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Biomedical subjects

C Brunner

Publications and source records attributed to C Brunner.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

The effects of morphology and histopathologic findings on the mobility of the sacroiliac joint.

The sacroiliac joints of seven pelvic specimens were examined to determine functional, morphologic, and histopathologic aspects. The movements were measured in four intact pelvises (from two men and two women). The joint surfaces of all pelvises (from three men and four women) then were examined topographically by means of a photogrammetric method. After this, they were examined histologically to characterize any effects on function. The morphologic investigation revealed sex-specific differences. All joint surfaces from the female pelvises showed circular contours, the centers of which coincided with the iliac tuberosities. These morphologic characteristics were not discernible in the joint surfaces from the male pelvises; these had interlocking irregularities without a topographic pattern. As expected, this configuration involved distinct differences in mobility. Rotation of the sacrum was markedly less in the sacroiliac joints of men than in those of women.

Cadaver↗
PubMed1991

A new behavioral assessment scale for geriatric out- and in-patients: the NOSGER (Nurses' Observation Scale for Geriatric Patients).

Although a great number of psychometric tests and rating scales for the assessment of psychogeriatric patients is available, there is still an urgent need, in research and practice, for a clinical rating instrument that meets the following main requirements: (1) applicable to institutionalized and community patients and covering a wide range of behavioral pathology; (2) acceptable and easy to use for professionals and lay persons alike; (3) covering a wide range of behavior relevant to daily functioning but independent of sex or social status of the individual assessed. The NOSGER contains 30 items of behavior, each rated on a 5-point scale according to frequency of occurrence. Item scores are summarized into 6 Dimension scores (memory, instrumental activities of daily life, self-care, mood, social behavior, and disturbing behavior) which are clinically relevant in dementia, depression, and other psychiatric disorders of old age. Validation studies with a preliminary version of the NOSGER indicated good acceptance of the scale, high inter-rater and test-retest reliability, and high correlations of all NOSGER Dimension scores with results of a variety of established assessment instruments. The NOSGER is currently being used in a number of European and North American centers and should turn out to be a useful instrument for longitudinal studies in psychogeriatrics.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1991

Intracellular free calcium concentration and thromboxane A2 formation of vascular smooth muscle cells are influenced by fish oil and n-3 eicosapentaenoic acid.

UNLABELLED: The effect of fish oil and n-3 eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) on intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) and thromboxane B2 (TXB2) formation in resting and stimulated cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) was examined. In resting control cells [Ca2+]i was 147 +/- 15 nmol l-1 (mean +/- SEM, n = 4). After pretreatment of the cells with fish oil or EPA for 24 days the resting [Ca2+]i was decreased to 126 +/- 10 nmol l-1 and 84 +/- 8 nmol-1, respectively. After stimulation of untreated control cells with either 100 nmol l-1 angiotensin II (AII), 40 micrograms ml-1 low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or 100 ng ml-1 of recombinant platelet-derived growth factor (PDGFAB), [Ca2+]i was (in nmol l-1) 306 +/- 31, 217 +/- 25 and 213 +/- 16. Treatment of cells with fish oil or EPA reduced the stimulatory effect of the agonists, and the following [Ca2+]i values (in nmol l-1) were found: 199 +/- 21, 131 +/- 10, 148 +/- 13; and 175 +/- 11, 98 +/- 12, and 103 +/- 6, respectively. PDGFAB induced a four fold increase in TXB2-generation (270 +/- 28 pg mg-1 cell protein compared with 61 +/- 8.2 pg mg-1 in unstimulated control cells) within 6 min. In cells pretreated with fish oil or EPA, TXB2-formation was reduced by 54% and 44%, respectively. IN CONCLUSION: in rat VSMC stimulated by a variety of vasoactive agonist, fish oil and EPA can markedly attenuate intracellular mechanisms related to changes of cytosolic calcium concentration and eicosanoid production.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Angiotensin II↗
PubMed1990

Novel cellular activities for low density lipoprotein in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Hyperlipidemia and hypertension play important roles in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. To investigate the underlying intracellular mechanisms, we studied the effect of various concentrations of low density lipoprotein from normolipidemic subjects on concentrations of free intracellular calcium, intracellular pH, DNA synthesis, and vascular tone in vascular smooth muscle cells and rings from rat aortas. Low density lipoprotein in the range of 1-15 micrograms/ml induced a dose-dependent increase of concentration of free intracellular calcium and a biphasic change of the intracellular pH. Similar concentrations of low density lipoprotein led to an enhanced DNA synthesis. Furthermore, cumulative addition of 1-15 micrograms/ml low density lipoprotein produced a dose-dependent increase in contractile tension of thoracic aortic rings from rats. The maximal low density lipoprotein-induced contractile response was approximately 70% of that induced by 40 mM KCl. These findings indicate that low concentrations of low density lipoprotein occurring, for example, in the extravascular fluid might contribute to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases by enhancing cell proliferation and vasoconstriction by changing intracellular calcium and intracellular pH.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

[Diagnostic and prognostic elements of non-immunologic feto-placental anasarca. Review of the literature apropos of 7 new cases].

Non immunologic hydrops fetalis (NIHF) is relatively more frequent now since prevention and treatment of blood incompatibilities are common. Seven cases of NIHF were observed between November 1984 and April 1987; antenatal diagnosis by ultrasound scanning was possible in six of these seven cases. Fetal prognosis is usually poor. Only one of the seven children survived, four infants died shortly after birth; two women chose an elective termination of pregnancy at 18 and 23 weeks of gestation, respectively. The review of the literature shows that more than 150 etiologies are associated with this condition. An etiology was found in five of our seven cases, these were all different; renal vein thrombosis, cardiac malformation, cystic hygroma, osteogenesis imperfecta and one case of recurrent NIHF (four affected siblings). Two cases remained idiopathic. Diagnosis of NIHF is best oriented by three investigations: obstetrical ultrasound scanning, fetal echocardiography and any kind of amniocentesis, either for karyotype alone, or to evacuate pleural, pericardial of peritoneal effusions. Ultrasound scanning can evaluate the importance of these effusions and help to choose other etiological investigations. Fetal echocardiography is mandatory because out of the 150 etiologies described in association with NIHF, 25% are cardiac (malformation or dysrhythmias). As already mentioned, fetal prognosis in our series was poor, but perhaps more aggressive in utero treatment could have improve it.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Fatal encephalitis in a patient with chronic graft-versus-host disease.

A 32-year-old male patient with chronic myelocytic leukemia in accelerated phase received a bone marrow allograft from his 42-year-old HLA/MLC-identical sister. He recovered from acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) grade III-IV of skin, liver and gut, but chronic GVHD of progressive onset developed. On day 556 post-graft severe thrombocytopenia was resistant to prednisolone, cyclophosphamide and high dose immunoglobulin. Splenectomy was followed by a normalization of platelet counts. The subsequent clinical course was characterized by progressive muscular atrophy and weight loss. Dysphagia, dysarthria, cachexia and ultimately recurrent pneumonic episodes ensued. The cachectic patient developed a highly abnormal breathing pattern with hypoventilation and intermittent apnea requiring mechanical ventilation. Auditory evoked potentials revealed a considerable dysfunction of the brainstem. The patient died on day 1120 post-graft from pneumonia, aggravated by thoracic muscular insufficiency. Postmortem examination revealed diffuse predominantly lymphoid perivascular infiltration in meninges and CNS tissue; proliferation of activated microglial cells expressing the HLA-DR antigen was prominent in the brainstem. These histologic changes are similar to those observed in the CNS in experimental GVHD. We suggest that this case represents the first documentation of CNS involvement in chronic GVHD.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Accumulation of abnormally phosphorylated tau precedes the formation of neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease.

The intraneuronal accumulation of paired helical filaments in the form of neurofibrillary tangles is one hallmark of the brain pathology in Alzheimer's disease. At certain predilection sites, a small number of similar lesions are also present in the brains of the majority of aged non-demented individuals. As suggested by several studies before, these abnormal cytoskeletal structures contain determinants of microtubule-associated protein tau and ubiquitin. The present study uses a morphological classification of neurofibrillary tangles into different stages of maturation, as suggested by Alzheimer in 1911, and shows by quantitative immunocytochemistry that early stages of neurofibrillary degeneration contain abnormally phosphorylated tau. Immunoreactivity for the altered tau is seen not only in tangles but also in the cytoplasm of some nerve cells lacking neurofibrillary tangles. Similar numbers of such immunoreactive neurons without tangles are present in age-matched non-demented individuals as in Alzheimer cases, but are absent in young controls. In contrast, incorporation of an epitope, recognized by a monoclonal antibody (3-39) raised to paired helical filaments, which is directed against a determinant residing in the 50-65 amino acid residue region of ubiquitin occurs late in the process of tangle maturation and is most pronounced in extracellular 'ghost tangles'. It is suggested that the accumulation of abnormally phosphorylated tau is one of the earliest cytoskeletal changes in the process of tangle formation. Exposure of certain ubiquitin epitopes in the pathological fibers may reflect an unsuccessful attempt of proteolytic degradation.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Molecular mimicry and Lyme borreliosis: a shared antigenic determinant between Borrelia burgdorferi and human tissue.

The pathogenesis of chronic manifestations in Lyme borreliosis, a disease induced by Borrelia burgdorferi, is at present unresolved. By testing monoclonal antibodies directed against various borrelia antigens, we found an antigenic determinant shared by the 41 kDa flagella protein and human tissue, especially prominent on myelinated fibers of human peripheral nerve, on nerve cells and axons of the central nervous system, as well as on certain epithelial cells (including joint synovia) and on heart muscle cells. Immune reactions against such a shared antigen could play a pathogenetic role in chronic organ manifestations of Lyme borreliosis.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1989

Differential ultrastructural localization of myelin basic protein, myelin/oligodendroglial glycoprotein, and 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase in the CNS of adult rats.

In a light and electron microscopic immunocytochemical study we have examined the distribution of myelin basic protein (MBP), 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNP), and myelin/oligodendroglial glycoprotein (MOG) within CNS myelin sheaths and oligodendrocytes of adult Sprague-Dawley rats. Ultrastructural immunocytochemistry allowed quantitative analysis of antigen density in different myelin and oligodendrocyte zones: MBP was detectable in high density over the whole myelin sheath, but not in regions of loops, somata, or the oligodendrocyte plasma membrane. CNP reactivity was highest at the myelin/axon interface, and found in lower concentration over the outer lamellae of myelin sheaths, at the cytoplasmic face of oligodendrocyte membranes, and throughout the compact myelin. MOG was preferentially detected at the extracellular surface of myelin sheaths and oligodendrocytes and in only low amounts in the lamellae of compacted myelin and the myelin/axon border zone. Our studies, thus, indicate further the presence of different molecular domains in compact myelin, which may be functionally relevant for the integrity and maintenance of the myelin sheath.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Tau and ubiquitin immunoreactivity at different stages of formation of Alzheimer neurofibrillary tangles.

In his original 1911 publication Alois Alzheimer classified neurofibrillary tangles (ANT) into three morphologically defined subgroups according to their stage of maturation. The present study shows that changes in the morphological appearance of ANT during their maturation process are accompanied by changes in their antigenic profile. As shown by several immunocytochemical studies these abnormal phosphorylated microtubule-associated protein tau and of ubiquitin. In this study, immunoreactivity for the altered tau is not only seen in a subset of tangles but also in the cytoplasm of some nerve cells lacking ANT, which we believe to be at a stage of neuronal alteration preceding the formation of compact tangles (Stage 0 tangles). Similar numbers of Stage 0 tangles are present in the brains of age-matched non-demented individuals as in Alzheimer cases, but are absent in young controls lacking ANT. In extracellular "ghost tangles", the ultimate stage of neurofibrillary degeneration, immunoreactivity for tau is accessible to antibodies only when tissue sections are pretreated with formic acid to uncover the binding sites. In contrast to tau, presence/accessibility of an epitope residing on residues 50-65 of ubiquitin recognized by a monoclonal antibody raised to paired helical filaments (3-39) increases during the maturation of ANT and is most pronounced in "ghost tangles". Appearance/uncovering of the 3-39 epitope and masking of tau reactivity during tangle maturation may reflect degradation or conformational changes in the pathological filaments due to their aging and the final loss of their parent nerve cells.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

[Drug addiction and pregnancy. Principal obstetrical and pediatric complications].

The principal obstetrical and paediatric sequelae were studied in 22 heroin addicts who were followed up at Lariboisière Hospital in Paris between 1980 and 1984. The main effects were on the fetus with 45% showing growth retardation below the 10th percentile, 65% fetal distress, 9% prematurity; 33% had infections and 66% had the withdrawal syndrome. Because of this pathology a high number had to be transferred. Considering the period of study, HIV infection could not be evaluated. The most dramatic result seems to be the long-term effect on these children because only a third apparently live with their families and several suffer from abnormalities in psychomotor development.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis: the balance between encephalitogenic T lymphocytes and demyelinating antibodies determines size and structure of demyelinated lesions.

The effect of a circulating monoclonal antibody recognizing an antigen located on the surface of myelin sheaths (myelin/oligodendroglia glycoprotein, MOG) on clinical and histopathological expression of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) was tested in a model of EAE passively transferred by monospecific T lymphocytes. Intravenous injection of anti-MOG antibody at the onset of the disease massively augmented clinical impairment as well as primary demyelination. The structure of the CNS lesions depended on the balance between encephalitogenic T cells and anti-MOG antibody: when EAE was induced with high numbers of T cells, circulating anti-MOG antibody resulted in ubiquitous perivenous demyelination in the spinal cord and medulla oblongata. On the contrary, focal confluent demyelinated lesions were observed in animals injected with low numbers of T cells (even as few as 10(4] and anti-MOG antibody. Our studies, thus, indicate that the formation of inflammatory demyelinating lesions may be due to a synergistic action of cellular and humoral immune mechanisms.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

[Traumatic hip dislocation in the child].

We report on 20 own cases of the past 20 years. Traumatic hip dislocation in children, which is a rare event, should be primarily reduced under anaesthesia as quickly as possible. An open reduction is only necessary with the luxatio obturatoria if a sole conservative reduction attempt is unsuccessful. A possible ipsilateral femur shaft fracture must be treated operatively at the same time.

Anesthesia, General↗
PubMed1988

Augmentation of demyelination in rat acute allergic encephalomyelitis by circulating mouse monoclonal antibodies directed against a myelin/oligodendrocyte glycoprotein.

In this study the authors have developed a model with which can be studied directly the influence of circulating anti-myelin antibody on the clinical and pathologic course of inflammatory T-cell-mediated experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in the rat. EAE was induced by passive transfer of either myelin basic protein (MBP)-activated spleen cells derived from sensitized donors or long-term-cultured MBP-specific T-cell lines. At the onset of the disease, monoclonal antibodies against a myelin/oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) were injected intravenously. This antigen is exposed on the surface of central nervous system myelin and oligodendrocytes. Intravenous injection of the antibody in the course of T-cell-mediated transfer EAE augmented the severity and duration of clinical signs and resulted in the formation of large, confluent demyelinated plaques.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

[BCG osteitis in Switzerland. A report of 6 cases].

BCG osteitis is a rare complication after vaccination in the newborn. On the basis of various, not yet fully known mechanisms, an increase in the number of cases is nevertheless possible. In the period 1980-1985 the authors recorded 6 instances of BCG osteitis. The clinical findings and diagnostic criteria are described. The incidence, pathogenesis and therapy of the disease are discussed.

Antitubercular Agents↗
PubMed1986

Therapy of rat autoimmune disease by a monoclonal antibody specific for T lymphoblasts.

The central role of T lymphocytes in the initiation, regulation and propagation of autoimmune diseases defines them as most suitable targets for selective immunotherapy. The recent advance in culturing human and animal T cell lines allows us to select monoclonal antibodies specific for differentiation antigens expressed by activated T lymphocytes. We selected a monoclonal antibody cytotoxic for a subpopulation of activated rat T cells. In vivo, this antibody effectively blocks immune responses to foreign antigens or autoantigen and prevents development of autoimmune diseases like experimental allergic encephalomyelitis and adjuvant arthritis. Even already established disease can be blocked by a single injection of antibody. Furthermore, this monoclonal antibody can be used to monitor the course of autoimmune disease progression from peripheral blood samples.

Animals↗