Haukeland University Hospital

About: Haukeland University Hospital is a healthcare organization based out in Bergen, Norway. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 3833 authors who have published 11617 publications receiving 396135 citations. The organization is also known as: Haukeland universitetssykehus.

Prevalence, Classification, and Severity of Epilepsy in Children in Western Norway

Abstract: Summary: Purpose: To determine prevalence of active epilepsy in school children in a defined area and assess the usefulness of International League Against Epilepsy classification of seizures and epileptic syndromes, with special emphasis on frequency, additional handicaps, and therapeutic problems of severe cases. Methods: The latest International League Against Epilepsy International Classification of Epileptic Seizures (ICES, 1981) and Epilepsies and Epileptic Syndromes (ICE, 1989) were used for determination of prevalence rates, seizure types, epilepsies and epileptic syndromes, and additional neurological deficits in all 6- to 12-year-old children with epilepsy in a Norwegian county. Children had neuropediatric and EEG examination, intelligence evaluation, and, when necessary, additional investigations. Results: Prevalence of active epilepsy on January 1, 1995, was 5.1 per 1,000. Main seizure type and epilepsy syndrome could be classified in 98% and 90% of patients, respectively. Seizure types/epileptic syndromes were more often partial/localization related than generalized. Among generalized epilepsies, idiopathic forms were more frequent in girls, and cryp-togenic and symptomatic forms more frequent in boys. Epileptogenic EEG activity was most often generalized or localized to one or two areas of the brain and was never found in 14% of patients. Symptomatic etiology was found in 46% of all children and in 81% of therapy-resistant cases, respectively. Over the years, 11% of children had never used antiepileptic drugs (AED), 62% had tried one or two AEDs, and 26% had tried from three to 15 AEDs. Twenty-five percent of children were without present AED treatment. Complementary/alternative medicine had been tried by 12% of children. Conclusions: Although most epilepsies could be classified, the number of cases in non-specific categories was relatively high. Symptomatic etiology was frequent, especially in therapy-resistant cases. Multidisciplinary therapeutic and ha-bilitation approaches are often needed in childhood epilepsy.

The pathology of multiple sclerosis is location-dependent: no significant complement activation is detected in purely cortical lesions.

Abstract: Complement activation is known to occur in white matter multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions It is thought to mediate oligodendrocyte/myelin damage and to be a marker of pathologic heterogeneity among individuals Less is known about complement deposition in the gray matter in MS The aim of this study was to characterize the presence and distribution of complement activation products in cortical MS lesions Immunohistochemical staining was performed on cryostat sections from the brains of 22 MS patients and 5 nonneurologic control patients obtained at autopsy Deposition of the complement activation products C1q, C3d, and C5b-9 (membrane attack complex) was detected on and within macrophages/microglia and astrocytes and in blood vessel walls in white matter MS lesions C3d and C4d were detected along myelin sheaths at the edge of the lesions In the gray matter part of combined gray matter/white matter lesions complement activation was less frequent, but increased immunopositivity was detected for C3d on blood vessels, and for C3d and C4d on myelin at the border of lesions, when compared with control areas In contrast, in the purely cortical lesions, the extent of complement deposition in general was low In conclusion, the role of complement in MS pathogenesis seems lesion location-dependent

Preanalytical quality improvement: in quality we trust.

Abstract: Total quality in laboratory medicine should be defined as the guarantee that each activity throughout the total testing process is correctly performed, providing valuable medical decision-making and effective patient care. In the past decades, a 10-fold reduction in the analytical error rate has been achieved thanks to improvements in both reliability and standardization of analytical techniques, reagents, and instrumentation. Notable advances in information technology, quality control and quality assurance methods have also assured a valuable contribution for reducing diagnostic errors. Nevertheless, several lines of evidence still suggest that most errors in laboratory diagnostics fall outside the analytical phase, and the pre- and postanalytical steps have been found to be much more vulnerable. This collective paper, which is the logical continuum of the former already published in this journal 2 years ago, provides additional contribution to risk management in the preanalytical phase and is a synopsis of the lectures of the 2nd European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM)-Becton Dickinson (BD) European Conference on Preanalytical Phase meeting entitled "Preanalytical quality improvement: in quality we trust" (Zagreb, Croatia, 1-2 March 2013). The leading topics that will be discussed include quality indicators for preanalytical phase, phlebotomy practices for collection of blood gas analysis and pediatric samples, lipemia and blood collection tube interferences, preanalytical requirements of urinalysis, molecular biology hemostasis and platelet testing, as well as indications on best practices for safe blood collection. Auditing of the preanalytical phase by ISO assessors and external quality assessment for preanalytical phase are also discussed.

Lung function after preterm birth: development from mid-childhood to adulthood

Abstract: Background As a result of advances in perinatal care, more small preterm infants survive. There are concerns that preterm birth and its treatments may harm pulmonary development and thereby lead to chronic airway obstruction in adulthood. Objective To assess the development of spirometric lung function variables from mid-childhood to adulthood after extreme preterm birth. Methods Two population-based cohorts born at gestational age ≤28 weeks or with birth weight ≤1000 g performed lung function tests at 10 and 18 and at 18 and 25 years of age, respectively, together with matched term-born controls. The results are presented as z scores, normalised for age, sex and height. Longitudinal development was compared for groups born at term and preterm, split by a history of absence (n=20), mild (n=38) or moderate/severe (n=25) neonatal bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Results The preterm-born cohorts, particularly those with neonatal BPD, had significantly lower forced expiratory volume in 1 s and mid-expiratory flow than those born at term at all assessments (z scores in the range −0.40 to −1.84). Within each of the subgroups the mean z scores obtained over the study period were largely similar, coefficients of determination ranging from 0.64 to 0.82. The pattern of development for the BPD subgroups did not differ from each other or from the groups born at term (tests of interaction). Conclusions Airway obstruction was present from mid-childhood to adulthood after extreme preterm birth, most evident after neonatal BPD. Lung function indices were tracking similarly in the preterm and term-born groups.