Licorice-induced hypertension and common variants of genes regulating renal sodium reabsorption.

AIM: To study if gene alterations affecting renal sodium reabsorption associate with susceptibility to licorice-induced hypertension.METHODS: Finnish subjects (n = 30) with a previously documented incident of licorice-induced hypertension were recruited for the study using a newspaper announcement. Their previous clinical and family histories as well as serum electrolyte levels were examined. DNA samples from all individuals were screened for variants of the genes encoding 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11betaHSD2) and alpha-, beta-, and gamma-subunits of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC).RESULTS: Upon licorice predisposition, the patients had a mean blood pressure of 201/118 mmHg. Circulating potassium, renin, and aldosterone levels were low. No significant DNA variations were identified in the 11betaHSD2 gene. Four subjects were heterozygous for beta- and gammaENaC variants previously shown to be associated with hypertension. Furthermore, a novel G insertion (2004-2005insG) in the SCNN1A gene encoding the alphaENaC was identified in two subjects. The frequency of these ENaC variants was significantly higher in subjects with licorice-induced hypertension (6/30 i.e. 20%) than in blood donors (11/301 i.e. 3.7%, P = 0.002).CONCLUSIONS: Defects of the 11betaHSD2 gene do not constitute a likely cause for licorice-induced hypertension. Variants of the ENaC subunits may render some individuals sensitive to licorice-induced metabolic alterations and hypertension.

Keskustajääkäri Aarne Sihvo : näkökulma aseellisen voiman ja yhteiskunnan vuorovaikutukseen itsenäistymisen murroksesta paasikiviläiseen toiseen tasavaltaan

Summary: Middle-of-the-roader : General Aarne Sihvo (1889-1963) and the interaction between the Finnish armed forces and democracy

Nuoren Apollon syöksykierre : sivistyneistö ja kansallisen ideologian murroksia

Päivi Molarius

The Impact of Instructions on Survey Translation : An Experimental Study

The experimental study described in this paper examined the impact of providing special instructions and supporting material to translators. Specifically, it addressed whether Spanish, Chinese, and French translators provided with explanatory text and guidelines were able to produce translations that were more faithful to the intended meaning of English source survey items, as well as that were more culturally appropriate and natural sounding compared to those of translators who received no such guidance. Study findings indicate that while the provision of special instructions and documentation to translators had a considerable impact on their translations, the direction of the impact (positive or negative) diff ered across the target languages, according to scale ratings of professional survey researchers who were native speakers of those languages.

Salat ja valat : vapaamuurarit suomalaisessa yhteiskunnassa ja julkisuudessa 1756-1996

Resumé: "Hemligheterna och ederna" : frimurarna i det finska samhället och i offentligheten 1756-1996

Suomalaisten ulkomainen opinkäynti ennen Turun akatemian perustamista 1640

Summary: Finnish study abroad before the foundation of the Royal Academy of Turku (Academia Aboensis) in 1640

Kotirintaman aseveljeyttä : suomalaisen siviiliväestön ja saksalaisen sotaväen rinnakkainelo Pohjois-Suomessa 1941-1944

Zusammenfassung: Das Zusammenleben der finnischen Zivilbevölkerung und der deutschen Truppen in Nordfinnland in den Jahren 1941-1944

Hermostumisen aikakausi : neuroosit 1800- ja 1900-lukujen vaihteen suomalaisessa lääketieteessä

Summary: The age of nervousness : the neuroses in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century Finnish medicine

Kylmän veden tauti kirjolohella : tapausselostus ja lääkejäämien seuranta

Eija Rimaila-Pärnänen, Varpu Hirvelä-Koski, Anneli Niemi, Jaana Seppänen ja Erkki Hernesniemi