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Biomedical subjects

S Söderberg

Publications and source records attributed to S Söderberg.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Plasma leptin levels are associated with abnormal fibrinolysis in men and postmenopausal women.

BACKGROUND: Leptin is a crucial mediator of satiety signals and energy balance, and its circulating levels are increased in obesity. It has recently been shown that plasma leptin levels in humans correlate with circulating insulin and to insulin secretion. This indicates that leptin may be an important link in metabolic consequences of the insulin resistance syndrome. Whether this includes abnormalities in fibrinolysis has not been studied. METHODS AND RESULTS: Healthy subjects (n = 165; 85 men and 80 women) from the Northern Sweden MONICA population were investigated. Anthropometric measurements, oral glucose tolerance tests and sampling for plasma leptin, lipids, fibrinogen and fibrinolytic variables were made. Leptin levels were 342% higher in women than in men and were in both sexes strongly correlated to body mass index (BMI). After adjustments for age and BMI, leptin levels correlated significantly to pre/post glucoseload insulin levels in both sexes. After further adjustment for baseline insulin levels, leptin levels were in males significantly associated with increased waist circumference (P<0.001), low HDL cholesterol (P<0.05), low tPA activity (P<0.01) and high PAI-1 activity (P<0.001). In postmenopausal females, a significant association between leptin and low tPA activity/high PAI-1 activity was seen after adjustment for age and BMI (P<0.05). Conclusions. Circulating levels of leptin are associated with components of the insulin resistance syndrome, including defective fibrinolysis, in men and postmenopausal women. This suggests that leptin may be involved in the mediation of consequences of insulin resistance.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Leptin is associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVES AND DESIGN: Leptin is involved in the regulation of bodyweight and metabolism in man and might also be involved in the pathophysiology of the insulin resistance syndrome, which is associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases. We tested whether leptin is a risk factor for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a nested case-referent study. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Sixty-two men with first-ever AMI were identified who, prior to AMI, had participated in population-based health surveys in Northern Sweden. Referents were matched for sex, age, date and type of health survey, and geographical region. Blood pressure, body mass index (BMI) and the presence of smoking, diabetes and hypertension were recorded. Total cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-1 (apo A-1), apolipoprotein B (apo B), plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1), insulin, and leptin were analysed in stored samples. Their influences on first-ever AMI were analysed by conditional logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Men with first-ever AMI had higher BMI, plasma insulin and leptin, and diastolic blood pressure than the referents. Furthermore, they had lower plasma apo A-1 and were more often smokers. Smoking, high leptin, PAI-1 and cholesterol, and low apo A-1 levels were significant risk factors for first-ever AMI in univariate analysis. High leptin (OR 8.97; 95% CI: 1.73-46.5) and cholesterol (OR 5.18; 95% CI: 1.34-20.0) levels remained significant risk factors for AMI in a multivariate model. High apo A-1 was protective (OR = 0.13; 95% CI: 0.03-0.55). The combination of high leptin and low apo A-1 was associated with a particularly pronounced increased risk for AMI. CONCLUSION: Plasma leptin strongly predicts first-ever AMI. Our data support the hypothesis that leptin is an important link in the development of cardiovascular disease in obesity.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Leptin is a risk marker for first-ever hemorrhagic stroke in a population-based cohort.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Leptin, important for body weight regulation, may be involved in the pathogenesis of the insulin resistance syndrome, associated with cardiovascular disease. We tested to determine whether leptin is a risk marker for first-ever stroke in a nested case-referent study. METHODS: We identified 113 patients with first-ever stroke (94 with ischemic and 19 with hemorrhagic stroke) who, before the stroke, had participated in population-based health surveys in northern Sweden. Referents were matched for sex, age, date and type of health survey, and geographic region. Blood pressure (BP), body mass index (BMI), and presence of smoking, diabetes, and hypertension were recorded. Total cholesterol, insulin, and leptin were analyzed in stored samples. Risk markers for first-ever stroke were analyzed by conditional logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Patients with hemorrhagic stroke had higher levels of BMI and systolic and diastolic BPs. Leptin levels were 72% and 59% higher in males and females, respectively, with hemorrhagic stroke versus referents. Patients with ischemic stroke more often had hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and higher fasting glucose and insulin levels. A diagnosis of hypertension and elevated systolic and diastolic BPs were significant risk markers for first-ever hemorrhagic stroke in univariate analysis. High leptin (OR=20.55; 95% CI, 1.12 to 376.7) levels together with hypertension (OR=16.28; 95% CI, 1.49 to 177.3) remained as significant risk markers in a multivariate model. The combination of high leptin and high systolic or diastolic BP were associated with a profoundly increased risk for hemorrhagic stroke (OR=22.11; 95% CI, 1.57 to 310.9). Diabetes, hypertension, and obesity (BMI >/=27), together with high levels of insulin, glucose, systolic and diastolic BP, were significant risk markers for first-ever ischemic stroke in univariate analysis. Hypertension (OR=2.10; 95% CI, 1.14 to 3.86) remained as an independent risk marker in a multivariate model. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma leptin is strongly associated with an increased risk for first-ever hemorrhagic stroke, independent of other risk markers for cardiovascular disease. Leptin may be an important link in the development of cardiovascular disease in obesity.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Struggling for dignity: the meaning of women's experiences of living with fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a common chronic pain syndrome with an obscure etiology, which mostly afflicts middle-aged women. In this study, 14 women with FM were interviewed about the meaning of living with the illness. A phenomenological-hermeneutic method was used to analyze and interpret the interview texts. The findings show that being a woman with FM means living a life greatly influenced by the illness in various ways. The women's experiences of living with FM were presented in three major interlaced themes: loss of freedom, threat to integrity, and a struggle to achieve relief and understanding. This study highlights the importance of meeting people suffering in illness with respect for their human dignity. The care of women with FM must empower the women to bring to bear their own resources so that they can manage to live with the illness.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1998

High prevalence of Chlamydia pneumoniae DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with cardiovascular disease and in middle-aged blood donors.

Nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) demonstrated the presence of Chlamydia pneumoniae-specific DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). PBMC samples were obtained from 103 consecutive patients (62 male, 41 female) aged 22-85 years (mean, 64) admitted for coronary angiography because of suspected coronary heart disease and from 52 blood donors (43 male, 9 female) aged 40-64 years (mean, 49). Of the 101 evaluable patients, 60 (59%) were identified by nPCR assay as C. pneumoniae DNA carriers; C. pneumoniae-specific microimmunofluorescence (MIF) serology confirmed exposure to the bacterium in 57 (95%) of the 60 nPCR-positive patients. Among the 52 blood donors, the nPCR assay identified 24 (46%) C. pneumoniae DNA carriers, all of whom were positive by C. pneumoniae-specific serology. Thirty-two patients (32%) and 23 blood donors (44%) were MIF antibody-positive but repeatedly nPCR-negative; Bartonella henselae- or Bartonella quintana-specific antibodies were not detected among any of these subjects. In this study, C. pneumoniae DNA was common in PBMC of patients with coronary heart disease and in middle-aged blood donors.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Living with fibromyalgia: sense of coherence, perception of well-being, and stress in daily life.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain syndrome that has a considerable impact on the ill person's daily life. The purpose of this study was to describe levels of sense of coherence (SOC), perceptions of well-being, and stress in daily life in women with FM in comparison with healthy women, and to determine whether SOC is related to perceived levels of stress and well-being. Thirty women with FM were compared with 30 healthy women matched for Type A behavior. The results revealed a complex picture of the women with FM. On the one hand, they reported many symptoms but, on the other, they rated themselves as feeling quite well and experiencing an SOC in life, despite severe problems. The FM women with a stronger SOC perceived greater well-being than those with a weaker SOC. They felt more hopeful, more free, more valuable, and more like others. Results suggest that women with a weaker SOC may need extra support. More research is needed to investigate the experience of living with FM in order to discover what it is that makes life worthwhile despite high symptom levels.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1995

Metaphorical pain language among fibromyalgia patients.

Fourteen women with fibromyalgia described their pain experiences using words indicating a model of pain that presented pain as an aggressive physical deformation and a torture-like experience. Metaphorical expressions were used which was seen as a means for enabling the patients to disclose tacit knowledge. The pain experience was narrated as being steady and without any distinct bodily location. Only causes explaining the present aggravation of the pain and treatment leading to a temporary relief were related.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Prevalence of HIV-1 infection in rural, semi-urban and urban villages in southwest Tanzania: estimates from a blood-donor study.

OBJECTIVES: To measure the prevalence of HIV-1 infection in different subgroups of blood donors and to identify groups at high risk of acquiring HIV-1. METHODS: Between March 1988 and April 1991 all blood donors at Ilembula Lutheran Hospital, Tanzania were asked about their age, marital status, home village and occupation, and tested for the presence of HIV antibodies using a first generation, whole virus lysate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Some negative (n = 265) and nearly all positive samples (439 out of 485) were subjected to confirmatory testing including recombinant and peptide-based ELISA and Western blot assays. RESULTS: A total of 3474 male and 1287 female blood donors were studied. The overall HIV-1 prevalences for men and women were 6.6 and 7.0%, respectively, with a higher prevalence in urban villages (13.6 and 15.0%, respectively), an intermediate prevalence in semi-urban villages (7.2 and 7.9%, respectively), and a lower prevalence in rural villages (3.7 and 3.0%, respectively). HIV-1 infection occurred mostly in men aged 20-44 and women aged 15-34 years. Urban donors, but not semi-urban and rural donors from the highlands, had a higher HIV-1 prevalence (21.4%) than the corresponding group from the lowlands (10.2%). Apart from area of residence, HIV-1 infection was found to be associated with occupation and marital status. There was an increase in HIV-1 prevalence, although not statistically significant, during the period studied. None of the blood donors were positive for HIV-2. CONCLUSIONS: Male and female donors from urban and semi-urban villages, non-farmers from urban villages, and unmarried donors were identified as high-risk groups, which is consistent with more extensive risk behaviour in urban communities. In addition to using an HIV test with high sensitivity, the importance of pre-donation selection of blood donors is stressed.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMed1976

Exploratory behavior in patients suffering from senile dementia: a comparison with children.

Thirty-seven patients with the diagnosis of senile dementia and 70 children aged 6 months to 4 years were observed in three tasks that stimulated exploratory behavior. The subjects were rated according to the frequencies of certain forms of behavior in 52 variables. It was assumed that certain behavior would be more frequent among children in specific age periods and for that reason a factor analysis of the children's behavior would generate factors characterizing clusters of behavior typical for certain periods. The factor analyses of the children's behavior yielded three factors, which were interpreted as an oral factor, a factor characterizing interest in three-dimensional relationships, and a factor regarding goal-directed manipulation. Indices of the three factors demonstrated that the oral factor had a very high frequency in the infants 6-11 months old; after that age it decreased steeply and disappeared at about 2 years of age. Activities involving three-dimensional relationships and goal-directed manipulation were scarcely displayed in the youngest infants but appeared at about 12 months. Both modes of exploratory behavior tended to disappear before the age of 4. Analyses were carried out to see if the behavior of the patients yielded similar factors, and to see if the distributions of the factor indices for the group of patients, when broken down according to the degree of mental deterioration, had forms similar to the distributions for the children in the different age groups. Similar factors were obtained for the patients, but the structures were less clear and less meaningful than those obtained for the children. The forms of the distributions of factor indices over the degree of mental deterioration were similar to the distributions over the age groups for the children. Motor activity was reduced among more deteriorated patients. When explaining the childlike strategies in the exploratory behavior of the demented patients, it was hypothesized that, due to deficient memory, the patients had to manipulate the objects to find their qualities. This exploratory behavior was more or less advanced and flexible depending on the degree of mental deterioration. However, possible negative effects of high anxiety and high social inhibition were also touched upon.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Tympanic membrane changes resulting from different methods of transmyringeal middle ear ventilation.

This experimental study was designed to evaluate the morphologic changes of the tympanic membrane in the rat after different methods of transmyringeal ventilation. Artificial ventilation was obtained in two principal ways, either by making tympanic membrane perforations with delayed healing or by inserting a tympanostomy tube. Perforations occupying the upper rear quadrant of the tympanic membrane were made by diathermy or by a carbon dioxide laser with healing times of 12 to 15 days and 18 to 21 days, respectively. Compared with the healing times of perforations made by lancet (9 to 11 days), the healing pattern was considerably delayed. The structural changes of the healed tympanic membrane were minimal, but the connective tissue remained thickened for several months. Repeated insertion of tympanostomy tubes caused a remarkable thickening (30-fold) of the tubulated quadrants. The thickened tympanic membranes were characterized by a hyperplastic, dense connective tissue containing sclerotic plaques. Similar changes, though less pronounced, were also seen after reiterated myringotomies without tube insertion.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Transitions experienced by women with fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain syndrome the hallmarks of which are a chronic diffuse musculoskeletal pain, tender points, and fatigue. The majority of those who have FM are middle-aged women. The aim of this study was to illuminate the transitions experienced by women with FM. Twenty-five women with FM were interviewed about living with FM. The interviews were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The analysis revealed five categories; transitions in patterns of daily life, family life, social life, and working life, and learning to live with the changes brought about by FM. The categories were subsumed into one theme: FM as the choreographer of activity and relationships. The transitions experienced were illuminated in a core story. The experience of transitions is apparently something that is invisible to almost everyone except the women themselves. Paradoxically, the women described transitions in life due to the illness, but they felt that other people saw them as healthy. It is like living in two worlds simultaneously, the world of the sick and the world of the healthy.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Short-term group therapy for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

BACKGROUND: This study presents experiences of focused short-term group therapy for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). METHODS: Fourteen women diagnosed as CFS patients were randomly placed into two groups. The control group received group therapy 5 months after the first group. The project consisted of 10 group sessions of 1.5 h per week. Sense of coherence (SOC) was used for measuring coping resources, and self-rating scales of quality of life and of fatigue were compared before and after group therapy. RESULTS: The most valuable aspect was the sharing of experiences. More than half of the patients also felt that the sessions had improved psychological well-being through adjustment of ambitions and improved coping with symptoms. CONCLUSION: The study encourages further research. If group therapy is chosen as treatment for these patients, a longer period is recommended. A possible alternative is individualized short-term therapy adapted to each patient's needs, problems and circumstances.

Adaptation, Psychological↗