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Biomedical subjects

C Wimpfheimer

Publications and source records attributed to C Wimpfheimer.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

[Epidemiology of osteoporosis].

Osteoporosis is a systemic disease of the skeleton characterized by decreased bone mass and a disturbed microarchitecture of the bone. Its consequences is an increase in fracture risk. In women, the risk of experiencing an osteoporotic fracture once in life is twice as high (30-40%) as in men. In a model using population-based data, it is estimated that 54% of 50-year-old women present an osteoporotic fracture once in their remaining life. Typical osteoporotic fractures involve vertebral bodies, the proximal femur and the forearm. The number of fractures caused by osteoporosis is steadily increasing, due to greater life expectancy in particular. In addition, there is a secular increase in the incidence of fractures. In Switzerland, the number of fractures of the hip per year increased from 5,500 in 1980 to 9,800 in 1990 (VESKA data). The consequences of these fractures for the patients and their life quality and the direct and indirect effects on society are generally underestimated. Mortality and morbidity are both increased in comparison with unfractured persons of the same age. One of the most serious consequences of hip fractures is the loss of functional independence in the elderly; 10% of patients lose their functional independence after such fractures, and about 10% need to be placed in homes. Fractures of the waist lead to hospitalization in about 70% of patients aged over 85, and in many patients with forearm fractures algodystrophy occurs. Hip fractures are responsible for about 175,000 days in hospital per year for all Switzerland. Applied to all fractures caused by osteoporosis, this number may be much higher. Lack of epidemiological data, insufficient methods of investigation and the symptomless and silent development of osteoporosis in its beginnings have in many respects led to severe underestimation of this disease in the past. The extension of this growing worldwide health problem has only recently become apparent in Switzerland, essentially because of increasing life expectancy. The frequency of hip fractures is well documented in Switzerland and comparable with that in the US. It justifies in itself the development of a strategy for prevention and treatment. But because osteoporosis is a systemic disease of the skeleton, additional Swiss data on fractures other than that of the hip, such as vertebral and forearm fractures, would be of great interest, especially in the sector of ambulatory medicine.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1996

[Hungry-bone syndrome: a nearly-forgotten disease].

We present a 68-year-old female patient with hyperparathyroidism of many years' standing due to nodular hyperplasia of the parathyroid glands. After parathyroidectomy the patient developed profound hypocalcemia of long duration and was found to have marked cystic bone lesions. The "hungry bone syndrome" is rare today and little known to the clinician. It has to be considered in the differential diagnosis of postoperative hypocalcemia. We discuss the clinical course, therapy and pathophysiology of the syndrome and in particular wish to point out the uncommon findings in bone scintigraphy and the unexpectedly high calcium requirement.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

[Importance of the clinical profile in the postmenopausal osteoporosis screening by densitometry].

In order to test the impact of a given risk profile on the incidence of osteoporosis which could justify BMD measurement, and that of a low risk profile which could render it unnecessary, BMD was measured in 217 women under 72 in whom menopause had occurred at least 6 years previously and who corresponded to one of the two following profiles: high risk (A, n = 102) = BMI < 27 kg/m2, with no estrogen replacement treatment, and with at least one of the following risk factors: BMI < 20, early menopause, positive family history, no dairy products associated with tobacco consumption (> 10 cigarettes/day for > 20 years and/or alcohol consumption of > 0.5 l wine/day during > 10 years, corticotherapy of > 6 months, rickets, anorexia nervosa. Low risk (B, n = 115) = absence of characteristics of group A, BMI > 27 kg/m2 with (B+, n = 24) or without estrogen therapy (B-, n = 91). BMD was measured by DXA in 4 centers using Lunar or Hologic equipment. Results were expressed in % of the mean of the respective young adult control groups. As expected, BMD was significantly different in these two subgroups of the population. Osteoporosis was diagnosed (BMD < 75% = < -2.5 SD, according to WHO) in 72% of group A, and in 17% (B+) and 19% (B-) respectively of group B. There was no difference between the various risk factors in group A concerning their impact on BMD, but concerning incidence, low BMI and early menopause were the most frequent. The high risk profile of group A seems to justify densitometry, since it leads to the diagnosis of osteoporosis in over 70%. However, the protective profile of group B does not exclude osteoporosis (risk still 20%); only in severe obesity (BMI > 33) does it drop to 1%.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗
PubMed1994

[Thyroid diagnosis 1993].

Functional disorders of the thyroid and thyroidal tumors are a common challenge in daily practice. TSH of the 2nd and the 3rd generation stand in first place of the biochemical parameters in use. The FT4-test serves as confirming investigation. Additional investigations are reserved for special indications. Fine-needle aspiration performed by an experienced endocrinologist has the highest value to determine the benign character of a tumor of the thyroid. Anatomy can be optimally visualized by the modern ultrasound techniques. The most important indication for scintigraphy today is a scheduled therapy with radioactive iodine.

Biopsy↗
PubMed1992

[Hypoglycemia and multiple myeloma].

We report the case of a 78-year-old patient with recurrent attacks of severe fasting and late postprandial hypoglycemia, whose plasma showed highly elevated concentrations of immunoreactive insulin evidenced by high titers of spontaneous insulin and proinsulin-binding antibodies. Insulin autoimmune syndrome was diagnosed. Further investigations revealed a multiple myeloma of the kappa-light chain type. The monoclonal insulin-binding antibodies were characterized as IgG2-subclass and were identical with the paraprotein, thereby confirming that the insulin-binding antibodies were in fact produced by the myeloma. Together with initial symptomatic treatment, plasmapheresis was performed repeatedly to reduce the antibody pool. Subsequently octreotide therapy proved successful. The underlying myeloma was treated by chemotherapy.

Aged↗
PubMed1985

[Pseudohypoparathyroidism, calcifying arteriopathy and ischemic skin necrosis].

A patient with longstanding pseudohypoparathyroidism undergoing substitution with dihydrotachysterin, with normal to low serum calcium and phosphorus levels, developed extensive calcification of the subcutaneous tissue and an obliterative and calcified arteriopathy of the small subcutaneous arteries with ischemic skin signs (livedo reticularis, skin infarction and ulcerative necrosis). After stimulation with exogenous parathyroid hormone there was no increase in urinary cyclic AMP and the G-unit was significantly decreased. It was concluded that the patient is suffering from pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1a. The likely pathophysiological mechanisms and the therapeutic implications are discussed.

Arteries↗
PubMed1984

[Hyperthyroidism in thyroid cancer. Retrospective study of 53 cases].

Hyperthyroidism was diagnosed in 53 of 273 thyroid carcinoma patients at the time of their first examination (between 1971 and 1983). This corresponds to 19.5% of these mainly well-differentiated thyroid cancers. In 24 (45%) patients the hyperthyroidism and the thyroid carcinoma were two separate distinct illnesses: of 4 patients with Graves' disease (1.5% of 273), 2 had been operated because of an additional solitary cold nodule, and in the other 2 an occult carcinoma was found intraoperatively. Twenty patients of this group had Plummer's disease: there was a malignant cold nodule within a multinodular goiter with multifocal functional autonomy (MFA)(n = 14) or a carcinoma located near the solitary hot nodule of the toxic adenoma (TA)(n = 6). In these patients the distribution of the different histologies was about the same as in other thyroid cancer patients from this region. The remaining 29 patients (55%) had Plummer's disease, 28 with the classical finding of a solitary toxic adenoma, in which the hot nodule and the malignant tumor were identical. It was possible to confirm this identity histologically in 10 out of 24 cases, retrospectively. Eight of these patients had metastases with radioiodine uptake at the time of the first examination. Of the tumors in this group, 24 were follicular and 5 papillary carcinomas. As a rough estimate, one malignant, scintigraphically hot tumor is found for every 50 benign toxic adenomas. Criteria for the differentiation are: recent growth of the nodule, tumor size of greater than 5 cm diameter or greater than 35 g and an elevated T3-level of less than 0.06 nmol/l/g tumor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1982

Use of a single TSH-measurement after oral thyrotrophin releasing hormone: an economical and highly sensitive thyroid screening test.

The increment of serum TSH after thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH) is usually considered an extremely sensitive thyroid test, particularly useful in borderline disturbances. We evaluated 195 patients by measuring serum TSH before and 3 h after 40 mg TRH po, and by various other thyroid tests. We found a very tight correlation between the TSH- increment and the 3 h TSH. Thus the TSH-increment can reliably be estimated from the 3 h TSH. The mann-Whitney test confirmed that the 3 h TSH identified thyroid dysfunction as well as the TSH-increment. The basal TSH can therefore be omitted and we propose the measurement of the 3 h TSH as an initial screening test. This single measurement economically excludes the many euthyroid patients sent for thyroid evaluation from further costly tests.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

[Amiodarone and the thyroid gland].

In an estimated 5% of patients, antiarrhythmic therapy with amiodarone (Cordarone) may have side effects involving thyroid function. These unwanted effects on the thyroid gland can be classified into three entirely different categories. In addition, amiodarone invariably interferes in a characteristic way with the peripheral metabolism of thyroid hormones at the cellular level. These effects are reviewed. 1. Amiodarone contains 39% of iodine. Since its metabolism involves deiodination to inorganic iodide, classical iodine-induced thyrotoxicosis may occur in patients with nodular goiters containing autonomous follicles. 2. An entirely different form of thyrotoxicosis, resembling Graves' disease, may be induced by amiodarone in individuals with previously normal thyroid. The pathogenesis of this phenomenon is unknown. 3. In rare patients of the thyroid gland is unable to cope with pharmacological quantities of iodide, possibly due to genetic anomaly of thyroid metabolism. In these individuals amiodarone may induce hypothyroidism. 4. In contrast to the possible side effects of amiodarone involving the thyroid gland, the drug has an obligate impact on the metabolism of thyroid hormones at the level of the peripheral cells. It inhibits the peripheral conversion of thyroxin to triiodothyronine (T3) and favours the generation of reverse T3, which has no T3 activity. This and other arguments favour the assumption that the effects on the heart observed after prolonged amiodarone treatment are in fact due to selective local hypothyroidism.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Nutritionally-induced alterations in thyroid hormone metabolism and thermogenesis.

Serum 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3) is increased by overnutrition and decreased by starvation. The production rate of T3 was increased by overfeeding (82%), but T4 production did not change. Feeding a weight maintenance diet with high CHO mimiced serum T3 and rT3 changes of overfeeding, substitution of CHO by FAT those of starvation. VO2 increased during overfeeding and in T4 equilibrated volunteers supplemented with 40 microgram T3 daily for 2 weeks. No weight change occurred in the latter subjects. Yet no decrease in VO2 was found when serum T3 was reduced by the administration of iopanoic acid. VO2 decreased during starvation in normal and hypothyroid rats, and in hypothyroid animals replaced with T4 or T3.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Changes of circulating thyroxine, triiodothyronine and reverse triiodothyronine after radiographic contrast agents.

Thyroid function was studied for 42 days in 58 patients, 28 of whome had euthyroid goiter, after urography (diatrizoic acid), cholangiography (ioglycamic acid), and cholecystography (Naiopanoate). After urography and cholangiography short-lived increases of the serum thyroxine occurred in a few patients, but the mean thyroxine and triiodothyronine concentration did not change. By contrast, 7 days after oral cholecystography serum thyroxine had risen consistently by 22% with a concomittant rise of the free thyroxine, while triiodothyronine declined by 15%. The thyroxine metabolite 3,3',5'-triiodo-1-thyronine (reverse T3) rose by 50% and serum thyrotropin concentration doubled. After 42 days thryoxine and triiodothyronine had returned to baseline, and none of the 58 patients developed clinical hyperthyroidism. In patients with severe myxoedema kept on a constant replacement dose with 1-thyroxine NA-iopanoate produced similar changes with the exception of the rise of the serum thyroxine. The primary event after Na-iopanoate seems to be a fall of the serum triiodothyronine, which in turn augments thyrotropin and indirectly thyroxine secretion. the marked and sometimes sustained rose of serum thyroxine after cholecystography may lead to the erroneous diagnosis of hyperthyroidism.

Adult↗