Several epidemiological studies have pointed at serum uric acid (SUA) as an independent risk factor for mortality, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular and kidney disease; however, no clear pathogenic pathway is established. Uric acid (UA) crystals show pro-inflammatory properties and can thus create or contribute to the state of chronic low-grade inflammation, a widely accepted pathogenic mechanism ...

<b>Background</b><br> Depression is associated with immunological responses as reflected by altered levels of circulating cytokines. Alcohol use and trauma may modulate immune activity, and few studies have investigated these factors in depressed patients. We aimed to explore the association between circulating peripheral cytokine levels and degree of depressive symptoms, taking trauma and alcohol ...

<i>Background - </i>Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can progress to cirrhosis and end-stage liver disease in a substantial proportion of patients. The infection is frequently asymptomatic, leaving many infected individuals unaware of the diagnosis until complications occur. This advocates the screening of healthy individuals. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of HCV ...

<i>Objectives</i>: Resistance-associated substitutions (RASs) may impair treatment response to direct-acting antivirals (DAA) in hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment. We investigated the effects of baseline NS3-RASs (Q80K and R155K) and clinically relevant NS5A-RASs in patients with HCV genotype (GT) 1a infection on treatment outcome, with or without resistance-based DAA-treatment. This multi-center ...

<i>Purpose</i>: Accurate assessment of cardiac function is important during pregnancy. Echocardiography and impedance cardiography (ICG) are commonly used noninvasive methods to measure stroke volume (SV) and cardiac output (CO). The diference in stroke volume (ΔSV) or cardiac output (ΔCO) measured at baseline and after passive leg raising (PLR) is a measure of preload reserve that predicts volume ...

<i>Background</i>: Lifestyle factors, including a low intake of carbohydrates, dieting, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking and stress are some of the possible triggers of attacks in acute intermittent porphyria (AIP). The influence of lifestyle factors, including energy intake, diet and alcohol consumption on the biochemical disease activity in AIP and biochemical nutritional markers were ...

<p><i>Bakgrunn - </i>Alkoholbrukslidelser forårsaker alvorlig sykelighet og tidlig død. Livstidsprevalens estimeres til 7–10 % i den norske befolkningen. Mange pasienter kommer ikke inn i behandlingsapparatet, og det antas at få av dem som kommer i behandling får medikamentell behandling. På markedet er det flere medikamenter som kan hjelpe til med å redusere mengde inntatt alkohol og å opprettholde ...

Some surgeons believe that infraclavicular brachial plexus blocks tends to result in supination of the hand/forearm, which may make surgical access to the dorsum of the hand more difficult. We hypothesised that this supination may be reduced by the addition of a suprascapular nerve block. In a double‐blind, randomised, placebo‐controlled study, our primary outcome measure was the amount of supination ...

<p><i>Background - </i>There is extensive cross‐talk between the complement system, the Toll‐like receptors (TLRs), and hemostasis. Consumptive coagulopathy is a hallmark of sepsis, and is often mediated through increased tissue factor (TF) expression. <p><i>Objectives - </i>To study the relative roles of complement, TLRs and TF in <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>‐induced coagulation. <p><i>Methods - ...

The Wnt signaling pathway plays a crucial role in neurodevelopment and in regulating the function and structure of the adult nervous system. Schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) are severe mental disorders with evidence of subtle neurodevelopmental, structural and functional neuronal abnormalities. We aimed to elucidate the role of aberrant regulation of the Wnt system in these disorders ...