The locus encompassing the corticosteroidogenic genes CYP11B2 and CYP11B1 is of potential importance in essential hypertension. We analyzed the association of polymorphisms at this locus with risk of essential hypertension, using 2 white case-control collections for discovery (n = 3340) and confirmation (n = 2929). Single-marker and haplotype analyses were performed, with the CYP11B2 Intron 2 Conv

Aims: Animal studies indicate a role for 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (HSD11B1) in the development of obesity. The association to glucose homeostasis is less clear. We investigated the relationship between HSD11B1 mRNA levels in adipose tissue and in skeletal muscle and anthropometric and metabolic measurements in humans with and without impaired glucose homeostasis. Methods: Twelve

When exposed to intermediate glucose concentrations (6-16 mol/l), pancreatic beta-cells in intact islets generate bursts of action potentials (superimposed on depolarised plateaux) separated by repolarised electrically silent intervals. First described more than 40 years ago, these oscillations have continued to intrigue beta-cell electrophysiologists. To date, most studies of beta-cell ion channe

Systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) is an autoimmune disorder that primarily affects young women and is characterized by inflammation in several organs including the kidneys, skin, joints, blood, and nervous system. Abnormal immune cellular and humoral responses play important roles in the development of the disease process. Impaired clearance of apoptotic material is a key factor contributing to ac

Hatching success is a potentially important fitness component for avian species. Previous studies of hatching success in natural populations have primarily focused on effects of inbreeding but a general understanding of variation in hatching success is lacking. We analyse data on hatching success in a population of great reed warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus in Lake Kvismaren in south central Sw

Many nitrosamines are suspected of being human carcinogens, with the highest concentrations in the environment being measured in the rubber industry. Time trends of personal exposure to N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and to N-nitrosomorpholine (NMor) during the past two decades in the German rubber industry were analysed and compared with cross-sectional studies in the same period in the Netherland

Fasting glucose and insulin are intermediate traits for type 2 diabetes. Here we explore the role of coding variation on these traits by analysis of variants on the HumanExome BeadChip in 60,564 non-diabetic individuals and in 16,491 T2D cases and 81,877 controls. We identify a novel association of a low-frequency nonsynonymous SNV in GLP1R (A316T; rs10305492; MAF=1.4%) with lower FG (β=-0.09±0.01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to construct a new clinical tool for establishing levels of indications for cataract surgery, and to validate this tool. Methods: Teams from nine eye clinics reached an agreement about the need to develop a clinical tool for setting levels of indications for cataract surgery and about the items that should be included in the tool. The tool was to be called 'N

OBJECTIVE: Patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer are traditionally followed by repeat cystoscopy and urine cytology. A fluorescence in situ hybridisation technique called UroVysion((R)) (UV) is now available for clinical diagnosis of urothelial cancer cells. The aim of the present study was to compare UV analysis with routine follow-up methods. METHODS: We studied an unselected cohort o

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with injury in professional ballet and modern dancers, and assess if dancers are reporting their injuries and explore reasons for not reporting injuries. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Participants were recruited from nine professional ballet and modern dance companies in Canada, Denmark, Israel,

Soil phosphorus (P) composition changes with ecosystem development, leading to changes in P bioavailability and ecosystem properties. Little is known, however, about how soil P transformations proceed with ecosystem development in boreal regions. We used 1-dimensional P-31 and 2-dimensional H-1, P-31 correlation nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to characterise soil organic P transform

A simple and fast method is presented to be used for example in studies on the relationship between serum levels of persistent organic pollutants and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Method is based on liquid-liquid extraction and gas chromatography coupled with high.-resolution mass spectrometry. In the sample pretreatment special attention was paid to minimize the number of sample manipulation steps an

OBJECTIVETo identify the clinical and genetic factors that explain why the rate of diabetes progression is highly variable between idividuals following diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSWe studied 5,250 patients with type 2 diabetes using comprehensive electronic medical records in Tayside, Scotland, from 1992 onward. We investigated the association of clinical, biochemical,

Background: Survival rates following a diagnosis of cancer vary between countries. The International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP), a collaboration between six countries with primary care led health services, was set up in 2009 to investigate the causes of these differences. Module 3 of this collaboration hypothesised that an association exists between the readiness of primary care physic

Signalling through gap junctions contributes to control insulin secretion and, thus, blood glucose levels. Gap junctions of the insulin-producing β-cells are made of connexin 36 (Cx36), which is encoded by the GJD2 gene. Cx36-null mice feature alterations mimicking those observed in type 2 diabetes (T2D). GJD2 is also expressed in neurons, which share a number of common features with pancreatic β-