PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J Brunner

Publications and source records attributed to J Brunner.

144 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Decreased corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid of eucortisolemic suicide attempters.

Several lines of evidence suggest a dysregulation of the adrenocortical (HPA) system with hypersecretion of CRH is associated with suicidal behavior. However, controversial results have emerged from the determination of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) concentrations in the lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of suicide attempters probably due to methodological differences. We simultaneously measured CRH concentrations in the CSF and in the plasma of 41 psychiatric in-patients with different diagnoses (affective disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, adjustment disorder, substance abuse) and eight neurological control subjects. We also measured plasma cortisol concentrations because data from animal experiments suggest that cortisol may influence CSF CRH concentrations. The major finding was that patients who attempted suicide prior to admission had significantly lower CSF CRH concentrations than psychiatric patients without suicidal behavior. CRH concentrations were significantly higher in the CSF than in plasma in both, psychiatric patients and neurological control subjects. There was no significant difference between suicide attempters and patients with acute suicidal ideations. The latter group showed a trend towards lower CSF CRH concentrations compared with the neurological control subjects. Patients with affective disorder alone as well as patients with multiple diagnoses, but not schizophrenic patients, showed significantly lower CSF CRH concentrations than neurological control subjects. Plasma CRH and plasma cortisol concentrations did not differ among diagnostic groups or between suicide attempters vs. non-attempters. Further studies with more homogeneous samples, drug-free patients and with simultaneous assessment of various parameters of the HPA system are warranted.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Use of a photoactivable GM1 ganglioside analogue to assess lipid distribution in caveolae bilayer.

A new photoactivable, radioactive derivative of ganglioside GM1 has been utilized to assess lipid distribution in the caveolae bilayer, taking advantage of the ability of the glycolipid, endogenous or exogenously added, to concentrate within this membrane compartment and to crosslink neighboring molecules upon illumination. After insertion into A431 plasma membrane and photoactivation, a membrane-enriched and a detergent-resistant fraction, enriched in gangliosides, sphingomyelin and cholesterol, were isolated. While a few radioactive proteins were detected in the membrane-enriched fraction, only radioactive caveolin was detected in the detergent-resistant fraction, indicating at the same time the enrichment of this fraction in caveolae and the presence of ganglioside within this compartment. Among lipids, crosslinked phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin and cholesterol were detected in the membrane-enriched fraction, while only crosslinked sphingomyelin was detected in the detergent-resistant fraction. These results suggest the enrichment in sphingomyelin - along with ganglioside - within the outer leaflet, and the preferential localization of cholesterol within the endoplasmic leaflet, of the caveolae bilayer.

Caveolae↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Myositis caused by a mycoplasma infection].

UNLABELLED: Mycoplasma pneumonia infection can be associated with neurological manifestations such as meningoencephalitis, cerebellitis, aseptic meningoitis, polyradiculopathy, transverse myelitis, cranial nerve palsies and myositis [4, 5]. We report a case of a white female 11 years, 2 months old child, who presented with a 3 day history of pain in the left leg. The electromyograpy showed pathological signs. We found a serological titer of IgM antibodies for Mycoplasma pneumoniae. By treatment with erythromycin the complaints improved quickly. CONCLUSION: A myositis can be caused with an infection with Mycoplasma pneumoniae. The differential diagnosis is essential.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Coxsackie virus B 4 encephalitis in a 7 year old boy.

BACKGROUND: Enteroviruse belongs to the family of picornaviruses. They can be devided in 4 groups: polioviruses (Typ 1-3) enteric cythopathogenic human orphan (ECHO)- viruses, unclassified enteroviruses 68-71 and coxsackie viruses. Coxsackie virus type B can cause pharyngitis, myalgia, myocarditis and meningitis as well as severe neonatal infections. CASE REPORT: We report a patient with coxsackie type B 4 encephalitis. A 7 year old boy had 2 episodes of mental dizziness and consciousness disturbance. Because of he presented a visus of 70 %, headaches and vomiting he was admitted to our hospital. In the cerebrospinal fluid a coxsackie virus type B 4 could be identified. With nonspecific therapy the boy recovered. CONCLUSION: We concluded that coxsackie virus B 4 caused acute encephalitis with ophthalmological and mental symptoms and good prognosis. Coxsackie virus B 4 should be considered in patients with encephalitis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Rabies virus-induced membrane fusion.

Rabies virus is a member of the rhabdovirus family. It enters cells by a process of receptor mediated endocytosis. Following this step, the viral envelope fuses with the endosomal membrane to allow release of the viral nucleocapsid into the cytoplasm. Fusion is induced by the low pH of the endosomal compartment and is mediated by the single viral glycoprotein G, a homotrimeric integral membrane protein. Rabies virus fusion properties are related to different conformational states of G. By different biochemical and biophysical approaches, it has been demonstrated that G can assume at least three different states: the native (N) state detected at the viral surface above pH 7, the activated (A) hydrophobic state which interacts with the target membrane as a first step of the fusion process, and the fusion inactive (I) conformation. Differently from other fusogenic viruses for which low pH-induced conformational changes are irreversible, there is a pH dependent equilibrium between these states, the equilibrium being shifted toward the I-state at low pH. The objective of this review is to detail recent findings on rhabdovirus-induced membrane fusion and to underline the differences that exist between this viral family and influenza virus which is the best known fusogenic virus. These differences have to be taken into consideration if one wants to have a global understanding of virus-induced membrane fusion.

Hydrogen-Ion Concentration↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Synthesis, receptor binding, and crosslinking of photoactive analogues of neuropeptide Y.

Five photoactive analogues of porcine neuropeptide Y (NPY), a 36 amino acid hormone of the pancreatic polypeptide family, have been synthesized by solid phase peptide synthesis method, Fmoc/tBu strategy and carefully characterized. The analogues contain the photoactivatable amino acid 4'-(3-trifluoromethyl)-3H-diazirine-3-yl-phenyl-alanine ((Tmd)Phe) individually at different positions (1, 20, 21, 27 or 36) instead of tyrosine in the wildtype sequence. Affinity to membranes prepared from SMS-KAN cells, which stably express the Y2 receptor has been investigated by measuring the displacement of 125I-Bolton Hunter-NPY. After incubation of the membranes with different concentrations of the crosslinker and subsequent photolysis, the specific binding of 125I-Bolton Hunter-NPY at those membranes was tested in order to quantify the crosslinking efficiency. Whereas [(Tmd)Phe20] NPY, [(Tmd)Phe21] NPY and [(Tmd)Phe27] NPY revealed highest affinity to the Y2 receptor, crosslinking was most efficient when Tyr36 was replaced by (Tmd)Phe. This is in good agreement with the previously suggested C-terminal binding site of neuropeptide Y.

Affinity Labels↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The diagnostic value of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) antibodies in children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Antibodies against cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) are considered to be specific for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical significance of anti-CCP antibodies in a cohort of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and if they can be used to identify patients with an unfavourable course of disease. METHODS: 68 serum samples were investigated. 45 patients were diagnosed with JIA (15 male and 30 female) aged 1.9-17.3 years (median 12.9 mean 11,0). 5 patients had polyarticular (RF negative), 2 polyarticular (RF positive), 25 oligoarticular JIA, 6 enthesitis related arthritis, 2 psoriatric arthritis, 3 patients had systemic disease and 2 unclassified arthritis. 23 samples were taken from patients with non-inflammatory cardiac diseases undergoing interventional cardiac therapy. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA; Euroimmun, Lübeck, Germany) was used for the detection and quantification of anti-CCP antibodies in patients with JIA. RESULTS: Overall, anti-CCP antibodies were found in 2.9% (2/68) of all samples and in 4.4 % (2/45) patients with JIA. CONCLUSION: Anti-CCP antibodies are associated with RF positive polyarticular course of JIA. Anti-CCP antibodies are not relevant for other subgroups of JIA. Therefore anti-CCP Abs in patients with JIA should not be investigated routinely.

Adolescent↗