Microglia are the immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS). They patrol the brain environment with their ramifications and they respond quickly in the presence of pathogens and brain damages. Others and we have recently reported the existence of two different types of microglia, the resident and the newly differentiated microglia that are derived from the bone marrow stem cells. Of great i

The muscles of the pharynx are controlled by networks of neurons under the control of specific regions in the brain stem, which have been fairly well studied. However, the transmission between these neurons and the pharyngeal muscles, at the motor end plates, is less well understood. Therefore, an in vitro model for the study of neuromuscular transmission in the pharyngeal muscle of the mouse was

PURPOSE: To investigate how life situation by persons with advanced colorectal cancer and their partners is affected by living with the disease and its treatment. METHOD: Separate, individual interviews were made with persons with advanced colorectal cancer (n = 12) and their partners (n = 9) about how their daily lives were affected by the disease and its treatment. The verbatim transcripts were

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) proteins are a family of Ca/calcineurin-dependent transcription factors that were first characterized in T-lymphocytes as inducers of cytokine gene expression. Since then, NFAT proteins have been shown to play varied roles outside of the immune system, including in the cardiovascular system. Cells in the vessel wall display a divers

BACKGROUND: Analysis of high-frequency QRS amplitudes (HF-QRS) may provide an additional diagnostic tool in patients with heart disease, but the basic properties of these waveforms have not been sufficiently investigated. This study describes the spatial, individual, and temporal variation at rest of HF-QRS recorded with the 12 standard electrocardiographic leads in patients with ischemic heart di

Ten patients, who had been treated according to the Malmo model for immune tolerance induction (ITI), were analysed regarding treatment with clotting factors and chemotherapy during the time period between inhibitor detection and ITI. Of the patients who were successfully rendered tolerant (n=6) all but one had received treatment with FVIII, either alone (n=1), or combined with cyclophosphamide (n

Educational software in the form of games or so called “computer assisted intervention” for young children has become increasingly common receiving a growing interest and support. Currently there are, for instance, more than 1,000 iPad apps tagged for preschool. Thus, it has become increasingly important to empirically investigate whether these kinds of software actually provide educational benefi

Although it is well established that the pancreatic islets are innervated by autonomic nerves, the detailed islet innervation pattern is still unclear. In this issue of Diabetologia (DOI: 10.1007/s00125-012-2699-6 ) novel details of the islet neuroanatomy and its plasticity in experimental diabetes are described. By using a 3-dimensional (3-D) imaging technique, it has been shown that, in islets f

BACKGROUND: Alteration in respiratory activity and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) transcription seems to be an important feature of cancer cells. Leukotriene D(4) (LTD(4)) is a proinflammatory mediator implicated in the pathology of chronic inflammation and cancer. We have shown earlier that LTD(4) causes translocation of beta-catenin both to the mitochondria, in which it associates with the survival p

Breast cancer is a very heterogeneous disease and some patients are cured by the surgical removal of the primary tumour whilst other patients suffer from metastasis and spreading of the disease, despite adjuvant therapy. A number of prognostic and treatment predictive factors have been identified such as tumour size, oestrogen (ER) and progesterone (PgR) receptor status, human epidermal growth fac

Satisfaction with the outcome of treatment is a widely used outcome measure but information about the determinants of patient satisfaction after surgery for central spinal stenosis (CSS) are lacking. The aim of the study was to analyze determinants of patient satisfaction 1 year after surgery for CSS without degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS).

In adults, the size of the left atria (LA) has important prognostic information. In obese adults, adolescents and children enlargement of LA have been observed. This has not been investigated on a population-based level in young children. We therefore assessed if total body fat mass (TBF), abdominal fat, and body fat distribution were related to LA diameter. Cross-sectional study of 244 children (

Prenylation is a post-translational hydrophobic modification of proteins, important for their membrane localization and biological function. The use of inhibitors of prenylation has proven to be a useful tool in the activation of apoptotic pathways in tumor cell lines. Rab geranylgeranyl transferase (Rab GGT) is responsible for the prenylation of the Rab family. Overexpression of Rab GGTbeta has b

A new method for investigation of axial-beam absorption detection for improved detection limits in microcolumn separations is reported. The method is based on fluorescence imaging of light absorption along a separation capillary. The probing UV light is introduced at one end of the capillary and shows an exponential fall-off along the capillary. As the UV light propagates through the sample peaks,

This paper uses a modified dictator game to investigate the relationship between response times and social preferences. We find that faster subjects more often chose the option with the highest payoff for themselves. Moreover, our within-analysis reveals that, for a given individual, payoff maximizing choices are reached quicker than choices expressing social preferences

PURPOSE: The impact of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) on 3-year progression-free survival of medically inoperable patients with stage I non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was analyzed in a prospective phase II study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty seven patients with T1NOMO (70%) and T2N0M0 (30%) were included between August 2003 and September 2005 at seven different centers in Sweden, Norway,