Medizin - Open Access LMU - Teil 20/22 Archiv
246 Episoden
1 minute
Aims: The present study investigated whether sociodemographic factorsand physical activity (PA) are associated with differences in serum25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels and whether these differences areassociated with varying levels of endurance performance and body massindex (BMI) in children and adolescents. Subjects and Methods: Pathanalyses were based on data of a nationwide, cross-sectional GermanHealth Interview and Examination Survey for Children (KiGGS; 2003 until2006) for 25(OH)D and the embedded ‘motor function module’ for PA andendurance performance. The data were collected from 3,437 children andadolescents aged 6-17 years clustered in three age groups: 6-10, 11-13and 14-17 years. Results: PA is affected by socioeconomic status and(non-)immigration background, 25(OH)D is only affected by(non-)immigration background and only in childhood. PA and 25(OH)D werenot associated in those aged 11-13 years. In adolescence, lower 25(OH)Dlevels are associated with lower endurance performance and a higher BMI.Conclusions: Our results did not reveal a universally significant effectof sociodemographic factors on 25(OH)D. The association between 25(OH)Dand endurance performance might reflect the effects of 25(OH)D on musclefunction. Predictors of 25(OH)D status other than sunlight exposure andits health effects in the pediatric age group should be exploredfurther.
1 minute
Background: Portal pressure (PP) results from the interplay ofvasoconstrictors and vasodilators. Recently, we have shown that Kupffercell (KC) activation increases PP. Aims: The role of the vasodilatingcompounds nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO) was studied. Thehypothesis of the present study was that these vasodilators counteractthe PP increase following KC activation. Methods: Livers of ratsweighing 180-200 g were isolated and perfused. KCs were activated byzymosan A (cell wall particles from yeast; 150 mu g/ml). The effects ofNO and guanylate cyclase (GC) were evaluated by the NO synthaseinhibitor N-G-nitro-L-arginine methylester (L-NAME; 0.3 m M, and the GCinhibitor 4H-8-bromo-1,2,4-oxadiazolo(3,4-d)benz(b)(1,4)oxazin-1-one(NS-2028, 1.0 mu M); the effects of the heme oxygenase (HO) derivedcompound CO were evaluated by direct administration of CO or inhibitionof HO by zinc protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP IX, 1.0 mu M). Results: Inisolated perfused rat livers, administration of L-NAME or NS-2028further raised PP increase following KC activation. This effect could bereduced by the cGMP analogue 8-Br-cGMP. Inhibition of HO caused markedamplification of PP increase in zymosan-treated organs. CO preventedthis PP increase cGMP independently. Interestingly, KC activation andsimultaneous inhibition of HO augmented the production of prostaglandinsD-2 and F-2 alpha and of thromboxane A(2). Accordingly, indomethacinblunted the increase of PP in zymosan/ZnPP-treated livers. Conclusions:NO restricts the initial PP increase after KC activation by GC-mediatedcGMP. CO from heme degradation limits the increase of PP after KCactivation eicosanoid dependently, but cGMP independently.
1 minute
Background/Aims: Since detection of the prion protein gene (PRNP) morethan 30 mutations have been discovered. Some have only been found insingle case reports without known intrafamilial accumulation orneuropathological proof so that the causal connection between mutationand disease could not be proved. Those patients often present atypicalclinical phenotypes, and it is not unusual that they are classified asdiseases other than Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Methods: Cases ofsuspected CJD have been reported to the national reference center forprion diseases. Clinical and diagnostic data were collected, and aclassification of definite, possible or probable prion disease was made.Molecular analysis of PRNP was performed by capillary sequencing.Results: We have described 4 cases with atypical clinical and diagnosticfindings and unknown mutations in PRNP so far. Conclusion: Threepatients fulfilled the criteria of probable CJD, and 1 patient fulfilledthe criteria of possible CJD but the clinical picture in none of thepatients was typical CJD; hence, it remained questionable whether themutations were causal of the disease.
1 minute
It still remains unclear to which extent the presence and the amount ofretinal debris seen in internal limiting membrane (ILM) specimensharvested during macular surgery for macular holes or epiretinalmembranes are related to the procedure of ILM peeling itself or tomodifications of the surgical technique, such as application of vitaldyes for visualization of the ILM, or to pathological conditions withepiretinal membrane formation at the vitreoretinal interface. Thepresence of cellular fragments on the retinal side of the removed ILMappears to be of multifactorial origin, and additional causes besidesdye application need to be considered. However, morphological studieswith evaluation of vital dyes are still of relevance and provideadditional insights into the ultrastructure of the vitreoretinalinterface and its interaction with adjuvants used during macularsurgery. Chromovitrectomy is an emerging field in vitreoretinal surgery.It is of importance to better understand the tissue-dye interactions,which not only alter the mechanical properties of the tissue beingstained, but may also have an impact on the functional resultpostoperatively.
1 minute
1 minute
The independent evolution of heteromorphic sex chromosomes in 19 speciesfrom 4 families of flowering plants permits studying X/Y divergenceafter the initial recombination suppression. Here, we documentautosome/Y divergence in the tropical Cucurbitaceae Coccinia grandis,which is ca. 3 myr old. Karyotyping and C-value measurements show thatthe C. grandis Y chromosome has twice the size of any of the otherchromosomes, with a male/female C-value difference of 0.094 pg or 10%of the total genome. FISH staining revealed 5S and 45S rDNA sites onautosomes but not on the Y chromosome, making it unlikely that rDNAcontributed to the elongation of the Y chromosome; recent end-to-endfusion also seems unlikely given the lack of interstitial telomericsignals. GISH with different concentrations of female blocking DNAdetected a possible pseudo-autosomal region on the Y chromosome, andC-banding suggests that the entire Y chromosome in C. grandis isheterochromatic. During meiosis, there is an end-to-end connectionbetween the X and the Y chromosome, but the X does not otherwise differfrom the remaining chromosomes. These findings and a review of plantswith heteromorphic sex chromosomes reveal no relationship betweenspecies age and degree of sex chromosome dimorphism. Its relativelysmall genome size (0.943 pg/2C in males), large Y chromosome, andphylogenetic proximity to the fully sequenced Cucumis sativus make C.grandis a promising model to study sex chromosome evolution.
1 minute
Background: The obesity epidemic has resulted in more overweight/obesewomen before and during pregnancy. Their offspring tend to have higherbirth weights and more body fat, and carry an increased risk of obesitylater in life. These effects may partly be related to the heightenedrisk of gestational diabetes, occurring in at least 16% of allpregnancies irrespective of current body weight. Methods: An ILSI Europeworkshop reviewed the key contributors leading to adverse outcomes inpregnancy and childhood, including gestational weight gain andnutrition. New research opportunities from prospective mother-childcohort studies were explored. Results: Simple measures of gestationalweight gain provide insufficient detail of the underlying physiologicaland metabolic adaptations occurring in pregnancy, and should becomplemented by measures of body composition, metabolic and endocrineresponses. Recordings of maternal dietary intake and nutrient status areoften limited and potential correlations with gestational weight gainhave been poorly studied. Many pregnancies in overweight/obese women areuncomplicated and result in offspring of normal weight, leaving the maindeterminants of later adverse outcomes to be clarified. Conclusions: Theworkshop provided insights of primary measurements for thecharacterization of sustainable nutritional intervention strategies inthe mother, infant and child for preventing obesity in later life.
1 minute
In 1994, in a prospective control trial in cyclosporine-treated, kidneytransplant patients, we observed that treatment of a non-specificallograft injury (postischemic reperfusion injury) leads to asignificant reduction in the incidence of both specificalloimmune-mediated allograft rejection and chronic allograft failure. From these convincing clinical data, we concluded in terms of an‘argumentum e contrario’: it is the tissue injury that induces immunity. As from where we stand today in innate immunity research, these earlyclinical observations can be regarded as the discovery of the existence of a human innate immune system activated by tissue injury and precedingadaptive immunity.
1 minute
The International Consensus Conference on the treatment of primary breast cancer takes place every two years in St. Gallen, Switzerland.The panel in St. Gallen is composed of international experts from different countries. From a German perspective, it seems reasonable to interpret the voting results in the light of AGO-recommendations and S3-guidelines for everyday practice in Germany. Consequently, a team of eight breast cancer experts, of whom two are members of the international St. Gallen panel, commented on the voting results of the St. Gallen Consensus Conference (2013). The main topics at this year’s St. Gallen conference were surgical issues of the breast and axilla, radio-therapeutic and systemic treatment options, and the clinical relevance of tumour biology. The clinical utility of multigene assays for supporting individual treatment decisions was also intensively discussed.
1 minute
Favre-Racouchot disease commonly presents as comedones, cysts andelastosis in the periocular region of older men. Its etiology has beenlinked to several exogenous factors. Here we present 2 patients withstrictly unilateral manifestation of the disease and a correspondinghistory of predominantly one-sided chronic occupational sun exposure andsmoking, making the case for the causative role of these two factors.
1 minute
This report provides a summary of a workshop organised by the EuropeanCommission-funded EarlyNutrition Project and the EarlyNutrition Academy.Accurate and reliable methods to assess body composition are needed inresearch on prenatal and early post-natal influences of nutrition onlater health because common surrogate measures of maternal and offspringadiposity (body fat content), such as body mass index (BMI), haverelatively poor predictive power for the risk of later disease. The keygoals of the workshop were to discuss approaches to assess growth andbody composition from pregnancy to adolescence, to summarise conclusionsand to prepare a framework for research in the EarlyNutrition Project.The participants concluded that there is a pressing need to harmonisethe methodologies for assessing body composition, recognising that eachhas advantages and limitations. Essential core measurements acrossstudies assessing early growth and body composition were identified,including weight, length, BMI, waist and mid-upper arm circumference,subscapular and triceps skinfold thicknesses, and bioelectricalimpedance analysis. In research settings with access to moresophisticated technologies, additional methods could include dual-energyX-ray absorptiometry, peripheral quantitative computed tomography,ultrasound assessment of regional body fat, magnetic resonance imaging(MRI), air displacement plethysmography (ADP), and deuterium dilution.These provide richer data to answer research questions in greater depthbut also increase costs. Where overall whole-body composition is theprimary outcome measure, ADP or tracer dilution should be used wheneverpossible. Where regional distribution of body fat is of greaterinterest, an imaging technique such as MRI is preferred.
