Hepatic erythropoietin response in cirrhosis. A contemporary review.

The main function of erythropoietin (EPO) is to maintain red blood cell mass, but in recent years, increasing evidence has suggested a wider biological role not solely related to erythropoiesis, e.g. angiogenesis and tissue protection.

Testicular Sperm Sampling by Subcapsular Orchiectomy in Klinefelter Patients: A New Simplified Treatment Approach.

Objective: To evaluate subcapsular orchiectomy as a method to retrieve spermatozoa from minute testicular foci in men with Klinefelter syndrome (KS).

Methods: Fourteen men with KS were consecutively recruited to unilateral subcapsular orchiectomy. Testicular tissue was dissected mechanically and enzymatically to identify possible sperm.

Physical activity, depressed mood and pregnancy worries in European obese pregnant women: results from the DALI study.

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between mental health status (i.e. depressed mood and pregnancy-related worries) and objectively measured physical activity levels in obese pregnant women from seven European countries.

Exploring Genetic Factors Involved in Huntington Disease Age of Onset: E2F2 as a New Potential Modifier Gene.

Age of onset (AO) of Huntington disease (HD) is mainly determined by the length of the CAG repeat expansion (CAGexp) in exon 1 of the HTT gene. Additional genetic variation has been suggested to contribute to AO, although the mechanism by which it could affect AO is presently unknown. The aim of this study is to explore the contribution of candidate genetic factors to HD AO in order to gain insight into the pathogenic mechanisms underlying this disorder.

Application of high resolution synchrotron micro-CT radiation in dental implant osseointegration.

The purpose of this study was to describe a refined method using high-resolution synchrotron radiation microtomography (SRmicro-CT) to evaluate osseointegration and peri-implant bone volume fraction after titanium dental implant insertion. SRmicro-CT is considered gold standard evaluating bone microarchitecture. Its high resolution, high contrast, and excellent high signal-to-noise-ratio all contribute to the highest spatial resolutions achievable today.

Exercise intervention for patients diagnosed with operable non-small cell lung cancer: a qualitative longitudinal feasibility study.

Purpose: The purpose was to explore operable lung cancer patient experiences with an exercise intervention from a longitudinal perspective according to patient motivation and patient perceived benefits and barriers of exercise.

Methods: Nineteen patients enrolled in an exercise intervention 2 weeks post-surgery participated in qualitative interviews at three time points. A criteria sampling strategy was applied.

Health economic changes as a result of implementation of targeted therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma: national results from DARENCA study 2.

Background: Limited data exist on the economic consequences of implementing targeted therapy (TT) for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in a real-world setting.

Objective: To analyze health care and productivity costs for TT implementation in a national cohort of patients.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Costs were measured per patient per year during a 2-yr follow-up during 2002-2005 (immunotherapy only) and 2006-2009 (TT implementation).

Mastoidectomy performance assessment of virtual simulation training using final-product analysis.

Objectives/hypothesis: The future development of integrated automatic assessment in temporal bone virtual surgical simulators calls for validation against currently established assessment tools. This study aimed to explore the relationship between mastoidectomy final-product performance assessment in virtual simulation and traditional dissection training.

Study Design: Prospective trial with blinding.

Improved overall survival after implementation of targeted therapy for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma: results from the Danish Renal Cancer Group (DARENCA) study-2.

Aim: To evaluate the implementation of targeted therapy on overall survival (OS) in a complete national cohort of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).

Methods: All Danish patients with mRCC referred for first line treatment with immunotherapy, TKIs or mTOR-inhibitors between 2006 and 2010 were included. Baseline and outcome data were collected retrospectively.

Tooth mobility changes subsequent to root fractures: a longitudinal clinical study of 44 permanent teeth.

The purpose of this study was to analyze tooth mobility changes in root-fractured permanent teeth and relate this to type of interfragment healing (hard tissue healing (HT), interfragment healing with periodontal ligament (PDL) and nonhealing with interposition of granulation tissue (GT) because of pulp necrosis in the coronal fragment. Furthermore, the effect of age, location of the fracture on the root, and observation period on mobility values was analyzed. Mobility values were measured for 44 of 95 previous reported root-fractured permanent incisors.

Time trend in diagnosing dementia in secondary care.

Background: To study the trend of diagnosing dementia in the secondary health care sector over time, we conducted a nationwide longitudinal study of the incidence and prevalence of registered dementia diagnoses in the Danish national hospital registers.

Methods: All Danish residents born before 1964 and alive at their 40th birthday were followed from their 40th birthday or January 1, 1970, whichever came later, to the date of the first dementia diagnosis recorded in the hospital registers, the date of emigration, date of death, or December 31, 2004, whichever came first. The age- and period-specific incidence and prevalence of dementia were calculated and compared to estimates from large community-based cohort studies in Europe.

Massive fetomaternal hemorrhage: clearance of fetal red blood cells after intravenous anti-D prophylaxis monitored by flow cytometry.

Background: The clearance of D+ red blood cells (RBCs) from the circulation in D- individuals mediated by passively administered anti-D occurs by opsonization with the antibody and subsequent removal in the spleen. Few data exist on the kinetics of clearance of large volumes of D+ RBCs from the maternal circulation by anti-D in clinical cases of massive fetomaternal hemorrhage (FMH).

Case Report: A 33-year-old D- woman delivered a D+ female infant by emergency cesarean section for suspected fetal anemia.

Ultrasound of the acute abdomen performed by surgeons in training.

Aim: Ultrasound has a well-established role in the diagnostic assessment of acute abdominal pain where some ultrasonically easily-accessible organs account for several diagnostic possibilities. The objective of the present study was to evaluate whether surgeons without ultrasound experience could perform valid abdominal ultrasound examinations of patients referred with acute abdominal pain.

Methods: Patients referred with acute abdominal pain had an ultrasound examination by a surgeon in training as well as by an experienced consultant radiologist whose results served as the gold standard.

Use of antiparkinsonian drugs in Denmark: results from a nationwide pharmacoepidemiological study.

The objective of the present study was to record the use of antiparkinsonian drugs (APD) in Denmark and discuss estimates of the incidence and prevalence rates of Parkinson's disease (PD). The main indication for treatment with APD is idiopathic PD. The use of APD is, therefore, an indicator of the epidemiology of PD and Parkinsonism.

A functional polymorphism in the Eta-1 promoter is associated with allele specific binding to the transcription factor Sp1 and elevated gene expression.

Early T lymphocyte activator 1 (Eta-1), also known as Osteopontin, is a cytokine produced by macrophages and T lymphocytes. It is involved in the regulation of IL-12 and IL-10 expression in macrophages and stimulates the polarization of T cells to the Th1 subset. Three promoter polymorphisms of the human Eta-1 gene, -443T/C, -156delG/G, -66T/G, were investigated for possible influence on gene expression.

Gender differences in patients presenting with a single depressive episode according to ICD-10.

Background: It is unsure whether men and women present with different subtypes of depression. The aim of the study was to compare the prevalence of subtypes of a single depressive episode according to ICD-10 for men and women in a nationwide sample of all patients treated in psychiatric in- or outpatient settings.

Methods: All patients who got a diagnosis of a single depressive episode in a period from 1994 to 2002 at the end of the first outpatient treatment ever or at the first discharge from psychiatric hospitalisation ever in Denmark were identified in a nationwide register.

Synthetic furanones inhibit quorum-sensing and enhance bacterial clearance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection in mice.

Introduction: Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections by killing the bacteria or inhibiting their growth, but resistance to antibiotics can develop readily. The discovery that bacterial quorum-sensing regulates bacterial virulence as well as the formation of biofilms opens up new ways to control certain bacterial infections. Furanone compounds capable of inhibiting bacterial quorum-sensing systems have been isolated from the marine macro alga Delisea pulchra.

Identification of 4 different alternatively spliced HLA-A transcripts.

During the development of a sequencing based typing (polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-SBT) protocol for the HLA-A locus, the presence of two bands in addition to the expected full-length product were observed in the template generating PCR in some of the samples investigated. Despite a profound optimisation of the PCR, these new products of lower molecular weight remained present. The new products were not associated with specific alleles.

Abnormal EBV immune status in oral lichen planus.

Objective: To investigate any possible association between oral lichen planus (OLP) and the humoral immune response to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).

Material And Methods: The population consisted of 22 patients with histologically verified OLP and 22 healthy sex- and age-matched controls without any oral mucosal diseases. Specific serum IgG antibodies (Ab) towards EBV early antigen (EA) and nuclear antigen-I (EBNA) and IgM Ab towards EBV EA were determined by ELISA.

Varicella-zoster virus DNA in recurrent aphthous ulcers.

The present study was undertaken to examine for varicella-zoster virus (VZV) constituents in recurrent aphthous ulcers (RAU). Smears and biopsies of ulcers 0-3 days old were obtained from 20 otherwise healthy minor/major RAU patients and from two patients with Behçet's syndrome. VZV could not be cultivated from any of the biopsies, all smears were negative for VZV antigen, and in situ hybridization on the five samples tested was negative for VZV nucleic acid.

Heterogeneity of cerebral vasoreactivity in preterm infants supported by mechanical ventilation.

The reaction of cerebral blood flow to acute changes in arterial carbon dioxide pressure (PaCO2) and mean arterial blood pressure was determined in 57 preterm infants supported by mechanical ventilation (mean gestational age 30.1 weeks) during the first 48 hours of life. All infants had normal brain sonograms at the time of the investigation.

Intraoral infection with Mycobacterium chelonae. A case report.

An 8-year-old girl had a visibly enlarged submandibular lymph node and a reddish, spongy swelling of the gingiva in the upper right canine region. Culturing of the gingival tissue resulted in the isolation of Mycobacterium chelonae, and the patient showed a specific skin hypersensitivity reaction to M. chelonae sensitin.