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H Pettersen

Publications and source records attributed to H Pettersen.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Long-lasting cephalic jabs (?) The Vågå study of headache epidemiology.

Jabs (stabs) usually last < or = 3 s and are located in the skull area, mostly anteriorly. In many cases, there are only a few jabs during lifetime. With this definition, jabs are frequent, thus at 35.2% in the Vågå study of headache epidemiology. Long-lasting jabs (?), i.e. paroxysms lasting 10-120 s, were present in six out of 1779 parishioners. These pain paroxysms seemed mainly to be side-locked, but could not be provoked. Possibly, these long-lasting jabs after all mainly are regular jabs. To include the < or = 2-minute-long paroxysms among the jabs will necessitate a rather drastic change of criteria. This group of jabs may, nevertheless, be heterogeneous. In two parishioners, the paroxysms were associated with a migraine-like pain. The paroxysms occasionally became most intense (2-10 times the basal pain), and then, and only then, were they combined with stark, visual phenomena: wave-like movements ('undulation'), anopsia, but also: immense dizziness, nausea/vomiting. The nature of the side-locked basal pain, although migraine-like, remains unsolved.

Adolescent↗

Extracephalic jabs/idiopathic stabs. Vågå study of headache epidemiology.

Ultrashort cephalic paroxysms are well known. In the parish of Vågå, Norway, 35.2% of the 18-65-year-old subjects (n = 1779) were recently found to have such jabs. In the present work, a search has been made for extracephalic 'jabs'. A questionnaire was in its entirety administered by the same investigator (O.S.) in a 'semistructured' way. Facial jabs were present in three women, and in one of them the pain spread to the head. Four subjects had jabs occurring at random throughout the body, also including the cephalic area. Pure nuchal jabs were present in 12 subjects, 10 of whom were males. This sex preponderance difference differs significantly from that in jabs in general (with 40.2% males). The characteristics of the extracephalic jabs, i.e. the duration and temporal pattern, do not seem to differentiate them essentially from jabs in general. The subjects were not asked specific questions regarding extracranial jabs. Most of the affected individuals gave information spontaneously about their jabs. For these reasons, this study is not a proper prevalence study. It does show, however, that extracranial jabs exist, and it gives some indications as to their frequency.

Adolescent↗

The Vågå study of headache epidemiology II. Jabs: clinical manifestations.

OBJECTIVES: To describe clinical characteristics of cephalic jabs. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In a population study in Vågå, Norway, 1838 18-65-year-old-parishioners (88.6% of the target group) were subjected to a semi-structured interview, based on a headache questionnaire. RESULTS: Of 627 cases of jabs, 68% had single jabs; 4% volleys, and 28% a mixture of volleys and singlets. Most individuals had experienced only few jabs. Exceptionally, there were multiple attacks per day, even per hour. The ratio between an anterior and posterior location was 2.6. Neck movements and Valsalva manoeuvres seemingly occasionally precipitated attacks. Attacks were generally of mild/moderate intensity. Unilaterality prevailed over bilaterality; but unilateral pain might shift side. CONCLUSION: Cephalic jabs are generally solitary paroxysms, with rather long intervals between attacks. Jabs do not only occur in the trigeminal area. Occasionally vocalization and more frequently jolts accompany the paroxysm.

Adolescent↗

Nuchal translucency: an ultrasound marker for fetal chromosomal abnormalities.

CONTEXT: The literature shows an association between several ultrasound markers and chromosome abnormality. Among these, measurement of nuchal translucency has been indicated as a screening method for aneuploidy. The trisomy of chromosome 21 has been most evaluated. OBJECTIVE: To define the best fixed cutoff point for nuchal translucency, with the assistance of the ROC curve, and its accuracy in screening all fetal aneuploidy and trisomy 21 in a South American population. TYPE OF STUDY: Validation of a diagnostic test. SETTING: This study was carried out at the State University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: 230 patients examined by ultrasound at two tertiary-level private centers, at 10 to 14 weeks of gestation. DIAGNOSTIC TEST: The participants consisted of all those patients who had undergone ultrasound imaging at 10 to 14 weeks of gestation to measure nuchal translucency and who had had the fetal or neonatal karyotype identified. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Maternal age, gestational age, nuchal translucency measurement, fetal or neonatal karyotype. RESULTS: Prevalence of chromosomal defects - 10 %; mean age - 35.8 years; mean gestational age - 12 weeks and 2 days; nuchal translucency (NT) thickness - 2.18 mm. The best balance between sensitivity and specificity were values that were equal to or higher than 2.5 mm for overall chromosomal abnormalities as well as for the isolated trisomy 21. The sensitivity for overall chromosomal abnormalities and trisomy 21 were 69.5 % and 75 %, respectively, and the positive likelihood ratios were 5.5 and 5.0, respectively. CONCLUSION: The measurement of nuchal translucency was found to be fairly accurate as an ultrasound marker for fetal abnormalities and measurements equal to or higher than 2.5 mm were the best fixed cutoff points.

Adult↗

The Vågå study; epidemiology of headache I: the prevalence of ultrashort paroxysms.

In a large-scale study of headache epidemiology in Vågå, Norway, 1838 adult parishioners(18--65 years of age) were examined, and this represents 88.6% of the target group. Jabs and jolts syndrome/idiopathic stabbing headache (ISH) was verified in 35.2% of the questioned parishioners. This prevalence is much higher than previously observed ones. There were clearly more females than males, the female/male ratio being 1.49, as compared to a ratio of 1.06 in the study cohort (P-value: < 0.0001, chi(2) test). The ratio, 1.49, also differs clearly from a previously observed one: 6.6 (P-value = 0.0003, Fisher's exact test). Control studies included blinded re-check of 100 work-ups, with complete concurrence (kappa-value of 1.00 and blinded re-check of 41 individuals (kapp value of 0.841). Jabs and jolts/ISH are frequent and almost the sole shortlasting (generally < 3 s duration) cephalic paroxysms.

Adolescent↗

Concentrations, biomagnification and spatial variation of organochlorine compounds in a pelagic food web in the northern part of the Baltic Sea.

Zooplankton, mysis (Mysis sp.) and herring (Clupea harengus) were collected at two pelagic locations in the northern part of the Baltic Sea, one in Bothnian Bay (BB) and the other in the Bothnian Sea (BS), in order to investigate concentrations, composition profiles, biomagnification features and spatial differences of organochlorine contaminants. Compounds included in this study are hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), DDTs, hexachlorobenzene (HCBz), chlordanes (CHLs), dieldrin, mirex and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). All groups of compound were detected in every sample investigated, with the exception of mirex that was detected only in the herring samples. The concentrations of organochlorine compounds in all samples ranged, e.g. from 250 to 1500 ng/g lipid for PCBs and from 6 to 150 ng/g lipid for CHLs. The biomagnification factor (BMF) is calculated as the concentration of the compounds in the organism divided by the concentration in food normalised to lipids. In the zooplankton-mysis-herring food web, large variations in BMFs between the different compound groups were observed. The highest BMFs were obtained for the CHLs followed by the DDTs and the lowest for the HCHs. Nonachlorinated CHLs had the highest BMFs within the group of CHLs and for the DDTs p,p'-DDT had a higher biomagnification potential than its metabolites p,p'-DDE and p,p'-DDD. Finally, concentration and biomagnification differences between the two stations were observed. The herring in the southernmost station (BS) displayed approximately two- to sixfold higher biomagnification than the herring from the north (BB).

Animals↗

Repeatability of measurement of fetal nuchal translucency thickness.

The aim of this prospective study was to assess the repeatability of measurement of fetal nuchal translucency thickness at 10-14 weeks' gestation. The nuchal translucency was measured by two of four operators in 200 pregnant women attending the Harris Birthright Research Centre for Fetal Medicine at 10-14 weeks' gestation. To assess repeatability of different components of variability, six measurements of nuchal translucency were made on each fetus, with a total of 1200 measurements. The data of this study demonstrate that 95% of the time the intraobserver, interobserver and caliper placement repeatability of measuring fetal nuchal translucency were less than 0.54 mm, 0.62 mm and 0.58 mm, respectively. In addition, the repeatability was unrelated to the size of the nuchal translucency. The findings of this study demonstrate that, when the nuchal translucency thickness is measured by well-trained operators, the measurement is highly reproducible.

Chromosome Aberrations↗

Fetal therapy.

Twin to twin transfusion syndrome and twin reversed arterial perfusion sequence affect up to 15% of monozygotic twin pregnancies. They can lead to miscarriage or very premature delivery, and fetal death. Intrauterine treatment is leading to an increased rate of survival of at least one twin in affected pregnancies.

Amniocentesis↗