Filetype
IMPORTANCE: Chronic breathlessness is common in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Regular, low-dose, extended-release morphine may relieve breathlessness, but evidence about its efficacy and dosing is needed.OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of different doses of extended-release morphine on worst breathlessness in people with COPD after 1 week of treatment.DESIGN, SETTING
BACKGROUND: Neuronal damage in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is common, but the extent and mechanisms are unclear. Neurofilament light (NfL) concentrations rise in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) during neuronal damage in various neurological disorders. In this cross-sectional study, plasma and CSF concentrations of NfL were explored as a marker of neuronal damage in SLE.METHODS: Seventy
The immune control of tuberculosis (TB) infection could be influenced by pregnancy. To elucidate this, we longitudinally characterized Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)-specific and nonspecific immune responses in women during pregnancy and postpartum. HIV-uninfected women without past or current active TB, and with blood samples available from the 1st/2nd trimester, 3rd trimester, and 9 months pos
Objectives: To examine the relationship between the English index of multiple deprivation (IMD) and the incidence of pre-eclampsia (PE), evaluate the distribution of IMD in a cohort of ethnically diverse pregnant women in South East England and assess whether IMD improves the prediction of PE compared with that provided by the ‘history-only’ competing-risks model (based on maternal characteristics
The current plastic system is unsustainable and needs to change. Plastics are mainly produced from fossil feedstock, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, and low rate of post-consumer recycling results in pollution on land and in oceans with high ecological impact, and huge loss of valuable material. There is an urgent need to find solutions for shifting the raw material base to renewable res
Importance: Better understanding is needed of the degree to which individuals tolerate Alzheimer disease (AD)-like pathological tau with respect to brain structure (brain resilience) and cognition (cognitive resilience). Objective: To examine the demographic (age, sex, and educational level), genetic (APOE-ϵ4 status), and neuroimaging (white matter hyperintensities and cortical thickness) factors
Background/Purpose: The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence rate and prevalence of coronary artery diseases (CAD) in patients with temporal artery positive giant cell arteritis (TAB+GCA) from a defined population in southern Sweden, and to describe characteristics of CAD in this sample.Methods: The study cohort consisted of 1202 patients (71.9% women) diagnosed with TAB+GCA between 199
Surrogate measures of safety (SMoS) are meant to function as tools to investigate traffic safety. The term surrogate indicates that these measures do not rely on crash data; instead, they focus on identifying safety critical events (or near-crashes) in traffic, which can be used as an alternative to crash records. The overall aim of this thesis is to explore which SMoS are suitable when analysing
Background: Most in vitro studies of potential osteoarthritis (OA) therapies have used cartilage monocultures, even though synovium is a key player in mediating joint inflammation and, thereby, cartilage degeneration. In the case of interleukin-1 (IL-1) inhibition using its receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), like chondrocytes, synoviocytes also express IL-1 receptors that influence intra-articular IL-1
The ice cover presence on the surface of a lake insulates the water body from the atmosphere. This prevents or reduces the influence of processes which depend on the exchange between the atmosphere and the water surface. This implies significant reduction or elimination of some processes taking place at the open water surface; for instance, a substantial reduction in solar energy penetrating to th
Aims: Ventricular longitudinal function measured as basal-apical atrioventricular plane displacement (AVPD) or global longitudinal strain (GLS) is a potent predictor of mortality and could potentially be a predictor of heart failure-associated morbidity. We hypothesized that low AVPD and GLS are associated with the combined endpoint of cardiovascular mortality and heart failure-associated morbidit
The human lung is a complex tissue consisting of a heterogeneous mix of different structures and cells, each which a specific role that together contribute to the primary function of the organ: the gas exchange. Different mesenchymal cells populate the interstitial areas around airways and blood vessels and form the connective tissue together with the extracellular matrix. Fibroblasts constitute o
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Dementia cases are expected to triple during the next 30 years, highlighting the importance of finding modifiable risk factors for dementia. The aim of this study is to investigate whether adherence to conventional dietary recommendations or to a modified Mediterranean diet are associated with subsequent lower risk of developing all-cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease (A
Background: Potent antithrombotic therapy has significantly improved prognosis for patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), however, at a price of increased bleeding risk. Chronic gastric infection with Helicobacter pylori (Hp) commonly causes upper gastrointestinal bleeding and is proposed as a risk factor for subsequent bleeding post AMI. The prevalence of active Hp in a current AMI popu
Background If carotid artery narrowing remains asymptomatic (ie, has caused no recent stroke or other neurological symptoms), successful carotid endarterectomy (CEA) reduces stroke incidence for some years. We assessed the long-term effects of successful CEA. Methods Between 1993 and 2003, 3120 asymptomatic patients from 126 centres in 30 countries were allocated equally, by blinded minimised rand
Background: In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the associations between tau pathology and brain atrophy and cognitive decline are well established, but imperfect. We investigate whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of biological processes (vascular, synaptic, and axonal integrity, neuroinflammation, neurotrophic factors) explain the disconnection between tau pathology and brain atrophy (brain re
IMPORTANCE: The number of patients prescribed long-term opioids and benzodiazepines and complications from their long-term use have increased. Information regarding the perioperative outcomes of patients prescribed these medications before surgery is limited.OBJECTIVE: To determine whether patients prescribed opioids and/or benzodiazepines within 6 months preoperatively would have greater short- a
Background: Up-to-date estimates of stroke burden and attributable risks and their trends at global, regional, and national levels are essential for evidence-based health care, prevention, and resource allocation planning. We aimed to provide such estimates for the period 1990–2021. Methods: We estimated incidence, prevalence, death, and disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) counts and age-standard
IMPORTANCE: The outcomes of newborn infants of women testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 in pregnancy is unclear.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate neonatal outcomes in relation to maternal SARS-CoV-2 test positivity in pregnancy.DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Nationwide, prospective cohort study based on linkage of the Swedish Pregnancy Register, the Neonatal Quality Register, and the Register for Communicab
Importance: Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) may contribute to the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) through its association with inflammation and cardiac remodeling. Objective: To determine whether CHIP was associated with AF, inflammatory and cardiac biomarkers, and cardiac structural changes. Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a population-based, prospective cohort
