Electrocardiographic Studies in the Healthy Newborn

Summary
An electrocardiographic study was performed on 56 healthy children during their first week of life. Recordings were made repeatedly on every child using a long recording time. Leads I, II, III, aVR, aVL, aVF, VI, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6 were recorded.
Extreme fluctuations of the heart rate, a high frequency of sinus arrhythmia and supraventricular arrhythmia, signs of right ventricular hypertrophy, extremely low T waves with significant T wave changes during the first week and in some cases prolonged Q-T intervals were observed. My thanks are due to Å. Gyllensward, M. D., for advice and criticism.     

The airway resistance of the naso-frontal duct during and after acute frontal sinusitis. A long term follow-up of 49 trephined frontal sinuses

A new pressure flow method for function tests and calculation of the airway resistance in the naso-frontal duct is presented. With this pressure flow technique the function and airway resistance of the naso-frontal duct was tested in 49 patients who were trephined for acute frontal sinusitis. The tests were performed during the primary healing period (0–16 days) and in a long term study 2, 6 and 12 months after operation. The patients were also checked radiologically and clinically. A prolonged healing period (more than 6 days) corresponded significantly to a high incidence of recurrent disease. With this method it is possible to define groups where recurrences might be expected because of impaired function of the naso-frontal duct.     

Macromolecular Properties of Glycosaminoglycans in Primary AL Amyloid Fibril Extracts of Lymphoid Tissue Origin

We have previously demonstrated the presence of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in water extracts of secondary AA amyloid fibrils. In the present study we isolated significant quantities of GAGs from fibril extracts of immunoglobulin light chain (AL) type derived from the spleens from two patients afflicted with primary amyloidosis. Employing ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration subsequent to various specific chemical and enzymatic treatments, different types of high molecular weight GAGs were found in both preparations, but not in the corresponding normal splenic extracts. The amyloid-associated GAGs of the extracts derived from one patient consisted of 60% dermatan sulphate and 40% heparan sulphate whereas those obtained from the second spleen were 25% dermatan sulphate and 75% heparan sulphate. The heparan sulphate fraction occurred in the form of proteoglycans, whereas the dermatan sulphate apparently occurred as free GAG chains, resembling the data recently obtained from AA amyloid fibril extracts.     

Writing a scientific paper as part of the medical curriculum

Summary. The curriculum at the Medical School, University of Tromsø reserves 23 weeks for optional studies, including a period of 12 weeks at the end of the fifth year when the students carry out an independent study and write a short thesis. Of the first 417 doctors (graduation year 1979–89) from Tromsø 84.6% answered a postal questionnaire asking them to evaluate this part of the curriculum. These postgraduates report high levels of satisfaction with and benefit from this part of the curriculum. A total of 26.8% started working on their thesis before the final 12-week period, 32.6% had also published their study, half of these in international journals, and 75.6% found that the skills acquired during the final optional period had been useful in their subsequent work, irrespective of specialty. In conclusion, postgraduates consider their work in preparing a scientific paper as an important and integral part of medical studies.     

The Thrombolysis and Angioplasty in Myocardial Infarction (TAMI) Trials: A Decade of Reperfusion Strategies

Beginning with its inception in 1985, the TAMI group performed randomized clinical trials in both academic: and nonacademic settings. The ten TAMI trials not only proved the viability of clinical research in a nontraditional environment, but also contributed significantly to the clinical investigation of acute myocardial infarction through small mechanistic trials. Despite having insufficient power to address overall survival and clinical outcome measures because of patient enrollments ranging from only 50–575 patients, the trials used similar entry criteria and follow-up measures, which permitted broader analyses of the prospectively collected dataset of randomized patients. This article reviews the history of the TAMI collaboration and discusses the findings of the individual trials as well as the contributions of larger analyses to our understanding of patient selection, prognosis, costs, and outcomes. (J Interven Cardiol 1996;9:89–115)     

Rural doctor recruitment: does medical education in rural districts recruit doctors to rural areas?

Summary. The impact of the University of Tromsø Medical School on the distribution of doctors in rural areas in northern Norway was evaluated by a postal questionnaire. The survey covered 11 graduation years (417 doctors), and the response rate was 84.2%. The establishment of a new medical school in northern Norway has clearly had beneficial effects: a total of 56.1% of the graduates stay in these remote areas. Of those who also spent their youth in northern Norway the proportion is 82.0%, compared to graduates who lived in the southern parts of the country while growing up (37.7%). The results clearly demonstrate that one of the main goals for the Medical School at the University in Tromsø, to educate doctors who prefer to work in these rural areas, has been accomplished.     

An action spectrum for 8-MOP induced sunburn cells in mammalian epidermis

The histological change known as individual cell shrinkage necrosis (so-called ‘sunburn cell’ in mammalian epidermis) would seem to be suitable for quantitative morphological studies on the effect of psoralen treatment and near UV irradiation. The number of sunburn cells per unit length of epidermis versus varying doses of narrow waveband UVR, 305–375 nm, has been studied and an action spectrum constructed which had maximal activity at 320–335 nm. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Oral β carotene therapy in actinic reticuloid and solar urticaria

It is very difficult to find effective, acceptable protective agents for patients who are sensitive to long wave ultraviolet (UV) and visible radiation. It has recently been reported that oral β carotene is a useful photoprotective agent in erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) where sensitivity to visible light is important. The action of this drug has therefore been investigated in other diseases where sensitivity to the same part of the spectrum exists. Two patients with actinic reticuloid and three with solar urticaria, all sensitive to long wave UV and visible radiation were investigated before, during and after therapy with β carotene. Detailed monochromator tests were carried out and serum carotene and vitamin A levels determined at regular intervals. Therapy was continued from 2 to 12 months. Results showed that there was no objective or subjective evidence of improvement in any of the patients despite high serum carotene levels. Large variations in the dose of radiation required to produce a reaction were seen in all patients and it is essential to take account of this variation when assessing any photoprotective agent. It is possible that the mechanism of photosensitivity in actinic reticuloid and solar urticaria is quite different from that in EPP thus explaining the difference in the reported results of β carotene in the last disease.