Development of a Measure of Nociception for Patients With Severe Brain Injury.

Objectives: Severe brain injury is often accompanied by painful comorbidities and by concurrent limitations in the ability to report pain. Assessment of nociception aids diagnosis and helps balance reduction in suffering with avoidance of sedating medications. Existing assessment methods confound patients' level of consciousness with the intensity of nociception, complicating pain assessment as consciousness evolves.

Needs and preferences among patients with high-grade glioma and their caregivers - A longitudinal mixed methods study.

Previous reports on the patient perspective of daily life during a 1-year high-grade glioma (HGG) trajectory from the time of diagnosis are sparse. The aim of this longitudinal mixed methods study is to identify the specific needs and preferences for rehabilitation and supportive care and how it links with physical activity, psychological measures and health quality longitudinally over the first year after diagnosis among patients with HGG and their caregivers by integrating qualitative and quantitative findings. Using a longitudinal mixed methods design, patients with malignant glioma (n = 30) and their caregivers (n = 33) were interviewed and completed questionnaires (patients only) about physical activity level, anxiety/depression and quality of life five times during the 1-year period.

Daily Life Experiences of Patients With a High-Grade Glioma and Their Caregivers: A Longitudinal Exploration of Rehabilitation and Supportive Care Needs.

Background: There is a lack of knowledge regarding the breadth of needs for rehabilitation and supportive care across the disease and treatment trajectory for patients with a high-grade glioma (HGG) and their caregivers.

Objective: The aim of this study was to elucidate the experiences and needs for rehabilitation and supportive care in patients with HGG and their caregivers.

Methods: Patients with malignant glioma (N = 30) and their caregivers (N = 33) were interviewed five times during the first year of the HGG trajectory.

Characteristics of nursing studies in diabetes research published over three decades in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland: a narrative review of the literature.

Similarities and differences across borders of Nordic countries constitute a suitable context for investigating and discussing factors related to the development of diabetes nursing research over the last three decades. The present study reviewed the entire body of contemporary diabetes nursing research literature originating in four Nordic countries: Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland. Our aims were (i) to catalogue and characterise trends in research designs and research areas of these studies published over time and (ii) to describe how research involving nurses in Nordic countries has contributed to diabetes research overall.

Health-related quality of life in patients with high-grade gliomas: a quantitative longitudinal study.

The diagnosis of a high-grade glioma usual is followed by functional impairment(s), cognitive decline and an impaired psycho-social well-being. This might well have a significant and negative impact on the health related quality of life. The purpose of this study was to explore physical activity levels, prevalence and severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms and health-related quality of life among patients with a highgrade glioma.

Transition from hospital to daily life: a pilot study.

Purpose: To assess the effect of nurse-led systematic rehabilitation counseling performed before discharge to prevent concerns in the hospital-to-home gap in rehabilitation of lung cancer patients after surgery.

Design And Method: A quasi-experimental intervention study. One hundred twenty patients with operable non-small cell lung cancer admitted for surgery participated.

Controlled rehabilitative and supportive care intervention trials in patients with high-grade gliomas and their caregivers: a systematic review.

Background: Patients diagnosed with high-grade gliomas experience a varying and complex symptom burden, and face a high mortality rate. As a consequence, patients with high-grade gliomas and their caregivers have imminent and changing rehabilitative and supportive care needs.

Objectives: To give a detailed overview of non-pharmacological rehabilitative and supportive care interventions for patients with high-grade gliomas and/or their caregivers, and provide an appraisal of the methodological quality of these studies.

A longitudinal, qualitative and quantitative exploration of daily life and need for rehabilitation among patients with high-grade gliomas and their caregivers.

Introduction: High-grade gliomas (HGGs) are the most malignant type of brain tumours. The 5-year survival is 10% and a significant part of the ongoing research aims to increase survival through surgical and oncological treatments. Accordingly, there is an increasing need for investigating the HGG trajectory in order to recommend specific guidelines for rehabilitative and supportive interventions.

Living with incurable oesophageal cancer. A phenomenological hermeneutical interpretation of patient stories.

Purpose: The study explores how patients diagnosed with incurable oesophageal cancer experience living with the illness, and provides insight into and an understanding of the patients' situation, reality and phenomena in their life world.

Method: The method takes a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach, inspired by the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur's narrative theory on mimesis as the structure and process of the method, and Ricoeur's theory of interpretation for the analysis of patient stories. The stories materialise from narrative interviews, and the phenomena of the patients' life world results in an analysis of these stories.

Methylprednisolone prevents tumour necrosis factor-alpha-dependent multinucleated giant cell formation.

Objectives: Granulomas contain multinucleated giant cells (MGCs), the function of which remains largely unknown. In patients with autoimmune granulomatous disease, the granulomas can be resolved during treatment with glucocorticosteroid (GCS). However, little is known about the influence of GCSs on the formation of MGCs.

Elevated mRNA levels of CTLA-4, FoxP3, and granzyme B in BAL, but not in blood, during acute rejection of lung allografts.

Introduction: Regulatory T cells (Tregs) have been related to acute rejection as have the cytotoxic T cells, their immunological counterpart. High expression of cytotoxic markers has been related to acute rejection incidents following both kidney and intestine transplantation, while the correlation between FoxP3 expression and acute rejection is still being debated. Some studies have been performed on blood samples from lung-transplanted patients, while others have investigated the local immune response in the lungs by analysing broncho-alveolar-lavage (BAL) fluids or biopsies.

A randomized trial on the effect of a multimodal intervention on physical capacity, functional performance and quality of life in adult patients undergoing allogeneic SCT.

The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to investigate the effect of a 4- to 6-week multimodal program of exercise, relaxation and psychoeducation on physical capacity, functional performance and quality of life (QOL) in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) adult recipients. In all, 42 patients were randomized to a supervised multimodal intervention or to a control group receiving usual care. The primary end point was on aerobic capacity measured in VO(2) max.

Serum levels of ficolin-3 (Hakata antigen) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: Ficolin-3 is a serum protein of putative importance in autoimmunity. Our objective was to investigate any differential expression of ficolin-3 in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or its clinical subsets.

Methods: Serum levels of ficolin-3 (S-ficolin-3) were determined in 95 patients with SLE and 103 healthy controls using an ELISA.

Acute and long-term pituitary insufficiency in traumatic brain injury: a prospective single-centre study.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of hypopituitarism following traumatic brain injury (TBI), describe the time-course and assess the association with trauma-related parameters and early post-traumatic hormone alterations.

Design: A 12-month prospective study.

Patients: Forty-six consecutive patients with TBI (mild: N = 22; moderate: N = 9; severe: N = 15).

Pilot study of a multimodal intervention: mixed-type exercise and psychoeducation in patients undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Substantial physical and functional deconditioning and diminished psychological wellbeing are all potential adverse effects of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, safety and benefits (physical and functional capacity) of a 4-6 week supervised and structured mixed-type exercise, progressive relaxation and psychoeducation programme in patients undergoing allo-HSCT. Nineteen patients were randomized to an intervention or a conventional care group (CC) and were tested for physical and functional capacity before admission and upon hospital discharge.

Prevalence and predictive factors of post-traumatic hypopituitarism.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and predictive factors of hypopituitarism following traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Design: A cross-sectional cohort study.

Patients: One hundred and four hospitalized TBI patients (26F/78M), median age 41 (range 18-64) years, body mass index (BMI) 25 (17-39) kg/m(2); severity: mild [Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score 13-15) n = 44, moderate (GCS 9-12) n = 20, severe (GCS < 9) n = 40].

Maximum physical capacity testing in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: qualitative findings from an exercise program.

Background: Over the past few years there has been a growing interest in the field of physical exercise in rehabilitation of cancer patients, leading to requirements for objective maximum physical capacity measurement (maximum oxygen uptake (VO(2max)) and one-repetition maximum (1RM)) to determine dose-response levels in different cancer diagnoses.

Aim: To explore the patients' experiences of maximum physical capacity testing while concurrently undergoing chemotherapy and participating in a 6-week, 9 h weekly multidimensional exercise program.

Design And Method: Prospective, exploratory study using semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted prior to and at termination of the program.

High-intensity resistance and cardiovascular training improve physical capacity in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of a supervised high- and low-intensity structured training program in cancer patients concurrently undergoing chemotherapy. Seventy patients, in different stages of the disease and with different diagnoses (48 females, 22 males), between 18 and 65 years of age (mean age 42.8) participated in a 9-h weekly training program over 6 weeks.

Flow cytometric DNA index, G-band karyotyping, and comparative genomic hybridization in detection of high hyperdiploidy in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

High hyperdiploid acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children is related to a good outcome. Because these patients may be stratified to a low-intensity treatment, we have investigated the sensitivity of flow cytometry (FCM), G-band karyotyping (GBK), and high-resolution comparative genomic hybridization (HR-CGH) in detecting high hyperdiploid leukemic clones. Twenty-six girls and 34 boys with acute lymphoblastic leukemia diagnosed in 1998 to 1999 were analyzed by FCM, GBK, and HR-CGH.

The effect of a multidimensional exercise programme on symptoms and side-effects in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy--the use of semi-structured diaries.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a 6-week intervention with structured physical activity, relaxation, body-awareness techniques and massage on the symptoms/side-effects of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The study was prospective and exploratory, and 54 patients completed assessments for all 6 weeks of the intervention. In order to obtain a continuous record of side-effects, a diary was developed for the patients' use throughout the intervention.

Osteoclasts from patients with autosomal dominant osteopetrosis type I caused by a T253I mutation in low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 are normal in vitro, but have decreased resorption capacity in vivo.

Autosomal dominant osteopetrosis type I (ADOI) is presumably caused by gain-of-function mutations in the LRP5 gene. Patients with a T253I mutation in LRP5 have a high bone mass phenotype, characterized by increased mineralizing surface index but abnormally low numbers of small osteoclasts. To investigate the effect of the T253I mutation in LRP5 on osteoclasts, we isolated CD14+ monocytes from ADOI patients and assessed their ability to generate osteoclasts when treated with RANKL and M-CSF compared to that of age- and sex-matched control osteoclasts.

The effect of a multidimensional exercise intervention on physical capacity, well-being and quality of life in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of a multidimensional exercise intervention focusing on physical capacity; one-repetition maximum (1RM) and maximum oxygen uptake (VO2Max), activity level, general well-being and quality of life in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The intervention comprised resistance and fitness training, massage, relaxation and body-awareness training. Eighty-two cancer patients, with or without evidence of residual disease, were included: 66 patients with 13 different types of solid tumours and 16 patients with 6 types of haematological malignancies.

Age-related macular degeneration among the Inuit in Greenland.

Objectives: To investigate the clinical appearance and prevalence of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) among the Inuit in Greenland, to investigate risk factors and to initiate the search for possible genetic markers.

Study Design: A cross-sectional population study including all individuals older than 60 years of age, born in Greenland and living in the communities of Nuuk and Sisimiut, was performed in 2000 and 2001.

Methods: All participants underwent an ophthalmologic examination, which was complemented by fundus photography and a questionnaire.

Methylated metabolites of 6-mercaptopurine are associated with hepatotoxicity.

Background: Hepatotoxicity with elevation of aminotransferase levels is common during combined methotrexate and thiopurine therapy. However, the mechanism of hepatotoxicity induced by these drugs remains obscure. We have investigated the relationship of a rise in aminotransferase levels to erythrocyte levels of methotrexate and its polyglutamates, 6-thioguanine nucleotides, the major cytotoxic metabolites of 6-mercaptopurine, and methylated metabolites of 6-mercaptopurine generated by thiopurine methyltransferase in competition with the formation of 6-thioguanine nucleotides.