Blood fluidity, fibrinogen, and cardiovascular risk factors of occlusive arterial disease: results of the Aachen study.

In the Aachen study the prevalence of arterial disease was established in 346 out of a cohort of 2821 subjects between 45 and 65 years of age. Rheological variables and risk factor profile for patients with peripheral occlusive arterial disease (POAD), coronary heart disease (CHD) and cerebrovascular insufficiency (CI) in comparison to a control group are given. Significantly elevated are hematocrit in males, plasma viscosity, erythrocyte aggregation and fibrinogen.

Inhibition of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 attenuates allergen-induced airway inflammation and hyperreactivity.

Background: Transcriptional factors of the signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) family play an important role in orchestrating immune reactions.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to investigate the role of STAT-1 in murine allergen-induced sensitization and development of airway inflammation (AI) and airway hyperreactivity (AHR), cardinal features of bronchial asthma.

Methods: BALB/c mice were systemically sensitized to ovalbumin and challenged with ovalbumin through the airways.

Early age of onset in fatal familial insomnia. Two novel cases and review of the literature.

Fatal familial insomnia (FFI) is a prion disease exhibiting the PRNP D178N/129M genotype. Features of this autosomal dominant illness are progressive insomnia, dysautonomia, myoclonus, cognitive decline and motor signs associated with thalamic nerve cell loss and gliosis. In contrast to the new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) the onset of FFI is in middle to late adulthood.

Resiquimod, a new immune response modifier from the family of imidazoquinolinamines, inhibits allergen-induced Th2 responses, airway inflammation and airway hyper-reactivity in mice.

Background: Allergen-induced sensitization and airway disease are the results of adverse immune reactions against environmental antigens that may be prevented or inhibited by immune modifying strategies.

Objective: To investigate the effects of the novel immune response modifier resiquimod (R-848), from the family of imidazol-derivates, in a murine model of allergen-mediated Th2-immune responses and concomitant airway inflammation and airway hyper-reactivity.

Methods: BALB/c mice were systemically sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA) on days 1 and 14 and challenged with OVA aerosol on days 28 and 29.

A practical concept for preoperative identification of patients with impaired primary hemostasis.

The findings of a large prospective study designed to identify primary and/or secondary hemostatic disorders before surgical interventions are presented. A total of 5649 unselected adult patients were enrolled to identify impaired hemostasis before surgical interventions. Each patient was asked to answer a standardized questionnaire concerning bleeding history.

The intron 6 G/T polymorphism of c-myb oncogene and the risk for coronary in-stent restenosis.

Background: The principle mechanisms leading to the development of atherosclerosis are long-term accumulation of lipids and cell proliferation. We have recently shown that a single nucleotide polymorphism in the c-myb gene is associated with the development of coronary artery disease in humans and intracellular lipid accumulation. C-myb expression has been further shown to be up-regulated during cell proliferation.

Kinematic response of lumbar functional spinal units to axial torsion with and without superimposed compression and flexion/extension.

Experimental data suggest that lumbar torsion contributes to lumbar disc degenerative changes, such as instability, spondylolisthesis and spinal canal stenosis. However, some basic mechanical characteristics of the lumbar spine under torsional loading have not yet been reported in detail. For example, the function of the facet joints under combined mechanical loads such as torsion with superimposed flexion or extension postures is an area of interest about which little biomechanical data have been reported.

A practical concept for preoperative management of patients with impaired primary hemostasis.

In a prospective study, 254 of 5649 unselected patients scheduled for surgery at our hospital were identified preoperatively as having either acquired (n=182) or inherited (n=72) impaired primary hemostasis (platelet dysfunction including von Willebrand disease). All patients were initially pretreated with desmopressin (DDAVP). Response to DDAVP or subsequent treatment(s) was defined as correction of any one of the abnormal PFA-100 platelet function tests.

Cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women.

Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death in both sexes. Women suffer almost as many myocardial infarctions as men, although they tend to occur at a greater age. Prevention programs for heart disease have impacted more positively on men than women and relatively young women aged 35-54 years may have fared worse.

Immunotherapy in children.

Purpose Of Review: Specific allergen immunotherapy although being performed for almost 100 years, is still being addressed in clinical trials. In children the sublingual allergen application has gained considerable interest.

Recent Findings: Controlled long-term trials suggest that specific allergen immunotherapy has the capacity to modify the natural history of allergic airway disease by reducing the incidence of new sensitivities non-specifically, reducing allergic symptoms years after discontinuation and preventing the incidence of asthma.

Differential contribution of early visual areas to the perceptual process of contour processing.

We investigated contour processing and figure-ground detection within human retinotopic areas using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 6 healthy and naïve subjects. A figure (6 degrees side length) was created by a 2nd-order texture contour. An independent and demanding foveal letter-discrimination task prevented subjects from noticing this more peripheral contour stimulus.

Parietal activation during visual search in the absence of multiple distractors.

Search for a target object embedded in a visual scene involves the posterior parietal cortex. This region is thought to play a role in visual attention by counteracting the effects of distractors on targets or by inhibiting distractors. Using fMRI, we investigated whether the parietal cortex is also engaged in visual search without distractors.

Plasticity and the spread of Alzheimer's disease-like changes.

Tangles are a major histopathological feature of Alzheimer's disease and their regional location and number correlate significantly with the individual's cognitive decline. Intriguingly, these tangles are formed only in a small subset of nerve cell types and are practically absent in most animal species examined so far. In humans, tangle formation seemingly starts decades before clinical signs of dementia are seen and spread over cortical areas in a regular manner described by the Braak classification.

Hybrid-cell vaccines for cancer immune therapy.

Hybrid cells generated by fusing allogenic-presenting cells, such as dendritic cells, with tumor cells are a new tool in cancer immunotherapy which are designed to enhance the immunogenicity of antigenic tumors by presenting the whole spectrum of tumor-associated antigens, by providing the co-stimulatory molecules required for T-cell activation, and by the expression of allogenic MHC molecules for recruitment and activation of T-cell help. This approach has been successfully tested in animal models as well as in clinical phaseI/II trials with various tumors. Besides clinical repsonses, induction of tumor-specific cytolytic Tcells were observed.

Riluzole and blood pressure in multiple system atrophy.

Riluzole is a neuroprotective agent that is currently tested for the treatment of multiple system atrophy (MSA). Riluzole may influence afferent and efferent parts of the baroreflex due to glutamate antagonistic effects. The effect of riluzole on the efferent part may be unmasked in MSA patients with dysfunction of afferent structures of the baroreflex.

Quality management system of a university cardiac surgery department according to DIN EN ISO 9001 : 2000.

Background: A quality management system (QMS) will improve quality in health care units. This report describes the introduction of a QMS according to ISO 9001:2000 in a university cardiovascular surgery department.

Methods: First, a thorough analysis of all processes of patient treatment and clinical research was obtained.

Inverse sequence similarity of proteins does not imply structural similarity.

There is a debate on the folding of proteins with inverted sequences. Theoretical approaches and experiments give contradictory results. Many proteins in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) show conspicuous inverse sequence similarity (ISS) to each other.

Pylorus preservation after complete gastrectomy and jejunal interposition: experimental study investigating motility and alkaline reflux.

Background: Pylorus preservation has been proposed to reduce the disturbance in gastric emptying following gastrectomy but little is known about the role of the pylorus regarding motility patterns and alkaline reflux.

Aims: To assess the motility patterns and alkaline reflux following pylorus preservation after complete gastrectomy and jejunal interposition in the pig.

Methods: Motility patterns and alkaline reflux were studied in 12 conscious pigs before and after gastrectomy and jejunal interposition with preservation of the pylorus and a 1 cm antral ring (PYL+) or excised pylorus (PYL-) 6 and 14 weeks postoperatively.

Transcription factors: new targets for antiallergic therapy.

Due to their pivotal role in the fast transmission of signals from cell surface receptors to the nucleus, resulting in gene expression, transcriptional factors play an important part in the physiology of cells. Recently, a number of transcription factors have been identified that are involved in the pathogenesis of allergic diseases. In order to attenuate the development of allergen-mediated diseases, new strategies have been developed to influence these transcription factors in vivo.

Body image in cystic fibrosis--development of a brief diagnostic scale.

For a number of reasons, body image is an important concept in behavioral medicine. First, it is known to be related to clinical phenomena such as poor self-esteem, depression, and anxiety. Second, body image has the potential to influence the patients' self-management and compliance motivation.

Clara cell protein 16 (CC16) gene polymorphism influences the degree of airway responsiveness in asthmatic children.

Background: Several studies have indicated linkage of chromosome 11q12-13 to asthma and associated traits. Among other candidate genes, the Clara cell protein 16 (CC16) gene maps to this region. CC16 is expressed in the bronchial epithelium and exhibits potent anti-inflammatory properties.

The revised German Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire: validation of a disease-specific health-related quality of life instrument.

Background: The assessment of health related quality of life (HRQOL) has increasingly been recognized as an important adjunct to medical outcome parameters in the monitoring of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and in clinical studies. The Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire (CFQ) is a disease-specific HRQOL instrument for CF patients developed in France. Translations are currently being validated in four different countries.