Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to H Hofmann.
Serum HDL cholesterol concentrations were measured in patients with ocular diseases. Patients with occlusions of the retinal arteries had significantly lower HDL cholesterol values than a control group.
In seven patients with diminished visual acuity, caused by oedema of the retina after contusio bulbi, the EOG, the photopic and the scotopic ERG as well as the VECP, elicited by luminance (H-EP) on the one hand and by pattern reversal-stimulation (M-EP) on the other hand, were registered. These registrations were made both during and after the acute phase. The results were then compared with the results of the normal fellow eyes. Additional fluorescence-angiographic and computer-perimetric examinations were performed. All EOG and ERG components studied showed a significant reduction in the acute phase and a significant increase -- with the exception of the photopic b-wave -- in the regression of the oedema of the retina. However, the values of the affected eyes never reached the values of the normal fellow eyes. The different behaviour of the H-EPs and the M-EPs is striking. While the medium values of the H-EPs showed little reduction in all examinations, the M-EPs showed a highly significant decrease or increase, with the visual acuity and the M-EP showing corresponding behaviour.
The replication of TBE virus and Langat virus in cells of immune and non-immune individuals was compared in phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated and non-PHA-stimulated cultures and also following infection with low and high infection multiplicity. Following infection of spleen cells from Langat-immune mice with Langat virus having a high infection multiplicity, higher virus replication rates than in non-immune cells were found to be present. Replication of Langat virus was generally superior to that of TBE virus. Virus replication was generally reduced by PHA stimulation of spleen cells. Langat virus did not replicate in human peripheral leukocytes. TBE virus replicated equally well in cells from a patient with TBE history and in cells from a non-immune person.
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This report deals with a hospital outbreak of Coxsackie virus infections in a neonatal ward. Most infections were mild, but one boy died from severe toxicosis. Six children had an abnormal ECG. Virus was isolated from 3 children, including the fatal case. One virus was Coxsackie B5, the two others Coxsackie A9. A rise in titre in the neutralisation test with respect to Coxsackie B5 virus was found in the sera of 13 patients and to Coxsackie A9 virus in a further two cases. Four cases were diagnosed using a Coxsackie B mix antigen and 10 by means of a picorna mix antigen in the CFT. Thus the picorna mix antigen proved to be very useful in the diagnosis of Coxsackie infection in newborn infants. Coxsackie viruses were also isolated from the faeces of ward personnel and serological evidence of recent infection was found by means of the CFT. The epidemiological implications of these findings are discussed.
Using radial immunodiffusion it is possible to identify and to quantitate antithrombin III in human aqueous humor. The importance of antithrombin III as a cofactor of heparin is stressed.
Spermatozoa count, motility, and morphology as semen volumen and fructose are the main spermatological parameters in the assessment of male fertility disturbances. The spermatological findings should be referred to the pattern of spermatozoa transport through the cervical mucus. More extended morphological analyses are necessary in the evaluation of the disturbances of spermatogenesis. The spermatological findings may reflect the clinico-pathological syndromes of the disorders of the germinal epithelium.
Antibodies of IgM and IgG type were detected in the CSF of patients with recent tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) by means of ELISA. No false-positive results were obtained with CSF specimens from patients suffering from meningitis or other illnesses. The ratio of the antibodies in serum to CSF clearly indicated that both IgM and IgG antibodies were produced in the brain itself. In patients who had previously suffered from TBE now with a different inaseptic meningitis, TBE antibodies could also be detected in CSF but only of the IgG class. Again the serum-to-CSF antibody ratio indicated that the antibodies were produced within the central nervous system. For routine diagnosis the micro-ELISA method was found to be useful; antigen-coated plates can be stored as long as three months at +4 degrees C.
From pepsin-solubilized vitreous body collagen three different precipitates were collected by differential salt precipitation. These three different protein fractions contain hydroxyproline and show different patterns in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis suggesting different collagen types.
An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was applied for determining separately IgM and IgG antibodies against tick-borne encephalitis virus. A micro-modification in microtitre plates proved to be at least as sensitive as the HI test. However, more precise information could be achieved by a macrotest using antigen coated polystyrene balls. False positive results in IgM antibody determinations could be caused by a rheumatoid factor. A high content of IgM antibodies in a serum could impair the determination of its IgG antibodies but not vice versa. Titres were expressed in comparison to a positive control serum.
The binding of FITC-labeled poly-L-ornithine and poly-L-lysine to fresh or neuraminidase treated human, rat or rabbit erythrocytes was investigated by simultaneous cell volume and cell membrane fluorescence measurements in a flow cytometer. The cell volume was converted into cell surface and the distribution curve of the fluorescence/micrometer2 cell surface was calculated from all histogram classes by a computer program. The mean fluorescence/micrometer2 cell surface as a measure of the density of the negative charges on the cell surface was directly proportional to the elctrophoretic mobility of the erythrocytes, showing that polycation binding can effectively be used for the measurement of the electrophoretic mobility of erythrocytes. The computer fitting of the experimental two parameter histograms by two dimensional Gaussian normal distributions was found to be a very efficient way of data reduction, and a good separation of overlapping cell clusters was possible even in the case of low total numbers of cells in the histogram.
Reductions with [3H5NaBH4 proof that the decrease in viscosity of hyaluronic acid solutions caused by lowering the pH does not depend on a depolymerisation of hyaluronic acid. At the same time investigations at different pH-values, show a sigmoide increase of the Spin-Lattice-Relaxationtime T1. This increase depends on a progressive aggregation of the hyaluronic acid molecule. The effect seems to be induced by the decrease of ionization of the carboxylgroups, by acidification of the solution.
101 patients with epidemic keratoconjunctivitis were treated with different eye drops: cortisone, antibiotics and P.V.P.-Iodine. The treatment of 19 patients with P.V.P.-Iodine showed that inflammatory symptoms disappeared rapidly; corneal complications however such as superficial keratitis could not be prevented. After the outbreak of epidemic keratoconjunctivitis, severe hygienic measures had been taken at the eye-clinic. On account of the hygienic prophylactic measures further infections could be prevented at the clinic almost completely.
The photopic electroretinogram (ERG) and the brightness visually evoked cortical potentials (HEPs) were recorded from patients with oedema of the optic disc caused by papillitis (7 patients), by vascular disease (10 patients) and by intracranial hypertension. For the ERG a Henkes-electrode in reference to an earlobe electrode was used. The H-EPs were recorded bipolar in the midline 5% to 25% and unipolar 15% in reference to an earlobe electrode (inion to nasion = 100%). For evaluation the amplitudes and the peaktimes of the a- and b-wave of the ERG were measured. In the H-EPs the amplitudes and the peaktimes of a negatives peak at approximately 70 ms (NGZ) and a positive peak at approximately 120 ms (PGZ) were obtained from the bipolar recording and a positive peak at approximately 100 ms (PGZ) and a negative peak at approximately 140 ms (NGZ) obtained from the unipolar recording were measured. The photopic ERGs of the affected eye showed normal values, however the H-EPs were distinctly pahtological. With the exception of the negative peaktime (NGZ) of the bipolar leads of the intracranial hypertensive papiloedema, all peaktimes were lengthened and amplitudes decreased. These findings were especially evident in the bipolar tracings of papillitis and unipolar tracings of intracranial hypertension.
Radioactively labelled phosphoglycerides were given subcutaneously to rabbits and the incorporation of these substances into the retina and other organs has been studied. In a first examination the phospholipids were labelled with 3H-oleic acid, in a second examination we used 32P for labelling. We could show, that both the fatty acids and the polar head group of the phosphoglycerides were incorporated into the retina lipids. The specific radioactivity of the retina phosphoglycerides was always higher than that of lipids extracted from other organs.
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A field study was performed on 118 members of army personnel with the intranasally-applied live influenza vaccine, RIT 4050. 91 subjects were revaccinated 7 days thereafter. The immune response was best in subjects with a low prevaccination titre and was better in subjects vaccinated twice than only once. An immune response was also detected in the nasal secretion measuring the secretory IgA antibodies. Live influenza vaccine can be regarded as a suitable alternative to other influenza vaccines, with the qualification that it lacks an influenza B component.