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Biomedical subjects

E Scholz

Publications and source records attributed to E Scholz.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

[Recurrent facial paresis with facial neurinoma].

PATIENT: A clinical case of a 49-year-old man is described who presented with a right facial paresis for 4 weeks. The patient had undergone a decompression of facial nerve and a radical mastoidectomy elsewhere in 1998 because of a facial paresis and acute mastoiditis. In the following years a complete right facial paresis occurred several times improving with prednisolone. In addition to topognostic examinations a high resolution computed tomography of the temporal bone was made. CT showed a mass in the right tympanic cavity with close contact to the ossicular chain. Diagnostic tympanotomy disclosed a tumor of the tympanic segment of the facial nerve. Pathological examination indicated a diagnosis of neurinoma with an Antoni B architecture. In a second operation the tumor was resected totally and a facial nerve reconstruction was performed by a greater auricular nerve interposition graft. Seven month postoperative beginning nerve reinnervation was seen proceeding continually until the control examination after 1 1/2 year. DISCUSSION: Facial neurinoma are a rare course of facial paresis. There are no specific symptoms. That's why the diagnosis is difficult. But it is necessary to think of with differential diagnosis of facial paresis.

Cranial Nerve Neoplasms↗
PubMed2001

[Invagination caused by angiolipoma of the small intestine--a rare cause of occult gastrointestinal hemorrhage].

We present the case of a 71-year-old woman who was hospitalized because of a severe hip contusion. She had no symptoms or clinical signs of abdominal disease. Routine blood testing showed anemia, presumably owing to occult bleeding. Ultrasonographic abdominal screening revealed ileo-ileal intussusception with a central hyperechoic tumor suggestive of a lipoma as lead point. This diagnosis was confirmed at surgery, where a small bowel resection was performed. Histologic examination disclosed a benign angiolipoma of the ileum with a superficial shallow ulceration which obviously was the source of the occult blood loss. Diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and a literature review are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Anthropogenic and natural organohalogen compounds in blubber of dolphins and dugongs (Dugong dugon) from northeastern Australia.

A range of organohalogen compounds (10 polychlorinated biphenyl [PCB] congeners, DDT and metabolites, chlordane-related compounds, the potential natural organochlorine compound Q1, toxaphene, hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorocyclohexanes, dieldrin, and several yet unidentified brominated compounds) were detected in the blubber of four bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), one common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), and seven dugongs (Dugong dugon), as well as in adipose tissue of a green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and a python (Morelia spilota) from northeast Queensland (Australia). The green turtle and dugongs accumulated lower organohalogen levels than the dolphins. Lower levels in dugongs were expected because this species is exclusively herbivorous. Highest PCB and DDT levels recorded in dugongs were 209 and 173 microg/kg lipids, respectively. Levels of the nonanthropogenic heptachlorinated compound Q1 (highest level in dugongs was 160 microg/kg lipids) were estimated using the ECD response factor of trans-nonachlor. Highest organohalogen levels were found in blubber of dolphins for sumDDT (575--52,500 microg/kg) and PCBs (600--25,500 microg/kg lipids). Furthermore, Q1 was a major organohalogen detected in all samples analyzed, ranging from 450--9,100 microg/kg lipids. The highest concentration of Q1 determined in this study represents the highest concentration reported to date in an environmental sample. Levels of chlordane-related compounds were also high (280--7,700 microg/kg, mainly derived from trans-nonachlor), but concentrations of hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorocyclohexanes, dieldrin, and toxaphene were relatively low and contributed little to the overall organohalogen contamination. Furthermore, a series of three major (BC-1, BC-2, and BC-3) and six minor (BC-4 through BC-9) unknown brominated compounds were observable by extracting m/z 79 and m/z 81 from the GC/ECNI-MS full scan run. Structural proposals were made for the two major recalcitrant compounds (referred to as BC-1 and BC-2). BC-2 appears to be a tetrabromo-methoxy-diphenylether (512 u) and BC-1 has 14 u (corresponding with an additional CH(2) group) more relative to BC-1. In general, the organohalogen pattern observed in blubber of dolphins was different compared to similar samples from other locations in the world, which is apparent from the fact that the four major abundant signals in the GC/ECD chromatogram of D. delphis originated from the four unknown compounds Q1, BC-1, BC-2, and BC-3.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed2001

Structure of a persistent heptachlorobornane in toxaphene (b7-1000) agrees with molecular model predictions.

A Cl(7) component of technical toxaphene (CTT), previously detected in marine mammals and fish and referred to as "7-1", was isolated from contaminated estuarine sediment using preparative solid-liquid chromatography followed by reversed-phase HPLC. The structure of this compound, elucidated by GC/MS and (1)H NMR, was 2-endo,3-exo,5-endo,6-exo,8,8,10-heptachlorobornane (hereafter referred to as B7-1000). This newly identified CTT eluted in the nonpolar fraction from silica and shares the alternating endo-exo chlorine substitution pattern with other relatively nonpolar, persistent congeners (e.g., B8-1413 and B9-1679). Based on ECNI-MS response, levels of B7-1000 in tissue samples of various higher organisms including humans were as high as 16% of B8-1413. Enantioselective determination of B7-1000 using a modified cyclodextrin chiral stationary phase (beta-BSCD) resulted in enantiomer ratios that were depleted in adipose tissue of a marine bird (skua) and Weddell seal blubber (0.3 and 0.5, respectively), but not in elephant seal blubber (1.1). Elucidation of the structure of B7-1000 thus validates previous predictions of persistence based on structure-activity relationships, chromatographic properties, and molecular modeling.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Metabolism of 4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) in primary cultures of rat alveolar type II cells.

The tobacco-specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) induces primarily lung tumors, which are assumed to derive from malignant transformation of alveolar type II (AII) cells within the lung. To elicit its carcinogenic effects, NNK requires metabolic activation by cytochrome P-450 (CYP)-mediated alpha-hydroxylation. Therefore, in this study the metabolism of NNK and expression of the NNK-activating CYP isoform CYP2B1 were investigated in primary cultures of rat AII cells. Although basal expression of CYP2B1 decreased in a time-dependent manner during culture of AII cells, substantial CYP2B1 protein expression was observed in AII cell cultures after the first 24 h. When AII cells were incubated with 0. 05 microM [5-(3)H]NNK, N-oxidation of NNK, which is thought to represent a detoxification pathway, was predominant (42%). alpha-Hydroxylated metabolites resulting from metabolic activation of NNK amounted to 35% of all detected metabolites. However, the proportion of alpha-hydroxylated metabolites decreased to 17% of all detected metabolites when AII cells were incubated with a 100-fold higher concentration of NNK (5 microM). In summary, this study indicates a remarkable activity of cultured AII cells to metabolize NNK, leading to substantial metabolic activation of NNK, which was more pronounced in incubations at low NNK concentration. Because exposure to NNK via cigarette smoking is thought to lead to very low plasma NNK concentrations (1-15 pM), these data suggest that metabolic activation of NNK in cigarette smokers might occur to a larger extent than would be expected according to previous metabolic studies performed with high (micromolar) NNK concentrations.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

The economic impact of Parkinson's disease. An estimation based on a 3-month prospective analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study prospectively assesses the medical costs of Parkinson's disease (PD). DESIGN: Over a period of 3 months (from July to September 1995), patients with PD documented all items of healthcare provision. These data were then used to calculate medical costs for an individual patient as well as the costs of PD. PATIENTS AND SETTING: We included 20 outpatients with idiopathic PD from the neurological outpatient clinic, Klinikum Grosshadern, Munich, and 20 patients from two office-based neurologists in South-West Germany. MAIN RESULTS: The mean 3-month medical cost of PD in 1995 deutschmarks (DM) was 5210 ($US3390, 2240 Pounds) consisting of DM1410 ($US920, 610 Pounds) for care and nursing, DM1580 ($US1030, 680 Pounds) for drug therapy, DM1320 ($US860, 570 Pounds) for inpatient hospital care, DM40 ($US26, 17 Pounds) for outpatient care and DM860 for other expenses ($US560, 370 Pounds). The expenditure was related to the disease evolution. Patients complaining of one-sided symptoms [Hoehn and Yahr stage I; (HY I)] were less expensive to treat (DM1930, $US1250, 830 Pounds) than patients who were severely incapacitated (HY V) [DM9740, $US6330, 4200 Pounds; HY V]. After 3 to 5 years of levodopa treatment approximately 50% of patients start to experience fluctuations in motor ability and dyskinesias [Unified Parkinson's disease rating scale, part IV (UPDRS IV)]. This onset of motor complications parallels an increase in costs. For patients who experienced motor fluctuations, annual costs were DM6550 ($US4260, 2820 Pounds) compared with DM3030 ($US1960, 1300 Pounds) for patients lacking this problem. Indirect non-medical costs were not calculated due to the limited number of patients. The impact of the disease on work, however, is clearly apparent from the patients' history: 19 out of 34 patients who had already stopped working attributed this to the disease, and only 6 patients were still working at the time of the survey. CONCLUSION: PD poses a major financial impact to society which is expected to increase in future years as the age distribution shifts to older age groups. On the basis of a prevalence of PD of 183 per 100,000, we calculated an annual expenditure of DM3.0 billion for the direct medical costs of PD in Germany.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Strain differences in tissue concentrations of mercury in inbred mice treated with mercuric chloride.

Tissue concentrations of mercury were determined by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry in different inbred mouse strains after continuous treatment with HgCl2 (3 weekly sc injections of 0.5 mg/kg bw) for up to 12 weeks. Except for the thymus, in which steadily increasing mercury concentrations were found, in steady state levels of mercury were reached in blood and liver after 4 weeks and in spleen and kidney after 8 weeks. In the closely related strains C57BL/6, B10.D2, and B10.S, which differ only or primarily at the major histocompatibility complex, mercury concentrations in blood and liver were about twofold lower and renal concentrations were about three- to fivefold lower than those detected in strains A.SW and DBA/2. Another strain difference was observed in the spleen: after 8 and 12 weeks of continuous HgCl2 treatment, mercury concentrations in the spleen of strains A.SW, C57BL/6, and B10.S were significantly higher than those in strains DBA/2 and B10.D2. The strain difference in the spleen, an organ of the immune system, correlates with the susceptibility to the HgCl2-induced systemic autoimmune syndrome in mice in that the strains showing a higher mercury accumulation in the spleen are susceptible to this form of chemically induced autoimmunity, whereas the strains with lower mercury concentrations in the spleen are resistant.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Construction of recombinant avian infectious laryngotracheitis virus expressing the beta-galactosidase gene and DNA sequencing of the insertion region.

Avian infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV), a herpesvirus, is a highly contagious pathogen that causes an upper respiratory tract infection in chickens. It is one of the major problems in the poultry industry worldwide. Current vaccines are not satisfactory due to the induction of latent infection. Here we describe a system for the construction of recombinant ILTV. A 4-kbp ILTV EcoRI DNA fragment was cloned into plasmid pUC13 and sequenced. Computer prediction revealed two potential open reading frames with 216 and 259 amino acid residues, respectively. The 259-residue polypeptide was serine-rich. The beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) gene of E. coli was cloned into the XhoI/Bg/II site of this DNA fragment, integrated into the ILTV genome via homologous recombination, expressed under the control of the immediate-early cytomegalovirus promoter, and caused the formation of blue plaques in the presence of X-gal. The insertion of a foreign gene into the ILTV genome and the successful expression of the incorporated gene demonstrated the potential for the construction of attenuated recombinant ILTV vaccines and the development of ILTV as vectors for polyvalent vaccines against avian upper respiratory tract infections.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Differential diagnosis of infectious laryngotracheitis from other avian respiratory diseases by a simplified PCR procedure.

A simple polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based procedure was developed for the detection of avian infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) in chicken trachea, chorio-allantoic membrane (CAM), infected hepatoma cells and infectious cell culture supernatant. Samples were prepared by dilution in distilled water. After boiling and low speed centrifugation, samples were used for PCR analysis with two primers without special labeling. The PCR analysis for ILT virus could be completed in less than 8 h. Standard agarose gel electrophoretic analysis of the PCR products revealed a prominent band of 300 base-pairs in samples from ILTV-infected specimens, but not from specimens containing Newcastle disease virus, infectious bronchitis virus, avian adenovirus, fowlpox virus, Pachecoz or Marek's disease virus. One single ILTV infected cell or 10 plaque forming units of ILTV could be detected with this procedure. The procedure can be used for the identification of ILTV and the differentiation of ILTV from other avian respiratory tract infectants.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Ellagitannins and complex tannins from Quercus petraea bark.

The ellagitannins 2,3-(S)-hexahydroxydiphenoyl-glucose, pedunculagin, vescalagin, and castalagin; the flavanoellagitannins acutissimin A, acutissimin B, eugenigrandin A, guajavin B, and stenophyllanin C; and the procyanidinoellagitannin mongolicanin have been isolated from the bark of Quercus petraea. The ellagitannin fraction had a weak antisecretory effect.

Anthelmintics↗
PubMed1994

Efficacy and tolerability of amitriptylinoxide in the treatment of chronic tension-type headache: a multi-centre controlled study.

Amitriptyline is the medication of first choice in the treatment of chronic tension-type headache. In 197 patients with chronic tension-type headache (87M and 110F with a mean age of 38 +/- 13 (18-68)) efficacy and tolerability of 60-90 mg amitriptylinoxide (AO) were compared with 50-75 mg amitriptyline (AM) and placebo (PL) in a double-blind, parallel-group trial consisting of a four weeks' baseline phase and 12 weeks of treatment. The primary study endpoint was a reduction of at least 50% of the product of headache duration and frequency and a reduction of at least 50% in headache intensity. Statistics used were Fisher's exact test and analysis of variance. No significant difference emerged between AO, AM and PL with respect to the primary study endpoint. Treatment response occurred in 30.3% of the AO, 22.4% of the AM and 21.9% of the PL group. A reduction in headache duration and frequency of at least 50% was found in 39.4% on AO, in 25.4% on AM and in 26.6% on PL (PAO-PL = .1384, PAM-PL = 1.000, PAO-AM = .0973). A reduction in headache intensity of at least 50% was found in 31.8% on AO, in 26.9% on AM and in 26.6% on PL (PAO-PL = .5657, PAM-PL = 1.000, PAO-AM = .5715). Trend analysis with respect to a significant reduction of headache intensity (p < 0.05) and the product of headache duration and frequency revealed a superior effect of AO.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Caffeoylquinic acids and some biological activities of Pluchea symphytifolia.

From the aerial parts of Pluchea symphytifolia, four known and two new caffeoylquinic acids, 1,3,4,5-tetra-O-caffeoylquinic acid and 1,3-di-O-[3,4,-bis-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-cyclobutane-1,2-dicarbonyl]- 4,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid, and two flavonols were isolated and their structures elucidated by mass and NMR spectroscopy and by chemical degradation. The aqueous extract had weak antibacterial and weak antisecretory effects; the lipophilic extract showed a modest anthelmintic activity. The higher caffeoylated quinic acids participated in the antibacterial and anthelmintic effect of the extracts.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Transactivation of the early SV40 promoter by avian infectious laryngotracheitis virus in avian hepatoma cells.

An avian hepatoma cell line has been reported to be suitable for the cultivation of avian laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) (Scholz et al. (1993) J. Virol. Methods, 273-286; Guo et al. (1993) Am. J. Vet. Res., in press). To provide information for the establishment of avian expression systems and for the construction of avian recombinant viruses, five expression plasmids were constructed to test two avian viral and two mammalian viral promotors for their suitability and strength for gene expression in this cell line. Chicken hepatoma cells were transfected with plasmids carrying the bacterial beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) gene as a reporter gene. The beta-gal gene of three plasmid constructs expressed in both E. coli and avian hepatoma cells, while the beta-gal gene of two other constructs expressed only in avian hepatoma cells. The beta-gal gene expressed independently of any viral infection when under the control of the early Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) promoter or the immediate-early cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter. However, expression of beta-gal gene under the control of the SV40 early promoter/enhancer and the ILTV TK promoter was greatly potentiated when the transfected cells were co-infected with ILTV. This finding provides a system for the enhancement of gene expression in avian cells, especially when ILTV is used as vector.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Proximal and distal reaction times (RTs) are not differentially affected in Parkinson's disease.

The hypothesis was tested that proximal and distal reaction times (RTs) might be differentially affected in Parkinson's disease (PD). Twelve patients with PD were compared with 12 age-matched healthy controls on tests of finger-, hand-, leg-, and torso-RTs. Patients were significantly slower in initiating all movements and were slower in executing all movements except for the leg (stepping) task. Choice- versus simple-RTs were also not differentially affected in the PD group. In the healthy subjects, age was significantly positively correlated with response initiation times (RITs) but not with movement times (MTs).

Aged↗
PubMed1993

An avian hepatoma cell line for the cultivation of infectious laryngotracheitis virus and for the expression of foreign genes with a mammalian promoter.

Infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) is the causative agent of a highly infectious upper respiratory tract disease in chickens. Vaccine development and basic studies on ILTV have been hampered by the lack of a cell line for the cultivation of this herpesvirus which was identified in 1930. Four different avian cell lines were tested for their suitability to propagate ILTV. Here we report the successful growth of ILTV with a chemically-induced avian hepatoma cell line, while retrovirus transformed cell lines derived from permissive primary cells, were found to be non-permissive for ILTV. After multiple passaging of ILTV in the hepatoma cells, the virus could be grown up to a titre of 1 x 10(7) EID50 per ml with a replication cycle comparable to that in primary hepatocytes. Methods of plaque assay, DNA-transfection, and expression of a reporter gene were established. The gene coding for the bacterial beta-galactosidase gene under the control of the cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate-early promotor was transiently expressed, indicating that a mammalian herpesvirus promotor was recognized by this avian cell line. Infectious ILTV virions were produced after transfecting this cell-line with purified ILTV DNA. The results indicated that the cell line is suitable for the construction of recombinant ILTV and for the molecular biological study of this important avian pathogen.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Assembly pathway of avian infectious laryngotracheitis virus.

Infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) is the causative agent of a highly contagious upper respiratory tract infection in chickens. At present, ILTV vaccines are not satisfactory because of development of a latent carrier status in vaccinated birds. Development of recombinant virus vaccines has been hampered by the limited information available on the molecular level and organization of this virus. We isolated 3 assembly intermediates, designated A, B, and C from ILTV-infected cells. Analysis of [3H]thymidine-and [35S]methionine-labeled particles, and electron microscopic studies indicated that particle A was the empty capsid, particle B was the procapsid containing scaffolding protein, and particle C was the DNA-filled capsid. The ILTV procapsids could only be found in the nucleus, which indicated that procapsids could not translocate through the nuclear membrane until they packaged the DNA. The DNA-filled capsids migrated through the nuclear membrane and obtained an envelope from the inner membrane of the nucleus. The enveloped particles then migrated through the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum into vacuoles in the cytoplasm. Infective virions were isolated from within the infected cells, indicating that budding through the cytoplasmic membrane is not a necessary step in ILTV maturation. Abundant arrays composed of tubules about 45 to 50 nm wide were found in the cytoplasm of chicken embryonic liver cells about 30 to 38 hours after infection. Comparison of the assembly intermediates and the DNA packaging pathway of ILTV with that of bacteriophage pi 29 indicates that similarity exists.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗