PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Bjermer

Publications and source records attributed to L Bjermer.

97 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Hyaluronic acid in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in patients with sarcoidosis: relationship to lavage mast cells.

Hyaluronate (hyaluronic acid), a potential marker for activated pulmonary fibroblasts, appears in increased concentrations in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from patients with sarcoidosis. The mechanisms underlying fibroblast proliferation are largely unknown but activated alveolar T lymphocytes and macrophages probably play a part; the mast cell is also important for fibroblast proliferation. This study was designed to determine whether there is any association between pulmonary mast cells in lavage fluid, which are known to be increased in patients with sarcoidosis, and signs of pulmonary fibroblast activation. A strong correlation was found between lavage fluid hyaluronate and recovered mast cells (r = 0.72, p less than 0.001). Moreover, mast cell and hyaluronate estimations correlated inversely with lung volume and transfer factor for carbon monoxide, and both indices increased with advancing radiological sarcoid stage. Macrophage and granulocyte counts were normal in lavage fluid from patients with sarcoidosis and were not related to lavage fluid hyaluronate or laboratory signs of the disease in the lungs. Lymphocytes were recovered in increased numbers (p less than 0.001) and were related to the lavage fluid mast cells and hyaluronate. It is concluded that in sarcoidosis release of hyaluronate into the airways is related to the degree of lung disease and to the local inflammatory reaction in the lung as defined by increased numbers of mast cells and lymphocytes in lavage fluid. The findings may reflect a link between the immune system, activation of mast cells, and a pulmonary fibroblast proliferation.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

The mast cell and signs of pulmonary fibroblast activation in sarcoidosis.

Hyaluronate and type III procollagen propeptide were assayed in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids from patients with sarcoidosis. Levels were significantly elevated suggesting increased rates of synthesis of these connective tissue components in the lung. They were strongly related to each other (p less than 0.001) favoring the idea of a common cellular origin, as a suggestion activated fibroblasts. There was a significant inverse correlation (p less than 0.001) between lavage hyaluronate or procollagen propeptide and the clinical severity of the disease process defined by lung volume, diffusion capacity and pulmonary radiological findings. Correlation of clinical findings with lavage cell profiles was poor except for recovered mast cells (p less than 0.001). Lavage mast cell counts were also closely associated with BAL fluid hyaluronate and procollagen peptide (p less than 0.001). These findings may reflect a link between the mast cell, the activation of fibroblasts, and the progress of connective tissue changes in sarcoid lung.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Mast cells and lysozyme positive macrophages in bronchoalveolar lavage from patients with sarcoidosis. Valuable prognostic and activity marking parameters of disease?

In the deteriorating group of sarcoidosis patients, progress towards pulmonary fibrosis is a major problem. In order to benefit from corticosteroids, it is important for the treatment to start early. We studied a group of 45 patients with sarcoidosis. Most of them were newly detected patients and none were under or had currently received corticosteroid therapy. The patients were followed for at least six months. We found that increased amounts of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) or lysozyme-positive macrophages (Lys+MF) and mast cells (MC) in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) could implicate a bad prognosis.

Bronchi↗
PubMed1986

Procollagen III peptide in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. A potential marker of altered collagen synthesis reflecting pulmonary disease in sarcoidosis.

Type III procollagen N-terminal peptide was not detectable in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from healthy volunteers but was present in fluid from the majority of patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis (N = 110); the mean concentration was 0.6 micrograms/liter returned fluid, range less than or equal to 0.2 to 19.5 or, expressed in relation to the amount of albumin recovered, 9.5 mg/gm albumin (range less than or equal to 1 to 45). The serum concentrations in the patients with sarcoidosis were normal. Significant inverse correlations were found between lavage fluid procollagen peptide and vital capacity (p less than 0.001), forced expiratory volume (p less than 0.01), and diffusion capacity (p less than 0.01). Lavage fluid procollagen peptide was also related to pulmonary radiological findings (p less than 0.001) and serum levels of angiotensin converting enzyme (p less than 0.001). These findings support the hypothesis that procollagen peptide in lavage fluid is a potential marker of activated pulmonary fibroblasts or an expanded fibroblast mass associated with interstitial lung fibrosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Nutritional status of medical patients on emergency admission to hospital.

The nutritional status was assessed in 75 consecutive patients acutely admitted to a general medical ward. Weight-for-height, triceps skinfold thickness, arm muscle circumference, plasma albumin and serum transferrin were used as nutritional indicators. By combining abnormalities in two or more of these variables, we found obesity in 9% and undernutrition in 22% of the patients on admission. Energy deficiencies as well as acute and chronic protein undernutrition were observed. Age over 75 years, lack of own teeth and a reason for admission other than circulatory disorders or diabetes were tentatively identified as risk factors for undernutrition-some of them conceivably interdependent. Living conditions and regular medication seemed to be less important determinants in this group of patients. We conclude that undernutrition is prevalent among hospitalized medical patients in Sweden as in other industrialized countries. Patients with "hospital malnutrition" are partly recruited from a population of malnourished elderly people outside the hospital. Adequate nutritional support is an essential objective of hospital care in patients wih medical disorders.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effect of estramustine on microtubuli is different from the direct action via oxygen radicals on DNA and cell membrane.

Estramustine (EM), a complex between estradiol-17 beta and nornitrogen mustard, is commonly used in the treatment of prostatic cancer. The exact mechanism of action is unknown but has previously been considered to be mediated through non-DNA targets, specifically with the mitotic spindle, and to be related to the intact EM complex. In the present study, using different cell-systems (monocyte phagocytosis transformed fibroblasts, colon cancer cells), the EM cytotoxicity was also found to involve direct interaxtion with DNA and cell membranes. The interaction with DNA was shown by a DNA precipitation assay using 3H- and 14C- thymidine, and the cell membrane damage by using 86Rb- accumulation as a sensitive marker for active potassium uptake. EM effects in the fibroblasts were inhibited by various metal chelators and radical scavengers. Involvement of free oxygen radicals was further indicated in a cell-free system with an oxygen electrode. The EM inhibition of monocyte phagocytosis was related to the engulfment, and was not at all influenced by radical scavengers. In contrast to EM, neither of its components alone, or together, affected monocyte engulfment. Finally, it was shown that the colon cancer cell-line HT-29 was resistant to both of the two suggested and separate mechanisms for EM toxicity: an interaction with the microtubuli system by the intact EM complex and a more unspecific action mediated by free-oxygen radicals.

Animals↗