Tidsskrift for den Norske lægeforening : tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny række
-
Many patients with Parkinson’s disease with severe motor fluctuations benefit from advanced therapies – either deep brain stimulation or continuous infusion therapy with levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel or apomorphine. In Norway, deep brain stimulation is provided as a shared national or multi-regional service. The treatment is currently available at Oslo University Hospital and St. Olavs Hospital; prior to 2012 it was also available at Haukeland University Hospital. Infusion therapy has no similar geographical restrictions. We therefore wished to examine geographical differences in the use of the two most common forms of advanced therapy for Parkinson’s disease. ⋯ Advanced therapies for Parkinson’s disease are offered throughout Norway, but there are significant geographical differences in the type of therapy initiated. One possible explanation is that patients in different counties receive different information about the therapeutic options available.
-
Tidsskr. Nor. Laegeforen. · Jun 2016
Review[Mendelian randomisation - a genetic approach to an epidemiological method].
BACKGROUND Genetic information is becoming more easily available, and rapid progress is being made in developing methods of illuminating issues of interest. Mendelian randomisation makes it possible to study causes of disease using observational data. The name refers to the random distribution of gene variants in meiosis. ⋯ It is nevertheless important to be aware of the limitations of the methodology. As a result of the rapid developments in genetics research, Mendelian randomisation will probably be widely used in future years. INTERPRETATION If Mendelian randomisation studies are conducted correctly, they may help to reveal both modifiable and non-modifiable causes of disease.