Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S Sarna

Publications and source records attributed to S Sarna.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

XbaI polymorphism of the apolipoprotein B gene influences plasma lipid response to diet intervention.

Fresh blood samples were collected from 103 North Karelians who had in 1981-84 participated in dietary intervention studies and analysis of the XbaI restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of apolipoprotein B (apoB) was carried out. Reanalysis of the original plasma lipid and apolipoprotein data indicated that while baseline concentrations did not differ significantly between genotypes, the response to a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet was influenced by apoB XbaI genotype: reductions in total and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, apoB and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were greater in subjects homo- or heterozygous for the presence of the XbaI cutting site (X1X2 or X2X2 genotype, designated X2+) as compared to those lacking the cutting site (X1X1 genotype, designated X2-). The corresponding average reductions induced by dietary intervention in X2+ and X2- subjects were: for total cholesterol 1.30 and 0.99 mmol/l (p = 0.036), for LDL cholesterol 1.04 and 0.78 mmol/l (p = 0.049), for apoB 18.3 and 8.1 mg/100 ml (p = 0.012) and for HDL cholesterol 0.26 and 0.17 mmol/l (p = 0.008).

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Adoptive immunotherapy of tumor in mice in combination with cyclophosphamide.

Cyclophosphamide causes temporary regression of Dalton's lymphoma when injected at palpable stage. Dose-dependent response to cyclophosphamide was analyzed. Low dose was found to be most effective as compared to the high dose. Adoptive transfer of immunized splenocytes after cyclophosphamide therapy protects the animals from the danger of reappearance of tumor. Such combination therapy is proved to be effective in causing complete and permanent regression of tumor in majority of the treated animals.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Significance of rheumatoid factors in an eight-year longitudinal study on arthritis.

A community-based cohort comprising 150 patients with recent-onset seropositive arthritis or seronegative oligoarthritis or polyarthritis was monitored for 8 years. Of the different rheumatoid factor (RF) tests, the initial positivity in the most sensitive assays (latex slide test and IgM-RF by enzyme immunoassay) was the most reliable factor when distinguishing between the erosive and nonerosive cases. The individual RF isotypes fluctuated in four serial specimens, but each patient tended to preserve his or her reactivity pattern. Seroconversion from positive to negative within the 1st year of follow-up did not indicate a particularly good long-term prognosis.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1988

Shared genes, shared experiences, and similarity of personality: data from 14,288 adult Finnish co-twins.

Similarities for Extraversion (E) and Neuroticism (N) scale scores from the Eysenck Personality Inventory were evaluated in 7,144 adult twin pairs, drawn from the population-based Finnish Twin Cohort, as a function of the co-twins' genetic resemblance, gender, age, and the frequency of their social interaction with each other. To separate effects of shared genes from those of shared experience, we performed hierarchical multiple regressions of double-entry data matrices. Results establish the predictive significance of both genetic and experiential influences: Genetic effects remained significant when tested after the effects of social contact were first removed; conversely, for N scores, the effects of social contact remained significant when assessed after genetic influences were first removed. These findings establish genetic variance in major dimensions of adult personality but assign a significant role to common experience as well. The first finding constructively replicates reports by others; the second challenges the widespread assumption that shared experiences have a negligible impact on sibling similarity in adult personality.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Sports injuries in a large urban population: occurrence and epidemiological aspects.

Most studies reporting on sports injuries have been investigations of specific types and locations in specific sports events and levels. This study aims at outlining the features of sports injuries in general regardless of type, severity, or treatment during 1 year among the adult population of the Greater Helsinki area (pop. 600,000). This study was carried out in cooperation with the Central Statistical Office, which in 1980 performed a nationwide survey aimed at outlining the incidence and features of accidents occurring in Finland. The actual data from this study concerning sports injuries in the Greater Helsinki area was broken down and further analyzed. During the actual time period under investigation, an estimated 40,380 acute sports injuries occurred in the area. Based on this estimate, the calculated occurrence of sports injuries was found to be 670 +/- 121/10,000 inhabitants. Sports injuries were found mainly among young people in their productive working years, though surprisingly low was the occurrence of injuries among women of 20-24 years of age. The majority of the injuries were of mild character, though 9% were classified as severe, and it was estimated on the basis of the data obtained from this study that some 4000 patients attended a casualty department in the area because of an injury sustained in sports, thus placing a considerable burden on these agencies. Distorsions formed with 65% the most common type of injury, and the application of an adhesive bandage was the commonest form of treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Vitamin B6 status of Finnish elderly. Comparison with Dutch younger adults and elderly. The effect of supplementation.

About 25% of Finnish and Dutch elderly appeared to be more or less deficient in vitamin B6 as compared to younger adults. Deficiency was observed at the cellular (PLP, EGOT and alpha-EGOT) as well as at the plasma level (PLP). The benefit of a one-year daily supplementation with 2 mg of pyridoxine-HCl was investigated at the biochemical and psychological level as compared to a placebo group. After one year, none of the supplemented elderly was deficient in biochemical terms. At the psychological level and at the level of general well-being, the elderly supplemented with vitamin B6 showed slight improvements. However, for the psychological variables significant correlations with the vitamin B6 parameters were not observed. Plasma fatty acids (e.g. gamma-linolenic acid) showed no correlation with the vitamin B6 status.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

[Regression models].

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Epidemiologic Methods↗
PubMed1987

Snoring as a risk factor for ischaemic heart disease and stroke in men.

The association of snoring with ischaemic heart disease and stroke was studied prospectively in 4388 men aged 40-69. The men were asked, in a questionnaire sent to them, whether they snored habitually, frequently, occasionally, or never. Hospital records and death certificates were checked for the next three years to establish how many of the men developed ischaemic heart disease or stroke: the numbers were 149 and 42, respectively. Three categories of snoring were used for analysis: habitual and frequent snorers (n = 1294), occasional snorers (n = 2614), and non-snorers (n = 480). The age adjusted relative risk of ischaemic heart disease between habitual plus frequent snorers and non-snorers was 1.91 (p less than 0.01) and for ischaemic heart disease or stroke, or both, 2.38 (p less than 0.001). There were no cases of stroke among the non-snorers. Adjustment for age, body mass index, history of hypertension, smoking, and alcohol use did not significantly decrease the relative risks, which were 1.71 (p greater than 0.05) for ischaemic heart disease and 2.08 (p less than 0.01) for ischaemic heart disease and stroke combined. At the beginning of follow up in 1981, 462 men reported a history of angina pectoris or myocardial infarction. For them the relative risk of ischaemic heart disease between habitual plus frequent snorers and non-snorers was 1.30 (NS); for men without previous ischaemic heart disease 2.72 (p less than 0.05). Snoring seems to be a potential determinant of risk of ischaemic heart disease and stroke.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Comparison of nicardipine and propranolol in the treatment of mild and moderate hypertension.

In a double-blind controlled trial 22 patients with mild or moderate essential hypertension were treated with nicardipine 30 mg t.d.s. and 19 patients with propranolol 80 mg t.d.s. as monotherapy for 24 weeks. Blood pressure in both groups at the end of trial was equally and significantly reduced; systolic pressure 22.2 mmHg and diastolic pressure 15.5 mmHg in the supine position, and 24.4 mmHg and 18.4 mmHg, respectively, in the standing position in those on nicardipine, and by 23.7 and 16.2 mmHg and 28.0 and 19.2 mmHg, respectively, in the propranolol group. There was an initial increase in heart rate in the nicardipine group, but the rise was only moderate (3 beats/min supine p = 0.3219, and 7 beats/min standing, p = 0.0203) at the end of the 24 weeks. In the propranolol group heart rate was reduced markedly. Adverse effects occurred in 77% of patients on nicardipine and in 63% of those on propranolol, and there were no unexpected findings. The effects were mild in both groups and did not lead any patient to stop medication. One patient on propranolol was withdrawn from the trial because of poor blood pressure control and suspected angina pectoris after 5 weeks on active medication. There were no significant changes in blood chemistry, including lipoprotein classes. Overall, in comparison with propranolol, nicardipine was effective, well-tolerated and safe to use in the monotherapy of mild or moderate essential hypertension.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Design and sampling considerations, response rates, and representativeness in a Finnish Twin Family Study.

Kinships composed of twin parents, their spouses and children, offer a robust and flexible sampling design for research in genetic epidemiology. Families-of-twins designs circumvent some of the sampling problems that arise when independent data sets are combined, and these designs provide unique evaluations of maternal influences, assortative mating and X-linkage. Unfortunately, empirical studies of families of twin parents have been limited by relatively small samples and by the self-selection biases intrinsic in ascertainment of families from volunteer twin registries. A large and representative cohort of monozygotic and dizygotic twin parents, drawn from a population-based twin registry, provides the optimal sampling frame for twin-family research. This paper reviews the sampling considerations underlying the initial family study based on the Finnish Twin Cohort and evaluates the representativeness of the sampled twins. Spouses and adult children (over 18 years) of 236 pairs of twins, about equally divided by gender and zygosity, were evaluated by a postal questionnaire. Individual response rates exceeded 86% and in 464 of the 472 nuclear families (98.3%), at last one member of the twin's family completed the questionnaire. The sampled twins, selected for fecundity to maximize statistical power of the obtained data, were broadly representative of non-selected twins drawn from the Cohort, with whom they were matched on age, gender, and zygosity. Such results suggest that the Finnish Cohort has excellent potential for extended twin-family research designs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Genetic influences on use and abuse of alcohol: a study of 5638 adult Finnish twin brothers.

To evaluate genetic influences on the use and abuse of alcohol, we compared questionnaire measures of the frequency, quantity, and density of social drinking, and the frequency of alcohol-induced passouts self-reported by 879 monozygotic (MZ) and 1940 dizygotic (DZ) pairs of twin brothers, aged 24-49 yr. The measures of frequency, quantity, and density (heavy drinking once or more a month) significantly intercorrelate, and the self-reported alcohol consumption by this sample is satisfactorily stable and consistent with nationwide sales figures. None of the drinking measures was associated with twin type (zygosity), and only density correlated with age. Similarity of drinking habits among twin brothers was evaluated as a function of their genetic resemblance and age, the frequency of their social contact with one another, and the interactions of these terms. The effects were estimated from hierarchical linear regressions of a double-entry data matrix from which each twin's drinking was predicted from that of his twin brother, and that pair's age, zygosity, cohabitation status, and frequency of social contact. Significant genetic variance was found for each of the drinking measures with heritability estimates ranging from 0.36 to 0.40. Co-twins in more frequent social contact with one another reported greater similarity in their use of alcohol, but heritable variance remained after the effects of age and social contact were removed from both mean levels and co-twin resemblance. Reported frequency of passouts yielded significant, but equivalent, correlations in both MZ and DZ twins and no evidence of genetic influence.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Viral antibodies and interferon in acute psychiatric disorders.

In a prospective study of 54 patients with acute psychiatric disorders, interferon and antibodies in serum and CSF were measured to 19 microbes by the complement fixation (CF) test and to 7 viruses by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). The CF test revealed a fourfold or greater change (p less than .001) in serum antibody titers in 20 patients, and EIA showed a twofold or greater change in CSF titers in 7 patients. Pathological serum/CSF antibody ratio by EIA was observed in 8 patients. The results suggest that viral infections and inflammatory processes have significance in the etiopathogenesis of acute psychiatric disorders.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1987

Social and genetic influences on drinking patterns of adult men: a study of 5638 Finnish twin brothers.

Hierarchical multiple regression analyses of questionnaire data reported by male twins in the Finnish Twin Cohort were used to evaluate genetic and social influences on use and abuse of alcohol. The similarity in drinking patterns of twin brothers is related to the frequency of their social interaction, and monozygotic co-twins are in more frequent social contact. But the stepwise multiple regressions show that the greater social interaction of identical twins cannot account for their greater similarity in drinking patterns. We conclude that genetic variance significantly contributes to population variance in the frequency, quantity, and density of social drinking.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Social factors and the gender difference in mortality.

The effect of social factors on the male/female difference in mortality in Finland was studied by comparing age-adjusted mortality of males and females by social class and marital status. 44,548 death certificates (years 1969-1971) and 1970 census data for 25-64-years olds were analysed. The gender difference was 2.8-fold: 5.3-fold for violent causes and 2.3-fold for natural causes. The greatest gender difference from violent causes was found in accidental poisonings (18.7-fold) and drownings (12.8-fold), and from natural causes in mental disorders (mainly alcoholism; 5.7-fold) and in ischemic heart disease (4.5-fold). The gender difference was most prominent in unskilled workers, divorced and widowed and less prominent in married and upper professionals. The great variation of gender difference of mortality by social class and marital status seems to indicate that mortality difference between males and females is associated to external factors rather than biological differences between men and women. This conclusion is also supported by the progressive increase of gender difference of mortality from 1.4 to 2.8 during the last 80 years in working-aged Finns.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Geographic origin of the family as a determinant of serum levels of lipids in Finnish children.

Children in the eastern part of Finland have higher serum total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels than children in the western part of the country. This is consonant with the high mortality rate for coronary heart disease in eastern Finland. Eastern and western Finns are assumed to have different geographic origins; because of this we divided into groups 630 newborns and 3554 children and adolescents according to their grandparents' birthplace, which, in Finland, reflect the origins of the children. No differences in serum lipid levels were found in the newborns but in the 3- to 18-year-old children the differences in mean serum total and LDL cholesterol levels were accentuated by this division. Boys with grandparents from the extreme eastern part and those with grandparents from the western part of the country showed the greatest differences. Prepubescent boys 3 to 12 years old living in the west but with grandparents from the east had total and LDL cholesterol levels similar to those of boys living in and descended of grandparents from the east, despite their diet being of the western type. Thus, although diet is known to be a major determinant of serum cholesterol level, genetic factors also seem to play a role.

Adolescent↗