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T Sørensen

Publications and source records attributed to T Sørensen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Interrater reliability of a Danish version of the Morgan Russell scale for assessment of anorexia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: To study the interrater reliability of a Danish version of the Morgan Russell scale for assessment of patients with anorexia nervosa, and subsequently to clarify the existing rating instructions. METHOD: Ten patients undergoing treatment for anorexia nervosa at a regional center participated and had their interview videotaped. Two interviews were reserved for a training phase only. The group of raters comprised eight clinicians, and measures of interrater reliability were computed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: The ICC for the total score was good (0.79), while reliability for the single items varied from poor to excellent (0.14-0.99). Internal consistency as expressed by Cronbach's coefficient alpha was acceptable (0.74). DISCUSSION: The Morgan Russell scale stands out as an easily applied and reliable measure of severity of anorexia nervosa, though the rating instructions need clarification in some items.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

The meaning and significance of caseness: the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 and the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. II.

In previous analyses of data from the present general population study we found that screening of anxiety and depression symptoms by the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) and diagnostic classification by the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) identified the same amount of cases, but agreed in only half of them. In this paper we compared and validated the screening cases with the classificatory cases by the use of medication, loss of functioning and help seeking (illness indicators). We thought that the CIDI cases would have more illness indicators, because they reflected diagnoses, "true illness", in contrast to the HSCL-25, which was a more unspecific measure of distress. The HSCL-25 and the illness indicators data were collected in a stage I random individual population sample above 18 years during 1989-1991 (N = 1879, response rate 74%), the CIDI data were collected in a selected stage II, (N = 606, response rate 77%). The stage II data were weighted to represent the population sample. Screening cases by the HSCL-25 had significantly more illness indicators than diagnostic cases by the CIDI. Cases agreed upon with both instruments had the most illness indicators, cases agreed upon only by the CIDI had the least. Diagnoses give information about help eventually needed, the HSCL-25 distress measure expresses more the urgency with which it is needed. The choice between the HSCL-25 and the CIDI would depend on the aim and the resources of the study. If evaluation of needs is involved, using an instrument picking up both classification and distress would be the best choice. Given our positive experience with interviewing with the CIDI, a CIDI improved to be more sensitive to how much distress a certain diagnosis exerts on the individual would be a good choice.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Concordance between symptom screening and diagnostic procedure: the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 and the Composite International Diagnostic Interview I.

The definition of case is a core issue in psychiatric epidemiology. Psychiatric symptom screening scales have been extensively used in population studies for many decades. Structured diagnostic interviews have become available during recent years to give exact diagnoses through carefully undertaken procedures. The aim of this article was to assess how well the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) predicted cases by the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), and find the optimal cut-offs on the HSCL-25 for each diagnosis and gender. Characteristics of concordant and discordant cases were explored. In a Norwegian two-stage survey mental health problems were measured by the HSCL-25 and the CIDI. Only 46% of the present CIDI diagnoses were predicted by the HSCL-25. Comorbidity between CIDI diagnoses was found more than four times as often in the concordant cases (case agreed upon by both instruments) than in the discordant CIDI cases. Concordant cases had more depression and panic/generalized anxiety disorders. Neither the anxiety nor the depression subscales improved the prediction of anxiety or depression. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves confirmed that the HSCL-25 gave best information about depression. Except for phobia it predicted best for men. Optimal HSCL-25 cut-off was 1.67 for men and 1.75 for women. Of the discordant HSCL-25 cases, one-third reported no symptoms in the CIDI, one-third reported symptoms in the CIDI anxiety module, and the rest had symptoms spread across the modules. With the exception of depression, the HSCL-25 was insufficient to select individuals for further investigation of diagnosis. The two instruments to a large extent identified different cases. Either the HSCL-25 is a very imperfect indicator of the chosen CIDI diagnoses, or the dimensions of mental illness measured by each of the instruments are different and clearly only partly overlapping.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Development and characterization of an antibody directed to an alpha-N-acetyl-D-galactosamine glycosylated MUC2 peptide.

In an attempt to raise anti-Tn antibodies, an alpha-N-acetyl-D-galactosamine glycosylated peptide based on the tandem repeat of the intestinal mucin MUC2 was used as an immunogen. The MUC2 peptide (PTTTPISTTTMVTPTPTPTC) was glycosylated in vitro using concentrated alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases activity from porcine submaxillary glands which resulted in the incorporation of 8-9 mol of Ga/NAc. Rabbits and mice developed specific anti-MUC2-GalNAc glycopeptide antibodies and no detectable anti-Tn antibodies. Anti-glycopeptide antibodies did not show reactivity with the unglycosylated MUC2 peptide or with other GalNAc glycosylated peptides. A mouse monoclonal antibody (PMH1) representative of the observed immune response was generated and its immunohistological reactivity analysed in normal tissues. PMH1 reacted similarly to other anti-MUC2 peptide antibodies. However, in some cells the staining was not restricted to the supranuclear area but extended to the entire cytoplasm. In addition, PMH1 reacted with purified colonic mucin by Western blot analysis suggesting that PMH1 reacted with some glycoforms of MUC2. The present work presents a useful approach for development of anti-mucin antibodies directed to different glycoforms of individual mucins.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Methylergometrine during the early puerperium; a prospective randomized double blind study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study was to determine the efficacy of 72-hour prophylactic oral methylergometrine in reducing postpartum hemorrhage and endometritis during the early puerperium, and the effect of methylergometrine on lochia and requests for analgesics. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective randomized double-blind study was undertaken; a total of 217 women received 0.2 mg methylergometrine intravenously after delivery of the placenta and randomized to either tabl. Methergin 0.125 mg or placebo three times a day for three days. The main measures were weight of sanitary towels, temperature, consumptions of analgesics and length of hospital stay. RESULTS: We found no significant difference in the median amount of lochia, the need for analgesics or length of hospital stay between the two groups. Incidence of infection and postpartum hemorrhage were low in both groups. CONCLUSION: We conclude that prophylactic use of methylergometrine during early puerperium has no effect on lochia. Endometritis and postpartum hemorrhage were rare in both groups. There was no increase in requests for analgesics among women given oral methylergometrine.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1998

Mortality and survival in myasthenia gravis: a Danish population based study.

OBJECTIVES: To study mortality and survival of patients with myasthenia gravis. METHODS: 290 patients with myasthenia gravis were studied, including 212 incident cases identified during a comprehensive epidemiological study of myasthenia gravis in western Denmark 1975-89. Follow up was performed on 31 December 1994. Survival curves were constructed using the life table method. Patient data were compared with data from the public Danish population statistics. Death certificates were provided from the National Registry of Death. RESULTS: The annual average crude mortality rate was 1.8 per million (range 1.5-2.2). The myasthenia gravis related mortality rate (myasthenia gravis as underlying or contributory cause) was 1.4 per million (range 1.1-1.8). The age specific mortality rates were low below 50 years. After this age the mortality increased with age in both sexes; after 60 years more rapidly in men than in women. The overall survival rates three, five, 10, and 20 years from diagnosis were 85%, 81%, 69%, and 63% respectively. The survival of both sexes was shorter than that of the corresponding Danish population. Old age at diagnosis, a classification in Osserman-Genkins group IIB or III, and the presence of a thymoma were associated with a less favourable prognosis. The three, five, 10, and 20 year survival rates of thymectomised patients were 94%, 94%, 86%, and 79% respectively. The corresponding figures for the non-thymectomised patients were 78%, 71%, 56%, and 51%. A Cox regression analysis showed that this apparently significant effect of thymectomy was because the thymectomised patients were younger than the non-thymectomised patients. Furthermore, at the time of diagnosis of myasthenia gravis the non-thymectomised patients had a higher frequency of serious conditions associated with myasthenia gravis than the thymectomised patients. CONCLUSION: Patients with myasthenia gravis generally have a relative good prognosis although their survival is shorter than that of the corresponding population. Old age, a classification in Osserman-Genkins group III, and the presence of a thymoma are associated with a less favourable prognosis. In this study, the apparently significant effect of thymectomy was because the thymectomised patients were younger than non-thymectomised patients and because the non-thymctomised patients had a higher frequency of serious conditions associated with myasthenia gravis.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed1998

Digital image analysis of hematopoietic colonies in vitro.

A system for automatic analysis of in vitro hematopoietic colonies is described and evaluated. With the standard resolution provided by video cameras, the improvement in visualization obtained using features other than size and darkness when classifying potential colonies appears to be limited. We confirmed this by comparing results obtained with the test system with those obtained with a commercial one. However, for some applications it may be useful to supplement the system with specific methods, e.g., to separate merged colonies. Digital image analyses provide new possibilities, for instance of measuring the total cellularity of the dish or analyzing colonies according to the size and cell density of each colony. Examples provided are time course studies of colony development, cellularity feedback effects on colony sizes, and bell-shaped dose-response curves for the growth stimulation obtained by certain conditioned media on a subpopulation of progenitor cells that gives rise to large colonies.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Identification of mutations in the CACNL1A3 gene in 13 families of Scandinavian origin having hypokalemic periodic paralysis and evidence of a founder effect in Danish families.

Familial hypokalemic periodic paralysis (hypoPP) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterised by episodic attacks of paralysis of varying severity. Recently, linkage was found to markers in 1q31-32 and to the gene encoding the muscle DHP-sensitive calcium channel alpha 1-subunit (CACNL1A3). Subsequently, three mutations in this gene were identified in patients with hypoPP: Arg528His, Arg1239His and Arg1239Gly. In this study, two different mutations were found in the CACNL1A3 gene in 13 Scandinavian families, 10 of whom have the Arg528His mutation while 3 families have the Arg1239His. Furthermore, there is evidence of a founder effect in 8 of the 9 Danish hypoPP families investigated, consisting of haplotypes of microsatellite markers close to and within the CACNL1A3 gene and of the geographic origin of the families. For the first time, reduced penetrance in males with the Arg528His mutation was found in several cases.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Unstable insertion in the 5' flanking region of the cystatin B gene is the most common mutation in progressive myoclonus epilepsy type 1, EPM1.

Progressive myoclonus epilepsy type 1 (EPM1, also known as Unverricht-Lundborg disease) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by progressively worsening myoclonic jerks, frequent generalized tonic-clonic seizures, and a slowly progressive decline in cognition. Recently, two mutations in the cystatin B gene (also known as stefin B, STFB) mapping to 21q22.3 have been implicated in the EPM1 phenotype: a G-->C substitution in the last nucleotide of intron 1 that was predicted to cause a splicing defect in one family, and a C-->T substitution that would change an Arg codon (CGA) to a stop codon (TGA) at amino acid position 68, resulting in a truncated cystatin B protein in two other families. A fourth family showed undetectable amounts of STFB mRNA by northern blot analysis in an affected individual. We present haplotype and mutational analyses of our collection of 20 unrelated EPM1 patients and families from different ethnic groups. We identify four different mutations, the most common of which consists of an unstable approximately 600-900 bp insertion which is resistant to PCR amplification. This insertion maps to a 12-bp polymorphic tandem repeat located in the 5' flanking region of the STFB gene, in the region of the promoter. The size of the insertion varies between different EPM1 chromosomes sharing a common haplotype and a common origin, suggesting some level of meiotic instability over the course of many generations. This dynamic mutation, which appears distinct from conventional trinucleotide repeat expansions, may arise via a novel mechanism related to the instability of tandemly repeated sequences.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Site-directed mutagenesis studies of energy coupling in the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase.

Site-directed mutagenesis studies identifying residues important to energy transduction in the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase are reviewed. Mutations blocking the crucial E1P to E2P transition are located in the small and the large cytoplasmic domains, in the stalk segment S4 linking transmembrane segment M4 with the catalytic site, as well as in transmembrane segments M4 and M8. Mutations that block the dephosphorylation of the E2P phosphoenzyme intermediate are located in transmembrane segments M4, M5, and M6, i.e., in the same domain as the Ca(2+)-binding sites. Removal of the sidechain of Tyr763 located at the boundary between transmembrane segment M5 and the corresponding stalk segment S5 linking M5 with the catalytic site leads to uncoupling of ATP hydrolysis from Ca2+ uptake. Uncoupling may be due to efflux through the Ca(2+)-ATPase of Ca2+ that has been transported, and may thus be caused by a defective gating process in the late part of the catalytic cycle. A nearby located residue Lys758 is also involved in energy coupling, since its substitution with Ile activates dephosphorylation at high pH and slows the E2 to E1 transition.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Religiosity and help-seeking in a rural and an urban area.

Help-seeking for emotional problems addressed to priests was compared with help-seeking addressed to general practitioners (GPs), psychiatrists and psychologists in two demographically different areas of Norway. Only small differences were found between the rural and the urban area, and a substantial proportion of people contacted priests for personal/emotional problems. This contact was not related to dissatisfaction with the mental health system, and we found no evidence for a "religiosity gap" between mental health professionals, on the one hand, and people contacting priests, on the other. People contacting priests also had a stronger general willingness to seek help from other professionals compared to the general population. In both the rural and urban areas, seeking help from priests because of mental problems was related to having experienced a personal loss (death of a spouse, separation, divorce), in addition to having a religious commitment.

Female↗
PubMed1996

The church and community psychiatric services in a region of northern Norway.

Through questionnaries sent to all priests in a county in northern Norway (n = 78) we described and analysed the relations between the priests and a community mental health service. Results showed that the priests had contact with many persons with mental problems and also with many psychiatric patients. Priests described their work with psychiatric problems and psychiatric patients as based on a "holistic" concept of man, which they did not consider was the case in the professional work carried out by the psychiatric services. These ideological differnces did not result in the priests being unwilling to motivate persons to contact the mental health organisations, as four out of five priests had referred persons to psychiatric treatment in the 12 months before the study. There was also a strong wish among the priests for more contact with psychiatric professionals.

Community Mental Health Services↗
PubMed1996

The effect of ephedrine plus caffeine on smoking cessation and postcessation weight gain.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of a combination of ephedrine and caffeine on smoking cessation rates, postcessation weight gain, and withdrawal symptoms and to examine changes in glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) after smoking cessation. METHODS: This randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study with a 1-year follow-up period was carried out at the Department of Pulmonary Medicine in Denmark. Study subjects were 225 heavy smokers who wanted to quit smoking without gaining weight. Two-thirds of the subjects were randomized to receive 20 mg ephedrine plus 200 mg caffeine three times a day; one-third of the subjects received placebo treatment. The dosage was gradually decreased from week 12 to discontinuation at week 39. Group support and control were performed at entry and after 1, 3, 6, 12, 26, 39, and 52 weeks. Main outcome measures were (1) self-reported abstinence with validation by carbon monoxide in expired air and serum cotinine and (2) weight gain. RESULTS: The success rates after 1 year were 17% in the group treated with ephedrine plus caffeine and 16% in the group treated with placebo; the success rates were not significantly different at any time. The success rates for the four counseling physicians varied between 7% and 27% after 1 year (p < 0.05). The weight gain was significantly lower in the ephedrine plus caffeine-treated group during the first 12 weeks, but weight gains were similar after 1 year. No differences in the smoking withdrawal symptoms could be observed between the treatment groups. HbA1c was lower 6 weeks and 1 year after smoking cessation (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We found an effect of this combination of ephedrine and caffeine on weight gain during the first 12 weeks, but we found no effect on the success rates or craving for cigarettes.

Adult↗