BACKGROUND: Outcome for resuscitated cardiac arrest (CA) patients is poor. The 1-year survival rate with favourable neurological outcome (CPC 1-2) after out-of-hospital CA is reported to be 4%. Among resuscitated patients treated within an ICU, approximately 50% regain consciousness, whereas the other 50% remain comatose before they die. Induced hypothermia significantly improves the neurological

OBJECTIVE:: Striatal serotonin projections have been implicated in levodopa-induced dyskinesia by providing an unregulated source of dopamine release. We set out to determine whether these projections are affected by levodopa treatment in a way that would favor the occurrence of dyskinesia. METHODS:: As an index of terminal serotonin innervation density, we measured radioligand binding to the plas

To relate the extent of portomesenteric thrombosis to the risk of intestinal infarction, concomitant venous thromboembolism and underlying diseases.

We investigated causal effect of completed growth, measured by adult height, on coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and cardiovascular traits, using instrumental variable (IV) Mendelian randomization meta-analysis.

V/P(SPECT) has the potential to become a first hand tool for diagnosis of pulmonary embolism based on standardized technology and new holistic interpretation criteria. Pretest probability helps clinicians choose the most appropriate objective test for diagnosis or exclusion of PE. Interpretation should also take into account all ventilation and perfusion patterns allowing diagnosis of other cardio

SUMMARY: Graphical Gaussian Models (GGMs) are a promising approach to identify gene-regulatory networks. Such models can be robustly inferred by solving the sparse inverse covariance selection (SICS) problem. With the high dimensionality of genomics data, fast methods capable of solving large instances of SICS are needed.We developed a novel network modeling tool, Ultranet, that solves the SICS pr

In daily clinical practice, patients are frequently asked about their swallowing as part of the patient-clinician interview. This study compares the diagnostic performance of a single open question 'What about swallowing?' (usual care) with the Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10) as reference test in screening for oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD). 303 outpatients at risk of OD were recruited at three univ

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and other neurotrophins are believed to play an important role in affective disorders. In this study we investigated plasma-BDNF response during an incremental exercise test in 18 patients suffering from moderate major depressive disorder (MDD) and 18 controls. The patients were not treated with antidepressants or neuroleptics. Possible associations between

The susceptibility to urinary tract infection (UTI) is controlled by the innate immune response and Toll like receptors (TLRs) are the sentinels of this response. If productive, TLR4 signalling may initiate the symptomatic disease process. In the absence of TLR4 signalling the infected host instead develops an asymptomatic carrier state. The activation of mucosal TLR4 is also influenced by the pro

PURPOSE: Therapeutic traditions at health care practices (HCPs) influence physicians' adherence to prescription guidelines for specific drugs, however, it is not known if such traditions affect all kinds of prescriptions or only specific types of drug. Our goal was to determine whether adherence to prescription guidelines is a common trait of HCPs or dependent on drug type. METHODS: We fitted sepa

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Leukocyte recruitment is a key feature in ischemia-reperfusion (I/R)-induced tissue injury. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of Rho-kinase inhibition on I/R-provoked leukocyte recruitment in the colon. METHODS: C57BL/6 mice were subjected to 30 min of ischemia by clamping of the superior mesenteric artery followed by 120 min of reperfusion. Intraperit

OBJECTIVES: An association between hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and diabetes has been reported, in particular from countries with a high prevalence of HCV. To assess if this association could be found in a region with low prevalence of HCV (0.33%), we determined the prevalence of anti-HCV in a large cohort of patients with diabetes. METHODS: The prevalence of anti-HCV was determined with an e

The importance of peptide secondary structure on the interaction between antimicrobial peptides and oppositely charged poly(acrylic acid-co-acrylamide) microgels of various charge density was investigated for EFKRIVQRIKDFLRNLV (EFK17). Through d-enantiomer (EFK17-d/a; E(dF)KR(dI)VQR(dI)KD(dF)LRNLV) or tryptophan (EFK17-W/a; EWKRWVQRWKDFLRNLV) substitutions, both conformation-dependent and -indepen

Cerebral ischaemia results in enhanced endothelin B (ETB ) receptor-mediated contraction and receptor protein expression in the affected cerebrovascular smooth muscle cells (SMC). Organ culture of cerebral arteries is a method to induce similar alterations in ETB receptor expression. We hypothesize that rapid and sustained reduction in wall tension/stretch is a possible trigger mechanism for this

To analyse false positives (FPs) in breast cancer screening with tomosynthesis (BT) vs. mammography (DM).

Obesity is associated with a risk of at least 20 different cancers. We aimed at defining cancer risks in prospectively recruited patients with a novel subgroup, those with a family history of obesity. We defined a cohort of 30 020 patients who had been hospitalized since 1964. Cancer risks in these patients were followed through 2006. Standardized incidence ratios were calculated for cancer using

OBJECTIVES: Patients with autoimmune (AI) diseases are diagnosed with increased frequencies of some cancers, which may depend on the underlying dysregulation of the immune system or treatment. Data on female cancers are limited. METHODS: We analyzed systematically risk and survival of female cancers of the breast, uterus, ovary and other genital organs in close to 200,000 patients diagnosed wi