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Biomedical subjects

G Brunner

Publications and source records attributed to G Brunner.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

[Treatment of meniscus lesions: personal results].

We examined 167 patients 10-14 years after meniscectomy to investigate the dependence of the frequency or arthrosis on operative technique. The relationship between the first clinical signs of meniscus lesion and the time of operation is discussed. The frequency and severity of post-operative alterations is considered in connection with age of the patient at the time of operation. We agree with other authors that the late results in patients under 20 years of age are clearly worse than those in adult patients. The long-term results shown radiological alterations in 72%; however, the functional late results are good or very good in nearly 84%.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Gas chromatographic method for the quantitative assay of alkane thiol S-methyltransferase.

A method is described for the quantitative assay of the methylation of alkane-thiols from the methyl-donor S-adenosylmethionine, catalysed by the microsomal enzyme S-adenosyl-L-methionine:thiol S-methyltransferase (E.C. 2.1.1.9). The reaction is carried out in sealed vials, one fifth of whose volume is taken up by an aqueous phase containing the enzyme and reactants. The volatile substrates and products of the reaction, thiols and thioethers, respectively, are present in equilibrium both in the liquid and gas phases in the reaction vessels. Aliquots of the gas phase are removed at intervals in gas-tight syringes, and analysis is performed directly on a gas chromatograph fitted with a flame-ionization detector. The amounts of thiol and thioether detected are then related to the total amounts of substance in the reaction vessels from calibration measurements, so that the kinetics of the enzymatic process can be evaluated. This technique offers distinct advantages over previously reported methods, in that no radioactively labelled compounds are required. Furthermore, decreases in substrate and increases in product can be assayed simultaneously, and the methylation of a mixture of thiols can be monitored in a single set of analyses.

Chromatography, Gas↗
PubMed1980

[Arteritis in cerebral inflammatory diseases. Diagnostic value of angiography (author's transl)].

Cerebral angiography may sometimes show up inflammatory changes in the brain arteries in cases of tuberculous and acute purulent bacterial meningitis. The arteries at the base of the brain are predominantly affected, in some cases together with peripheral branches. Normal angiograms or non-specific alterations may be expected in patients suffering from non-purulent meningitis and encephalitis. Patients with luetic diseases show circumscribed or diffuse vessel wall lesions which cannot be differentiated from alterations caused by arteriosclerosis. The results are presented of 15 patients suffering from inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system of different aetiology. The morphology and the distribution of the arterial changes in the cerebral angiogram are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

[The cerebral angiogram in cases of stroke in youth (author's transl)].

Sixty-seven patients (ages: 11-40 years) suffering from ischemic cerebral circulatory disturbances were investigated clinically and angiographically. In 34 cases, transient ischemic attacks or reversible ischemic neurological defects were diagnosed; 33 patients suffered from completed strokes. In most cases the completed stroke took place without previous transient ischemic attacks. A very good tendency toward recovery was observed in 60 of 67 cases. Stenoses or occlusions were found in only 21.5% of the clinically affected vessel regions. However, 50% of those patients, on whom panangiography was performed, were shown to have stenoses or occlusions. Stenotic vessel wall lesions are also obviously to be expected in clinically nonaffected vessel regions; consequently, in cases of cerebral circulatory disturbances, angiographic investigation of all craniocervical vessels is advisable.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Effects of cerebral gangliosides in the alcoholic polyneuropathies.

In chronic alcoholic patients with a slight or moderate polyneuropathy the effect of gangliosides at a daily dosage of 20 mg was investigated. A clinical improvement represented by a reappearance of the Achilles reflex and/or marked reduction of hypoaesthesia was found in the treated group. No significant changes in motor function were observed. No significant variation of the electrophysiological examination was found.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1980

The capillary-isotachophoretic analysis of reactants and products of glucuronidation. A new method for the assay of UDPGlucuronosyltransferase.

UDPglucuronosyltransferase competes with a nucleotide pyrophosphatase for UDPglucuronate as a substrate. Both enzyme systems are located in the microsomal fraction of mammalian liver homogenates, and the pyrophosphatase is present in all but the purest preparations of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase, since solubilisation procedures yield both activities in the 100 000 x g supernatant. In glucuronidation studies, it is important to be able to ascertain the degree of hydrolysis of the substrate UDPglucuronate due to the pyrophosphatase activity. A new method is reported using analytical capillary isotachophoresis whereby reactants and products of both glucuronidation and hydrolysis can be assayed simultaneously. The example presented in this paper is the glucuronidation of paracetamol (4-acetamidophenol) an important phenolic drug of toxicological interest. Rabbit liver microsomes glucuronidate this substance much more slowly than other phenolic compounds, so that hydrolysis of the donor molecule UDPglucuronic acid becomes of primary importance. Furthermore, the ionic mobility of 4-acetamidophenyl glucuronoside is much less than the other constitutents of assay mixtures under the analytical conditions employed, so that a well-defined separation from other reaction species is afforded.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMed1980

[A modified oesophagoscope for sclerotherapy of bleeding oesophageal varices (author's transl)].

A flexible oesophagoscope with a wide angle optic, an inflatable balloon and a slit at the tip of the instrument has been developed to facilitate the sclerosing of bleeding oesophageal varices. While until today most investigators use a rigid oesophagoscope under general anaesthesia for a better view of the oesophagus and the possibility of compressing the varix to prevent rapid disappearance of the sclerosing fluid, with the new "Scleroscope" a general anaesthesia is not necessary any more. The wide angle optic allows good view of the operational field. The inflated balloon widens the lumen and prevents an intravascular deposit of sclerosing fluid from disappearing before the therapist wants it to leave the varix. The balloon can further be used to stop bleeding occuring from the injection canal. The slit at the tip of the instrument allows to hold the swollen varix and to inject it longitudinally with little danger of perforating the injection needle through the varix into the oesophageal tissue or mediastinum. By adding contrast medium to the sclerosing fluid the filling of the varices can be observed under x-ray control. This way intravascular sclerosing of varices of the fundus can be achieved. First experience with this new instrument is encouraging; its use should make the application of the rigid instrument unnecessary.

Contrast Media↗
PubMed1979

Thiols and hepatic coma.

The plasma concentrations of methane and ethane thiols have been determined during the course of acute liver failure by a gas-chromatographic technique, and a prognostic evaluation is possible using this analysis. Further, the effects of some therapeutic measures, notably hemoperfusion, on the thiol levels have been investigated. It is concluded that these toxins, which are to a large extent covalently protein-bound, are extremely difficult to remove in an extracorporeal liver support system. Since the cause of the pathological thiol concentrations is probably the elevated plasma methionine levels associated with severe liver disease, it is suggested that the most hopeful course of action against the accumulation of thiols in the body might be a preventative therapy involving the normalization of methionine at an early stage of the disease.

Charcoal↗
PubMed1979

The application of immobilized enzymes in an artificial liver support system.

A novel method of extracorporeal support for fulminant liver failure is reported whereby the most important detoxification processes of the liver are reproduced in an enzyme reactor. Most of the endogenous toxins involved in hepatic coma can be deactivated directly by conjugation with a hydrophilic residue such as glucuronic acid or glutathione, or by the neutralization of active groups through structural modification by methyl transfer. The enzymes responsible for these processes have been isolated and purified from rabbit liver, and covalently bound onto a hemocompatible form of agarose matrix. This system has been shown to be capable of catalyzing the desired reactions with endogenous toxins such as phenols and mercaptans in vitro, and phenols in rabbits in vivo.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMed1979

Enzymatic methylation of alkane thiols.

A membrane-bound enzymatic activity has been found in rabbit liver microsomes, which catalyses the transmethylation from S-adenosylmethionine to a series of C1-C3 alkane thiols. Methane and ethane thiols are known to be endogenous toxins, which may play an important role in the pathogenesis of hepatic coma, and methylation could provide an important pathway for the metabolic 'detoxification' of this class of compounds through neutralisation of the highly reactive sulph-hydryl group.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Preparation and fractionation of membrane vesicles of thymocytes after osmotic cell disruption.

The isolation of plasma membranes is often accompanied with a loss of sensitivity to stimulatory agents (e.g. mitogens). Changes in the structure of the cell membranes after cell breakage have also been reported. Concerning this problem, "mild" cell disruption conditions were tested by using osmotic shock. Different membrane fractions were isolated, resulting in an enrichment of plasma membranes in one fraction. All fractions were characterized by plasma membrane marker enzymes (alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyltransferases), the amount of cholesterol, the molar ratio of cholesterol and phospholipid, by dodecyl sulfate-gelectrophoresis and by electronmicroscopy. Total balance sheets of the fraction were made for each of the different biochemical parameters. The enriched plasma membranes resulting by using the described method had also lost the sensitivity to the stimulatory effect caused by mitogens such as Concanavalin A.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Large agarose beads for extracorporeal detoxification systems. Preparation and enzymatic properties of agarose-bound UDP-glucuronyltransferase.

UDP-glucuronlytransferase, E.C. 2.4.1.17, has been solubilised from the microsomal fraction of liver homogenate from phenobarbital pretreated rabbits by lipase or detergent treatments. A 110-fold purification of the enzyme with respect to the crude homogenate was achieved by precipitation and column separations. The cholate-detergent solubilised enzyme was far more stable than that prepared by the lipase method. The partially purified UDP-glucuronyltransferase has been covalently bound to cyanogen bromide-activated agarose in the form of large haemocompatible beads to the extent of 0.22 mg protein per mg agarose dryweight, equivalent to about 25 mg of swollen gel. The acceptors for glucuronidation employed were the non-physiological phenolic compounds p-nitrophenol and 1-naphthol, and an exogenous and endogenous substance of physiological importance, namely paracetamol and phenol respectively. The immobilised enzyme exhibited at least 80% of the original activity of the solubilised enzyme, and the catalytic function was preserved for a much longer period of time in the carrier-bound form. The system described in this publication could well be applied in an extracorporeal liver assist device for the replacement of glucuronidation function.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

The removal of hypnotic drugs from human serum. A comparative investigation of the adsorptive properties of native and agarose-encapsulated resins and charcoal.

The adsorptive capacities of some ion-exchange resins and activated charcoal towards the hypnotic drugs, phenobarbital, glutethimide, carbromal, and methaqualone, have been investigated. Furthermore, the properties of some of these resins and charcoal, encapsulated in an agarose matrix in the form of beads, have been compared with those of the adsorbent phases in their native states. In general, the adsorptive capacities of charcoal were at least as good as, and frequently better than those of the resins. Amberlite XAD-type resins had a higher affinity than Dowex-type resins for all the drugs tested, except for phenobarbital, which was not adsorbed to a satisfactory extent onto Amberlite XAD-4. The encapsulation of adsorbent phases into agarose beads of diameter 5-10 mm results in a reduction of the adsorbtion of the drugs. Nonetheless, the remaining adsorptive capacity is sufficient for application in an extracorporeal detoxification system. Moreover, the overwhelming advantage of good haemocompatibility is provided by the agarose-encapsulated adsorbents.

Adsorption↗
PubMed1979

[Cerebral angiography in collagen disease and arteritis of different aetiology (author's transl)].

The cerebral angiograms of 11 patients suffering from collagen disease are presented. Panarteriitis nodosa was diagnosed in 4 cases, Lupus erythematodes in 2 cases. With 5 patients immunovasculitis with cerebral affection was found, which was, however, not to be classified in detail. More or less characteristic features are to be expected in the angiogram; they might harden the suspicion of collagen disease, although they are not likely to prove its diagnosis. An interpretation of the radiological findings should--in addition to the morphology--primarily take into account the distribution type of the vessel wall lesions. Clinically as well as by means of angiography it is difficult to differentiate between collagen disease and cerebral arteriitis of different aetiology; this applies particularly to the alterations in cases of embolic circumscribed encephalitis in sepsis lenta. The diagnostic value of angiography in cases of collagen disease with cerebral affection is discussed, the criteria of cerebral arteriitis of different aetiology are dealth with.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Agarose-encapsulated adsorbents.

A method is described for the encapsulation of ion-exchange and adsorbent resins of native particle diameter 0.2-1.0 mm into agarose spheres of diameter 5-10 mm. Plasma components diffuse rapidly through the agarose coating, but blood corpuscles have no direct access to the resins. At least 0.3 g of resin can be incorporated into 1 g of the agarose beads, so that the effective surface area with regard to erythrocytes, thrombocytes, and leucocytes is reduced by a factor of at least 5, and up to 20, depending on the native resin particle size. Pulverised active charcoal, or resins in powder form can also be encapsulated in this manner. The haemocompatibility of the agarose coating seems to be considerably more acceptable than that of the adsorbents in their native state.

Adsorption↗