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Biomedical subjects

E Ambach

Publications and source records attributed to E Ambach.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

[Anonymous birth and neonaticide in Tyrol].

BACKGROUND: In 2001 the Austrian government provided the legal means that formally enabled "anonymous birth": a woman can now give birth in any hospital in Austria without giving her name or insurance number, the baby is taken into care by social services and placed with adoptive parents. The cost of the hospital stay is covered from public funds. These measures were put into effect after some highly publicized cases of infant abandonment and neonaticide in Austria. METHODS: In the mostly rural and small-town province of Tyrol province in western Austria (687,000 inhabitants, 7000 births per year) four cases of neonaticide were discovered in the years from 1996 to 2004. One child was abandoned inside a hospital. Since 2001 two women have made use of the "anonymous birth" option. Neither had had any pregnancy controls, both showed up at or near term with contractions. They delivered healthy infants that were then taken into care by local adoption services. Both women were extensively counselled by psychologists, social workers, medical and midwifery staff and both insisted on their original decision to remain anonymous. A few weeks later one of the women found herself at the centre of a criminal investigation for infanticide after anonymous letters were sent to family members insinuating she had done away with the child. Police stopped that investigation when hospital staff confirmed that the woman had had an "anonymous" delivery. RESULTS: Despite the option of legal "anonymous" birth free of charge in modern hospitals there are still cases of infant abandonment and neonaticide in Austria. It is proposed that the women who opt for anonymous birth may not be the women who would otherwise kill their babies. Instead, it appears that the women opted for anonymity to escape the probably well-intentioned but overbearing attention of their families and of social services. It is doubtful that the option of anonymous birth will lead to a complete disappearance of infanticide and infant abandonment in Austria.

Adoption↗
PubMed2001

Extremely high origin of the right coronary artery from the ascending aorta.

Coronary artery anomalies, especially variations in the level of origin, are frequent. In most cases, the origin lies just a few millimeters superior to the supravalvular ridge; ectopic origins of more than one centimeter above this border are rare. We report a case in which the right coronary artery arises from the ascending aorta 38 mm above the supravalvular ridge.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Superfecundation and dual paternity in a twin pregnancy ending with placental abruption.

A case of superfecundation and dual paternity in a twin pregnancy is presented. Placental abruption developed at week 33 of gestation and the two boys had to be saved by emergency cesarean section. As they shared one placenta, had almost identical weight and had the same sex, they were assumed to be monozygotic. However, a subsequent paternity suit led to the conclusion, based on DNA-analysis, that the twin brothers had been fathered by two different men. Obstetrical implications are discussed.

Abruptio Placentae↗
PubMed1997

Austrian Caucasian population data for the quadruplex plus amelogenin: refined mutation rate for HumvWFA31/A.

Human identification of biological specimens has undergone immense change since the development of PCR typing systems for forensic casework. In contrast to RFLP and VNTRs, STRs are the method of choice when the investigated genomic DNA is present in low quantity or in degraded shape. In the current study, the X-Y homologous gene Amelogenin has been added to a widely used multiplex PCR amplification system consisting of four tetrameric STR loci (Quadruplex-HumTH01, HumvWFA31/A, HumFES/FPS, and HumF13A1). The modified Quadruplex was used to type 382 unrelated Caucasians from Western Austria. The population data meet Hardy-Weinberg and linkage equilibrium expectations, and do not show significant deviations from either US, German, and Turkish Caucasian databases. In an investigation of 382 meioses, two mutations were revealed at the HumvWFA31/A locus. Consequently, the data in this paper provide the conditions for adding Amelogenin to the Quadruplex, and suggest that when doing paternity testing, the mutation rate for the HumvWFA31/A locus must be considered.

Alleles↗
PubMed1996

Cardiac troponin I in the diagnosis of myocardial injury and infarction.

We used a cardiospecific enzymoimmunometric assay to measure cardiac troponin I (cTnI) in samples serially drawn from 78 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), 7 patients with unstable angina (Braunwald class III), 22 multi-traumatized patients, and in 30 athletes after eccentric exercise, as well as in 101 non-traumatic chest pain patients on admission to the emergency department. cTnI assay crossreactivity with crude human skeletal muscle homogenates was < 0.1%. cTnI could not be detected in athletes or multi-traumatized patients except for 2 trauma patients with myocardial damage. Increased cTnI concentrations were found in 6 of 7 patients with unstable angina at rest and in all AMI patients. After AMI, cTnI increased about 3.5 h (median) after the onset of chest pain, reached peak values parallel to CKMB, and stayed increased for at least 4 days. Cardiac troponin T (cTnT) increased and mostly peaked parallel to cTnI. cTnT sensitivity on the 7th day after AMI was significantly higher than that of cTnI. In contrast to cTnI, cTnT mostly showed a second, usually smaller, peak about day 4 after AMI. During the first 4 h after the onset of chest pain and before thrombolytic therapy the sensitivities of myoglobin (0.43) and CKMB mass (0.56) were significantly higher than those of both troponins (cTnI, 0.29; cTnT, 0.25). Areas under receiver operator characteristic curves indicated only moderate diagnostic accuracies of bio-chemical markers for early AMI diagnosis in non-traumatic chest pain patients that cTnI is a highly sensitive and specific marker for myocardial damage which is suitable for early and late diagnosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

GEDNAP IV and V. The 4th and 5th Stain Blind Trials using DNA technology.

In the collaborative exercise GEDNAP IV one EDTA blood sample (2 ml) and 5 bloodstains (0.5 ml on cotton) were investigated and in GEDNAP V, a total of 8 bloodstains (0.5 ml on cotton), including 2 mixed bloodstains. DNA typing was carried out using the RFLP systems YNH24/Hinf I and MS43a/Hinf I and the PCR systems HLA DQ alpha, D1S80, ApoB and YNZ22. In both exercises approximately 20 laboratories obtained results using the RFLP systems. Of the PCR systems, D1S80 was the most commonly used (14 labs in GEDNAP IV; 18 labs in GEDNAP V). The interlaboratory standard deviation for YNH24 in both exercises was approx. 0.6%, for MS43a 0.7-2.2% (GEDNAP IV) and 0.4-1.4% (GEDNAP V), depending on the fragment size. The fragment size calculation performed in each laboratory yielded a standard deviation twice that obtained when the fragment size calculation was performed centrally (IfR, Münster). In GEDNAP III, a system-specific corridor was developed to define the limits of deviation; this was modified for the present study by combining the fragment size ranges of YNH24 and MS43a. In both studies a subgroup of laboratories was involved in preliminary exercises using three PCR VNTRs and the system HLA DQ alpha. Owing to the substantial variation in experience of the participating laboratories with PCR typing the results obtained in these two studies do not fulfil the basic quality criteria of the GEDNAP studies.

Apolipoproteins B↗
PubMed1995

Iatrogenic ruptures of the stomach after balloon tamponade. Two case reports: viscoelastic model.

Two cases of gastric rupture as a rare complication of balloon tamponade for esophageal varices are presented. In both cases, the rupture was caused by instillation of irrigation fluid without previous aspiration of stomach contents. In an experimental study, the stomachs of 11 corpses were filled with water to determine rupture pressure and volume. The mean rupture pressure was 73 +/- 13 mm Hg (9.7 +/- 1.7 kPa) and the mean rupture volume was 2,670 +/- 410 ml. A viscoelastic model was used for the representation of the relations between pressure and volume as well as pressure and time. Measured values are significant particularly for the explanation and medicolegal evaluation of iatrogenic ruptures of the stomach that occur during gastric lavage, positive pressure respiration, incorrect intubation, or forced mask respiration during resuscitation.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

[Population study in West Austria using DNA single locus probes].

Allele frequency distribution of the single-locus system YNH 24 (n = 302), G3 (n = 251), MS 43A (n = 333), and MS 31 (n = 333) was determined in Western Austria. After digestion with Hinf I, electrophoresis and Southern blotting, the genomic DNA was hybridised with the probes YNH 24, G3, MS 43A, and MS 31. Blood samples were taken from 333 unrelated caucasians living in the area of Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria. The fragment distribution was calculated for each of the 4 single-locus systems. A single fragment pattern, indicating homozygosity, was shown in 9.93% with YNH 24, 12.45% with G3, 9.61% with MS 43A, and 7.21% with MS 31; the corresponding heterozygosity rates were 90.07%, 87.55%, 90.39%, and 92.79%, respectively. Our data are compared with those from England [18], Germany [3], Greenland [7], and Denmark [14]. Discrimination indices (Table 2) were calculated and statistical parameters (Table 3) presented.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

[Unexpected fatalities of patients in medical treatment].

Our results are based on 190 autopsy records of unexpectedly deceased patients in connection with medical treatment between 1984 and 1993. 161 times autopsy has been ordered by the local Public Health Office to establish cause of death. In 5 of these cases indications of medical maltreatment were found and the cases had been brought to trial. Inspite of suspected problems with medical treatment the treating doctors certified natural death in 8 of these cases and autopsies were carried out by general pathologists. Secundarily these cases were brought to court and corpses were reexamined by forensic pathologists. 29 times autopsy has been ordered by court from the beginning. 102 patients (53.7%) died during medical treatment ("mors in tabula"), while 88 patients (46.3%) died within days or weeks after treatment. 135 fatal incidents occurred in surgery, 13 cases during diagnostic procedures or puncturing veins, 5 cases after drug administration, 5 cases during attempts at resuscitation, and 8 fatal cases during other special treatment. 11 times no medical treatment has been started (omission). Legal consequences of 42 cases done by court were: no accusation in 48%, only accusation and cessation in 26%, condemnation in 21% and acquittal in 5%.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

[Gas gangrene as a manifestation of endogenous Clostridium septicum infection].

Endogenous, nontraumatic clostridial myonecrosis has a frequent association with colon carcinoma, leukemia, diabetes mellitus, and drug-induced immunosuppression. We present two cases of Clostridium septicum myonecrosis. An 18-year-old girl developed severe abdominal pain on day 7 after hospitalization for cytostatic treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood cultures yielded Clostridium septicum and histopathological exam of muscle tissue showed extended myonecrosis. Eventually the patient recovered with antibiotics and surgical therapy. A 72-year-old diabetic woman was treated as an outpatient with an intramuscular injection of steroidal antiphlogistics for "acute lumbar disc disease". The next morning persistence of hip pain and discoloration of the right thigh caused hospitalization under the suspected diagnosis "fracture of the neck of the femur". Clostridium septicum was cultured from intraoperatively taken swabs. At autopsy, in addition to the gangrene, there was an adenocarcinoma of the cecum, which had not been diagnosed during life.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Spectral transmission of the optical media of the human eye with respect to keratitis and cataract formation.

The spectral transmissions of cornea, aqueous humour, lens and vitreous humour of human eyes were measured in the range from 250 nm to 800 nm in 1 nm steps using a high resolution double monochromator. Cornea and lens are good cut off filters; 1% transmission was measured in various cornea samples between 291 and 298 nm, and in different lenses between 389 and 414 nm. Aqueous humour and vitreous humour showed high transparency (80%) at lambda > 320 nm. The wavelength range of keratitis effective irradiance was found to be completely within the wavelength range of absorption of the cornea, that of cataract effective irradiance was found to be at the short wavelength end partly outside the wavelength range of absorption of the lens. It may therefore be supposed that the action spectrum of cataract obtained by animal experiments is applicable to the human eye only with certain reservations.

Absorption↗
PubMed1992

Stimulation of human nitric oxide synthase by tetrahydrobiopterin and selective binding of the cofactor.

To check the stimulatory potency of the tetrahydro forms of the two major pteridines occurring in human tissues, neopterin and biopterin, NO synthase was purified 6000-fold from human cerebellum. Tetrahydrobiopterin stimulated the activity up to 4.5-fold in a concentration dependent manner with a maximum above 1 microM, whereas tetrahydroneopterin was completely inactive in concentrations up to 100 microM. Tetrahydrobiopterin, but not neopterin derivatives, were copurified with the NO synthase activity. Our results demonstrate that human cerebellum contains a tetrahydrobiopterin dependent NO synthase activity.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗