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Biomedical subjects

M Andersen

Publications and source records attributed to M Andersen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Prevalence of overweight, obesity and physical inactivity in 20- to 29-year-old, Danish men. Relation to sociodemography, physical dysfunction and low socioeconomic status: the Odense Androgen Study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of overweight, obesity and physical inactivity in 20- to 29-year-old men and to analyze whether sociodemography, physical dysfunction and low socioeconomic status are independent correlates of obesity and physical inactivity. DESIGN: Population-based, cross-sectional study. SUBJECTS: Seven hundred and eighty-three Caucasian, Danish men, aged 20-29 years recruited from 2042 respondents in a questionnaire survey of 3000 men, randomly drawn from the Danish Civil Registration System. METHODS: Questionnaire, interview and physical examination. RESULTS: The 783 included men and the 2042 questionnaire respondents matched the background population demographically. The 783 men matched the questionnaire respondents as regards BMI, physical activity, chronic disease, medication, smoking, sociodemography and socioeconomic status. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 31.7 and 7.9%, respectively (World Health Organization criteria). Using waist circumference (WC) cutoffs of 94 and 102 cm, the prevalence was 16.2 and 10.6%, respectively; 24.4% were physically inactive. BMI and WC increased significantly from age 20 to 29 years. Physical activity decreased significantly with age and correlated inversely with WC, but not with BMI. Occupation, geography, partner status, fatherhood and tobacco exposure were independently related with obesity and physical inactivity. Obesity was also related to musculoskeletal complaints, whereas chronic diseases and low educational level were associated with physical inactivity. Age was not independently related with either outcome. CONCLUSION: In affluent societies, sociodemographic changes may partly explain the age-related decrease in physical activity and the parallel increase in WC and BMI.

Adiposity↗
PubMed2006

Development of a population-based threshold model of conidial germination for analysing the effects of physiological manipulation on the stress tolerance and infectivity of insect pathogenic fungi.

Entomopathogenic fungi are being used as biocontrol agents of insect pests, but their efficacy can be poor in environments where water availability is reduced. In this study, the potential to improve biocontrol by physiologically manipulating fungal inoculum was investigated. Cultures of Beauveria bassiana, Lecanicillium muscarium, Lecanicillium longisporum, Metarhizium anisopliae and Paecilomyces fumosoroseus were manipulated by growing them under conditions of water stress, which produced conidia with increased concentrations of erythritol. The time-course of germination of conidia at different water activities (water activity, aw) was described using a generalized linear model, and in most cases reducing the water activity of the germination medium delayed the onset of germination without affecting the distribution of germination times. The germination of M. anisopliae, L. muscarium, L. longisporum and P. fumosoroseus was accelerated over a range of aw levels as a result of physiological manipulation. However, the relationship between the effect of physiological manipulation on germination and the osmolyte content of conidia varied according to fungal species. There was a linear relationship between germination rate, expressed as the reciprocal of germination time, and aw of the germination medium, but there was no significant effect of fungal species or physiological manipulation on the aw threshold for germination. In bioassays with M. anisopliae, physiologically manipulated conidia germinated more rapidly on the surface of an insect host, the melon cotton aphid Aphis gossypii, and fungal virulence was increased even when relative humidity was reduced after an initial high period. It is concluded that physiological manipulation may lead to improvements in biocontrol in the field, but choice of fungal species/isolate will be critical. In addition, the population-based threshold model used in this study, which considered germination in terms of physiological time, also called hydrotime, could have general application in mycology and environmental microbiology.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Trends in utilization of antiepileptic drugs in Denmark.

OBJECTIVES: To describe utilization of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in Denmark during 1993-2002, with special emphasis on oxcarbazepine, and to assess probable indications for AED use. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrieved prescription data from Odense University Pharmacoepidemiological Database, in Funen County, Denmark (population in 2002: 472,869). Within each calendar year we estimated period prevalence, incidence rate and monotherapy rate. Based on co-medication we defined 'epilepsy' when only AEDs were prescribed, 'pain' with co-prescription of opioids, and 'mood disorder' with co-prescription of antipsychotics or antidepressants. RESULTS: We identified 15,604 AED users. The prevalence of using AED increased from 9.3 (95% CI, 9-9.5) to 12.1 (11.8-12.4)/1000 persons. The incidence rate increased from 1.4 (1.3-1.6) to 1.7 (1.6-1.9)/1000 personyears. The monotherapy rate was 79-82%. AED use for 'epilepsy' declined by 19.7%, whereas the proportion of 'pain' and 'mood disorder' treatment increased by 11.2% and 8.4% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Antiepileptic drug utilization increased during the study period, the increase probably caused by expanding use in areas other than epilepsy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Club foot: a twin study.

The aetiology of congenital club foot is unclear. Although studies on populations, families and twins suggest a genetic component, the mode of inheritance does not comply with distinctive patterns. The Odense-based Danish Twin Registry contains data on all 73,000 twin pairs born in Denmark over the last 130 years. In 2002 all 46 418 twins born between 1931 and 1982 received a 17-page questionnaire, one question of which was 'Were you born with club foot?' A total of 94 twins answered 'Yes', giving an overall self-reported prevalence of congenital club foot of 0.0027 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.0022 to 0.0034). We identified 55 complete twin pairs, representing 12 monozygotic, 22 dizygotic same sex (DZss), 18 dizygotic other sex (DZos) and three unclassified. Two monozygotic and 2 DZss pairs were concordant. The pairwise concordance was 0.17 (95% CI 0.02 to 0.48) for monozygotic, 0.09 (95% CI 0.01 to 0.32) for DZss and 0.05 (95% CI 0.006 to 0.18) for all dizygotic (DZtot) twins. We have found evidence of a genetic component in congenital club foot, although non-genetic factors must play a predominant role.

Clubfoot↗
PubMed2005

Human exposure and internal dose assessments of acrylamide in food.

This review provides a framework contributing to the risk assessment of acrylamide in food. It is based on the outcome of the ILSI Europe FOSIE process, a risk assessment framework for chemicals in foods and adds to the overall framework by focusing especially on exposure assessment and internal dose assessment of acrylamide in food. Since the finding that acrylamide is formed in food during heat processing and preparation of food, much effort has been (and still is being) put into understanding its mechanism of formation, on developing analytical methods and determination of levels in food, and on evaluation of its toxicity and potential toxicity and potential human health consequences. Although several exposure estimations have been proposed, a systematic review of key information relevant to exposure assessment is currently lacking. The European and North American branches of the International Life Sciences Institute, ILSI, discussed critical aspects of exposure assessment, parameters influencing the outcome of exposure assessment and summarised data relevant to the acrylamide exposure assessment to aid the risk characterisation process. This paper reviews the data on acrylamide levels in food including its formation and analytical methods, the determination of human consumption patterns, dietary intake of the general population, estimation of maximum intake levels and identification of groups of potentially high intakes. Possible options and consequences of mitigation efforts to reduce exposure are discussed. Furthermore the association of intake levels with biomarkers of exposure and internal dose, considering aspects of bioavailability, is reviewed, and a physiologically-based toxicokinetic (PBTK) model is described that provides a good description of the kinetics of acrylamide in the rat. Each of the sections concludes with a summary of remaining gaps and uncertainties.

Acrylamide↗
PubMed2004

Significantly higher adrenocorticotropin-stimulated cortisol and 17-hydroxyprogesterone levels in 337 consecutive, premenopausal, caucasian, hirsute patients compared with healthy controls.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether elevated ACTH-stimulated 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17OHP) levels are caused by CYP21 genetic defects or by a general adrenal hyperresponsiveness in hirsute patients. METHODS: A total of 337 hirsute patients were evaluated by Ferriman-Gallwey score, serum testosterone, ACTH-stimulated 17OHP, and cortisol during the follicular phase. A cutoff value of 16 nmol/liter for maximum ACTH-stimulated 17OHP (M17OHP) responses was defined as the upper limit of the 95% confidence interval (CI) for the 97.5 percentile in 42 female controls. All patients were offered total screening of the CYP21 gene, and 252 healthy, premenopausal women with regular menses underwent genetic screening. RESULTS: Patients were divided into idiopathic hirsutism (IH) (n = 180) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) (n = 157) groups. M17OHP levels were significantly higher in IH [geometric mean value (nmol/liter +/- 2 sd) 12.2 (4.6-32.3)] and PCOS [11.9 (5.3-27.2)] compared with controls [8.5 (5.1-14.2)] (P < 0.001). A similar percentage of IH and PCOS patients had elevated M17OHP (20.5 vs. 20.8%, not significant), and these also had significantly higher 30-min cortisol levels compared with controls (P < 0.05). The prevalence of CYP21 mutations in patients was 8.6% compared with 6.3% in controls (P = 0.38). Ten of 19 carriers had M17OHP levels below the cutoff limit. CONCLUSION: The significantly higher ACTH-stimulated levels of cortisol and 17OHP in hirsute patients indicated adrenal hyperresponsiveness in IH and PCOS. CYP21-carrier status could not explain the observed high prevalence of abnormal ACTH-stimulated 17OHP levels in the hirsute population.

17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone↗
PubMed2004

Autologous fibrin glue with growth factors in reconstructive maxillofacial surgery.

The aim of this paper was to describe a method for the preparation of autologous fibrin glue with platelet growth factors and to report its use with particulate cancellous bone in reconstructive maxillofacial surgery. The fibrin glue is a two-component glue, where the one component is a concentrated fibrinogen solution with platelet growth factors and the other component is a thrombin solution. Both components were produced from the patients own blood, thus making the glue entirely autologous. The glue was prepared from platelet rich plasma separated from 200 ml of the patient's blood prior to the operation. The fibrinogen in the glue was precipitated from the platelet rich plasma by ethanol precipitation at low temperature and separated together with the platelets by centrifugation. Raising the temperature to 37 degrees C redissolved the precipitate. The thrombin solution in the glue was produced from prothrombin precipitated from 10 ml of the platelet rich plasma by lowering the pH and the ionic strength. The precipitate was separated by centrifugation and dissolved in a calcium ion solution. Increasing the pH to neutral value induced activation to thrombin. Preparation of the fibrin glue was performed in the blood bank within 60 to 90 min with the use of standard equipment. The outcome from 200 ml of blood was approximately 8 ml of fibrin glue: 6 ml fibrinogen to be coagulated with 2 ml of thrombin. The glue had a fibrinogen concentration of approximately 12 times the value in platelet rich plasma and the concentration of growth factors was approximately eight times the value in platelet rich plasma. We have used this glue successfully with particulate bone grafts for reconstructive purposes within the oral and maxillofacial field. It might as well be applied to other surgical areas. Whenever larger amount of the glue will be needed, a whole unit of blood may be taken from the patient, and the red cells re-transfused to the patient during or after the operation.

Blood Platelets↗
PubMed2004

Incisional local anaesthesia versus placebo for pain relief after appendectomy in children--a double-blinded controlled randomised trial.

Incisional local anaesthesia is widely used for postoperative pain relief after surgery. We present the results of a double-blinded and randomised controlled study of incisional bupivacaine versus placebo in 68 children undergoing open appendectomy. The trial medicine (0.5 ml/kg) was infiltrated into the subcutis after wound closure. Patients with a weight below 40 kg received a bupivacaine concentration of 0.25 % and the patients above 40 kg a concentration of 0.5 %. During the first 24 hours after surgery the patients in the bupivacaine group received on average 0.065 mg morphine/kg and in the placebo group 0.073 mg/kg. This difference was not statistically significant. The patients in the bupivacaine group tended to experience pain relief for a longer period of time compared to the patients in the placebo group. However, the difference was not significant. In conclusion, the use of subcutaneous infiltration with bupivacaine in the wound after open appendectomy had no significant effect on the use of morphine during the first postoperative day in children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Morphometric X-ray absorptiometry: reference data for vertebral dimensions in a population-based sample of young Danish men.

PURPOSE: To determine reference values for vertebral heights in healthy young Danish males using morphometric X-ray absorptiometry (MXA). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A population-based study group of 487 males aged between 20 and 30 years (mean 25 years) from the county of Funen, Denmark, were recruited. Using a Hologic QDR 4500 (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry) DXA-scanner, MXA scans covering the vertebrae from T4 to L4 were acquired for each subject. Anterior (Ha), middle (Hm), and posterior (Hp) heights of the thoracic (T4-T12) and lumbar (L1-L4) vertebral bodies were measured. Moreover, wedge, mid-wedge, crush I, and crush II ratios were calculated. RESULTS: No correlation between vertebral dimensions and crush indices on the one hand and age or weight on the other were found. Body height, however, correlated significantly with the cumulated vertebral heights. Reference data for vertebral dimensions, wedge, mid-wedge, crush I, and crush II are tabulated. CONCLUSION: The anterior, middle, and posterior heights of the vertebral bodies of T4 to L4 can be measured reproducible with MXA. In young men, the cumulative vertebral heights correlated with body height but not with age. Moreover, the wedge and crush indices were unrelated of both age and height.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗
PubMed2004

Dose-, IGF-I- and sex-dependent changes in lipid profile and body composition during GH replacement therapy in adult onset GH deficiency.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with GH deficiency of adult onset (GHDA) exhibit dyslipidaemia and increased cardiovascular morbidity. GH replacement potently reduces body fat and serum lipids in GHDA. In recent years, lower GH doses have been introduced. The purpose of this analysis was to explore the response relationship between GH doses, lipids and body composition. DESIGN: Two consecutive, randomized 12-month GH replacement studies covering placebo and three different doses of GH (0.5, 1.0 and 1.7 IU/m(2) per day). Low and intermediate doses were IGF-I titrated. PATIENTS: Fifty-eight patients with severe GHDA, not previously treated with GH and stably substituted for other endocrine deficiencies, were included in the study. METHODS: Serum lipoproteins, serum IGF-I and body composition analysis by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) were used. RESULTS: Fifty-seven percent of patients exhibited low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels above 4.16 mmol/l, corresponding to the American Heart Association threshold of 160 mg/dl. GH treatment resulted in significant decreases in total and LDL cholesterol, with no significant change in high density lipoprotein cholesterol or triglycerides. The low dose induced no significant changes in lipid levels, whereas the medium dose reduced LDL cholesterol and the high dose decreased both LDL and total cholesterol. The effects depended significantly on the GH dose and the level of IGF-I obtained, but not on gender. GH replacement induced dose-dependent reductions in fat mass and sex-dependent increases in lean mass. CONCLUSIONS: GH given for 1 year at a dosage between 0.5 and 1.7 IU/m(2) per day reduced fat mass in a dose-dependent manner, increased lean body mass and lowered total and LDL cholesterol in patients with severe GHDA. Low dose GH treatment with normal IGF-I levels induced smaller changes compared with high dose therapy, and may need a longer treatment time.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed2003

The validity of the depression rating scales in discriminating between citalopram and placebo in depression recurrence in the maintenance therapy of elderly unipolar patients with major depression.

The World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry guidelines for treatment of unipolar major depression has recommended three depression rating scales for evaluating outcome: The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), and the Bech-Rafaelsen Melancholia Scale (MES). In this study we evaluated the ability of these scales to differentiate between citalopram and placebo in the recurrence prevention of unipolar depression. The study is a psychometric reexamination of a trial on the efficacy of citalopram versus placebo in the maintenance therapy of elderly patients with unipolar depression. Internal validity (the Cronbach coefficient alpha, the Loevinger coefficient of homogeneity, and factor analysis) of the three scales has been examined to evaluate their unidimensionality. In the outcome analysis for depression recurrence, the conventional cutoff scores of the three scales are used. In total, 60 patients received citalopram and 61 patients received placebo in the maintenance phase of 48 weeks. The results showed that the internal validity was higher for MES and MADRS than for HAM-D. Using the MADRS, 67.2 % of the patients on placebo and 31.6 % of the patients on citalopram developed a depression recurrence (ratio 2.12); using HAM-D17, 42.6 % on placebo and 13.3 % on citalopram developed a depression recurrence (ratio 3.20); and using the MES, 34.4 % on placebo and 11.7 % on citalopram developed a depression recurrence (ratio 2.94). The conventional cutoff scores of HAM-D17 and MES for depression recurrence indicated a ratio between citalopram and placebo of around 3, while the conventional cutoff scores of MADRS for depression recurrence indicated a ratio of only around 2. In future trials on the recurrence prevention of unipolar depression, a cutoff score of 25 rather than 22 on the MADRS is recommended.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Statins and risk of polyneuropathy: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Several case reports and a single epidemiologic study indicate that use of statins occasionally may have a deleterious effect on the peripheral nervous system. The authors therefore performed a population-based study to estimate the relative risk of idiopathic polyneuropathy in users of statins. METHOD: The authors used a population-based patient registry to identify first-time-ever cases of idiopathic polyneuropathy registered in the 5-year period 1994 to 1998. For each case, validated according to predefined criteria, 25 control subjects were randomly selected among subjects from the background population matched for age, sex, and calendar time. The authors used a prescription register to assess exposure to drugs and estimated the odds ratio of use of statins (ever and current use) in cases of idiopathic polyneuropathy compared with control subjects. RESULTS: The authors verified a diagnosis of idiopathic polyneuropathy in 166 cases. The cases were classified as definite (35), probable (54), or possible (77). The odds ratio linking idiopathic polyneuropathy with statin use was 3.7 (95% CI 1.8 to 7.6) for all cases and 14.2 (5.3 to 38.0) for definite cases. The corresponding odds ratios in current users were 4.6 (2.1 to 10.0) for all cases and 16.1 (5.7 to 45.4) for definite cases. For patients treated with statins for 2 or more years the odds ratio of definite idiopathic polyneuropathy was 26.4 (7.8 to 45.4). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term exposure to statins may substantially increase the risk of polyneuropathy.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Indirect evidence for decreased hypothalamic somatostatinergic tone in anorexia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: In animals, somatostatin (SRIH) and growth hormone (GH)-releasing hormone (GHRH) increase feeding via a common neural mechanism. Furthermore, SRIH counteracts the suppressive action of corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) on food intake. Hypothetically, SRIH could be involved in the central feeding mechanism in anorexia nervosa (AN). Peripheral administration of pyridostigmine (PD) minimizes the release of hypothalamic SRIH. DESIGN: To study the influence of hypothalamic somatostatinergic inhibition on the exaggerated somatotroph responsiveness to GHRH in patients with severe AN, two GHRH stimulation tests were performed in random order following pretreatment with placebo or PD 2 mg/kg body weight in 13 patients and in 10 age-matched healthy controls. The test procedure was repeated in the patients after weight gain. RESULTS: In controls, PD potentiated the GHRH-stimulated GH rise but this effect was absent in AN patients. The relative potentiating effect of PD was inversely correlated to cortisol excretion levels and positively correlated to leptin serum levels. After weight gain the relative PD effect increased twofold. CONCLUSION: The pyridostigmine-GHRH responsive pattern points indirectly to greater SRIH withdrawal and greater GHRH release in anorexia nervosa. Moreover, hypothalamic SRIH activity seems to be inversely related to cortisol levels, indirectly supporting the hypothesis that SRIH and CRH neuronal activity are inversely related in anorexia nervosa. Leptin, which is believed to act on hypothalamic feeding mechanisms, seems to be positively related to SRIH activity. Finally, the present data demonstrate that the potentiating effect of pyridostigmine in anorexia nervosa is related to body mass index and increases upon weight gain, suggesting that the low somatostatinergic tone is not primary but is related to the weight loss.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Evaluation of the optimum dose of growth hormone (GH) for restoring bone mass in adult-onset GH deficiency: results from two 12-month randomized studies.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the optimum GH dose for restoring bone mineral density (BMD) in adult-onset GH deficiency (GHDA). DESIGN: Two separate randomized, controlled clinical trials. PATIENTS: Fifty-eight adults aged 45.1 (20-64) years with severe GHDA were followed in two 12-month studies. In the first study, patients were randomized to placebo or GH 1.7 IU/m2/day and in the second study GH 0.5 IU/m2/day or 1.0 IU/m2/day. MEASUREMENTS: BMD of the spine, hip, forearm and whole body was measured at 0 and 12 months. Alkaline phosphatase (AP) and collagen markers serum C-terminal propeptide of type I collagen (PICP), type I collagen telopeptide (ICTP) and N-terminal propeptide of type III collagen (PIIINP) were measured at baseline and every 3 months. RESULTS: Biochemical markers of skeletal and soft tissue collagen increased significantly and remained elevated throughout the study period. BMD changes depended on site, dose and gender. In placebo-treated patients, spinal BMD declined by 2.5%. At the low and medium doses, BMD increased by 2.4 and 3.1%, respectively, while a nonsignificant 0.2% decrease was seen with high dose. Forearm BMD decreased by 4.9% (P < 0.05) with high-dose treatment but remained unchanged at lower doses. Males showed larger gains in BMD, but the dose-response relationship was similar in males and females. CONCLUSION: A GH dose of 0.5-1.0 IU/m2/day (4-9 micro g/kg/day) stimulated bone remodelling and increased BMD over 12 months in patients with severe GHDA, irrespective of gender. A higher dose (1.7 IU/m2/day congruent with 15 micro g/kg/day) was associated with initial declines in forearm and whole-body BMD.

Adenoma↗
PubMed2002

Pilot-scale testing membrane bioreactor for wastewater reclamation in industrial laundry.

A pilot-scale study of membrane bioreactor treatment for reclamation of wastewater from Berendsen Textile Service industrial laundry in Søborg, Denmark was carried out over a 4 month period. A satisfactory COD degradation was performed resulting in a low COD in the permeate (< 50 mg/l). To obtain satisfactory treatment, addition of nitrogen was necessary. The biodegradability of the permeate was very low (BOD5 < 2 mg/l). A hydraulic retention time of 1 d turned out to be sufficient at a sludge concentration of 10 g MLSS/l. Through addition of a cationic polymer, a satisfactory dewaterability of the sludge was reached. Membrane tests showed that operating at a trans-membrane pressure of 3 bar and a cross-flow velocity of 4 m/s, a flux of 120 l/m2h can be expected without using chemicals for membrane cleaning. The quality of the permeate was very good when comparing to the reuse quality demands of water to the wash processes. Reuse of the permeate in all rinsing steps requires additional treatment through reverse osmosis.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗
PubMed2001

Observation of islands of stability in soft wall atom-optics billiards.

We report on numerical and experimental observations of islands of stability induced in a Bunimovich stadium atom-optics billiard by a soft wall repulsive potential. A deviation from exponential decay of the survival probability of atoms in an open billiard is observed, and explained by the presence of these stable islands and a sticky region surrounding them. We also investigate islands in dispersing billiards with soft walls, and predict a new mechanism for their formation.

Journal Article↗