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Biomedical subjects

F Hartmann

Publications and source records attributed to F Hartmann.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Microbic superinfection in relapse of inflammatory bowel disease.

To assess the association between symptomatic relapse of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and superinfection with enteropathogenic microorganisms, we determined prospectively the incidence of infections with enteropathogenic bacteria, protozoa, and helminths in patients with confirmed longstanding IBD. Sixty-four patients with IBD (49 with Crohn's disease [CD] and 15 with ulcerative colitis [UC]) were consecutively enrolled in the study when relapse occurred. Multiple biopsies for histological and microbiological investigations were taken from all patients who were evaluated by colonoscopy. Parallel stool specimens were investigated for the presence of enteropathogenic bacteria, protozoa, and helminths. In six patients, we detected Clostridium difficile or toxin B (five CD, one UC), in one patient Campylobacter jejuni (CD), and in another patient Salmonella typhimurium (UC). Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli were isolated from three patients. Investigation of biopsies for Mycobacteria, microscopic examination of stool samples for helminths, and immunofluorescence for chlamydia were negative in all patients. In summary, as we found enteropathogenic microorganisms so infrequently in patients with relapse of IBD, despite intensive microbiological screening by tissue sampling for detection of gut adherent bacteria, we believe that microorganisms play only a minor role in the exacerbation of IBD.

Adult↗

Serratia infections in patients with neutropenia.

We report on six cases of sepsis caused by Serratia marcescens in patients with neutropenia. Four cases showed an additional involvement of the upper respiratory and digestive tract with oral and pharyngeal mucositis, haemorrhagic laryngo-tracheo-bronchitis, and oedematous swelling of the face. One patient showed a Serratia marcescens carrier state in the pharynx over a period of months without neutropenia. The isolated strains showed a broad spectrum of resistance against antibiotics; only aztreonam and amikacin were effective in vitro against all isolates.

Adolescent↗

Use of an artificial oxygen carrier in isolated rat liver perfusion: first demonstration of net glucose uptake at physiological portal glucose concentrations using a hemoglobin-free perfusate.

A defect in isolated perfused rat-liver (IPRL) preparations has been proposed to explain discrepancies between in vivo and in vitro findings regarding hepatic glucose metabolism. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether a preparation of IPRL using a synthetic hemoglobin-free perfusate was capable of net glucose uptake and glycogen deposition at physiological portal substrate concentrations. Livers from fed anaesthetized rats were perfused in a recirculating system using a fluorocarbon emulsion as artificial oxygen carrier. Depending on the prevailing glucose concentration, livers exhibited net glucose uptake or release with a threshold value of 5.5-6.0 mM glucose. Net glucose uptake was associated with net glycogen deposition (+0.23 to +0.59 mumol C6 min-1 g-1). From 5.8 mM (n = 3) and 10.0 mM (n = 8), initial concentration glucose levels fell to 5.3 +/- 0.2 mM after 210 min (n = 3) and 6.3 +/- 0.9 mM after 120 min (n = 8), respectively. This was equivalent to a net glucose uptake of -0.16 and -0.45 mumol min-1 g-1. Anoxia reversibly switched hepatic glucose balance from net uptake (-0.42 mumol min-1 g-1) to release (+0.69 mumol min-1 g-1) followed by net uptake (-0.50 mumol min-1 g-1) after reinstitution of aerobic conditions. We conclude that the composition of perfusion media might play a pivotal role for studies of glucose metabolism in the isolated perfused rat liver. In our experimental model, using a hemoglobin-free synthetic medium, net glucose uptake was readily demonstrated at physiological portal substrate concentrations similar to the in vivo situation.

Aerobiosis↗

Effects of dexamethasone on glutamine metabolism in the isolated vascularly perfused rat small intestine.

Post-stress metabolism is associated with a large glutamine (Gln) efflux from muscle and an increased Gln utilization by the small intestine. Both appear to be modulated by corticosteroids. The present investigation was performed to better characterize the mechanism of corticoid action on Gln metabolism in an isolated preparation of vascularly perfused rat small intestine. In all perfusions, a synthetic perfusate free from blood components was used with only 0.6 mM Gln and 10 mM glucose as substrates. Irrespective of dexamethasone concentrations in the vascular perfusate (none, 0.25 mg l-1, or 2.5 mg l-1, isolated intestines from normal rats exhibited unchanged extraction rates of Gln (-85 +/- 8, -89 +/- 10, and -87 +/- 16 nmol min-1 g-1) and unchanged production rates of alanine (43 +/- 9, 40 +/- 7, and 51 +/- 5 nmol min-1 g-1) and ammonia (49 +/- 15, 45 +/- 13, and 54 +/- 13 nmol min-1 g-1). Similarly, when intestines were vascularly perfused 2 or 9 days after dexamethasone injection (0.45 mg kg-1 BW), net Gln uptake also remained unchanged (-88 +/- 16 and -84 +/- 11 nmol min-1 g-1). There was, however, a shift in nitrogenous products of Gln metabolism from ammonia (-31% and -38%) to alanine (+16% and +64%). Thus, the failure of dexamethasone to increase Gln uptake in the isolated rat intestine may indicate that rather than acting directly on the mucosa, dexamethasone could regulate intestinal Gln consumption in vivo by indirect mechanisms possibly involving extramucosal tissues. Dexamethasone pretreatment may modulate the pattern of nitrogenous products in portal venous blood presented to the liver and thus support enhanced nitrogen loss through ureagenesis by metabolic cooperation between gut and liver.

Alanine↗

Comparison of acetorphan with clonidine for opiate withdrawal symptoms.

OBJECTIVE AND METHOD: The authors compared the effects of acetorphan, an enkephalinase inhibitor, with those of clonidine for the treatment of the opioid withdrawal syndrome. Nineteen patients addicted to heroin or synthetic opiates who were undergoing drug withdrawal and displayed a withdrawal syndrome according to DSM-III criteria were studied for 5 days in a hospital setting. In a double-blind trial, 10 subjects were given acetorphan intravenously and nine were given clonidine; objective signs and subjective symptoms of withdrawal were recorded. RESULTS: On several objective signs, the effect of acetorphan was more marked than that of clonidine, whereas the two drugs exhibited similar efficacy with respect to the subjective components of withdrawal. No side effect was noted in the subjects who received acetorphan. CONCLUSIONS: Enkephalinase inhibition may constitute a novel and safe therapeutic approach to the opioid withdrawal syndrome.

Adolescent↗

Specific activation of the prodrug mitomycin phosphate by a bispecific anti-CD30/anti-alkaline phosphatase monoclonal antibody.

The bispecific monoclonal antibody (Bi-MAb) HRS-3/AP-1 was developed by somatic hybridization of the 2 mouse hybridoma cell lines HRS-3 and AP-1, which produce monoclonal antibodies with reactivity against the Hodgkin's- and Reed-Sternberg cell-associated CD30 antigen and alkaline phosphatase, respectively. After an active incubation with alkaline phosphatase, respectively. After an active incubation with alkaline phosphatase, purified whole immunoglobulin molecules and F(ab')2 fragments of the Bi-MAb were equally effective in converting a relatively noncytotoxic prodrug, mitomycin phosphate (MOP), into mitomycin alcohol, which was 100 times more toxic to the Hodgkin's- and Reed-Sternberg cell line L540 (CD30+) than MOP. The cytotoxic activity of MOP was unaffected when the cells were pretreated with either the Bi-MAb or the enzyme alone. The Bi-MAb HRS-3/AP-1 did not bind to HPB-ALL cells (CD30-) and was not able to activate MOP on these cells. In cocultivation experiments with HPB-ALL and L540 cells, the activation of MOP by the Bi-MAb HRS-3/AP-1 and alkaline phosphatase led to considerable cytotoxicity against the antigen-negative bystander cells. Thus, this immunotherapeutic approach might be effective in tumors in which not all the tumor cells express the respective tumor antigen.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗