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Biomedical subjects

A Svanborg

Publications and source records attributed to A Svanborg.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Intellectual functioning in a 70-year-old urban population.

A subsample of 229 persons from the population study "70-year-olds in Gothenburg" was studied with different intelligence tests. The non-response was 15%, and another 4% refused to take part in the psychological examination or had handicaps which made the performance of all or some of the tests impossible. Measurements were made of verbal meaning (SRB1), reasoning (SRB2), spatial ability (SRB3), perceptual speed (Ps-if) and logical thinking and observation (Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices). There were no differences in the tests between men and women except with Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices, where the men had a better score. Amongst the women, those who had received a longer education had a better score compared with those who had had less education. Norm-tables for the different tests are presented. As far as could be judged from cross-sectional comparisons the average general cognitive capability was good, even though the 70-year-olds to a higher degree were suffering from mental disorders than younger individuals and more often were living in social situations that could have influenced basic physical and mental functions. The perceptual speed was the only ability that showed a marked change at the age of 70.

Age Factors↗

Plasma lipid changes in the female in aging and the menopause. Results from three population studies.

Postabsorbtive plasma lipid levels have been analyzed in studies of the female population in the Swedish city of Gothenburg. The population samples cover the ages 15, 23, 30, 38, 40, 45, 46, 50, 54, 60 and 70. In some groups data are available from both cross-sectional and prospective longitudinal studies. Cross-sectional studies showed a successive increase in total plasma cholesterol from 15 to 54 years of age. Longitudinal studies showed a further increase at least up to 60 years of age. The triglyceride level remained rather constant between 15 and 30 years of age, then increased but was again rather similar in the 40--50-year olds and reached the highest level in the 60- and 70-year samples. The total phospholipid curve was approximately parallel with the cholesterol curve at younger ages but nearer the cholesterol curve at higher ages. The composition of the plasma phospholipid fraction apparently changed at the ages around the menopause, mainly due to an increase in the proportions of lecithin and lysolecithin. Data available allowed considerations concerning possible influences on plasma lipids by age, by changes in dietary habits and body composition, as well as by gonadal steroid hormones.

Adolescent↗

Kaliuretic effect of L-dopa treatment in parkinsonian patients.

Hypokalemia, sometimes severe, was observed in some L-dopa-treated parkinsonian patients. The influence of L-dopa on the renal excretion of potassium was studied in 3 patients with hypokalemia and in 5 normokalemic patients by determination of renal plasma flow, glomerular filtration rate, plasma concentration of potassium and sodium as well as urinary excretion of potassium, sodium and aldosterone. L-Dopa intake was found to cause an increased excretion of potassium, and sometimes also of sodium, in the hypokalemic but not in the normokalemic patients. This effect on the renal function could be prohibited by the administration of a peripheral dopa decarbodylase inhibitor. It is not known why this effect occurred in some individuals but not in others, but our results indicate a correlation between aldosterone production and this renal effect of L-dopa.

Aged↗

Digitalis therapy in a 70-year-old population.

In the population study "70-year-old people in Gothenburg" 14% of the probands were found to be undergoing treatment with digitalis, 6% with digoxin, 6% with digitoxin and 2% with other glycosides. A comparison between results of the interview method and those of S-digoxin analyses indicates that the interview method was acceptable. As far as can be judged from S-digoxin analyses, only about 60% of the treated patients were on a dosage considered to be effective and free from obvious risks of side-effects. Out of the 130 70-year-olds who were on digitalis treatment, 37% had obvious symptoms of heart disease requiring such treatment, 34% lacked symptoms of arrhythmia and/or congestive failure but had heart volumes larger than those used as reference values in younger age groups, and 29% had no symptoms indicating digitalis treatment. At least 13% of the population had indications for digitalis therapy and about 75% of those apparently needing digitalis were on such treatment. Thus both over- and underdiagnosis of heart disease requiring digitalis therapy were common in this age group.

Age Factors↗

Determination of plasma cholesterol: comparison of gas-liquid chromatographic, colorimetric and enzymatic analyses.

The efficacy of methods for plasma cholesterol analyses based on gas-liquid chromatographic (GLC) or enzymatic cholesterol determinations was tested on commercially available standard serum, plasma obtained in a study of an age stratum of the population and on plasma from a number of patients from an out-patient department. These results were compared with colorimetric cholesterol determinations on chloroform/methanol extracts from plasma using the ferric chloride/sulphuric acid reagent. The GLC-based procedure gave values 12% lower than the colorimetric determinations. This discrepancy seemed to be explained, to a marked extent, by the fact that cholesterol metabolites interfere with the colorimetric determinations. The GLC-based method was apparently accurate since it has the advantage of specificity and is easy to standardize with the internal standard technique. Enzymatic total cholesterol analyses gave slightly (2%) lower values than the GLC-based analyses, apparently because of an incomplete hydrolysis of cholesterol esters. Enzymatic analyses of free cholesterol gave similar results to those of the GLC-based method.

Aged↗

Piribedil in Parkinson's syndrome: a clinical study.

The effect of a new dopamine receptor stimulating agent, piribedil (ET 495), was studied in 10 patients with Parkinson's syndrome, who had had no or a poor response to previous L-DOPA treatment, or had displayed marked side effects during L-DOPA administration. Piribedil produced significant improvement of the functions of activity of daily living (ADL), and appeared to have a preferential effect on parkinsonian tremor. However, treatment was difficult to control primarily because of severe psychiatric side effects.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Seventy-year-old people in Gothenburg. A population study in an industrialized Swedish city.

The objectives of this cross-sectional population study of 70-year-old people in Gothenburg, Sweden, were to make a survey of the social and medical conditions of the population, to obtain basic data for planning the care of the elderly, to contribute to the knowledge of normal ageing processes and of normal criteria within the age group, and to offer the subjects a thorough medical examination. A representative systematic sample comprised 1 148 propositi (521 males and 627 females). The study comprised a homecall part regarding basic personal data, dwelling conditions, economy, social and physical communications, previous migration, educational level, previous and any present professions, need for care, consumption of health care and drugs. Observations and measurements were done of illumination at the habitual site of reading, and a simple test of visual acuity was performed. Later on, examinations at the Out-patient Department of the Geriatric Hospital were performed, comprising in all probands general medical and ophthalmological examination, blood and urine sampling, ECG and X-ray of heart, lungs, and breasts and on subsamples, psychological, psychiatric, dental, somatometric, and audiometric examination. Furthermore, a dietary interview and a body composition examination were performed on subsamples. This first presentation deals with the design and procedure of the study, analysis of observer variation and a comparison between responders (85%) and non-responders (15%). The general design of the study, the sampling procedure, and general methods of data collection were found to be adequate. The responders were found to be representative for the population as a whole in most respects studied. The results of this study to be reported in subsequent papers will in general allow conclusions regarding the population of 70-year-olds in Gothenburg.

Aged↗

Effect of consecutive antibacterial therapy on bacteriuria in hospitalized geriatric patients.

The effects of treatment with a consecutive series of different antibacterial drugs, most of them commonly used in urinary tract infections, were studied in 36 hospitalized geriatric patients with bacteriuria. Most of the patients had advanced handicaps and all had urinary incontinence. Urinary acidifying drugs, penicillin V, sulfonamide, nitrofurantoin, nalidixic acid, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole were used as antibacterial agents. The general conclusion was that even the administration of a series of potent antibacterial drugs only rather seldom eliminates bacteriuria in such patients, and that the original bacteria in most cases are replaced by strains highly resistant to antibacterial drugs. The treatment had obvious influence on the clinical state only in one patient.

Age Factors↗

Intestinal decarboxylation of orally administered L-dopa. Influence of pharmacological preparations, dose magnitude, dose sequence and food intake.

The intestinal decarboxylation and the absorption of orally administered L-dopa have been studied in 20 parkinsonian patients in different conditions. The decarboxylation generally amounted to 50-70% of the dose given, i.e. only 30-50% of orally administered L-dopa reached the general circulation. The shape of the plasma concentration curve varied individually and with the resolvation time of the type of pharmacological preparation given. No obvious difference in the degree of intestinal decarboxylation was observed when tablets with different resolvation times were given but the net absorption of L-dopa was somewhat greater when it was given as a solution. The decarboxylation in the intestinal organs was found to be rather constant at different times of the day. Isocaloric meals, whether rich in protein or carbohydrate, caused a delay in absorption of L-dopa, but did not change the degree of decarboxylation. Diurnal variations in the clinical response to L-dopa, could, thus, not be related to diurnal variations in the decarboxylation in the intestinal organs. The delay in L-dopa absorption after meals may be misinterpreted as lack of response. At dosage with short intervals, the delay may cause an additive effect of two doses.

Administration, Oral↗