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Biomedical subjects

R Knussmann

Publications and source records attributed to R Knussmann.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Relations between sex hormone level and characters of hair and skin in healthy young men.

Total testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in blood serum as well as free testosterone in saliva were determined by radioimmunoassay in 110 healthy young men. The results were compared with the development of terminal hair on the trunk and limbs, with the disposition to balding and with the disposition to acne. No significant correlations were found between terminal hair development and absolute androgen levels; however, some significant values were observed in the case of the metabolic rate of dihydrotestosterone/testosterone and the proportion of free to total testosterone. The disposition to balding also correlates positively with the latter ratio. Yet the absolute serum androgen concentrations in men with a disposition to balding is lower than in men with no reduction of scalp hair. The widespread assumption that androgen levels are in general elevated in bald-trait men must therefore be rejected. In accordance with this finding, men with a disposition to balding are morphologically (with regard to anthropometric measures) no more masculine than those with good scalp hair growth. When body build and age are taken into consideration, the relations between terminal hair and androgen ratio are also problematical. No relationship could be found between acne and androgens.

Abdomen

Androgen levels and components of aggressive behavior in men.

Serum concentrations of testosterone (Tser), 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and free testosterone (Tsal) in saliva were determined in 117 healthy young men between the ages of 20 and 30. A battery of standardized tests and projective techniques were administered simultaneously in order to measure various components of aggression, including sexual aggressiveness. All three androgens show reliable positive correlations with self-ratings of spontaneous aggression. Dominance exhibits a positive, statistically significant correlation to Tser and to DHT. In addition, DHT is negatively related to the scale restraint of aggression. These results support previous findings about Tser and point to the importance of other androgens--especially DHT--for this aspect of endocrine-affect relationships. Interest in sexual aggression yielded no significant results for Tser and DHT (Tsal shows a low positive correlation). The ratio DHT/Tser, however, correlates significantly with this component of aggression.

Adult

Sex hormones and cognitive functioning in men.

Blood and saliva samples were obtained from 117 healthy young men, following which radioimmunoassays were used to determine the serum concentrations of testosterone (Tser), 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and the level of free testosterone (Tsal) in the saliva. The cognitive functioning was determined by five spatial and six verbal ipsative test scores, reflecting intra-individual variance in the performance of these tasks, independent of the person's general level of achievement. Within the normal physiological range of androgen levels--especially Tser and to a lesser extent DHT and Tsal--showed a significantly positive correlation with measures of spatial ability and field dependence-independence and a significantly negative correlation with measures of verbal production.

Adult

Relations between sex hormone levels and sexual behavior in men.

Using a sample of 33 healthy young men, 6 blood samples were obtained in the course of 2 weeks, and testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and estradiol levels determined. The amount of free testosterone in the saliva was also ascertained for 23 of the subjects. All participants kept a daily record of their sexual activity during the investigational period. An interindividual comparison revealed a significant positive correlation between serum testosterone levels and the frequency of orgasms as well as a significant negative correlation between estradiol concentrations and the frequency of sexual activity without orgasm. The comparison of hormone levels to sexual behavior, prior to and after the individual sampling, reveals significant positive correlations between the serum testosterone and the extent of the free testosterone on the one hand and both the preceding and subsequent frequency of orgasms on the other. The estradiol levels showed a significant negative correlation with both the preceding and the subsequent frequencies of sexual activity without orgasm.

Adult

Sex hormones and stress in the human male.

Six blood samples were obtained from each of a group of 33 healthy males between the ages of 19 and 31, following which radioimmunoassays were used to determine the serum concentrations of testosterone (Tser), 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and estradiol (E2). In addition, the free testosterone (Tsal) was also measured using saliva samples provided by 23 of the subjects. A questionnaire of our own design was administered together with the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF-Test) at the time of the first blood sample in order to check the long-term stress loads of our subjects as well as their abilities to deal with stress. During the investigational period, subjects kept daily records of their sleeping and working hours and noted the appearance of stressful situations. Weather data for Hamburg was also included as a variable in this study. A number of significant relationships between sex hormones and stress could be ascertained; however, it should be kept in mind that the correlation coefficients are low and explain only a small percentage of the variance between the variables. The stress variables "weather condition" and the "Q4" factor of the 16 PF-Test are significantly related to E2 (intersubject correlations). For all samples of all subjects, psychic stress correlates positively with the ratio of Tsal/Tser. There is a significant positive intersubject relationship between Tsal and long-term plus concurrent somatic stress, while somatic stressors on the day preceding a blood and saliva sample (acute somatic stress) correlate positively with Tsal and Tser.

Adult

[Relations between blood polymorphism and uterine carcinoma].

In a study of 63 female patients with cervical carcinoma and 37 with corpus carcinoma (all patients from Hamburg), polymorphisms of the blood were determined, which have not previously or only rarely been studied in such patients. Comparisons with a control group revealed no significant differences for the MNSs, P, Jk, SEP, PGM, GPT, EsD, Hp, Gc, and Gm systems. The patients with corpus carcinoma, however, exhibited a lesser frequency of Ccee and an increased frequency of homozygotes in the Fy system. Furthermore, the proportion of patients with GLO1 was greater among the women with cervix carcinoma.

Antigens

[Transferrin types in the Dama (Southwest Africa)].

The transferrin type of 238 Dama serums was determined and an estimate made of the gene frequencies. Using the SANGHVI method, the distribution of the transferrin types of the Dama was compared with 53 African populations south of the Sahara. The comparison demonstrates the great dissimilarity of the Dama to the Khoisanide tribes and confirms--at least in part--the results of polysymptomatic affinity comparisons of the Dama with other African populations.

Adult

[Investigations of constitution in patients with primary amotio retinae (author's transl)].

In 53 mostly old patients with Amotio retinae (37 femeles and 16 males) the type of constitution, meaning the placement in the variation grade from leptomorph to pyknomorph, was determined by biometrical methods (discrimination analysis). The calculated mean values of the group of patients were compared to the results of a leptomorph and a pyknomorph group as well as those of a control group. On a linear scale from lepto- to pyknomorph the patients could be placed between the controls and the pyknomorphs. The tendency toward pyknomorphy was statistically significant in the male patients only.

Aged

Blood and serum protein groups of the dama of South-West Africa.

The phenotype and gene frequencies of the following polymorphisms are given for the blood samples taken from 448 adults of the South-West African Dama Negro tribe: ABO (with sub-groups), MN, Rh, K, Hp, Gc, Gm(1,2,b), InV(1). The frequencies are discussed in comparison with other African samples and a multivariate comparison between series from south-western Africa is conducted. The Dama prove to be relatively independent.

ABO Blood-Group System