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Biomedical subjects

M Götz

Publications and source records attributed to M Götz.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Patch test reactions in children, adults and the elderly. A comparative study in patients with suspected allergic contact dermatitis.

The age- and sex-related distribution of positive patch test reactions was investigated in 234 children (0-7 years, n = 72 and 8-14 years, n = 162), 1200 adults (20 to 50 years) and 295 elderly patients (> or = 70 years) with suspected allergic contact dermatitis using a European standard series. In girls from 0 to 7 years, the most frequent contact allergens were thimerosal (37.5%) and nickel (27.5%), in girls from 8 to 14 years, nickel (28.7%) and thimerosal (26.6%), in women, thimerosal (25.3%) and nickel (25.2%), and in elderly women, nickel (12.6%) and balsam of Peru (9.7%). The most frequent contact allergens in boys from 0 to 7 years were ethylmercuric chloride (28.1%) and thimerosal (25.0%), in boys from 8 to 14 years, thimerosal (30.9%) and ethylmercuric chloride (14.7%), in men, thimerosal (21.1%) and ethylmercuric chloride (13.7%) and in elderly men, nickel (11.2%) and balsam of Peru (6.7%). Females showed more positive reactions than males. Whilst 0 to 7 year-old girls and boys showed relatively more frequent reactions, the elderly of both sexes were clearly less affected. Nickel is the most frequent contact allergen in females of 8 years and more. In men, thimerosal is most frequent and reactions to balsam of Peru show a peak incidence in the elderly. Results indicate that patch testing should be considered in children and elderly patients with appropriate indications.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Relationship between disease severity and inflammatory markers in cystic fibrosis.

To evaluate the clinical use of measuring neutrophil, lymphocyte, and eosinophil activities, serum myeloperoxidase (MPO), soluble interleukin-2 receptors (sIL-2R), and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) were measured in 98 patients with cystic fibrosis and in 85 healthy children. Serum concentrations of MPO, sIL-2R, and ECP were increased in patients with cystic fibrosis (median 807 micrograms/l, 4452 pg/ml, 48.8 micrograms/l, respectively) compared with the controls (median 319 micrograms/l, 2743 pg/ml, 9.4 micrograms/l). ECP concentrations, but not serum MPO or sIL-2R, were significantly related to disease severity assessed by the Shwachman-Kulczycki score and by pulmonary function (forced expiratory volume in one second % predicted). Neither ECP nor sIL-2R was influenced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, acute pulmonary exacerbation, or atopy. Serum MPO, however, was strongly correlated with acute pulmonary exacerbation. In the light of these findings the measurement of serum ECP might thus be used for clinical monitoring and for assessing disease severity in cystic fibrosis. The measurement of serum MPO and sIL-2R did not correlate with the disease severity.

Biomarkers↗
PubMed1996

Variability in the human entorhinal region may confound neuropsychiatric diagnoses.

The human entorhinal region consists of a number of areas; however, there is no generally accepted nomenclature for these cytoarchitectonic fields, and the designation of its constituent layers or strata is a matter of controversy. Here, we consider a hitherto neglected adjacent field, the preamygdaloid claustrocortex. Its medial subfield has a small common border with the rostromedial entorhinal region (width maximal 2 mm). Both fields are cytoarchitectonically rather similar. The rostromedial oral entorhinal field lacks ascending terminal islands. Its unusually small pre-alpha cells are arranged in a thin band or small clusters consisting of pyramidal, triangular, or polymorphic cells. The conspicuous chromophilic pre-beta cell clusters are composed of a variety of cell types, including groups of 'immature' spindle-shaped or bipolar nerve cells. Furthermore, a rare sulcus within the entorhinal region (central sulcus of the entorhinal region: observed in 4% of the 450 brains examined) is associated with an unusual lamination of the entorhinal layers in its wall and floor. Both the specific shape and arrangement of neurones in the claustrocortical-rostral entorhinal border region and the unusual lamination within the rare central entorhinal sulcus are regarded as reflecting neurodevelopmental disturbances characteristic of schizophrenic brains. In contrast, our observations in a large sample of serially sectioned brains from controls, schizophrenics, and patients suffering from neuropsychiatric diseases other than schizophrenia do not support this assumption.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Histamine in wine. Bronchoconstriction after a double-blind placebo-controlled red wine provocation test.

A 38-year-old woman with a history of seasonal rhinoconjunctivitis reported repeated attacks of wheezing after drinking various alcoholic beverages. Two consecutive histamine provocations using two identical samples of red wine containing 200 micrograms histamine/l and 3,700 micrograms/l, respectively, were performed in a double-blind placebo-controlled fashion to assess a possible histamine-induced bronchoconstriction. Lung function, plasma histamine, skin temperature, pulse rate and symptoms were assessed. In 3 male controls, four consecutive wine tests were performed in a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled fashion. Drinking wine with 3,700 micrograms histamine/l caused coughing and wheezing with a decrease in lung function. Plasma histamine showed an increase at 10 and 20 min and decreased at 30 min both after histamine-rich as well as histamine-poor wine, reaching the peak increase after histamine-rich wine. Controls did not react and plasma histamine levels did not increase. Bronchoconstriction after wine or food rich in histamine seems to be caused by diminished histamine degradation on the basis of reduced activity of diamine oxidase. Histamine in wine may induce bronchoconstriction in patients suffering from histamine intolerance.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Parents' recollection of the initial communication of the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of a chronic disease in children challenges parents' emotional coping abilities and cognitive capacities. OBJECTIVE: To study parents' emotional and cognitive reactions to the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis (CF) in their children. METHODS: Postal survey by means of a written questionnaire. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-six parents of 29 children with a median age of 2 months at diagnosis. RESULTS: Most parents initially lacked knowledge of CF (76%) and were provided only oral information (96%). Parental estimates of how much of the information given they had understood and retained were 77% and 76%, respectively, with 15 parents (33%) having understood and remembered less than 50% of what the physicians had told them. The most frequent stressing feelings were fear (83%) and despair (56%). Fifty-four percent of parents had initial shocklike reactions. In this group, a significant decrease in the understanding and recall of information was noted compared with parents who had less-emotional responses. CONCLUSIONS: Parents learning the diagnosis are, in effect, receiving a kind of lecture, which contains more information than they can possibly assimilate. Because of the incompatibility of emotional distress and optimum learning, impairment of early comprehension and retention of information about CF is unavoidable. Repeated interviews with both parents and the provision of written and audiovisual materials should be mandatory.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Exposure to gaseous formaldehyde induces IgE-mediated sensitization to formaldehyde in school-children.

BACKGROUND: Children attending a primary school showed symptoms such as headache, cough, rhinitis and epistaxis. Assessment of specific IgE to formaldehyde gave positive results in some children. OBJECTIVE: Was IgE-mediated sensitization as well as symptoms in children associated with formaldehyde exposure at school? METHODS: Sixty-two 8-year-old children attending three forms at a primary school were investigated. Indoor formaldehyde concentrations were measured in classrooms of both schools (one frame construction with particleboard used extensively as panelling vs a brick building) which were consecutively attended. Assessment of specific IgE to formaldehyde was done in all children. Children were transferred to a brick building and 3 months later specific IgE to formaldehyde in pupils showing initially elevated radioallergosorbent test (RAST) values reassessed. In all children symptoms were evaluated by questionnaire before and 3 months after changing school. RESULTS: In the school panelled with particleboard the World Health Organization (WHO) threshold for formaldehyde of 0.050 ppm was crossed in two classrooms (0.075 ppm and 0.069 ppm) whereas in one classroom 0.043 ppm was found. RAST classes of > or = 2 were found in three children, two of them attending the classroom with 0.075 ppm formaldehyde. Elevated RAST classes of > or = 1.3 were found in another 21 pupils. Thirty-eight pupils as well as 19 control children showed RAST classes in the normal range of < or = 1.2. Headache, nose bleeding, rhinitis, fatigue, cough, dry nasal mucosa and burning eyes were found in the affected children. There was a good correlation between symptoms and the formaldehyde concentrations in the classrooms. However, elevated IgE levels to formaldehyde did not correlate with symptoms. Formaldehyde concentrations in the classrooms of the brick built school were 0.029 ppm, 0.023 ppm and 0.026 ppm. After transferral specific IgE to formaldehyde decreased significantly from 1.7 +/- 0.5 to 1.2 +/- 0.2 (P < 0.002) as did the incidence of symptoms. CONCLUSION: Gaseous formaldehyde, besides its irritant action, leads to IgE-mediated sensitization. As children are more sensitive to toxic substances than adults, threshold levels for indoor formaldehyde should be reduced for children.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed1996

[Pseudo-allergies are due to histamine intolerance].

Numerous undesirable reactions to alcoholic beverages, foods, drugs and other substances are characterized by allergy-like signs and symptoms and yet show unambiguously negative allergy test results. Such persons should be assessed for evidence of histamine intolerance caused by histamine overload and/or diamine oxidase deficiency. Diamine oxidase is the main histamine degrading enzyme with a predominantly gut activity. This would explain why nutritional allergies are often primarily suspected. The clinical evidence for histamine intolerance is based on chronic headache, diarrhoea, vomiting, flush, urticaria, asthma-like symptoms, rhinitis and others. Histamine restricted food, supported if necessary by H1 antihistamine blockade are simple but highly efficacious measures as shown by us in large patient groups. Intolerance to red wine probably is the most outstanding clinical characteristic and a directed question must be included into any allergy history in order to avoid missing a very major diagnostic spectrum with good therapeutic maneuverability.

Alcoholic Beverages↗
PubMed1995

Guidance of thalamocortical axons by growth-promoting molecules in developing rat cerebral cortex.

Substrate-bound guidance cues play an important role during the development of thalamocortical projections. We used time-lapse video microscopy to study the growth behaviour of thalamic axons on different substrates. On embryonic cortical membranes and on a pure laminin substrate, thalamic fibres advanced relatively slowly (approximately 15 microns/h) and on average their growth cones retracted transiently every approximately 5 h. In contrast, on membranes prepared from early postnatal cortex, thalamic fibres grew twice as fast and spontaneous growth cone collapse occurred approximately 8 times less often. Experiments in which we used the sugar-binding lectin peanut agglutinin or heat inactivation to change the membrane properties indicated that these differences are due to growth-supporting molecules on postnatal cortical membranes. When offered a choice between embryonic and postnatal cortical membranes, thalamic axons preferred the postnatal membrane substrate. Time-lapse imaging revealed that borders between these two substrates effectively guided thalamic fibres, and in most cases axons changed their direction without collapse of the growth cone. Our results suggest that thalamic axons can be guided by the spatial distribution of growth-promoting molecules in the developing cortex.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

The specification of neuronal fate: a common precursor for neurotransmitter subtypes in the rat cerebral cortex in vitro.

Neurotransmitter choice is a crucial step in neural development. In the cerebral cortex, pyramidal neurons use the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate, whereas non-pyramidal cells use the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. We are interested in how these two neuronal types are generated. We labelled precursor cells from embryonic rat cerebral cortex with a retroviral vector in dissociated cell cultures, and examined the neurotransmitter phenotype of their progeny immunohistochemically after 2 weeks in vitro. We discovered, first, that precursor cells in culture generate glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons in proportions similar to those in vivo. Second, we found that neuronal precursor cells gave rise to both GABAergic and glutamatergic neurons. These results suggest that neuronal precursor cells in the cerebral cortex have the potential to generate both neuronal subtypes. Moreover, these data are consistent with a stochastic model of neurotransmitter specification.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Getting there and being there in the cerebral cortex.

The mammalian neocortex is composed of functional areas that are specified to process particular aspects of information. How is this specification achieved during development? Since cells migrate to their final positions in the developing nervous system, a central issue is the relation between cellular migration and positional information. This review combines evidence for early positional specification in the developing cortex with evidence for cellular dispersion during migration. A model is suggested whereby stable cues provide positional information and minorities of 'displaced' cells are respecified accordingly. Comparison with other parts of the CNS reveals that cellular dispersal is ubiquitous and has to be included in any mechanism relaying positional specification. Ontogenetic and phylogenetic considerations suggest that radial glial cells might provide the positional information in the developing nervous system.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Pathology of cortical development and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Epilepsy is a well-documented consequence of about 150 rare genetic syndromes and malformations of the central nervous system. These syndromes are generally associated with fairly gross defects within the central nervous system and they were thought to be responsible for a small minority of cases. However, improved methods of neuropathological investigations and extensive magnetic resonance imaging studies have revealed a range of disturbances in cortical cytoarchitecture in patients with epileptic seizures previously considered as idiopathic (up to 70% of epilepsy). Structural abnormalities have also been demonstrated in the brain in schizophrenia. These consist of disturbed cortical cytoarchitecture (best described in the temporal lobe) and a diffuse loss of grey matter. The absence of the pathological stigma characteristic of degenerative processes indicates that these structural changes are the result of an abnormal pattern of brain development. The relationship between the type and location of developmental abnormality and the subsequent clinical syndrome (e.g. generalized or localized epilepsy) and the effects of aberrant cortical development on the functional integrity of the adult brain require definition.

Cerebral Cortex↗
PubMed1995

The generation of cellular diversity in the cerebral cortex.

We have used retroviral vectors to study cell lineage in the embryonic rat cerebral cortex both in vivo and in dissociated cell culture. We provide evidence that during the late phase of corticogenesis, most precursor cells of the ventricular zone are specified for the production of a single cell type, either neurons or one of the glial cell types. Although specified, the precursor cells that generate neurons can apparently generate both pyramidal and non-pyramidal cells. Earlier stages of development are dominated by a different type of precursor cell with a number of properties that lead us to believe that it is the founding, multipotential precursor cell of the cerebral cortex. We discuss a possible model of cell lineage which unifies these various observations.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

[Travel in the tropics and furunculoid myiasis. Botfly larva in a child].

Dipterous fly maggots of different species live worldwide as parasites in hooved mammals. In the host the larval development causes typical boils, i.e., abscesses including the larvae. As a result of increasing tourist traffic, travelers can also bring back to Germany tropical types of myiasis.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Anaphylaxis after dental treatment with a formaldehyde-containing tooth-filling material.

A 67-year-old patient developed systemic reactions after application of a formaldehyde-containing tooth filling. She had a clearly positive RAST result for formaldehyde, whereas skin prick testing and patch tests were negative. Sensitization to formaldehyde appears to have occurred 1 year previously. Induction of formaldehyde allergy may represent a major complication during dental treatment, and assessment of specific IgE should be considered in patients at risk.

Aged↗