Role of environmental factors and history of low back pain in sciatica symptoms among Finnish adolescents.

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study in a subcohort of the 1986 Northern Finland Birth Cohort (n = 1987). OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of environmental factors and LBP history in sciatica symptoms among Finnish young adults. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: History of low back pain (LBP), smoking, and male sex are associated with sciatica in adult populations. The role of the environmental determinants of sciatica has not been evaluated in populations consisting of only adolescents. METHODS: Sciatic symptoms and environmental exposures were elicited by a mailed questionnaire and the associations were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: Female sex was associated with severe sciatica at 18 years (OR, 3.9; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.6-9.3). Both reported LBP at 16 years and LBP requiring consultation of a health care professional were associated with mild sciatica at 18 years (OR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.3-4.9; and OR, 3.8; 95% CI, 1.2-11.9). In addition, LBP at 16 years requiring consultation of a health care professional was associated with severe sciatica at 18 years (OR, 5.0; 95% CI, 1.7-15.3). Smoking, obesity, physical workload, and level of physical activity were not associated with sciatica. CONCLUSION: Females reported sciatic pain more often than males. LBP at 16 years predicted sciatica at 18 years. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2.

Genetic susceptibility of intervertebral disc degeneration among young Finnish adults.

BACKGROUND: Disc degeneration (DD) is a common condition that progresses with aging. Although the events leading to DD are not well understood, a significant genetic influence has been found. This study was undertaken to assess the association between relevant candidate gene polymorphisms and moderate DD in a well-defined and characterized cohort of young adults. Focusing on young age can be valuable in determining genetic predisposition to DD. METHODS: We investigated the associations of existing candidate genes for DD among 538 young adults with a mean age of 19 belonging to the 1986 Northern Finland Birth Cohort. Nineteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in 16 genes were genotyped. We evaluated lumbar DD using the modified Pfirrmann classification and a 1.5-T magnetic resonance scanner for imaging. RESULTS: Of the 538 individuals studied, 46% had no degeneration, while 54% had DD and 51% of these had moderate DD. The risk of DD was significantly higher in subjects with an allele G of IL6 SNPs rs1800795 (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.07-1.96) and rs1800797 (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.02-1.85) in the additive inheritance model. The role of IL6 was further supported by the haplotype analysis, which resulted in an association between the GGG haplotype (SNPs rs1800797, rs1800796 and rs1800795) and DD with an OR of 1.51 (95% CI 1.11-2.04). In addition, we observed an association between DD and two other polymorphisms, SKT rs16924573 (OR 0.27 95% CI 0.07-0.96) and CILP rs2073711 in women (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.07-3.89). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that IL6, SKT and CILP are involved in the etiology of DD among young adults.

Determination of dopamine and methoxycatecholamines in patient urine by liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection and by capillary electrophoresis coupled with spectrophotometry and mass spectrometry.

The applicability of capillary electrophoresis (CE) with UV and mass spectrometric (MS) detection for the determination of dopamine and methoxycatecholamines in urine was evaluated in comparison with the liquid chromatography-electrochemical detection (LC-EC) method widely used in catecholamine analysis. The catecholamines in urine were deconjugated with acid or enzyme hydrolysis, purified by cation exchange (CEX) or solid-phase extraction (SPE) with a copolymer of N-divinylpyrrolidone and divinylbenzene and analyzed by LC-EC, CE-UV, and CE-MS. Acid hydrolysis was more effective in the deconjugation than enzymatic hydrolysis with Helix pomatia. However, the recoveries of HMBA, DA and NMN from spiked samples were less than 30% after acid hydrolysis and SPE purification. The CEX purification was more efficient than SPE in removing matrix compounds from the urine samples. The limits of detection were lower in LC-EC analysis than in CE-UV or CE-MS. Many factors in the analytical procedure caused deviations in the concentrations measured for urinary dopamine and methoxycatecholamines. The recovery of HMBA, which was used as the internal standard, was poor after acid hydrolysis and SPE purification. The purification methods were validated in conjunction with the analytical methods and therefore cross analysis was unsuccessful. The LC-EC method was the most sensitive, but CE-UV and CE-MS were sensitive enough for the determination of dopamine and methoxycatecholamines even in healthy patient urine. The EC and MS detections were superior to the UV detection in specificity since, after acid hydrolysis, some matrix compounds were migrating close to I.S., DA and 3MT.

Comparação de três métodos de determinação da glicohemoglobina / Three assays for glycohemoglobin compared

Usando 123 amostras, nós comparamos a concordância entre três métodos diferentes para a determinação da glicohemoglobina (GHb): O Diamat™ (Bio-Rad Laboratories), uma analizador automático para medir a HbA1C por cromatografia de troca catiônica; um ensaio com analizador IM (Abbott Laboratories), baseado na afinidade de ligação como boranato; e um método HPLC, medidndo a HbA por cromatografia de troca catiônica numa coluna PolyCAT A (PolyLC Inc.). O coeficiente de correlação de Pearson entre PolyCAT A e Diamat foi 0,900 ± 0,038 (média ± 2 SD) e entre PolyCAT A e IMx, 0,857 ± 0,042. Entretanto, diferenças até duas vezes foram observadas em algumas amostras. A proporção da GHb foi constantemente mais baixa com o método PolyCAT A do que com os outros dois métodos, aparentemente por causa da melhor separação da HbA1C das formas co-eluentes não-glicosiladas da Hb. A diferença na percentagem de glicação entre os métodos PolyCAT A e Diamat é 2-3% sobre o total gama de concentração. Estes resultados mostram as limitações do Diamat como um método de referência a ser usado para calibrar outros métodos na determinação de HbA1C. Mas ainda, uma mudança de um método para outro provavelmente pode causar problemas consideráveis no acompanhamento clínico de certos pacientes.