Signal-averaged P wave duration and the long-term risk of permanent atrial fibrillation.

Objective: To assess the long-term risk of developing permanent AF in relation to the signal-averaged P wave duration (SAPWD) and clinical and echocardiographic characteristics.

Design: In an observational study design we studied 131 patients with earlier ECG-documented AF and successfully restored sinus rhythm attending a long-term, follow-up visit at hospital or at home. Established permanent AF was examined in relation to primary clinical, echocardiographic, and electrophysiological parameters.

Raised plasma aldosterone and natriuretic peptides in atrial fibrillation.

Background And Aims: During atrial fibrillation (AF), the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) may be activated. In this study, our aim was to evaluate at a long-term follow-up visit the levels of plasma aldosterone and natriuretic peptides as markers of neurohormonal remodeling in patients with earlier, documented AF in relation to present heart rhythm, clinical data, and the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). We hypothesized that increased levels of aldosterone and natriuretic peptides were significantly associated with present AF as markers of RAAS activation during the arrhythmia.

Signal-averaged P wave duration and the dimensions of the atria.

Background: Delay of atrial electrical conduction measured as prolonged signal-averaged P wave duration (SAPWD) could be due to atrial enlargement. Here, we aimed to compare different atrial size parameters obtained from echocardiography with the SAPWD measured with a signal-averaged electrocardiogram (SAECG).

Methods: In 74 patients scheduled for elective echocardiography, an SAECG was recorded directly after the echocardiogram.

Prolonged signal-averaged P wave duration after elective cardioversion increases the risk of recurrent atrial fibrillation.

Objective: To assess the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence after elective cardioversion of AF in relation to the signal-averaged P wave duration (SAPWD), clinical characteristics of the patient, and the duration of the AF disease.

Design: We studied 131 consecutive patients (88 men, 43 women), median age 67 years (range 29-87 years), after elective cardioversion of AF into sinus rhythm. The SAPWD was measured on inclusion, and the follow-up period was 1 month.

N-terminal proBNP and mortality in hospitalised patients with heart failure and preserved vs. reduced systolic function: data from the prospective Copenhagen Hospital Heart Failure Study (CHHF).

Unlabelled: Preserved systolic function among heart failure patients is a common finding, a fact that has only recently been fully appreciated. The aim of the present study was to examine the value of NT-proBNP to predict mortality in relation to established risk factors among consecutively hospitalised heart failure patients and secondly to characterise patients in relation to preserved and reduced systolic function.

Material: At the time of admission 2230 consecutively hospitalised patients had their cardiac status evaluated through determinations of NT-proBNP, echocardiography, clinical examination and medical history.

Chronic bronchitis in an elderly population.

Background: in order to describe the prevalence and prognostic implications of chronic bronchitis in individuals 65 years or older we analysed data from The Copenhagen City Heart Study.

Methods: the population was studied in 1976-1978 resurveyed in 1981-1983 and 1991-1994 and followed with regard to survival for up to 12 years. Approximately 3,700 elderly participants with a mean age of 76 years were available for analyses.

NT-proBNP: a new diagnostic screening tool to differentiate between patients with normal and reduced left ventricular systolic function.

Objective: To evaluate whether measurements of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) can be used to differentiate patients with normal and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in an unselected consecutive group of hospital inpatients.

Setting: City general hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Patients And Design: During a 10 month period 2230 admissions to a city general hospital (80% of targeted patients) had an echocardiographic evaluation of left ventricular function, a comprehensive clinical evaluation, and blood analysis of N-terminal-pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) within 24 hours of admission.

Copenhagen City Heart Study: longitudinal analysis of ventilatory capacity in diabetic and nondiabetic adults.

The natural history of lung function in diabetes is unknown due to the lack of longitudinal observations. The decline of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) was studied over 15 yrs in the 17,506 adult participants of The Copenhagen City Heart Study, which included 266 individuals with diabetes. Multiple linear regression and a mixed-effects model were used, taking into account correlation between repeated measurements and adjusting for relevant confounders.

TTV viral load as a marker for immune reconstitution after initiation of HAART in HIV-infected patients.

Purpose: To investigate whether TT virus (TTV) viral load may be used as a surrogate marker for functional immune reconstitution in HIV-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

Method: Fifteen protease inhibitor-naïve HIV-infected patients were included in a longitudinal study. From each patient, three serum samples taken before HAART initiation and three samples taken during HAART were analyzed.

The serum level of soluble urokinase receptor is elevated in tuberculosis patients and predicts mortality during treatment: a community study from Guinea-Bissau.

Objective: To investigate whether the serum level of soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) carries prognostic information in individuals infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Design: suPAR was measured by ELISA in 262 individuals at the time of enrolment into a cohort based on suspicion of active tuberculosis and in 101 individuals after 8 months of follow-up.

Results: The suPAR levels were elevated in patients with active TB compared to TB-negative individuals (P < 0.

Effect of the serotonin receptor agonist, buspirone, on immune function in HIV-infected individuals: a six-month randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Purpose: Previous studies have shown that agents modulating the cAMP/PKA pathway have a beneficial effect on immune reconstitution in HIV-infected individuals. Here we evaluate the effect of buspirone on immune function as measured by CD4 and CD8 T-cell counts, CD4/CD8 T-cell ratio, HIV viral load, and response to pokeweed mitogen (PWM) in antiretroviral naive HIV-1-infected individuals.

Method: Twenty-three HIV-infected patients with CD4 T-cell counts above 300 per microL were enrolled in a 6-month double-blinded placebo controlled trial.

[Joggers live longer].

In all 4,658 men, 20-79 years of age, with no prior myocardial infarction, attended two examinations. Jogging status was self-reported based on the question "Are you a jogger?" The study shows that regular jogging is not associated with increased mortality in men, as the joggers had significantly lower mortality than non-joggers. The lower mortality of joggers could be an effect of the physical training, but it could also be due to selection or a combination of both.

Exogenous female sex steroid hormones and risk of asthma and asthma-like symptoms: a cross sectional study of the general population.

Background: Recent evidence suggests a role for hormonal factors in the aetiology of asthma.

Methods: Data from a large study of women selected from the general population were used to relate treatment with oral hormonal contraceptives (OCP) and postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to the following asthma indicators: self-reported asthma, wheezing, cough at exertion, and use of medication for asthma. The study sample comprised 1536 premenopausal and 3016 postmenopausal women who participated in the third round of the Copenhagen City Heart Study in 1991-4.

[Changed working plans can improve medical training].

Introduction: The quality of clinical medical training in Denmark has been closely debated and criticised in recent years. Reorganisation of the daily working plans is one of the recommendations for improvement.

Method: In the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, we made changes in the daily working plans in order to improve supervision and training.

[Joggers live longer. The Osterbro study].

Introduction: Jogging is one of the most popular forms of vigorous exercise, but its effect on longevity has not been documented.

Method: This analysis comprise a random sample of 4658 men aged 20-79 years with no prior myocardial infarction, who participated in the first (1976-1978) and second (1981-1983) examination of the Copenhagen City Heart Study. They were entered in the mortality analysis at the second examination and were followed up until 30 November 1998.

[The course of pulmonary function in adults with asthma. The Osterbro study].

We studied the course of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) in adults with self-reported asthma using data from a longitudinal epidemiological study of the general population, The Copenhagen City Heart Study. The study was conducted over a period of 15 years with three measurements of lung function. The data base consisted of 17,506 men and women including 1.

A 15-year follow-up study of ventilatory function in adults with asthma.

Background: Although the prevalence of asthma and morbidity related to asthma are increasing, little is known about the natural history of lung function in adults with this disease.

Methods: We used data from a longitudinal epidemiologic study of the general population in a Danish city, the Copenhagen City Heart Study, to analyze changes over time in the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) in adults with self-reported asthma and adults without asthma. The study was conducted between 1976 and 1994; for each patient, three measurements of lung function were obtained over a 15-year period.

Randomised study of risk of fetal loss related to early amniocentesis versus chorionic villus sampling.

Background: Several cohort studies have shown the feasibility of early amniocentesis (between 11 and 13 weeks of gestation) as an alternative to chorionic villus sampling (CVS) for karyotyping, but the only completed randomised study of fetal safety showed a significant fetal-loss risk related to first-trimester amniocentesis. We assessed fetal safety in early amniocentesis and CVS.

Methods: We assessed early amniocentesis at 11-13 weeks gestational age compared with the fetal risk associated with CVS at 10-12 weeks.

Prenatal detection of chromosome aneuploidies by fluorescence in situ hybridization: experience with 2000 uncultured amniotic fluid samples in a prospective preclinical trial.

Successful rapid prenatal detection of selected numerical chromosome abnormalities by using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) on uncultured amniotic fluid samples has been described by Klinger et al. (1992) and Ward et al. (1993, 1997).

Prenatal detection of chromosome aneuploidies in uncultured chorionic villus samples by FISH.

We developed a 1-d FISH assay for detection of numerical chromosome abnormalities in uncultured chorionic villus samples (CVS). Probes specific for chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X, and Y were used to determine ploidy by analysis of signal number in hybridized nuclei. Aneuploidy detection using this assay was directly compared with the results obtained by conventional cytogenetic analysis in a consecutive, clinical study of 2,709 CVS and placental samples.