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Biomedical subjects

J Andersen

Publications and source records attributed to J Andersen.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Prolactin responses to thyrotropin-releasing hormone in multi-infarct dementia and senile dementia of the Alzheimer type.

The serum prolactin (PRL) responses to stimulation with thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) (500 micrograms Protirelin) were compared in 14 patients with multi-infarct dementia (MID) and 10 patients with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT). Between the MID and the SDAT patients, there were no statistically significant differences in the median serum PRL concentrations, median changes in serum PRL concentrations or median proportional changes in serum PRL concentrations. Further, the serum PRL responses did not correlate with the GBS scale scores (degrees of dementia) or the GBS subscale scores (clinical profiles, including motor functioning, emotional functioning and intellectual functioning). In conclusion, the study does not support the hypothesis that serum PRL responses to TRH stimulation are of diagnostic value in differentiating between MID and SDAT.

Aged

Enzyme immunoassay of oestrogen receptors in needle biopsies from human liver.

For quantitative assessments of sex hormone receptors in liver tissue, ligand binding assays are inconvenient, as they require large biopsies (0.5-1.0 g). The present study shows that it is possible to measure oestrogen receptors (ER) quantitatively in needle biopsy specimens as small as 10 mg by modifications of a commercial enzyme immunoassay employing monoclonal antibodies. Sucrose gradient centrifugation and the dextran charcoal method served as reference methods. A consecutive series of needle biopsies from patients suspected of liver disease were investigated. The biopsies (n = 37) had a median weight of 14 mg and cytosolic protein concentrations greater than 1 mg/ml (median 1.28 mg/ml). The median ER concentration was 20 fmol/mg cytosolic protein (range 5 to 57 fmol/mg). The intra-assay coefficient of variation was 8.9%, the inter-assay 13.2%, and the detection limit 2.7 fmol/ml cytosol. Women had significantly higher ER concentrations (median 22 fmol/mg) compared to male patients (median 16 fmol/mg) (P = 0.007). The enzyme immunoassay measures ER in liver specimens as small as 10 mg, compared to the large tissue specimens necessary for the conventional DCC assay, and the method is a convenient tool for further studies of ER in routine needle biopsies from the liver.

Biopsy, Needle

Contrast sensitivity in radial keratotomy.

In a prospective study, contrast sensitivity function was determined before and one month postsurgery in 15 consecutive cases of radial keratotomy. The results obtained pre-operatively were compared to those of an age-matched, emmetropic reference group also comprising 15 persons. Three different test conditions were employed. High luminance background levels of 130 cd/m2, low luminance levels of 3.5 cd/m2 and low luminance levels completed with a central glare source of 7.5 lux. Using an eight-incisional radial keratotomy technique with a 3 mm optical zone, a median reduction in myopia of 3.5 diopters was observed. Corrected visual acuity was not affected by the surgery. The contrast sensitivity functions of the myopic group pre-operatively compared to the post-operative values showed no significant difference for any of the three test conditions. Compared to the reference group, the myopic group pre-operatively demonstrated a statistically significant reduced contrast sensitivity for all test conditions.

Adult

Progressive noninfectious anterior vertebral fusion.

We reviewed 26 patients with progressive spinal kyphosis due to anterior fusion between the vertebrae. No patient had back pain or any neurological defect. The kyphosis appeared to be progressive until the fusion had included all of the disc. Progression was faster during the adolescent growth-spurt. Kyphosis increased with the number of discs involved, from one to six, and the extent of fusion within each disc. In six of the nine cases treated by spinal bracing, progression of the kyphosis was arrested.

Adolescent

Pattern of spread and progression in relation to the characteristics of the primary tumour in human breast cancer.

Characteristics of primary breast tumours were related to the extent of dissemination, the anatomical location of metastases, and the rate of progression in 863 patients with recurrent breast cancer. The following features were examined: tumour laterality, location within the breast, size, invasion of skin or fascia, presence of residual cancer tissue (RCT) in the mastectomy specimen, and number of positive lymph nodes. Increasing tumour size, increasing number of nodes, and the presence of local invasion and RCT were all associated with a short duration of survival both from initial diagnosis and from first recurrence. None of the factors were related to either the extent of dissemination or the rate of progression. Patients who had their primary tumours located in the medial or central part of the breast had an increased incidence of mediastinal and pleural recurrences respectively. Primary tumours greater than 5 cm, invasion of skin or fascia, and presence of RCT were all associated with an increased incidence of local recurrences. In addition, both RCT and fascial invasion were associated with increased occurrence of brain metastases. Most differences were explainable on the basis of local and regional lymphodynamics. Since the status of the features examined here all vary with time from tumour inception, it is suggested that the impact on prognosis is related to variations in tumour age from inception to primary diagnosis rather than to qualitative biological differences.

Bone Neoplasms

Estrogen receptor in primary breast cancer estimated in paraffin-embedded tissue. A study of its usefulness compared to dextran-coated charcoal assay.

Estrogen receptor (ER) was estimated immunohistochemically in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue from the primary breast cancer in 349 postmenopausal patients with a high risk of recurrence and compared with the results of dextran-coated charcoal assay. There was a highly significant correlation between the ER classification obtained by the two methods (p less than 10(-6)). Patients ER positive according to immunohistochemical estimate had a significantly longer disease-free survival (p less than 0.001) and survival (p less than 0.001) than ER negative patients. The DCC assay showed an advantage of ER positive patients of the same magnitude. The patients, who were followed for a median of 86 months, were a subset of 1,700 patients participating in the Danish Breast Cancer Cooperative Group's randomized trial of adjuvant tamoxifen (TAM) treatment. In the presently analyzed subset of patients there were no statistically significant difference in disease-free survival (p = 0.52) or survival (p = 0.54) between patients who received adjuvant TAM and the controls. The same was true for receptor-defined subgroups regardless if the ER receptor was estimated in paraffin-embedded tissue or by the dextran-coated charcoal method. The analyzed subset might have been too small for demonstrating a positive effect of adjuvant TAM treatment.

Breast Neoplasms

micF RNA binds to the 5' end of ompF mRNA and to a protein from Escherichia coli.

micF RNA regulates the levels of outer membrane protein F (OmpF) in Escherichia coli in response to temperature increase and other stress conditions by decreasing the levels of ompF mRNA (Andersen et al., 1989). A 93-nucleotide micF RNA was synthesized in vitro directly from polymerase chain reaction generated DNA which was designed to contain a functional T7 RNA polymerase promoter upstream of the micF RNA gene and an appropriate restriction site for transcription termination. A transcript (150 nucleotides) containing the ribosomal binding domain of ompF mRNA messenger was synthesized in vitro from the ompF gene cloned into a T7 expression vector. A stable duplex was formed between micF RNA and the 150-nucleotide 5' transcript of ompF mRNA after incubation at 37 degrees C in a physiological buffer. The melting curve of the duplex formed by micF RNA and 150-nucleotide transcript revealed a Tm of 56 degrees C and a delta Tm that spans about 20 degrees C; both are consistent with the proposed structure for the micF/ompF duplex. In addition, as determined by competition studies and UV cross-linking/label-transfer analyses, an E. coli protein was found to bind specifically to micF RNA. The protein also bound weakly to the 150-nucleotide ompF transcript. The data are the first to demonstrate the complex between micF RNA and the 5' end of ompF mRNA and suggest that in vivo a micF ribonucleoprotein (RNP) particle may participate in the destabilization ompF mRNA during thermoregulation of OmpF porin.

Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins

[Breast carcinoma in situ. Diagnostic and therapeutic aspects with special reference to growth patterns].

The probability of developing in situ carcinoma has been calculated at about 25%, while the cumulative risk of having the diagnosis established is estimated at less than 1%. In situ carcinoma in its pure form constitutes up to about 6% of all newly diagnosed breast cancers in clinical series, whereas its share in the most thorough mammographic screening series ranges from 8 to 16%. This excess in diagnosis comprises, in particular, the ductal type, primarily its most aggressive forms. To-day in situ cancer occurs chiefly as non-palpable lesions demonstrated by mammography or as minor changes discovered accidentally by the pathologist. A more recent classification based upon histological growth patterns is described. The advantage of classifying according to growth pattern bears a good correlation to clinical presentation, extent of surgery and prognosis. The treatment of in situ carcinoma lacks a rational basis. Therapy should therefore be kept within the framework of prospective protocols. Various treatment modalities are described with reference to the most important multicenter trials.

Breast Neoplasms

[District psychiatry in the Naestved region. Consequences of a reorganization].

Community psychiatry was introduced in the Naestved region on 1.1.1987. Anticipating that the number of admissions would be reduced as a result of this, the hospital services were altered: a day ward was inaugurated and a district team was organized and, simultaneously, the total number of psychiatric beds was reduced. In order to investigate the effects of these conversions, the patterns of admission were reviewed retrospectively and compared for the years 1986 and 1987. This investigation revealed that the number of admissions was reduced but that this occurred at the expense of many alcoholics and drug addicts, many of whom have disappeared from the psychiatric therapeutic system. The only group which it proved possible to retain in their own environment consisted of the group of schizophrenics. The question is raised of whether this group gains by this.

Adolescent

The prognostic value of immunohistochemical estrogen receptor analysis in paraffin-embedded and frozen sections versus that of steroid-binding assays.

Estrogen receptors (ER) were independently analyzed using dextran-coated charcoal assays (ER-DCC) and immunohistochemical assays in frozen (ER-ICA) and paraffin-embedded tissue (ER-PAR) from 130 human breast cancer specimens drawn from postmenopausal high-risk patients registered in the Danish Breast Cancer Cooperative Group. ER was best detected with the ER-DCC assay followed by the ER-ICA (relative sensitivity 87%) and the ER-PAR assays (relative sensitivity 71%). The semiquantified staining features of the immunohistochemical assays were statistically significantly correlated with each other and with ER-DCC. Analysis of disease-free interval (DFI) and overall survival (OS) showed that all assays allowed statistically significant discrimination between a high risk and a low risk group, although the sensitivity differences tended to be reflected as small differences in clinical discriminatory power. The patient groups were then stratified according to adjuvant treatment [radiotherapy (RT) versus radiotherapy and tamoxifen (RT + TAM)]. The survival advantage was tied primarily to the receptor status itself in the steroid-binding assays, but was linked to both the receptor status and the adjuvant treatment in the immunohistochemical assays. Thus, the relative risks in terms of DFI and OS were of the same relative magnitude in the RT and RT + TAM groups for ER-DCC assays using a cut-off level of 10 fmol/mg cytosol protein, while there were large differences in the relative risks between RT and RT + TAM groups for ER-ICA and ER-PAR assays. We conclude that an ER assay in fresh tissue should be given first priority, but if there is no fresh tissue, an ER assay in paraffin-embedded tissue offers a reasonably good alternative as a prognosticator and an equivalent alternative as a predictor of the response to endocrine treatment.

Breast Neoplasms

Estrogen receptors appear undetectable in the C-cells of the human thyroid gland.

An attempt was made to explain the bone-preserving effect of estrogen by analysis of estrogen receptors (OER) in the calcitonin-producing C-cells of the human thyroid gland. Thyroid tissue from twenty patients with benign hyperthyroidism and three patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma was used. The C-cells were identified immunohistochemically using a polyclonal antibody to calcitonin, and by a similar staining technique the adjacent sections were stained for the OER protein using a monoclonal antibody (H 222-ABBOTT, USA). In spite of an intense nuclear staining of the positive control tissue (an OER positive breast carcinoma) no specific OER-staining was identified in C-cells or any other cells of the thyroid gland. Neither a dextran-coated charcoal assay nor a solid-phase immunoenzyme assay revealed any quantitative OER activity in tissue homogenates. Various observations point to a regulating mechanism between calcitonin and estrogen. The nature of this mechanism is not known, but according to our study it is unlikely to be a direct one.

Adult

Intravenous omeprazole: effect of a loading dose on 24-h intragastric pH.

To determine the effect of three times daily dosing with intravenous omeprazole on intragastric acidity, 24 h intragastric pH was measured continuously with a monocrystalline antimony electrode system in II patients with inactive duodenal ulceration during fasting conditions. After a baseline investigation, two different dosage regimens of intravenous omeprazole were compared in a double-blind crossover study, with regard to their ability to keep the pH greater than or equal to 4 for as long as possible. Success in the individual patient was defined as pH greater than or equal to 4 for at least 90% over the 24-h period. Two doses of omeprazole [40 mg t.d.s. (120 mg) and 80 mg + 40 mg + 40 mg (160 mg)] were compared. Omeprazole (120 mg) increased the median of individual median intragastric 24-h pH from 1.49 to 6.67. The pH was greater than or equal to 4 for greater than or equal to 90% of the 24 h in three of the 11 patients. With omeprazole, 160 mg (a loading dose of 80 mg), the median of individual median intragastric 24-h pH increased to 7.33. The pH was greater than or equal to 4 for greater than or equal to 90% of the 24 h in seven of the 11 patients. Median time to reach pH 4 was 39 min after 40 mg and 20 min after 80 mg omeprazole. An initial loading dose of 80 mg omeprazole seems preferable to 40 mg to achieve a fast and sustained increase in intragastric pH to above 4 in the fasting patient.

Adult

A double blind comparative multicentre study of remoxipride and haloperidol in schizophrenia.

Seventy-two patients fulfilling the DSM-III criteria for schizophrenia and schizophreniform psychosis were admitted to a multicentre, double-blind controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of remoxipride in comparison to haloperidol. The mean daily dose of remoxipride at the end of treatment was 353 mg and of haloperidol, 11 mg. Patients were assessed each week on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) and the symptoms checklist. No significant differences in efficacy were found between the two treatments. The median total BPRS score in the remoxipride group was 25 at start of active treatment and 17 at the last valid rating (n = 31). For the haloperidol group the corresponding figures were 24 and 15 (n = 29). According to the CGI, 40% of remoxipride patients and 50% of haloperidol patients were much or very much improved. Treatment-emergent extrapyramidal symptoms, such as akathisia and rigidity, occurred significantly more frequently, and were more severe during treatment with haloperidol than with remoxipride (p = 0.012 and 0.024, respectively). Haloperidol-treated patients reported significantly more drowsiness and increased sleep during treatment (p = 0.026 and 0.012, respectively). No statistically significant differences were seen in endocrine or autonomic symptoms. Remoxipride seemed to be as effective as haloperidol, had a lower frequency of side effects, and was used safely in the dose range 150-600 mg/day.

Adolescent

Cavernous haemangioma of the jejunum. Long-standing anaemia in a child.

A 15-year-old boy who had been examined for almost lifelong iron deficiency anaemia caused by occult gastrointestinal bleeding was eventually, by abdominal surgery, found to have a cavernous haemangioma of the jejunum. A diagnostic approach is described and the importance of systematic evaluation and subsequent diagnosis in such patients is stressed.

Adolescent