Dynamic holographic endoscopy--ex vivo investigations of malignant tumors in the human stomach.

Laser holographic interferometry is based on the superimposition of the holograms of different motional states of an object on a single holographic storing medium. Using a combination of holographic interferometry and endoscopic imaging, we tried to detect areas of focally disturbed tissue elasticity in gastric cancer preparations. By connecting a mobile electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) camera system (light source: double frequency Nd:YAG laser, lambda = 532 nm) to different types of endoscopes, ex vivo experiments were performed on ten formalin fixed human stomachs, nine containing adenocarcinomas and one with a gastric lymphoma.

Relationship of clinical features and laboratory parameters to thyroid echogenicity measured by standardized grey scale ultrasonography in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Background: Hashimoto's thyroiditis is associated with a diffuse reduction in thyroid echo levels. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of hypoechogenicity in correlation to clinical features and laboratory parameters.

Material/methods: 52 patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis under substitutive therapy with levothyroxine (50-200 g daily) and 100 normal euthyroid volunteers (with no features of autoimmune disease who were not taking any thyroid medication) as controls were investigated.

Development of an in vitro miniature model to simulate immunoadsorption in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

In SLE, immunoadsorption is used as an adjuvant therapy; however, adsorption profiles and binding mechanisms have not yet been completely investigated. Using a minicolumn filled with the sorbent IMPH with or without the ligand phenylalanine, we developed a model simulating clinical conditions in a reduced scale with a constant ratio of plasma to column volume and a constant plasma flow at room temperature. By desorbing the column, the adsorption efficacy for different antibodies could be measured directly.