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Biomedical subjects

T Rohrer

Publications and source records attributed to T Rohrer.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

[Resistance to thyroid hormone - goiter and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder as main manifestation].

HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS: Two siblings with goiter and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder were presented. Earlier laboratory tests showed increased serum levels of thyroid hormones in association with non-suppressed serum levels of thyrotropin (TSH) in both children. Because hyperthyroidism caused by inappropriate secretion of thyrotropin was suspected, a cerebral MRI was performed. A pituitary adenoma was excluded in both children. Before antithyroid drug treatment was initiated, both patients were referred to our hospital. Careful medical history, clinical examination of the patients and careful interpretation of the laboratory results finally led to the diagnosis resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH). INVESTIGATIONS: Thyroid hormone serum levels were elevated in both children, while serum TSH was within the normal range. Molecular analysis confirmed the diagnosis of RTH. COURSE: Thyrostatic treatment was not initiated. CONCLUSION: Careful medical history, correct interpretation of laboratory results, comprehensive clinical examination and molecular genetic analysis are important in the diagnosis of RTH.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗

Use of dermal grafts in reconstructing deep nasal defects and shaping the ala nasi.

BACKGROUND: Deep postsurgical defects on the nose and alar rim pose a challenge to repair. Several techniques are available to reestablish normal contour. If a depressed area is anticipated, dermal grafts can be used to fill the defect and soften contour irregularities. The technique is simple and can prevent the need for a more complicated repair. OBJECTIVE: To reestablish normal contour over nasal defects by using dermal grafts as a tissue filler in conjunction with graft and flap reconstruction. METHODS: Fifteen patients had contour deformities that could be improved with dermal graft insertion under their full-thickness skin grafts or flaps. Fourteen of these patients had nasal defects and one had a vermilion border defect that resulted from tumor removal by Mohs surgery. Patient selection, dermal graft harvesting, and surgical technique are described. RESULTS: All patients showed cosmetic benefit from dermal grafting. Contour was improved in each case. Fourteen patients had no significant complications. One flap showed tip necrosis in a patient who was a smoker. No resorption of the dermal grafts occurred over the 1- to 9-month follow-up period. No cyst formation occurred. CONCLUSION: Dermal grafts can be used during the initial repair of postsurgical nasal defects. These dermis grafts effectively fill the defect and restore contour. The technique is simple, easily mastered, and can obviate the need for more complicated repair.

Aged↗

Solution structure and dynamics of myeloid progenitor inhibitory factor-1 (MPIF-1), a novel monomeric CC chemokine.

MPIF-1, a CC chemokine, is a specific inhibitor of myeloid progenitor cells and is the most potent activator of monocytes. The solution structure of myeloid progenitor inhibitor factor-1 (MPIF-1) has been determined by NMR spectroscopy. The structure reveals that MPIF-1 is a monomer with a well defined core except for termini residues and adopts the chemokine fold of three beta-strands and an overlying alpha-helix. In addition to the four cysteines that characterize most chemokines, MPIF-1 has two additional cysteines that form a disulfide bond. The backbone dynamics indicate that the disulfide bonds and the adjacent residues that include the functionally important N-terminal and N-terminal loop residues show significant dynamics. MPIF-1 is a highly basic protein (pI >9), and the structure reveals distinct positively charged pockets that could be correlated to proteoglycan binding. MPIF-1 is processed from a longer proprotein at the N terminus and the latter is also functional though with reduced potency, and both proteins exist as monomers under a variety of solution conditions. MPIF-1 is therefore unique because longer proproteins of all other chemokines oligomerize in solution. The MPIF-1 structure should serve as a template for future functional studies that could lead to therapeutics for preventing chemotherapy-associated myelotoxicity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

[Hyperthyroidism in TSH-producing hypophyseal adenoma].

HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS: For 5 years a 59-year-old man had been treated with thyrostatic drugs for hyperthyroidism of unknown aetiology. As he had been losing weight, computed tomography had been performed in the search for a malignancy. It revealed a hypophyseal space-occupying lesion. INVESTIGATIONS: Peripheral thyroid hormone activities were raised, while thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) was also raised to 12.4 mU/l and there was evidence of partial hypophyseal insufficiency. Octreotide scintigraphy demonstrated increased activity in the area of the hypophysis. TREATMENT AND COURSE: The transsphenoidal surgery and immunohistochemical tests confirmed the diagnosis of TSH-producing hypophyseal adenoma. The patient became euthyroid after the operation. CONCLUSION: TSH-producing hypophyseal adenoma should be considered as a rare cause of hyperthyroidism when it is combined with non-suppressed TSH.

Adenoma↗

[Interstitial pneumonia and sepsis due to a Pasteurella multocida infection].

HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS: A 65-year-old diabetic (requiring insulin during the last year) was admitted as an emergency because of a septic temperature rising to 40 degrees C with rigor, tachycardia (up to 120/min) and dyspnoea. On examination there was local reddening and swelling of the skin over the right thenar eminence and along the lower arm. Two days before admission a bad scratch had been inflicted on his right hand by a cat. He had first noticed the reddening and swelling 10 hours after the incident; 1 1/2 days after the scratch and 9-10 hours before hospitalization the first bouts of fever had occurred. EXAMINATIONS: The chest radiogram showed interstitial pneumonia. The clinical findings, the laboratory tests (white cell count 21 750/microliters, platelets 140,000/microliters, C-reactive protein 35 mg/l and positive blood cultures pointed to early septicaemia. The germ was identified as Pasteurella multocida two days after blood had been taken for culturing. HbA1c was 11.38%. TREATMENT AND COURSE: From the time of hospitalization the patient had been treated with ceftriaxon, 2 g daily intravenously, and also with erythromycin because atypical pneumonia had been the suspected diagnosis at first and acute chlamydia infection had at first not been excluded. The patient's general condition quickly improved and the fever started to go down a few hours after onset of treatment. Blood cultures became negative after the first administration of antibiotics. He was discharged in a good state on optimal insulin dosage. CONCLUSION: Pasteurella multocida is present in a high percentage of domestic animals and can be the cause of systemic infections in immunocompromised patients (e. g. poorly controlled diabetes mellitus).

Aged↗

The stress-, but not corticotropin-releasing hormone-induced activation of the pituitary-adrenal axis in man is blocked by alprazolam.

A number of experimental studies clearly suggest that benzodiazepines attenuate the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) secretion possibly through inhibitory GABAergic neurons. There is some evidence that benzodiazepines act to inhibit stress-induced activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. A comparison of the effects of a benzodiazepine on the stress- and CRH-induced activation in man has not been undertaken so far. We thus investigated the effects of the triazolobenzodiazepine alprazolam on both the stress- and CRH-induced changes in ACTH, cortisol, and prolactin secretion in ten healthy volunteers. In addition, hemodynamic parameters were studied. The subjects received either alprazolam (0.5 mg orally) or placebo 90 min prior to administration of CRH (100 ug i.v.) and to the performance of a mental stress technique. Blood samples, blood pressure and heart rate were taken every 15 min. The administration of alprazolam led to a highly significant attenuation of the ACTH increase following the stress interview. While ACTH increased from 12.4 to 26.7 pg/ml 15 min after the stress procedure in the placebo condition, there was almost no increase following alprazolam intake. An identical effect was found for cortisol secretion. Basal levels of prolactin were slightly enhanced in the alprazolam situation, while the stress-induced increase was not attenuated. Basal and stimulated systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels and heart rate were also significantly attenuated by alprazolam intake. Following administration of CRH, the ACTH augmentation was only slightly affected following alprazolam, while there were no changes in cortisol and prolactin secretion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

Metabolic engineering of Candida tropicalis for the production of long-chain dicarboxylic acids.

We have engineered an industrial strain of the yeast, Candida tropicalis, for the efficient production of long-chain dicarboxylic acids, which are important raw materials for the chemical industry. By sequential disruption of the four genes encoding both isozymes of the acyl-CoA oxidase which catalyzes the first reaction in the beta-oxidation pathway, alkane and fatty acid substrates have been successfully redirected to the omega-oxidation pathway. Consequently, the conversion efficiency and chemical selectivity of their terminal oxidation to the corresponding dicarboxylic acids has been improved to 100 percent. The specific productivity of the bioconversion has been increased further by amplification of the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase and NADPH-cytochrome reductase genes encoding the rate-limiting omega-hydroxylase in the omega-oxidation pathway. The amplified strains demonstrated increased omega-hydroxylase activity and a 30% increase in productivity compared to the beta-oxidation-blocked strain in fermentations. The bioconversion is effective for the selective terminal oxidation of both saturated and unsaturated linear aliphatic substrates with chain-lengths ranging from 12 carbons to 22 carbons and also avoids the undesirable chain modifications associated with passage through the beta-oxidation pathway, such as unsaturation, hydroxylation, or chain shortening. It is now possible to efficiently produce a wide range of previously unavailable saturated and unsaturated dicarboxylic acids with a high degree of purity.

Candida↗

Cancer in asbestos-mining and other areas of Quebec.

Employing incidence data from the Quebec Tumor Registry, we examined the relative risks of cancer of all sites for the years 1969-73 in the asbestos-mining, rural, and metropolitan counties of Quebec Province, Canada. Generally, rates for males exceeded those for females, and the relative risks in the asbestos-mining counties for 7-10 different sites of cancer, all of low incidence, were from 1.50 to 8.08 times those of other rural counties of the Province for both sexes. Metropolitan counties exhibited equally high risk for many of these sites. We discovered higher risks among males in asbestos-mining counties for cancer of the pleura, peritoneum, lip, tongue, salivary gland, mouth, and small intestine and higher risks among females for cancer of the pleura, lip, kidney, salivary gland, and for melanoma. Because of the likelihood of a long latent period for asbestos-related cancers, the risks we observed were possibly the product of since-altered occupational and environmental conditions existing 20-30 years ago in the asbestos-mining areas. The similarities in risks for most cancers in asbestos-mining and urban areas were noteworthy.

Asbestos↗

Dentition, diet, tobacco, and alcohol in the epidemiology of oral cancer.

Interview and dental examination data were gathered on 584 males with cancer of the oral cavity and on 1,222 control patients with nonneoplastic diseases at Roswell Park Memorial Institute, Buffalo, New York. No dietary characteristics distinguished cancer patients from controls. However, a higher risk of developing oral cancer was associated with heavy smoking, heavy drinking, and poor dentition. When controlled for the other factors, each factor carried a higher risk. Moreover, heavy smokers and heavy drinkers with poor dentition and males with all three traits had a substantially higher risk than would have been expected, if the traits were considered additively. The risk for males with all three traits was 7.7 times that of men with none of these traits.

Alcohol Drinking↗

[Clinical symptoms in 35 children and adolescents with craniopharyngeoma at the time of diagnosis].

AIM: Hormonal deficiencies, visual disturbances, or cerebral symptoms are often the symptoms through which craniopharyngiomas (CP) first become clinically manifest. As these symptoms can exist for a long period of time various specialists are often consulted before the final diagnosis is made. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between the years 1970 and 1998, 37 children and adolescents with CP were treated in Erlangen. The documents of 35 patients (22 male, 13 female) were evaluated retrospectively. RESULTS: The median age of the children at diagnosis was 9,3 years (1,3 - 15,6 years). The most frequently documented symptoms were: headache 57 % (median duration 7 months; varying from 1 week to 6 years), visual disturbances 45 % (median duration 2 months, range 2 weeks to 10 years), and reduced growth 40 % (median duration 1 year, range 3 months to 5 years). On average the reported symptoms were present for 15 months (median 5 months, time span 1 week to 10 years). CONCLUSION: The clinical symptoms of CP are non-specific and highly varied. Endocrine disturbances are the primary objective finding. Correct interpretation of the symptoms are required for the early diagnosis of CP.

Adolescent↗