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Biomedical subjects

C Gericke

Publications and source records attributed to C Gericke.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Effects of fentin hydroxide on reproduction of the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

In a one-generation reproductive study, the fungicidal compound triphenyltin hydroxide (fentin) was administered to adult Japanese quail for 6 weeks at dietary levels of 3 and 30 ppm. Reproduction was significantly impaired in the high-dose group. The principal adverse finding was a marked increase in embryonic mortality, resulting in a lower hatch rate. Furthermore, a reduction in egg production was observed with ongoing duration of treatment. Most of the other reproduction-related parameters were not affected. The in ovo losses are assumed to result from a direct toxic effect of the test substance on chick embryos. At the low dietary level, reproduction was not altered. In contrast to the obvious reproductive toxicity, there was only limited evidence of adverse treatment-related findings in the adult birds. However, because such minor effects as an increase in mean liver weight, which was accompanied by macroscopic liver findings and a decrease in T4 serum concentration, were still seen at 3 ppm, a no-observed-effect level could not be established.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Effects of vinclozolin on spermatogenesis and reproductive success in the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

In a one-generation reproduction study, the major agricultural fungicide vinclozolin was administered to adult Japanese quail for a period of 6 weeks at dietary levels of 125 and 500 ppm. Fertility and reproductive performance were not affected up to the highest concentration, although the examination of additional endpoints in the drakes (spermatid count, histology of the testis) provided some evidence of an inhibition of spermatogenesis at both dietary concentrations. Likewise, there were no indications of systemic toxicity in the adult birds. Plasma hormone concentrations (estradiol, testosterone, progesterone, T3, and T4) showed a large interindividual variance but treatment-related differences between the groups could not be established. There were no clear-cut indications of antiandrogenic effects in quail, although a limited transfer of the test substance into the eggs was proven.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2003

Ambulatory capacity in cerebral palsy: prognostic criteria and consequences for intervention.

In conclusion, although the importance of encouraging the development of physical abilities remains, in certain cases we cannot simply wait for years to see whether a child will eventually become an effective walker as a result of physiotherapy or orthopaedic interventions. Powered mobility should be considered as a means of providing efficient, autonomous locomotion for children with severe motor disabilities, so enabling them to become more active participants in their own lives rather than remaining spectators. Children with moderate levels of motor impairment could be encouraged to see wheelchair use as beneficial in some circumstances and not an irreversible failure.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Multicenter field trial on possible health effects of toluene. I. Toluene body burdens in workers of the rotogravure industry.

Ambient air toluene concentrations as well as corresponding individual blood toluene levels were measured under conditions of a field trial, as basis for a correlation with possible acute effects. While the results of various psycho-physiological and medical evaluations after acute (Neubert et al., 2001) and long-term toluene exposure (Gericke et al., 2001) are published in accompanying papers, this publication deals with the exposure levels and body burdens characteristic of workers in the rotogravure industry in Germany at the time of the investigation (1993-1995). Besides providing some information on the exposure at various work-areas under occupational conditions, the correlation between a time-weighted average of the ambient air concentration with the corresponding blood toluene levels is analyzed. Limitations of such an attempt and possible pitfalls are discussed. In the largest field study so far performed on toluene exposure, 12 companies of the German rotogravure industry (and a total of 1528 volunteers) participated. Altogether, complete data sets, i.e. on both ambient air as well as blood toluene levels, were obtained from 1244 male and 124 female participants of the rotogravure industry with quite different degrees of toluene exposure. Rotogravure printers and their helpers were exposed to the highest toluene concentrations in ambient air. On the day of the evaluation, of 806 male volunteers within this group (of 1261 with verified exposure in air), 35 were exposed to a time-weighted average of 100 ppm (i.e. 375 mg/m(3)) or above, and 155 of the printers to concentrations between 50 and 100 ppm. Of the remaining 455 male participants of the rotogravure factories ('non-printers and helpers'), only three were exposed to toluene concentrations above 50 ppm. Only one of the 124 women working in the rotogravure factories was exposed to an average toluene concentrations above 100 mg/m(3) (i.e. 27 ppm). In 66 of the male volunteers toluene levels in blood of >850 microg/l were measured and 14 showed levels exceeding 1700 microg/l. When attempting to predict the resulting individual blood toluene levels from measurements of ambient air concentrations under field conditions, a considerable uncertainty is to be expected. We found a correlation coefficient of the regression curve of about 0.70, with numerous outliers (and a variation of the 12 factories between 0.52 and 0.88).

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Multicenter field trial on possible health effects of toluene. II. Cross-sectional evaluation of acute low-level exposure.

Data on possible acute effects of today's relevant low-level exposure to toluene are contradictory, and information on possible effects of exposure under occupational conditions is largely lacking. In a controlled, multi-center, blinded field trial, effects possibly associated with acute toluene exposure were evaluated in workers of 12 German rotogravure factories. Medical examinations (inquiries on subjective symptoms, and standard tests of psycho-physiological and psycho-motor functions) were performed on almost 1500 volunteers, of whom 1290 were toluene-exposed (1178 men and 112 women), and about 200 participants served as references (157 men and 37 women), but the main aim of the trial was to reveal dose-response relationships. All volunteers were of the morning work-shift (6 h exposure). Both individual ambient air concentrations (time-weighted average) during the work-shift, as well as blood toluene concentrations after the work-shift were measured. Therefore, the medical data could for the first time be correlated with the actual individual body burden (blood toluene level) at the time of testing. In order to largely exclude confounding by chronic toluene exposure, kinetic measurements as well as the psycho-physiological and psycho-motoric tests were performed before and after the work-shift. Except for minor statistical deviations, neither convincing dose-dependent acute effects could be demonstrated with regression analyses in male volunteers at the exposure levels evaluated, nor were significant differences found when applying group statistics (highly toluene-exposed group versus volunteers with negligible exposure). Due to the rather large number of participants, the predictive power of the study is high, especially when compared with previous publications. In two psycho-physiological tests, a few more female volunteers with quite low toluene body burdens (<340 microg/l blood) showed relatively low scores when compared with participants of the reference group. Although evidence for a medical relevance is meager, the small numbers of participants, in both the exposure and the reference groups, hamper a reliable interpretation of the results concerning exposure levels above 85 microg toluene/l blood, and it is difficult to take confounding factors adequately into account. For the end points evaluated and under occupational conditions, neither blood toluene levels of 850 to 1700 microg/l (in the highest exposure group [EXPO-IV] with 56 participants), as measured 1/2 (+/-1/2) h after the work-shift, nor ambient air concentrations (time-weighted average over 6 h) between 50 and 100 ppm (188-375 mg/m(3)) were convincingly associated with alterations in psycho-physiological and psycho-motoric performances or increased the frequency of subjective complaints in male volunteers. For higher dose ranges of toluene exposure (i.e. >1700 microg toluene/l blood [or >100 ppm in ambient air]), our data set is too small for far reaching conclusions. Our data are insufficient for conclusions on a possibly higher susceptibility to toluene of some female workers. Results of kinetic studies and possible effects of long-term exposure are discussed in two accompanying publications (Neubert et al., 2001; Gericke et al., 2001).

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2001

Multicenter field trial on possible health effects of toluene. III. Evaluation of effects after long-term exposure.

In rotogravure industry, contributing considerably to mass color printing of catalogues and magazines, toluene is still extensively used as paint solvent, and many printers have been exposed to this chemical for several decades. Information on adverse health effects associated with long-term toluene exposure is still controversial. In a multi-center study, adverse health effects possibly associated with long-term toluene exposure were evaluated. In 12 rotogravure factories, 1226 male volunteers were recruited, and sufficient information on exposure and on medical data was compiled for about 1077 of them. Evaluations included: physical examination, standard tests of psycho-physiological and psycho-motoric performances, self-report of subjective symptoms, and data on a variety of laboratory blood tests. The medical data were correlated with the length (months) of toluene exposure, and a rough estimate of the extent of exposure (i.e. highly exposed printers and their helpers versus employees working at locations with low or negligible toluene exposure). A small reference group (n=109) was selected from companies of the paper industry. When linear regression curves were calculated (test results versus duration of exposure), extremely low overall coefficients of determination (r(2) adj.) of a few percent were estimated within the data clouds, with sometimes statistically significant P-values. Closer analyses revealed a strong influence of the confounding factor age, no clustering of abnormal values of highly toluene-exposed volunteers, and the vast majority or all values of the highly and long-term toluene-exposed participants staying within the reference ranges. Thus, no medical relevance of P-values <0.05 could be recognized in this evaluation, and there may have been some border-line deviations or results largely occurring by chance in the large trial. In a small cluster of the many rotogravure printers toluene-exposed for more than 20 years, the highest systolic blood pressure values of the study were found, but many possible confounding factors were not taken into account. Data on acute exposure and possible effects are presented in accompanying papers (Neubert et al., 2001a, Neubert et al., 2001b). Restricting the conclusions to the end points evaluated as well as the apparent limitations of the evaluation, no evidence was found that long-term occupational toluene exposure extending over several decades in the rotogravure industry in the Western part of Germany was convincingly associated with chronic adverse health effects or convincingly altered surrogate markers in still working male volunteers. Several peculiarities and pitfalls arising when interpreting medical data associated with such a type of environmental exposure must be considered. Reversibility of alterations previously induced at higher levels of toluene-exposure, as well as a healthy workers effect, cannot be excluded for some of the medical end points evaluated.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Effects of fluoroquinolones on the locomotor activity in rats.

During therapy with fluoroquinolones adverse CNS reactions such as dizziness, light-headedness, insomnia or sleepiness are observed in up to 20% of patients. Using a device developed at our institute for the simultaneous registration of the activity of rats housed in single cages, we have investigated the effects of trovafloxacin, fleroxacin or ofloxacin on the locomotor activity of juvenile and adult rats (11 per group) after oral administration of 600 mg/kg for 5 consecutive days. The effects were most pronounced after fleroxacin, which induced a reduction in activity to 36 +/- 9% (mean +/- SD) of the values measured in juvenile rats before treatment and to 60 +/- 21% (mean +/- SD) in adult rats. HPLC analysis of the plasma concentrations in juvenile rats showed that the concentrations of trovafloxacin were considerably lower than those of the other fluoroquinolones that had been studied previously in our laboratory: the peak concentration of trovafloxacin was 14 +/- 2.9 mg/l (mean +/- SD) after a single dose of 600 mg/kg in juvenile rats. Overall, we showed that the locomotor activities of juvenile and adult rats were significantly depressed during treatment with fluoroquinolones. The effects were more pronounced in juveniles. Monitoring of the locomotor activity of rats is a suitable approach to study CNS effects of fluoroquinolones in animals, but pharmacokinetics have to be taken into account.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2001

Functional status of adults with cerebral palsy and implications for treatment of children.

This study examined the evolution of individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) from childhood to adulthood. Seventy-two adults with a diagnosis of CP born between 1934 and 1980 were studied. Individuals were recruited and data comprehensively collected using case notes and through direct assessments of the majority of participants from three rehabilitation units in Bologna, Padua, and Rovigo in Italy. The main findings can be summarized as follows: contact with health and rehabilitation services was radically reduced once individuals reached adulthood; more individuals who were integrated into mainstream schools achieved and maintained literacy than those who had attended special schools; in a high number of participants, motor performance deteriorated once into adulthood. Independent walking or other forms of supported locomotion were lost in many on reaching adulthood. Of those who continued to walk, walking deteriorated in terms of distance. It was concluded that even though CP has been considered as predominantly a childhood pathological condition, the evolution of the effects of CP do not stop at 16 or 18 years of age. For this reason, the traditional child- (or infant-) oriented approach concentrating mainly or exclusively on the achievement of independent walking, may not be an ideal approach to children with CP. Instead a more independence-oriented therapeutic approach would be appropriate.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1999

[Inpatient treatment costs of exacerbated chronic obstructive lung disease].

Economic aspects are of increasing importance in health care. However, treatment expenditures for most diseases are unknown. We performed a detailed cost analysis for the treatment of the exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (ECOPD) in our department. For one year, all patients admitted because of exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were included in this study. The workload was assessed for each patient by time keeping. Diagnostic and therapeutic procedures were considered according to the price list of the German hospital association. From 101 patients included into the study, 100 were evaluable. The median duration of inpatient hospitalisation amounted to 18 days (range: 4 to 210 days). Median total cost was DM 7680.- and mean cost DM 11900.-. This consisted of non-medical cost items (36%), personnel expenditures (29%), laboratory tests (14%), respiratory and cardiovascular laboratory (7%), radiology (5%) and pharmacy cost (7%). Endoscopy, external diagnostics and medical reports amounted to 2.8% of the expenditure. Treatment cost correlated with the duration of stay, but hardly with lung function and blood gases, these being independent of age and sex, but significantly higher in case of bronchiectasis, enterobacteriae, cor pulmonale or intensive care. The proportion of the pharmacy expenditures was rather small, and hence this is not a primary target for the realisation of major savings.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

[Lipids of plasmamembranes and of mitochondria in rat liver after intoxication with paraoxon (author's transl)].

0.426 mg/kg Paraoxon was applicated to female Sprague-Dawley rats. 4, 10 and 24 h after poisoning, cholesterol, glyceride and phospholipid content was measured in liver plasma membranes and mitochondria. After 4 h, cholesterol content of plasma membranes was significantly lower. Phospholipid content of plasma membranes was significantly higher than control values at all times of investigation, contents of neutral lipids and glycerides were also higher, but not significantly. In mitochondria, no significant difference of cholesterol content could be detected. Glyceride content was lower after 4 and 10 h, but phospholipid content higher at all experimental times. Differences found in cholesterol and phospholipid content of plasma membranes are discussed also in view of higher serum GOT, GPT and CPK activities known from other investigations. The differences in cholesterol and phospholipid content, their degree and their timing, which agrees with the timing of enzyme leakage, suggest that lipid composition of the plasma membrane may be one of the parameters which determine membrane permeability after organophosphate poisoning.

Animals↗