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Aims: We applied near-infrared-spectroscopy (NIRS) to measure absolute frontal cerebral tissue oxygen saturation (SctO2) during head-up tilt test (HUT) in patients investigated for unexplained syncope.Methods and results: Synchronized non-invasive beat-to-beat haemodynamic monitoring, ECG, SctO2 (NIRS; normal range: 60-80%), and peripheral oxygen saturation (left hand, SpO2) were applied during HU

Background--Family history of coronary heart disease (CHD) as well as genetic predisposition to CHD assessed by a genetic risk score (GRS) are predictors of CHD risk. It is, however, uncertain to what extent these risk predictors are mediated by major metabolic pathways. Methods and Results--Total effects of self-reported family history and a 50-variant GRS (GRS50), as well as effects mediated by

Rhinovirus infections are common triggers of asthma exacerbations. Viruses can activate the inflammasome, resulting in processing and activation of caspase-1. This recruitment triggers production of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18, which have been implicated in asthma. Elucidating the involvement of the inflammasome and its compartments, such as caspase-1, in asthma exacerbations is warranted. Gene

Red blood cells (RBC) and platelets constitute the non-immune branch of the hematopoietic system and are responsible for the vital functions of transporting oxygen to the tissues and clotting blood vessel injuries, respectively. These cells are produced during embryonic development and throughout life through a process called hematopoiesis which is tightly regulated by extrinsic and intrinsic fact

BACKGROUND:: Exposure to second-hand smoke has been shown to be associated with increased cardiovascular mortality in several, but not all, epidemiologic studies. Our aim was to investigate the risk of circulatory death associated with exposure to second-hand smoke in never-smokers in a very large prospective study, the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. A secondary aim

The Ile148Met (rs738409, G-allele) in the patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 gene (PNPLA3) associates with liver fat content and may lead to loss-of-function (hydrolysis) or gain-of-function (CoA-dependent lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase) defects. PNPLA3 is up-regulated by dietary carbohydrates, and interactions between rs738409 and carbohydrates, and sugar and ω6:ω3-poly

BACKGROUND: Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) may display elevated plasma levels of pro-inflammatory substances. Although the underlying mechanisms are unknown, inflammation has been proposed to play a direct role in the generation of depressive symptoms. Skeletal muscle is a potent producer of cytokines, and physical exercise has been suggested to alleviate symptoms of depression. In

Aging causes profound effects on the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) pool, including an altered output of mature progeny and enhanced self-propagation of repopulating-defective HSCs. An important outstanding question is whether HSCs can be protected from aging. The signal adaptor protein LNK negatively regulates hematopoiesis at several cellular stages. It has remained unclear how the enhanced sensi

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are maintained in hypoxic niches in endosteal regions of bones. Here we demonstrate that Cripto and its receptor GRP78 are important regulators of HSCs in the niche. Flow cytometry analyses revealed two distinct subpopulations of CD34(-)KSL cells based on the expression of GRP78, and these populations showed different reconstitution potential in transplantation assa

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS). One potential therapeutic strategy for MS is to induce regulatory cells that mediate immunological tolerance. Probiotics, including lactobacilli, are known to induce immunomodulatory activity with promising effects in inflammatory diseases. We tested the potential of various strain

Recent reports suggest that immigrants from Middle Eastern countries are a high-risk group for type 2 diabetes (T2D) compared with Swedes, and that the pathogenesis of T2D may be ethnicity-specific. Deregulation of microRNA (miRNA) expression has been demonstrated to be associated with T2D but ethnic differences in miRNA have not been investigated. The aim of this study was to explore the ethnic s

Objective: The incidence of type 1 diabetes shows a large variation worldwide, but whether the causes are environmental or genetic has not been settled. We examine here the incidence of type 1 diabetes among second-generation immigrants and adoptees from abroad to disentangle genetic/ethnic vs. environmental influence, assuming adoptees from abroad have similar environmental exposures compared wit

This study investigated if copeptin is affected by high salt intake and whether any salt-induced changes in copeptin are related to the degree of salt sensitivity. The study was performed on 20 men and 19 women. In addition to meals containing 50 mmol NaCl daily, capsules containing 100 mmol NaCl and corresponding placebo capsules were administered during 4 weeks each, in random order. Measurement

Ruxolitinib, a novel inhibitor of Janus kinases 1 and 2, was recently approved for the treatment of myelofibrosis but, recently, attention has been drawn to potential side effects and especially opportunistic infections and virus reactivations. EBV reactivation has not previously been reported to occur in association with Ruxolitinib.

BACKGROUND: TNF-α inhibitors are potent anti-inflammatory drugs that have revolutionized the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) is a non-invasive method to study cartilage quality, in particular the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content. PURPOSE: To evaluate knee cartilage quality before and after treatment with a TNF-α inhibitor (infliximab) i

OBJECTIVE: We assessed the relationship between pulse pressure and intermediate cardiovascular phenotypes in a middle-aged cohort with high prevalence of hypertension. BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that central pulse pressure (cPP) is a better predictor of cardiovascular outcome than peripheral pulse pressure (pPP), particularly in the elderly. Yet, it is unclear if cPP provides additional pro

The relationship between tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and drug survival had not been studied in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and there were no laboratory tests to predict the long-term efficacy of biological drugs for JIA. We studied if serum levels of TNF-α, free or bound to etanercept, could predict long-term efficacy of etanercept in children with JIA.

The PR interval on the electrocardiogram reflects atrial and atrioventricular nodal conduction time. The PR interval is heritable, provides important information about arrhythmia risk, and has been suggested to differ among human races. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified common genetic determinants of the PR interval in individuals of European and Asian ancestry, but there is a