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BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the cost-effectiveness of varenicline with nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) for smoking cessation in four European countries (Belgium, France, Sweden and the UK). METHODS: Markov simulations, using the Benefits of Smoking Cessation on Outcomes (BENESCO) model, were performed. We simulated the incidence of four smoking-related morbidit

The geographic distribution of allozyme variation within the Eurasian boreo-nemoreal woodland grass Melica nutans L. has been investigated together with a minor subset of other Melica species. Twenty alleles were found at nine polymorphic loci in M. nutans. Allelic richness was highest in areas central in the species' European distribution, i.e. in southern Fennoscandia. High population densities,

In the present study three different strains of Escherichia coli (JM 109 - a native "wild type" strain, JM 109/pBSD 1300 - a strain overproducing the membrane anchor domain of Bacillus subtilis succinate-quinone reductase, SQR, a protein that contains two transmembraneously arranged heme groups and JM109/pLUV 1900 - a strain overproducing cytochrome c(550) from B. subtilis, a protein where the cyt

Objectives: To assess the extent and pattern of irreversible organ damage in patients with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG), microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), polyarteritis nodosa (PAN), and Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) by a cross-sectional point prevalence study within a defined geographical area. Methods: The Vasculitis Damage Index (VDI) was recorded for 86 prevalent cases, classified as 46 patients

BACKGROUND: Polymorphisms of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene have been implicated in the genetic regulation of bone mineral density (BMD). However, the clinical impact of these variants remains unclear.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relation between VDR polymorphisms, BMD, and fractures.DESIGN: Prospective multicenter large-scale association study.SETTING: The Genetic Markers for Osteoporosis consor

An integrated product recovery system was developed to separate urokinase from the cell culture broth of human kidney cells HT1080. Supermacroporous monolithic cryogels provided ideal matrices with respect to surface and flow properties for use as cell culture scaffold as well as for affinity chromatographic capture step of the enzyme in the integrated system. The urokinase was produced continuous

Aims/hypothesis: The objective of the study was to analyse the mortality, survival and cause of death patterns in incident cases of diabetes in the 15-34-year age group that were reported to the nationwide prospective Diabetes Incidence Study in Sweden (DISS). Methods: During the study period 1983-1999, 6,771 incident cases were reported. Identification of deaths was made by linking the records to

Glypicans are cell-surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans that influence Wnt, hedgehog, decapentaplegic, and fibroblast growth factor activity via their heparan sulfate chains. However, recent studies have shown that glypican core proteins also have a role in growth factor signaling. Here, we expressed secreted recombinant human glypican-1 in eukaryotic cells. Recombinant glypican-1 was expressed a

Embryonic nigral grafts can survive, reinnervate the striatum and reverse functional deficits in both experimental and clinical Parkinsonism. A major drawback is that only around 10% of the implanted dopaminergic neurons survive. The underlying mechanisms leading to this 90% cell death are not fully understood, but oxidative stress and a substantial loss of neurotrophic support are likely to be in

Objective: We report on the consequences of introducing coil embolization for the total management of and outcome in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Methods: In southern Sweden, a prospective analysis of all patients with SAH of verified aneurysmal origin was conducted during the 3 years when coiling was gradually being introduced. The incidence of acute or chronic hydrocephalus, vaso

BACKGROUND: Cerebral injury is the most important complication of cardiac operations with cardiopulmonary bypass. Prolonged total circulatory arrest (TCA) can expose patients to an even greater risk of cerebral injury. We sought to detect the degree of cerebral injury in adults who had thoracic aortic operations with TCA by measuring S100B protein, which is released into the circulation after cere

We assessed the serum concentration of gamma-carboxylated osteocalcin (OC), total OC, and full-length OC in a clinical setting of 37 patients on continuous warfarin treatment (international normalized ratio 2.0-3.8). A comparison was done with the results from 30 untreated age-matched controls. Four monoclonal antibodies, previously generated and characterized as to their ability to recognize diff

Electrical remodelling is believed to influence the outcome following cardioversion of patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the results in clinical studies are conflicting. We assessed the hypothesis that non-invasively obtained atrial fibrillatory organization can be used as a predictor of sinus rhythm (SR) maintenance. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifty-four patients (37 men, age

A generally accepted way of building passive houses has been to have small windows facing north and large windows to the south. This is to minimize losses on the north side while gaining as much solar heat as possible on the south. ln spring 2001, 20 terraced houses were built outside Gothenburg partly in this way. The indoor temperature is kept at a comfortable level by passive methods, using sol

Objective: To examine foetal lung blood perfusion using power Doppler ultrasound (PDU) and to compare fractional moving blood volume (FMBV) and mean pixel intensity (MPI) estimations in the lungs of normally grown (NG) foetuses and foetuses with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and also to correlate foetal lung FMBV and MPI with respiratory complications after birth. Methods: Lungs of 47 NG

Background: Little is known about the influence of racemic ketamine on autoregulation of cerebral blood flow (CBF), and available reports regarding its influence on cerebral hemodynamics are contradictory. This study was designed to evaluate cerebrovascular responses to changes in the mean arterial pressure (MAP) during ketamine anesthesia. Methods: In eight normoventilated pigs anesthesia was in

For many patients with von Willebrand disease (VWD), the replacement therapy with von Willebrand factor (VWF)/factor VIII (FVIII) concentrates is the treatment of choice. To evaluate clinical efficacy, safety and tolerability of Wilate, an albumin-free VWF/FVIII concentrate with a ratio of the two haemostatic moieties of approximately 1 to 1, a prospective clinical programme has been designed. The

BACKGROUND: Diagnosis with prostate cancer has been reported to increase the risk of subsequent tumours. However, specific data on individuals with a parental history are not available so far. METHODS: On the basis of the nationwide Swedish Family-Cancer Database including 18,207 primary invasive prostate cancers, standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) were used to estimate the relative risks of sub

Objective. Rosiglitazone (RSG) has been reported to reduce blood pressure (BP) in patients with type-2 diabetes, but similar effects in non-diabetic people with insulin resistance is less clear. Our aim was to test the long-term BP-lowering effects of RSG compared with placebo. Methods. We recruited participants for BP evaluation of RSG treatment from a larger intervention trial. Office BP was rec