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OBJECTIVES: Methods to expand hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) ex vivo encompass an attractive approach that would substantially broaden the clinical applicability of HSCs derived from cord blood. Recently, members of the Angiopoietin-like (Angptl) family of growth factors were shown to expand both murine and human HSCs. Specifically, Angptl5 has been implicated in the expansion of human NOD-SCID-
Objective Our aim was to study depression and anxiety in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients as risk factors for all-cause mortality in a primary care setting. Methods The study population included adults (n = 12 283) of 45 years and older diagnosed with AF in 75 primary care centres in Sweden. The association between depression or anxiety and all-cause mortality was explored using Cox regression an
Abstract BACKGROUND: Family history has been suggested as a risk factor for varicose veins, but recall bias may inflate the familial risks. The aim of this nationwide study was to determine familial risks for hospital treatment for varicose veins. METHODS: Data from the Swedish Multi-Generation Register of people aged 0-76 years were linked to Hospital Discharge Register data for 1964-2008. Stand
We aimed to estimate the 15-year and lifetime risks of contralateral breast cancer in breast cancer patients according to the age of diagnosis of the first cancer and the history of breast cancer in the mother. The risks of contralateral breast cancer were estimated for all 78,775 breast cancer patients in the Swedish Family-Cancer Database (age at diagnosis of first breast cancer <70 years). The
BACKGROUND: Several instruments have been developed for measuring asthma control, but there is still a need to provide a structure for primary care asthma reviews. AIMS: The Active Life with Asthma (ALMA) tool was developed with the aim of structuring patient visits and assessing asthma treatment in primary care. The ability of ALMA to map out the care of asthma patients was evaluated and validate
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the incremental costs to public payers for patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) of working age compared with reference subjects from the general population. METHODS: We investigated total costs for 3 years (2005-2007) in 116 outpatients under 66 years of age with AS attending rheumatological care in Malmö, Sweden. Mean (SD) age was 46 (11) years and mean (SD) disease du
Identification and characterization of leukemia-initiating cells (LICs) is important to understand leukemogenesis and develop novel therapies for leukemia. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Gibbs et al. (2012) demonstrate that common active signaling pathways in LICs may be targeted to treat acute myeloid leukemia.
BACKGROUND: Polyglutamine (polyQ) diseases are characterised by the expansion of CAG triplet repeats in specific genes. The accumulated encoded proteins affect the transcription of numerous transcription factors. We investigated whether polyQ diseases reduce the risk of cancer development. METHODS: Data on patients with the polyQ diseases Huntington's disease (HD), spinobulbar muscular atrophy (
A well functioning societal response to crises is benefited by individuals having adequate skills and knowledge. From a municipal perspective this requires the creation of a learning organization. The objective of this study is to determine whether individual municipal employees, who have the responsibility for preparedness planning, reason and act in ways that promote learning about crises and pr
Cancer patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are at an increased risk of death due to cancer. However, whether T2DM comorbidity increases other causes of death in cancer patients is the novel theme of this study. Patients with T2DM were identified from the nationwide Swedish Hospital Discharge Register and linked with patients with cancer recorded from the Swedish Cancer Registry
The arrival of large numbers of economic migrants and refugees has seen the Swedish immigrant population increase rapidly. Research has shown that immigrants may be more susceptible to mental disorders because of traumatic events prior to immigration and adverse circumstances in their new country. The aim of this literature review is to summarize and interpret recent research on the mental health
The increasing population diversity in Europe demands clarification of possible ethnic influences on the growth and health of immigrant children and their psychosocial adaptation to the host countries. This article assesses recent data on immigrant children in Europe in comparison to European natives by means of a systematic review of the literature on growth patterns and data on children's health
Background Medical adherence is important in the treatment of depression. Primary medical adherence, i.e. patients collecting their newly prescribed medications from pharmacies, is very different depending on the drug prescribed Objective To assess the rate of primary medical adherence in patients prescribed antidepressants and to identify characteristics that make patients less likely to pick up
BACKGROUND:: Platelets not only control thrombosis and haemostasis but may also regulate inflammatory processes. Acute pancreatitis (AP) is characterized by changes in both coagulation and proinflammatory activities. The role of platelets in AP is not yet known. METHODS:: AP was induced in C57BL/6 mice by repeated caerulein administration (50 µg/kg intraperitoneally). Mice received a platelet-depl
BACKGROUND: Reports on trends in incidence and mortality of acute superior mesenteric artery (SMA) occlusion and evaluation of prognostic factors in recent years are lacking. METHODS: Patients with acute SMA occlusion were identified through the in-patient and autopsy registry between 1970 and 1982 (n = 270), 1987 to 1996 (n = 135), and 2000 and 2006 (n = 100) in Malmö, Sweden. RESULTS: The overal
Despite intense efforts to develop radiotracers to detect cancers or monitor treatment response, few are widely used as a result of challenges with demonstrating clear clinical use. We reasoned that a radiotracer targeting a validated clinical biomarker could more clearly assess the advantages of imaging cancer. The virtues and shortcomings of measuring secreted prostate-specific antigen (PSA), an
Time trends in incidence, causes of death, and prognosis of cancer of unknown primary (CUP) could provide important clues for occult primary sites and thus result in effective organ-specific treatment, although such studies are seldom reported. We aimed at examining time trends in percentage and incidence rates, causes of death, and survival of CUP. A total of 50 545 patients with CUP were identif
