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Biomedical subjects

E Fritsch

Publications and source records attributed to E Fritsch.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

Physical map of the Cryptophlebia leucotreta granulosis virus genome and its relationship to the genome of Cydia pomonella granulosis virus.

A physical map of the genome of Cryptophlebia leucotreta granulosis virus (CIGV) was constructed for the restriction enzymes BamHI, EcoRI, KpnI, NdeI, NruI, SacI and XhoI using hybridization techniques. The size of the viral genome was determined to be 112.4 kbp. A restriction fragment library covering almost the entire genome of CIGV was constructed, and the position of the granulin gene was identified by cross-hybridization with granulin coding fragments of Cydia pomonella granulosis virus (CpGV). Two further regions of intergenomic similarity between CIGV and CpGV were mapped. These regions were aligned and show a collinear arrangement.

Baculoviridae

[Mammography and sonography in the diagnosis of recurrence after breast-preserving therapy of breast carcinoma].

89 patients, who underwent conservative surgery for breast cancer were followed up with mammography and real-time sonography. 78 patients underwent postoperative irradiation. Depending on the time interval between irradiation and examination various alterations in mammographic and sonographic patterns were evident. Of 14 biopsy-confirmed local recurrences, 11 were diagnosed by mammography and 12 by sonography. Sonography was superior in the diagnosis of small recurrences in breasts with radiation-induced increased density, whereas mammography showed better results in the detection of tumours with microcalcifications. As a result of the different sonographic aspect of recurrent tumours and scar tissue, the number of false positive diagnoses of sonography was markedly lower compared to that of mammography (2 versus 18). Combined use of mammography and sonography should therefore lead to better results in the diagnosis of local recurrences and to a reduction of unnecessary biopsies.

Adult

[Pars plana capsule resection for therapy of ocular hypotension syndrome caused by capsule shrinkage with ciliary body detachment].

A rare complication of extracapsular cataract extraction is hypotony due to capsular shrinkage, with consequent ciliary body detachment. A classic hypotony syndrome with progressive loss of visual acuity was observed in two patients, one with extracapsular aphakia and one with extracapsular pseudophakia. Each presented with a fibrotic, shrunken capsular bag and a secondary cataract. As the contraction forces appeared to derive predominantly from the periphery of a circumferentially fibrotic capsular bag, the lens capsule was operatively removed. A pars plana approach was used to access the equatorial capsular ring and visualize the ciliary body processes. The intraocular lens appeared to be stable and remained in situ. Postoperative elevation of intraocular pressure occurred, with improvement of hypotony symptoms, especially in the fundus. Visual acuity also improved, but was limited due to secondary cystoid edema.

Adult

Photodynamic treatment of malignant brain tumors.

30 patients with primary or recurrent malignant brain tumors (9 primary, 18 recurrent malignant gliomas, 1 malignant meningioma, 2 melanomas) were treated altogether 37 times by photodynamic therapy (PDT) whether after intravenous, intraarterial or direct intratumoral sensitisation by hematoporphyrin (HPD) after conventional surgical removal of the tumor mass. The light was produced by an Argon pumped dye laser at doses varying from 40-220 J/cm2. A single dose of radiation of 4 Gy was administered to 18 patients immediately after PDT. The 9 patients with primary glioblastomas received in addition a full course of radiation therapy. The histological specimens taken during PDT demonstrated tumor necrosis, with oedema of normal brain tissue adjacent to the tumorbed. The median survival of patients with multiple recurrences and various radio- and chemotherapeutic modalities was 6 months (range 4-13 months). 9 patients with primary manifestation of a glioblastoma had a median survival of 19 months (0.5-29 months). Increased phototoxicity of the skin was the only side effect of PDT and did not reduce the quality of life of the patients.

Adult

[Intraoperative radiotherapy of brain gliomas].

11 patients with recurrent brain tumours underwent intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) at a dosage of 15-25 Gy of fast electrons (17-20 MEV). IORT allows a higher dose of irradiation to be delivered to a well-defined target than is possible with external radiation, in anticipation of favourable results. However, tumour growth was not influenced in 7 out of the 11 patients and these patients died between 2 and 10 months following IORT. The remaining four patients are living still up to 15 months postoperatively. Due to the inhomogeneity of our patients no definitive conclusions can be drawn. However, well-defined tumours which can be radically excised are definitely more suitable for IORT than large, infiltrating tumours.

Adult

Influence of local radiotherapy of breast cancer patients on the frequency of cytotoxic T lymphocyte precursor cells.

Alloantigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte precursor (CTL-p) frequencies were analyzed in ten patients with histologically proven breast cancer receiving prophylactic RT. The frequency of CTL-p was assessed by limiting dilution (LD) analyses before, immediately after discontinuation of treatment and at various times following RT. The number of pbmnc, adherent cells and T cells was determined in parallel. Local RT led to a minor and transient reduction of CTL-p frequencies lasting approximately three months: on average a 25% decrease of CTL-p numbers was seen immediately after RT. Three months following treatment, a 20% reduction was still evident. Values subsequently returned to pretreatment levels. Moreover, these changes in the frequency of antigen-specific CTL were accompanied by a 25% to 39% decrease in the blood T cell counts lasting for more than 12 months. The reductions following local RT were less pronounced than those induced by immunosuppressive drugs in allograft recipients.

Adult

Evaluation of tumor response in patients with bladder cancer undergoing combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

The value of non-invasive methods to evaluate the tumor response in locally advanced bladder cancer has to be established. 34 patients with locally advanced bladder cancer were treated by combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The response of the local tumor was assessed by biopsy, deep transurethral resection, partial cystectomy or cystectomy and computerized tomography scan. Persistent tumor or complete response could be diagnosed by computerized tomography scan in 76% of the patients.

Aged

Optic nerve decompression. A clinical pathologic study.

Decompression of the perioptic meninges for intractable chronic papilledema was done in a patient with a right parietal temporal glioblastoma multiforme. The patient died 39 days postoperatively. Histologic study of the optic nerves indicated fistulas in the dura compatible with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) egress and maintenance of a normal subarachnoid space around the nerve. Two additional patients with unilateral optic nerve decompression producing bilateral resolution of papilledema were studied. We contend that egress of CSF was the principle mode of action in these three cases. How long the dural fistula remains patent is unknown. Reports in the literature show considerable variation in the effects of optic nerve decompression. Anatomic variation of the intracanalicular subarachnoid space together with differences in underlying pathologic condition, surgical technique, and patient response may explain discrepancies among the results reported.

Adolescent

Mycosis fungoides. Intraocular and central nervous system involvement.

A 58-year-old man with mycosis fungoides was treated with chemotherapeutic agents and radiation for the recurrent cutaneous form of this disease. Five years after the onset, he developed blurring of vision, neurologic signs, and then lapsed into coma. Chemotherapy and radiation treatment resulted in improvement of the ocular and systemic picture. Within three months, however, the patient's vision deteriorated and swelling of both optic discs, along with retinal and vitreous infiltrates, was noted. Local radiation of the eyes was followed by improvement of the ocular changes. Five months later the patient died. Results of a histologic examination of the eyes showed extensive involvement of the retina and vitreous by tumor cells. The CNS was remarkably free of tumor cells and it was assumed that the radiation and chemotherapy were responsible for this.

Central Nervous System Diseases

Formation and structure of infectious DNA of spleen necrosis virus.

The kinetics of formation and the structure of infectious DNA of spleen necrosis virus were determined. Nonintegrated infectious viral DNA first appeared 18 to 24 h after infection of dividing cells and persisted for more than 14 days. The nonintegrated infectious viral DNA was in the form of either a double-stranded linear DNA with a molecular weight of 6 X 10(6), detected in both the cytoplasm and nucleus, or a closed circular DNA of the same molecular weight, detected primarily in the nucleus. Integrated infectious viral DNA appeared soon after the nonintegrated infectious viral DNA and was the predominant form of infectious viral DNA late after infection. Integration of the spleen necrosis virus DNA into the chicken cell genome was demonstrated by three independent criteria. Nucleic acid hybridization indicated that the linear infectious viral DNA had a 5- to 10-fold higher specific infectivity than either the closed circular or integrated infectious viral DNA. Infectious viral DNA did not appear in infected stationary cells, indicating some cellular influence on the formation of infectious viral DNA.

Animals

[Comparative biomechanical studies of conventional and self-tapping cortical bone screws].

In normal cortical screws the thread must be cut by a separate thread-cutter. So a high stability of the connection is achieved. On the other hand thread cutting needs time, which may be assumed to several minutes during a plate osteosynthesis. To avoid thread-cutting, self-tapping screws were used 20 years ago. These old self-tapping screws had a reduced stability and a lower torque at the final screw driving so that they tended to destroy the thread. By a modification of the cutting edges at the tip of the screw the tapping quality is increased decisively. The microscopic examination showed a better cutting of the new screws with little difference to a thread-cutter. In biomechanical tests the final torque and the maximum tension force of the self-tapping screws were at the same level as in usual pre-cut screws. In the practical use the new self-tapping screws have a good handling and save time during operation. In osteoporosis, they should be used carefully in order to meet the opposite corticalis' hole and not to destroy the ipsilateral corticalis' thread.

Biomechanical Phenomena