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Biomedical subjects

D Rusch

Publications and source records attributed to D Rusch.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Dynamic thermography of the knee joints in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the course of the first therapy of the patient with methylprednisolone.

Thermography in rheumatology is most often used in a static manner: after having fulfilled the conditions of standardized preparation of the patient in a cold examination room one or more thermograms are taken in standard positions for the respective joints. In our hospital the thermograms are more or less supplementary. The main examination result is a rewarming curve of the skin over the knee joints. The rewarming is provoked by dry cooling of the skin for one minute. Calculation of the slope of the rewarming curve and plotting the slope on a logarithmic scale shows two different rewarming processes in the skin overlying inflamed joints. The faster one is the rewarming by the arterial blood flow in the skin and the slower one is an additional rewarming by a pathological venous skin blood flow originating from deeper tissues under the skin. One has to suppose that the occurrence of excessive nitric oxide production in inflamed tissues is responsible for this pathological venous skin blood flow. Until now only nine patients receiving for the first time methylprednisolone could be included in a therapy study. Therefore only slight indications can be seen in the results. Whereas the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR [mm/h] becomes more homogeneous (lower confidence interval CI 95) over the course of the treatment with decreasing drug dose, the thermal signs of inflammatory activity as measured by dynamic thermography have greater CI 95 values at the end than at the beginning of the treatment under study. This indicates that not all patients had sufficient antiinflammatory medication with the final 6 mg/d of methylprednisolone as measured by dynamic thermography but not by ESR or CRP.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1998

Molecular evidence for the gnathobasic derivation of arthropod mandibles and for the appendicular origin of the labrum and other structures.

Mandibles are feeding appendages functioning as "jaws" in the arthropod groups in which they occur. Which part of this appendage is involved in food manipulation (limb tip versus limb base), has been used to suggest phylogenetic relationships among some of the major taxa of arthropods (myriapods, crustaceans, and insects). As a way to independently verify the conclusions drawn from previous morphological analyses, we have studied the expression pattern of the gene Distal-less (Dll), which specifies the distal part of appendages. Our results show, in contrast to the traditional view, that both insect and crustacean adult mandibles are gnathobasic, handling food with the basal portion of the appendage. Furthermore, as is evident by the reduction in the number of Dll-expressing cells in the later developmental stages, adult diplopod jaws are also gnathobasic. Thus, jaws of all mandibulates (myriapods, crustaceans, and insects) seem to have a similar gnathobasic structure. We have also found that Dll is expressed in the labra of all arthropod taxa examined, suggesting that this structure is of appendicular derivation. Additionally, the spinnerets and book lungs of spiders, long considered on other grounds to be modified appendages, express Dll, confirming this interpretation. This study shows that, in addition to their use in phylogenetic and population genetic studies, molecular markers can be very useful for inferring the origins of a particular morphological feature.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Understanding the genetic basis of morphological evolution: the role of homeotic genes in the diversification of the arthropod bauplan.

Due to the segmental organization of their body plans, arthropods can be considered the paradigmatic modular organisms. In the past two decades, genetic studies of the homeotic (Hox) genes in Drosophila melanogaster have provided initial insight into the molecular mechanisms that govern the establishment of segmental identity. In this review, we will address the question of the possible role of four Hox genes: labial (lab), proboscipedia (pb), Deformed (Dfd), and Sex combs reduced (Scr) in the morphological evolution of arthropods, particularly with respect to the evolution of the head and head structures in insects. Overall, these preliminary studies illustrate the role that some of the Hox genes expressed in the insect head have played in the morphological evolution of hexapods and likely arthropods in general.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Adrenal secretion of cortisol in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

We studied secretory activity of the adrenal gland by determining cortisol blood levels throughout a 24-h cycle at 2-h intervals in 26 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), not previously treated with glucocorticosteroids or disease modifying drugs. In patients with low erythrocyte sedimentation rates [(ESR) up to 40 mm/h] and medium disease activity (ESR between 40 and 80 mm/h), cortisol maxima and minima shifted to earlier times of the day whereas in patients with high activity (ESR higher than 80 mm/h) the circadian rhythm was lost or markedly reduced. The inflammatory activity of the RA significantly correlated with the adrenal cortisol secretion (linear regression analysis between ESR and the arithmetic mean value of cortisol throughout a 24-h cycle with a coefficient of regression r = 0.63, n = 26, p less than 0.001). The influence of mediators of inflammation, such as interleukin 1, on hypothalamic centers, stimulating the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, is discussed.

Adrenal Glands↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Circadian rhythm of cortisol and corticotropin (ACTH) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in relation to inflammatory activity].

In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, corticosteroids are usually given as a single morning dose to minimize adrenal suppression, because of the well-known circadian rhythm of the secretion of cortisol and corticotropin. However, it has not been so far examined whether there really is a normal secretion pattern of those hormones in all patients with rheumatoid arthritis, as there is in healthy subjects. We therefore studied twelve patients with rheumatoid arthritis who had never been treated before with corticosteroids and disease-modifying drugs such as gold, D-penicillamine or immunosuppressive drugs. The study was designed to examine adrenal secretory activity by measuring the cortisol and corticotropin levels at 2 h intervals throughout a 24 h cycle. The circadian secretion patterns of cortisol and corticotropin were disturbed in most patients. High inflammatory activity of the disease was accompanied by a severe disturbance of the circadian rhythm, whereas patients with low inflammatory activity showed a nearly normal secretion pattern. Besides other causes, the influence of mediators of inflammation on hypothalamic centers, analogous to endogenous pyrogen in fever, must be discussed.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The effect of local heat and cold packs on the skin temperature at the knee joint].

Using the infrared radiometer KT 41, skin temperature of the knee joint was measured in 5 healthy persons on five different points. With the same method skin temperature of knee joints was estimated after hot mud packs of 20 minutes duration and cold packs with frozen bags of 30 minutes duration. The highest temperatures were estimated near the popliteal space, the lowest temperatures on the patella. During 24 hours, a distinct periodical course of skin temperature could be observed. After the hot pack skin temperature of the treated joint significantly rose; after 1 hour the average temperature before heat application was reached again. After cold application with deeply frozen bags, skin temperature dropped drastically and remained colder than pretreatment temperature for almost 5 hours. Heat application did not influence skin temperature of untreated contralateral knee but during cold application also the temperature of untreated knee slightly decreased. Considering the correlation between skin temperature and intraarticular temperature of joints, the effect of local heating and cooling seems to be more intense than supposed and confirms the therapeutic benefit of heat and cold in rheumatology.

Circadian Rhythm↗