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Biomedical subjects

H Rabe

Publications and source records attributed to H Rabe.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Early versus delayed umbilical cord clamping in preterm infants.

BACKGROUND: Optimal timing for clamping of the umbilical cord at birth is unclear. Early clamping allows for immediate resuscitation of the newborn. Delaying clamping may facilitate transfusion of blood between the placenta and the baby. OBJECTIVES: To delineate the short- and long-term effects for infants born at less than 37 completed weeks' gestation, and their mothers, of early compared to delayed clamping of the umbilical cord at birth. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group trials register (2 February 2004), the Cochrane Neonatal Group trials register (2 February 2004), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library, Issue 1, 2004), PubMed (1966 to 2 February 2004) and EMBASE (1974 to 2 February 2004). SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized controlled trials comparing early with delayed (30 seconds or more) clamping of the umbilical cord for infants born before 37 completed weeks' gestation. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Three reviewers assessed eligibility and trial quality. MAIN RESULTS: Seven studies (297 infants) were eligible for inclusion. The maximum delay in cord clamping was 120 seconds. Delayed cord clamping was associated with a higher hematocrit four hours after birth (four trials, 134 infants; weighted mean difference 5.31, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.42 to 7.19), fewer transfusions for anaemia (three trials, 111 infants; relative risk (RR) 2.01, 95% CI 1.24 to 3.27) or low blood pressure (two trials, 58 infants; RR 2.58, 95% CI 1.17 to 5.67) and less intraventricular haemorrhage (five trials, 225 infants; RR 1.74, 95% CI 1.08 to 2.81) than early clamping. REVIEWERS' CONCLUSIONS: Delaying cord clamping by 30 to 120 seconds, rather than early clamping, seems to be associated with less need for transfusion and less intraventricular haemorrhage. There are no clear differences in other outcomes.

Blood Transfusion↗

Coupling between agonist and chloride ionophore sites of the GABA(A) receptor: agonist/antagonist efficacy of 4-PIOL.

Eight gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) mimetics were tested on their ability to differentiate native GABA(A) receptor subtypes present in various rat brain regions. In rat brain cryostat sections, little regional variations by the agonistic actions of muscimol, thiomuscimol, 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoazolo(5,4-c)pyridin-3-ol, piperidine-4-sulphonic acid, taurine and beta-alanine on [35S]t-butylbicyclophosphorothionate ([35S]TBPS) binding to GABA(A) receptor channels were found. They were very similar to those found for GABA itself and indicated no direct correlation with single subunit distributions for any of these compounds. Only the low-efficacy GABA mimetic 5-(4-piperidyl)isoxazol-3-ol (4-PIOL) acted like a weak partial agonist or antagonist depending on the brain area. As the cerebellar granule cell layer was relatively insensitive to both modes of action, we tested 4-PIOL in recombinant alpha1beta2gamma2 (widespread major subtype) and alpha6beta2gamma2 (cerebellar granule cell restricted) receptors where it had different effects on GABA-modulated [35S]TBPS binding and on electrophysiological responses. 4-PIOL may thus serve as a potential lead for receptor subtype selective compounds.

Animals↗

Molecular cloning and functional characterization of Shaw-related potassium channels of trout CNS.

Two Shaw-related potassium channels expressed in the CNS of trout were PCR cloned and sequenced: Traw1 was identified as a fish homologue to mammalian K(v)3.1, while Traw2 could not be exactly classified. Upon heterologous expression Traw1 exhibited a high threshold (-20 mV) non-inactivating delayed rectifier current that was efficiently blocked by submicromolar concentrations of TEA, 4-AP and quinine but not by alpha-DTX or apamin. The amplitude of the Traw1 induced current was reduced by the phorbol ester TPA, the effect being prevented by the proteinkinase inhibitor H7. Transcripts of both Shaw- related channels possess a widespread distribution in the mature brain tissue and outside the nervous system are detectable in muscle but not in liver. During brain development Traw1 mRNA was initially identified at stage 31 (shortly after hatching) while transcripts encoding Traw2 were detectable already at stage 28 (1 week before hatching).

1-(5-Isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-Methylpiperazine↗

Isolation and heterologous expression of two genomic clones encoding Shaker-related potassium channels of trout CNS.

Two Shaker-related potassium channel genes (termed tsha1 and tsha2) expressed in the CNS of trout were cloned and sequenced. The coding regions of both genes were not interrupted by introns and exhibited a high overall sequence similarity to other members of the Shaker subfamily. By computer-assisted sequence alignments, tsha1 was identified as a fish homologue to the mammalian Kv1.2 subtype of potassium channels, whereas tsha2 did not show a preferential sequence homology but shared a uniform similarity to Kv1.1, Kv1.2, and Kv1.3. Upon heterologous expression in a mammalian glial cell line, both channels exhibited delayed rectifier current properties that differed from each other by their threshold potentials of activation and their pharamcological features: wheras the tsha1-mediated current was efficiently blocked by submicromolar concentrations of alpha-DTX but not by TEA, tsha2 was highly TEA-sensitive, correlating well with differences in the amino acid structure of the pore outer mouth region. As revealed by RT-PCR, Shaker-related potassium channels were sequentially expressed during trout brain development: tsha2 was found initially at stage 34, followed by tsha1 at stage 36, whereas two other members of the Shaker family (tsha3 and tsha4) were detectable much earlier (stage 30, hatching). In the mature brain tissue, no regional specialization of Shaker channel subtype expression was noted.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A randomised controlled trial of delayed cord clamping in very low birth weight preterm infants.

UNLABELLED: This study was carried out to assess the feasibility of late cord clamping of 45 s in preterm infants delivered mainly by caesarean section and the effects on postpartal adaptation and anaemia of prematurity. Prior to delivery, 40 infants of < 33 gestational weeks were randomised to either 20 s or 45 s of late cord clamping. After the first shoulder was delivered, oxytocin was given intravenously to the mother in order to enhance placento-fetal transfusion while the infant was held below the level of the placenta. The 20 infants in group 1 (20 s) had a mean birth weight of 1070 g and a mean gestational age of 29 + 4/7 weeks versus 1190 g and 30 weeks in group 2 (45 s). On day 42 of life there were ten infants without transfusions in group 2 versus three in group 1 (P < 0.05). Out of the 20 infants in group 1, 19 and 15/19 in group 2 were delivered by caesarean section. There were no significant differences in Apgar scores, temperature on admission, heart rate, blood pressure and requirements for artificial ventilation. CONCLUSION: Delayed cord clamping of 45 s is feasible and safe in preterm infants below 33 weeks of gestation. It is possible to perform the procedure at caesarean section deliveries and it should be performed whenever possible. It reduces the need for packed red cell transfusions during the first 6 weeks of life.

Anemia, Neonatal↗

Voltage-gated sodium and potassium channels in radial glial cells of trout optic tectum studied by patch clamp analysis and single cell RT-PCR.

Radial glial cells in the visual center of trout were analyzed immunocytochemically and with the whole cell mode of the patch-clamp technique in combination with RT-PCR. By immunostaining with anti-GFAP antibodies radially oriented cell processes spanning the entire width of the tectum were brightly labeled, while with anti-S-100 antiserum the cell bodies residing in a discrete layer close to the ventricular border became most clearly visible. Virtually all radial glial cells examined in brain slices exhibited voltage-gated sodium inward currents that were activated above -40 mV, blocked by micromolar concentrations of TTX and totally eliminated if sodium was substituted for Tris in the bath solution. In contrast with adjacent nerve cells of the same slices radial glial cells did not exhibit spontaneous electrical activity and could not be stimulated to generate action potentials by depolarizing current injections. Two types of voltage-gated potassium outward currents were elicited by depolarizing voltage steps: a sustained current with delayed rectifier properties and a superimposed transient "A"-type current, both being activated at a threshold potential of -40 mV. In cultured radial glial cells subtle differences were noticed regarding current density, inactivation kinetics, and TEA-sensitivity of the potassium currents. Inwardly rectifying potassium currents activating at hyperpolarized voltages were not observed. By single cell RT-PCR the transcripts of two shaker-related potassium channel genes (termed tsha1-a fish homologue to Kv1.2- and tsha3) were amplified, while transcripts for tsha 2 and tsha 4 were not detected.

Animals↗

Neonatal screening for hearing disorders in infants at risk: incidence, risk factors, and follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence and risk factors for hearing disorders in a selected group of neonates and the feasibility of selective hearing screening. SETTINGS: Multicenter prospective trial at five centers in Germany. METHODS: Enrollment criteria: in addition to previously defined risk factors by the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (family history of hearing loss, in utero infections, craniofacial anomalies, birth weight <1500 g, critical hyperbilirubinemia, ototoxic medications, bacterial meningitis, postnatal asphyxia, mechanical ventilation >5 days, stigmata, or syndromes associated with hearing loss), the impact of maternal drug abuse, birth weight <10th percentile, persistent pulmonary hypertension, and intracranial hemorrhage more than or equal to grade III or periventricular leukomalacia on infant hearing were evaluated. The screening procedure was performed by automated auditory brainstem response (A-ABR; ALGO 1-plus; Natus Med Inc, San Carlos, CA). STATISTICS: univariate analyses of risk factors versus A-ABR results and a multivariate regression analysis were used; additionally, the total test time was recorded. RESULTS: Seven hundred seventy recordings from 777 infants enrolled consecutively constitute the basis of this analysis. Mean gestational age was 33.8 +/- 4.3 weeks, birth weight 2141 +/- 968 g; 431 infants being male and 339 female; 41 (5.3%) infants exhibited pathologic A-ABR results (16 bilateral and 25 unilateral). Meningitis or sepsis, craniofacial malformations, and familial hearing loss were independent significant risk factors. Median total test time was 25 minutes. Follow-up examinations in 31 infants revealed persistent hearing loss in 18 infants (13 infants sensorineural, 5 from mixed disorders), 7 requiring amplification. CONCLUSION: Hearing screening in high-risk neonates revealed a total of 5% of infants with pathologic A-ABR (bilateral 2%). Significant risk factors were familial hearing loss, bacterial infections, and craniofacial abnormalities. Other perinatal complications did not significantly influence screening results indicating improved perinatal handling in a neonatal population at risk for hearing disorders.

Analysis of Variance↗

Voltage-gated potassium channels of Schwann cells from trout lateral line nerve: a combined electrophysiological and molecular characterization.

Voltage-gated ionic currents were recorded from explant cultured and freshly dissociated SC from trout lateral line nerve using the whole-cell configuration of the patch clamp technique. In the majority of cases a delayed rectifier potassium outward current (KD) was found exclusively, which activated at potentials > or = -40 mV and reached maximal amplitudes of 240+/-25.2 nA at 60 mV testpulse potential. This current showed no voltage-dependent kinetics of inactivation and was insensitive to TEA but was effectively blocked by 4-AP. By single cell RT-PCR the transcript of a shaker-related potassium channel gene, termed tshal (a fish homologue of Kv1.2), was selectively amplified. In its biophysical and pharmacological properties the native whole cell potassium outward current of trout Schwann cells closely matched those of the cloned tshal subunit previously expressed in xenopus oocytes. A small subpopulation of freshly dissociated SC (less than 10%) at hyperpolarizing potentials elicited a potassium inward current instead, which in its kinetics closely resembled the inward rectifier (KIR) of mammalian SC. Neither voltage-gated sodium currents nor membrane currents activated by excitatory amino acids (glutamate, kainate, and quisqualate) were observed.

Animals↗

Unilateral cleft lip and palate. Relationship between morphology of the dentition and functional parameters of the tongue.

The relationship between orthodontic and logopedic findings was evaluated with statistical contingency analysis. The investigation was focused on selected dentomorphologic parameters and oral function/malfunction of 100 patients between 3 and 7 years of age with unilateral cleft lip and palate. For further classification into contingency tables "normal" and "abnormal" attributes were defined. Interdependencies between observed findings and their probable frequencies were calculated and represented in diagrams by means of statistical parameters such as the contingency coefficient. Scatterplots of the calculated coefficients showed a characteristic pattern corresponding to clinical experience. While overjet and transversal occlusion are strongly associated with oral functions, overbite tends not to be associated with oral functions. The contingency coefficient calculated from sagittal and transversal orthodontically relevant conditions of occlusion and incorrect tongue position as well as incorrect swallowing tends to be stronger than that of "abnormal" morphologic parameters and an incorrect tongue position during speech. The longitudinal study of lip position and the 3 investigated morphologic parameters revealed strongly associated contingency coefficients.

Child↗

Impact on blood pressure and intestinal perfusion of dobutamine or dopamine in hypotensive preterm infants.

In a prospective study hemodynamic effects of dobutamine or dopamine (10 micrograms/kg/min) were investigated in 20 preterm infants who had protracted arterial hypotension refractory to volume therapy. Doppler ultrasonography of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) was applied to verify intestinal perfusion and blood pressure was recorded in parallel. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) raised significantly in both groups (from 31.0 +/- 6.8 to 37.7 +/- 9.8 mm Hg during dobutamine and from 27.7 +/- 3.6 to 36.0 +/- 9.3 mm Hg during dopamine). Mean blood flow velocity increased from 25.8 +/- 13.5 to 31.5 +/- 16 cm/s with dobutamine and from 16.3 +/- 5.0 to 19.0 +/- 6.0 cm/s with dopamine (significant for dobutamine). Vascular resistance of SMA (indicated by resistance index; RI) decreased from 0.81 +/- 0.07 to 0.74 +/- 0.11 for dobutamine and from 0.89 +/- 0.06 to 0.79 +/- 0.07 for dopamine (significant for both groups). These data indicate that in the dose tested here both catecholamines are equally effective in raising MAP and lead to a significant increase of intestinal perfusion. Thus, a negative impact on mesenteric blood supply, predisposing to necrotizing enterocolitis, is not probable.

Blood Pressure↗

(RS)-alpha-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine (MCPG) does not block theta burst-induced long-term potentiation in area CA1 of rat hippocampal slices.

We have used the selective metabotropic glutamate receptor antagonist (RS)-alpha-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine (MCPG) to investigate in the CA1 hippocampal subregion in vitro whether coactivation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and metabotropic glutamate receptors is necessary for the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) when LTP is induced by theta burst stimulation (TBS). When MCPG (500 microM) was bath applied 14-30 min prior to a triple high-frequency tetanization (100 Hz, 1 s) and washed out immediately afterwards the potentiation of the extracellularly recorded field potentials decayed gradually to baseline (P < 0.05) over 2-3 h. However, when MCPG was applied in the same manner before a triple TBS (10 bursts at 5 Hz, 100 Hz within the bursts) the resulting potentiation remained stable for at least 4 h. MCPG had no effect on baseline synaptic transmission or post-tetanic potentiation. These results demonstrate a clear difference in the mechanisms underlying these two different forms of LTP.

Animals↗

Mutation analysis in the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis.

Since the characterization of the gene encoding the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator protein and identification of its main mutation, delta F508, causing cystic fibrosis (CF), more than 150 mutations in this gene have been reported, most of them only in a few or even single CF patients. Attempts to use mutation analysis in genetic counselling or for the diagnosis of CF depends on prevalence data of certain mutations in the respective population, and considerable ethnic differences have been reported. In this study we determined the prevalence of the mutations delta F508, G551D, R553X, and G542X and of genotypes defined by these mutations in 239 CF patients (444 independent CF chromosomes) seen in our clinic. The analysis for those four mutations alone now permits identification of approximately 75% of all mutations in our CF patients. The complete genotype can be resolved in approximately 63% of patients. This represents the diagnostic sensitivity which can be achieved by mutation analysis in patients without a family history of CF. We conclude that in situations where conventional diagnostic tests are not feasible or difficult to interpret, mutation analysis using a limited set of mutations can contribute significantly to an early and specific diagnosis of CF.

Adolescent↗

Adaptive multipurpose probe fixation device for use on newborns.

Detailed information on the construction and assembly of a noncommercial hood-like multipurpose probe fixation device is given. A vacuum technique is used to individually mold the device to the skull of newborn infants and to attach sensors firmly with minimum pressure. By design, in the range of 22 to 38 cm head circumference for transfontanellar Doppler monitoring, no more than four different sizes of the hood are required to match individual positions of the anterior fontanelle. A ball-and-socket joint facility is integrated. The flexibility of the design allows for an easy adaptation of the device to different probe requirements. This provides the opportunity to investigate cerebral circulation by using various methods simultaneously.

Blood Flow Velocity↗

Resuscitation of the very immature infant: cerebral Doppler flow velocities in the first 20 minutes of life.

Blood flow velocity of the anterior cerebral artery was investigated by Doppler ultrasonography in five time intervals up to 20 min after birth in 16 non-asphyxiated very immature infants (median birth weight 1,058 g, range 720-1,930 g; median gestational age 30 weeks, range 27-32 weeks) delivered by caesarean section and intubated after birth. Heart frequency, oscillometric mean arterial blood pressure and blood gases were recorded as well. There was a transitory increase in both systolic and end-diastolic velocities (from 29 to 35 and from 1 to 10 cm/s) during the first 5 min after birth which occurred together with an increase in heart frequency. The overall incidence of intracranial haemorrhage was low (3/16, 19%). This observation study shows a transitory increase in cerebral blood flow velocity with a peak at about 5 min after birth in preterm infants < 33 weeks of gestation undergoing standard resuscitation.

Birth Weight↗

Simultaneous influence of blood pressure, PCO2, and PO2 on cerebral blood flow velocity in preterm infants of less than 33 weeks' gestation.

In extremely preterm infants, the protective capacity for cerebral blood flow (CBF) autoregulation may be impaired or absent, which increases the risk for developing cerebral lesions. The purpose of this study was to quantify the simultaneous influence of several vital parameters, such as mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), PCO2, and PO2, on cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFv), which is used as a measure for CBF. In 16 mechanically ventilated infants of < 33 wk gestation, the CBFv in the internal carotid artery was measured every minute for 1 h by a computer-controlled pulsed Doppler device. MABP and transcutaneous PCO2 and PO2 were recorded as well. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed in each patient to determine the individual MABP, PCO2, and PO2 reactivities as a measure for CBF autoregulation. The medians (and ranges) of the whole group were an MABP reactivity of 7.5% (-12.5 to 20.1%) rise in CBFv/1 kPa rise in MABP, a PCO2 reactivity of 32.7% (-8.1 to 79.5%) rise in CBFv/1 kPa rise in PCO2, and a PO2 reactivity of -3.1% (-14.2 to 7.9%) fall in CBFv/1 kPa rise in PO2. In preterm infants, the individual's capacity for MABP-, PCO2-, and PO2-dependent CBF autoregulation can be estimated by means of the present method, even if the vital parameters change simultaneously.

Blood Flow Velocity↗