[Risk factors for the development of malignant melanoma in West Germany. Results of a multicenter-case control study].

In this multicenter case-control study (1,079 melanoma patients, 778 control persons), the significance of the well-known risk factors for the development of malignant melanoma (MM) was assessed for a German population. The multifactorial analysis of the data confirmed the total number of melanocytic nevi (MCN) as the most robust indicator for an increased melanoma risk. For persons with more than 50 MCN the relative risk was 4.

[Current status of vaccine development in sexually transmissible diseases].

A prophylactic vaccine represents a major hope for the control of sexually transmitted diseases. The current general vaccine strategies and the status of vaccine development against infections with Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Treponema pallidum, Chlamydia trachomatis and Herpes simplex virus are described. Vaccines consisting of whole infectious agents are replaced by protective subunits.

[Detection of herpes simplex virus antigen with an enzyme immunoassay and direct immunofluorescence].

A total of 464 clinical specimens from patients with extragenital and genital lesions and from the cervix of asymptomatic women were examined for the presence of Herpes-simplex-virus antigen by using a commercially available enzyme immunoassay Kit (ELISA, Dakopatts) and a direct immunofluorescence technique with monoclonal antibodies (Syva-Merck). The detection rate was compared to the isolation rate of the tissue-culture technique. In extragenital lesions the sensitivity of the ELISA technique and immunofluorescence was determined to be 78.

Renal function after ligation of the left renal vein.

In animal experiments the ligation of the left renal vein after nephrectomy on the right side and the ligation of the suprarenal inferior vena cava is explored by four different methods. Degree and length of postoperative renal dysfunction depend on the preliminary ligation or the narrowing of the suprarenal inferior vena cava. The period of adaptation is correlated to the development of a collateral circulation of the left renal vein.