Ground-state energy of a two-dimensional Wigner crystal of finite density and thickness.
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Journal Article↗
Biomedical subjects
A Wettstein
Publications and source records attributed to A Wettstein.
[Phototherapy of behavioral disorders as a sequela of disordered circadian rhythm in dementia in the elderly--difficulties in practical clinical applications].
The behavioral disturbances of 16 nursing home patients with a history of sundowning behaviour and dementia were treated with light therapy instead of psychopharmacological medication. After the withdrawal of the before established medication a very individual, heterogenous deterioration of the symptoms was noted. A significant improvement of the behaviour was not found by light therapy in any patient. The problems in practical handling and possible consequences of further investigation are discussed.
Aged↗
[Falls as a side effect of drugs].
Because of the smaller functional resources, the risk for falls in elderly persons is significantly increased when they take sedative anxiolytics with long half life, antipsychotics, antidepressants and, not so well documented, antihypertensives. Nonpharmacological strategies are, therefore, the treatment of choice for insomnia, depression and agitation in the elderly.
Accidental Falls↗
The regulation of the human beta myosin heavy-chain gene.
The human myosin heavy-chain (MHC) genes for cardiac and skeletal muscle exist as a multigene family with eight or more non-allelic genes. Two of them code for the cardiac alpha and beta myocin HCs. They are located on chromosome 14. The skeletal muscle myosin HC genes are on chromosome 17. The cardiac MHCs coexist in the heart, however, with a distinct distribution within cardiac tissue of the human adult. alpha-MHC is predominantly found in the atria and beta-MHC is found in the ventricles. Both genes are also expressed in certain types of skeletal muscle fibers. We have sequenced the beta-gene in its entire length and have further studied in detail its expression in muscle cells. Promoter activities were tested using DNA-mediated gene transfer in cultured chicken embryonic myoblasts. By deletion mapping of the 5' flanking region of the beta-gene a candidate signal sequence was identified in a region which stimulates the promoter in a tissue specific and differentiation dependent mode. The presumed signal was located about 210 bp 5' to the basic promoter which, by itself, is almost inactive, even in muscle cells. The sequence of the signal (CAGCTG) has homology to known E-box sequences. E-boxes (consensus sequence CANNTG) constitute a family of transcription control sites frequently found upstream of muscle genes. In nuclear extracts of cardiac and skeletal muscle (of rabbit) a protein was identified which binds to the region containing the E-box like motif of the beta-gene. Since this protein was present in both types of muscle, overlapping expression control patterns are assumed to operate in these tissues.
Base Sequence↗
A new case of Zimmermann-Laband syndrome with atypical retinitis pigmentosa.
This paper reports a case study of a 10-year-old girl exhibiting symptoms of a Zimmermann-Laband syndrome (ZLS), including an ocular involvement not previously observed. In addition to the case reported, we have also discovered 21 patients described in the literature. Major clinical findings, defined as being present in more than 75% of the cases under discussion, are presented.
Child↗
Failure to find a relationship between mnestic skills of octogenarians and aluminum in drinking water.
High concentrations of aluminum (greater than 80 micrograms/l) in drinking water have been related to an elevated incidence of Alzheimer's disease. Mnestic and naming skills of residents living for greater than 15 years in districts with high (98 micrograms/l) or low (4 micrograms/l) aluminum concentrations [Al] in the drinking water were evaluated in a population survey by examining 800 residents aged 81 to 85 using the mnestic subtest of the Mini Mental Status test (Zurich variant). The mnestic and naming performance of the octogenarians did not differ between the high- and low-content-areas. Since 73% of dementias are at least partly caused by Alzheimer's disease in the area examined and because the short test used discriminates demented from healthy octagenarians as well as tests involving extensive examinations, the findings of this study suggest with a high probability that the [Al] of drinking water is not an essential factor in the pathogenesis of senile dementia. The serum [Al] the urinary [Al] and the urinary [Al]/creatinine ratio were measured twice in ten clinically diagnosed Alzheimer patients and ten controls in both areas. No significant difference was found, which confirms the negative epidemiological findings.
Aged↗
Aspects related to mevalonate biosynthesis in plants.
We purified and characterized a membrane-associated enzyme system from radish (Raphanus sativus L.) that is capable of converting acetyl-CoA into 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA). The enzyme system apparently comprises acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase (EC 2.3.1.9) and HMG-CoA synthase (EC 4.1.3.5). Its activity in vitro can be strongly stimulated by FeII. When ferrous ions are applied chelated with ethylenediaminetetraacetate, citrate or adenosine 5-triphosphate (ATP), the stimulation is further increased. Stimulation is due to a higher catalytic efficiency as indicated by an increase in Vmax, whereas the affinity of the enzyme towards acetyl-CoA remains constant (Km = 6 micro M). A considerable portion of HMG-CoA lyase activity is associated with the same membranes. HMG-CoA lyase (EC 4.1.3.4) is also solubilized and partially co-purified. Its activity requires comparatively high concentrations of Mg2+. The conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonic acid is catalyzed by HMG-CoA reductase (EC 1.1.1.34) that is associated with the same membranes. By cDNA encoding the Arabidopsis HMG-CoA reductase, we isolated a corresponding gene from a cDNA library newly established from etiolated radish seedlings. This full-length cDNA, referred to as lambda cRS3, encodes a polypeptide 583 amino acids with a molecular mass of about 63 kDa. The hydropathy profile suggests the presence of two hydrophobic membrane-spanning domains within the N-terminal 165 amino acids. The carboxy-terminal part, where the catalytic site resides, is highly conserved in all eukaryotic HMG-CoA reductase genes sequenced so far.
Acetyl Coenzyme A↗
[Lung function diagnosis in emphysema].
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Humans↗
Expression of catalytically active radish 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase in Escherichia coli.
Two fragments of a cDNA encoding radish 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) were cloned into the vector pET-8c and expressed in Escherichia coli. The large fragment, encoding both the membrane and the cytosolic domains, was expressed at low level, essentially as an insoluble protein without enzymatic activity. In contrast, the fragment encoding only the cytosolic domain was expressed at a high level in a catalytically active form. The amount of soluble active enzyme in cell-free extracts of E. coli dramatically increased when the temperature during the induction was lowered from 37 degrees C to 22 degrees C.
Cloning, Molecular↗
[Health care needs, brain functional ability, social behavior and social attendant circumstances of elderly patients in community and institutionalized geriatric care in the city of Zurich].
All aged persons being helped by community nursing-services, the house-helper service, the housekeeper service, or living in a home for the aged or in an apartment for seniors in a representative area of the city of Zurich are compared to all patients in nursing-homes of the city. This study included the size of social network measured by the number of different regular visitors, the number of different medications taken daily, the cognitive abilities measured by the Mini Mental Status, the activities of daily living and the social skills rated by the care-givers as well as the intensity of the care given. The groups were similar in age and sex-distribution but the nursing-home patients differed significantly in all other parameters from the others. In contrast, no significant differences could be found between persons receiving care in their homes and those in institutions for the aged.
Activities of Daily Living↗
[Movement patterns of demented and non-demented nursing home patients using the Involuntary Movements and Extrapyramidal Scale. Effects of pharmacotherapy].
We applied the involuntary movements and extrapyramidal scale in 54 patients (41 with dementia, 13 without dementia) of the Käferberg nursing home. Increased severity of parkinsonism was negatively correlated with Mini-Mental State scores (mnestic function r = 0.479, p less than 0.001/spatial function r = -0.617, p less than 0.001) and with activities of daily living scores (r = 0.635, p less than 0.001). Increased severity of parkinsonism and impaired memory are associated with poor performance in activities of daily living.
Activities of Daily Living↗
[Pharmacotherapy and milieu therapy in senile dementia].
A causal therapy is temporarily effective in one quart and permanently effective in one eighth of patients with senile dementia after precise differential diagnostic evaluation. A careful examination of the different aspects of cognition allows in all cases the recognition of the specific primary cognitive deficits and of the preserved cognitive skills. Communication of this knowledge to the relatives and the professional caregivers allows an adequate adaptation of the human and physical environment to the needs and skills of the demented. This will diminish secondary behaviour changes. The same goal has the specific pharmacotherapy of these symptoms. To minimalize side-effects, psychopharmaca in the aged have to be used less frequently, with lower doses, for shorter periods and with less different substances.
Aged↗
[Tetralogy of Fallot following coumarin administration in early pregnancy--an embryopathy?].
A case report of a 35-year old woman is presented who continued a coumarin therapy unconscious of an early pregnancy up to day 61. At term she delivered a baby with tetralogy of Fallot, up to now not mentioned in the symptom complex of malformations due to a coumarin therapy. In the case presented the typical symptoms of a warfarin embryopathy including a chondrodysplasia punctata and other morphological changes were lacking. Although some cases of cardiac malformations have been reported in literature following coumarin therapy in early pregnancy, a causal connection could not be confirmed.
4-Hydroxycoumarins↗
[Comparative study between the Folstein mini-mental state and the Zurich variant in demented and non-demented patients].
The "Mini-Mental State" examination developed by Folstein is a well established psychometric test in the assessment of senile dementia. We applied a modified version, the Zurich variant of the Folstein-MMS. A comparative study with both tests in a total of 53 patients (25 with dementia, 28 without dementia) of the Käferberg nursing home revealed highly correlating scores (r = 0.878, p less than 0.001).
Aged↗
[Causes, degree and social background of medical needs of 1206 patients in Zurich nursing homes].
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Aged↗
[Familial primary ornithine carbamoyltransferase defect].
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Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors↗
[Remarks on the drug treatment of demented patients].
Drug holidays are mandatory during longlasting therapy of demented patients with neuroleptics because of slowed drug-metabotisme and high succeptability for sedative side effects. Despite claims to the contrary nootropic drugs are no effective therapy of dementia in every day praxis. Based on the cholinergic hypothesis of Alzheimer's typ dementia and on the results of pilotstudies, cholinergic therapies will probably improve effectively the behavior of some dements on the future.
Aged↗
Clinical trials with the cholinergic drug RS 86 in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT).
The muscarinic agonist RS 86 was administered to patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT) in a series of controlled clinical trials. Daily doses were up to 3.0 mg orally for a maximum duration of 18 weeks. RS 86 produced typical peripheral cholinergic effects, but appeared to be better tolerated than similar drugs, such as physostigmine and arecoline. Positive clinical changes with regard to cognitive functions, mood, and social behavior were seen in a minority of AD and SDAT patients. Psychometric tests suggested improvement of functions entailing a speed component. RS 86 is a suitable drug for further clinical experiments in AD and SDAT.
Aged↗