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Biomedical subjects

W Friedrich

Publications and source records attributed to W Friedrich.

176 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

[Comparison of chemotherapy alone with allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in first full remission in children with acute myeloid leukemia in the AML-BFM-83 and AML-BFM-87 studies--matched pair analysis].

16 patients of studies AML-BFM-83 and -87 with allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) in first complete remission (CR) were compared with matched controls with postremission chemotherapy (CT-MC). CT-MC were selected from 250 non-grafted patients with a minimum of remission duration corresponding to the median interval between remission and allogeneic BMT (7.3 and 3.6 months in studies BFM-83 and BFM-87). Matched pair criteria according to prognostic significance were: blast cell reduction day 15 in bone marrow, FAB subtypes, white blood cell count, age, and time to CR. Therapy results in BMT and CT-MC groups were comparable: 2 relapses and 2 treatment-related deaths after BMT vs. 5 relapses. The probability for event-free interval of 9 years was: .73 (SD .12) in the BMT group vs. .67 (SD .12) in the CT-MC group. Early and late toxicity was higher in the BMT group. 3 children of the BMT group had tolerable or severe sequelae (convulsive seizures, hemiparesis). Currently, there is no advantage for allogeneic BMT in first CR according to our results. Only high risk patients should be grafted as soon as possible after achieving CR.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Standardized measurement of surface tension of tracheal secretions of newborn infants for diagnosis of surfactant deficiency--secretory immunoglobulin A as a dilution marker].

UNLABELLED: The surface tension value (gamma min) of tracheal aspirate samples (TA) from newborns depends on lung maturity and is determined by concentrations of surfactant components (phospholipids, surfactant proteins, ions). During tracheal aspirate collecting the aspirate is diluted with physiological saline. Information about TA dilution is necessary for a standardized surface tension measurement. The purpose of this study was to establish an ELISA for determination of secretory IgA (SIgA), to determine the cutoff value of SIgA for surface tension measurement in tracheal aspirates and to test SIgA as marker for tracheal aspirate dilution. PATIENTS: In group 1 (normal range determination of gamma min) pharyngeal aspirates of 42 healthy newborns (nb) were investigated. In group 2 (determination of SIgA cutoff value) 15 TA and 8 pharyngeal aspirates of 23 pulmonary healthy nb (group 3) were used for validation of SIgA cutoff value. In group 4 36 TA of 22 nb with respiratory distress syndrome were studied. METHOD: The gamma min of group 1 were measured to establish the range of normal gamma min. The TA of group 2 were diluted stepwise and the dependence of gamma min on SIgA concentration were depicted in a diagram. The SIgA cutoff value was estimated by these dilution curves. Below this value the TA are very diluted and a measurement of gamma min is not useful. To test the reliability of SIgA as dilution marker the gamma min and SIgA values of TA from group 3 were determined. After exclusion of TA with reduced SIgA the gamma min of group 3 and 4 were compared. RESULTS: For the enzyme immunoassay following performance characteristics were determined: the accuracy (recovery): 95.6%, sensitivity: 4 ng/ml, and precision (intra- and interassay coefficient of variation): 9.8 and 19.1%, respectively. The range of normal gamma min (median (5th and 95th percentile)) amounts to 23.0 (14.8 and 28.7) mN/m. A SIgA cutoff value of 80 ng/ml was estimated. The gamma min from 8 of 27 TA (group 3) were above the normal range of gamma min during examination of the estimated SIgA cutoff value. 5 of these 8 TA had concentrations of SIgA below the cutoff point and could be excluded with the help of SIgA as dilution marker. The median of gamma min was significantly lower (p < 0.001) in group 3 (18.3 mN/m) in comparison to the median (35.8 mN/m) of group 4 (nb with respiratory distress syndrome). CONCLUSION: The performance characteristics of the SIgA enzyme immunoassay and the tested reliability of the SIgA cutoff value demonstrate, that a simple determination of surfactant deficiency by surface tension measurement of TA is possible using the concentration of SIgA as dilution marker.

Biomarkers↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Treatment of aplastic anemia--aims and development of the SAA 94 pilot protocol].

Aplastic anemia (AA) is a rare, life threatening disease. Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) offers the only possibility of cure, i. e. life-long remission. The probability of survival after BMT from an HLA-identical sibling has clearly improved over the last years and at present is about 80% in patients < 16 years. Transplantation from alternative donors, however, faces unsolved immunological problems. For demographic reasons most patients lack a matched sibling donor. For these patients immunosuppressive therapy (IST) is the only alternative therapeutic approach. However this treatment has frequently resulted in clonal, i. e. potentially malignant disease. Overall probability of survival here is only 50%, in severely granulocytopenic patients (< 0.2 G/l) even lower. These individuals represent an important subgroup in pediatric AA. Some patients show only partial reconstitution of their hematopoiesis but satisfactory quality of life. Based on the results of prospective studies a protocol for IST in AA using anti-lymphocyte globulin (ALG), cyclosporin A (CSA) and G-CSF is presented. For BMT-patients likewise a protocol for conditioning (ALG, cyclophosphamide) and GvHD-prophylaxis is suggested. Standardisation and improvement of supportive therapy is the third important objective of this pilot protocol.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Detection of Candida albicans DNA with a yeast-specific primer system by polymerase chain reaction.

The in vitro and in vivo selectivity and sensitivity of a yeast-specific primer system was investigated. A two-step polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used: the first amplified a 245-bp fragment of the gene for cytochrome P450L1A1 and the second a product of 193 bp. This nested PCR produced an approximately 1000-fold increase in the sensitivity of the test for Candida albicans DNA compared with the first primer pair. The lower level of sensitivity of the test in physiological saline and tissue homogenate was about 10 C. albicans cells ml-1. On the other hand, the sensitivity of the nested PCR method was reduced by a factor of more than 1000 when C. albicans was fixed with 4% formalin. After i.v. injection of different doses of C. albicans into mice, the yeast could be demonstrated in blood and in six different organs. The nested PCR was to some extent more sensitive than culturing for the detection of the yeast in the specimens of organs such as lung, cardiac muscle, liver, kidneys and brain. In contrast, in blood and spleen the culture was superior to the PCR technique used. Nested PCR is thus a useful additional method for the demonstration of yeasts.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Coalpha/Cobeta-isomerism of corrinoids. Partial synthesis and Escherichia coli activity of further isomer pairs of the (Co-methyl)-corrinoids (author's transl)].

In 2-methyladenyl-(Cobeta-methyl)-cobamide and in adenyl-(cobeta-methyl)-cobamide the nucleotide base is coordinated to the cobalt atom in neutral and weak acidic aqueous solutions (in the corresponding adenosylcorrinoids the nucleotide base is not coordinated). 2-Methylthioadenyl-(Cobeta-methyl)-cobamide resembles, with regard to the coordination of the nucleotide base, the benzimidazole-corrinoids. The partial synthesis via cobalt (I) corrinoids results in a variable proportion: (Coalpha-methyl) isomer/(Cobeta-methyl) isomer, e. g. 7/93 (cobalamin) and 50/50 (p-cresylcobamide). This proportion is generally low, if in the corresponding cyanocorrinoid the nucleotide base is firmly coordinated; it is high, if the coordination in the corresponding cyanocorrinoid is weak or absent. These results are compatible with the assumption that in the cobalt (I) corrinoids the nucleotide base is to a certain extent coordinated. In Escherichia coli 113-3 the examined (Coalpha-methyl)-corrinoids show a weaker bioactivity than the corresponding (Cobeta-methyl)-corrinoids.

Cobalt↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Measures for age adequate adjustment of work conditions].

Within the framework of a research project on behalf of the organization "Humanisierung des Arbeitslebens" (Humanization of Working Life) we investigated under which conditions (economic, technical, organizational, and social) the places of work of both older workers with a changed performance level and handicapped workers can be modified in such a way that these employees can remain at their jobs. The goal was to find a method of employment which was geared both to performance abilities and to productivity. We also investigated the problem of how to arrange transfer jobs which fulfill the demand for qualified and productive employment, when it is no longer possible for the employees to remain in the job they have held up to then - for example, when the manufacturing process does not allow the modification of a single work place. The goal of gearing work places to the needs of older employees often fails in reality for various reasons. Especially worth mentioning are: lack of comprehensibility with regard to technical-ergonomic work aids - although there is a wide range of these available; general strategy of the firms to dismiss older workers and workers with a changed performance level; qualification deficiencies of older workers; and technical problems: i.e. in shift-working firms, when the modified job is taken over in the 2nd or 3rd shift by a worker with no health limitations. In spite of all assertions to the contrary, it has become clear that jobs for the handicapped and workers with a changed performance level can be conceived, so to speak, "in stock" as early as in the planning stage.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Qualification of elderly workers in industry--problems and opportunities].

The aim of the research project was to find out the conditions of a successful occupational qualification of older workers in the Federal Republic of Germany. The more recent results of psychological research concerning the learning capacities of older people suppose that older workers can also be qualified successfully with regard to the requirements of their job. However, the project results reveal that certain basic conditions should be fulfilled for the qualification of older workers. Training measures should take place during work time; the fact has to be respected that older workers need more time to learn than younger workers; the learning material should be divided into short, separated units; older workers should not be obliged to do home-work; the creation of learning groups among the older workers should refer to different degrees of qualification, not to the age of the workers.

Aged↗