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D Häussinger

Publications and source records attributed to D Häussinger.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Light deprivation slows but does not prevent the loss of photoreceptors in taurine transporter knockout mice.

UNLABELLED: Taurine transporter knockout mice show severe retinal degeneration at an early age. The study was designed to determine whether degeneration also takes place in the absence of light. Mice were maintained up to 6 weeks of age in cyclic lighting or in total darkness. Degeneration took place in both groups, but was more rapid in animals exposed to standard cyclic illumination. At the ultrastructural level the retinas showed features characteristic of apoptosis but not of necrosis. CONCLUSIONS: Cell differentiation is not seriously affected by the lack of a functional taurine transporter but mature photoreceptor cells do not survive without an intact transporter, even in the dark.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

[The ultrasound contrast agent levovist helps with the differentiation between accessory spleen and lymph nodes in the splenic hilum: a pilot study].

BACKGROUND: In patients with focal lesions which are isoechogenic to the spleen and which are located next to the spleen it is not easy to differentiate between lymph nodes and the accessory spleen. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate if the color-SAE technique performed after injection of Levovist is able to differentiate between accessory spleens and lymph nodes in patients with a mass in the hilus of the spleen. METHODS: 12 patients with sonographic proof of a hypoechoic mass in the hilus of the spleen were examined (Sonoline-Elegra ultrasound system, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany). Color-SAE was performed 10 minutes after injection of 1 g of Levovist i. v. RESULTS: All patients with accessory spleens (n = 7) showed a color-SAE mosaic pattern in the localization of the mass comparable to the color-SAE mosaic found in the spleen. In contrast, in none of the patients with lymph nodes next to the spleen (n = 5) was a color-mosaic pattern localized to the mass found, wheras the spleen showed regular color-SAE in all cases. CONCLUSION: Color-SAE with Levovist is a new diagnostic tool for the differentiation between accessory spleens and lymph nodes.

Contrast Media↗
PubMed2004

Determinants of long-term highly active antiretroviral treatment efficacy.

OBJECTIVES: Predictors of the efficacy of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) have been investigated in several studies. To increase current knowledge, the study aimed to acquire comprehensive data over an extended observation time, to obtain information on possible performance differences among individual drugs, and to identify factors with influence on the initial response to a HAART regimen and the sustainability of the response. METHODS: The data were obtained from a prospective, single University Medical School HIV cohort. Clinical, laboratory, and treatment parameters for 475 patients were collected over 4.5 years. HAART efficacy was determined by analysis of variance and multivariate survival analysis. RESULTS: The overall initial complete response (CR) (<500 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL) was 76.3%. Use of indinavir [odds ratio (OR)=2.747, P=0.0009] and the number of new nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) (OR=1.862, P=0.0017) were positively associated with CR, while initial peripheral blood HIV RNA concentration (OR=0.383, P<0.0001), use of saquinavir hard gel capsules (OR=0.531, P=0.0302), the number of successive HAART regimens (OR=0.631, P<0.0001), and the number of previously used NRTIs (OR=0.728, P=0.0081) were negatively associated with CR. Sustainability of CR was positively correlated with use of indinavir [hazard ratio of relapse (HR)=0.255, P<0.0001] and haemoglobin levels (HR=0.873, P=0.0124), but negatively correlated with initial HIV RNA concentration (HR=1.273, P=0.0003) and the number of previously used NRTIs (HR=1.587, P<0.0001). A higher number of consecutive HAART regimens was associated with a markedly reduced CR, but with only a slightly higher risk of relapse. CONCLUSIONS: The initial response to HAART, as well as long-term efficacy, depends strongly on a few fundamental parameters that can easily be assessed in a clinical setting. There is a need for effective suppression of HIV replication over decades, and these factors should be considered early in treatment planning to identify patients with an unfavourable profile of risk factors for treatment failure.

Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active↗
PubMed2004

Haemodynamic crisis and reversible multiorgan failure caused by HIV post-exposure prophylaxis after needle-stick injury in a health care worker.

We report the case of a 59-year-old nurse from our HIV ward who developed a severe haemodynamic crisis with concomitant acute multiorgan failure after initiation of a post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) with zidovudine/lamivudine (CombivirTM) and lopinavir/ritonavir (KaletraTM) after a needle-stick injury with an HIV-contaminated needle. Although serious and life-threatening adverse effects of post-exposure prophylaxis have been documented in several cases, this is the first report of a severe acute cardiovascular incident following PEP initiation.

Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active↗
PubMed2003

Mini-asterixis in hepatic encephalopathy induced by pathologic thalamo-motor-cortical coupling.

Recently, it was shown that a slowed motor cortical drive in hepatic encephalopathy (HE) results in mini-asterixis (MA). During forearm elevation, the authors have now investigated the coupling between motor cortex and thalamic activity using magnetoencephalography in six cirrhotic patients with HE and MA and in six control subjects. HE patients showed thalamo-motor-cortical coupling at a significantly lower frequency than the coupling in control subjects. The pathologic motor cortical drive in HE probably results from altered thalamocortical oscillatory coupling.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Inhibition of cytochrome P450 3A: relevant drug interactions in gastroenterology.

Cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A) is involved in biotransformation of more than half of all drugs currently available. Drug interactions by inhibition of CYP3A are of major interest in patients receiving combinations of drugs. Some interactions with CYP3A inhibitors also involve inhibition of the multidrug export pump, P-glycoprotein. An increasing number of adverse drug reactions might be avoided on the basis of knowledge about CYP3A substrates and inhibitors. This article summarizes some examples of such interactions relevant to gastroenterologists. Serious cases by coadministration of CYP3A inhibitors resulting in acute hepatitis, hypotension, rhabdomyolyis, torsade de pointes, sedation, or ergotism are presented: interactions with azole antifungals (ketoconazole, itraconazole, fluconazole), HIV protease inhibitors (ritonavir, indinavir, saquinavir, nelfinavir), macrolide antibiotics (clarithromycin, erythromycin), and grapefruit juice. In addition, 1 case is reported who presented the highest trough levels of the CYP3A substrate budesonide in serum ever measured. Practitioners have to be aware of the high potential of metabolic drug interactions when they prescribe a CYP3A inhibitor. It is wise to check carefully comedication in patients complaining of side effects with substrates of CYP3A.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed2003

Taurine-induced long-lasting enhancement of synaptic transmission in mice: role of transporters.

Taurine, a major osmolyte in the brain evokes a long-lasting enhancement (LLETAU) of synaptic transmission in hippocampal and cortico-striatal slices. Hippocampal LLETAU was abolished by the GABA uptake blocker nipecotic acid (NPA) but not by the taurine-uptake inhibitor guanidinoethyl sulphonate (GES). Striatal LLETAU was sensitive to GES but not to NPA. Semiquantitative PCR analysis and immunohistochemistry revealed that taurine transporter expression is significantly higher in the striatum than in the hippocampus. Taurine transporter-deficient mice displayed very low taurine levels in both structures and a low ability to develop LLETAU in the striatum, but not in the hippocampus. The different mechanisms of taurine-induced synaptic plasticity may reflect the different vulnerabilities of these brain regions under pathological conditions that are accompanied by osmotic changes such as hepatic encephalopathy.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2003

[SARS--the facts. Transmission, diagnosis and managing suspected cases].

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is a new infectious disease that, in the short period between 1 February and 24 April 2003, has been diagnosed in more than 4000 patients. Its origin was traced to Guandong, a province in southeast China. The culprit organism was identified as a new coronavirus. The clinical presentation is unspecific and includes fever, respiratory symptoms, lymphopenia and pulmonary infiltrates on X-ray. Essential steps to prevent further dissemination of the virus are rapid identification, and treatment in an isolation unit. Despite all the international efforts and the rapid progress in the investigation of SARS coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO), the epidemic has not yet been brought under control.

Cause of Death↗
PubMed2003

[HIV resistance. More the rule than an exception].

Resistance-associated mutations of the HIV genome are one major reason for failure of highly, active antiretroviral therapy. The accumulation of resistance is demonstrated by data from the HCUS-study, where resistant virus strains were isolated in about 50%. More than 60% of the patients showed therapy failure in this survey, and resistance was found in almost 80% of these. Mutations in the HIV genome were also described in treatment-naive patients. In the German Seroconverter Study the rate of resistance was 12%, in a multicenter study in Nordrhein-Westfalen resistant isolates were found in 14% of chronically infected cases. The wide distribution of HIV resistance in treated and untreated patients is an important problem in the management of HIV-infection. It requires a rational application of resistance testing. International studies are under way to further characterize the relevance of the phenomenon of HIV resistance.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2003

[Predictive parameters of infectiologic complications in patients after TIPSS].

AIM: To define predictive parameters of a complicated clinical course after the TIPSS procedure. METHODS: Blood cultures were drawn prospectively in 41 patients from a central line and from the portal venous blood before stent placement as well as from the central line 20 min after intervention. C-reactive protein (CRP) (mg/dl) and white blood cell count (WBC,/microl) on the day of TIPSS-procedure (d0), the first (d1) and seven (d7) days after TIPSS were compared in patients with a complicated clinical course (spontaneous bacterial peritonitis,pneumonia,sepsis; group I) to patients without clinical complications (group II) RESULTS: Group I showed a significant increase in CRP (d0: 1.8+/-1.0; d1: 3.2+/-1.5; d7: 4.3+/-3.2), and white blood cell count (d0: 7700+/-2600; d1: 10800+/-2800; d7: 7500+/-1800) on the first day after TIPSS-procedure in comparison to group II (CRP: d0: 1.6+/-0.6; d1: 1.8+/-1.0; d7: 1.9+/-0.6. WBC: d0: 6900+/-1500; d1: 8000+/-1600; d7: 7600+/-1400). Microbiological analysis showed in 12% skin or oral flora in the last sample. CONCLUSIONS: The course of CRP and WBC-count during the first week after TIPSS procedure may indicate patients with a potential risk of a complicated clinical course.

Adult↗