Biomedical subjects

Herbert Fuchs

Publications and source records attributed to Herbert Fuchs.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Levosimendan treatment after primary organ failure in heart transplantation: a direct way to recovery?

Heart transplantation is considered nowadays the gold standard in the therapy of chronic and terminal heart insufficiency. Primary organ failure after heart transplantation is a severe complication generally related to prolonged ischemia time, poor quality of the organ, or acute rejection. All these factors can potentially lead to multiorgan failure. Pharmacological and mechanical support for these patients is limited and often related to side effects. Ca sensitizers have been proposed to increase cardiac contractility without altering intracellular Ca levels, thus avoiding the side effects of Ca overload. We report two cases of heart transplanted patients suffering from acute graft failure in the early postoperative period who recovered after intravenous administration of levosimendan, a Ca sensitizer.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Intracranial Ewing sarcoma.

The occurrence of primary extraosseous Ewing sarcoma (EES) of the central nervous system (CNS) has only rarely been reported in the literature. It is important to distinguish this entity from the more common central primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) of brain, since the management of these tumors is different from that of EES. We present the clinical, radiologic, and pathologic features of two cases of EES occurring in the brain. The diagnosis was further confirmed by detection of a rearrangement of the FLI1 and/or EWS gene loci in tumors from both patients using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). Although rare, the possibility of EES should be considered particularly when tumors that arise near the meningeal surface of the brain and have the pathologic appearance of a PNET. Demonstration of t(11;22)(q24;q12) by molecular analysis essentially confirms the diagnosis and enables the oncologist to choose appropriate therapy.

Brain Neoplasms↗

PubMed2004

[18F]fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography in patients with medulloblastoma.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) accumulation during positron emission tomography (PET) in patients with medulloblastoma and examined the relationship of intensity of uptake with patient outcome after the initial scan. METHODS: Magnetic resonance imaging and FDG-PET scans of brain and spine were used to assess FDG uptake by visual grade (qualitative analysis) and metabolic activity ratios (T(max)/G(mean) and T(max)/W(mean)). Patients were divided into two groups based on either confirmation of tumor by biopsy and/or death resulting from progressive disease after the initial FDG-PET scan (Group A) or no intervention for the suspected lesion shown on magnetic resonance imaging after the initial FDG-PET scan but currently alive without evidence of disease (Group B). RESULTS: Twenty-two patients with either recurrent (n = 21) or newly diagnosed (n = 1) medulloblastoma underwent brain (n = 18) or whole-body (n = 4) FDG-PET scans after magnetic resonance imaging evidence of suspected tumor. The median qualitative analysis was 3 (range, 0-4) in 17 Group A patients compared with 0 (range, 0-1) in 5 Group B patients (P = 0.0003). The mean T(max)/G(mean) and T(max)/W(mean) ratios for 16 Group A patients were 1.3 (range, 0.1-3.8) and 2.10 (range, 0.4-5.2), respectively, compared with 0.80 (range, 0.20-1.5) and 1.3 (range, 0.5-1.9) in 5 Group B patients (P = 0.2 for both parameters, not significant). There was a significant negative correlation between increased FDG uptake and survival. Higher qualitative analysis and T(max)/W(mean) were associated with significantly poorer 2-year overall survival after the initial scan (71% versus 15% for qualitative analysis grade of <3 versus > or =3, P = 0.001; 46% versus 0% for T(max)/W(mean) < or =2.5 versus >2.5, P = 0.004). CONCLUSION: Increased FDG uptake is observed in medulloblastoma and is correlated negatively with survival.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

High-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem-cell rescue in children and adults with newly diagnosed pineoblastomas.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the usefulness of a treatment regimen that included high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) with autologous stem-cell rescue (ASCR) in patients with newly diagnosed pineoblastoma (PBL). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twelve patients with PBL were initially treated with surgery and induction chemotherapy. All but two patients underwent radiotherapy. Subsequently, all patients received HDC using cyclophosphamide (CTX) + melphalan (MEL) or busulfan (Bu) + MEL regimens and ASCR. RESULTS: A total of six children and six adults with median ages of 4.2 (range, 0.3 to 19.8 years) and 23 years (range, 23 to 43.7 years), respectively, were treated according to this strategy. Four patients had metastatic disease confined to the neuraxis. Five of 12 patients (42%) had a complete tumor resection at diagnosis. Ten patients received radiotherapy at median doses of 36.0 and 59.4 Gy to the neuraxis and pineal region, respectively. Eleven patients received HDC with CTX + MEL, and one patient received BU + MEL followed by ASCR. Nine patients are alive with no evidence of disease recurrence at a median of 62 months from diagnosis (range, 28 to 125 months), including three patients with metastatic disease and two infants who did not receive any radiotherapy. Three patients have died of progressive disease at 19, 32, and 37 months from diagnosis, respectively. The actuarial 4-year progression-free and overall survivals are 69% (95% confidence interval [CI], 39% to 99%) and 71% (95% CI, 43% to 99%), respectively. CONCLUSION: The use of HDC in addition to radiotherapy seems to be an effective treatment for patients with newly diagnosed pineoblastoma.

Adolescent↗