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Ineffective antimicrobial therapy of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteraemia increases mortality. Recent studies have proposed the use of antimicrobial combination therapy composed of a beta-lactam with either ciprofloxacin or tobramycin. To determine if combination therapy correlates to lower mortality and is superior compared to monotherapy, we investigated the effect of antimicrobial treatment regim

Plasma cell dyscrasias, including monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), multiple myeloma (MM), Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) and light chain AL amyloidosis, are characterized by clonal expansion of plasma cells which produce a vast amount of an immunoglobulin-derived M-protein. We noted that MGUS diagnosis often coincided with diagnoses of senile cataract and glaucoma and

Background: Recent studies suggest a possible causal role for smoking in schizophrenia and psychosis. Most studies have focused on cigarette smoking, the most common form of tobacco use, but other forms of tobacco exist, including smokeless products such as Swedish snuff (or "snus"). Methods: We explored whether snus use is associated with schizophrenia and non-affective psychotic illness in a lar

Cell stressors, such as elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), adversely affect hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) reconstituting ability. However, the effects of ROS have not been evaluated in the context of hematopoietic development from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). Using our previously described in vitro system for efficient derivation of hematopoietic cells from hPSCs, we show t

The possibility to manufacture hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in the laboratory would provide an indefinite source of cells for patients requiring bone marrow transplantation. Moreover, combined with the progress in gene editing techniques, it would provide a novel platform for gene and cell replacement therapies for a range of currently incurable congenic and acquired disorders. During my PhD, I

Background The need for psychotherapy in primary health care is on the increase but individual-based treatment is costly. The main aim of this randomised controlled trial (RCT) was to compare the effect of mindfulness-based group therapy (MGT) with treatment as usual (TAU), mainly individual-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), on a broad range of psychiatric symptoms in primary care patient

Objective: Most studies suggest that poor cognitive functioning in adolescence increases risk of alcohol use disorders (AUDs). We seek to clarify the causes of this association. Method: In Swedish individuals born from 1972 to 1990 in whom cognitive functioning was assessed by school achievement at age 16 years (males and females, N = 1,796,048) and by IQ at ages 18–20 (males, N = 554,644), we exa

Transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) is a member of a large family of polypeptide growth factors. TGFβ signals mainly through the intracellular proteins Smad2 and Smad3, which are highly similar in amino acid sequence identity. A number of studies have shown that these proteins, dependent on context, have distinct roles in the TGFβ signaling pathway. TGFβ is one of the most potent inhibitors of hem

RNA architectonics offers the possibility to design and assemble RNA into specific shapes, such as nanoscale 3D solids or nanogrids. Combining the minute size of these programmable shapes with precise positioning on a surface further enhances their potential as building blocks in nanotechnology and nanomedicine. Here we describe a bottom-up approach to direct the arrangement of nucleic acid nanost

Background: Whether age at onset influences Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression and the effectiveness of cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI) therapy is not clear. We aimed to compare longitudinal cognitive and global outcomes in ChEI-treated patients with early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD) versus late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) in clinical practice. Methods: This 3-year, prospective, observ

BACKGROUND: Body height has been associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), but the association can be confounded with shared familial factors (genetic/environmental). A cosibling design is useful for deeper understanding about the relationship between VTE and height.METHODS AND RESULTS: From Swedish national registry databases, we used a corelative design with full sibling

BACKGROUND: Klinefelter syndrome (KS) is the most common sex chromosome disorder. The genetic background is the extra X chromosome. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) has been observed among KS patients. The aim of the present study was to examine whether KS is associated with VTE.METHODS AND RESULTS: We followed up all hospital in- and outpatients (N=1085) in Sweden with a diagnosis of KS between Janua

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is major health problem and is sometimes complicated by lethal pulmonary embolism (PE). Disturbances of the coagulation and anticoagulation systems are important risk factors for VTE. Comparative studies suggest that coagulation and innate immunity have a shared evolutionary origin. It is therefore unsurprising that the immune and coagulation systems are linked, with m

Along with the increasing incidence and favorable prognosis, more women diagnosed with endometrial cancer may develop second primary cancers (SPCs). We aimed at investigating risk of SPCs after endometrial cancer in Germany and Sweden to provide insight into prevention strategies for SPCs. Endometrial cancer patients diagnosed at age ≥15 years in Germany during 1997–2011 and in Sweden nationwide d

A mechanistic understanding of Aβ aggregation and high-resolution structures of Aβ fibrils and oligomers are vital to elucidating relevant details of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease, which will facilitate the rational design of diagnostic and therapeutic protocols. The most detailed and reproducible insights into structure and kinetics have been achieved using Aβ peptides produced by reco

Levothyroxine has been suggested to be cardiotoxic, but previous studies on the risk of cardiovascular events associated with levothyroxine treatment have been inconclusive. We aimed to study the association between levothyroxine treatment and all-cause mortality as well as cardiovascular events. Study population included all adults (n = 12,283) ≥ 45 years diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF) a

Background: Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is used to diagnose type 2 diabetes (T2D) and assess glycemic control in patients with diabetes. Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 18 HbA1c-associated genetic variants. These variants proved to be classifiable by their likely biological action as erythrocytic (also associated with erythrocyte traits) or glycemic (associated with

Background: The pathological process in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) probably starts decades before the onset of symptoms and the clinical AD diagnosis. In patients with AD, the level of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid-β1-42 (Aβ42) is usually lower, and the levels of total tau (T-tau) and phosphorylated tau (P-tau) higher than in healthy elderly people. However, the cutoffs differ between studies an