Biomedical subjects

C Carlström

Publications and source records attributed to C Carlström.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Matrix metalloproteinase and cytokine profiles in monocytes over the course of stroke.

Stroke is a common cause of death and disability in our society. Stroke is associated with changes in immune responses within the central nervous system as well as systemically. The cells contributing to such changes as well as the factors contributing to formation of the inflammatory infiltrate observed in stroke remain to be clarified. In this study, blood monocytes and corresponding mononuclear cells (MNC) were separated and examined in parallel within 4 days and 1-3 months after onset of ischemic stroke. Numbers of TNF-alpha-, IL-12-, IL-6-, and IL-10-secreting cells and of cells expressing mRNA for matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, -2, -7, -9 and tissue inhibitor of MMP (TIMP)-1 were studied. The TNF-alpha-, IL-12-, and IL-6-secreting monocytes and MNC were elevated during the acute phase compared to healthy controls. Such differences were not observed when stroke patients were examined during convalescence. The IL-10-secreting monocytes did not change over the course of stroke. Levels of monocytes expressing MMP-1, MMP-7 and TIMP-1 mRNA were elevated in the acute phase of stroke patients compared to convalescence and healthy controls, as were levels of MMP-1, -2, -7, -9 and TIMP-1 mRNA expressing blood MNC. The MMP-2 and -9 activity as measured by zymography also was higher in MNC supernatants in the acute phase of stroke compared to convalescence. The high levels of proinflammatory cytokines and MMPs in blood monocytes and MNC further demonstrate the presence of systemic aberrations in the acute phase of stroke. Such changes may contribute to the influx of blood-borne cells into the ischemic lesions during the acute phase of stroke.

Aged↗

PubMed2000

Internal carotid artery dissection.

The purpose of this review is to increase the awareness of internal carotid artery dissection (ICAD), a potentially serious and probably underdiagnosed condition. ICAD is a not uncommon cause of stroke in young patients. ICAD may occur spontaneously or as a result of trauma. However, the "spontaneous" dissection is often preceded by a trivial trauma. The typical patient presents with ipsilateral headache or neck pain, ipsilateral Horner's syndrome and delayed ischemic symptoms from the ipsilateral hemisphere or retina. Conventional angiography, the gold standard for diagnosis, tends to be replaced by non-invasive diagnostic methods. There are no evidence-based guidelines for therapy although anticoagulation is most commonly used. The references are selected from the Medline database for the years 1966-1997.

Anticoagulants↗

PubMed2000

Carotid atherosclerosis in relation to symptoms from the territory supplied by the carotid artery.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between intima-media thickness in the common carotid artery, plaque morphology in the carotid bifurcation and symptoms of cerebral embolism. Design prospective study of consecutive patients referred for carotid duplex examination. METHODS: One hundred and eighty-eight patients were classified by one of two neurologists into four categories (symptomatic, asymptomatic, undefined, uncertain). Carotid atherosclerosis was measured by means of high-resolution ultrasound technique. Carotid plaques were classified based on visual evaluation of plaque echogenicity. RESULTS: Intima-media thickness (IMT) was correlated to presence of plaques, age and gender, but not to symptoms referable to the carotid circulation. Carotid plaques were more common in symptomatic than in asymptomatic vessels (p<0.05). There was no difference in plaque occurrence between the ipsi- and contralateral sides in the symptomatic patients, neither in frequency of echolucent plaques between the sides or between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Echogenic plaques were more common and generally smaller than echolucent plaques. CONCLUSIONS: IMT correlates with presence of plaques, but not with symptoms from the territory supplied by the carotid artery. Echolucent plaques in the carotid bifurcation are not more frequently symptomatic than echogenic plaques are, in patients with low-to-moderate degree of carotid stenosis.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

4.5 year follow-up after surgical correction of upper extremity deformities in spastic cerebral palsy.

Reconstructive surgery was carried out on 27 upper extremities in 24 children with deformities due to spastic cerebral palsy. Functional evaluation of the affected extremities was made preoperatively, at 6 months and at a mean of 4.5 years postoperatively using a score added to the assessment system described by the Committee on Spastic Hand Evaluation. According to the score, dysfunction of the arm was significantly reduced 6 months after the reconstructive surgery and the improvements remained essentially unchanged at the later follow-up. The addition of a score to the original assessment system facilitated the overall assessment of postoperative results.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

Relationship between intima-media thickness in the common carotid artery and atherosclerosis in the carotid bifurcation.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: An increase in intima-media thickness (IMT) in the common carotid artery (CCA) is commonly used as a marker of atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between IMT in the CCA and atherosclerosis in the carotid bifurcation. METHODS: 182 consecutive patients (mean age, 67 years) referred for carotid duplex scanning were included. We measured IMT and classified plaques by means of a high-resolution ultrasound technique. RESULTS: IMT was correlated to age, male gender, ischemic heart disease, and presence of plaques or stenoses in any of the carotid bifurcations. In men, IMT was larger on the left than on the right side. Plaques were seen in 163 carotid bifurcations, in 45 of these with > 50% stenosis. On the left side but not on the right, there was a correlation between IMT in the CCA and presence of plaques or stenoses in the carotid bifurcation. Echogenic plaques were more common than echolucent, but the latter caused significantly more stenoses. No relationship was found between plaque echogenicity and IMT. CONCLUSIONS: IMT of the CCA is correlated to the degree of atherosclerosis in the carotid bifurcations in general and on the left side also to the presence of plaques or stenoses in the left carotid bifurcation. Our results support earlier observations suggesting faster development of carotid atherosclerosis on the left than on the right side. Echogenic plaques were more common and generally smaller than echolucent plaques, but there was no correlation between plaque echogenicity and IMT.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Elevation of taurine in hippocampal extracellular fluid and cerebrospinal fluid of acutely hypoosmotic rats: contribution by influx from blood?

Previous work has demonstrated that there is a selective increase in extracellular taurine in the brain during acute water intoxication. One aim of the present study was to investigate whether plasma taurine contributes to this increase. To this end, the concentrations of taurine, other amino acids, and ethanolamine (EA) were measured in plasma and CSF of urethane-anesthetized rats injected with 150 ml/kg body weight of distilled water. Blood pressure, blood gases, and pH, as well as plasma and CSF osmolality, were also measured. The CSF level of albumin was quantitated to study the function of the blood-CSF barrier. In separate experiments, hippocampal microdialysis was performed to determine the effects of acute plasma hypoosmolality on extracellular amino acids. Finally, the effect of water injection on hippocampal specific gravity and tissue amino acids was assessed. Blood gases and pH were essentially unchanged after water administration. Mean arterial blood pressure increased to peak levels approximately 50 mm Hg above control. Plasma osmolality decreased rapidly, whereas the depression of CSF osmolality was slower and less pronounced. The average volume of the hippocampus increased by 8%. Water injection was accompanied by a 25-fold elevation of taurine in plasma, whereas phosphoethanolamine (PEA) and EA increased moderately. A small fraction of the increase in plasma taurine might derive from blood cells because dilution of blood in vitro led to doubled plasma levels of the amino acid. Taurine, PEA, and EA increased consistently in CSF and hippocampal microdialysates. Plasma hypoosmolality transiently opened the blood-CSF barrier is reflected by augmented CSF concentrations of albumin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Alanine↗

PubMed1981

A novel low-molecular weight chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan isolated from cartilage.

Proteoglycans were isolated from cartilage by extraction with 4M-guanidinium chloride followed by direct centrifugation in 4M-guanidinium chloride/CsCl at a low starting density, 1.34 g/ml. N-Ethylmaleimide was included in the extraction solvent as a precaution against contamination of proteoglycans with unrelated proteins mediated by disulphide exchange. A novel, discrete, low-buoyant-density proteoglycan (1.40--1.35 g/ml) was demonstrated by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Its proteoglycan nature was revealed by the shift in the molecular size observed on gel electrophoresis after treatment with chondroitinase ABC. The core protein was monodisperse. The proteoglycan was further purified by gel chromatography with and without addition of hyaluronate. The proteoglycan constitutes less than 2% (by weight) of the total extracted proteoglycans and is not capable of interacting with hyaluronate. The same proteoglycan was purified in larger quantities by sequential associative and dissociative CsCl-density-gradient centrifugation, zonal rate sedimentation in a sucrose gradient and gel chromatography on Sepharose CL-4B. The pure proteoglycan had a molecular weight of 76 300 determined by sedimentation-equilibrium centrifugation and an apparent partial specific volume of 0.59 ml/g. It contained about 25% protein (of dry weight) and had remarkably high contents of leucine and cysteine as compared with other proteoglycans. The proteoglycan contained two to three large chondroitin sulphate chains and some oligosaccharides.

Amino Acids↗