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Biomedical subjects

W Günther

Publications and source records attributed to W Günther.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

[Azidothymidine and the nervous system].

By December 1988 reports on 525 ARC- (AIDS-Related Complex) and AIDS-patients with neurological or neuropsychological signs treated with Zidovudine (AZT = 3'-Azido-2,3'Dideoxythymidine) had been published in literature. In 204 (38.8%) cases of HIV infection a temporary improvement in the neurological deficits was reported. Peripheral and central neurological side-effects were observed in 124 (23.6%) patients.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗
PubMed1991

Natural lymphocyte cytotoxicity of women with different symptoms of toxemia.

Natural cytotoxic activity of lymphocytes from 113 pregnant women presenting one or more symptoms of the toxemic triad (E, P or H) was tested. According to the clinical symptoms, groups EH + H, EP + P and PH + EPH were formed. The control group consisted of 56 healthy pregnant patients. Significantly increased cytotoxicity was observed in toxemic pregnancies with proteinuria (group EP + P, 35.8 +/- 14.3%, P less than 0.001) and with proteinuria and hypertension (group PH + EPH, 27.2 +/- 13.3%, P less than 0.001%), but not in the group with hypertension (EH + H, 13.0 + 9.9%), compared to that of controls (11.0 + 11.5%). The relative number of patients with cytotoxicity greater than or equal to 40% was also higher in groups with proteinuria presenting with or without other symptoms of the disease. Increased cytotoxicity in proteinuric form of gestosis seemed to be independent of the incidence of low birthweight deliveries and intra-uterine growth retardation.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Brain dysfunction during motor activation and corpus callosum alterations in schizophrenia measured by cerebral blood flow and magnetic resonance imaging.

Sixteen unmedicated (14 never-medicated, 2 with washout periods of 1-2 weeks) schizophrenic patients displaying positive symptoms (e.g., formal thought disorder, hallucinations, delusions) without negative symptoms (e.g., flattening of affect, loss of energy, anhedonia--type I patients), 15 unmedicated (with washout periods from 1 week to 2 years) patients with marked negative symptomatology [type II patients; criterion score below 15/above 35 on the Munich version of the Scale of Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), respectively], and 31 matched normal controls were investigated using regional cerebral blood flow [rCBF; dynamic single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) with Xenon-133 as tracer] and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; spin-echo technique, T1 weighted, midsagittal cuts). rCBF measurements were performed during both resting conditions and simple motor activation. Separately, on the same day, we performed a planimetric evaluation of the callosal-brain ratio in all subjects using MRI. In accordance with previous results on a smaller sample, we found signs of diffuse bilateral rCBF hyperactivation in type I patients, as compared with signs of nonreactivity in type II schizophrenics. Both activation patterns were different from a strictly contralateral sensorimotor rCBF activation seen in normal persons (only 8 studied with SPECT). The planimetry of relative callosal area did not reveal differences compared to normal persons, when type I/II patients were taken together. However, the threefold increased variance as compared with that found in normal persons suggested biological heterogeneity in patients. We found an increase of relative callosal size in type I as compared with type II patients. In the light of some recent findings linking lack of laterality of several brain functions to increased callosal size, we propose lack of laterality/diffuse hyperactivation and increased callosal size to be connected with positive symptomatology/good prognosis schizophrenia, and vice versa.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1991

Brain dysfunction in psychiatric patients during music perception measured by EEG mapping: relation to motor dysfunction and influence of neuroleptic drugs.

We report here our findings on music perception obtained as a companion study to the investigation with 16-channel EEG mapping in psychiatric patients during motor activation, published recently elsewhere. We decided to add on a study of this functional circuit, since there is evidence that it is disturbed in various psychiatric patient groups (another "functio laesa"). Involved in the study were 23 male and 25 female schizophrenics, 11 male and 18 female non-endogenously depressed patients (not presently under medication, i.e. drug-naive or wash-out period from 1 week to 17 years), 26 male and 37 female endogenously depressed patients (medicated with tri- or tetracyclic antidepressants and/or benzodiazepines; no lithium), and 22 male and 17 female control subjects (i.e. n = 179). We compared resting conditions after a special relaxation procedure with three music perception tasks: (1) a standardised rumba rhythm generated by a keyboard and delivered binaurally by earphones, (2) the same as an arpeggio in D major, and (3) the same as an arpeggio with a tonic-subdominant-dominant cadence. Major results were obtained in the delta and alpha frequency bands, yielding signs of "diffuse hyperactivation", most prominent in schizophrenic males, and not observed to a similar extent in any other patient group or in normal controls. Interestingly, there were major sex differences, yielding a more diffuse EEG activation pattern in normal females than in males and thus possibly obscuring signs of brain function diffusion in female patients. Viewing our broader evidence of similar brain dysfunction when examining motor functional circuits, especially in schizophrenics, these findings provide further evidence of a brain disorganization with lack of laterality/diffusion which may be found in subgroups of these patients and not in other psychiatric disorders. In schizophrenic patients, these EEG signs of "diffuse hyperactivation" on simple motor and/or music stimulation were reduced to nearly normal by neuroleptic medication. The latter finding may contribute to possible clinical applications of EEG mapping, considering the EEG's unique suitability for long-term brain function monitoring. Other neuroimaging methods like SPECT and PET should be used for additional "external validation".

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

[HIV and nervous system manifestations: a review].

Since 1986 the notation Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is used for the retroviral agent of the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). At the beginning of the therapeutical interest in the immunodeficiency syndrome have been primarily focussed in the internal complications. 1982 one reported for the first time about nervous system manifestations (NS-M) in HIV-patients; according to the latest reports NS-M are diagnosed in 39-63% of these patients. In this review all important aspects of the pathogenesis, clinic and therapy for the HIV-associated peripheric- and central-neurological (like e.g. acute and chronic meningitis/meningoencephalitis, dementia, opportunistic infections, polyneuropathies and myopathies) and psychiatric diseases are described.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗
PubMed1991

Music psychopathology. IV. The course of musical expression during music therapy with psychiatric inpatients.

The music therapeutic productions of 67 psychiatric inpatients were analyzed concerning a systematic variation in the course of therapy. The impairment of performance was not as regular as with customary music, nevertheless with growing remission it was reversible in all diagnostic subgroups. The change for the better of rhythmic and motor skills of endogenous-depressed patients was seen to the same extent as with traditional music. The polarity profile developed for the assessment of music proved meaningful in the characterization of music therapeutic utterances.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Psychomotor disturbances in psychiatric patients as a possible basis for new attempts at differential diagnosis and therapy. IV. Brain dysfunction during motor activation measured by EEG mapping.

In parts I-III of this series psychometric evidence was reported of a "psychotic motor syndrome" (PMS) in schizophrenic and endogenous depressed patients, which was not found in non-endogenous depressed or healthy persons. An attempt is reported to establish signs of brain dysfunction in these patient groups during motor activation, using a 16-channel EEG mapping system. "Resting" conditions after a special relaxation procedure were compared with simple and complex motor tasks (and music perception/reproduction; to be reported separately). Two measurements, at least 2 weeks apart, were obtained for each subject, in order to obtain information on the influence of drug treatment and/or psychopathological improvement on brain dysfunction. In all, 23 male and 25 female schizophrenics, 11 male and 18 female non-endogenous depressed patients (not actually mediated, i.e. drug naive or wash-out period of 1 week to 17 years), and 26 male and 37 female endogenous depressed patients (medicated with tri- or tetracyclic antidepressants and/or benzodiazepines; no lithium treatment) were compared with 22 male and 17 female control persons (i.e. total n = 179). Major findings were obtained in the delta and alpha frequency bands yielding signs of "diffuse hyperactivation" in schizophrenic and endogenous depressed patients as compared with the patterns found in healthy persons. However, since in the non-endogenous patients a (less marked) hyperactivation of various EEG parameters was also found, unspecific effects such as anxiety/arousal may have influenced the results in psychotic patients, which was to be explored further. Drug treatment tended to "normalize" the activation pattern both in schizophrenics and endogenous depressed patients. Viewing the findings on schizophrenics using neuroimaging methods [single photon emission computerized tomography-(SPECT), magnetic resonance imaging-(MRI), positron emission tomography-(PET)], these results suggest pathological brain organization connected to an impaired motor performance (evident peripherally as PMS) in schizophrenic and endogenous depressed patients. If it is possible to further "externally validate" (by SPECT/MRI/PET) EEG mapping data this method may exclusively offer the possibility of innocuous long-term follow up of brain dysfunction in psychotic patients ("brain function monitoring"). This could enable the early recognition (and early therapy) of negative symptoms. Finally, the EEG mapping findings provide further neurophysiological basis for the use of motor training programs in the additional therapy of psychiatric patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Psychomotor disturbances in psychiatric patients as a possible basis for new attempts at differential diagnosis and therapy. III. Cross validation study on depressed patients: the psychotic motor syndrome as a possible state marker for endogenous depression.

This study investigates the presence and course of motor symptoms in endogenous (n = 42) and non-endogenous (n = 15) depressed patients (both medicated and unmedicated) in comparison to 15 healthy control persons. As in our previous studies on schizophrenic and depressed patients, we used a motor test battery, which consisted of the Motorische Leistungsserie, a modified version of the Lincoln Oseretzky Motor Development Scale and the motor subtest of the Luria Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery. Previous findings had suggested the existence of a psychotic motor syndrome (PMS) in endogenous depressed patients (and schizophrenics), involving disturbances of the lips and tongue, fine and gross movements of the dominant right hand and the complex motor coordination of the extremities. We re-confirmed the PMS in acute endogenous depressed patients, both medicated and unmedicated. Such a motor syndrome did not exist in healthy controls, or in non-endogenous depressed patients, irrespective of the severity of the depressive syndrome. This PMS showed a clear improvement with the amelioration of the depressive symptoms in endogenous depressed patients towards the end of the hospital treatment period and disappeared entirely in patients in a symptom free interval. This may be suggestive of a possible role for the PMS as a state marker for endogenous depression, in contrast to the persistence of the PMS in schizophrenics (trait marker), described previously. The results of factorial analyses on motor performance did not reveal differences in the factorial structure between depressives, schizophrenics and normals. However, they indicated disturbances on a general motor factor, which may account for the performance deficits in psychotic patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1988

X-ray studies on piroxicam modifications.

The anti-inflammatory drug piroxicam, 4-hydroxy-2-methyl-N-(2-pyridyl)2H-1,2- benzothiazine-3-carboxamide-1,1-dioxide, crystallizes in three different forms, two anhydrates and one monohydrate. Crystal structure analyses of the monohydrate and one of the anhydrate were carried out by Bordner et al. and Kojić-Prodić et al., respectively. In this paper the results of the analysis of the third piroxicam modification and of an independently performed structure determination of the monohydrate are reported. Molecular structures and hydrogen bonding of all modifications are discussed.

Chemical Phenomena↗
PubMed1988

[Comparative studies of cerebral blood flow measurements and measurements of the size of the corpus callosum in patients with schizophrenia].

In this study healthy subjects and schizophrenic patients of the so-called Type I and Type II subgroups were examined in each case with a morphological method to determine the size of the corpus callosum and with a method to measure a physiological functional parameter, namely, the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). MR and dynamic single photon emission CT were used (in our case as differential method). The study reveals for the first time classified into subgroups of the disease, scientifically measured differences both in the size of the corpus callosum and in the distribution pattern of the blood flow. Whereas the patients of type I had an enlarged corpus callosum and increased blood flow during the task with which they were confronted, these organs were mainly smaller in size with type II patients without an increase in the global blood flow during the relevant task. The statistical data--averaged over patient groups--show these differences clearly, but due to biological scatter it has so far not been possible to arrive at a diagnosis in individual cases.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Influence of autoclaved Brucella melitensis on the proliferation of human lymphocytes.

Brucella melitensis is a facultative intracellular bacterium which binds spontaneously to human B-lymphocytes. In order to find out whether there exists a relation between bacterial adherence and lymphocyte reactivity, the proliferation response of normal adult peripheral blood lymphocytes to autoclaved B. melitensis has been studied. Our results indicate that autoclaved B. melitensis induce only a slight increase in proliferation. This low lymphocyte response is due to proliferating B-cells. In high doses B. melitensis inhibited the response of lymphocytes to Concanavalin A and phytohaemagglutinin. This effect is probably due to the presence of lectin binding saccharides on the bacterial surface competing with the T-cells for the mitogens.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Psychomotor disturbances in psychiatric patients as a possible basis for new attempts at differential diagnosis and therapy. II. Cross validation study on schizophrenic patients: persistence of a "psychotic motor syndrome" as possible evidence of an independent biological marker syndrome for schizophrenia.

This study investigates the existence and course of psychomotor symptoms in schizophrenic patients (n = 57, both treated and untreated with antipsychotic drugs) as compared to 25 healthy controls. Previous psychometric studies had suggested the existence of a "psychotic motor syndrome" (PMS) both in (untreated) schizophrenic and endogenous depressed patients, consisting of disturbances of lip and tongue movements, fine and gross movements of the dominant right hand and impaired complex motor coordination of the extremities. We confirmed the existence of the PMS in this study. There was no correlation of the PMS with the psychopathological status of the patients, or with extrapyramidal side-effects of the drugs used, perhaps indicating an independent "basic syndrome" ("Basisstörung"). Factorial analyses revealed similar structures both in schizophrenic and healthy persons; the differences in motor performance may be due to an impairment of the first factor "general motor ability" in schizophrenic patients. The PMS did not disappear parallel to the psychopathological improvement of the patients, nor in the symptom-free remission interval. The role of the PMS as possible independent biological marker syndrome for schizophrenia can consequently be further supported, with its implications towards the differential diagnostic and therapeutical values of this syndrome.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Disodium cromoglycate inhibits allergic patch test reactions.

Disodium cromoglycate was applied before patch testing in patients with contact allergy to propipocaine hydrochloride, nickel and formaldehyde. The responses obtained were mitigated to a high degree when compared with similar effects due to corticoids.

Allergens↗