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Biomedical subjects

A Langner

Publications and source records attributed to A Langner.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Etretinate therapy in generalized pustular psoriasis (Zumbusch type). Immediate and long-term results.

Etretinate therapy in 18 cases of generalized pustular psoriasis of the Zumbusch type proved to be effective and the therapy of choice. Only in 4 patients was maintenance therapy needed; in most cases relapses occurred after various intervals and patients responded invariably to reintroduction of the drug. Side-effects were slight. In 3 patients triglyceride levels became elevated, but only in 1 case the drug had to be withdrawn. In most of the patients generalized pustular eruption was accompanied, in some relapses or in some areas, by plaques of common psoriasis.

Adult↗

Is chemotactic activity of polymorphonuclear leukocytes increased in psoriasis?

Chemotactic activity of PMNs of 44 patients with common psoriasis and 20 healthy individuals was studied by modified Boyden chamber assay and casein as a chemoattractant. The patients were classified according to the activity of the disease, extent of skin lesions, and duration of the disease and of the last relapse. There was a high statistically significant increase in chemotactic response of the PMNs of psoriatics as compared with controls. The increase in chemotactic activity correlated positively with the activity of the disease but not with the extent of skin lesions. Very low values in some patients with longlasting and/or extensive lesions could depend upon the presence of inhibitory factors in plasma. The possible explanation for divergent results obtained by other authors could be due to the fact that various clinical parameters were not taken into account.

Adult↗

Treatment of psoriasis of the scalp with coal tar gel and shampoo preparations.

Psoriatic lesions on the scalp are cosmetically troublesome and present problems for therapy, particularly over a long-term period. A gel containing refined coal tar in solution (psoriGel) was effective in clearing or markedly improving psoriasis of the scalp in 83 percent of 112 patients. The study population included thirty-five patients who were unresponsive to other therapies. The treatment regimen described here used tar gel for five days, vegetable oil soaking for the sixth day, and no treatment on the seventh day. This procedure reduced considerably the tendency of tar gel to cause drying of the skin. Fifty percent of the patients remained in remission for about three months using a nontar shampoo. However, using a tar shampoo (Ionil T), the median remission time was extended to over eight months with 30 percent of the patients still in remission thirteen months later. No adverse reactions were reported.

Adolescent↗

Cloning and analysis of strong promoters is made possible by the downstream placement of a RNA termination signal.

Downstream placement of a strong transcriptional termination signal has made possible the cloning of bacteriophage T5 promoters known to exhibit high signal strength. The cloning system constructed contains two easily assayable indicator functions whose expression is controlled by the integration of promoters and terminators, respectively. By assessing transcription within the indicator regions, the efficiency of promoters as well as termination signals can be determined in vitro and in vivo.

Base Sequence↗

Defective function of T lymphocytes in psoriasis.

The distribution of thymus-derived (T) and bone marrow-derived (B) lymphocytes in 100 patients with psoriasis were studied by the rosetting techniques. Depression of the number of T lymphocytes forming spontaneous rosettes with sheep erythrocytes (E rosettes) occurred in 66% of patients, whereas no difference in B lymphocytes bearing C3 receptor (EAC rosettes) was observed between psoriatics and normals. The decrease in E rosettes was associated with the active phase of the disease. This disappeared 4-6 wk after onset of remission, which suggested that the abnormality in T-cell marker distribution is transitional. Lymphocytes forming neither E nor EAC rosettes, which were found to be significantly increased in active psoriasis, were identified as T lymphocytes since they reacquired normal E rosette function during short-term preincubation with concanavalin A (Con A). A serum factor was also demonstrated which inhibited E rosette formation by normal peripheral blood lymphocytes. Its activity increased linearly within 2 mo from the onset of skin lesions. The data suggest that in active psoriasis serum factors may be coated on the lymphocyte surface membrane which may be responsible for blocking of specific receptor for sheep erythrocytes and/or interfere with T lymphocyte function.

Animals↗

Leukocyte chemotaxis after in vitro treatment with 8-methoxypsoralen and UVA.

Isolated human polymorphonuclear leukocytes were submitted to long wave ultraviolet light (UVA) with and without preincubation of the cells with 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP). Leukocyte chemotaxis was determined in modified Boyden chambers using caseine as the attractant. Combined treatment (8-MOP + UVA) significantly inhibited the chemotactic activity with 8-MOP concentrations above 0.1 mug/ml and 2 J/cm(2). However, with high dosage of UVA (5 J/cm(2)) with and without 8-MOP still 25-30% cells migrated through the filters. Also, cell viability as determined by trypan blue exclusion was only moderately affected by combined treatment. The results indicate that these nonreplicating cells are comperatively insensitive to UVA and 8-MOP.

Chemotaxis, Leukocyte↗

Dermal toxicity of 8-methoxypsoralen administered (by gavage) to hairless mice irradiated with long-wave ultraviolet light.

Hairless mice were administered various amounts of 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) by gavage, followed by irradiation with ultraviolet light (UVA) two or more times per week for periods ranging from 1 to 12 months. The minimum phototoxic dose was 20 mg/kg body weight by this route of administration and potential for serious organ toxicity in long-term exposures was investigated. No histologic features of cutaneous malignancy were encountered under test conditions which produced prolonged phototoxicity, deep ulceration, cicatrization, and other deformities. Repeated daily gavaged doses of 20 mg psoralen/kg body weight in conjunction with twice weekly irradiation for 10 min with UVA elicited an erythematous phototoxic reaction, but did not give rise to subsequent skin lesions. 8-MOP in repeated daily gavage doses of 30 mg and 40 mg/kg body weight combined with twice weekly UVA irradiation for 10 min caused severe burning with subsequent scarring, but did not induce malignant tumors in experiments lasting lasting 8 months. No organ toxicity was seen except for toxic liver changes when severe cutaneous burn and pronounced ulcerations were produced. Limited immunologic studies disclosed no abnormalities in this system.

Animals↗

Photochemotherapy (PUVA) and psoriasis: comparison of 8-MOP and 8-MOP/5-MOP.

Twenty-eight psoriatic patients received PUVA treatment (psoralen and long ultraviolet irradiations. Two preparations were used; 8-methoxypsoralen and a mixture of 5-methoxypsoralen and 8-methoxypsoralen. Both gave considerable improvement, but in 6 cases the lesions reappeared after 2 to 8 weeks, in spite of maintenance treatment. In this report, photochemotherapy of psoriasis was compared, using a UVA emitting lamp, 8-MOP, and a mixture of 8-MOP and 5-methoxypsoralen (5-MOP).

Coumarins↗

Cell-mediated immunity in epidermodysplasia verruciformis.

Investigations were performed in 6 cases of epidermodysplasia verruciformis and 2 healthy family members. Nonspecific cell-mediated immunity (CMI) was studied by measuring response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and concanavalin A (Con A), percentrages of E- and EAC-rosette-forming lymphocytes, bacterial skin tests, and allergic reactions to dinitrochloro-benzene (DNCB). Impairment of CMI was manifested by reduction in the percentage of E rosettes, and lowered response to PHA, and- to a lesser degree- to Con A. The immune response to DNCB sensitization was invariably negative. Impairment of CMI was greater in cases of long duration and with extensive lesions. The cases of similar duration and extent of lesions, which never showed tendency to tumor formation, were not different in CMI in comparison with cases with numerous tumors. Only in cases with very advanced tumors CMI was impaired parallel to the gravity of the patient's general condition.

Adolescent↗