Anne K. Hansen

Endothelin release and enhanced regional myocardial ischemia induced by cold-air inhalation in patients with stable angina.

This study was designed to determine the influence of cold-air inhalation on regional myocardial perfusion in patients with ischemic heart disease. A selected group of vasoactive hormones was measured to investigate their possible roles as ischemic agents. Ten men who had recently had a myocardial infarction and anginal symptoms and with verified pathologic ST deviations during a preceding exercise test volunteered to participate in this randomized cross-over study. Two identical exercise tests were performed on different days; one with inhalation of cold (-22 degrees C) air and the other one with inhalation of thermoneutral air (22 degrees C). Scintigraphic imaging (single-photon emission computed tomography) of regional myocardial blood flow was performed with technetium 99m isonitrile flowtracer and a Bulls eye visual display with calculation of the scintigraphic ischemic severity score. The score was significantly higher during exercise with inhalation of cold air as compared to exercise with inhalation of thermoneutral air. Furthermore, only with cold-air inhalation did arterial plasma endothelin concentration increase significantly from rest to exercise and correlate with the change of ischemic severity score. In contrast, no change was observed under thermoneutral conditions. There was no significant difference between peak values of heart rate, systolic blood pressure, adrenaline, and noradrenaline concentrations in the two situations. We conclude that inhalation of cold air during exercise increases the degree of regional myocardial ischemia and that this is not caused by an increased myocardial oxygen demand. We suggest that cold air directly influences the vasomotor tone of the myocardial resistance vessels and that endothelin may be involved in the ischemic response.

Antiepileptic drug prescribing before, during and after pregnancy: a study in seven European regions

The aim of this study was to explore antiepileptic drug (AED) prescribing before, during and after pregnancy as recorded in seven population‐based electronic healthcare databases.

The Danish contribution to the European DEMOCOPHES project: A description of cadmium, cotinine and mercury levels in Danish mother-child pairs and the perspectives of supplementary sampling and measurements

Human biomonitoring (HBM) is an important tool, increasingly used for measuring true levels of the body burdens of environmental chemicals in the general population. In Europe, a harmonized HBM program was needed to open the possibility to compare levels across borders. To explore the prospect of a harmonized European HBM project, DEMOCOPHES (DEMOnstration of a study to COordinate and Perform Human biomonitoring on a European Scale) was completed in 17 European countries. The basic measurements performed in all implemented countries of DEMOCOPHES included cadmium, cotinine and phthalate metabolites in urine and mercury in hair. In the Danish participants, significant correlations between mothers and children for mercury in hair and cotinine in urine were found. Mercury in hair was further significantly associated with intake of fish and area of residence. Cadmium was positively associated with BMI in mothers and an association between cadmium and cotinine was also found. As expected high cotinine levels were found in smoking mothers. For both mercury and cadmium significantly higher concentrations were found in the mothers compared to their children. In Denmark, the DEMOCOPHES project was co-financed by the Danish ministries of health, environment and food safety. The co-financing ministries agreed to finance a number of supplementary measurements of substances of current toxicological, public and regulatory interest. This also included blood sampling from the participants. The collected urine and blood samples were analyzed for a range of other persistent and non-persistent environmental chemicals as well as two biomarkers of effect. The variety of supplementary measurements gives the researchers further information on the exposure status of the participants and creates a basis for valuable knowledge on the pattern of exposure to various chemicals.

Antiepileptic drug prescribing before, during and after pregnancy:a study in 7 European regions

The aim of this study was to explore antiepileptic drug (AED) prescribing before, during and after pregnancy as recorded in seven population‐based electronic healthcare databases.

Antiepileptic drug prescribing before, during and after pregnancy: a study in seven European regions: ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUG PRESCRIBING DURING PREGNANCY

The aim of this study was to explore antiepileptic drug (AED) prescribing before, during and after pregnancy as recorded in seven population‐based electronic healthcare databases.