[Interferon-alpha as treatment option in severe persistent uncontrolled bronchial asthma: an open label study].

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term safety and therapeutic effects of IFN-alpha in patients with severe persistent uncontrolled asthma on long-term oral glucocorticoid (GC) treatment.

Patients And Methods: The study included 16 patients (2 male, 14 female; age 39 years [range: 24 - 63]) with severe persistent asthma. Diagnosis and severity classification of asthma were established according to the guidelines of the "Deutsche Atemwegsliga".

[Changes in specific airway resistance after powder inhalation of formoterol or salmeterol in moderate bronchial asthma].

Formoterol and salmeterol are two long acting beta 2 agonists available for the treatment of asthma which show differences in onset of action. In a multicentre parallel group study, patients with moderate asthma were investigated by measuring the specific airway resistance (sRaw), a more sensitive parameter than FEV1. A total of 99 patients were randomised for open treatment with either 12 micrograms formoterol delivered via Turbohaler or 50 micrograms salmeterol via Diskus.

[Value of mechanocardiographic parameters in comparison to radiocardiography in cardiologic diagnosis and therapy control].

Two noninvasive methods for diagnosing cardiac function, the determination of systolic time intervals (STI) and radiocardiography-cyclography (RCG), were investigated in parallel on two study groups - patients with healthy heart and patients with myocardial insufficiency - before and after glycoside treatment with regard to their diagnostic validity by inter- and intraindividual comparison. The STI in patients with myocardial insufficiency clearly deviated from the values found in normals, but reached, however, the limit of significance only for the equalized pre-ejection period (PEP) and the quotient according to Weissler (PEP/LVET). A reliable quantitative conclusion about cardiac function by interindividual comparison with the help of STI, therefore, does not seem possible.

[The current problem of euthanasia -- a discussion].

New conditions and possibilities of medical treatment demand a more intensive discussion of the problems of the patient with heavy illness and of the dying patient. After a short representation of the notion of euthanasia the individual forms of dying help with their ethical consequences are discussed. Propositions are made for a further elaboration of these problems.