[Treatment of heroin addiction--clinical findings hand-in-hand with evidence].
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Buprenorphine↗
Biomedical subjects
M Berglund
Publications and source records attributed to M Berglund.
Oscillation of pain intensity during adenosine infusion. Relationship to beta-endorphin and sympathetic tone.
Adenosine is a neuromodulator with both excitatory and inhibitory effects dependent in part upon preconditions; it can act as an algesic or an analgesic agent. Previously we found variations of pain intensity during constant infusion of adenosine. We therefore quantified pain intensity during constant infusion of adenosine at a rate of 140 microg/kg/min intravenously in healthy volunteers, placebo controlled, double blind, and the relation to hemodynamic, vasomotor and sudomotor responses of the sympathetic nervous system and to the role of peripheral beta-endorphin response. The perceived chest pain during adenosine infusion showed an oscillatory pattern. Painful periods of about 30s were interrupted by painfree periods, and pain was always preceded by an increase in vasomotor sympathetic activity and by increased sudomotor activity. Plasma beta-endorphin values were heterogenous but exhibited an increase during infusion.
Adenosine↗
Late mortality in severe depression.
OBJECTIVE: To assess late mortality among psychiatric in-patients with severe depression/melancholia. METHOD: 1,206 in-patients rated at discharge on a multidimensional diagnostic schedule had received the diagnosis severe depression/ melancholia between 1956 and 1969. A first follow-up was made in 1984. The present follow-up constitutes 675 survivors 15-42 years after the first admission. They were followed-up by means of the general population register and local parish registers to January 1st 1998. RESULTS: At this second follow-up another 279 patients were deceased, standardized mortality ratio 1.3, indicating a continuous increased mortality late in the course of depression. Eleven suicides (4%) were included, eight men and three women, which was less than the 22% found in the first investigation. Male patients showed a higher suicide rate than female patients late in the course. CONCLUSION: The general mortality and suicide rate remain increased late in the course.
Adolescent↗
Metal-bone interactions.
Recent studies indicate that lead and cadmium may exert both direct and indirect actions on bone turnover, indirectly via kidney dysfunction, and directly on osteoblast and osteoclast function. Increased blood lead concentrations, most likely as a result of an increased bone turnover, have been detected in pregnant, lactating, and menopausal women. Lead exposure has also been negatively associated with children's growth in stature. Both lead and cadmium are nephrotoxic and can disturb vitamin D metabolism. Cadmium has been shown to induce kidney damage and osteoporosis/osteomalacia at long-term high-level exposure. A negative association between cadmium dose and bone mass has recently been detected in both occupationally and environmentally exposed people at relatively low cadmium exposure.
Adult↗
Longitudinal study of methylmercury and inorganic mercury in blood and urine of pregnant and lactating women, as well as in umbilical cord blood.
We have investigated exposure to methylmercury (MeHg) and mercury vapor (Hg0) in pregnant women and their newborns in Stockholm. The women were followed for 15 months post delivery. MeHg, inorganic Hg (I-Hg), and total Hg (T-Hg) in maternal and cord blood were determined by automated alkaline solubilization/reduction and cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry. T-Hg in urine was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. About 72% of the Hg in blood (n = 148) in early pregnancy was MeHg (median 0.94 microg/L, maximum 6.8 microg/L). Blood MeHg decreased during pregnancy, partly due to decreased intake of fish in accordance with recommendations to not eat certain predatory fish during pregnancy. Cord blood MeHg (median 1.4 microg/L, maximum 4.8 microg/L) was almost twice that in maternal blood in late pregnancy and was probably influenced by maternal MeHg exposure earlier and before pregnancy. Blood I-Hg (median 0.37 microg/L, maximum 4.2 microg/L) and urine T-Hg (median 1.6 microg/L, maximum 12 microg/L) in early pregnancy were highly correlated, and both were associated with the number of amalgam fillings. The concentrations decreased during lactation, probably due to excretion in milk. Cord blood I-Hg was correlated with that in maternal blood. The results show the importance of speciation of Hg in blood for evaluation of exposure and health risks.
Adult↗
Suidical ideation in severe depression.
Suicidal ideation and communication were investigated for 89 suicide victims with a primary severe depression and matched controls. The selection of patients was based on multiaxial ratings of all hospitalised patients between 1956 and 1969. A blind record evaluation was performed, including scores on Beck's Scale for Suicidal Ideation and additional items apart from that scale. There was no relation between high scores on the Beck's scale and completed suicide. In the male group, suicidal ideation "beyond one's own will" was related to suicide. Female suicides that had made an attempt showed higher suicidal ideation than female suicides who had not. A substantial minority of the women (22%) committed suicide without showing any previous intent. Only 5% of the male suicides had shown no previous intent to commit suicide.
Depressive Disorder↗
Toxic and essential elements in placentas of Swedish women.
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate interactions between toxic and essential elements in the mother-fetus relationship and possible predictors of trace element concentrations in placenta and cord blood. DESIGN AND METHODS: A group of 106 Swedish women was investigated for concentrations of cadmium, lead, and several essential elements in placenta as well as cadmium, lead, zinc, and selenium in venous blood collected at gestational week (gw) 36 and umbilical cord blood. Relations between these elements and maternal and child's characteristics were examined. RESULTS: The concentrations of cadmium in placenta ranged from 10 to 170 nmol/kg, with the median value (Md) being 46 nmol/kg. Cord blood cadmium (Md of 0.19 nmol/L) was only about 10% of that in maternal blood. Smokers had significantly higher cadmium concentrations in blood (p < 0.001) and placenta (p = 0.001) than non-smokers. The median placental concentration of lead was 26 nmol/kg (range 0-630 nmol/kg). The lead levels in cord blood (Md of 54 nmol/L) were almost the same as in maternal blood. Statistically significant negative associations were found between cord blood lead, on one hand, and child's weight, length, and head circumference, on the other. The placental levels (medians and ranges) of the essential elements (micromol/kg) were 160 (120-280) for zinc, 2.4 (2.0-3.3) for selenium, 15 (10-20) for copper, 0.084 (0.02-0.32) for cobalt, 0.055 (0.03-0.12) for molybdenum, and 1.2 (0. 65-5.1) for manganese, respectively. Several of the essential elements in placenta correlated significantly with each other. Multiparous mothers had significantly lower concentrations of zinc (p = 0.002) and selenium (p = 0.049) in serum as well as zinc (p = 0. 001) and calcium (p = 0.004) in placenta than nulliparous ones. Also, cord blood zinc decreased with parity. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that lead, but not cadmium crossed easily the placental barrier. There were no negative effects of cadmium on the zinc status. Cord blood lead, on the other hand, was a negative predictor of child's birth weight, length and head circumference, indicating that lead might have negative influence on growth in children even at very low exposure levels. There was a depletion of maternal stores of essential elements with increasing parity.
Cadmium↗
Compact water-window transmission X-ray microscopy.
We demonstrate sub-100 nm resolution water-window soft X-ray full-field transmission microscopy with a compact system. The microscope operates at lambda = 3.37 nm and is based on a 100 Hz table-top regenerative debris-free droplet-target laser-plasma X-ray source in combination with normal-incidence multilayer condenser optics for sample illumination. High-spatial-resolution imaging is performed with a 7.3% efficiency nickel zone plate and a 1024 x 1024 pixel CCD detector. Images of dry test samples are recorded with exposure times of a few minutes and show features smaller than 60 nm.
Diatoms↗
Treatment and suicide in severe depression: a case-control study of antidepressant therapy at last contact before suicide.
Treatment at last contact in 89 persons with severe depression who committed suicide was compared with treatment at a corresponding date in 89 matched persons who did not commit suicide. No difference in electroconvulsive therapy use or prescription of antidepressant medication could be shown between those who committed suicide and those who did not. Neither was there a difference in response to treatment as measured in rates of improvement with treatment. However, continued treatment with antidepressant medication after electroconvulsive therapy was more common in the persons who did not commit suicide than in those who did (46% versus 13%, p < 0.025). None of the persons who committed suicide who were followed during the 6 months before death had received continued treatment after electroconvulsive therapy. This study lends statistical support to the importance of continuing treatment after electroconvulsive therapy to prevent suicide.
Adult↗
[Alcohol drinking among medical students is alarming. Available preventive programs should be used].
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Alcohol Drinking↗
Perturbation of the synaptic release machinery in hippocampal neurons by overexpression of SNAP-25 with the Semliki Forest virus vector.
We have examined whether the Semliki Forest virus (SFV) expression vector can be used to manipulate the exocytotic machinery in cultured hippocampal neurons. Autaptic responses were recorded in individually identified neurons which overexpressed either a non-synaptic protein, the transferrin receptor, or the synaptic SNARE protein SNAP-25 (synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDA). In neurons overexpressing the transferrin receptor, autaptic responses occurred in a similar proportion and had similar amplitudes (12-18 h postinfection) as in uninfected control neurons. With increasing time after the infection, an increasing proportion of the transferrin receptor-overexpressing neurons showed changes in the shape of the cell body, but the autaptic responses appeared normal as long as recordings could be performed (up to 30 h postinfection). In contrast, in SNAP-25-overexpressing neurons, the proportion of responding cells was reduced 12-18 h after the infection, and the amplitude of the autaptic current in responding neurons was also reduced. The sensitivity to exogenously applied glutamate was, however, unchanged. Biochemical analysis showed that 50% of the overexpressed SNAP-25 was palmitoylated. The levels of two other SNAREs, syntaxin and synaptobrevin (also called vesicle-associated membrane protein), were not affected. Our results indicate that the SFV vector can provide an effective tool to study the function of proteins participating in neurotransmitter release.
Animals↗
Validation with biological markers for food intake of a dietary assessment method used by Swedish women with three different dietary preferences.
OBJECTIVES: To validate a dietary assessment method, a 4-day food record together with a duplicate portion technique, with biological markers for food intake. DESIGN: Four days of duplicate portions were collected in parallel with food recording. A 24-h urine sample and the faeces corresponding to the food intake (using a coloured marker) were collected. Completeness of urine and faeces collections was assessed using para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) in urine and cadmium in faeces, respectively. Biomarkers of food intake (energy, protein, fibre, sodium, potassium, calcium) were measured in urine and faeces. SETTING: Swedish west coast. SUBJECTS: Non-smoking Swedish women, 20-50 years of age, consuming a mixed diet (n = 34), a mixed diet rich in shellfish (n = 17) or a vegetarian/high-fibre diet (n = 23). RESULTS: The average ratio (food intake according to the dietary assessment methods/ biological marker) for protein, sodium, potassium and calcium was 0.86. This indicates an underestimation of the food intake by approximately 15%. The ratio of stated fibre intake to biological marker was 1.20 for the mixed diet and the vegetarian diet group, indicating an overestimation by approximately 20%. CONCLUSIONS: The underestimation of the intake of protein, sodium, potassium and calcium by all three groups and the overestimation of the fibre intake by two groups indicate that underreporting is selective to certain nutrients and foods and to various groups of people. The two dependent dietary assessment methods were equally good in measuring protein intake, which indicates that the women recorded what they actually duplicated.
4-Aminobenzoic Acid↗
Serum transferrin receptor: a specific marker of iron deficiency in pregnancy.
BACKGROUND: Current markers of iron deficiency tend to be less reliable in pregnancy. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to study the usefulness of soluble serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) as a marker for iron deficiency during early and late gestation and to define iron status in 254 pregnant Swedish women. DESIGN: We performed a cross-sectional and longitudinal evaluation of sTfR in comparison with concentrations of serum ferritin and hemoglobin in blood collected around gestational weeks 11 and 36. RESULTS: The specificity of sTfR was 100%. The sensitivity in relation to both anemia and depleted iron stores was approximately 70%, but this figure is less reliable because of few samples. sTfR in early pregnancy was low: 11% of women had a value below the reference interval. sTfR increased significantly from early to late pregnancy even in the group of women with persisting iron stores. In late pregnancy, 14% of women developed tissue iron deficiency and 5% had iron deficiency according to a combination of all 3 markers. CONCLUSIONS: sTfR seems to be a specific and sensitive marker of iron deficiency in pregnancy and may have advantages over serum ferritin and hemoglobin. The low sTfR concentration in early gestation seems to be caused by reduced erythropoiesis, whereas the increase from early to late pregnancy reflects increased erythropoiesis, and in case of iron deficiency, also tissue iron deficiency. Further studies are needed to verify whether decreased erythropoiesis reduces the possibility of detecting iron deficiency during early gestation by sTfR.
Anemia↗
The influence of alcohol drinking and alcohol use disorders on psychiatric disorders and suicidal behavior.
The present review reports on the influence of alcohol drinking and alcohol use disorders on psychiatric disorders and suicidal behaviour. The base of the study was previous reviews of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism publication Alcohol and Health in 1993 and by Helgason in 1996. Using a defined search strategy in Medline, another 42 articles from 1994 to 1996 were included in the comorbidity part and 19 in the suicidal part. Epidemiological and clinical studies confirm high comorbidity of substance use disorders and other mental disorders. Alcohol abuse worsens the course of psychiatric disorders. Light to moderate alcohol consumption has no documented positive effect on the course. Levels of risk consumption of alcohol in psychiatric disorders have not been well defined. One-fifth to one-third of increased deaths rate among alcoholics is explained by suicide. In countries with high alcohol consumption, the suicide rate is also high and is increasing with total increased alcohol consumption. Comorbidity is common among suicide victims, and substance use disorders is most frequently combined with depressive disorders. Interpersonal loss within 6 weeks before suicide is more often present among alcoholics than nonalcoholic suicide victims.
Alcohol Drinking↗
Health effects of cadmium exposure--a review of the literature and a risk estimate.
This report provides a review of the cadmium exposure situation in Sweden and updates the information on health risk assessment according to recent studies on the health effects of cadmium. The report focuses on the health effects of low cadmium doses and the identification of high-risk groups. The diet is the main source of cadmium exposure in the Swedish nonsmoking general population. The average daily dietary intake is about 15 micrograms/day, but there are great individual variations due to differences in energy intake and dietary habits. It has been shown that a high fiber diet and a diet rich in shellfish increase the dietary cadmium intake substantially. Cadmium concentrations in agricultural soil and wheat have increased continuously during the last century. At present, soil cadmium concentrations increase by about 0.2% per year. Cadmium accumulates in the kidneys. Human kidney concentrations of cadmium have increased several fold during the last century. Cadmium in pig kidney has been shown to have increased by about 2% per year from 1984-1992. There is no tendency towards decreasing cadmium exposure among the general nonsmoking population. The absorption of cadmium in the lungs is 10-50%, while the absorption in the gastrointestinal tract is only a few percent. Smokers have about 4-5 times higher blood cadmium concentrations (about 1.5 micrograms/l), and twice as high kidney cortex cadmium concentrations (about 20-30 micrograms/g wet weight) as nonsmokers. Similarly, the blood cadmium concentrations are substantially elevated in persons with low body iron stores, indicating increased gastrointestinal absorption. About 10-40% of Swedish women of child-bearing age are reported to have empty iron stores (S-ferritin < 12 micrograms/l). In general, women have higher concentrations of cadmium in blood, urine, and kidney than men. The population groups at highest risk are probably smokers, women with low body iron stores, and people habitually eating a diet rich in cadmium. According to current knowledge, renal tubular damage is probably the critical health effect of cadmium exposure, both in the general population and in occupationally exposed workers. Tubular damage may develop at much lower levels than previously estimated, as shown in this report. Data from several recent reports from different countries indicate that an average urinary cadmium excretion of 2.5 micrograms/g creatinine is related to an excess prevalence of renal tubular damage of 4%. An average urinary excretion of 2.5 micrograms/g creatinine corresponds to an average concentration of cadmium in renal cortex of 50 micrograms/g, which would be the result of long-term (decades) intake of 50 micrograms per day. When the critical concentrations for adverse effects due to cadmium accumulation are being evaluated, it is crucial to consider both the individual variation in kidney cadmium concentrations and the variations in sensitivity within the general population. Even if the population average kidney concentration is relatively low for the general population, a certain proportion will have values exceeding the concentration where renal tubular damage can occur. It can be estimated that, at the present average daily intake of cadmium in Sweden, about 1% of women with low body iron stores and smokers may experience adverse renal effects related to cadmium. If the average daily intake of cadmium would increase to 30 micrograms/day, about 1% of the entire population would have cadmium-induced tubular damage. In risk groups, for example, women with low iron stores, the percentage would be higher, up to 5%. Both human and animal studies indicate that skeletal damage (osteoporosis) may be a critical effect of cadmium exposure. We conclude, however, that the present evidence is not sufficient to permit such a conclusion for humans. We would like to stress, however, that osteoporosis is a very important public health problem worldwide, but especially in the Scandinav
Animals↗
Perceived coercion related to psychiatric comorbidity and locus of control in institutionalized alcoholics.
One-hundred and four alcoholics, 73 men and 31 women, were treated at Karlsvi Rehabilitation Center between November 1990 and December 1992. Fifty-eight subjects were compulsorily treated and 46 voluntarily treated. Experiences of negatively perceived coercion were assessed in the beginning of treatment and at discharge after 5-6 months by using the semi-structural interview according to Eriksson-Westrin. Locus of control was measured by using the Swedish version of the Rotter-scale for external/internal attribution. Axis I psychiatric comorbidity was assessed according to the Structural Clinical Interview, DSM-III-R (SCID). Ninety-one percent of the compulsorily committed and 56% of the voluntarily admitted subjects reported violations of integrity or negatively perceived coercion during treatment (p < 0.001); women to a higher extent than men (93%/70%, respectively; p < 0.01). At the discharge interview 87% of the compulsorily treated subjects and 52% of the voluntarily treated subjects still reported that the coercive experiences were wrong or violating to personal integrity. Female subjects were less inclined to justify earlier reported coercive examples than male subjects (0%/8%, respectively; p < 0.05). Coercive implementation fait accompli was reported in 70%, persuasion in 21% and threat in 9% of the cases. No experiences of force were reported. Subjects with an internal locus of control reported negatively perceived coercion to a higher extent than subjects with an external locus of control (84%/22%, respectively; p < 0.001). Internally oriented subjects were also less inclined to justify the coercive experiences at the discharge interview than externally oriented subjects (2%/14%, respectively; p < 0.01). Prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity was high (78%). Reports of negatively perceived acts of coercion and locus of control were unrelated to psychiatric comorbidity. Sixty-seven percent of the subjects were homeless. Homelessness was unrelated to locus of control, coercive reports and psychiatric comorbidity.
Adult↗
[Pharmacological treatment of alcohol dependence. Acamprosate and naltrexone offer new approach].
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Acamprosate↗
The characterization of plasma membrane-bound tubulin of cauliflower using Triton X-114 fractionation.
The cortical microtubules determine how cellulose microfibrils are deposited in the plant cell wall and are thus important for the control of cell expansion. To understand how microtubules can control microfibril deposition, the components that link the microtubules to the plasma membrane (PM) of plant cells must be isolated. To obtain information on the properties of the tubulin-membrane associations, cauliflower (Brassica oleracea) PM was subjected to Triton X-114 fractionation, and the distribution of alpha- and beta-tubulin was analyzed using immunoblotting. Approximately one-half of the PM-associated tubulin was solubilized by Triton X-114 and 10 to 15% of both alpha- and beta-tubulin was recovered in the detergent phase (indicative of hydrophobic properties) and 30 to 40% was recovered in the aqueous phase. The hydrophobic tubulin could be released from the membrane by high pH extraction with preserved hydrophobicity. A large part of the PM-associated tubulin was found in the Triton-insoluble fraction. When this insoluble material was extracted a second time, a substantial amount of hydrophobic tubulin was released if the salt concentration was increased, suggesting that the hydrophobic tubulin was linked to a high-salt-sensitive protein aggregate that probably includes other components of the cytoskeleton. The hydrophobicity of a fraction of PM-associated tubulin could reflect a direct or indirect interaction of this tubulin with the lipid bilayer or with an integral membrane protein and may represent the anchoring of the cortical microtubules to the PM, a key element in the regulation of cell expansion.
Brassica↗