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Biomedical subjects

I Carlsson

Publications and source records attributed to I Carlsson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Diversities and similarities in PFGE profiles of Campylobacter jejuni isolated from migrating birds and humans.

AIMS: To genetically sub-type Campylobacter jejuni strains isolated from migratory birds, and to compare these with clinical strains collected in the same area and corresponding time period, with the aim to increase our knowledge on sub-types occurring among wild birds and their possible impact on human disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: We sub-typed C. jejuni strains from migrating birds (n = 89) and humans (n = 47), using macrorestriction profiling by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Isolates from migrant birds often exhibited sub-types with higher levels of similarity to isolates from birds of the same species or feeding guild, than to isolates from other groups of birds. Likewise, could the vast majority of sub-types found among the migrant bird isolates not be identified among sub-types from human cases. Only two bird strains, one from a starling (Sturnus vulgaris) and one from a blackbird (Turdus merula), had sub-types that were similar to some of the human strain sub-types. CONCLUSIONS: Isolates from one bird species, or feeding guild, often exhibited high similarities, indicating a common transmission source for individuals, or an association between certain sub-types of C. jejuni and certain ecological guilds or phylogenetic groups of birds. Sub-types occurring among wild birds were in general distinctively different from those observed in patients. The two bird isolates that were similar to human strains were isolated from bird species that often live in close associations with human settlements. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY: Wild birds have often been mentioned as a potential route for transmission of C. jejuni to humans. Our study demonstrates that strains isolated from birds most often are different from clinical strains, but that some strain similarities occur, notably in birds strongly associated with human activities.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Quality of life and standard of living in a randomly selected group of psychiatrically disabled people in Sweden 2 years after a psychiatry reform.

In Sweden, a psychiatry reform, aimed at improving the living conditions of the psychiatrically disabled, came into force in 1995. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of the reform by investigating quality of life and standard of living 2 years later in a randomly selected group of people with longstanding psychiatric disability. Self-ratings and interviews were conducted in a study group and a control group. The study group consisted of 19 women and 18 men (mean age 46.1 years) diagnosed with neurosis, schizophrenia or affective disorder. The control group consisted of 19 women and 17 men (mean age 48.7 years). Self-rated quality of life was significantly poorer in the study group (P < 0.0001, unpaired t-test), and so was housing (P < 0.001, test of similar proportions in independent samples). We found no significant positive correlation between subjective quality of life and standard of living in either group but a significant negative correlation in the control group (P < 0.05; r = 0.40, Pearson correlation coefficient). The results suggest that, in 1997, people with longstanding psychiatric disability still had poorer quality of life than the general population. This may be due to factors other than outward standard of living.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

On the interpretation of pictures with and without a content of child sexual abuse.

OBJECTIVE: The purposes of the three experiments were to validate the possibility of a picture to evoke the recognition of child sexual abuse, to determine if the picture was anxiety evoking, and to investigate if the content of child sexual abuse would be transferred to a neutral picture. METHOD: In all three experiments, adult men and women were presented with a drawing intended to depict child sexual abuse, and were requested to interpret the picture. Experiment 1: Before and after the picture presentation, 226 participants were given a test of anxiety. Experiment 2: After the exposure of the child abuse picture, 200 new participants were asked to interpret an innocent child-adult picture. Experiment 3: To complete Experiment 2, 89 new participants were asked to interpret the pictures in the reverse order. RESULTS: Almost three-fourths of the participants saw child sexual abuse in the picture with a sexual threat. Those in Experiment 1 who saw the picture as child sexual abuse or as a problematic child-adult situation without sexual implications reported a significant increase of anxiety level. None in Experiment 2 or 3 saw child sexual abuse in the innocent picture. The sex of the abused child was significantly more often interpreted as opposite to one's own sex. CONCLUSIONS: The study indicates some people's deficient capacity to recognize the message of child sexual abuse in the picture. It seems that certain people can spare themselves anxiety by not registering the child's precarious situation or not seeing the child as being of their own sex. This has implications for the recognition of child sexual abuse in society. It was also shown that a sexual abuse theme was not transferred from one context to another context, which immediately followed it.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

On the neurobiology of creativity. Differences in frontal activity between high and low creative subjects.

The aim was to investigate the relationship between creativity and hemispheric asymmetry, as measured by regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). Two groups, each consisting of 12 healthy male subjects, who got either very high or low scores on a creativity test, were pre-selected for the rCBF investigation. rCBF was measured during rest and three verbal tasks: automatic speech (Auto), word fluency (FAS) and uses of objects (Brick). State and trait anxiety inventories were answered after the rCBF measurements. Intelligence tests were also administered. It was predicted that highly creative subjects would show a bilateral frontal activation on the divergent thinking task (Brick), while low creative subjects were expected to have a unilateral increase. Calculations were made of differences in blood flow levels between the FAS and the Brick measurements in the anterior prefrontal, frontotemporal and superior frontal regions. In accordance with our prediction, repeated measure-ANOVAs showed that the creativity groups differed significantly in all three regions. The highly creative group had increases, or unchanged activity, while the low creative group had mainly decreases. The highly creative group had higher trait anxiety than the low creative group. On the intelligence tests the low creative group was superior both on logical-inductive ability and on perceptual speed, while the groups were equal on verbal and spatial tests. The results are discussed in terms of complementary functions of the hemispheres.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Androgyny and creativity: a study of the relationship between a balanced sex-role and creative functioning.

The relationship between creativity and androgyny was studied in 163 women and men with the Creative Functioning Test (CFT) and the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). A 2 (femininity: high/low) x 2 (masculinity: high/low) x 2 (sex) ANOVA was conducted on subjects' CFT scores. A significant interaction effect between femininity and masculinity was found showing that subjects high on both femininity and masculinity (androgynous) and low on both scales (undifferentiated) reached higher CFT scores than female-typed and male-typed subjects. Further, a significant three-way interaction including sex of subject indicated that the former two-way interaction was accounted for by men only.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

[Nature and culture meet in emotional communication].

According to the modern affect theory, the human being is equipped from birth with a number of affect programmes which can be activated both by internal and external signals and by the memory. According to theory, facial expressions constitute an important component of the affect programme. Research findings suggest the human being to be biologically programmed both to send and receive communications via facial expressions. Emotional communication seems to occur at an unconscious level, and to precede conscious information processing. There is scientific evidence that the emotional components of information processing are faster and occur in phylogenetically older brain structures. The right hemisphere appears to be more closely related than the left hemisphere to the autonomic nervous system, and thus more intimately linked with the physiological and automatic components of the emotions. Modern psychodynamic theory, in which emotion and unconscious processes are seen as human driving forces, derives scientific support from emotion research based both upon experimental psychology and neuroscience.

Affect↗
PubMed1995

Measurement of C-reactive protein and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate in general practice.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the NycoCard:::CRP test (Nycomed A/S, Oslo, Norway) in relation to ESR in consecutive patients in general practice. NycoCard:::CRP test was also compared with a reference method for CRP quantitation. DESIGN: C-reactive protein and ESR were simultaneously measured in 607 consecutive patients at four community health centres. SETTING: Four community health centres in southern Sweden. RESULTS: We obtained consistent results in 71% of the cases. In 20% CRP was increased more than ESR, while ESR was increased more than CRP in 9%. CRP was increased in 16% while ESR was below the upper reference limit for age and sex. On the other hand ESR was increased while CRP was below 10 mg/l in five % of the patients. In most of the cases where there was a discrepancy- for example, in infectious diseases-the CRP results were more clear-cut. Using the NycoCard test the CRP concentration can be measured directly in a whole blood sample with the result available within minutes. Comparison of the NycoCard:::CRP test with the reference method for CRP quantitation showed good agreement. CONCLUSION: In clinical situations with suspected inflammatory diseases, the CRP test appears often to yield more useful results than the ESR. The NycoCard:::CRP test is suitable for use in general practice.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Metacarpophalangeal joint arthroplasty based on the osseointegration concept.

The osseointegration concept has been used for fixation of 68 MP joint endoprostheses in 31 patients operated on at the Department of Hand Surgery, Malmö General Hospital during the period 1988-1992. The indications were rheumatoid arthritis (50 joints), primary osteoarthrosis (three joints), post-traumatic osteoarthrosis (three joints), post-traumatic osteoarthrosis (five joints), post-infectious osteoarthrosis (seven joints) and joint deformities secondary to spastic conditions (three joints). The average follow-up time was 2.5 years (6-54 months). The surgical procedure included resection of the joint followed by introduction of screw-shaped titanium fixtures into the bone marrow cavities of the metacarpal and the phalangeal base. Rheumatoid cases usually required grafting of cancellous bone and marrow from the iliac crest. At the same time a flexible constrained silicone spacer was connected to the titanium fixtures in such a way as to allow later replacement of the spacer if accessory. The average active range of motion (ROM) was 57 degrees in the rheumatoid cases and 50 degrees in all cases. Radiological and clinical osseointegration occurred in every case, and there were no clinical signs of loosening. In four cases (6%) there was a fracture of the joint mechanism. Patient satisfaction was high, with pain relief, increased range of motion, improved hand function and good cosmetic appearance.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Differential inhibition of thromboxane A2 and prostacyclin synthesis by low dose acetylsalicylic acid in atherosclerotic patients.

Differential inhibition of thromboxane A2 (TxA2) and prostacyclin (PGI2) biosynthesis has an antithrombotic potential, since it may change the TxA2/PGI2 formation ratio in a favourable direction. Very low doses of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) have been demonstrated to elicit differential inhibition of TxA2 and PGI2 formation in healthy subjects; whether a similar effect can be obtained in patients with atherosclerosis is still an open question. We addressed this by analyzing the urinary excretion of the 2,3-dinor-metabolites of TxA2 (Tx-M) and PGI2 (PGI-M) in 10 patients with severe atherosclerosis during 10 consecutive days. The first three days were a basal period, under which no treatment was given. During the subsequent seven days a daily 50 mg oral dose of ASA was administered. In the basal state urinary Tx-M did not differ from that of PGI-M, the median excretion rates of the two eicosanoid metabolites being 526 (range 68-1490) and 562 (range 93-1970) pg/mg creatinine, respectively. During ASA treatment urinary Tx-M fell to a lower (p less than 0.001) level than PGI-M. Thus, during the last 5 days of ASA treatment the median excretion of Tx-M was depressed (p less than 0.001) to 148 (range 48-428) pg/mg creatinine, while that of PGI-M was decreased (p less than 0.01) to 313 (range 42-2658) pg/mg creatinine. These data indicate that a daily 50 mg dose of ASA inhibits cardiovascular formation of eicosanoids in patients with severe atherosclerosis and increased platelet TxA2 formation. Furthermore, this dose of ASA inhibits the formation of TxA2 more than that of PGI2.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Lateralization of defense mechanisms related to creative functioning.

Eighty-four undergraduate students were randomly divided into left and right visual half-field groups. They were tested in either visual half-field with a percept-genetic test of anxiety and defense mechanisms (the MCT). The subjects also took a test of creative functioning (the CFT) and degree of lateralization in the MCT was related to level of creativity in the CFT. Subjects low in creativity were significantly lateralized on measures typical for the right visual half-field group (isolation and repression) and tended to differ on a left visual half-field measure (regressive strategies). For high creative subjects no differences were found between the visual half-field groups. Also, high creative persons more often responded with non-hemisphere-specific defenses than low creative ones. The results were interpreted as due to differing levels of transmission of information between the two hemispheres of the brain.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Lateralization of defence mechanisms in a visual half-field paradigm.

A percept-genetic test of defence mechanisms (the Meta-Contrast Technique) was given to 169 undergraduate students. Subjects were divided into three groups: two visual half-field groups and one group tested in the regular way. It was hypothesized that the visual field groups would differ from one another and from the control group. An ANOVA showed that the left and right visual half-field conditions differed significantly, as hypothesized. Clear regressive signs were more common in the left visual half-field group, whereas isolation and repression were more common in the right. Furthermore, the visual half-field conditions differed in certain respects from the control group. It was concluded that processes in both hemispheres are important for complex psychological functions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

The role of myogenic relaxation, adenosine and prostaglandins in human forearm reactive hyperaemia.

1. Forearm blood flow was measured bilaterally in healthy young male and female volunteers, in the basal state and after upper-arm occlusion of arterial or venous blood flow for 1-20 min. The investigations were repeated after pre-treatment with drugs affecting vascular prostaglandins and/or adenosine. 2. Simultaneous arterial occlusion in one arm and venous occlusion in the contralateral arm for up to 20 min elicited a considerable reactive hyperaemia in the arm subjected to arterial occlusion, but completely failed to elevate the post-occlusive flow in the arm subjected to venous occlusion above the pre-occlusive level. 3. When the arterial occlusion was increased from 1 to 20 min there was a progressive increase in the subsequent reactive hyperaemia, up to 30 ml 100 ml tissue-1. The time dependence following 1-3 min of arterial occlusion was based on a facilitation of the peak post-occlusive flow, while prolongation of the arterial occlusion from 3 to 20 min augmented the reactive hyperaemia mainly by increasing its duration. 4. Inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis with ibuprofen reduced the total reactive hyperaemia following 3-5 min of arterial occlusion by up to 70%. This attenuation was due both to a reduction of peak post-occlusive flow and to a shortening of the duration of the post-occlusive hyperaemia. 5. The adenosine receptor antagonist theophylline reduced the reactive hyperaemia following 5 min of arterial occlusion by about 35%. Combined treatment with ibuprofen and theophylline did not reduce the reactive hyperaemia more than either drug alone. 6. Infusion of dipyridamole, a drug which inhibits the elimination of adenosine, reinforced the reactive hyperaemia by about 45%. This effect of dipyridamole was completely inhibited by administration of theophylline, and also by ibuprofen. 7. Plasma levels of adenosine, hypoxanthine and uric acid were maintained during the reactive hyperaemia, indicating increased production of purines during or immediately after the ischaemia. 8. It is concluded that the adequate stimulus for vascular relaxation in response to interruption of blood flow is omission of vessel wall distension. Local metabolic factors like endogenously formed prostaglandins and adenosine may act synergistically to this myogenic response but seem to be inactive alone. The lack of additive effects of ibuprofen and theophylline suggests a link between vascular relaxation induced by prostaglandins and by adenosine.

Adenosine↗