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Biomedical subjects

R Bergström

Publications and source records attributed to R Bergström.

At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

Studies on humans exposed to airborne sewage sludge.

A clinical investigation was made among workers in a sewage treatment plant and age matched controls not exposed to sewage. Acute incidences of fever and eye symptoms were found in about 50% of the exposed population. Serum immunoglobulins, white blood cells and thrombocytes were elevated in the exposed group. A higher percentage of increased levels of C-reactive protein and fibrinogen degradation products was found in the exposed group. Although no definite cause-effect relationship can be established the responsible agent in the environment could well be endotoxins.

Air Pollution↗
PubMed1977

Macroglobulinemia Waldenström and motor neuron syndrome.

One patient suffering from macroglobulinemia Waldenström developed a neurological disease which may be a previously unrecognized paramalignant phenomenon in this disorder. The clinical symptoms and signs indicate a motor neuron syndrome and autopsy revealed degeneration of ventral and lateral funicles in the spinal cord, loss of ventral motor neurons, degeneration of ventral nerve roots and muscular atrophy. The rather low incidence of macroglobulinemia and motor neuron disease suggest some causal relationship rather than a sporadic occurrence of two disorders in the same patient.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Free lung cell response after combined exposure to cigarette smoke and industrial dusts.

Guinea pigs were acutely exposed to different airborne dusts and freshly generated cigarette smoke. The effect was evaluated by counting the number of free lung cells using a lavage method. An exposure to MnO2 and smoke on the same day caused an increase in the number of leukocytes 24 h thereafter. By increasing the time interval between the MnO2 and smoke exposure, the effect gradually disappeared. Al2O2 or SiO2 also caused an increase in the number of leukocytes, whereas TiO2 had no effect. The pathogenesis behind the reaction and the epidemiological implications are discussed.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Increasing incidence rates of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin in Sweden.

The incidence of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin is increasing world-wide, and in Sweden this tumour is one of the most rapidly increasing malignancies. The aim of this study was to investigate incidence trends of squamous cell carcinoma in Sweden. For the 39,805 tumours registered in the Swedish Cancer Registry 1961-1995, incidence rates were calculated according to gender, age, anatomical site and unit surface area. Multivariate analysis was performed with the age-period-cohort model. Age-standardized incidence rates increased substantially in both men (+425%) and women (+146%) during this period. The highest rates per unit surface area were seen for chronically sun-exposed head-neck sites. Age-specific incidence rates increased in ages > or =60 years during the study period. Multivariate analyses showed that age, period and cohort effects in men could best explain the incidence rates, while in women the age-period effects model was adequate. In conclusion, a rapidly increasing incidence trend for squamous cell carcinoma was found, probably explained by increased accumulated sun exposure and increasing incidence among the elderly.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

High 10-year survival rate in patients with early, untreated prostatic cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To learn about the natural history of untreated, early-stage prostatic cancer. DESIGN: Cohort study with a mean follow-up of 123 months (range, 81 to 165 months). SETTING: Population-based, regionally well defined. PATIENTS: A consecutive sample of 223 patients (98% of all eligible) with early-stage (T0-2, NX, M0), initially untreated prostatic cancer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Progression-free, disease-specific, and overall survival. Need for palliative and terminal care. INTERVENTION: Patients with tumor progression were hormonally treated (orchiectomy or estrogens) if they had symptoms. RESULTS: After complete follow-up, only 19 (8.5%) of the 223 patients had died of prostate cancer and 105 (85%) of a total of 124 deaths were from other causes. The 10-year, disease-specific survival rate was 86.8% (95% confidence interval, 80.7% to 92.9%) and was equally high (87.9%) in a subgroup of 58 patients who met current indications for radical prostatectomy. The progression-free, 10-year survival rate was 53.1% (95% confidence interval, 44.2% to 62.0%). In 50 of 76 patients, local growth provided the only evidence of progression, and endocrine treatment was generally successful in these cases. Following an initial increase, the rate of disease progression and death from prostate cancer decreased during the last years of follow-up. CONCLUSION: The low disease-specific mortality rate, especially in patients with highly and moderately differentiated tumors, means that any local or systemic therapy intended for patients with early prostatic cancer must be evaluated in clinical trials with untreated controls for comparison.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prognostic significance of flow cytometric and clinical variables in endometrial adenocarcinoma stages I and II.

In a prospective study comprising 447 women with endometrial carcinoma stages I-II, the prognostic significance of clinical and flow cytometric variables was evaluated in univariate and multivariate analyses. The parameters studied included age, uterine cavity depth, clinical stage, histopathologic grade, myometrial invasion, weight, body mass index (BMI), parity, diabetes, oestrogen treatment, DNA - content and S-phase fraction. Patient selection for surgery influenced prognosis with a better survival in operated patients. In the univariate analysis the following parameters correlated with survival: age, grade, myometrial invasion, DNA - content and S- phase fraction. In the multivariate analyses which included clinical variables only, age, grade and myometrial invasion remained significant, but when flow cytometric variables were added, only S-phase fraction and myometrial invasion contained prognostic information. S-phase fraction also generally correlated with time of recurrence.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prognostic indices in endometrial adenocarcinoma stages I and II. A study based on clinical, histopathological and flow cytometric variables.

In a prospective study including 447 patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma stages I and II, clinical and flow cytometric variables were studied in univariate and multivariate analyses. During the follow-up period of 3 to 65 months, 41 patients died of their disease and 26 patients died of intercurrent disease. Based on the results of multivariate analyses, five different prognostic indices were constructed. Using these indices, individual index values were calculated for each patient. The index values were correlated with survival and were used to identify a small high-risk group (10% of the patients) and a large low-risk group (90% of the patients). Indices 1 and 2 were constructed for pre-treatment situations. Index 1 included age and histopathologic grade and identified a small high-risk group and a large low-risk group with a 3-year survival of 62% and 91% respectively. Index 2 also comprised S-phase fraction and distinguished a high-risk group with a 3-year survival of 54% from a low-risk group with a 3-year survival of 93%. Indices 3 and 4 were constructed for patients after surgery, when the degree of residual myometrial tumor invasion was known. Index 3 included age, histopathologic grade and residual myometrial invasion rendering a 3-year survival of 44% and 93% for the high- and low-risk groups respectively. Index 4 also comprised S-phase fraction and identified a high-risk group and a low-risk group with 3-year survival figures of 59% and 96%, respectively. Index 5 included age and histopathologic grade and was constructed for post-treatment situations in unoperated patients. The index separated a high-risk group from a low-risk group with a 3-year survival of 56% and 88%, respectively. In summary, the results from our study show that the prognostic indices made it possible to identify high and low-risk groups in different clinical situations which may prove useful in selecting candidates for future trials with adjuvant or reduced treatment.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Flow cytometry and interactive image cytometry in endometrial carcinoma. A comparative and prognostic study.

Comparative DNA measurements were performed in 139 women with endometrial carcinoma using flow cytometry (FCM) and interactive image cytometry (ICM). Ploidy level and the percentage of S-phase cells were determined by FCM and ploidy level and the percentage of cells with a DNA content exceeding 2.5c, 3c, 4c and 5c, respectively, were calculated by ICM. The aim was to compare ploidy level obtained by the two methods and to evaluate the prognostic value of all the above-mentioned parameters. Recurrence or residual disease after completing treatment were used as end-points. Follow-up time was 18-48 months. An agreement was obtained in 85% of the cases as regards ploidy level, but in 15% the tumors were regarded as near-diploid by one method and as grossly aneuploid by the other. Both ploidy level (both methods) and S-phase rate (FCM) were correlated with histopathologic grade (p less than 0.001 and p less than 0.05, respectively). In univariate analysis, ploidy level (obtained either by FCM or ICM) correlated with recurrence rate, with a more favourable prognosis for near-diploid cases. When using multivariate models (Cox analysis) including clinical variables, ploidy level by FCM (but not ICM) was still significant as regards prognosis. In the multivariate analysis, S-phase fraction (as measured by FCM) also yielded independent prognostic information. In a separate analysis the proportion of cells with a DNA content greater than 5c gave independent prognostic information besides that of the S-phase fraction and ploidy level. We conclude that measurements of the percentage of cells exceeding 5c give prognostic information beyond the information obtained from flow cytometric determination of ploidy level and S-phase fraction.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cardiac risk in abdominal aortic surgery.

Seventy-eight patients were included in a prospective study of the cardiac risk in abdominal aortic surgery. The Goldman risk score and the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification system were applied besides several individual clinical risk factors. Thirty-three patients developed some kind of cardiac event, 13 of which were myocardial infarctions leading to death in six patients. Computer aided stepwise logistic procedure was used to determine risk factors independently correlated with these complications. This study showed that the Goldman risk score, angina, hypertension and renal insufficiency were significantly correlated with postoperative cardiac complications while no correlations were demonstrated with history of myocardial infarction, chronic heart failure or the ASA score system. A high incidence of cardiac complications (32%) was also found in the low-risk category in the Goldman score system, which indicates the need for cardiac function tests before abdominal aortic surgery.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effects of gastroenteroanastomosis, antral exclusion and antral resection on the enterochromaffin cells in the rat gastrointestinal tract.

The effects of gastroenteroanastomosis, antral exclusion and antral resection on the enterochromaffin (argentaffin) cell system in the rat alimentary tract were studied 6 weeks after the operation. When measured as cell density per mm3 mucosa, the number of enterochromaffin cells was decreased in most gastrointestinal regions following the three surgical procedures. In the antral exclusion group this decrease was most apparent in the caecum and large intestine, and in the animals with antral resection it was most pronounced in the proximal and middle regions of the small intestine. When expressed per segment mucosa, the enterochromaffin cells were even more reduced in number in all three experimental groups, as a result of mucosal atrophy in the entire gastrointestinal tract. The atrophy was most pronounced in animals with gastroenteroanastomosis, and least pronounced in those with antral exclusion. The underlying mechanisms of the effects on the enterochromaffin cell system under these experimental conditions are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Early life risk factors for prostate cancer: a population-based case-control study in Sweden.

We undertook a population-based case-control study to investigate early life risk factors for prostate cancer. Information on dietary habits during childhood and adolescence, childhood environment, pubertal development, and physical activity was collected by face-to-face interviews with 256 (74.6%) of all eligible cases and 252 (76.6%) of all selected controls, frequency matched by age. All potential controls were screened for prostate cancer with negative findings. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were estimated by logistic regression. Analyses of localized (T0-2' M0) and more advanced cancers were made separately. In general, there was no clear association between diet and prostate cancer risk. An increased risk associated with childhood living in more densely populated, compared with rural, areas was found (odds ratio = 2.1; 95% confidence interval = 1.3-3.5); this effect was most apparent for localized cancers (odds ratio = 3.2' 95% confidence interval = 1.7-6.2). There was no substantial association between adult height or body mass index and prostate cancer, but exercise appeared negatively associated with risk (P value for trend, 0.13). We conclude that our study provides some indications that exposures early in life are important in the etiology of prostate cancer.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Limited clinical significance of the serum tumour marker Ca 72-4 in colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: We explored the potential value of CA 72-4 in the staging and prognostic prediction of colorectal cancer, as compared to six previously investigated serum tumour markers - CEA, CA 19-9, CA 50, CA 242, TPA, and TPS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CA 72-4 was analysed using an immunoradiometric assay in serum samples obtained, prior to surgery, from 196 consecutive patients resected between Jan. 1987 and Nov. 1992. RESULTS: CA 72-4 levels increased with progressive tumour stages; a high level correlated with poor prognosis. However, the information obtained from CA 72-4 did not improve the ease of staging, as compared with other tumour markers. Various combinations of CA 72-4 with the other tumour markers did not add any substantial information to the staging process either. The value of the CA 72-4 in prognostic prediction, as shown in the univariate analysis, was limited in the multivariate tumour marker analyses. CONCLUSIONS: CA 72-4 does not improve the staging and prognostic prediction of colorectal cancer, when compared with other serum tumour markers used.

Adult↗