Biomedical subjects
F Waldvogel
Publications and source records attributed to F Waldvogel.
Low levels of functional of alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor in the promotion of C3-cleavage by granulocyte-neutral proteases in pleural empyema.
It has been suggested that C3 breakdown by granulocyte-neutral proteases in pleural empyemas may be related to a decreased inhibitor potential for these enzymes. In the present study it was shown that in 17 infected pleural effusions, high proteolytic activity on 125I-labeled C3 (16.3% +/- 4.4%) correlated with low functional levels of alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor (alpha 1-PI), as determined by trypsin-inhibitory capacity (56.2 +/- 20.1 IU/ml; rs = -0.97, P less than .001), whereas in 18 sterile pleural effusions there was no such correlation (125I-labeled C3 cleavage, 2.2% +/- .2%; trypsin-inhibitory capacity, 192.6 +/- 26.7 IU/ml). However, alpha 1-PI and alpha 2-macroglobulin protein concentrations in infected and sterile effusions (as measured by immunodiffusion) were similar. Fifteen strains of three bacterial species--Streptococcus pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Proteus mirabilis--isolated from patients with pneumonia or empyema inactivated the elastase-inhibitory capacity of alpha 1-PI in vitro. These results show that in empyemas functional levels of alpha 1-PI were too low to inactivate granulocyte elastase and that some bacterial species may contribute to the low inhibitor potential of infected pleural fluid by direct alpha 1-PI inactivation.
Cloning and analysis of the K1 capsule biosynthesis genes of Escherichia coli: lack of homology with Neisseria meningitidis group B DNA sequences.
Genes coding for production of the K1 polysaccharide capsule of Escherichia coli have been cloned. Complementation, insertion, and deletion analyses were used to localize the K1 genes and demonstrated that a minimum of 9 kilobases of DNA split into at least two gene blocks is involved in synthesis and assembly of the capsule. One of the gene blocks is responsible for biosynthesis of the polysaccharide, and the other is responsible for extracellular appearance of capsular material. Using cloned K1 genes as probes in Southern blot experiments, we detected homology to DNA from strains of E. coli capsular types K92, K7, and K100. In contrast, no homology was apparent between K1 genes and DNA from meningococcus group B, although the K1 and group B capsules are chemically and immunologically identical.
Bacteriological study of amniotic fluid during labor.
Amniotic fluid from 207 women in labor was analysed at the time of artificial rupture of membranes or by amniocentesis. The following organisms were identified in concentrations of more than 1 000/ml: Staphylococcus aureus (1), Propionibacterium (1), E. coli (1), group B Streptococci (3), Lactobacilli (16). The 6 patient-carriers of pathogens became infected as did 4 of their babies. Leukocyte counts and LDH levels performed on amniotic fluid did not correlate with the appearance of symptoms of infection. Quantitative bacteriology of amniotic fluid seems to be of value in identifying patients at high risk of developing endometritis and/or neonatal sepsis.
[Mycotic aneurysms of the intrapulmonary arteries: unusual manifestation of right-sided endocarditis].
We report the case of a 27 year old man admitted to hospital for investigation of radiological opacities of recent origin. A diagnosis of mycotic aneurysms was made on a surgical biopsy. Although a right sided endocarditis could not be detected clinically, a trial of antibiotic therapy was instituted. However, no improvement occurred. The patient died, following a massive pulmonary haemorrhage. The necropsy revealed an active right sided endocarditis with multiple aneurysms of the intra-pulmonary arteries.
[Hemoglobin D Punjab. Apropos of 2 families].
Two families who are carriers of hemoglobin DPunjab in the heterozygous state are described. This is the first time hemoglobin DPunjab has been reported in Switzerland. The propositus of the first family had two periods of acute hemolysis, probably drug-induced, which were followed by reversible renal complications and which led to the discovery of the hemoglobin. Study of the second family was undertaken because of anemia in one of its members.
[Vaccination and risk of rabies: who, when and how? (author's transl)].
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[Acute pneumopathy (author's transl)].
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[Immune complex pneumopathy in the course of septicemia caused by white Staphylococcus: an unusual complication of the Spitz-Holter valves].
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[Unusual complications from the drainage of a Spitz-Holter atrio-ventricular valve (author's transl)].
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Unusual presentation of tuberculosis.
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[Antiviral chemotherapy (author's transl)].
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[Recent developments in antibiotics].
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[Water intoxication due to inadequate antidiuretic hormone secretion (Schwartz-Bartter syndrome) of idiopathic origin].
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Complement activation in the adult respiratory distress syndrome following cardiopulmonary bypass.
We investigated complement fractions in patients after extracorporeal circulation for coronary bypass operations or cardiac valve replacement, and in two cases developing an adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) after this type of intervention. The patients presenting an ARDS had significantly increased levels of C3d (p less than 0.001), the small molecular breakdown product of C3, associated with decreased levels of total classic haemolytic activity (p less than 0.05) and of the complement component C1q (p less than 0.001) when compared to a group of 10 patients who had uneventful evolution after bypass. However, all patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass had significantly increased levels of C3d (p less than 0.005 or less) associated with significant decrease of various complement components within 24 h after bypass, when compared to a control group of 5 patients investigated after aorto-iliac bypass graft surgery. We conclude that significant complement activation can persist in patients 24 h after bypass and--at higher levels--be a pathogenic and biological marker of ARDS after extracorporeal circulation.