Hereditary hyperferritinaemia-cataract syndrome (HHCS) - an underestimated condition: ferritin light chain variant spectrum in German families.

Background In hereditary hyperferritinaemia-cataract syndrome (HHCS), single nucleic acid alterations in the ferritin light chain (L-ferritin) iron response element (IRE) constitutively derepress ferritin synthesis, resulting in hyperferritinaemia, L-ferritin deposits in the lens of the eye and early bilateral cataract onset. Methods In this study, six German families with putative HHCS were analysed. Clinical diagnosis of HHCS was based on medical history, evaluation of ferritin serum levels, transferrin saturation and clinical ophthalmological examination.

[Immunochemical demonstration of human herpes virus 8 in conjunctival Kaposi's sarcoma].

Background: Angiomatous lesions of the conjunctiva and chronic conjunctivitis are frequently difficult to differentiate.

Case: A 28 year old white male sought help because of a conjunctival swelling. A biopsy made elsewhere had revealed a capillary haemangioma of the conjunctiva.

[The Titmus Fly Test--evaluation of subjective depth perception with a simple finger pointing trial. Clinical study of 73 patients and probands].

Background: Subjects with different binocular defects were tested for their stereoscopic achievement. The determination of the subjects limiting disparity (in seconds of arc) was not used to characterize their stereoscopic acuity, but the subjective depth perception as a simple clinical method.

Methods: 52 subjects with different binocular defects and 21 normosensoric volunteers were examined for their stereoscopic achievement.

Effects of acarbose treatment in Type 2 diabetic patients under dietary training: a multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2-year study.

This 24-months, placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomised, group comparison study investigated the effect of acarbose vs placebo for improving metabolic control in patients with Type 2 diabetes under dietary training insufficiently controlled by diet alone. Patients randomised to acarbose had their dose increased in a stepwise manner to week 5. From week 5 onwards, they received 100 mg three times daily.

Treatment of symptomatic diabetic polyneuropathy with the antioxidant alpha-lipoic acid: a 7-month multicenter randomized controlled trial (ALADIN III Study). ALADIN III Study Group. Alpha-Lipoic Acid in Diabetic Neuropathy.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of alpha-lipoic acid given intravenously, followed by oral treatment in type 2 diabetic patients with symptomatic polyneuropathy.

Research Design And Methods: In a multicenter randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial (Alpha-Lipoic Acid in Diabetic Neuropathy [ALADIN] III Study), 509 outpatients were randomly assigned to sequential treatment with 600 mg alpha-lipoic acid once daily intravenously for 3 weeks, followed by 600 mg alpha-lipoic acid three times a day orally for 6 months (A-A; n = 167); 600 mg alpha-lipoic acid once daily intravenously for 3 weeks, followed by placebo three times a day orally for 6 months (A-P; n = 174); and placebo once daily intravenously for 3 weeks, followed by placebo three times a day orally for 6 months (P-P; n = 168). Outcome measures included the Total Symptom Score (TSS) for neuropathic symptoms (pain, burning, paresthesias, and numbness) in the feet, and the Neuropathy Impairment Score (NIS).