PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

K Frese

Publications and source records attributed to K Frese.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Headache associated with sexual activity: demography, clinical features, and comorbidity.

OBJECTIVE: S: To provide data on the demography, clinical features, and comorbidity of headache associated with sexual activity (HSA). METHODS: Between 1996 and 2001, 51 patients with the diagnosis of HSA were questioned using a structured interview. RESULTS: The mean age at onset was 39.2 (+/-11.1) years. There was a clear male preponderance (2.9:1). The age at onset had two peaks, with a first peak between the 20th and 24th (n = 13) years of life and a second peak between the 35th and 44th (n = 20) years of life. Eleven patients had HSA type 1 (dull subtype), which gradually increased with increasing sexual excitement. The remaining (n = 40) had HSA type 2 (explosive subtype). The pain was predominantly bilateral (67%), and diffuse or occipital (76%). The quality was nearly equally distributed among dull, throbbing, and stabbing. HSA was not dependent on specific sexual habits and most often occurred during sexual activity with the usual partner (94%) and during masturbation (35%). There was a high comorbidity with migraine (25%), benign exertional headache (29%), and tension-type headache (45%). HSA types 1 and 2 did not significantly differ in demography, clinical features, or comorbidity, except for a higher probability of stopping the attack by breaking off sexual activity in HSA type 1. There were no cases with HSA type 3 (postural subtype). CONCLUSION: Mean age at onset, a male preponderance, a predominantly bilateral and occipital pain, and a high comorbidity with other primary headaches are in concordance with case reports in the literature. The authors found two peaks for the age at onset, however. There was no clinical evidence proving subtypes 1 and 2 to be distinct disorders. HSA types 1 and 2 may be different manifestations of the same disease rather than distinct entities.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Cognitive processing in headache associated with sexual activity.

Cognitive processing in headache associated with sexual Cognitive processing as measured by event-related potentials (ERP) in patients suffering from the explosive subtype of headache associated with sexual activity (HSA type 2) was investigated. Visual ERP were measured in 24 patients with HSA type 2 outside the headache period. The differences of the first and the second part of measurement were evaluated separately to determine the amount of cognitive habituation. Twenty-four sex- and age-matched healthy subjects and 24 patients with migraine without aura served as controls. A missing increase of P3 latency during the second part of the measurement was found in 79% of patients with HSA type 2 and in 75% with migraine, but only in 17% of the healthy controls (P < 0.001). The P3 amplitude was increased during the second part in 71% of patients with HSA type 2 and in 79% with migraine, but only in 33% of the healthy controls (P = 0.02). Mean P3 latency was decreased and mean P3 amplitude was increased during the second part of the measurement in HSA type 2 and in migraine but not in the healthy control group. Patients with HSA type 2 have a loss of cognitive habituation as measured by ERP. This specific information processing is very similar to that in migraine observed in previous studies.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Evidence of infectious diseases in harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) hunted in the waters of Greenland and by-caught in the German North Sea and Baltic Sea.

The pathological, microbiological and serological findings in harbour porpoises hunted in Greenlandic waters were compared with the findings in animals accidentally caught in fishing gear in the German North Sea and Baltic Sea. The body condition of the Greenlandic animals was good, whereas nine of 23 German harbour porpoises were moderately to markedly emaciated. Both groups were infested with parasites. In the Greenlandic animals parasitism of the aural peribullar cavity with Stenurus minor, of the liver and pancreas with Orthosplanchnus mironovi, of the lungs with Halocercus species and of the subcutaneous and mammary tissue with Crassicauda species was generally associated with a mild inflammatory response. No diseases associated with bacteria were identified in any of the Greenlandic harbour porpoises. In the porpoises from the German North Sea and Baltic Sea, parasites were present in the aural peribullar cavity (S minor), liver (Campula oblonga), first and second gastric compartment (Anisakis simplex) and in the lungs (Pseudalius inflexus and Torynurus convolutus). Moderate to marked pulmonary parasitism and suppurative pneumonia, not observed in the Greenlandic porpoises, were present in 11 and 10, respectively, of the 23 German porpoises. The suppurative pneumonia was attributed to bacterial infection with beta-haemolytic streptococci and Escherichia coil var haemolytica. Four Greenlandic and 10 German porpoises had positive porpoise morbillivirus-specific antibody titres suggesting that the virus was circulating in both populations.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Distribution of Borna disease virus in the brain of rats infected with an obesity-inducing virus strain.

Experimental infection of Lewis rats with Borna disease virus (BDV), a nonsegmented, single-stranded RNA virus, usually causes an immune-mediated biphasic neurobehavioral disorder. Such animals develop a persistent infection of the CNS with viral antigen expression in all brain regions and a disseminated nonpurulent meningoencephalitis. Interestingly, intracerebral infection of Lewis rats with a BDV-variant (BDV-ob) causes a rapid increase of body weight with the development of an obesity syndrome without obvious neurological signs. The obese phenotype is correlated with a characteristic distribution of inflammatory lesions and BDV-antigen in the rat brain. Infiltration with mononuclear immune cells and viral antigen expression are restricted to the septum, hippocampus, amygdala and ventromedian tuberal hypothalamus. Therefore, infection with the obesity-inducing BDV-ob results most likely in neuroendocrine dysregulations leading to the development of an obesity syndrome. This might be due to the restriction of viral antigen expression and inflammatory lesions to brain areas which are involved in the regulation of body weight and food intake. The BDV-induced obesity syndrome represents a model for the study of immune-mediated neuroendocrine disorders caused by viral infections of the CNS.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Thymic cysts in harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from the German North Sea, Baltic Sea, and waters of Greenland.

Thymic cysts have not been previously reported in harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena). Two hundred forty stranded or "by-caught" harbor porpoises originating from the German North Sea and Baltic Sea and 14 animals from the waters of Greenland were necropsied. Thymuses of 78 porpoises of the North Sea and Baltic Sea were considered suitable for histopathologic examination based on the extent of postmortem autolysis. Immunohistochemistry using an anti-cytokeratin antibody was employed to demonstrate thymic epithelial structures in selected cases. Thymic macrocysts were rare and were only found in animals > or =7 years of age. Thymic microcysts, lined by a single cytokeratin-positive cell layer, were common in involuting thymuses, and the prevalence increased with advancing age. Thymic cysts might have arisen from degenerating Hassall's corpuscles or condensed epithelial reticulum. Thymuses were easily identified macroscopically in most adult healthy harbor porpoises, suggesting that physiological thymic involution proceeds slowly in this species.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Expression of major histocompatibility complex class II antigen in neoplastic cells of canine cutaneous histiocytoma.

Forty five cases of canine cutaneous histiocytoma (CCH) were examined by immunohistology for expression and distribution of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II antigen in neoplastic cells. In addition, expression of lysozyme and calprotectin (leucocyte protein L1) in neoplastic cells was investigated. Furthermore, B and T lymphocytes were demonstrated by antibodies against the CD3 antigen, IgG, and IgM. Neoplastic cells showed two staining patterns for MHC class II antigen: focal juxtanuclear cytoplasmic staining and/or rim-like staining along the cell periphery. In 24 cases, a predominant or exclusive focal juxtanuclear cytoplasmic MHC class II antigen reaction in neoplastic cells, and the presence of few diffusely distributed infiltrating CD3 antigen-positive T lymphocytes were observed. Tumors with numerous neoplastic cells exhibiting staining for MHC class II antigen along the cell periphery (n = 21) showed increased inflammatory alterations, represented by disseminated and nodular infiltrations of mainly CD3 antigen-positive T cells. B cells, plasma cells, exudate macrophages, and neutrophils were rarely seen disseminated between neoplastic cells whereas their number increased within focal inflammatory infiltrates. The focal cytoplasmic reaction for MHC class II antigen in neoplastic cells might represent newly synthesized MHC class II molecules stored in vesicles, whereas staining of the cell periphery might occur due to accumulation of MHC class II molecules along the plasma membrane. The increasing expression of MHC class II molecules on the cell surface might be the decisive factor for onset and progression of tumor regression. However, the exact mechanism of priming and activation of T cells by neoplastic cells and the nature of the presented antigen are not yet known.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

[Cochlear implant for non-deaf patients?].

BACKGROUND: Cochlear implants have proven to be the method of choice for postlingually deafened adults. The great success of this application requires discussion of the degree in which the indication for cochlear implantation should be expanded to include patients with residual hearing. METHOD AND PATIENTS: Following an initial discussion of the term deafness, we present the preoperative and postoperative results in five patients with residual hearing. These patients achieve a certain degree of speech recognition with their well fitted hearing aids. However, their aided speech intelligibility did not exceed 30% with the standardized Freiburg monosyllabic word test at 70 dB. In each case the worse hearing ear was treated with a cochlear implant. Speech discrimination in silence and noise are compared with the results of a group of postlingually deafened cochlear implant patients. RESULTS: The five patients are very satisfied with the cochlear implant and use the telephone to communicate with unknown partners. They score 100% in the standardized four-syllable number test above 55 dB and they document a loss of speech discrimination between 0 and 25% within the open-set monosyllabic word test. The mean increase of best monosyllable intelligibility by the cochlear implant over the hearing aids is 65%. Using the innsbruck sentence test the patients score 100% at 70 dB; with the Göttingen sentence test, the mean result is 75%. Their mean results in noise are also very good, 76% at 10 dBS/N and 57% at 5 dBS/N respectively. None of these patients use the hearing aid on the untreated, better hearing ear. CONCLUSION: A multichannel cochlear implant lead to a significant improvement of speech comprehension in these patients with residual hearing. We can successfully implant patients with minimal benefit of their well fitted hearing aids. Our group is too small to be able to define general selection criteria. For the time being we use as an audiological indication a open-set monosyllabic word intelligibility of not more than 30% at 70 dB with well fitted hearing aids.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Molecular characterization of Borna disease virus from naturally infected animals and possible links to human disorders.

In this review data are presented which indicate a high degree of genetic stability of BDV in his natural host, the horse. Despite this high degree of sequence conservation, variation in antigenicity was found, which did not influence the pathogenic properties of the virus. In addition, the correlation between BDV-seropositivity and a variety of psychiatric and neurological disorders in humans is discussed. In diagnostically unselected psychiatric patients we found a similar distribution of psychiatric disorders in BDV seropositives compared to seronegatives. Investigations of cerebrospinal fluid revealed cases of BDV encephalitis in BDV seropositive psychiatric and neurological patients. In contrast to others, we have found no evidence for the presence of BDV-RNA or BDV in human peripheral blood leucocytes.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Detection of a novel Borna disease virus-encoded 10 kDa protein in infected cells and tissues.

Borna disease (BD) is a transmissible, progressive polioencephalomyelitis primarily of horses and sheep. The genomes of two cell-adapted strains of Borna disease virus (BDV), the aetiological agent of BD, have been cloned and sequenced. According to the structural characterization achieved so far, BDV contains a non-segmented negative-sense 8.9 kb single-stranded RNA genome. In this paper we report the expression, purification and intracellular tracing of a novel non-glycosylated BDV-specific protein with a molecular mass of approximately 10 kDa (BDV p10 protein). The successful isolation of the corresponding mRNA from infected cells, amplification of the genetic region by RT-PCR and its efficient expression as a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein demonstrated that antibodies specific for the BDV p10 protein are induced in infected animals. In addition, we have produced monospecific antisera against the GST-p10 fusion protein in rabbits. This monospecific antiserum recognized the BDV p10 protein in brain cells of naturally and experimentally infected animals as well as in persistently BDV-infected cells. Antibody-mediated affinity-chromatography using the anti-p10 serum could successfully be applied to purify a ca. 10 kDa antigen from infected animal cells to such an extent that glycosylation of this component could be ruled out.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Lumbar range of motion: reliability and validity of the inclinometer technique in the clinical measurement of trunk flexibility.

STUDY DESIGN: This study examines the reliability and validity of measuring lumbar range of motion with an inclinometer. OBJECTIVES: To find out whether a manual determination of the reference points for measuring lumbar range of motion is as reliable as radiologic determination for positioning the inclinometers, lumbar range of motion was determined in degrees by evaluating radiographs and by using the inclinometer technique of Loebl. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Reliability and validity of the inclinometer technique as a clinical measurement of trunk flexibility were investigated. Fifty-four patients participated in the study. METHODS: Lumbar range of motion measurements were taken with and without radiologic control of the T12 and S1 vertebrae as reference points for positioning of the inclinometers. An interrater correlation was done of the inclinometer techniques of a physician and a physiotherapist. Functional radiographs were investigated in a standing position. Lumbar range of motion measurements based on radiographs and those taken using the inclinometer alone were correlated to validate the inclinometer technique. RESULTS: Lumbar range of motion measurements taken with and without radiologic determination showed a very close correlation (r = 0.93; P < 0.001). Flexion alone also demonstrated a close correlation (r = 0.95; P < 0.001), whereas extension showed a somewhat smaller correlation (r = 0.82; P < 0.001). Total lumbar range of motion (r = 0.94; P < 0.001) and flexion (r = 0.88; P < 0.001) were closely related, as indicated by the interrater correlation, whereas extension (r = 0.42; P < 0.05) showed a lesser correlation. Correlation of the measurements taken radiographically and by inclinometer demonstrated an almost linear correlation for measurements of the total lumbar range of motion (r = 0.97; P < 0.001) and flexion (r = 0.98; P < 0.001), whereas extension (r = 0.75; P < 0.001) did not correlate as well. CONCLUSIONS: The noninvasive inclinometer technique proved to be highly reliable and valid, but the measurement technique for extension needs further refinement.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Lumbar range of motion: influence of time of day and individual factors on measurements.

STUDY DESIGN: Influence of time of day and individual factors on the measurements of the lumbar range of motion was investigated. OBJECTIVES: To investigate factors that influence lumbar range of motion. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Twenty-nine patients with chronic low back pain participated in the study. METHODS: The lumbar range of motion was measured by inclinometer technique, Schober sign, modified-Schober sign, and fingertip-to-floor method in the morning, at noon, and in the afternoon. The lumbar range of motion was correlated with patients' gender, age, and body weight. RESULTS: Total lumbar range of motion measured by the inclinometer technique and the modified-Schober sign increased significantly throughout the day from morning to afternoon. Extension lumbar range of motion was shown to be independent of the time of measurement. There were no significant correlations between lumbar range of motion and gender, age, and body weight of the patients. CONCLUSION: For the reliability of a measurement, it is important to investigate lumbar range of motion at the same time of day.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

[Intraosseous epidermoid cysts of the toe phalanx in dogs].

Out of 1057 amputated canine toes with tumours, tumour-like or other lesions, 17 cases were histopathologically diagnosed as epidermoid cysts of the terminal phalanx (EP). They were accompanied by osteolysis, reactive bone formation and chronic inflammation of phalanx 3. Extension of reactive changes to the phalangeal joint and phalanx 2 was less frequent. Various breeds were involved. There was no breed predisposition. The average age was 10.8 years; the male-female ratio 2.4:1. Nine EP were located on the forelimbs, 4 on the hindlimbs. In 4 cases location was unknown. Toes 4 and 5 were most frequently affected. A traumatic origin is suspected.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Borna disease virus-specific T cells protect against or cause immunopathological Borna disease.

In this report we show that passive immunization of Lewis rats with viable CD4+, Borna disease virus (BDV)-specific T cells before infection with BDV resulted in protection against BD, whereas inoculation of these T cells after BDV infection induced clinical disease with more rapid onset than seen in BDV control animals. The protective as well as encephalitogenic effector functions of BDV-specific CD4+ T cells were mediated only by viable BDV-specific T cells. The protective situation was obtained by passive transfer of BDV-specific T cells into animals inoculated later with virus, whereas the immunopathological situation was observed when virus-specific T cells developed normally or after adoptive transfer, and appeared on the scene after considerable virus replication in the brain.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Borna disease, a possible hazard for man?

Evidence is presented that Borna disease (BD) virus, which is known to cause encephalopathy in horses, sheep, and a broad range of experimental animals, or a related agent, can infect man and may induce mental disorders. BD virus-specific antibodies could be demonstrated in 4-7% of sera (depending on origin) from more than 5000 psychiatric or neurological patients from Germany, U.S.A. and Japan. Antibodies from seropositive patients reacted with a BD virus-specific protein translated by RNAs which were transcribed from a cDNA clone obtained from BD virus-infected tissues. When the cerebrospinal fluid from three seropositive patients was inoculated into rabbits or rabbit embryonic brain cell cultures, evidence was obtained that suggests the presence of BD virus or a related agent.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Studies on the genetic control of resistance of black hooded rats to Borna disease.

In contrast to Lewis (LEW) and Wistar rats, black hooded (BH) rats inoculated with Borna disease (BD) virus developed neither encephalitis nor clinical disease despite persistent replication of the virus in the central nervous system. In comparison to LEW rats, production of virus-specific antibodies was significantly delayed in BD-resistant BH rats, even though identical titres were finally reached. The different susceptibility in LEW and BH rats was studied further by investigating responses of F1 hybrid animals. Although these rats developed encephalitis, they did not become sick. The differences in host responses for BD virus were found to be genetically determined but were independent of class I or class II major histocompatibility complex gene products or to genes responsible for lymphocyte differentiation.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Atypical dissemination of the highly neurotropic Borna disease virus during persistent infection in cyclosporine A-treated, immunosuppressed rats.

In adult rats infected with Borna disease virus, the virus was found exclusively in the brain, whereas in cyclosporine A-treated rats, infectious virus was also detected in peripheral nerve fibers and, unexpectedly, in adjacent organ-specific cells. In contrast to untreated virus-infected rats, no major histocompatibility complex class II expression was found in the brain of cyclosporine A-treated animals.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Molecular and immunopathological studies of borna disease virus infection in rats.

Borna disease virus is an agent distinct from all known viruses. Pathogenesis of its infection is also unique. This review highlights several aspects of the biology of this viral infection and the preliminary characterization of the agent. BDV can be used to answer important questions in neurobiology. These include neuroinvasiveness and neurotropism of viral agents, CD4+ T cell-mediated immunopathology and tolerance in newborn animals to a persistent viral infection in the CNS and behavioral diseases and eating disorders induced by neurotropic viruses. This review is dedicated to Prof. Dr. Rott on occasion of his 65th birthday in recognition of his immense contributions to studies on Borna disease and also for his success focusing the attention of the scientific community to this still evolving unique viral disease.

Animals↗