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Biomedical subjects

G Brenner

Publications and source records attributed to G Brenner.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

[Indications for sonography and follow-up studies. Initial results of a prospective study].

Ultrasonic examinations of the abdomen may result in expensive secondary imaging examinations. This prospective study was conducted in collaboration with the Zentralinstitut Köln. The first aim of our study was to compare the results of abdominal sonography in three different patient groups: The first group was comprised of patients referred for a medical check-up, the second group of patients referred because of upper abdominal pain and the third group of patients with generalized atherosclerosis. The second aim was to correlate sonographic findings (classified in three degrees of severity), with subsequently induced diagnostic procedures in the three groups. 2719 patients were enrolled, 2393 (88%) in group 1, 286 (11%) in group 2 and 40 (1%) in group 3. A total of 1792 abnormal findings were diagnosed. 65.6% of the findings in group 1, 65.7% in group 2 and 88% in group 3 were abnormal. Up to now, the findings led to a nearly equal number of subsequent diagnostic procedures in groups 1 and 2. The preliminary results show that abdominal sonography may be as effective in patients for a check-up as in patients referred because of a well-defined indication. Patients with defined abdominal symptoms show more abnormal sonographic findings than patients on a check-up. Higher costs resulting from subsequent examinations deserve critical assessment in the individual patient.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1990

The effects of handling on antibody production, mitogen responses, spleen cell number, and lymphocyte subpopulations.

The effects of a simple psychosocial manipulation, handling, on immune function in BALB/c.ByJ mice were studied. Handling for two minutes/day prior to immunization was shown to be associated with a decreased primary IgG antibody response to the protein antigen keyhole limpet hemocyanin. Handling was also associated with decreased T cell proliferative responses to Concanavalin A. No reliable changes in spleen cell number or lymphocyte subsets were found. These findings demonstrate that simply picking up an animal results in modulation of the immune response. These data are also of interest for their obvious methodological implications.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1989

Low-dose ursodeoxycholic acid prolongs cholesterol nucleation time in gallbladder bile of patients with cholesterol gallstones.

The high rate of stone recurrence represents a drawback of non-surgical therapy of cholesterol gallstone disease. Although most studies report that long-term bile acid treatment does not have protective effects, preliminary results suggest that low-dose ursodeoxycholic acid decreases the rate of gallstone recurrence in a subgroup of younger patients. To clarify the underlying mechanism we investigated whether low-dose ursodeoxycholic acid treatment influences biliary cholesterol saturation and/or nucleation time of cholesterol. Ten patients with cholesterol gallstones and functioning gallbladder received 250 mg ursodeoxycholic acid/day at bedtime 6-10 days prior to cholecystectomy. Eleven patients with cholesterol gallstones without treatment served as controls. Cholesterol crystals were present in the gallbladder bile of 7 out of the 10 patients receiving ursodeoxycholic acid and in all control biles. Ursodeoxycholic acid treatment significantly (P less than 0.02) decreased the cholesterol saturation index (mean +/- S.E.: 0.94 +/- 0.05 vs. 1.43 +/- 0.18) and led to an approximately 5-fold prolongation (P less than 0.005) of the cholesterol nucleation time (mean +/- S.E.: 12.0 +/- 2.4 vs. 2.3 +/- 0.7 days). We conclude that low-dose ursodeoxycholic acid might be effective in the prevention of post-dissolution gallstone recurrence by both decreasing cholesterol saturation and prolonging cholesterol nucleation time.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Repeated intraperitoneal injections of saline attenuate the antibody response to a subsequent intraperitoneal injection of antigen.

The results of two experiments with male C3H/HeJ mice indicated that repeated intraperitoneal (ip) injections of sterile saline over a 2-week period resulted in an attenuated antibody response to the subsequent ip injection of a soluble protein antigen, keyhole limpet hemocyanin. There were no differences among experimental groups that received a different number of preimmunization injections of saline, and comparable effects were obtained simply by the daily handling of mice. Neither repeated ip injections nor handling altered preimmunization (baseline) corticosterone levels, and only previously unmanipulated mice showed an elevation in corticosterone levels 30 min after ip immunization. These latter results suggest that the depressed IgM and IgG responses were not due to the immunosuppressive effects of endogenously elevated adrenocortical steroids.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Biochemical changes associated with the fatty liver syndrome in cows.

There were significant changes in enzyme activities and concentrations of metabolites in the blood and liver of cows with fatty livers when compared to normal cows. Blood and liver samples were taken from cows at the abattoir immediately after slaughter. The liver was checked for pathological signs and the samples were divided according to the degree of fatty changes. Three groups were studied: controls showing no gross pathological signs, mild fatty infiltration and severe infiltration. In cows with fatty liver, there were significant increases in the serum activities of isocitric dehydrogenase (ICDH), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), glutamic dehydrogenase (GLDH), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), malic dehydrogenase (MDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and acid phosphatase (ACP). In the fatty liver, the activities of the enzymes, ICDH, G6PDH, LDH, MDH, ALP and malic enzyme (ME) were significantly higher, while sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) was significantly lower. While serum total lipid decreased, the opposite was seen in the liver with higher lipid content, mainly due to triglycerides and cholesterol esters. The significant increases in the NADPH generating enzymes ME, ICDH, G6PDH and MDH, which are required for fatty acid synthesis, suggest that the lipids accumulated in the liver are not only of extrahepatic origin, mobilized into the liver, but also arise from increased lipid synthesis in the liver which is induced during the laying down of fat in the liver. Measurement of the serum NADPH generating enzymes may serve as a useful biochemical test specific for fatty liver in cows.

Alanine Transaminase↗
PubMed1988

Methods to assess health economic aspects on drug utilization.

The increasing rate of drug consumption is influenced by different trends which are partly counter-rotating. The increasing rate of price is statistically to separate from effects influenced by structural shifts in the drug spectrum. The analysis based on a randomized sample (0.1%) of all prescriptions in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1984 give the following: Total expenditure +7.4%; sold packages -1.6%; average value per prescription +9.2%; price +2.8%; shift in the structure of consumption +6.0%. The shift in drug consumption influenced by changes in demand or prescription habits were more intensive than price effects in 1984.

Drug Prescriptions↗
PubMed1988

Lipid composition and cholesterol nucleation time in gallbladder bile of patients with cholesterol gallstones under choleretic treatment with Febuprol.

The effect of a new potent choleretic drug (Febuprol) on lipid composition and cholesterol nucleation time in gallbladder bile was studied in 8 patients with cholesterol gallstones. Nine untreated patients with cholesterol cholecystolithiasis and functioning gallbladder served as controls. Under Febuprol treatment (3 X 100 mg for 6-10 days) mean concentrations of total bile acids (125.4 vs. 59.5 mmol/l), phospholipids (46.1 vs. 25.6 mmol/l) and total lipids (10.4 vs. 5.9 g/dl) were significantly higher (p less than 0.01) than in controls. No significant difference between both groups was calculated for the mean values of cholesterol (17.8 vs. 13.3 mmol/l), cholesterol saturation index (1.5 vs. 2.1) and cholesterol nucleation time (2.1 vs. 2.6 days). Our findings are compatible with a choleretic effect of Febuprol but no alteration of the rapid cholesterol crystallisation in gallbladder bile of patients with cholesterol gallstones was found.

1-Propanol↗
PubMed1986

Takayasu's arteritis--a special form of the aortic arch syndrome. Manifestations of a chronical type III.

The case of a 45-year-old woman with arteritis of Takayasu's type is reported. This disease belongs to the inflammatory diseases of the aortic arch and sometimes shows extensive calcifications of the arterial system. The diagnosis is based on typical anamnesis and characteristic clinical symptoms, as well as on radiologic findings. The clinical signs depend on the extension of the disease. The literature about this rare disease is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

[Effect of xanthinol nicotinate on brain metabolism in rats].

The influence of 7-[2-hydroxy-3-(N-2-hydroxyethyl-N-methylamino)propyl]-1, 3-dimethyl-xanthine-pyridine-3-carboxylate (xantinol nicotinate, Complamin) on brain metabolism was studied in the following test models: 1. determination of glucose-14C permeation in rats with experimental nephrogenic hypertension; 2. determination of the intercerebral ATP-concentration in ischaemic rats; 3. determination of the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) pool in healthy rats; 4. evaluation of the incorporation rates of 32Pi-isotope into the adenosine phosphates of the rat brain. The results of these studies show, that the reduced glucose permeation rates in rats with nephrogenic hypertension can be normalized by xantinol nicotinate above values of controls. In hypoxemic rats it could be shown, that xantinol nicotinate antagonizes the decrease of the intracerebral ATP-concentration by 50%. The investigation of the ATP-pool resulted in a significant increase of the ATP level in the brain tissue about 35% at maximum. This increase of the ATP-concentration continues up to 4 h following a single oral administration of xantinol nicotinate. The determination of the incorporation rates of 32Pi-isotope showed that only small amounts of radioactivity were measured in the AMP-fraction in controls as well as in xantinol nicotinate treated rats. Further phosphorylation steps of adenosine monophosphate (AMP) to adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and ATP, however, are considerably activated by xantinol nicotinate, whereby maximum labelling rates of the ADP were found already 15 min after dosing. Maximum 32Pi-incorporation rates of the ATP-fraction were measured 30 min following administration of the tracer and of xantinol nicotinate, respectively.

Adenine Nucleotides↗