University of Iceland

About: University of Iceland is a education organization based out in Reykjavik, Suðurnes, Iceland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Genome-wide association study. The organization has 5423 authors who have published 16199 publications receiving 694762 citations. The organization is also known as: Háskóli Íslands.

Cultivation of visna virus in tissue culture

Abstract: The virus of Visna, a slow, demyelinating leucoencephalitis of sheep, has been cultivated in tissue culture. The cells employed are derived from the chorioid plexus of sheep. The virus causes characteristic cytopathic changes in the culture, so that the method may be used to detect virus activity and measure the activity of virus containing material. Virus which had undergone 3, 11, and 12 passages in TC was injected intracerebrally into sheep and found to produce typical Visna lesions. Neutralizing antibody has been detected in sera from a certain proportion of sheep affected with Visna. The rate of virus multiplication in tissue culture after inocula of varying size has been studied. Small inocula tend to give rise to a mild infection which persists in the culture for long periods of time without destroying more than a certain proportion of the cells. The possible relationship between this relatively stable balance between virus and cells and the extraordinarily slow progress of Visna in the CNS of sheep is discussed.

Complete worldwide operative experience in laparoscopic diaphragm pacing: results and differences in spinal cord injured patients and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients

Abstract: Diaphragm movement is essential for adequate ventilation, and when the diaphragm is adversely affected patients face lifelong positive-pressure mechanical ventilation or death. This report summarizes the complete worldwide multicenter experience with diaphragm pacing stimulation (DPS) to maintain and provide diaphragm function in ventilator-dependent spinal cord injury (SCI) patients and respiratory-compromised patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It will highlight the surgical experiences and the differences in diaphragm function in these two groups of patients. In prospective Food and Drug Administration (FDA) trials, patients underwent laparoscopic diaphragm motor point mapping with intramuscular electrode implantation. Stimulation of the electrodes ensued to condition and strengthen the diaphragm. From March of 2000 to September of 2007, a total of 88 patients (50 SCI and 38 ALS) were implanted with DPS at five sites. Patient age ranged from 18 to 74 years. Time from SCI to implantation ranged from 3 months to 27 years. In 87 patients the diaphragm motor point was mapped with successful implantation of electrodes with the only failure the second SCI patient who had a false-positive phrenic nerve study. Patients with ALS had much weaker diaphragms identified surgically, requiring trains of stimulation during mapping to identify the motor point at times. There was no perioperative mortality even in ALS patients with forced vital capacity (FVC) below 50% predicted. There was no cardiac involvement from diaphragm pacing even when analyzed in ten patients who had pre-existing cardiac pacemakers. No infections occurred even with simultaneous gastrostomy tube placements for ALS patients. In the SCI patients 96% were able to use DPS to provide ventilation replacing their mechanical ventilators and in the ALS studies patients have been able to delay the need for mechanical ventilation up to 24 months. This multicenter experience has shown that laparoscopic diaphragm motor point mapping, electrode implantation, and pacing can be safely performed both in SCI and in ALS. In SCI patients it allows freedom from ventilator and in ALS patients it delays the need for ventilators, increasing survival.

Respiratory syncytial virus and other respiratory viruses during the first 3 months of life promote a local TH2-like response

Abstract: Background Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections during infancy are considered to be a risk factor for developing asthma and possibly allergic sensitization. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the cytokines, chemokines, and eosinophil cationic protein in the nasopharyngeal secretions of infants ≤7 months of age with RSV infections or other respiratory viral infections and healthy infants as controls. Groups were also analyzed according to age, ≤3 months and >3 months, and the levels were compared within and between groups. Results Thirty-nine infants with RSV, 9 with influenza or parainfluenza virus infections and 50 controls with no history of infections, were enrolled in the study. The RSV-infected infants had significantly higher levels of IL-4; macrophage inflammatory protein 1β, a chemoattractant for T cells; and eosinophil cationic protein in nasopharyngeal secretions compared with the control group. The levels of the T h 2 cytokine IL-4 were significantly higher in RSV-infected infants ≤3 months of age compared with RSV-infected infants >3 months of age. In infants ≤3 months of age, infections with influenza or parainfluenza virus caused T h 2-like responses similar to those produced by RSV. Conclusion Infections with RSV as well as with influenza and parainfluenza virus during early infancy preferentially promote a T h 2-like response in the nose with local production of IL-4, IL-5, and macrophage inflammatory protein 1β and infiltration and activation of eosinophils.

DNA methylation profiling in breast cancer discordant identical twins identifies DOK7 as novel epigenetic biomarker

Abstract: Using whole blood from 15 twin pairs discordant for breast cancer and high-resolution (450K) DNA methylation analysis, we identified 403 differentially methylated CpG sites including known and novel potential breast cancer genes. Confirming the results in an independent validation cohort of 21 twin pairs determined the docking protein DOK7 as a candidate for blood-based cancer diagnosis. DNA hypermethylation of the promoter region was also seen in primary breast cancer tissues and cancer cell lines. Hypermethylation of DOK7 occurs years before tumor diagnosis, suggesting a role as a powerful epigenetic blood-based biomarker as well as providing insights into breast cancer pathogenesis.

Vitamin D–Related Genetic Variation, Plasma Vitamin D, and Risk of Lethal Prostate Cancer: A Prospective Nested Case–Control Study

Abstract: Results Higher 25(OH)D levels were associated with a 57% reduction in the risk of lethal prostate cancer (highest vs lowest quartile: odds ratio = 0.43, 95% confidence interval = 0.24 to 0.76). This finding did not vary by time from blood collection to diagnosis. We found no statistically significant association of plasma 25(OH)D levels with overall prostate cancer. Pathway analyses found that the set of SNPs that included all seven genes (P = .008) as well as sets of SNPs that included VDR (P = .01) and CYP27A1 (P = .02) were associated with risk of lethal prostate cancer. Conclusion In this prospective study, plasma 25(OH)D levels and common variation among several vitamin D–related genes were associated with lethal prostate cancer risk, suggesting that vitamin D is relevant for lethal prostate cancer.