BACKGROUND: -Atrial fibrillatory rate (AFR) is a measure of atrial remodeling caused by atrial fibrillation (AF) and its acceleration negatively affects outcome of interventions for persistent AF. However, the prognostic value of AFR in patients with CHF has not been studied. We sought to evaluate whether AFR can predict outcome in patients with mild to moderate (NYHA II-III) congestive heart fail

This report builds further on OPCARE9, an EU 7th framework project aiming to identify knowledge gaps in care provision in the last days of life. This study began with curiosity about new ways of generating research questions to meet future challenges in palliative care (PC) and how to better engage disciplines not generally included in PC research. We here describe an innovative methodological app

L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia (LID) is a common complication of the treatment of Parkinson's disease, and its precise mechanisms have long remained unknown. Rodent models of LID provide a tool to dissect the impact of specific factors on the development and expression of dyskinetic movements. This short review will summarize recent findings from rodent studies that have consolidated and considerably e

Huntington's disease (HD) is the most prevalent polyglutamine expansion disorder. HD is caused by an expansion of CAG triplet in the huntingtin (HTT) gene, associated with striatal and cortical neuronal loss. Central and peripheral metabolic abnormalities and altered insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels have been described in HD. Thus, we hypothesized that restoration of IGF-1-mediated sign

BACKGROUND: Smoking is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The present study was undertaken to examine if cigarette smoking translates into reduced relaxant responses of the peripheral microcirculation. METHODS: The cutaneous forearm blood flow was measured by laser Doppler flowmetry. The vasodilator response to the iontophorectic administration of acetylcholine (ACh), acting via an en

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have observed decreased serum CRP levels in patients with established Alzheimer's disease (AD) compared to controls or other diagnostic groups of elderly patients with mental illness. METHODS: We have investigated the relation between CRP level and the severity of AD as assessed by cognitive function, brain imaging and survival time. RESULTS: Patients with AD showed ov

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction has been associated with impaired glucometabolic status. However, studies of older subjects are lacking. We examined associations between echocardiographic indices of LV diastolic function and LV mass index (LVMI) and glucometabolic status among middle-aged and elderly subjects free from heart disease, hypothesizing that the associations woul

Elementary geometrical shape (EGS) models are useful in radiostereometric analysis (RSA) on hip stems because tantalum markers attached to the stems can be omitted. In order to create an EGS model of a femoral stem, the center of the femoral head has to be identified. The contour of the femoral head is recommended to be used. However, the contour of the femoral head cannot be detected exclusively

BACKGROUND: This cross-sectional study is aimed at describing and investigating empowerment and its relationships with level of engagement in daily activities and community life, experienced stigma, psychopathology, and quality of life among people with mental illness entering supported employment. METHOD: The following scales were administered to 120 persons: Empowerment Scale, Profiles of Occupa

Clinical studies have suggested a link between the sensory trigeminal system and the parasympathetic ganglia. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a sensory neuropeptide which plays an important role in vasodilatation and pain transmission in craniocervical structures. The present study was designed to examine if CGRP and CGRP receptor components are present in the human sphenopalatine gangli

Microtubules are characteristic components of the membrane skeleton of Euglena gracilis, but whether microfilaments are present has been controversial. We here present evidence that an actin-like protein may indeed be associated with the plasma membrane (PM) of E. gracilis. Firstly, a 47 kDa, PM-associated, polypeptide was recognized by an anti-amoeba actin antibody. Secondly, this 47 kDa protein

Background: Asthma and allergic airway inflammation are associated with persistent structural alterations in the bronchi, i.e. airway remodeling. Previous studies have shown that during allergic airway inflammation, similar structural alterations may also be evoked in the pulmonary circulation. However, it remained unknown whether remodeling of the pulmonary circulation is as persistent as airway

Abstract in UndeterminedSoftware deployment, including both clean installs and updates, is a crucial activity for all software vendors. It starts with a customer's order of a new release and incorporates all steps taken until the customer is satisfied with the deployed product. Using interviews as the main data collection method, we conducted a case study of four companies to discover their softwa

We compared the ability of genetic (established type 2 diabetes, fasting glucose, 2 h glucose and obesity variants) and modifiable lifestyle (diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol and education) risk factors to predict incident type 2 diabetes and obesity in a population-based prospective cohort of 3,444 Swedish adults studied sequentially at baseline and 10 years later.

Surgical conditions exert a major health burden in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), yet surgery remains a low priority on national health agendas. Little is known about the national factors that influence whether surgery is prioritised in LMICs. We investigated factors that could facilitate or prevent surgery from being a health priority in three LMICs.

BACKGROUND: There is growing evidence from observational studies and randomized trials in low-income countries that vaccinations have non-specific effects. Administration of live vaccines reduces overall child morbidity and mortality, presumably due to protection against non-targeted infections. In Denmark, the live vaccine against smallpox was phased out in the 1970s due to the eradication of sma

Drug-induced dyskinesias in dopamine-denervated animals are known to depend on both pre- and postsynaptic changes of the nigrostriatal circuitry. In lesion models used thus far, changes occur in both of these compartments and, therefore, it has not been possible to dissect the individual contribution of each compartment in the pathophysiology of dyskinesias. Here we silenced the nigrostriatal dopa