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Biomedical subjects

D Augustin

Publications and source records attributed to D Augustin.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Biological control and invading freshwater snails. A case study.

Introductions of four species of freshwater snails occurred between 1972 and 1996 onto Guadeloupe Island. Two of them, Melanoides tuberculata and Marisa cornuarietis, were subsequently used as biological control agents against Biomphalaria glabrata, the snail intermediate host of intestinal schistosomiasis. In 1996, a general survey was carried out in 134 sites which had already been investigated in 1972. The total number of mollusc species had increased from 19 to 21. Site numbers housing B. glabrata and two other species had strongly declined. This decline may be mainly attributed to a competitive displacement by M. tuberculata and M. cornuarietis as illustrated by several biological control programmes. There were no changes in the remainder of the malacological fauna.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Clonidine therapy of "paradoxical hypertension" following surgery of isolated stenosis of the aortic isthmus in childhood].

In the period from 1974 to 1983, altogether 234 children underwent surgery of isolated coarctation of the aorta at the Heart Center Munich. In 146 of these patients, a reactive increase of blood pressure has been noted following surgery, and in about half of them the blood pressure was considerably elevated above the 95-percentile. Since the success of surgery may be endangered by a critical increase of blood pressure, in 66 patients an antihypertensive therapy with clonidine has been started immediately after operation. By this treatment the intended decrease of blood pressure has been effected within the first two days after surgery, and in 91% of the patients the therapy could be stopped within the first two postoperative weeks. In 6 out of these 66 patients, the "paradoxical hypertension" persisted so that the clonidine therapy had to be continued after discharge from hospital. The empirically determined dosage and the duration of treatment have been modified by the clinical requirements, i.e. by the actual level of the blood pressure. The average duration of drug administration has been lengthened according to the advanced age at time of surgery, while the required clonidine dosage simultaneously showed a tendency to decrease. Since no side-effects have been registered in the course of this procedure, the use of clonidine suggests a promising therapeutical approach to "paradoxical hypertension".

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Study participation improves treatment strategies and individual patient care in participating centers.

BACKGROUND: The ADEBAR study is a prospective multicenter Phase III trial to examine whether high-risk breast cancer patients > or =4 involved axillary lymph nodes) benefit from a sequential anthracycline-docetaxel regimen compared to standard chemotherapy with anthracyclines. With a median recruitment of 33 patients per month at 198 actively-recruiting centers, the ADEBAR study was the best recruiting study in Germany until the end of the trial. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A standardized questionnaire was sent to all participating centers in order to determine the extent to which treatment strategies and patient care are affected by participation in the ADEBAR study. The questionnaire covered 5 areas of interest: previous inclusion of patients at the same tumor stage in other studies, the type of chemotherapy received by comparable patients previously outside the study, change in the intensity of medical care since participating in the ADEBAR study, the information gained through participation in the study and changes in the overall quality of medical care. RESULTS: 51.0% (n=98) of the questionnaires were returned, from which 3 were excluded from the analysis due to being incomplete. In the year preceding the ADEBAR study, 63.2% of participating centers had not entered their high-risk patients into a clinical trial. Before participating in the ADEBAR protocol, 44.2% of patients with the same indication had received inadequate therapy by today's standards, such as CMF, EC/CMF or 4x EC. 59.0% of the centers noted an increase in the intensity of patient care as a result of participation in the study, independent of the care provided purely because of the study. By being part of a research network, with a regular flow of information via newsletters, study meetings and the like, 80.0% noted an improvement in their professional knowledge in the field of breast cancer. Moreover, 31.6% of the centers reported an improvement in the overall quality of their patient care since the start of the trial. CONCLUSION: The results of the survey demonstrate that both physicians and patients benefit from participation in clinical trials as this is associated with optimized decision-making as regards therapy and patient care.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗