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Biomedical subjects

M Nordberg

Publications and source records attributed to M Nordberg.

130 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
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Is there a relation between waiting-list length and surgery rate?

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the differences in waiting-list lengths between hospitals can result from differences in demand for surgery. We compared waiting-list lengths for seven surgical procedures to the rates of these procedures. The numbers of procedures were obtained from the 1987 Finnish Hospital Discharge Register, and the numbers of patients on the waiting lists were obtained from an inquiry made to Finnish hospitals in 1987. Correlation coefficients were calculated between population-based waiting-list lengths and procedure rates. Significant, positive correlations were found between population-based waiting-list lengths and rates for operations on hallux valgus, for herniorrhaphy and for hysterectomy. Rates for cholecystectomy and haemorrhoidectomy were also positively correlated with waiting-list lengths, but these correlations were not statistically significant. There was no correlation for varicose-vein operations, and a negative correlation for cataract extraction. These results suggest that insufficient resources are not the only reason for long waiting lists; but, both long waiting lists and a high rate of surgery can result from a high demand for surgery, influenced by physicians' decisions. If the waiting list is long because surgical treatment is preferred, the answer is not necessarily to increase resources, but to examine critically the indications for surgery.

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Toxicokinetics and biochemistry of cadmium with special emphasis on the role of metallothionein.

Cadmium is a toxic metal with extremely long biological half-time of 15-20 years in humans. It has for decades been known that cadmium exposure can cause a variety of adverse health effects, among which kidney dysfunction, lung diseases, disturbed calcium metabolism and bone effects are most prominent. Following long term exposure the kidney is the critical organ. Cadmium and its compounds give rise to lung cancer after inhalation and have been classified as human carcinogens. Metallothionein (MT) is a low-molecular -weight protein, 6500Da with high cysteine content and high metal affinity, which plays a major role in the kinetics and metabolism of cadmium. The balance between CdMT and non-bound Cd in renal tissue has been shown to be of crucial importance for expression of toxicity. The most well studied metallothioneins are metallothioneins I and II with their isoforms which are expressed in almost all mammalian tissues. Metallothionein III is expressed in brain and is rich in zinc. Since the blood-brain barrier keeps Cd outside the CNS, reported neurotoxic effects of Cd during development are likely to be secondary to an interference of Cd with Zn-metabolism and not a direct effect of Cd on brain cells. It is therefore of importance to investigate whether neurotoxicity induced by cadmium is related to mechanisms involving MT III in brain.

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