Publications by authors named "Niels Secher"

Caricatures highlight personal characteristics. The caricature drawing of the four prominent professors from the transition from the Royal Frederik's Hospital to Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen in 1910, shows the dominant surgeon Niels Thorkild Rovsing (1862-1927), who takes up half of the drawing; the reserved organizationally interested physician Knud Helge Faber (1862-1956) in the middle; the thoughtful surgeon Oscar Thorvald Bloch (1847-1926), and the somewhat isolated physician Hans Christian Joachim Gram (1853-1938), who became known for his staining method to separate Gram-positive from Gram-negative bacteria.

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Article Synopsis
  • Cirrhotic patients experience compromised liver function, which can lead to fatigue during exercise due to altered metabolic processes and blood flow in the liver.
  • In an experiment with eight cirrhotic patients performing incremental cycling trials, significant changes were observed in heart rate, hepatic blood flow, glucose output, and levels of lactate and ammonia during exercise.
  • The findings suggest that while these patients maintain blood sugar levels during low-intensity workouts, the buildup of lactate and ammonia could hinder their overall ability to tolerate physical activity.
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Objective: To investigate how running, cycling, and sedentary cardiovascular stress impact biomarkers of cartilage turnover acutely in subjects with knee osteoarthritis (OA).

Design: This was a sequential, cross-over, clinical study. Forty subjects with primary knee OA underwent moderate-to-high-intensity cycling, running, and adrenaline infusion on separate days.

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To evaluate the morphology of the "athlete's heart", left ventricular (LV) wall thickness (WT) and end-diastolic internal diameter (LVIDd) at rest were addressed in publications on skiers, rowers, swimmers, cyclists, runners, weightlifters (n = 927), and untrained controls (n = 173) and related to the acute and maximal cardiovascular response to their respective disciplines. Dimensions of the heart at rest and functional variables established during the various sport disciplines were scaled to body weight for comparison among athletes independent of body mass. The two measures of LV were related (r = 0.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to determine the effect of high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) on plasma oxytocin (OT) levels in healthy men, particularly comparing arterial and venous concentrations of OT.
  • Fourteen men performed two identical HIIE sessions, after which blood samples were collected to measure OT levels.
  • Results showed that both sessions increased plasma OT concentrations in both arterial and internal jugular samples, but there was no difference in the release of OT between the two, suggesting that OT might act as a signaling molecule ("exerkine") during exercise.
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New Findings: What is the central question of this study? High-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) is recommended for its favourable haemodynamic stimulation, but excessive haemodynamic fluctuations may stress the brain: is the cerebral vasculature protected against exaggerated systemic blood flow fluctuation during HIIE? What is the main finding and its importance? Time- and frequency-domain indices of aortic-cerebral pulsatile transition were lowered during HIIE. The findings suggest that the arterial system to the cerebral vasculature may attenuate pulsatile transition during HIIE as a defence mechanism against pulsatile fluctuation for the cerebral vasculature.

Abstract: High-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) is recommended because it provides favourable haemodynamic stimulation, but excessive haemodynamic fluctuations may be an adverse impact on the brain.

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Unlabelled: The β2-receptor mediates the metabolic response to epinephrine. This study investigates the impact of the β2-receptor gene (ADRB2) polymorphism Gly16Arg on the metabolic response to epinephrine before and after repetitive hypoglycemia. Twenty-five healthy men selected according to ADRB2 genotype being homozygous for either Gly16 (GG) (n = 12) or Arg16 (AA) (n = 13) participated in 4 trial days (D1-4): D1pre and D4post with epinephrine 0.

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Background And Aims: Anesthesia often reduces mean arterial pressure (MAP) to a level that may compromise cerebral blood flow. We evaluated whether phenylephrine treatment of anesthesia-induced hypotension affects internal carotid artery (ICA) blood flow and whether anesthesia affects ICA flow and CO reactivity.

Material And Methods: The study included twenty-seven patients (65 ± 11 years; mean ± SD) undergoing esophageal resection ( = 14), stomach resection ( = 12), or a gastroentero anastomosis ( = 1) during combined propofol-remifentanil and thoracic epidural anesthesia.

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In trauma patients, shock-induced endotheliopathy (SHINE) is associated with a poor prognosis. We have previously identified four metabolic phenotypes in a small cohort of trauma patients (N = 20) and displayed the intracellular metabolic profile of the endothelial cell by integrating quantified plasma metabolomic profiles into a genome-scale metabolic model (iEC-GEM). A retrospective observational study of 99 trauma patients admitted to a Level 1 Trauma Center.

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Objective: Growth differentiation factor (GDF)-15 is implicated in regulation of metabolism and circulating GDF15 increases in response to exercise. The source and regulation of the exercise-induced increase in GDF15 is, however not known.

Method: Plasma GDF15 was measured by ELISA under the following conditions: 1) Arterial-to-hepatic venous differences sampled before, during, and after exercise in healthy male subjects (n=10); 2) exogenous glucagon infusion compared to saline infusion in resting healthy subjects (n=10); 3) an acute exercise bout with and without a pancreatic clamp (n=6); 4) healthy subjects for 36 hours (n=17), and 5) patients with anorexia nervosa (n=25) were compared to healthy age-matched subjects (n=25).

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Background: A reduced central blood volume is reflected by a decrease in mid-regional plasma pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP), a stable precursor of ANP, and a volume deficit may also be assessed by the stroke volume (SV) response to head-down tilt (HDT). We determined plasma MR-proANP during major abdominal procedures and evaluated whether the patients were volume responsive by the end of the surgery, taking the fluid balance and the crystalloid/colloid ratio into account.

Methods: Patients undergoing pancreatic (n = 25), liver (n = 25), or gastroesophageal (n = 38) surgery were included prospectively.

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Plasma volume (PV) changes in response to physical activity, possibly as a consequence of adrenergic activation. We estimated changes in PV in response to common exercise modalities; cycling and running as well as adrenaline infusion and control at rest. On separate days, forty circulatory healthy subjects [aged 60 years (range: 42-75)] with knee osteoarthritis underwent moderate-high intensity cycling, running, and intravenous adrenaline infusion to mimic the circulatory response to exercise.

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New Findings: What is the central question in this study? Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is secreted in response to atrial wall distension and thus allows for evaluation, albeit indirect, of the central blood volume. Adrenaline has chronotropic and inotropic effects. We evaluated whether the chronotropic and inotropic effects of adrenaline were reflected in mid-regional proANP.

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Volume responsiveness can be evaluated by tilting maneuvers such as head-down tilt (HDT) and passive leg raising (PLR), but the two procedures use different references (HDT the supine position; PLR the semi-recumbent position). We tested whether the two procedures identify "normovolemia" by evaluating the stroke volume (SV) and cardiac output (CO) responses and whether the peripheral perfusion index (PPI) derived from pulse oximetry provides similar information. In randomized order, 10 healthy men were exposed to both HDT and PLR, and evaluations were made also when the subjects fasted.

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Purpose: The aim was to investigate if intrapartum monitoring with cardiotocography (CTG) in combination with ST analysis (STAN) results in an improved perinatal outcome.

Methods: We performed a two-center randomized trial. 1013 women with term fetuses in cephalic presentation entered the trial.

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Importance: Long-term risks of neurologic and psychiatric disease after cardiac arrest are largely unknown.

Objective: To examine the short-term and long-term risks of common neurologic outcomes (stroke, epilepsy, Parkinson disease, and dementia) and psychiatric outcomes (depression and anxiety) in patients after hospitalization for cardiac arrest.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This nationwide population-based cohort study with 21 years of follow-up included data on 250 838 adults from all Danish hospitals between January 1, 1996, and December 31, 2016.

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Context: The Arg16 variant in the β2-receptor gene is associated with increased risk of severe hypoglycemia in subjects with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Objective: We hypothesized that the Arg16 variant is associated with decreased metabolic and symptomatic responses to recurrent hypoglycemia.

Methods: Twenty-five healthy male subjects selected according to ADRB2 genotype and being homozygous for either Arg16 (AA; n = 13) or Gly16 (GG; n = 12) participated in 2 consecutive trial days with 3 periods of hypoglycemia (H1-H3) induced by a hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemic clamp.

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Rowing performance may be enhanced by attenuated metabolic acidosis following bicarbonate (BIC) supplementation. This study evaluated the dose of BIC needed to eliminate the decrease in plasma pH during maximal ergometer rowing and assessed the consequence for change in plasma volume. Six oarsmen performed "2,000-m" maximal ergometer rowing trials with BIC (1 M; 100-325 ml) and control (CON; the same volume of isotonic saline).

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Purpose: We investigated whether hepcidin and erythroferrone (ERFE) could complement the athlete biological passport (ABP) in indirectly detecting a 130-mL packed red blood cells (RBC) autologous blood transfusion. Endurance performance was evaluated.

Methods: Forty-eight healthy men ( n = 24) and women ( n = 24) participated.

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Background: Preoperative resuscitation strategies in patients with hip fracture (HF) are lacking. We aimed to investigate fluid-responsiveness, peripheral perfusion index (PPI) and blood volume (BV)-status in patients with HF undergoing resuscitation in the preoperative phase.

Methods: In a prospective observational study, we evaluated preoperative fluid-responsiveness, indices of perfusion and BV before and after lumbar epidural analgesia in 50 patients with HF shortly after admittance.

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Background: The effects of vasoconstriction on cardiac stroke volume (SV) and indices of peripheral and intestinal perfusion are insufficiently described.

Methods: In a non-randomized clinical study, 30 patients undergoing elective rectal surgery were exposed to modulation of preload. The primary endpoint was intestinal perfusion (flux), measured by single-point laser Doppler flowmetry.

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Purpose: This study evaluates the effect of hyperoxia on cerebral oxygenation and neuromuscular fatigue mechanisms of the elbow flexor muscles following ergometer rowing.

Methods: In 11 competitive male rowers (age, 30 ± 4 years), we measured near-infrared spectroscopy determined frontal lobe oxygenation (ScO) and transcranial Doppler ultrasound determined middle cerebral artery mean flow velocity (MCA ) combined with maximal voluntary force (MVC), peak resting twitch force ( ) and cortical voluntary activation (VA) of the elbow flexor muscles using electrical motor point and magnetic motor cortex stimulation, respectively, before, during, and immediately after 2,000 m all-out effort on rowing ergometer with normoxia and hyperoxia (30% O).

Results: Arterial hemoglobin O saturation was reduced to 92.

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Background: Remote Ischemic Conditioning (RIC) has been proposed as a therapeutic intervention to circumvent the ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) that is inherent to organ transplantation. Using a porcine kidney transplant model, we aimed to decipher the subclinical molecular effects of a RIC regime, compared to non-RIC controls.

Methods: Kidney pairs (n = 8 + 8) were extracted from brain dead donor pigs and transplanted in juvenile recipient pigs following a period of cold ischemia.

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