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Biomedical subjects

E Günther

Publications and source records attributed to E Günther.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Fatal bleeding from duodenal varices as a late complication of neonatal thrombosis of the inferior vena cava.

A 21-year-old man was hospitalized with repeated bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract, the cause of which could not be detected by gastroscopy, colonoscopy or arteriography. After the third surgical intervention he died of uncontrollable bleeding. At autopsy, marked and partly ulcerated duodenal varices were found to be the cause of the bleeding. They were part of a collateral circulation that had developed from chronic obstruction of the inferior vena cava, where thrombosis had arisen in association with neonatal renal vein thrombosis. There was consecutive renal infarction which had required a left nephrectomy on the 2nd day after birth.

Adult

Induction of the 68 kDa major heat-shock protein in different Theileria annulata- and virus-transformed bovine lymphoblastoid cell lines.

Expression of the major inducible heat-shock protein of 68 kDa (hsp68) has been analyzed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from cattle and in six Theileria annulata- and two bovine leukemia virus-transformed bovine lymphoblastoid cell lines (BoLCL). By metabolic labeling, hsp68 could be detected in PBMC and BoLCL only after heat-shock, but not under normal culture conditions. Immunoblot analysis with an hsp68 reactive monoclonal antibody similarly revealed a strong hsp68 response after heat-shock in BoLCL, and no hsp68 expression under normal culture conditions. Normally kept PBMC, however, were weakly positive with the antibody. The data are discussed with respect to the constitutive expression of hsp68 seen in several other cell lines.

Animals

Fluorouracil versus folinic acid/fluorouracil in advanced colorectal cancer--preliminary results of a randomized trial.

Patients with advanced colorectal cancer were randomized to receive either fluorouracil (5-FU) 370 mg/m2 IV days 1 to 5 followed by weekly applications of 5-FU 600 mg/m2 or the same doses of 5-FU preceded by folinic acid 200 mg/m2. Because of toxicity, the weekly 5-FU dose in the combination treatment schedule was reduced to 500 mg/m2 in the course of the study. As of November 1990, 135 patients entered the study; 71 have received combination therapy, and 64 monotherapy. Sixty-three and 59 patients, respectively, are included in the present interim analysis. The two groups are well matched for age, performance status, site of disease, number of metastatic sites, and biochemical parameters. Treatment results are evaluable in 118 patients. Thirty percent receiving combination treatment and 20% receiving monotherapy achieved a complete or partial remission. There is no survival time difference between the groups. However, time to progression is superior in the combination treatment group (median 26 weeks compared with 13 weeks). The main toxicity was diarrhea during the weekly therapy. This was especially true for patients receiving combination treatment before the reduction of 5-FU dosage. In contrast to only four of 56 patients with monotherapy, 14 of 39 with the combination treatment at the initial dosage had severe diarrhea with two treatment-related deaths in this latter group. By reduction of 5-FU dosage during the weekly therapy severe diarrhea could be clearly reduced with only one of 18 patients suffering from diarrhea of World Health Organization grade 3. Other toxicity was usually mild. In conclusion, a prolongation of time to progression could be achieved by combination treatment of folinic acid and 5-FU, which was well tolerated when the weekly dose of 5-FU did not exceed 500 mg/m2.

Colorectal Neoplasms

[Homosexuality in childhood and adolescence].

Every second homosexual man has a presentiment of his own homosexuality during childhood. 86 percent of the homosexual men feel it till eighteen. The selfrecognition is a way full of conflicts between ignoration and acceptance; sometimes it ends in deformation of the personality or even in suicide. For well advice of homosexual children and adolescents we indicate: firstly an early sexual education in the school including information on homosexuality and secondly the academic and postgradual education of physicians, psychologists and pedagogues on natural variants of human sexuality.

Adolescent

Cim: an MHC class II-linked allelism affecting the antigenicity of a classical class I molecule for T lymphocytes.

Two alleles at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-linked locus cim determine "gain and loss" changes in the rat RT1.Aa class I molecule which affect its structure both as an alloantigen and as a restriction element. Alleles at the cim locus also influence the post-translational modification of RT1.Aa. These effects may reflect the participation of the cim gene product in the processes of peptide loading or assembly of RT1.Aa. In this study we have used the discriminating RT1.Aa-specific monoclonal antibody JY3/84, as well as cytotoxic T cells raised in appropriate combinations, to determine the cim alleles of eight haplotypes in 15 independent inbred strains of rat. We have also employed the same techniques to analyse a panel of F1 hybrid animals derived from various MHC recombinant strains. These experiments map the cim locus to the class II region of RT1, probably between the DP-related genes (RT1.H) and the DQ-related RT1.B alpha.

Alleles

Genetic analysis of susceptibility to diabetes mellitus in F2-hybrids between diabetes-prone BB and various MHC-recombinant congenic rat strains.

The occurrence of diabetes mellitus was analysed in F2 hybrids bred from diabetic BB male rats and females of congenic rat strains carrying different major histocompatibility (RT1) haplotypes on the common LEW strain genetic background. Permissiveness for the disease in BB rats is probably determined by class II genes of the RT1 complex, which are also present in normal rats. Class I and class III genes, notably the Hsp70 genes in the class III region, do not appear to be involved. Among the diabetic F2 hybrids, about 90% are shown by DNA analysis to be homozygous for the class II genes of the permissive RT1 haplotype. The segregation patterns are in accord with the action of two independent recessive genes, one of them being RT1-linked.

Animals

A novel monoclonal antibody directed against the heat-inducible 68 kDa heat shock protein.

A novel monoclonal rat IgM antibody (8F7) is described which detects the inducible 68 kDa heat shock protein (hsp68) in man, mouse, rat, pig and cattle. Hsp68 expression is analysed in various cell types and cell lines by immunoblot with antibody 8F7 and in parallel by autoradiography after metabolic labeling with [35S]methionine. The new antibody cross-reacts with proteins of 180 and 48 kDa, which are not heat shock-inducible and show a pattern of expression different than hsp68.

Animals

Speech characteristics in depression.

This study examined the relationship between speech characteristics and psychopathology throughout the course of affective disturbances. Our sample comprised 20 depressive, hospitalized patients who had been selected according to the following criteria: (1) first admission; (2) long-term patient; (3) early entry into study; (4) late entry into study; (5) low scorer; (6) high scorer, and (7) distinct retarded-depressive symptomatology. Since our principal goal was to model the course of affective disturbances in terms of speech parameters, a total of 6 repeated measurements had been carried out over a 2-week period, including 3 different psychopathological instruments and speech recordings from automatic speech as well as from reading out loud. It turned out that neither applicability nor efficiency of single-parameter models depend in any way on the given, clinically defined subgroups. On the other hand, however, no significant differences between the clinically defined subgroups showed up with regard to basic speech parameters, except for the fact that low scorers seemed to take their time when producing utterances (this in contrast to all other patients who, on the average, had a considerably shorter recording time). As to the relationship between psychopathology and speech parameters over time, we found significant correlations: (1) in 60% of cases between the apathic syndrome and energy/dynamics; (2) in 50% of cases between the retarded-depressive syndrome and energy/dynamics; (3) in 45% of cases between the apathic syndrome and mean vocal pitch, and (4) in 71% of low scores between the somatic-depressive syndrome and time duration of pauses. All in all, single parameter models turned out to cover only specific aspects of the individual courses of affective disturbances, thus speaking against a simple approach which applies in general.

Adult

[Medical expert evaluation in former East Germany].

Medical survey and expertise in the former GDR are described. Special features originating in the structure of the health system and the social insurance system, are underlined. Functioning is explained, as an example, based on the basis of the preparation and handling of medical reports.

Disability Evaluation

[Comparison of 2 methemalbumin measurements and of free hemoglobin in view of their value in the differential diagnosis of edematous and hemorrhagic pancreatitis].

Methemalbumin was estimated by means of electrophoresis and the method of Walberg, respectively in 59 patients (25 pat. with edematous, 34 patients with hemorrhagic pancreatitis) partially over three days. In addition the estimation of free hemoglobin in ascites has been carried out. By both approaches of methemalbumin estimation there was no differentiation of the two pancreatitis forms possible. Though the method of Walberg was much more sensitive especially in the serum its specificity was correspondingly lower. The tendency to a correlation of the methemalbumin-concentration to the severity of the course of the disease could be observed. Such a correlation has been proved statistically for the free hemoglobin.

Acute Disease

Rod and cone contribution to adaptation processes in cat retinal ganglion cells.

Extracellular ganglion cell responses were recorded to investigate mechanisms of light adaptation. Monochromatic test spots (575 nm) were projected onto the receptive field center of off-center cells and superimposed on a steady blue-green Ganzfeld background (Schott Filter BG 28), the strength of which was increased in steps of 0.5 log units to adapt rods. Response vs. log intensity functions were determined over a range of 7 log units of test light irradiance at each background level. At higher adaptation levels response thresholds followed the typical Weber function. Surprisingly at lower adaptation levels the sensitivity of the cell increased by about 0.7 log units, most markedly in a range of 1 log unit of moderate light adaptation when the background was changed from dark to the dimmest detectable background (10(-5) lm/m2). In the dark-adapted state a small off-response of long latency (40-100 ms at 10(2) quanta.s-1.microns-2) is observed at low rod stimulating test light irradiances. A transition to a cone-dominated transient response of 2 to 5 ms duration occurred at high intensities (10(5) quanta.s-1.microns-2). At mesopic levels the two responses seem to cancel each other, rendering a delayed off-response that is probably the result of rod-cone interaction. As in psychophysics, saturation can be observed at very high background intensities (10(6) quanta.s-1 microns-2). These data suggest interactions between rods and cones that determine the sensitivity of cat retinal ganglion cells at low levels of adaptation for suprathreshold stimuli.

Action Potentials