OBJECTIVE: Relatives of patients undergoing cardiac surgery expect successful outcome but sometimes complications cause death. The aim was to interview relatives of patients who have died in connection with cardiac surgery and describe their experiences of information, reception and care. METHODS: Data were obtained from semi-structured interviews with 18 relatives of deceased patients and then an

BACKGROUND: The benefits of critical care follow-up services include increased understanding of the long-term consequences of intensive care and entail helping patients and their next of kin to come to terms with their problems and distress following critical illness and intensive care treatment. AIMS: To establish an intensive care after-care programme and to conduct a preliminary evaluation of t

Pancreatic cancer is strongly associated with the development of hyperglycemia, peripheral insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus, especially when presented as new-onset diabetes mellitus. Peripheral insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia have been suggested to promote growth of pancreatic cancer cells, and therefore a relation between long-standing diabetes mellitus type 2 and pancreatic cance

AIMS: To study HLA-DQB1 genes and islet cell autoantibodies against glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GADA) and insulinoma antigen-2 (IA-2A) in relation to diabetes post partum in mothers with diagnosed gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). METHODS: During 2003-2004, women undergoing a 75g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) during pregnancy were invited to participate in the Mamma Study. Cut-off leve

Mirror therapy has been used as an alternative stimulus to feed the somatosensory cortex in an attempt to preserve hand cortical representation with better functional results.

Tyr-762 is an autophosphorylation site in the human platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) alpha-receptor. In order to investigate whether phosphorylated Tyr-762 serves as a docking site for downstream signal transduction molecules, affinity purification using an immobilized synthetic peptide containing phosphorylated Tyr-762 and its surrounding amino acid residues was performed. Proteins in HeLa c

International guidelines recommend PET-CT should replace CT in Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL). The aims of this study were to i) compare PET-CT with CT for staging and ii) measure agreement between expert and local readers, using a five-point scale (Deauville criteria), to adapt treatment in a clinical trial 'Response Adapted Therapy in Advanced Hodgkin Lymphoma' (RATHL) www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials, refe

We compared porous silicon (pSi) with smooth Si as chip-implant surfaces in a nerve regeneration setting. Silicon chips can be used for recording neural activity and are potential nerve interface devices. A silicon chip with one smooth and one porous side inserted into a tube was used to bridge a 5 mm defect in rat sciatic nerve. Six or 12 weeks later, new nerve structures surrounded by a perineur

OBJECTIVE: to explore beliefs about health and illness three months postpartum in women born in Sweden and the Middle East, and to study whether they perceive gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) as a prediabetic condition. DESIGN: an explorative study using semi-structured interviews 3 months postpartum. SETTING: in-hospital diabetes specialist clinic in Sweden. PARTICIPANTS: interviews three mont

BACKGROUND: Susceptibility to celiac disease is essentially restricted to carriers of specific HLA DQA1 and DQB1 alleles. We have developed a semi-automated sequence specific primer (SSP) PCR method for clinical HLA typing and compared the test results with those from a commercial method. METHODS: Primers for each DQA1 and DQB1 allele group were included in our PCR-SSP reaction to allow differenti

Idiopathic Scoliosis is a spinal deformity affecting approximately 3% of otherwise healthy children or adolescents. The etiology is still largely unknown but has an important genetic component. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified a number of common genetic variants that are significantly associated with idiopathic scoliosis in Asian and Caucasian populations, rs11190870 close to

We assessed blood pressure (BP) trends in patients with type 2 diabetes from a national diabetes register using three cross-sectional samples (aged 30-85 years) in 2005, 2007 and 2009, and in patients from 2005 followed individually until 2009. The prevalence of hypertension was 87% among all 180 369 patients in 2009, although lower in subgroups with ages 30-39, 40-49 and 50-59 years: 40%, 60% and

AIMS: Despite a wealth of clinical trial data supporting use of the premixed insulin analogue, biphasic insulin aspart 30 (BIAsp 30) in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), there is limited documentation of its use in primary care-based clinical practice.METHODS: An observational study investigating the safety and efficacy of BIAsp 30 in routine clinical practice was conducted. Patien

OBJECTIVE: To investigate hand problems in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to explore consequences on the ability to perform daily activities. METHODS: One hundred nine patients with SLE completed a questionnaire assessing hand problems in terms of deficits in body structures, e.g., joints, and body functions including pain, grip force, and other physiologic functions of the h

Aims Patients with a history of atrial fibrillation (AF) have previously been shown to have altered atrial conduction, as seen non-invasively using signal-averaged P-wave analysis. However, little is known about the P-wave morphology in patients in the early phases of AF with structurally normal hearts. Methods and results Thirty-six patients with lone AF were included before the age of 40 years (