[Etiology of secondary glaucoma at university clinics in Munich and Nairobi].

Glaucoma is one of the most common blinding diseases worldwide. For early detection and treatment of this insidious ailment investigations of risk factors are necessary, most of which require extensive technically demanding and time consuming procedures. Basic information on risk factors for the development of glaucomatous damage is essential for diagnosis of glaucoma, for the identification of groups at risk, and for the planning of prevention and intervention programs.

Human immunodeficiency virus-related microvasculopathy and Kaposi's sarcoma: a case-control study.

Ocular microangiopathic syndrome including retinal and conjunctival abnormalities is frequently found in patients with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) disease. Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is the most frequent neoplasia found in patients with HIV-1 disease. We have recently reported a significant association between conjunctival microvasculopathy and KS in 117 patients with HIV-1 disease.

[Quality management, possibilities and chances in ophthalmology].

German legislation introduced in 1988 called for obligatory quality assurance (QA) practice to be initiated by health care providers. In 1992 the scope of the legislation was extended. Opportunities for introducing quality assurance practice in ophthalmology are demonstrated through examples.

Deficits in perimetric performance in patients with symptomatic human immunodeficiency virus infection or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Purpose: We measured the perimetric performance in patients with either acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease but without AIDS.

Methods: Light-difference sensitivity in the central field was measured in 74 eyes of 37 patients. The Humphrey Field Analyzer 640, program 30-2 was used.

Effect of growth hormone (hGH) replacement therapy on physical work capacity and cardiac and pulmonary function in patients with hGH deficiency acquired in adulthood.

The effects of 6 months of replacement therapy with recombinant human GH (hGH) on physical work capacity and cardiac structure and function were investigated in 20 patients with hGH deficiency of adult onset in a double blind, placebo-controlled trial. The GH dose of 12.5 micrograms/kg BW was self-administered daily sc.

[Variability of transplant vasculopathy. A study with intravascular ultrasound].

Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) influences long-term survival of patients after heart transplantation. Histopathology studies have demonstrated the insensitivity of coronary angiography (CA) for detecting CAV. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is an imaging technique that provides qualitative and quantitative characterization of vessel wall morphology.

Early pars plana vitrectomy without buckling procedure in cytomegalovirus retinitis-induced retinal detachment.

Background: Retinal detachments induced by cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis can often be treated successfully with a buckling procedure combined with vitrectomy and silicone oil instillation, but this technique yields varying visual results.

Methods: To minimize operational trauma, pars plana vitrectomy and silicone oil instillation without additional buckling was performed in a series of 11 consecutive patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and CMV-retinitis-induced retinal detachment. Surgery was performed early in the course of the retinal detachment: 6 patients (55%) had an attached macula, and 7 patients (64%) had a visual acuity of 20/200 or better.

Four-year experience with Palmaz-Schatz stenting in coronary angioplasty complicated by dissection with threatened or present vessel closure.

Background: Abrupt vessel closure after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is associated with major adverse events. Different surgical and nonsurgical approaches have been advocated to treat or prevent this complication. This study summarizes our 4-year experience with Palmaz-Schatz stenting for the management of 339 patients with present or threatened occlusion after PTCA.

Volumes and Na+/H+ antiporter activity of lymphocytes in patients with congestive heart failure.

Previous studies in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) treated with diuretics and/or digoxin have shown abnormalities of cellular volume and electrolytes in biopsies of skeletal muscle. These abnormalities seem to play an important role with regard to the dysregulation of peripheral vascular resistance and characteristic clinical features of CHF, for example, muscular weakness. This study assessed the effect of angiotension-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor therapy on cell volume and cell volume regulation in patients with CHF.

Ocular microangiopathic syndrome in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and its relationship to alterations in cell adhesion and in blood flow.

Ocular microangiopathic syndrome is the most frequent ophthalmic finding in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Ocular microvascular changes, including cotton-wool spots, are closely associated with neuroretinal and cognitive deficits in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Cell adhesion has become an important pathogenetic concept in infectious diseases.

[No detection of mycoplasma in 205 conjunctival swabs].

Mycoplasma is known to cause pulmonary and urogenital infections in humans. A pathogenicity for the human eye never has been assessed, although they have been observed in the peripheral eye in a few cases of acute and non-specific conjunctivitis, in patients with Reiter's disease and in newborns. Due to the absence of cell walls, mycoplasma is only sensitive to a few antibiotics.

[HIV-1 and tears. Results of virus isolation and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)].

Beside the threat of infection via HIV-containing blood, the ophthalmologist is especially interested in the possibility of HIV infection via the tears of HIV-positive persons. In a first step, we tried to isolate HIV-1 from the peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of 50 HIV-1-antibody-positive persons in different stages of disease and to detect reverse transcriptase (RT) and p24 antigen (p24-Ag) in the supernatant. Simultaneously we carried out the same tests on tears of these patients.

Ultrasound guidance of Palmaz-Schatz intracoronary stenting with a combined intravascular ultrasound balloon catheter.

Background: Coronary stenting in conjunction with coronary angioplasty is a valuable tool for treatment of severe coronary dissection and is effective in reducing the frequency of restenoses. Evidence is increasing that the lumen gain within the stent is negatively correlated with the rate of subacute closures and restenoses. Since the assessment of radiolucent coronary stents and complex lumen morphologies by angiography is limited, we hypothesized that the use of a balloon catheter with integrated intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) facility for stent deployment and guidance of its expansion could improve the acute lumen gain without relevant procedural prolongation.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and type 2 seroprevalence in cornea donors.

Routine screening of cornea donors for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) has been established and has reduced the risk of HIV-1 transmission to a minimum. Screening for HIV-2 is less common. We evaluated 100 cornea donors for HIV-2 and 166 cornea donors for HIV-1 according to our routine screening procedure.

Endothelin-1 immunoreactivity in plasma is elevated in HIV-1 infected patients with retinal microangiopathic syndrome.

Endothelin-1 is a recently identified cytokine with potent vasoconstrictor activity which is associated with various diseases involving blood vessels. HIV-1 related retinal microangiopathic syndrome is a frequent finding in patients with AIDS or AIDS-related complex, presenting predominantly with retinal cotton-wool spots. We investigated 55 HIV-1 infected patients by ophthalmoscopy and for endothelin-1 immunoreactivity in plasma and an additional 76 HIV-1 infected patients only for endothelin-1 levels.

Retinal detachment in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Cytomegalovirus retinopathy is the most frequent opportunistic infection of the eye in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). We studied 71 patients with cytomegalovirus retinopathy (n = 69) or acute retinal necrosis (n = 2) with respect to the frequency and management of retinal detachment. Retinal detachment was seen in 14 patients (relative frequency, 19.

Traditional herbal eye medicine in Kenya.

A study was conducted in Kenya on 16 traditional healers in order to obtain information about their knowledge of eye conditions, the herbal medicines they used, and their indications for referral to ophthalmologists. Evidence remains scanty that traditional treatments are beneficial, and in some instances harmful effects have been reported. Nevertheless there is a solid case, based on economic and other grounds, for integrating traditional healers into the modern health care system.

[Contrast echocardiography in the evaluation of myocardial flow reserve].

In order to determine whether changes in myocardial perfusion can be assessed by myocardial contrast echocardiography, intracoronary injections of 2 ml of sonicated iopromid were performed before and 30 to 45 s after application of papaverine in 31 patients (mean age 58 years). 13 patients showed coronary artery disease (KHE), 6 patients hypertensive heart disease (HHE), and 12 patients had no proven heart disease (KTR). Contrast decay-halftime (T/2), maximal video-intensity (Imax) and area under the curve (Area) were derived by computer-assisted videodensitometry.