Publications by authors named "Sigurdsson E"

Importance: Comprehensive data on the prevalence of various life stressors and their role in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among women are lacking.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of a broad range of life stressors and their association with PTSD in a large nationally representative cohort of women.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional analysis used data from the population-based Stress-And-Gene-Analysis, which invited women in Iceland to complete an online survey from March 1, 2018, to July 1, 2019.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigated the relationship between lithium therapy and the risk of developing stage 3 or higher chronic kidney disease among adults in Iceland, focusing on those treated for mood disorders between 2008 and 2017.
  • It was a population-based cohort study that compared patients receiving lithium with a control group who had mood disorders but were not on lithium, taking into account various factors to ensure accurate results.
  • The findings revealed important insights but lacked input from individuals with lived experience in the design or execution of the study, highlighting a potential gap in patient-centered research.
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Mendelian Randomization studies indicate that BMI contributes to various diseases, but it's unclear if this is entirely mediated by BMI itself. This study examines whether disease risk from BMI-associated sequence variants is mediated through BMI or other mechanisms, using data from Iceland and the UK Biobank. The associations of BMI genetic risk score with diseases like fatty liver disease, knee replacement, and glucose intolerance were fully attenuated when conditioned on BMI, and largely for type 2 diabetes, heart failure, myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, and hip replacement.

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Introduction: It is unclear how early neuronal deficits occur in tauopathies, if these are associated with changes in neuronal network activity, and if they can be alleviated with therapies.

Methods: To address this, we performed in vivo two-photon Ca imaging in tauopathy mice at 6 versus 12 months, compared to controls, and treated the younger animals with a tau antibody.

Results: Neuronal function was impaired at 6 months but did not deteriorate further at 12 months, presumably because cortical tau burden was comparable at these ages.

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Introduction: Depression is a common, serious and often chronic disorder and one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. The annual prevalence of depression is 5-10%, twice as high among women as men and the lifetime prevalence is at least 20%. Up to a third of depressed individuals meet criteria for treatment-resistant depression, where two antidepressants have been tried for at least 6 weeks each at therapeutic doses.

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Introduction: ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. For many the core symptoms become less troubling in adulthood. Treatment with stimulants is considered the most efficacious treatment for ADHD.

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Tauopathies are a group of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the presence of tau inclusions. We have developed over fifty anti-tau single-domain antibodies (sdAbs) derived from phage display libraries of a llama immunized with recombinant and pathological tau immunogens. We examined the therapeutic potential of four of these sdAbs in a Drosophila tauopathy model following their transgenic expression either in all neurons or neuronal subtypes.

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Background And Purpose: The aim of our study was to investigate change in modifiable risk factors following preoperative optimization and whether risk of superficial surgical site infection (SSI) after total joint arthroplasty (TJA) could be reduced.

Methods: This is a prospective study of implementation of a preoperative optimization pathway for patients waiting for primary TJA. Information regarding the intervention arm was collected from January 2019 to January 2021, first at decision for operation and then at preoperative assessment 1 week prior to operation.

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There is little published research on dissociative experiences among transgender people, and none from an in-depth qualitative perspective. In-depth, open-ended interviews ( = 7, 6 trans women, 1 trans man) were conducted to explore how dissociation is experienced (particularly among trans women) and its possible relation to negative emotions. There were several similarities across the dissociative experiences described by participants: six felt themselves disconnected from their body as a whole (in contrast to feeling disconnected to a specific body part), and from the world around them and/or themselves.

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Article Synopsis
  • Synucleinopathies are neurodegenerative diseases marked by the buildup of α-synuclein in the brain, causing various motor and psychological symptoms, with no current cures available.
  • A new approach using a single-domain antibody (sdAb)-based protein degrader has been developed to promote the breakdown of α-synuclein by targeting both α-syn and a receptor that aids in its degradation.
  • This study shows that the sdAb effectively enhances the removal of α-synuclein in laboratory and mouse models, suggesting it could be a promising therapy for synucleinopathies and could lead to improved brain access compared to traditional antibodies.
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Unlabelled: We previously reported altered neuronal Ca dynamics in the motor cortex of 12-month-old JNPL3 tauopathy mice during quiet wakefulness or forced running, with a tau antibody treatment significantly restoring the neuronal Ca activity profile and decreasing pathological tau in these mice . Whether neuronal functional deficits occur at an early stage of tauopathy and if tau antibody treatment is effective in younger tauopathy mice needed further investigation. In addition, neuronal network activity and neuronal firing patterns have not been well studied in behaving tauopathy models.

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MDMA is a potential novel treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our goal is to review current knowledge on MDMA and its use in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD. Literature searches were done on PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar and references reviewed in identified articles.

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Synucleinopathies are a group of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the accumulation of α-synuclein (α-syn) in the brain, leading to motor and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Currently, there are no known cures for synucleinopathies, and treatments mainly focus on symptom management. In this study, we developed a single-domain antibody (sdAb)-based protein degrader with features designed to enhance proteasomal degradation of α-syn.

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 The tau protein undergoes pathological changes in Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies that eventually lead to functional impairments. Over the years, several therapeutic approaches have been examined to slow or halt the progression of tau pathology but have yet to lead to an approved disease-modifying treatment. Of the drugs in clinical trials that directly target tau, immunotherapies are the largest category and mostly consist of antibodies in different stages of development.

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Genomic prediction of antipsychotic dose and polypharmacy has been difficult, mainly due to limited access to large cohorts with genetic and drug prescription data. In this proof of principle study, we investigated if genetic liability for schizophrenia is associated with high dose requirements of antipsychotics and antipsychotic polypharmacy, using real-world registry and biobank data from five independent Nordic cohorts of a total of N = 21,572 individuals with psychotic disorders (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other psychosis). Within regression models, a polygenic risk score (PRS) for schizophrenia was studied in relation to standardized antipsychotic dose as well as antipsychotic polypharmacy, defined based on longitudinal prescription registry data as well as health records and self-reported data.

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Introduction: Interest in the use of psychedelics has increased following reports of their possible therapeutic potential. However, little is known about the knowledge of and attitudes towards the substances among health care professional who provide treatment for mental disorders in Iceland. An online survey was therefore conducted among members of the Icelandic associations of psychiatrists, general practitioners and psychologists.

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Article Synopsis
  • Alzheimer disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia in older adults, marked by harmful amyloid-β plaques and tau tangles that contribute to neuron damage and cognitive decline.
  • Early treatment efforts primarily targeted amyloid-β, but these proved ineffective, leading researchers to focus on tau, which is more closely linked to the severity of symptoms.
  • Current research is focusing on immunotherapies to target tau, with ongoing clinical trials assessing new therapeutic options and exploring future approaches for treating AD.
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Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are well-known risk factors for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Aims: The aim was to study the associations between specific ACEs and psychological functioning in women with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Method: Among 29 367 women (mean age 44 years) from the Icelandic Stress-And-Gene-Analysis (SAGA) study, 534 (1.

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Introduction: Taking medicines can induce risks leading to negative health issues that can grow in accordance with the number of medicines used. Many studies on the prevalence of polypharmacy have been carried out in other countries, but such studies are lacking in Iceland. The aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence of polypharmacy in primary care in the Reykjavik metropolitan area.

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Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the misfolding and aggregation of two major proteins: amyloid-beta (Aβ) and tau. Antibody-based PET radioligands are desirable due to their high specificity and affinity; however, antibody uptake in the brain is limited by the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Previously, we demonstrated that antibody transport across the BBB can be facilitated through interaction with the transferrin receptor (TfR), and the bispecific antibody-based PET ligands were capable of detecting Aβ aggregates via imaging.

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Background: Persistent symptoms are common after SARS-CoV-2 infection but correlation with objective measures is unclear.

Methods: We invited all 3098 adults who tested SARS-CoV-2 positive in Iceland before October 2020 to the deCODE Health Study. We compared multiple symptoms and physical measures between 1706 Icelanders with confirmed prior infection (cases) who participated, and 619 contemporary and 13,779 historical controls.

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In view of the ongoing rise of ADHD prescriptions among adults in Iceland, it is important that doctors are aware that psychosis is a rare but at times a serious adverse reaction to such treatment. In 2022 5% of adults were prescribed medication to treat ADHD in Iceland. In this case report we present a case of methylphenidate-induced psychosis in a young man with no previous history of psychotic episodes who required admission to the psychiatric intensive care unit.

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Intracellular deposition of α-synuclein and tau are hallmarks of synucleinopathies and tauopathies, respectively. Recently, several dye-based imaging probes with selectivity for tau aggregates have been developed, but suitable imaging biomarkers for synucleinopathies are still unavailable. Detection of both of these aggregates early in the disease process may allow for prophylactic therapies before functional impairments have manifested, highlighting the importance of developing specific imaging probes for these lesions.

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Background And Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of modifiable risk factors of surgical site infections (SSI) in patients undergoing primary elective total joint arthroplasty (TJA) receiving conventional preoperative preparation, and to explore their association with infectious outcomes.

Patients And Methods: Information regarding modifiable risk factors (anemia, diabetes, obesity, nutritional status, smoking, physical activity) was prospectively gathered in patients undergoing primary TJA of hip or knee in 2018-2020 at a single institution with 6 weeks' follow-up time.

Results: 738 patients (median age 68 years [IQR 61-73], women 57%) underwent TJA (knee 64%, hip 36%).

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