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Biomedical subjects

M Driessen

Publications and source records attributed to M Driessen.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

The first record of a member of the genus Hepatozoon in the eastern barred bandicoot (Perameles gunnii) in Tasmania.

Of 220 wild Eastern Barred Bandicoots (Perameles gunnii) captured in two locations in Tasmania, Australia, 55 (25%) had a detectable parasitaemia with gametocytes of the protozoan genus Hepatozoon in blood films. Blood films were stained with Leishman stain and acridine orange O. Gamonts were commonly found as intracellular forms and occasionally observed as extracellular forms in peripheral erythrocytes. This is the first record of a member of the genus Hepatozoon in any temperate bandicoot and additionally appears to be the first record of this protozoan genus in any native marsupial species of Tasmania.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

[Incidence and treatment requirements of alcoholism in internal medicine and hospital patients].

Problems resulting from alcoholism are among the most frequent reasons for referring general hospital inpatients to psychiatric consultation/liaison services. As surveys from internal medical departments have demonstrated, about 10-20% of the medical patients have an alcohol problem. In the present study, the current prevalence of alcohol-specific diagnoses in a sample of each 200 medical and surgical general hospital inpatients is ascertained, as well as the relevant treatment necessities. The patients were diagnosed by the German version of Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and a structured clinical interview. In 14.5% of the patients a diagnosis of alcoholism was established; the prevalence rate in men was 25.4% compared to 4.4% in women. In 72.4% of the alcohol cases the intervention of a psychiatric consultation/liaison service was found necessary. The necessity for specific therapeutic interventions could be demonstrated, which should not be limited to the period of inpatient treatment but be continued after discharge from the hospital as well. The opportunity of secondary prevention of alcoholism in general hospitals should be used to a greater extent.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Secondary hyperparathyroidism and depression in chronic renal failure.

UNLABELLED: This study was aimed at examining the relation between secondary hyperparathyroidism (sHPT) and depressive syndromes in chronic renal failure (CRF). SAMPLE AND METHODS: 59 chronic CRF patients and 16 depressive patients without CRF were included. Parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcium and phosphate as well as psychopathology were measured. RESULTS: Depressive CRF patients with cognitive disorders show higher levels of PTH than less or not depressive subjects. With respect to the literature, our results give reason to assume that sHPT may play a pathogenetic role in those depressive syndromes which are additionally characterized by cognitive disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

[Psychiatric disorders in hospitalized internal medicine and surgical patients. Prevalence and need for treatment].

The prevalence of psychiatric disorders in general hospital inpatients can be estimated at 30-50%. In Germany, hardly any studies have provided an assessment of prevalence rates and specific treatment necessities. In this study, 400 patients from medical and surgical departments were interviewed with a structured clinical interview. The point prevalence of all psychiatric disorders (clinical diagnoses) was 46.5%. The most prevalent groups of disorders were organic brain syndromes, depressive disorders, and alcoholism. With regard to disease entities, no significant differences between the samples from internal medicine and from surgery could be found. Compared to a German population sample, only organic brain syndromes, depressive reactions and alcohol dependency tend to be higher in a general hospital. Consultation/liaison interventions were found to be necessary in nearly half of the whole sample. In one-fourth of the patients continuous psychiatric care after hospital discharge was required.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1995

[Motivational work with alcohol dependent patients].

Motivational work is secondary preventive work. The aim is to increase activity for maintaining long-term abstinence. The principles and structure of a secondary preventive program with several opportunities of intervention in the frame of detoxification treatment are presented.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1994

Clinical predictors of alcohol withdrawal delirium.

Up to now, clinical predictors for the course of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome, especially for the occurrence of a delirium, are lacking. Thus, this study was undertaken to examine whether clinical routine investigations at admission before the withdrawal syndrome can reveal factors indicating a higher risk for the development of a delirium. Our results showed that decreased serum electrolyte concentrations (i.e., chloride and potassium), elevated ALT, and gamma-glutamyltransferase serum levels, as well as ataxia and polyneuropathy at the neurological examination, indicate a higher risk for the development of an alcohol withdrawal delirium.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

[The implications of age at onset of chronic alcoholism--an overview].

This paper gives a short review about the available literature concerning the impacts of age of alcoholism onset. Empirical studies of the last twenty years have mainly tried to find differences between onset during youth and the middle age. There are only few reports about specific characteristics of patients, who have developed alcoholism in their older age. Biological and psychosocial findings and therapeutic considerations are described. Their account on further research and practical care are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

An automatic prompting instrument to increase task-related responding in low-functioning individuals.

The present study was aimed at developing and assessing an automatic prompting instrument with three multihandicapped students who showed breaks in performance. The effects of the instrument were compared with the effects of manual prompting with simple tasks involving locomotion. The results indicated that manual and instrument prompting were both successful in reducing the amount of time spent in breaks. The effects of the instrument were replicated within subjects. The same effects were still visible during a follow-up assessment. The reliability and durability of those effects as well as the practical implications of automatic prompting are discussed.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1987

Energetics of glucose uptake in Salmonella typhimurium.

We have studied the energetics of glucose uptake in Salmonella typhimurium. Strain PP418 transports glucose via the phosphoenolpyruvate: glucose phosphotransferase system, while strain PP1705 lacks this system and can only use the galactose permease for glucose uptake. These two strains were cultured anaerobically in glucose-limited chemostats. Both strains produced ethanol and acetate in equimolar amounts but a significant difference was observed in the molar growth yield on glucose (YGlc). It is suggested that this difference is due to a difference in the energetics of the glucose uptake systems in the two strains. Assuming an equal YATP for both strains, we could calculate that uptake of 1 mole of glucose via the galactose permease consumes the equivalent of 0.5 mole of ATP. With the additional assumption that one proton is transported in symport with one glucose molecule, these results imply a stoichiometry of two protons per ATP hydrolysed.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1986

Development of supination-pronation movements in normal children.

In 219 normal children aged from 4 to 9 years it is shown that several features of hand-arm supination/pronation movements do not develop with age at the same rate. Ipsilateral synkineses as well as associated mirror movements decrease and diadochokinetic movements are performed in a more regular way. Bimanual mirrorwise movements are well performed at an early age, while bimanual alternate movements have a slower development at the ages under study. It is argued that the developmental rate of bimanual alternate movements might partly represent the maturation of interhemispheric connectivity and contributes to the clinical judgment of development in a different way from the development of unimanual movements. It is thought that each characteristic of these movements has its own nervous substrate.

Child↗
PubMed1985

The effect of detergents on immunoprecipitability of lysosomal sphingomyelinase.

Antibodies raised against the soluble form of acid sphingomyelinase from human urine and placenta are able to precipitate about 70% of the sphingomyelinase activity present in preparations of urinary sphingomyelinase. In contrast, no precipitation of sphingomyelinase activity occurs in detergent-containing preparations from placenta or splenic membranes. The formation of immune complexes between the antibodies and urinary sphingomyelinase is inhibited if detergents are added. With the non-ionic detergent Triton X-100 significant inhibition occurs only above the critical micellar concentration of the detergent. With the anionic detergent 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propane sulphonate (Chaps) substantial inhibition is already observed below the critical micellar concentration of the detergent.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Soluble sphingomyelinase from human urine as antigen for obtaining anti-sphingomyelinase antibodies.

A soluble form of lysosomal sphingomyelinase was partially purified from human urine using concanavalin A-Sepharose 4B, Sephadex G-100 and octyl-Sepharose 4B chromatography. The octyl-Sepharose 4B eluate was used to immunise a rabbit. The antiserum obtained was able to precipitate about 70% of the sphingomyelinase activity present in urine from control subjects. Both the immunoprecipitable and non-precipitable activities were found to be deficient in urine from patients with Niemann-Pick disease Type A and Type B. In contrast, both activities were present in urine from patients with Niemann-Pick disease Type C. The antiserum was able to precipitate about 80% of the sphingomyelinase activity present in an aqueous extract of placenta.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Effect of sulphasalazine in patients with active Crohn's disease: a controlled double-blind study.

The response of active Crohn's disease to sulphasalazine (4-6 g per day) has been studied in a placebo-controlled trial. The study was carried out at two hospitals. From August 1977 to August 1979 all patients with established Crohn's disease were examined for their eligibility for the trial. A nine-item index of inflammatory activity was used as the primary measure of response. The variables in this index were serum albumin, ESR, body weight released to height, abdominal mass, temperature, stool consistency, bowel resection, and extraintestinal symptoms related to Crohn's disease. A favourable response to therapy was defined as a decrease of the activity index with 25% or more at the end of the trial period, compared with the initial value. Twenty-six patients (13 in each treatment group) have been followed up for six months. The response of active Crohn's disease to sulphasalazine was significantly better than to placebo.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Drinking pattern and alcohol-related medical disorders.

Although heavy alcohol intake is known to be one of the most common causative factors of liver disease, pancreatitis, upper gastrointestinal and neurological disorders, the influence of the drinking pattern is largely unknown. The study investigated the relationship of alcohol-related medical disorders in alcoholics and their drinking pattern. Two hundred and forty-one chronic alcoholics were referred consecutively for detoxification and their drinking pattern was sufficient for them to be included in this study. History of alcohol abuse as well as drinking behaviour in the last 6 months were assessed by a semi-structured interview. Findings included intensive clinical examination with abdominal ultrasound in most subjects. Heavy drinking with frequent inebriation was most often found in our sample (44.4%), whereas continuous heavy alcohol consumption without intoxication (33.6%), and an episodic drinking style (22.0%) were less frequent. The heavy drinkers suffered more often from pancreatitis, oesophageal varices, polyneuropathy or erectile dysfunction than episodic drinkers. They also showed more upper gastrointestinal disorders, although the estimated life-time alcohol intake was comparable to continuous drinkers. No difference relating to withdrawal delirium or seizures could be found between the groups of alcoholics. Frequent heavy drinkers showed a trend to more alcohol-related medical disorders than alcoholics with a different drinking pattern, although they were younger and their estimated life-time alcohol intake was comparable to that of continuous drinkers. Thus, the drinking pattern, particularly frequent inebriation, has an influence on the occurrence of alcohol-related disorders.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The severity of alcohol withdrawal is not age dependent.

Age has been considered to contribute to the severity of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS). To evaluate the relationship between age and the severity of the AWS, we examined 723 alcoholics [518 males, 205 females, mean age (+/- SD): 42.8 +/- 10.5 years, mean duration of alcohol dependence: 11.0 +/- 8.0 years] consecutively referred to a unit for detoxification of alcoholics in a general hospital. The severity of the AWS was assessed by the AWS scale of Wetterling et al. (1997; Alcohol and Alcoholism 32, 753-760). The history of alcohol abuse as well as drinking behaviour in the last 6 months was assessed by a semi-structured interview. There were 41 alcoholics aged > or =60 years; they were compared with younger patients. The average severity of AWS did not differ between age groups. Daily alcohol intake and frequency of drinking were higher in younger alcoholics, but even when adjustment was made for this, severity of AWS was equal in both age groups. A relationship between severity of AWS and age was not detected.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comorbid anxiety and affective disorder in alcohol-dependent patients seeking treatment: the first Multicentre Study in Germany.

The goals of this study were to describe demographic variables, drinking history, and the 6-month prevalence of Axis I comorbidity among alcohol-dependent subjects in GERMANY: The variables: amount of alcohol consumption, age at onset of the first alcohol consumed, age at onset of daily alcohol consumption, age at onset of withdrawal symptoms and number of detoxifications were related to the different comorbid disorders and gender. In this study, 556 patients from 25 alcohol treatment centres were enrolled between 1 January 1999 and 30 April 1999. After a minimum of 10 days of sobriety patients who fulfilled ICD-10 and DSM-IV criteria of alcohol dependence were interviewed for data collection using the Mini-DIPS (German version of the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule) and a standardized psychosocial interview. The 6-month prevalence of comorbid Axis I disorders was 53.1%. Among the patients with comorbidity, affective and anxiety disorders were most frequent. Comorbid stress disorder was associated with an early start of drinking, an early beginning of withdrawal symptoms, highest number of detoxifications, and the highest amount of alcohol consumed. Female patients with anxiety disorder consumed more alcohol and started earlier than females without this comorbid disorder. The data do not answer the question of the pathogenesis of comorbid disorders and alcoholism, but indicate that stress disorders in alcoholic patients and anxiety disorders in female alcoholics influence the course and severity of alcoholism.

Adult↗