| New articles Uudet artikkelit
21.11.2005 - ISI Web of Knowledge & PubMed Search Alert van den Brink, C. L., M. Tijhuis, G. A. M. van den Bos, S. Giampaoli, A. Nissinen and D. Kromhout. American Journal of Public Health. 2005; 95(11): 2029-2034. Objectives. To investigate the effect of disability severity and the contribution of self-rated health and depressive symptoms to 10-year mortality. Methods. Longitudinal data were collected from 1141 men aged 70 to 89 years from the Finland, Italy, and the Netherlands Elderly Study from 1990 to 2000. Disability severity was classified into 4 categories: no disability, instrumental activities, mobility, and basic activities of daily living. Self-rated health and depressive symptoms were classified into 2 and 3 categories, respectively. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate mortality risks. Results. Men with severe disability had a risk of mortality that was more than 2-fold higher (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.41; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.84, 3.16) than that of men without disability. Men who had severe disability and did not feel healthy had the highest mortality risk (HR = 3.30; 95% CI = 2.52, 4.33). This risk was lower at lower levels of disability and higher levels of self-rated health. The same trend was observed for depressive symptoms. Conclusions. For adequate prognoses on mortality or for developing intervention strategies, not only physical aspects of health but also other health outcomes should be taken into account. Doetkotte, R., K. Opitz, K. Kiianmaa and H. Winterhoff. European Journal of Pharmacology. 2005; 522(1-3): 72-77. The effects of desoxypeganine, an alkaloid from Peganum harmala L., and of galanthamine, an alkaloid from Galanthus nivalis L., on voluntary ethanol consumption were investigated in female Alko alcohol (AA) rats. Desoxypeganine-HCl reduced ethanol intake and ethanol preference dose-dependently at a dose range between 10 and 30 mg/kg body weight when given by gavage. Subcutaneous and intraperitoneal applications of desoxypeganine lead to even more pronounced decreases of ethanol intake and ethanol preference. The effects of desoxypeganine and galanthamine seem to be additive. A combination of both substances in doses, which were ineffective when administered alone, caused a significant decrease of ethanol preference. To exclude habituation to desoxypeganine treatment, the substance was given once daily over a period of 16 days. No decreases of the desoxypeganine effects on ethanol intake, total fluid intake, and ethanol preference were observed. This attenuation of ethanol preference combined with unchanged total fluid intake and food consumption represents a promising activity especially because no acquirement of tolerance after repeated administration was observed. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Kattainen, A., V. Salomaa, T. Harkanen, A. Jula, R. Kaaja, Y. A. Kesaniemi, M. Kahonen, L. Moilanen, M. S. Nieminen, A. Aromaa and A. Reunanen. Eur Heart J. 2005. AIMS: To analyse secular changes in the prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and to assess changes in the burden of CHD at population level. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data were used from two large cross-sectional health examination surveys representing the entire Finnish adult population in 1980 and 2000. In the 1978-80 survey, the sample covered 5101 individuals aged >/= 45, of whom 88% participated. The 2000-2001 survey comprised 5310 individuals in the same age range. Participation rate in the health examination was 87%. Prevalence of CHD decreased in men and women under the age of 65 and increased among those aged >/= 75. Prevalence of large Q-waves indicating previous myocardial infarction decreased in all male age groups and in women aged 65-74. The total estimated number of persons with CHD increased by 18% (95% CI = 6-30) during the past 20 years in Finland. In 1980, the most dominant CHD group was men aged 45-64, whereas in 2000, women aged >/= 75 comprised the largest CHD group. CONCLUSION: Although the prevalence of CHD has decreased among middle-aged persons, the number of CHD cases has increased during the past 20 years in Finland. Kurvinen, E., K. Aasvee, R. Zordania, M. Jauhiainen and J. Sundvall. Scandinavian Journal of Clinical & Laboratory Investigation. 2005; 65(7): 541-550. Seventy children aged 6 years (34 boys, 36 girls) were studied for cardiovascular risk factors. Among the children 40 had also been investigated at birth. The aim of the study was to determine changes in serum lipoprotein parameters from birth up to preschool age and to assess the role of some relevant factors that might affect the process. An obvious association was found between serum apolipoprotein (apo) B levels, the apoB/apoA-I ratio and lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) levels at birth and at 6 years of age (r = 0.43; p < 0.05, r = 0.73; p < 0.0001 and r = 0.81; p < 0.0001, respectively). Thirty percent of children who were in the top quartile by apoB or total cholesterol levels and 66.7% of those in this quartile by apoB/apoA-I ratio at birth remained in the top quartiles also in the follow-up study. The significantly higher apoB/apoA-I ratio in newborns and the apoB/apoA-I and apoB values in the 6-year-old children were observed in the carrier apoE4 isoform as compared to E3 homozygotes. A significant influence of apoE polymorphism on serum apoB/apoA-I ratio and apoB level in preschool children was confirmed by ANOVA one-way analysis of variance. In a multiple regression analysis from all the studied factors, the independent determinants of apoB level in preschool age were apoE phenotype, gestational age and Apgar score in the first minute of life. Thus, tracking of serum Lp(a), apoB, apoB/apoA-I ratio and total cholesterol levels from birth up to 6 years of age was demonstrated. The association between apoE polymorphism and serum lipoprotein parameters became more obvious after the first 6 years of life. Lehto, M., R. Hynynen, K. Karjalainen, E. Kuismanen, K. Hyvarinen and V. M. Olkkonen. Experimental Cell Research. 2005; 310(2): 445-462. The intracellular targeting determinants of oxysterol binding protein (OSBP)-related protein 3 (ORP3) were studied using a series of truncated and point mutated constructs. The pleckstrin homology (PH) domain of OPP3 binds the phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) products, PI(3,4)P-2 and PI(3,4,5)P-3. A functional PH domain and flanking sequences are crucial for the plasma membrane (PM) targeting of ORP3. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) targeting of ORP3 is regulated the by a FFAT motif (EFFDAxE), which mediates interaction with VAMP-associated protein (VAP)-A. The targeting function of the FFAT motif dominates over that of the PH domain. In addition, the exon 10/11 region modulates interaction of ORP3 with the ER and the nuclear membrane. Analysis of a chimeric ORP3:OSBP protein suggests that ligand binding by the C-terminal domain of OSBP induces allosteric changes that activate the N-terminal targeting modules of ORP3. Notably, over-expression of ORP3 together with VAP-A induces stacked ER membrane structures also known as organized smooth ER (OSER). Moreover, lipid starvation promotes formation of dilated peripheral ER (DPER) structures dependent on the ORP3 protein. Based on the present data, we introduce a model for the inter-relationships of the functional domains of ORP3 in the membrane targeting of the protein. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Norovirus outbreaks from drinking water Maunula, L., I. T. Miettinen and C. H. von Bonsdorff. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2005; 11(11): 1716-1721. As part of an intensified monitoring program for food-borne disease outbreaks in Finland, waterborne outbreaks were investigated for viruses. The diagnostic procedure included analysis of patients' stool samples by electron microscopy and reverse transcription-polym erase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for noroviruses and astroviruses. When these test results were positive for a virus, the water sample was analyzed. Virus concentration was based on positively charged filters from 1-L samples. Of the total 41 waterborne outbreaks reported during the observation period (1998-2003), samples from 28 outbreaks were available for analysis. As judged by RT-PCR results from patient samples, noroviruses caused 18 outbreaks. In 10 outbreaks, the water sample also yielded a norovirus. In all but 1 instance, the amplicon sequence was identical to that recovered from the patients. The ubiquity of waterborne norovirus outbreaks calls for measures to monitor water for viruses. Effects of microbial cocultivation on inflammatory and cytotoxic potential of spores Murtoniemi, T., P. Penttinen, A. Nevalainen and M. R. Hirvonen. Inhal Toxicol. 2005; 17(12): 681-93. Microbial growth on moisture-damaged building materials is commonly associated with adverse health effects in the occupants. In moisture damage situations, the environmental conditions as well as the dominant microbial species will vary, leading to a diversity of microbes and continual changes in the different microbial populations. Currently, very little is known about the effects of microbial cocultures on the potential harmfulness of the microbial population. In this study we have investigated the effects of cocultivation of certain indoor air microbes on the inflammatory and cytotoxic potential of their spores. We grew various microbial combinations made from strains of Streptomyces californicus, Stachybotrys chartarum, Aspergillus versicolor, and Penicillium spinulosum on wetted plasterboard. After 5 or 10 wk of growth, the spores were collected from the plasterboards, mouse RAW264.7 macrophages were exposed to the spores, and after 24 h the induced inflammatory and cytotoxic responses were analyzed. Among all the tested microbes and their combinations, the spores of Str. californicus proved to be the most potent inducer of cytotoxicity and inflammatory responses. These results indicate also that microbial coculture may support the growth of certain microbes with high immunotoxic potency such as Str.californicus. Furthermore, coculture containing S. chartarum and A. versicolor caused a synergistic increase in cytotoxicity compared to the sum response induced by the pure cultures, but no effect on inflammatory responses was detected. Generally, spore-induced cytotoxicity and production of inflammatory markers increased during the growth period from 5 to 10 wk, suggesting that the immunotoxic potency of spores increases with time. Ojala, P. J., M. Hermansson, T. Kylmala, U. Impola, K. Polvinen, M. Jauhiainen, P. Somerharju and J. Parkkinen. Chemistry and Physics of Lipids. 2005; 136(2): 140-141. Meeting Abstract Leisure-time physical activity at midlife and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease Rovio, S., I. Kareholt, E. L. Helkala, M. Viitanen, B. Winblad, J. Tuomilehto, H. Soininen, A. Nissinen and M. Kivipelto. Lancet Neurology. 2005; 4(11): 705-711. Background: Physical activity may help maintain cognitive function and decrease dementia risk, but epidemiological findings remain controversial. The aim of our study was to investigate the association between leisure-time physical activity at midlife and the subsequent development of dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: Participants were randomly selected from the survivors of a population-based cohort previously surveyed in 1972, 1977, 1982, or 1987. 1449 persons (72.5%) age 65-79 years participated in the re-examination in 1998 (mean follow-up, 21 years). 117 persons had dementia and 76 had AD. Multiple logistic regression methods were used to analyse the association between leisure-time physical activity and dementia or AD. Findings: Leisure-time physical activity at midlife at least twice a week was associated with a reduced risk of dementia and AD (odds ratio [OR] 0.48 [95% CI 0(.)25-0(.)91] and 0(.)38 [0(.)17-0(.)85], respectively), even after adjustments for age, sex, education, follow-up time, locomotor disorders, APOE genotype, vascular disorders, smoking, and alcohol drinking. The associations were more pronounced among the APOE epsilon 4 carriers. Interpretation Leisure-time physical activity at midlife is associated with a decreased risk of dementia and AD later in life. Regular physical activity may reduce the risk or delay the onset of dementia and AD, especially among genetically susceptible individuals. Organic, elemental and inorganic carbon in particulate matter of six urban environments in Europe Sillanpaa, M., A. Frey, R. Hillamo, A. S. Pennanen and R. O. Salonen. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 2005; 5: 2869-2879. A series of 7-week sampling campaigns were conducted in urban background sites of six European cities as follows: Duisburg ( autumn), Prague ( winter), Amsterdam ( winter), Helsinki ( spring), Barcelona ( spring) and Athens ( summer). The campaigns were scheduled to include seasons of local public health concern due to high particulate concentrations or findings in previously conducted epidemiological studies. Aerosol samples were collected in parallel with two identical virtual impactors that divide air particles into fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM2.5-10) size ranges. From the collected filter samples, elemental (EC) and organic (OC) carbon contents were analysed with a thermal-optical carbon analyser (TOA); total Ca, Ti, Fe, Si, Al and K by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF); As, Cu, Ni, V, and Zn by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP/MS); Ca2+, succinate, malonate and oxalate by ion chromatography (IC); and the sum of levoglucosan+ galactosan+mannosan ( P MA) by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry ( LC/MS). The campaign means of PM2.5 and PM2.5-10 were 8.3 - 29.6 mu g m(-3) and 5.4-28.7 mu g m(-3), respectively. The contribution of particulate organic matter (POM) to PM2.5 ranged from 21% in Barcelona to 54% in Prague, while that to PM2.5-10 ranged from 10% in Barcelona to 27% in Prague. The contribution of EC was higher to PM2.5 ( 5 - 9%) than to PM2.5-10 (1 - 6%) in all the six campaigns. Carbonate (C(CO3), that interferes with the TOA analysis, was detected in PM2.5-10 of Athens and Barcelona but not elsewhere. It was subtracted from the OC by a simple integration method that was validated. The CaCO3 accounted for 55% and 11% of PM2.5-10 in Athens and Barcelona, respectively. It was anticipated that combustion emissions from vehicle engines affected the POM content in PM2.5 of all the six sampling campaigns, but a comparison of mass concentration ratios of the selected inorganic and organic tracers of common sources of organic material to POM suggested also interesting differences in source dominance during the campaign periods: Prague (biomass and coal combustion), Barcelona ( fuel oil combustion, secondary photochemical organics) and Athens ( secondary photochemical organics). The on-going toxicological studies will clarify the health significance of these findings. Tiirola, T., A. Jaakkola, A. Bloigu, M. Paldanius, J. Sinisalo, M. S. Nieminen, S. Silvennoinen-Kassinen, P. Saikku, M. Jauhiainen and M. Leinonen. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2005. Chlamydia pneumoniae causes respiratory tract infections. It has a tendency to cause persistent infections, which have been associated with several chronic diseases (e.g., atherosclerosis). At present, there is no reliable method for the diagnosis of chronic C. pneumoniae infection. We developed a novel enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for the quantification of chlamydial lipopolysaccharide (cLPS) in human serum. Serum cLPS was solubilized with detergent and then captured by LPS-binding protein (LBP). LBP-LPS complexes were bound to the solid phase with anti-cLPS monoclonal antibody, and the bound complexes were detected with anti-LBP antibodies. The new method was used to quantify serum cLPS in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients (n = 102) and their healthy controls. cLPS was detected in 77.5% of ACS patients and in 52% of controls (P < .001) with geometric mean concentrations of 1.87 and 0.61 mug/mL (P < .001), respectively. The novel cLPS EIA method will provide a potential diagnostic tool for C. pneumoniae infection. Tolonen, H., A. Dobson and S. Kulathinal. Eur J Epidemiol. 2005; 20(11): 887-98. Introduction: In the World Health Organization (WHO) MONICA (multinational MONItoring of trends and determinants in CArdiovascular disease) Project considerable effort was made to obtain basic data on non-respondents to community based surveys of cardiovascular risk factors. The first purpose of this paper is to examine differences in socio-economic and health profiles among respondents and non-respondents. The second purpose is to investigate the effect of non-response on estimates of trends. Methods:Socio-economic and health profile between respondents and non-respondents in the WHO MONICA Project final survey were compared. The potential effect of non-response on the trend estimates between the initial survey and final survey approximately ten years later was investigated using both MONICA data and hypothetical data. Results: In most of the populations, non-respondents were more likely to be single, less well educated, and had poorer lifestyles and health profiles than respondents. As an example of the consequences, temporal trends in prevalence of daily smokers are shown to be overestimated in most populations if they were based only on data from respondents. Conclusions: The socio-economic and health profiles of respondents and non-respondents differed fairly consistently across 27 populations. Hence, the estimators of population trends based on respondent data are likely to be biased. Declining response rates therefore pose a threat to the accuracy of estimates of risk factor trends in many countries. Serum antibodies to putative proteinase maturation protein A in children with acute otitis media Vainio, A., R. Fagerlund, K. Melen, M. J. Lehtinen, I. Julkunen and A. Virolainen. Vaccine. 2005. The pneumococcal genes encoding for the surface associated proteins have been proposed to be important for pneumococcal protein vaccine development. We cloned the full-length putative proteinase maturation protein A gene SP098l/ppmA (as published by Tettelin et al. in 2001) and produced the encoded protein in high levels in E. coli. The purified recombinant PpmA was used as an antigen in Western blotting to study systemic antibody responses to PpmA in animals and in children with acute otitis media (AOM). In children, the geometric mean titers of serum IgG antibodies against PpmA increased with age and differed significantly in relation to pneumococcal findings in middle ear fluid and/or nasopharyngeal aspirate. The serum IgG antibody titers against PpmA were low in children with Streptococcus pneumoniae cultured in the middle ear, and the highest in children with pneumococci in the nasopharynx, without them being found in the middle ear fluid. We conclude that PpmA is immunogenic in humans, and therefore an interesting antigen to study further in developing pneumococcal multicomponent protein vaccines. Search for autism loci by combined analysis of Autism Genetic Resource Exchange and Finnish families Ylisaukko-Oja, T., M. Alarcon, R. M. Cantor, M. Auranen, R. Vanhala, E. Kempas, L. von Wendt, I. Jarvela, D. H. Geschwind and L. Peltonen. Ann Neurol. 2005. OBJECTIVE: Several genome-wide screens have been performed in autism spectrum disorders resulting in the identification of numerous putative susceptibility loci. Analyses of pooled primary data should result in an increased sample size and the different study samples have a potential to strengthen the evidence for some earlier identified loci, reveal novel loci, and even to provide information of the general significance of the locus. The objective of this study was to search for potential susceptibility loci for autism, which are supported by two independent samples. METHODS: We performed a combined analysis of the primary genome scan data of the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE) and Finnish autism samples to reveal susceptibility loci potentially shared by these study samples. RESULTS: In the initial combined data analysis, the best loci (p < 0.05) were observed at 1p12-q25, 3p24-26, 4q21-31, 5p15-q12, 6q14-21, 7q33-36, 8q22-24, 17p12-q21, and 19p13-q13. The combined analysis of Finnish and AGRE families showed the most promising shared locus on 3p24-26 with nonparametric logarithm of odds (NPL) score of 2.20 (p = 0.011). The combined data analysis did not provide increased linkage evidence for the earlier identified loci on 3q25-27 or 17p12-q21. However, the 17p12-q21 locus remained promising also in the combined sample (NPL(all) =2.38, p = 0.0076). INTERPRETATION: Our study of 314 autism families highlights the importance of further analyses on 3p24-26 locus involving comprehensive molecular genetic analyses of oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR), a positional and functional candidate gene for autism. Ann Neurol 2005. Emissions of fine particles, NOx, and CO from on-road vehicles in Finland Yli-Tuomi, T., P. Aarnio, L. Pirjola, T. Makela, R. Hillamo and M. Jantunen. Atmospheric Environment. 2005; 39(35): 6696-6706. Real-time particle number size distributions and NO, NO2, NOx, CO, and CO2 concentrations were measured with a mobile laboratory van in October 2003 on the streets and highways of the Helsinki metropolitan area, Finland. A bimodal particle size distribution was observed with about 85% of the particles being smaller than 29 nm. Real-time fuel-based emission factors for size-resolved particle numbers, CO, and NOx were determined. Wide distributions of emission factors were obtained for all pollutants. In addition, PM2.5 samples were collected and the elemental compositions were analysed. Relative to fixed site urban PM2.5, street air PM2.5 concentrations of Cu, BC, Fe, and Zn were elevated. Weather and road conditions influenced PM concentrations more than the differences between the city and highway traffic environments. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |