PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Charlotte Strandberg

Publications and source records attributed to Charlotte Strandberg.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Ultrasonography of the metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joints in rheumatoid arthritis: a comparison with magnetic resonance imaging, conventional radiography and clinical examination.

Signs of inflammation and destruction in the finger joints are the principal features of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). There are few studies assessing the sensitivity and specificity of ultrasonography in detecting these signs. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether ultrasonography can provide information on signs of inflammation and destruction in RA finger joints that are not available with conventional radiography and clinical examination, and comparable to the information provided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The second to fifth metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joints of 40 RA patients and 20 control persons were assessed with ultrasonography, clinical examination, radiography and MRI. With MRI as the reference method, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of ultrasonography in detecting bone erosions in the finger joints were 0.59, 0.98 and 0.96, respectively; they were 0.42, 0.99 and 0.95 for radiography. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of ultrasonography, with signs of inflammation on T1-weighted MRI sequences as the reference method, were 0.70, 0.78 and 0.76, respectively; they were 0.40, 0.85 and 0.72 for the clinical examination. With MRI as the reference method, ultrasonography had higher sensitivity and accuracy in detecting signs of inflammation and destruction in RA finger joints than did clinical and radiographic examinations, without loss of specificity. This study shows that ultrasonography has the potential to improve assessment of patients with RA.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Contrast-enhanced power Doppler ultrasonography of the metacarpophalangeal joints in rheumatoid arthritis.

The aim of this study was to examine, with dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI as the reference, if contrast-enhanced power Doppler ultrasonography (CE PDUS) of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints provides additional information for evaluation of synovial inflammation compared with PDUS. One MCP joint in each of 15 RA patients and 3 healthy control persons were examined with PDUS before and after intravenous bolus Levovist contrast injection. Corresponding rates of early synovial enhancement (RESE), previously shown to be closely related to histopathological synovitis, were calculated from dynamic contrast-enhanced MR images obtained the same day. Prior to ultrasonography, the joint was evaluated clinically. Levovist increased the flow signal in 7 of 9 joints with pre-contrast flow-signal and in 0 of 9 without pre-contrast signal. No healthy controls showed CE PDUS signal. The results of CE PDUS and dynamic MRI were closely related: RESE in joints with CE PDUS signal was significantly higher than in joints without CE PDUS signal (Mann-Whitney test, p<0.001). Among the patients with pre-contrast PDUS signal no statistically significant difference in RESE values was found between joints with and without post-contrast flow-signal increase. No correlation was found between clinical examination and CE PDUS. Based on comparisons with dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI, PDUS appears to be reliable for assessment of synovitis in RA MCP joints. Intravenous contrast injection may provide additional information in selected cases but did not in the present study increase the sensitivity of the method.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Association between larger thymic size and higher thymic output in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy.

To examine the impact of thymic size on immune recovery in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, the thymus was visualized, using computed tomographic scans, in 25 HIV-infected patients who had received highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for 6-18 months and had levels of viremia <500 copies/mL. For comparison, 10 control subjects were included in the study. Total and naive CD4+ cell counts were determined by flow cytometry. To determine thymic output, the number of CD4+ cells containing T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) was measured. Qualitative immune recovery was evaluated by determination of CD4+ T cell receptor repertoire in 19 of the HIV-infected patients. Larger thymic size was associated with higher CD4+ cell counts (r=0.498; P=.011) and higher CD4+ TREC frequency (r=0.652; P<.001). Furthermore, patients with abundant thymic tissue seemed to have broader immunologic repertoires, compared with patients with minimal thymic tissue (P=.054). These findings suggest that thymopoiesis is ongoing in the adult thymus and contributes to immune reconstitution in HIV-infected patients receiving HAART.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Threshold electrical stimulation (TES) in ambulant children with CP: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial.

A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was carried out to determine whether a group of stable children with cerebral palsy (36 males, 21 females; mean age 10 years 11 months, range 5 to 18 years) would improve their motor skills after 12 months of threshold electrical stimulation (TES). Two thirds received active and one third received inactive stimulators. For the primary outcome we constructed a set of plausible motor function tests and studied the change in summary indices of the performance measurements. Tests were videotaped and assessed blindly to record qualitative changes that might not be reflected in performance measurements. We also judged range of motion, degree of spasticity, and muscle growth measured by CT. Fifty seven of 82 outpatients who were able to walk at least with a walker, completed all 12 months of treatment (hemiplegia n=25, diplegia n=32). There was no significant difference between active and placebo treatment in any of the tested groups, nor combined. Visual and subjective assessments favoured TES (ns), whereas objective indices showed the opposite trend. We conclude that TES in these patients did not have any significant clinical effect during the test period.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Thymic involvement in immune recovery during antiretroviral treatment of HIV infection in adults; comparison of CT and sonographic findings.

In adult HIV-infected patients, thymic size evaluated from CT scans seems to be important to the degree of immune reconstitution obtainable during treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). To examine whether ultrasound is as reliable as CT for estimating thymic size and predicting immune recovery, CT and ultrasound scans were performed in 25 adult HIV-infected patients and 10 controls. CD4 counts and naive CD4 counts were measured in order to determine immune reconstitution. Furthermore, the CD4+ T-cell receptor excision circle (TREC) frequency and T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire were determined. The study demonstrated no correlation between the 2 scanning methods (r = 0.201, p = 0.358 in patients and r = 0.457, p = 0.184 in controls). Among the patients, no association was found between the sonographically estimated thymic size and immunological parameters such as CD4 count (r = 0.083, p = 0.706), naive CD4 count (r = 0.067, p = 0.762), CD4 + TREC frequency (r = 0.028, p = 0.900) and CD4 + TCR repertoire (r = -0.057, p = 0.828). These findings show that CT remains superior for assessing thymic size in adults and is preferable to ultrasound when evaluating the importance of a large thymus to immune recovery during HAART.

Adult↗