PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Schüler

Publications and source records attributed to M Schüler.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Cerebellar vermis area in schizophrenic patients - a post-mortem study.

Neuroimaging studies of cerebellar atrophy in schizophrenia have yielded contradictory results. In computer-tomography (CT) studies, cerebellar atrophy was found in up to 40% of schizophrenic patients. However, several recent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies could not replicate these early findings; in addition, contradictory observations of enlargement of vermal structures were reported. In contrast to the number of CT and MRI studies, there are only a few neuropathological reports on this subject. In a post-mortem study we analyzed the midsagittal vermal area of formaldehyde-fixed cerebella of 12 deceased schizophrenic patients and 12 age- and gender-matched control subjects by using morphometrical methods. Statistical analysis using ANOVA revealed no significant group effects, but there were interactions with gender and cerebellar brain weight. In view of the present results, the common concept of cerebellar atrophy in schizophrenic patients appears premature. Gender effects and secondary processes (e.g., relevant alcohol or drug abuse) cannot be excluded as possible factors causing decrease of vermal areas in schizophrenic patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Assessment by quantitative ultrasonometry of the effects of hormone replacement therapy on bone mass.

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of hormone replacement therapy on results of quantitative ultrasonometry of the heel. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 2006 healthy perimenopausal women (mean age, 52.2 (10.3 years) were recruited in 5 German centers: 611 women (30%) had received hormone replacement therapy and 1395 (70%) had not. About 90% of the hormone replacement therapy users were current users, and the rest had stopped <6 months before the study. Speed of sound, broadband ultrasonographic attenuation, and the stiffness index were compared among the following groups: all users and nonusers of hormone replacement therapy, hormone replacement therapy users and nonuser control subjects matched for age and body mass index, and hormone replacement therapy users grouped in relation to the duration of hormone replacement therapy use and age and control subjects matched for body mass index. RESULTS: Women who were using hormone replacement therapy had significantly higher values (P <.001) than did nonusers for all ultrasonographic variables, even after we controlled for age and body mass index. Women who had used hormone replacement therapy for >3 years had significantly higher values (P <.001) than did matched control subjects for all variables. Differences increased with the duration of hormone replacement therapy use. CONCLUSION: Quantitative ultrasonometric measurement at the heel differentiates hormone replacement therapy users from nonusers, reflects duration of hormone replacement therapy use, and could be useful in both clinical trials and patient management.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1999

Nerve cell loss in the thalamic mediodorsal nucleus in Huntington's disease.

We estimated the total neurone number, glial number, and glial index (ratio glial cells/neurone) in the thalamic mediodorsal nucleus (MD) in seven patients suffering from Huntington's disease (HD; four males, three females, mean age 52.4 +/- 13.6 years) and age- and sex-matched controls (four males, three females, mean age 53.6 +/- 12.1 years) by means of a stereological protocol. The mean total neurone number (N(T)) in the MD of controls was 2,985,188 +/- 174,710, the mean glial number (G(T); astrocytes, oligodendrocytes) 21,785,008 +/- 2,986,678, and the glial index 7.29 +/- 0.88. In HD, the average neurone number was decreased by 23.8% to 2,275,321 +/- 247,162 (Mann-Whitney U-test P < 0.05), the mean glial number by 29.7% to 15,318,895 +/- 1,722,524 (Mann-Whitney U-test P < 0.05), the glial index was slightly reduced to 6.81 +/- 1.06. Gallyas' impregnation for the demonstration of fibrous astroglia gave strongly positive results in all cases with HD and negative results in the controls. The morpho-functional correlation of the results is complicated because individual variability, presence of segregated and parallel neuronal circuits, and plasticity of the adult human CNS must be considered.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Evidence for eosinophil activation in bronchiectasis unrelated to cystic fibrosis and bronchopulmonary aspergillosis: discrepancy between blood eosinophil counts and serum eosinophil cationic protein levels.

BACKGROUND: Increased serum levels of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) have been detected in adolescent patients with cystic fibrosis. However, ECP concentrations in adult patients with bronchiectasis unrelated to cystic fibrosis have not been studied. METHODS: Eosinophil numbers and serum concentrations of ECP were determined in 14 patients with known or newly diagnosed bronchiectasis and compared with age and sex matched patients with allergic bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and controls in whom bronchiectasis or obstructive pulmonary disease could be excluded. RESULTS: Serum ECP levels were significantly raised both in patients with bronchiectasis (median (range) 22.5 micrograms/l (7-85)) and allergic asthma (35.0 micrograms/l (7-128)) compared with the sex and age matched subjects suffering from COPD (6.7 micrograms/l (1.5-28); p < 0.006) and non-obstructive normal controls (7.5 micrograms/l (3.5-19); p < 0.003). In contrast, significantly increased peripheral eosinophil numbers were observed in patients with bronchial asthma (305 x 10(6)/l; p < 0.01) but not in those with bronchiectasis (10(2) x 10(6)/l), COPD (117 x 10(6)/l), and healthy controls (101 x 10(6)/l). CONCLUSIONS: The discrepancy between eosinophil counts and eosinophil numbers in patients with bronchiectasis suggests that serum ECP levels may be more relevant in assessing local eosinophil involvement than blood eosinophil numbers.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

[Reduction of astigmatism by 4mm long sutureless corneal cataract incision (stretch incision) with phacoemulsification and 5mm PMMA lens implantation].

AIM: Refractive cataract surgery using corneal incisions is aiming at neutralization of preoperative astigmatism. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 61 patients with preoperative astigmatism of 2.25 +/- 0.98 were included in the treatment. A self-sealing corneal tunnel incision measuring 4.0 to 4.1 mm in external diameter and 6.5 to 7.0 mm in internal diameter (stretch incision) was performed on the steeper axis. After capsulorhexis and phacoemulsification a 5 mm PMMA lens was implanted without suturing. Keratometry and corneal topography were performed preoperatively, 3 days and 1 year respectively following surgery. The statistical analysis was based on the Wilcoxon signed ranks test. RESULTS: Surgical induced astigmatism (IA) following superior incisions in cases of astigmatism with the rule (n = 29) amounted to 1.93 +/- 0.97, while lateral incisions in cases of astigmatism against the rule (n = 29) led to an IA of 1.35 +/- 0.73. Axial shifts by more than 30 degrees were 23% following superior incisions and 17%, after lateral incisions. We observed. astigmatic reduction of 1.3 D after superior incisions and 0.7 D following lateral incisions. CONCLUSION: By 4 mm corneal cataract incisions on the steeper axis a high preoperative astigmatism can be reduced significantly without additional keratotomies.

Astigmatism↗
PubMed1996

Nerve cell loss in the thalamic centromedian-parafascicular complex in patients with Huntington's disease.

The centromedian-parafascicular complex represents a nodal point in the neuronal loop comprising striatum--globulus pallidus--thalamus--striatum. Striatal neurone degeneration is a hallmark in Huntington's disease and we were interested in estimating total neurone and glial number in this thalamic nuclear complex. Serial 500-microns-thick gallocyanin-stained frontal sections of the left hemisphere from six cases of Huntington's disease patients (three females, three males) and six age- and sex-matched controls were investigated applying Cavalieri's principle and the optical disector. Mean neurone number in the controls was 646,952 +/- 129,668 cells versus 291,763 +/- 60,122 in Huntington's disease patients (Mann-Whitney U-test, P < 0.001). Total glial cell number (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, microglia, and unclassifiable glial profiles) was higher in controls with 9,544,191 +/- 3,028,944 versus 6,961,989 +/- 2,241,543 in Huntington's disease patients (Mann-Whitney U-test, P < 0.021). Considerable increase of fibrous astroglia within the centromedian-parafascicular complex could be observed after Gallyas' impregnation. Most probably this cell type enhanced the numerical ratio between glial number and neurone number (glial index: Huntington's disease patients = 24.4 +/- 8.1; controls = 15.0 +/- 5.2; Mann-Whitney U-test, P < 0.013). The neurone number in the centromedian-parafascicular complex correlated negatively, although statistically not significantly, with the striatal neurone number. This lack of correlation between an 80% neuronal loss in the striatum and a 55% neurone loss in the centromedian-parafascicular complex points to viable neuronal circuits connecting the centromedian-parafascicular complex with cortical and subcortical regions that are less affected in Huntington's disease.

Adult↗
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↗
PubMed1994

Chronic esophagitis and subsequent morphological changes of the esophageal mucosa in Barrett's esophagus: a histological study of esophagectomy specimens.

Chronic esophagitis and the subsequent morphological changes of the esophageal mucosa were histologically studied in esophagectomy specimens from 15 patients with Barrett's esophagus. Basal layer hyperplasia with papillary elongation, intraepithelial eosinophils, and intraepithelial neutrophils were found in the squamous epithelium of all (100%), 7 (46.7%), and 14 (93.3%) of the 15 specimens, respectively. Moreover, a specialized type of Barrett's mucosa was found in the metaplastic columnar lining of all the specimens. The muscularis mucosae appeared intact beneath the squamous epithelium lining the proximal esophagus in 13 specimens (86.7%), while it became thick and "dual" beneath the metaplastic columnar epithelium lining the distal esophagus in 14 specimens (93.3%). This dual muscularis mucosae, as well as the metaplastic columnar epithelium, particularly the specialized type, may be part of the specific histological changes characteristic of Barrett's esophagus.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

[Acute Leriche syndrome in a previously healthy woman: differential diagnosis of embolic occlusion].

The case report describes an acute total ischemia of both legs in a young otherwise healthy woman. Based on the patient's history, the physical findings and further investigations, the differential diagnosis is discussed. The emergency procedure with a successful desobliteration of a strictly localized arteriosclerotic plaque by Fogarty catheter was followed by open thrombendarterectomy 10 days later because of a persistent stenosis. Finally the clinical manifestations of such rare occlusive disease of the aorta are discussed as well as the bilateral ischemic syndrome of the lower extremities originally described by Leriche in 1940.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Histopathologic characteristics of early adenocarcinoma in Barrett's esophagus.

To elucidate the early events of cancer development in the columnar cell-lined lower esophagus, 13 esophagectomy specimens with early adenocarcinoma (T1) were histopathologically studied and the morphometry of the lesion was performed on a histologic map. Eleven (84.6%) of the 13 early Barrett's carcinomas were contiguous to both the distinctive specialized-type Barrett's mucosa and squamous epithelium. Furthermore, ten (76.9%) of the 13 tumors had residual squamous islands on the surface. These data suggest that carcinomas in Barrett's esophagus mostly develop at a place very close to the squamocolumnar epithelial border. The distance from the tumor center to the nearest squamous epithelium, including squamous islands, was 2 cm or less in all cases but one. Therefore, the authors conclude that the primary site of cancer development in Barrett's esophagus is the metaplastic columnar-lined area, particularly of specialized type, within 2 cm from the squamocolumnar epithelial border.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1989

[Locally advanced cardia carcinoma--is resection worthwhile?].

Long-term results in 217 patients with carcinoma of the cardia were analysed prospectively. 43 of the 217 could not be operated upon, either because of their poor general condition (51%), distal metastases (49%), and (or) the primary tumour having advanced too far locally (9%). Two of the 176 patients proved to be inoperable at surgery so that only 174 underwent resection (operation rate 81%; resection rate 99%). The operation risk was no higher for advanced tumour (T3/T4) than for earlier tumour stages (T1/T2). The tumour was completely resected macroscopically and microscopically (R0 resection) in 59% of patients in stage T4. Their median survival time was significantly higher than that for patients with local lymph-node spread (12.5 vs 6.0 months; P less than 0.01). Those patients who endoscopically received palliative treatment had a median survival time of 5 months. These results suggest that resection of locally advanced carcinoma of the cardia is worth while, if the tumour can be removed completely both macroscopically and microscopically (R0 resection).

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1989

[Early forms of compassion].

The present study deals with the problem of whether early forms of compassion are already evident in the first year of life. For this purpose, tape recordings of other children crying were played as acoustic stimuli to 210 newborns and infants. Vocal and motor reactions were observed, and numerous measures were evaluated. It was found that a) children cry with another child from birth on; b) this responsive crying becomes less frequent as the child grows older; c) the motor reactions become increasingly differentiated; d) the responsive crying does not disappear entirely despite increasing cognitive abilities, although it is partly transformed into a more restrained reaction with a sad expression; e) hungry children react more strongly than satiated children, children with siblings more often than only children, and girls more often than boys; f) responsive crying to an indifferent acoustic stimulus was observed very rarely. This leads to the conclusion that early forms of compassion already exist in the first year of life. Two such forms are described. It is assumed that compassion is already present in a primitive form at birth, and is thus inborn.

Altruism↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Metoclopramide and cellular immune functions during polymicrobial sepsis.

Metoclopramide (MCP) has been demonstrated to restore the depressed cellular immune function after hemorrhage by increasing the release of the immunomodulatory pituitary hormone prolactin. We investigated the effect of MCP on serum prolactin concentrations, on cellular immune functions (immune cell distribution, splenocyte proliferation, apoptosis and cytokine release) and on the survival 48 h after induction of a polymicrobial sepsis in mice. Administration of MCP increased circulating serum prolactin concentrations and splenocyte apoptosis rate and improved cellular cytokine release, but did not affect mortality of septic mice. We therefore conclude that administration of MCP modulated splenocyte apoptosis and cytokine release in a murine model of sepsis without an impact on the survival. Furthermore, this effect may be mediated by an increased endogenous prolactin release.

Animals↗