situation. The aim of this study was therefore to assess the subjects' long-term psychological well-being and to explore associations between subject characteristics, impairments, disabilities, and psychological well-being. METHODS: Of 100 subjects rehabilitated at a specialized geriatric stroke ward after the acute phase, 47 survivors were assessed in their homes 3 years after discharge and interviewed regarding their psychological well-being with the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (PGCMS). RESULTS: Sixty-four percent of the subjects were classified as having high scores for psychological well-being or fell within the middle range. In a cluster analysis, depression was shown to have the strongest association with the subjects' PGCMS scores. Variables including the subjects' social situation and functions as well as age, gender, ability to communicate, and need for help showed a much weaker association with the PGCMS. CONCLUSIONS: More than half of the stroke subjects were classified as having levels of psychological well-being that were good or fairly good. The strong association between PGCMS scores and depression indicates the importance of detecting and treating depression and of following up initiated therapy after stroke.

Cerebrovascular Disorders

Hemiosteoporosis after severe stroke, independent of changes in body composition and weight.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Fractures are a serious complication after stroke, and the risk of hip fractures among stroke patients is increased 2 to 4 times versus a reference population. Fractures after stroke are probably caused by the development of hemiosteoporosis and the high incidence of accidental falls. The aim of this study was to investigate the development of hemiosteoporosis in relation to other changes in body composition during the first year after severe stroke. METHODS: The study included 24 patients with extensive paresis after stroke. Bone mineral content (BMC) and fat and lean mass were assessed 1, 4, 7, and 12 months after stroke onset by a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometer. RESULTS: The loss of total body BMC was significant during the first year after stroke (-1.6%; P<0.05), but there were no significant changes in total lean or fat mass. At inclusion, there were no significant differences between sides in lean or fat mass or BMC, but during follow-up, BMC of the affected side decreased significantly compared with the same side at inclusion (-7.5%; P<0.01). Side differences in fat mass became significant between legs (9.3%; P<0.001) and whole sides (4. 8%; P<0.01). There were only minor side changes in lean mass. Loss of BMC was independent of weight changes. CONCLUSIONS: During the first year after severe stroke, patients developed pronounced hemiosteoporosis. This was not associated with general changes in lean or fat mass. The development of hemiosteoporosis was independent of weight changes after stroke.

Aged

Functional brain imaging of episodic and semantic memory with positron emission tomography.

Human memory is composed of several independent but interacting systems. These include a system for remembering general knowledge, semantic memory, and a system for recollection of personal events, episodic memory. The results of positron emission tomography (PET) studies of regional cerebral blood flow indicate that networks of distributed brain regions subserve episodic and semantic memory. Some networks seem to be generally engaged in memory processes whereas the involvement of others is specific to factors such as the type of information to be remembered or the level of retrieval success. The PET findings help to understand memory dysfunction (a) by showing that multiple brain regions are involved in different memory processes and (b) by sharpening the interpretation of the functional role of different brain regions.

Brain

Fractures after stroke.

Fractures are a serious complication after stroke. Among patients with femoral neck fractures, a large subgroup have had a previous stroke. This study aimed to investigate the incidence of fractures after stroke. Included in the study were 1139 patients consecutively admitted for acute stroke. Fractures occurring from stroke onset until the end of the study or death were registered retrospectively. Hip fracture incidence was compared with corresponding rates from the general population. Patients were followed up for a total of 4132 patient-years (median 2.9 years). There were 154 fractures in 120 patients and median time between the onset of stroke and the first fracture was 24 months. Women had significantly more fractures than men (chi 2 = 15.6; p < 0.001). In patients with paresis most of the fractures affected the paretic side (chi 2 = 22.5; p < 0.001) and 84% of the fractures were caused by falls. Hip fracture was the most frequent fracture and the incidence was 2-4 times higher in stroke patients compared with the reference population. Fractures are thus a common complication after stroke. They are usually caused by falls and affect the paretic side. It is necessary to focus on the prevention of post-stroke fractures, including the prevention of both falls and osteoporosis.

Accidental Falls