Background: <br>Elevated levels of osteoprotegerin, a secreted tumor necrosis factor–related molecule, might be associated with adverse outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease. We measured plasma osteoprotegerin concentrations on hospital admission, at discharge, and at 1 and 6 months after discharge in a predefined subset (n=5135) of patients with acute coronary syndromes in the PLATO ...

Objective: <br>Current systems to evaluate outcomes from tissue-engineered cartilage (TEC) are sub-optimal. The main purpose of our study was to demonstrate the use of second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy as a novel quantitative approach to assess collagen deposition in laboratory made cartilage constructs. <br>Methods: <br>Scaffold-free cartilage constructs were obtained by condensation ...

Background/Aim: <br>There are several definitions of limited disease (LD) in small cell lung cancer (SCLC), differing with respect to N3 disease accepted. We analyzed patients from a randomized trial comparing two schedules of thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) in LD SCLC to investigate whether there were survival differences between N3 subcategories (n=144). Patients and <br>Methods: <br>Patients ...

Atrieflimmer er den hyppigst forekommende hjerterytmeforstyrrelse av klinisk betydning, og berører ca 45 000 pasienter i Norge. Medikamentell behandling gir tilfredsstillende effekt hos flertallet, men man må se etter alternativer for de som ikke tåler eller responderer på medikamenter. For disse kan kateterbehandling med bruk av for eksempel radiofrekvensablasjon være en mulighet. Radiofrekvensablasjon ...

Keratinocytes and remnant of keratinocytes in nodules, abscesses, and sinus tracts are radically removed in surgical treatment of hidradenitis suppurativa.1 We are now using methylene blue in carbon dioxide laser surgery for patients with moderate to severe hidradenitis lesions (Hurley stage II-III). Methylene blue stains active inflammatory nodules and sinus tracts. We use a modified methylene blue ...

<p><i>Background</i> - The first 12 Norwegian assertive community treatment (ACT) teams were piloted from 2009 to 2011. Of the 338 patients included during the teams’ first year of operation, 38% were subject to community treatment orders (CTOs). In Norway as in many other Western countries, the use of CTOs is relatively high despite lack of robust evidence for their effectiveness. The purpose of ...

<p><i>Background</i>: Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) is a severe lung condition affecting newborns and it can lead to a systemic inflammatory response. We previously documented complement activation and cytokine release in a piglet MAS model. Additionally, we showed ex vivo that meconium-induced inflammation was dependent on complement and Toll-like receptors.</p> <p><i>Objectives</i>: To ...

<p><i>Background and Purpose</i>: Using postrupture morphology to predict rupture risk of an intracranial aneurysm may be inaccurate because of possible morphological changes at or around the time of rupture. The present study aims at comparing morphology from angiograms obtained prior to and just after rupture and to evaluate whether postrupture morphology is an adequate surrogate for rupture ...

<p><i>Background</i>: We hypothesized that circulating markers reflecting monocyte/macrophage and T cell activation are associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in apparently healthy individuals.</p> <p><i>Methods</i>: Serum monocyte/macrophage and T cell activation markers soluble (s) CD163, sCD14, Gal3BP, sCD25 and sCD166 were analyzed by enzyme-immunoassay in a case-control ...

<p><i>Background</i>: The aim of the study was to explore the prognostic impact of different abnormal blood tests and the tumor marker CA 15-3 as well as established parameters such as disease extent and receptor status in patients with bone metastases from breast cancer who received palliative radiotherapy in addition to contemporary systemic treatment.</p> <p><i>Methods</i>: This was a ...