Periprosthetic Fungal Infections in Severe Endoprosthetic Infections of the Hip and Knee Joint-A Retrospective Analysis of a Certified Arthroplasty Centre of Excellence.

The treatment of periprosthetic joint infections (PJI), and especially of re-infections, poses a highly complex problem in orthopaedic surgery. While fungal infections are rare, they present a special challenge. The therapy is often protracted and based on limited evidence.

Decision support in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: Making advantageous decisions is a key competence of individuals of all ages. However, previous studies reported a reduction of this competence in patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, which is explained by impairments of executive functions such as cognitive flexibility or working memory. While previous findings from healthy participants with reduced executive functions showed that support can improve decision making under risk, the study at hand aimed to investigate this effect in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (mAD).

Approximate Number Processing Skills Contribute to Decision Making Under Objective Risk: Interactions With Executive Functions and Objective Numeracy.

Research on the cognitive abilities involved in decision making has shown that, under objective risk conditions (i.e., when explicit information about possible outcomes and risks is available), superior decisions are especially predicted by executive functions and exact number processing skills, also referred to as objective numeracy.

Validation of an Isavuconazole High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Assay in Plasma for Routine Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Applications.

Background: Isavuconazole is a triazole antifungal agent for treatment of invasive aspergillosis and mucormycosis. At present, it is unclear whether a therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of isavuconazole would be necessary. The aim of the investigation was to validate a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay for routine applications.

Risk approximation in decision making: approximative numeric abilities predict advantageous decisions under objective risk.

Many decision situations in everyday life involve mathematical considerations. In decisions under objective risk, i.e.

Fluorescence-based monitoring of ribosome assembly landscapes.

Background: Ribosomes and functional complexes of them have been analyzed at the atomic level. Far less is known about the dynamic assembly and degradation events that define the half-life of ribosomes and guarantee their quality control.

Results: We developed a system that allows visualization of intact ribosomal subunits and assembly intermediates (i.

Validation of a fluorescence-based screening concept to identify ribosome assembly defects in Escherichia coli.

While the structure of mature ribosomes is analyzed in atomic detail considerably less is known about their assembly process in living cells. This is mainly due to technical and conceptual hurdles. To analyze ribosome assembly in vivo, we designed and engineered an Escherichiacoli strain--using chromosomal gene knock-in techniques--that harbors large and small ribosomal subunits labeled with the fluorescent proteins EGFP and mCherry, respectively.

Evaluation of limited sampling models for prediction of oral midazolam AUC for CYP3A phenotyping and drug interaction studies.

Background: The area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) after oral midazolam administration is commonly used for cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A phenotyping studies. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate a limited sampling strategy for the prediction of AUC with oral midazolam.

Methods: A total of 288 concentration-time profiles from 123 healthy volunteers who participated in four previously performed drug interaction studies with intense sampling after a single oral dose of 7.

Intraindividual long term stability and response corridors of cytokines in healthy volunteers detected by a standardized whole-blood culture system for bed-side application.

Background: The variation of immune cell activities over time is an immanent property of the human immune system, as can be measured by the stimulated secretion of cytokines in cell cultures. However, inter-individual variability is considerably higher. Especially the latter is the major reason why it has not been possible to establish international standard values for cytokines as was possible for other parameters, such as leukocyte sub-population numbers.

Sleeve Gastrectomy: A Procedure in a State of Flux.

Originally, sleeve gastrectomy (SG) was part of biliopancreatic diversion (BPD), which is the most effective bariatric procedure for super obese patients. As BPD is a complex procedure with substantial morbidity and mortality, attempts were undertaken to split the procedure into two steps. SG became the first step in a staged BPD procedure assuming that this less-invasive operation would reduce the surgical risk in super obese patients.

Adverse drug reactions in Germany: direct costs of internal medicine hospitalizations.

Purpose: German hospital reimbursement modalities changed as a result of the introduction of Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG) in 2004. Therefore, no data on the direct costs of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) resulting in admissions to departments of internal medicine are available. The objective was to quantify the ADR-related economic burden (direct costs) of hospitalizations in internal medicine wards in Germany.

No clinically relevant CYP3A induction after St. John's wort with low hyperforin content in healthy volunteers.

Objective: Induction of CYP3A by St. John's wort (SJW) products with high hyperforin content is well described. Since CYP3A induction is mediated by hyperforin in a concentration-dependent manner, and SJW preparations differ significantly in hyperforin content, the aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of an SJW powder with low hyperforin content on CYP3A function.

The extent of induction of CYP3A by St. John's wort varies among products and is linked to hyperforin dose.

Objective: Induction of CYP3A by St. John's wort (SJW) extracts with high hyperforin (HYF) content is well described. Since SJW products vary in the amount of HYF and other main constituents, the aim of the study was to evaluate the effect on CYP3A function of SJW preparations with a range from very low to high HYF content.

Effect of St John's wort dose and preparations on the pharmacokinetics of digoxin.

Background And Objective: St John's wort preparations vary in composition, main constituents, formulation, and daily dose administered. The aim of the study was to evaluate the possible pharmacokinetic interaction of marketed St John's wort formulations and doses with digoxin.

Methods: A randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study was performed in 96 healthy volunteers in 3 study parts.

Pharmacokinetics of piperacillin-tazobactam in anuric intensive care patients during continuous venovenous hemodialysis.

The pharmacokinetics of piperacillin-tazobactam were investigated in eight anuric intensive care patients treated by continuous venovenous hemodialysis (CVVHD). The elimination half-life of piperacillin was 4.3 +/- 1.