Swedish Institute

About: Swedish Institute is a government organization based out in Stockholm, Sweden. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 1657 authors who have published 2301 publications receiving 103682 citations. The organization is also known as: Svenska Institutet.

Pattern recognition in pulmonary tuberculosis defined by high content peptide microarray chip analysis representing 61 proteins from M. tuberculosis.

Abstract: Background Serum antibody-based target identification has been used to identify tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) for development of anti-cancer vaccines A similar approach can be helpful to identify biologically relevant and clinically meaningful targets in Mtuberculosis (MTB) infection for diagnosis or TB vaccine development in clinically well defined populations Method We constructed a high-content peptide microarray with 61 Mtuberculosis proteins as linear 15 aa peptide stretches with 12 aa overlaps resulting in 7446 individual peptide epitopes Antibody profiling was carried with serum from 34 individuals with active pulmonary TB and 35 healthy individuals in order to obtain an unbiased view of the MTB epitope pattern recognition pattern Quality data extraction was performed, data sets were analyzed for significant differences and patterns predictive of TB+/− Findings Three distinct patterns of IgG reactivity were identified: 89/7446 peptides were differentially recognized (in 34/34 TB+ patients and in 35/35 healthy individuals) and are highly predictive of the division into TB+ and TB−, other targets were exclusively recognized in all patients with TB (eg sigmaF) but not in any of the healthy individuals, and a third peptide set was recognized exclusively in healthy individuals (35/35) but no in TB+ patients The segregation between TB+ and TB− does not cluster into specific recognition of distinct MTB proteins, but into specific peptide epitope ‘hotspots’ at different locations within the same protein Antigen recognition pattern profiles in serum from TB+ patients from Armenia vs patients recruited in Sweden showed that IgG-defined MTB epitopes are very similar in individuals with different genetic background Conclusions A uniform target MTB IgG-epitope recognition pattern exists in pulmonary tuberculosis Unbiased, high-content peptide microarray chip-based testing of clinically well-defined populations allows to visualize biologically relevant targets useful for development of novel TB diagnostics and vaccines

Health-Promoting Interventions for Persons Aged 80 and Older Are Successful in the Short Term—Results from the Randomized and Three-Armed Elderly Persons in the Risk Zone Study

Abstract: Objectives: To examine the outcomes of the Elderly Persons in the Risk Zone study, which was designed to evaluate whether it is possible to delay deterioration if a health-promoting intervention is made when an older adult (?80) is at risk of becoming frail and whether a multiprofessional group intervention is more effective in delaying deterioration than a single preventive home visit with regard to frailty, self-rated health, and activities of daily living (ADLs) at 3-month follow-up. Design: Randomized, three-armed, single-blind, controlled trial performed between November 2007 and May 2011. Setting: Two urban districts of Gothenburg, Sweden. Participants: Four hundred fifty-nine community-living adults aged 80 and older not dependent on the municipal home help service. Intervention: A preventive home visit or four weekly multiprofessional senior group meetings with one follow-up home visit. Measurements: Change in frailty, self-rated health, and ADLs between baseline and 3-month follow-up. Results: Both interventions delayed deterioration of self-rated health (odds ratio (OR) = 1.99, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.12�3.54). Senior meetings were the most beneficial intervention for postponing dependence in ADLs (OR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.14�3.33). No effect on frailty could be demonstrated. Conclusion: Health-promoting interventions made when older adults are at risk of becoming frail can delay deterioration in self-rated health and ADLs in the short term. A multiprofessional group intervention such as the senior meetings described seems to have a greater effect on delaying deterioration in ADLs than a single preventive home visit. Further research is needed to examine the outcome in the long term and in different contexts.

Characterisation of immune responses and protective efficacy in mice after immunisation with Rift Valley Fever virus cDNA constructs

Abstract: Affecting both livestock and humans, Rift Valley Fever is considered as one of the most important viral zoonoses in Africa However, no licensed vaccines or effective treatments are yet available for human use Naked DNA vaccines are an interesting approach since the virus is highly infectious and existing attenuated Rift Valley Fever virus vaccine strains display adverse effects in animal trials In this study, gene-gun immunisations with cDNA encoding structural proteins of the Rift Valley Fever virus were evaluated in mice The induced immune responses were analysed for the ability to protect mice against virus challenge Immunisation with cDNA encoding the nucleocapsid protein induced strong humoral and lymphocyte proliferative immune responses, and virus neutralising antibodies were acquired after vaccination with cDNA encoding the glycoproteins Even though complete protection was not achieved by genetic immunisation, four out of eight, and five out of eight mice vaccinated with cDNA encoding the nucleocapsid protein or the glycoproteins, respectively, displayed no clinical signs of infection after challenge In contrast, all fourteen control animals displayed clinical manifestations of Rift Valley Fever after challenge The appearance of Rift Valley Fever associated clinical signs were significantly decreased among the DNA vaccinated mice and further adjustment of this strategy may result in full protection against Rift Valley Fever

Genome Sequencing Reveals a Phage in Helicobacter pylori

Abstract: Helicobacter pylori chronically infects the gastric mucosa in more than half of the human population; in a subset of this population, its presence is associated with development of severe disease, such as gastric cancer. Genomic analysis of several strains has revealed an extensive H. pylori pan-genome, likely to grow as more genomes are sampled. Here we describe the draft genome sequence (63 contigs; 26× mean coverage) of H. pylori strain B45, isolated from a patient with gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. The major finding was a 24.6-kb prophage integrated in the bacterial genome. The prophage shares most of its genes (22/27) with prophage region II of Helicobacter acinonychis strain Sheeba. After UV treatment of liquid cultures, circular DNA carrying the prophage integrase gene could be detected, and intracellular tailed phage-like particles were observed in H. pylori cells by transmission electron microscopy, indicating that phage production can be induced from the prophage. PCR amplification and sequencing of the integrase gene from 341 H. pylori strains from different geographic regions revealed a high prevalence of the prophage (21.4%). Phylogenetic reconstruction showed four distinct clusters in the integrase gene, three of which tended to be specific for geographic regions. Our study implies that phages may play important roles in the ecology and evolution of H. pylori. IMPORTANCE Helicobacter pylori chronically infects the gastric mucosa in more than half of the human population, and while most of the infected individuals do not develop disease, H. pylori infection doubles the risk of developing gastric cancer. An abundance and diversity of viruses (phages) infect microbial populations in most environments and are important mediators of microbial diversity. Our finding of a 24.6-kb prophage integrated inside an H. pylori genome and the observation of circular integrase gene-containing DNA and phage-like particles inside cells upon UV treatment demonstrate that we have discovered a viable H. pylori phage. The additional finding of integrase genes in a large proportion of screened isolates of diverse geographic origins indicates that the prevalence of prophages may have been underestimated in H. pylori. Since phages are important drivers of microbial evolution, the discovery should be important for understanding and predicting genetic diversity in H. pylori.

Case management for frail older people - a qualitative study of receivers' and providers' experiences of a complex intervention.

Abstract: Case management interventions have been widely used in the care of frail older people. Such interventions often contain components that may act both independently of each other and interdependently, which makes them complex and challenging to evaluate. Qualitative research is needed for complex interventions to explore barriers and facilitators, and to understand the intervention’s components. The objective of this study was to explore frail older people's and case managers’ experiences of a complex case management intervention. The study had a qualitative explorative design and interviews with participants (age 75-95 years), who had received the case management intervention and six case managers who had performed the intervention were conducted. The data were subjected to content analysis. The analysis gave two content areas: providing/receiving case management as a model and working as, or interacting with, a case manager as a professional. The results constituted four categories: (1 and 2) case management as entering a new professional role and the case manager as a coaching guard, as seen from the provider’s perspective; and (3 and 4) case management as a possible additional resource and the case manager as a helping hand, as seen from the receiver’s perspective. The new professional role could be experienced as both challenging and as a barrier. Continuous professional support is seemingly needed for implementation. Mutual confidence and the participants experiencing trust, continuity and security were important elements and an important prerequisite for the case manager to perform the intervention. It was obvious that some older persons had unfulfilled needs that the ordinary health system was unable to meet. The case manager was seemingly able to fulfil some of these needs and was experienced as a valuable complement to the existing health system.