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Biomedical subjects

M Brack

Publications and source records attributed to M Brack.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

GAG deletion in the DYT1 gene in early limb-onset idiopathic torsion dystonia in Germany.

We examined 57 patients with idiopathic torsion dystonia (ITD) for the 3-bp GAG deletion in the DYT1 gene on human chromosome 9q34. Three of five patients with early limb-onset ITD, one of them with a positive family history, tested positive for the mutation, as did one young patient with multifocal dystonia and a short course of the disease. Two patients with early-onset generalized dystonia beginning in the cervical muscles, as well as five other patients with multifocal, 14 patients with segmental, and 30 patients with focal cervical dystonia did not carry the mutation. This suggests that the GAG deletion is responsible for a major portion of cases of typical early limb-onset dystonia, but not for other types of dystonia, in our population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

IgM/IgA nephropathy in callitrichids: antigen studies.

Renal tissues of callitrichids with IgM nephropathy were immunohistochemically examined for the participation of IgA in pathogenesis. In 58 histopathologically nephropathy-positive kidneys, IgM predominated in 20 cases and IgA in 7 cases, and in 31 cases both immunoglobulins were rated to be approximately equally involved. The disease, therefore, might be described as IgM/IgA nephropathy. The renal tissues and sera were also tested for nutritional antigens or antinutritional antigen antibodies, using immunohistochemistry and Western blots (tissues) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (sera). Evidences of nutritional antigens in the renal tissues were inconclusive, although circulating IgG class antibodies against cereals, milk, and egg proteins were present in quite a number of sera. Particular consideration was paid to IgA-antigliadin antibodies, which were statistically significantly associated with nephropathy as were IgA rheumatoid factors. The findings are discussed in relation to human IgA and IgM nephropathies.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Spontaneous tumours in tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri): population studies.

In a necropsy series at the German Primate Centre, 63 of 1132 tree shrews were found to have tumours. The youngest affected animal was < 6 months old, but the incidence of tumours increased strikingly beyond 2 years of age; of 17 animals aged > 8 years, no less than 14 (82.4%) were affected. The sites of neoplasia were the genital system (22 cases), haematopoietic system (18 cases of malignant lymphoma, many involving the digestive tract), lungs (14 cases), integument (five cases), digestive tract (three cases other than those with malignant lymphoma) and urinary bladder (one case).

Age Distribution↗
PubMed1998

Adrenal cortical epithelial cysts in two saddleback tamarins (Saguinus fuscicollis).

Adrenal cysts of epithelial origin were found incidentally in the adrenal cortical tissues of two adult female saddleback tamarins. In one case, a small cluster of minor cysts was located at the cortico-medullary border. The cysts were filled with a periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)-positive, amorphous substance and lined by a cuboidal PAS-negative epithelium, which resembled morphologically the ascending Henle's loops of the kidney. These microcysts were thought to be mesonephric remnants. In the second case, two large cysts of 1 to 3 mm diameter extended throughout the entire cortex. The cysts were filled by a watery, PAS-negative fluid and lined by a bi- to multi-layered, cytokeratin-positive epithelium. The basal epithelial layer consisted of cuboidal cells, which became cylindrical to drop-like in appearance towards the cyst lumen. The cysts closely resembled mesothelium-derived adrenal cysts in man. This is the first report of adrenal cysts in non-human primates.

Adrenal Cortex↗
PubMed1998

Brain potentials reveal the timing of face identity and expression judgments.

Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded from multiple scalp locations from young human subjects while they performed two different face processing tasks. The first task entailed the presentation of pairs of faces in which the second face was either a different view of the first face or a different view of a different face. The subjects had to decide whether or not the two faces depicted the same person. In the second task, pairs of faces (frontal views) were presented with the task of judging whether the expression of the second face matched that of the face. Incongruous faces in the view (identity) matching task gave rise to a negativity peaking at about 350 ms with a frontocentral maximum. This effect was similar to the N400 obtained in linguistic tasks. ERP effects in the expression matching task were much later and had a different distribution. This pattern of results corresponds well with neuropsychological and neuroimaging data suggesting specialized neuronal populations subserving identity and expression analysis but adds a temporal dimension to previous investigations.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Gastrointestinal tumors observed in nonhuman primates at the German primate center.

Twenty-six gastrointestinal tumors were observed in twenty-three nonhuman primates during routine necropsies at the German Primate Center, Göttingen. The majority (15 cases) were colorectal mucoid adenocarcinomas in cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus), which in two animals were associated with gastric adenomas. Three cases of small intestinal mucoid adenocarcinomas occurred in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). One colonic leiomyoma was observed in a dwarf galago (Galagoides demidovii) and another one in a cotton top tamarin. Singular findings were a tubular adeno-carcinoma of the ileo-caecal valve in a saddle-backed tamarin (Saguinus fuscicollis) and a lymphosarcoma of jejunum, ileum, and colon in another saddle-backed tamarin. Multiple tubular adeno-carcinomas of the colonic diverticles occurred in an aged rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta). The findings are discussed in comparison to the situation in man.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Event-related brain potentials to unfamiliar faces in explicit and implicit memory tasks.

The purpose of this study was to investigate electrophysiological correlates related to the recognition of repeated faces in the intact human by means of event-related brain potentials (ERPs). A group of young healthy adults performed a continuous face recognition task, in which 240 unfamiliar faces were flashed upon a computer screen with 80 of the faces being repetitions. The subjects had to classify faces as previously seen and previously unseen faces. The concomitantly recorded ERPs from 19 scalp sites revealed a more positive going waveform for the correctly classified repeated faces beginning at about 280 ms (old/new effect). The same subjects performed a similar task with visually presented concrete nouns as stimuli. The old/new effect in this task showed a similar distribution, amplitude and onset latency. It is thus concluded that the old/new effect is not specific to the materials to be memorized. In contrast, the old/new effect in an implicit face repetition experiment (with the detection of famous persons being the task) showed a different distribution. It is argued that the differential distribution might reflect the different requirements of the two tasks (explicit vs. implicit task). Recent interpretations of the old/new effects are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

An outbreak of Streptococcus equi ssp. zooepidemicus infection of probable human origin in Wanderoos (Macaca silenus)--case report.

Three out of ten young to adult wanderoos (M. silenus) of a breeding colony at the Rheine Zoo died within two days from a peracute illness, characterized by salivation, vomiting, apathy and minor CNS symptoms. Streptococcus equi ssp. zooepidemicus was isolated in pure cultures from all organs of two animals investigated bacteriologically. The strains were penicillin-susceptible, and penicillin treatment of all remaining animals cured two already sick animals and prevented further cases. A volunteer worker with upper respiratory disease was suspected as source of infection; contact with equine materials and rodents could be excluded.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Alveolar hydatidosis (Echinococcus multilocularis) in a captive rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) in Germany.

A naturally occurring E. multilocularis infection in an 11-year-old female rhesus monkey is described. The infection most probably was acquired from foxes of the Göttingen area through contaminated branches or foliage taken from the nearby forest. The most severely affected organs were the liver and the lung, A limited serological survey using the Em2plus ELISA revealed 5 more animals which so far remain clinically healthy as possibly infected.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Eikenella corrodens-caused botryomycosis-type pneumonia in a barbary ape (Macaca sylvanus).

An 18-year-old female barbary ape in a safari park died from a mixed bacterial infection. Staphylococus aureus was isolated from a purulent necrotic mastitis and from a chronic purulent granulomatous sialoadenitis of the sublingual glands, Eikenella corrodens from a botryomycosis-type pneumonia. As judged by histopathology, mixed infection of S. aureus and E. corrodens was present in the sialoadenitis, and E. corrodens botryomycosis-type bacterial colonies were also present in the pancreatic parenchyma, though here no bacteriological isolation was attempted. A generalized amyloidosis, and especially pancreatic islet amyloidosis, probably indicated an altered immunological competence.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Pulmonary histiocytosis in tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri).

Granulomatous lesions similar to those of pulmonary histiocytosis in rats developed spontaneously in the lungs of captive tree shrews. Incidence peaked in 3-year-old tree shrews. Sex dependency was not observed, and development of the granulomas was unrelated to experimental procedures because the lesions were observed in animals from the breeding stock as well. The granulomas consisted of amorphous material, foam cells, and a few foreign body-type multinuclear giant cells; they also contained acicular clefts, often with some fibrous material. Alveolar septa within and adjacent to the granulomas were thickened in most instances, but did not contain inflammatory cells in appreciable numbers or amyloid. Only traces of cholesterol and calcium were detected in the amorphous material; neutral fat was stored in the foam cells and the amorphous masses. Fibers without birefringency were documented by polarization and scanning electron microscopy in the vicinity of granulomas, which in energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis consisted mostly of calcium, but lacked silicon.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Suspected dermatophilosis in an adult orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus).

An adult female Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus) had a pruritic, vesicular skin disease, particularly of the extremities, trunk, and face. Over a 2-yr course, symptoms resolved only transiently after corticosteroid treatment. Antibiotic treatment and withdrawal of all corticosteroids resulted in complete recovery of the animal and return to normal activity patterns. On the basis of the dermal histopathologic lesions, Dermatophilus congolensis was suspected as the causative organism, although subsequent cultivation was not attempted because of the stress additional procedures would have caused to the orangutan.

Actinomycetales↗
PubMed1996

Apolipoprotein E polymorphism does not predict risk of restenosis after coronary angioplasty.

A recent report has suggested that the E4 allele of apolipoprotein (apo) E increases the risk of restenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) and also that it interacts synergistically with the deletion (D) allele of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) to increase the risk sixteen-fold. To investigate this further, we genotyped 231 subjects with successful PTCA who underwent planned repeat angiography at 4 months to assess the degree of restenosis. Subjects carrying the apo E4 allele (n = 71) were well matched with non-carriers (n = 160) for clinical and pre- and post-PTCA angiographic features. We found no increase in either apo E4 allele frequency (18.4% versus 15.6%, P = 0.42) or apo E4 homozygosity (2/106 versus 5/125, P = 0.30) in those with restenosis compared with those without. The relative risk of restenosis for apo E4 carriers was 1.11 (95% CI = 0.87-1.42). In apo E4 carriers, restenosis frequency was similar in those also carrying the ACE D allele and those without (28/55 (50.9%) versus 9/16 (56.2%), P = 0.71) and there was no significant increase in restenosis risk in carriers of both the apo E4 and ACE D alleles compared to the rest (odds ratio 1.30, 95% CI 0.68-2.50, P = 0.39). We conclude that in our cohort, the apo E4 allele does not either independently or acting synergistically with the ACE D allele increase the risk of restenosis after PTCA, and that apo E genotyping will not be a useful predictor of risk before the procedure.

Alleles↗
PubMed1996

Tumors of the respiratory tract observed at the German Primate Center, 1978-1994.

Eight spontaneous pulmonary tumors (four bronchiolar tubular adenomas, two bronchiolar adenocarcinomas, two squamous-cell carcinomas) occurred in a total of 54 adult tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri) of the GPC colonies between 1978 and 1994. The adenomas and adenocarcinomas consisted of tubularly or trabecularly arranged cuboidal to cylindrical cells interspersed with some PAS-positive goblet cells, thus resembling the epithelial lining of respiratory bronchioles of tree shrews. The two squamous-cell carcinomas probably originated from the pulmonary alveoles. Three more pulmonary tumors (one small-cell carcinoma, one bronchial adenoma, one squamous-cell carcinoma) developed in 409 adult callitrichids of the GPC colonies during the same period, and one more bronchial adenoma was observed in a common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) of another colony located in Göttingen. With regard to the adenomas and squamous-cell carcinomas, a similar cellular origin with the three shrews is assumed. The small-cell carcinoma possibly developed from the bronchial epithelium, provided a pathogenesis parallel to that of human small-cell carcinoma is suggested. Four of the tree shrew pulmonary adenomas/adenocarcinomas and the small-cell Ca were macroscopically visible as yellowish-grey nodules of 1 mm x 1 mm to 15 mm x 15 mm diameter, predominantly involving the main lobes (2 x right main lobes, 2 x left main lobes, 1 x all lobes). The pulmonary tumors of the other animals were below macroscopical detectability.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1996

Gongylonematiasis in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus).

Two cases of gongylonematiasis in common marmosets of two research facilities in Germany are reported. The helminthiasis was transmitted from colony A to colony B by one infected female and within colony B by cockroaches (Blatella germanica). Four of 40 cockroaches examined in colony B were infected with rhabditiform larvae. Clinical signs of disease in the infected animals consisted of intense itching and scratching of the edematous and slightly hyperemic perioral tissues. Histologically the adult helminths lodged predominantly in the mucous membranes of the upper and lower lips; they were less frequently present in the labial cutaneous parts or in the tongue and could not be seen in the esophageal wall, bronchi, or abdominal organs. The helminthic infection probably caused minor to moderate mixed inflammatory infiltrates of the periesophageal connective tissues and intense inflammation of the deep lingual muscular tissues. Lesions of the mucosal membranes of the lips and tongue had predominant accumulations of neutrophilic granulocytes, lymphocytes, and mostly degranulated mast cells with only a few eosinophilic granulocytes. In the cutaneous part of the lips multifocal microabscesses were considered to be secondary lesions from the intense scratching.

Animals↗