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C W Zimmermann

Publications and source records attributed to C W Zimmermann.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

[Multiple sclerosis--disclosing the diagnosis. Attitude of patients: when? How? Disclose at all?].

MS patient members of the German Multiple Sclerosis Society were asked about their opinions concerning time and circumstances of getting to know the diagnosis, based on their personal experiences. Citations from 126 answers to a questionnaire, which had been published in the newsletter of the society, are presented to illustrate typical statements. Two thirds of the patients insisted on being informed about the diagnosis as early and as extensively as possible. One third, however, was more reluctant and stated that extensive information about the diagnosis should be timed individually depending on expected development of the disease and disabilities. Information should be extensive, constructive, and tailored to the individual needs of each patient so that he could deal more effectively with his disease. Most contributions voiced severe criticism as to the practice of information experienced. The study was initiated to prepare a more systematic approach to a field which has not been investigated to a degree matching its importance and impact in everyday neurological practice.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1983

Identification of a proteoglycan antigen characteristic of cholinergic synaptic vesicles.

An antiserum to cholinergic synaptic vesicles isolated from the electric organ of Torpedo marmorata was purified by adsorption with fractions containing unwanted antigens. The adsorbed antiserum responds to the proteoglycan core material of the cholinergic synaptic vesicles. The major antigen migrates in an anomalous fashion on sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), forming a broad band with an apparent molecular weight of approximately 120,000 - 300,000. The distribution of this antigen after sucrose density gradient centrifugation of synaptic vesicles is the same as that of vesicular ATP. The antigen comigrates with a substance that can be stained with Alcian-Blue after SDS-PAGE of highly purified synaptic vesicles. This substance is related to the low-molecular-weight, Alcian-Blue-positive glycosaminoglycan vesiculin, which is formed from the high-molecular-weight proteoglycan by prolonged dialysis against water or by protease treatment. No antibodies were detected against vesiculin itself, indicating that the antigenic determinants are restricted to the proteoglycan.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Calelectrin in human blood cells.

Calelectrin is a new calcium-binding protein isolated from the cholinergic nerve terminals of the electric organ of Torpedo marmorata, which is widely distributed in nervous tissues and selectively binds to membranes, self-aggregates, and promotes calcium-induced membrane aggregation as a function of calcium concentration. We now show by immunofluorescence and immune blotting procedures that this protein is also present in human blood cells. Immunofluorescence demonstrates calelectrin in all human leucocytes, including mononuclear cells, but not in platelets or in erythrocytes. The immunofluorescence indicates an exclusively cytoplasmic location of calelectrin with a diffuse distribution and no primary association with the cytoskeleton or the cell membranes. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with immune blotting of fractionated blood cells (thrombocytes, mononuclear cells, granulocytes and erythrocytes) reveals the presence of a single protein crossreactive with calelectrin from Torpedo marmorata in the granulocyte and mononuclear cell fractions only. Human calelectrin has a molecular weight similar to Torpedo calelectrin (approximately 34-35 kD) and also binds to membranes in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner. Our results have several implications: (1) Calelectrin is conserved during evolution between the fish Torpedo marmorata and humans; (2) its expression in neural and mesenchymal cells points to an important functional role of the protein; (3) its absence from platelets excludes the hypothesis that it is a necessary participant in exocytosis per se and suggests some other function in Ca(2+)-triggered processes.

Annexins↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Computer-supported analysis (MegaBlot) of allopurinol-induced changes in the autoantibody repertoires of rats suffering from experimental lens-induced uveitis.

Using a new quantitative immunoblot technique (MegaBlot and artificial neural network) sera of rats with lens-induced uveitis (LIU) were tested against Western blots (WB) of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) separations of protein fractions from rat lenses. The blots were scanned using digital image analysis and evaluated by multivariate analysis of discriminance and an artificial neural network. Five groups of LIU rats (male Wistar rats, n = 28) were investigated: no treatment, single doses of methylprednisolone (MPR; 7.5 mg/kg body weight, intravenous), allopurinol (AL; 50 mg/kg body weight, intravenous), a combination of both drugs (AL and MPR), and repeated application of AL (ALFR; 50 mg/kg body weight intravenous every 2 weeks during the immunization period and a daily dose of approximately 25 mg/kg body weight, orally). ALFR, MPR, and MPRAL show statistically significant immunological effects in LIU treatment. Classification of WBs using both discriminance analysis or neural network resulted in 100% correct assignment; and 82% (discriminance analysis) and 86% (neural network) of WBs were correctly assigned using only unknown blots for classification (not studied before). The MegaBlot technique is able to detect therapeutically induced changes in autoantibody repertoires allowing therapeutic control and a prognostic view of treatment.

Allopurinol↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The Lyapunov exponent of heart rate dynamics as a sensitive marker of central autonomic organization: an exemplary study of early multiple sclerosis.

In a study of central autonomic dynamics in early multiple sclerosis, we measured the temporal oscillations of the momentary heart rate (heart rate dynamics). 11 young patients suffering from relapsing remitting definite multiple sclerosis in relapse-free and early stages of illness and 11 healthy controls were examined under vagotonic and sympathicotonic conditions. The temporal structure of the heart rate dynamics was operationalized phase-space analytically through the estimation of the largest Lyapunov exponent. Positive Lyapunov exponents were found in all participants under all conditions indicating deterministically chaotic heart rate oscillations. The variance analysis of these exponents detected no significant effect of sympathetic or vagal activity (experimental condition) but a significant group difference (p < .02). The multiple sclerosis patients were characterized by significantly lower Lyapunov exponents than the healthy controls. This finding suggests a more stable and thus less adaptive central-autonomic organization in early multiple sclerosis.

Adolescent↗