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Biomedical subjects

N Müller

Publications and source records attributed to N Müller.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Management of plasmapheresis in Germany.

In Germany, plasmapheresis is carried out for many years in a "mixed" system by private and non-profit organisation. Most of the institutions and blood transfusion service, active in the field of plasmapheresis are members of the "Association for the Establishment, Co-ordination and Working Methods of the Plasmapheresis Centres". All centres are authorized by governmental bodies for manufacturing of pharmaceutical products with regulatory controls regarding licensing and accreditation of blood collection establishment. All parties concerned agree that self-sufficiency of plasma has to be achieved. For this purpose there is a shortage of about 400,000 1 of plasma. In 1994, about 240,000 1 of plasma were collected by plasmapheresis, 91% for fractionation and 8.7% for direct clinical uses. In addition about 970,000 1 of plasma were derived from whole blood donations. The dualism of non-profit making and commercial organisations should be regarded as a chance for diversification in the collection and processing of plasma. A long term increase in plasmapheresis plasma can be achieved by initiating plasmapheresis programmes and co-operation using the existing infrastructures and supports the aim for self-sufficiency.

Germany↗
PubMed1995

Structure determination of the biliverdin apomyoglobin complex: crystal structure analysis of two crystal forms at 1.4 and 1.5 A resolution.

Crystal structure determinations of two orthorhombic (P2(1)2(1)2(1)) crystal modifications of the biliverdin apomyoglobin complex are described. The two structures were determined by X-ray diffraction at 100 K to a resolution of 1.5 A and 1.4 A. Both crystal forms were grown by hanging-drop techniques, using phosphate as precipitant. The structures were solved by molecular replacement and refined to final R-values of 19.4% and 21.2%. Both structures are very similar with respect to the binding site and the conformation of the biliverdin chromophore, which occurs in a (P) helical conformation. It is located within the heme pocket, very close in position and orientation to the heme binding site in myoglobin. Two water molecules not present in the crystal structure of myoglobin are sequestered within the heme pocket in the biliverdin-apomyoglobin complex, and they are engaged in hydrogen bonding to the biliverdin and to the protein. Comparison with structural results from an earlier NMR study of the same complex shows good agreement.

Apoproteins↗
PubMed1995

Evaluation of the single needle procedure in plateletpheresis with the fresenius AS 104 blood cell separator.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the single needle (SN) procedure for plateletpheresis with the AS 104 blood cell separator. One hundred fifty-seven platelet collections with different protocols were carried out and analysed with respect to platelet yield, separation efficiency, leukocyte contamination, anticoagulant infused, and donation time. SN plateletpheresis resulted in a mean platelet yield of 2.6-3.1 x 10(11) with separation efficiencies of 49.2-57.4%. The mean leukocyte contamination ranged from 2.8 to 40.5 x 10(6). Parameters of product quality were investigated in 14 platelet concentrates (PC). Determination of glucose, lactate, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and morphology score showed good quality of the PC.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Psychomotor disturbances in psychiatric patients as a possible basis for new attempts at differential diagnosis and therapy. Part VI. Evaluation of psychomotor training programs in schizophrenic patients.

Parts I-III of this series established signs of disturbed motor performance--the "psychotic motor syndrome" (PMS)--in schizophrenic and endogenous depressed patients, which was not found in neurotic/reactive depressed nor healthy persons. Part IV yielded EEG signs of concomitant brain dysfunction in these patients, which were demonstrated by other (SPECT/PET) neuroimaging methods also. In part V we engaged in the development of motor-training programs applied both actively and mentally, using the PMS as target syndrome in depressed patients. We hypothesized that motor training would not only improve disturbed motor behaviour, but ameliorate other symptoms of psychopathology additionally, which was supported for these patients. Part VI is the final paper of this series demonstrating favourable results of our motor-training programs in 96 schizophrenic inpatients in two separate investigations. A general discussion to the whole series attempts to link motor symptoms to neuroimaging findings of brain dysfunction during motor challenge and to modern three- and four-factor models of schizophrenic symptomatology. A final version of our complete training programs will be published as an appendix to this paper along with information regarding the abbreviated test battery.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Immunoglobulin and albumin content of cerebrospinal fluid in schizophrenic patients: relationship to negative symptomatology.

Alterations of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein contents and the blood brain barrier (BBB) in schizophrenia have been observed by several authors but no relationship to clinical characteristics like psychopathology, the course or the duration of the disease could be described until now. We have studied 27 schizophrenic patients upon each of whom a lumbar punction had been carried out for clinical reasons. The average values of the patients were within the normal range. Nine patients (33%) showed the total protein content to be > 45 mg% and 6 (22%) > 50 mg%. In the latter 6 patients an impaired BBB (raised albumin CSF/serum quotient) and in 4 patients (15%) a raised CSF immunoglobulin (IgG) were observed. No relation to the patient's age and the duration of the disease was found but correlations with the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) showed significant results in the subscores "affective flattening/affective blunting", "alogia/paralogia" as well as in the total score with respect to the CSF contents of albumin and IgG (p = 0.009-0.02). These correlations suggest that the CSF albumin and the CSF IgG are related to the negative symptomatology in schizophrenia and that patients with these CSF alterations may have a higher risk of developing negative symptoms.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Repetitive proteins from the flagellar cytoskeleton of African trypanosomes are diagnostically useful antigens.

Trypanosome infection of mammalian hosts leads, within days, to a strong early response against a small, distinct number of parasite proteins. One of these proteins is the variable surface glycoprotein (VSG). Most of the others are apparently non-variable, intracellular trypanosome proteins. Two of these antigens I2 and I17 are now characterized at the molecular level. Both exhibit a highly repetitive amino acid sequence organization, but they show no sequence similarity either to each other or to any other proteins known to date. Preliminary serological analyses indicate that both allow the early, sensitive and specific detection of infections with different species of trypanosomatids, making them interesting candidates for the development of diagnostic tools for trypanosomiasis detection.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

In-line filtration of platelet concentrates obtained with the Omnix blood cell separator.

The quality of platelet concentrates (PC) obtained with the blood cell separator Omnix was investigated before and after in-line filtration. PC were filtered 2h (protocol A) and 4 h (protocol B) after the termination of apheresis. Platelet (PLT) yield after filtration was similar in both protocols (median 3.7 vs. 3.4 x 10(11)). Median white blood cell (WBC) contamination after leucocyte depletion was 0.07 x 10(6) (range 0.02-3.27 x 10(6)) in protocol A and 0.06 x 10(6) (range 0.02-2.1 x 10(6)) in protocol B. Glucose, lactate, lactate dehydrogenase, morphology score and pH value were not statistically different before and after filtration in both protocols. We conclude that in-line filtration results in sufficient leucocyte depletion of the PC. The prefiltration storage time did not influence the studied parameters of product quality.

Blood Cells↗
PubMed1995

Comparison of different protocols in plateletpheresis with the haemonetics MCS 3p blood cell separator with respect to parameters of product quality.

BACKGROUND: In thrombocytapheresis, intermittent flow cell separators produce platelet concentrates (PC) with a higher leucocyte contamination than continuous flow blood cell separators. The new discontinuous flow cell separator Haemonetics MCS 3p offers a low-leucocyte solution for PC. The quality of PC obtained by the MCS 3p was investigated in this study. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Haemapheresis Unit of a University Clinic. PATIENTS: Healthy blood donors from the haemapheresis unit. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Platelet (PLT) yield, separation efficiency and white blood cell (WBC) contamination were studied in three different protocols. Two protocols used a haemocalculator, which calculated the target volume based on the donor's physical characteristics and the desired PLT yield for the procedure. Protocol I used 3,000 ml as target process volume and protocol II 3.3 x 10(11) as desired PLT yield. Protocol III was used without haemocalculator. Glucose, lactate, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), morphology score and pH value were analysed to investigate the quality of the PC. RESULTS: Platelet yield and separation efficiency were not statistically different in the three protocols. Leucocyte contamination was lowest in the protocol without haemocalculator (median: 3.15 x 10(6), range 0.4-20.8 x 10(6)). Glucose, lactate, LDH and pH were not statistically different in the three protocols. Morphology score was best in protocol III. CONCLUSIONS: PLT collection with the MCS 3p blood cell separator results in sufficient thrombocyte yields. Using the haemocalculator we were not able to achieve the desired platelet yield. For this reason, and because of the higher WBC contamination in protocol II we prefer PLT collection without the haemocalculator. The quality of the platelet concentrates was good with respect to the parameters glucose, lactate, LDH, morphology score and pH.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

[Compulsive disorder and Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. On the differential diagnosis of organic and psychogenic compulsive symptoms].

A high prevalence of obsessions and compulsions is recognized in patients with Gilles-de-la-Tourette syndrome. Comparison of a group of patients with Gilles-de-la-Tourette syndrome with a group with obsessive-compulsive disorder, using the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-III-R, showed significantly higher scores in both groups of patients in the Hamburg obsessive-compulsive inventory (short version) than in a control group. When selected items from this Inventory were entered in a discriminant analysis, it was shown that there were specific differences in the obsessive-compulsive symptoms in the Gilles-de-la-Tourette syndrome compared to an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Eighty-eight percent of the patients were correctly classified with respect to their diagnosis with eight items of the Hamburg obsessive-compulsive inventory. This result leads to the conclusion that differential observation of the psychopathology of obsessions and compulsions can contribute to the differential diagnosis in obsessive-compulsive disorder and Gilles-de-la-Tourette syndrome, which is still underdiagnosed in Germany compared to epidemiological data in the USA. Moreover, the different psychopathology may reflect differences between a neurotic and an organic basis for obsessions and compulsions.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Expression of human heat-shock protein 70 antigens and gamma/delta T-cell receptor antigens in human central nervous tissue.

The human gamma delta T cell receptor is normally expressed on lymphoid tissue. Because expression of different molecules of the T-cell system has been described on human brain cells, we examined the expression of T-cell receptor gamma delta antigens with a panel of various anti-gamma/delta TCR mAbs using immunohistochemistry on different regions of frozen human postmortem tissue of five different brains. We found expression of gamma/delta TCR antigens on brain tissue in different regions of the brain, probably on neurons. Using mAbs against the 70-kd human heat-shock-protein (hsp 70), immunohistochemistry showed staining of microglia. A polymerase chain reaction analysis using a highly sensitive primer sequence against the constant region delta sequence supports the notion that the gamma/delta TCR is expressed in human brain; however, the sequence cannot be assigned to a specific tissue with this method. Both heat shock proteins and the gamma/delta TCR seem to be involved in autoimmune processes, and their expression on colocalizing structures in human CNS may play a role in triggering neuropsychiatric autoimmune disorders.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Hepatic encephalopathy presenting as delirium and mania. The possible role of bilirubin.

The case of a woman who suffered from hepatic encephalopathy is described. The psychiatric symptoms presented first as a delirium, changing into a manic syndrome. As the neurotoxic direct fraction of bilirubin was greater than 100 times normal, increasing and decreasing in a parallel fashion with the psychiatric symptoms, direct bilirubin is assumed to play a role in the pathogenesis of this case. This is discussed in the context of bilirubin encephalopathy, very seldom diagnosed in adults.

Bilirubin↗
PubMed1994

Blunted growth hormone response to clonidine in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome.

Noradrenergic mechanisms have been involved in the pathogenesis of Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome (GTS). Since the central alpha 2 adrenergic agonist clonidine is widely used as a therapeutic agent in GTS, the present study aimed at assessing whether GH release after clonidine, representing central alpha 2-adrenergic receptor sensitivity, was altered in GTS. After administration of 2 micrograms/kg body weight clonidine, the GH response was examined in nine drug-free, alcohol-abstinent GTS patients (eight men, one woman) and in nine age- and sex-matched abstinent healthy controls. A blunted response of GH release (< 5 ng/ml) was observed in seven patients and the area under the curve (AUC) of the GH-release was significantly reduced (p < .01) compared to controls. This finding indicates an involvement of the noradrenergic system in GTS.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Results with new software for plateletpheresis systems.

New software for the cell separators A 201 and CS 3000 Plus have been developed by Baxter. Fresenius recently offered a single needle option for the AS 104 device. The results of separation are described with respect to total platelet yield, efficiency and cell contamination of the platelet concentrate (PC). Two software programs were evaluated in both the A 201 (version 5.12 and 5.13) and AS 104 cell separators (version 4560 with different separation parameters according to protocol IV and V). With software version 5.12, the A 201 collected 2.0 +/- 0.9 x 10(11) platelets in 200 mL plasma whereas 2.3 +/- 0.7 x 10(11) platelets could be harvested with version 5.13. The separation efficiencies were 32.1 +/- 11.6 and 34.7 +/- 10.7%, respectively. The leucocyte contamination was 5.6 +/- 4.6 x 10(8) with software version 5.12 and 4.9 +/- 7.6 x 10(8) with the 5.13 version. With the CS 3000 Plus cell separator, 2.9 +/- 0.8 x 10(11) platelets (efficiency 38.4 +/- 8.2%) could be harvested in 208 +/- 2 mL plasma. The white blood cell contamination was extremely low (1.4 +/- 3.2 x 10(6). There was a high separation efficacy with the Fresenius single needle procedure of 59.1 +/- 10.6% (protocol IV) and 58.7 +/- 7.3% (protocol V), respectively. The total number of platelets sampled in 338 +/- 21 mL plasma was 3.1 +/- 0.8 x 10(11) in protocol IV.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗
PubMed1994

Tourette's syndrome associated with restless legs syndrome and akathisia in a family.

A family with coincidence of a restless leg syndrome (RLS) in the mother and a Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) in the son who also shows increased vulnerability to neuroleptic induced akathisia (NIA) is presented. Since these diseases show parallels from a genetic, pathogenetic and clinical point of view, the familiar coincidence is discussed under these aspects with respect to suggested disturbances of the dopamine and the opiate systems in RLS, GTS, and NIA.

Adolescent↗