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Biomedical subjects

S Eriksson

Publications and source records attributed to S Eriksson.

At least 307 records · Page 17Linked to original sources

High prevalence of autoimmune liver disease in patients with multiple nuclear dot, anti-centromere, and mitotic spindle antibodies.

We used HEp-2 cells to compare the occurrence of multiple nuclear dot (MND), anti-centromere (ACA), and mitotic spindle antibodies (MSA) in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) (n = 32) and primary Sjögren's syndrome (n = 50). The predictive value of these antibodies for autoimmune liver disease was evaluated among patients with chronic liver or inflammatory connective tissue diseases. MND were found in 6%, ACA in 10%, and MSA in 6% of PBC sera. Among patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome, ACA were found in one, whereas another had both MND and MSA. MND were also detected in 1 of 25 sera from patients with other chronic inflammatory connective tissue diseases. Reexamination of these three patients showed evidence of PBC in two. In a blinded study of sera from 356 patients with chronic liver diseases, MND were detected in 10 (3%), ACA in 2 (0.9%), and MSA in 4 (1.2%). All patients with MND or ACA and two of four with MSA had PBC or autoimmune chronic active hepatitis, particularly of the cholestatic type. In four of these patients the liver disease had not previously been classified. We conclude that these antibodies have low sensitivity but high predictive value for autoimmune, cholestatic liver disease.

Aged↗

Endoscopic screening during 17 years for gastric stump carcinoma. A prospective clinical trial.

In an attempt to reduce mortality in gastric stump carcinoma a defined cohort of operated peptic ulcer patients was followed up with an endoscopic screening programme. From 1930 and through 1960, 1575 patients were operated on for peptic ulcer disease at the Dept. of Surgery in Lund, Sweden. Of 838 still alive in January 1973, 682 were selected for geographical reasons and were offered endoscopic screening with biopsy at regular intervals. Three hundred and fifty-four patients came to the first examination. The follow-up programme was individualized thereafter with screening at 1- to 3-year intervals, depending on endoscopic and histologic findings. The remaining patients have, since then, constituted a control group, followed up only through death certificates and the Swedish Cancer Registry. By December 1989, 202 patients in the screening group had died and 320 in the control group. During the 17 years of follow-up 12 patients in the screening group died of gastric cancer, compared with 14 in the control group, even though 17 cases of early gastric cancer were diagnosed and operated on in the first group, compared with only 2 in the latter. We conclude that regular endoscopic screening does not reduce gastric cancer mortality and can thus not be recommended in asymptomatic patients previously subjected to partial gastric resection due to peptic ulcer disease.

Adult↗

Vocational rehabilitation in northern Sweden. II. Some psycho-socio-demographic predictors.

In this prospective investigation a consecutively referred series of vocational rehabilitation clients was studied using eleven socio-demographic and psycho-social items. Subjected to a factor analyses these items were included in five factors which explained 74% of the variance. By discriminant analysis the items could correctly classify 57% of those subjects who faced major vocational changes or were vocationally inactive. The level of experienced health and belief in vocational return had the heaviest overall predictive impact. The findings may help specialists in medical and vocational rehabilitation to estimate the likelihood of vocational return for somatically impaired subjects.

Persons with Disabilities↗

Direct photoaffinity-labelling of human deoxycytidine kinase with the feedback inhibitor dCTP.

Deoxycytidine kinase (dCyd kinase, EC 2.7.1.74) is a key enzyme in the salvage pathway of deoxyribonucleosides, and the human enzyme is a dimer of two 30 kDa polypeptides with a broad substrate specificity, phosphorylating both purine and pyrimidine nucleosides and using various nucleoside triphosphates as phosphate donors. The enzyme is efficiently feedback-inhibited by dCTP, which presumably is the main regulator of its activity in vivo. Submicromolar concentrations of [32P]dCTP could be used for direct photoaffinity labelling of pure dCyd kinase isolated from leukaemic spleen. A clearcut saturation of photoincorporation occurred with half-maximal incorporation at 0.07 microM-dCTP. However, the total molar incorporation of dCTP was very low (approx. 0.1%), in part due to a substantial u.v. inactivation of the enzyme. Proteinase digestion of labelled enzyme showed that dCTP was incorporated predominantly into a single peptide. Addition of equimolar concentrations of dCyd or dCMP as compared with dCTP inhibited photoincorporation approx. 50%. The presence of other nucleoside substrates, as well as phosphate donors, also inhibited photolabelling of the enzyme. Thus photoincorporation of dCTP seems to occur at a site which can bind both the phosphate donors and acceptors of dCyd kinase, which strongly support the hypothesis that dCTP functions as a multi-substrate analogue, binding and bridging both substrate sites of the enzyme.

Affinity Labels↗

Selective inactivation of the deoxyadenosine phosphorylating activity of pure human deoxycytidine kinase: stabilization of different forms of the enzyme by substrates and biological detergents.

Deoxycytidine kinase, purified from human leukemic spleen to apparent homogeneity, is a multisubstrate enzyme that also phosphorylates purine deoxyribonucleosides [Bohman & Eriksson (1988) Biochemistry 27, 4258-4265]. In the present investigation we show that the stability and temperature dependence of dCyd kinase activity differed appreciably from the dAdo kinase activity of the same pure enzyme. Selective inactivation of dAdo activity was observed upon an incubation of the enzyme at both 4 and 37 degrees C. The half-life of dAdo activity at 4 degrees C increased from 36 to 84 h, when the protein concentration was increased by addition of bovine serum albumin. However, the half-life of dCyd activity increased from 72 h to more than 7 days under the same conditions. dCyd activity was stable for at least 6 h at 37 degrees C while the half-life of dAdo activity was 2 h. The presence of substrates like ATP, dTTP, or dAdo stabilized dAdo activity at both temperatures, and full maintenance of both activities at 37 degrees C was obtained by the addition of the zwitterionic detergent CHAPS. Furthermore, thermal inactivation of the dAdo activity occurred at a lower temperature (48 degrees C) as compared to the dCyd activity (54 degrees C). The presence of protease inhibitors had no effect on enzyme inactivation, nor was there a difference in the subunit structure of the selectively inactivated enzyme as compared to the fully active form, as revealed by size-exclusion chromatography.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cholic Acids↗

Prognosis after stroke in diabetic patients. A controlled prospective study.

Cohorts of diabetic (n = 121) and non-diabetic (n = 584) patients were prospectively followed for up to ten years after having suffered from a stroke. All but six of the diabetic patients had Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. The diabetic patients had more risk factors associated with stroke: heart failure (p less than 0.001) and angina pectoris (p less than 0.001), than the non-diabetic patients. Neither body mass index nor blood pressure levels differed between the groups at admission. Haematocrit levels were higher in the diabetic group (p less than 0.01). The diabetic patients were more commonly afflicted by cerebral embolism and to a lesser extent by transient ischaemic attacks than the non-diabetic patients. When calculated by log-rank tests, the diabetic group had an increased risk of death (p less than 0.001), recurrent stroke (p = 0.001), and of myocardial infarction (p = 0.001) after the initial stroke. Autopsy-verified causes of death between the groups did not differ significantly, although half of all deaths during the period one to six months after stroke were caused by pulmonary embolism in the diabetic group. Thus, diabetes increases the risk of death after a stroke, and it also increases among stroke survivors the risk of recurrent stroke and myocardial infarction.

Cerebrovascular Disorders↗

Histology of gastric biopsies from peptic ulcer patients before and after short-term treatment with omeprazole or H2-receptor antagonists.

Sixty patients with duodenal or prepyloric ulcers were given omeprazole (30 or 40 mg o.m.; average period of treatment: 2.9 weeks) or histamine H2-receptor antagonists (cimetidine 400 mg b.i.d. or ranitidine 150 mg b.i.d.; average period of treatment; 3.5 weeks) for a single period ranging between 2 and 6 weeks. At the end of the treatment period fasting plasma gastrin levels were moderately increased in both groups in comparison with the pretreatment values. Endoscopic biopsies were taken from the oxyntic mucosa at the beginning and at the end of the treatment period. Light microscopy of the biopsies was aimed particularly at determining the number of endocrine cells. In addition, the mucosal thickness and the volume densities of the parietal cells, the lamina propria and the gland lumina were measured. There were no significant differences in the endocrine or parietal cell populations, between biopsies taken from the patients before and after treatment with omeprazole or histamine H2-receptor antagonists. The mucosal thickness and the densities of the lamina propria and of the gland lumina remained unaffected by the treatment.

Adult↗

Discovery of alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency.

The author reviews the early history of alpha 1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency; the biochemical characterization of this inborn error of metabolism, its pattern of inheritance, frequency and predisposition to early, panacinar emphysema. The importance of the destructive element in emphysema and the gradual focusing on neutrophil elastase as a key enzyme in the pathogenesis of emphysema in alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency is emphasized. The deficiency state as a prototype of an endoplasmic reticulum storage disease is discussed.

Humans↗

Staff interaction with vocally disruptive demented patients compared with demented controls.

This study addressed the effect of social isolation on vocally disruptive demented patients (V); the results center on the amount of time patients spent in interactions, and the differences in type and time of staff-patient interaction (IA), compared to controls (C). Semi-structured observations were collected (1100 hours) for 37 vocally disruptive patients and 37 controls, all residents of psychogeriatric wards. Quantitative analysis revealed a low frequency of interactions, elicited mainly for procedural matters and short duration of most interaction episodes. Multiple regression analysis showed a significant difference in the type of interaction: there was more correction of undesired behaviour for vocally disruptive patients than for controls. The results show that social isolation is part of the institutionalized demented patients' life. The dominance of short interaction episodes could contribute to overstimulation. The only significant difference found was the frequency of corrective interactions in the group of vocally disruptive patients. We conclude that this is not the cause of their behaviour, but it may reinforce it. Other factors that might cause and maintain this behaviour require investigation.

Aged↗

The role of sex and age in yeast cell phagocytosis by monocytes from healthy blood donors.

Possible sex differences and possible age decline of monocyte phagocytosis was studied in healthy blood donors (n = 306). Monocytes from women phagocytosed yeast cells more efficiently than monocytes from men, but the difference was slight. The sex difference was located mainly in the adherence step of phagocytosis. In contrast, no age decline in monocyte phagocytosis could be demonstrated within the age range (18--65 years) represented by healthy blood donors. It is suggested that sex difference and age decline are negligible in the phagocytosis by monocytes from healthy blood donors.

Adolescent↗

The metabolism and bioavailability of morphine in patients with severe liver cirrhosis.

1. The oral and intravenous kinetics of morphine were investigated in seven cirrhotic patients with a history of encephalopathy. The plasma concentrations of morphine and its metabolites morphine-3 (M3G) and morphine-6 (M6G) were measured by h.p.l.c. 2. The mean terminal elimination half-life of morphine was 4.2 h (95% CI 3.6-4.8) the mean volume of distribution was 4.1 l kg-1 (95% CI 2.9-5.4) and the mean plasma clearance was 11.4 ml min-1 kg-1 (95% CI 8.1-14.7). The mean oral bioavailability was 101% (95% CI 56-147). 3. The plasma clearance of morphine was significantly lower, its terminal elimination half-life longer and its oral bioavailability greater in the cirrhotic patients compared with patients with normal liver function. The metabolic ratio M3G/morphine was significantly lower in the cirrhotic patients than in control subjects after oral dosing, but did not differ after intravenous dosing. 4. The average urinary recoveries of morphine plus M3G and M6G were 49.9% after i.v. and 57.7% after oral administration. There were no statistically significant differences in the urinary recovery between the two routes of administration or between the cirrhotic patients and controls. 5. Specific changes in the EEG pattern could not be detected after intravenous dosage. 6. The metabolism of morphine is impaired significantly in patients with severe cirrhosis. Clinically important findings were a high oral bioavailability and a long elimination half-life. These findings call for cautious dosing of oral and intravenous morphine in patients with severe end stage liver disease.

Administration, Oral↗

Hepatocyte inclusions of alpha 1-antichymotrypsin in a patient with partial deficiency of alpha 1-antichymotrypsin and chronic liver disease.

We present a case of chronic liver disease with selective and exclusive hepatocyte endoplasmic reticulum storage of alpha 1-antichymotrypsin in the form of granules, detected by specific immunohistochemistry at the light microscopy level and corresponding to material found in dilated endoplasmic reticulum of hepatocytes by electron microscopy. The patient had intermediate deficiency of alpha 1-antichymotrypsin. Thus, the hepatocyte accumulation of alpha 1-antichymotrypsin may indicate the presence of an export block resembling that of a closely-related protein, namely PiZ alpha 1-antitrypsin. It is proposed that hepatocyte storage of alpha 1-antichymotrypsin may be an expression of an inborn error of metabolism bearing the characteristics of endoplasmic reticulum storage diseases such as PiZ alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency and hereditary hypofibrinogenaemia.

Chronic Disease↗

A comparison between the care of vocally disruptive patients and that of other residents at psychogeriatric wards.

This study aimed at examining the relationship between the occurrence of vocally disruptive behaviour and the care of demented patients. The results presented here focus on the contents of the patient's daily life provided by the staff. In all the psychogeriatric wards within one county council, having patients identified as vocally disruptive, 37 patients exhibiting this behaviour and 37 controls were studied. Semistructured continuous observations for 15 hours per patient (7.00 a.m.-10.00 p.m.) were made. Data from a previous report revealed that the vocally disruptive patients were more physically dependent on the staff as compared to controls. However, the physical care provided did not differ significantly. The patients spent 21% of the observed time in caring activities, mainly physical care, 18% of the time they were sleeping or dozing, and 71% of the observed time they were left to themselves and reduced to inactivity and solitude. Regression analysis disclosed that only the amount of activating care in a group was significantly related to the vocally disruptive behaviour. Hence the data support the idea that understimulation is present in the demented patient's life but it can hardly be the cause of the behaviour. However, the environment might contribute to the occurrence and maintenance of vocally disruptive behaviour.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Heterozygous alpha 1-antichymotrypsin and PiZ alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency. Prevalence and clinical spectrum in asthmatic children.

In a case-control study we compared the prevalence of heterozygous deficiency of two closely related anti-neutrophil protease inhibitors, alpha 1-antitrypsin and alpha 1-antichymotrypsin, in 172 consecutive children with asthma. In a cohort study the clinical spectrum and severity were compared. On the basis of family studies 5/172 (2.9%) were classified as heterozygotes for alpha 1-antichymotrypsin deficiency, a high prevalence compared with that of an unselected adult population (prevalence ratio 4.5 (1.7-11.9), P less than 0.005). This finding suggests that the carrier state of this rare allele (prevalence 0.64%) may predispose to asthma in children. Among these heterozygous patients the prevalence of positive RAST tests for foodstuffs was significantly increased (prevalence ratio 4.8 (1.7-13.2), P less than 0.005) and 2/5 manifested food allergy with Quincke oedema. Either the PiMZ or SZ phenotype of alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency was found in 12 (7.0%) of the 172 patients, a prevalence similar to that of a normal population (prevalence ratio 1.3 (0.67-2.6), P = 0.44). However, the asthma was more severe among the Z allele carriers, judged by the number of hospital admissions, compared with the non-Z asthmatic children (mean 2.92 vs. 1.72, P less than 0.05). The results indicate that heterozygous deficiency of protease inhibitors directed against neutrophil proteases may affect the severity and clinical spectrum of childhood asthma, and to some degree be predisposing.

Asthma↗

Prevalence and characteristics of persons with dependency on feeding at institutions for elderly.

The prevalence of dependency on feeding was estimated in 3,607 residents cared for in old people's homes, nursing homes, somatic long-stay clinics, psychiatric long-stay wards and psychogeriatric wards. Ten per cent of the residents were found to be dependent on the staff to eat. The highest proportion was found in nursing homes and somatic long-stay clinics. A considerably larger proportion of the residents with dependency on assisted feeding imposed the highest workload on the staff. Residents who were totally dependent on assisted feeding were more disabled with regard to other ADL functions and also they were demented more often. Loss of the ability to eat was related to an inability in other ADL functions. Support was gained for a hierarchical loss of ADL functions as suggested by Katz & Apkom. Feeding problems seem to be a terminal phenomenon in demented patients.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Survival after liver transplantation of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis in the Nordic countries. Comparison with expected survival in another series of transplantations and in an international trial of medical treatment.

Until December 1988, 38 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) had been transplanted in the Nordic countries. The observed survival probability in accordance with Kaplan-Meier analysis was around 75% 2-3 months after surgery, with few deaths during the next 3 years. The observed survival curve was compared with the expected survival calculated from the experience of a recent English PBC transplant series; the patterns are very similar. Secondly, the observed survival was compared with the expected survival curve, calculated from the survival experience of an international trial of medical treatment--that is, the expected survival had the patients not been transplanted; after the first 2-3 months the observed survival stayed better than the expected survival. Finally, the merits of transplantation for each particular patient was evaluated by means of the ratio of probability of survival when transplanted to probability of survival when medically treated 3, 6, and 8 months after surgery. The ratio increased with time, indicating a relative increase in the benefit of transplantation with time after surgery.

Denmark↗