Objective To assess the risk of venous thromboembolism from use of combined oral contraceptives according to progestogen type and oestrogen dose.<p> <p>Design National historical registry based cohort study. <p>Setting Four registries in Denmark. <p>Participants Non-pregnant Danish women aged 15-49 with no history of thrombotic disease and followed from January 2001 to December 2009. <p>Main ...

Background Low plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentration is associated with high arterial blood pressure and hypertension risk, but whether this association is causal is unknown. We used a mendelian randomisation approach to test whether 25(OH)D concentration is causally associated with blood pressure and hypertension risk.<p> <p>Methods In this mendelian randomisation study, we generated ...

Intestinal fibrosis is a major complication of the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and although inflammation is necessary for its development, it would appear that it plays a minor role in its progression as anti-inflammatory treatments in IBD do not prevent fibrosis once it has started. The processes that regulate fibrosis would thus appear to be distinct from those regulating inflammation and, ...

Abstract A new mechanism for formation of 7-ketocholesterol was recently described involving cytochrome P-450 (CYP)7A1-catalyzed conversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol into 7-ketocholesterol with cholesterol-7,8-epoxide as a side product. Some patients with cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis (CTX) and all patients with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLO) have markedly increased levels of 7-dehydrocholesterol ...

Background: The palliative role of chemoradiation in the treatment of patients with locally advanced, inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer stage III and negative prognostic factors remains unresolved.<p> <p>Methods: Patients not eligible for curative radiotherapy were randomised to receive either chemoradiation or chemotherapy alone. Four courses of intravenous carboplatin on day 1 and oral ...

Purpose: 3-Methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase deficiency (MCCD) is an autosomal recessive disorder of leucine catabolism that has a highly variable clinical phenotype, ranging from acute metabolic acidosis to nonspecific symptoms such as developmental delay, failure to thrive, hemiparesis, muscular hypotonia, and multiple sclerosis. Implementation of newborn screening for MCCD has resulted in broadening ...

Negative pressure wound therapy is a commonly used treatment modality for surgi-cal wounds healing by secondary intention. In an open, split side study with12 patients, we compared low negative pressure wound therapy to conventionalfoam dressing the first postoperative week after carbon dioxide laser vaporization ofhidradenitis suppurativa lesions. The primary outcome was time to complete woundhealing, ...

Aims The aim of this study was to establish age-specific and sex-specific cut-off values for N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and high-sensitivity troponin T (hs-troponin T) in healthy subjects and assess cardiac biomarkers as screening tools for subclinical heart failure (HF) in a general population.<p> <p>Methods and results Altogether, 1936 participants were randomly selected ...

In the Norwegian authorities' "Coordination Reform" , insufficient coordination is considered the main reason that people with chronic diseases lose out in health care. Thus, the purpose of the web-based ulcer record at the University Hospital of North Norway is to optimise treatment and care for ulcer patients by facilitating interaction. This paper reports from a formative study of experiences, ...

Objectives. The Sami people constitute an ethnic minority in northern Norway. The objectives of this study were to compare municipalities with a majority of Sami in the population and a control group with regard to socioeconomic factors and health outcome.<p> <p>Methods. Original data from Statistics Norway and Directorate of health on socioeconomic factors (education, unemployment, disability, ...