Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R L Somers

Publications and source records attributed to R L Somers.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

Repeat abortion in Denmark: an analysis based on national record linkage.

The abortion registration system maintained by the Danish government permits an analysis of abortion incidence by individual. Using computer techniques to sort all the abortion records for the 15-month period from October 1973, when the abortion law was liberalized, through December 1974, it has been possible to determine the rate of repeat abortion and some demographic variables associated with it. Of the women who experienced induced abortion in the period under study, 2.92 percent had more than one abortion. Repeat abortion was found to be more frequent among women aged 20-34 and among women with a greater number of pregnancies, live births, and induced abortions prior to the change in law. A higher rate of repeat abortion was observed in urban areas. The overall rate of repeat abortion is consistent with a high level of contraceptive effectiveness.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed1976

The impact of liberalized abortion legislation on contraceptive practice in Denmark.

During the fifteen months following the 1973 Danish abortion legislation, the mean annual rate of induced abortion was 23 per 1,000 women aged 15-44 compared with a mean annual rate of 14.5 during the 15 preceding months. Though use of legal abortion has increased, the rate is not of a magnitude to suggest large-scale abandonment of contraception. On the contrary, preconceptive fertility control continues to be widely practiced.

Abortion, Legal↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Light-dependent phosphorylation of rhodopsin by beta-adrenergic receptor kinase.

The structural components involved in transduction of extracellular signals as diverse as a photon of light impinging on the retina or a hormone molecule impinging on a cell have been highly conserved. These components include a recognition unit or receptor (for example, the beta-adrenergic receptor (beta AR) for catecholamines or the 'light receptor' rhodopsin), a guanine nucleotide regulatory or transducing protein, and an effector enzyme (for example, adenylate cyclase or cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase). Molecular cloning has revealed that the beta AR shares significant sequence and three-dimensional homology with rhodopsin. The function of the beta AR is diminished by exposure to stimulatory agonists, leading to desensitization. Similarly, 'light adaptation' involves decreased coupling of photoactivated rhodopsin to cGMP phosphodiesterase activation. Both forms of desensitization involve receptor phosphorylation. The latter is mediated by a unique protein kinase, rhodopsin kinase, which phosphorylates only the light-bleached form of rhodopsin. An analogous enzyme (termed beta AR kinase or beta ARK) phosphorylates only the agonist-occupied beta AR. We report here that beta ARK is also capable of phosphorylating rhodopsin in a totally light-dependent fashion. Moreover, rhodopsin kinase can phosphorylate the agonist-occupied beta AR. Thus the mechanisms which regulate the function of these disparate signalling systems also appear to be similar.

Animals↗