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Biomedical subjects

H Kuhn

Publications and source records attributed to H Kuhn.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

N-terminal amino acid sequence of Bacillus licheniformis alpha-amylase: comparison with Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and Bacillus subtilis Enzymes.

The thermostable, liquefying alpha-amylase from Bacillus licheniformis was immunologically cross-reactive with the thermolabile, liquefying alpha-amylase from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. Their N-terminal amino acid sequences showed extensive homology with each other, but not with the saccharifying alpha-amylases of Bacillus subtilis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1982

[The etiology, course and prognosis of dilated cardiomyopathy].

UNLABELLED: In order to study the etiology, the clinical course and the prognosis of patients with DCM, clinical, morphological (endomyocardial catheter biopsy), angiographic and hemodynamic data of patients with DCM were studied. The total number of patients was 396. In 258 patients definite DCM was diagnosed, in 138 patients DCM was suspected, e.g., because of an additional history of alcoholism. ETIOLOGY: In no case acute subacute or chronic myocarditis was found in myocardial biopsies (n = 114) and at autopsy (n = 18). However, from the history strong evidence was obtained for DCM being the late stage of diphtheric heart disease predominantly among patients with complete left bundle branch block. As far as the alcoholic etiology is concerned, the only significant difference between DCM and alcoholic heart disease was a higher proportion of women among patients with DCM (28% and 5%, resp.). Clinical course and prognosis: 221 patients were studied prospectively (mean follow-up time 3.1 +/- 2.3 years), 44% of patients died or deteriorated. However, in patients with normal cardiothoracic ratio this rate amounted only to 12%. The mean annual mortality rate was 9.8% and varied significantly in relation to different subsets of patients from 0% to 17%. A bad prognosis was significantly indicated by young age, high cardiothoracic ratio, pronounced elevation of enddiastolic volume index and of left ventricular enddiastolic pressure at rest and of mean pulmonary artery pressure at exercise, by severe morphologic changes of myocardial biopsies, severe ventricular arrhythmias, the absence of transient abnormal elevation of arterial blood pressure during follow up, of complete left bundle branch block and of a positive history of diphtheria. However, the wide scatter of data diminished the significance of them for the definite prognostic evaluation of individual case. The cumulative survival curves of patients with a history of alcohol abuse did not differ from that of patients with DCM. The data demonstrate that DCM in patients with the history of diphtheria together with left bundle branch block is possible caused by an inflammatory process. According to the analysis of the clinical course and the prognosis, DCM is one of the most severe heart disease. However, in different subsets of patients, the clinical course may be stable for long time and even normal longevity cannot be excluded.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

[Exercise echocardiography in dilatative cardiomyopathy].

Using M-mode echocardiography under 2-D control at rest and during ergometer exercise (ex), we examined 15 patients (pat) with angiographically moderate diffuse left ventricular (LV) contraction impairment (mean enddiastolic volume index 115 ml/m2, mean ejection fraction 58%) (group DCM I). The aim of the study was to look for differences in LV behavior under exercise within this patient group, with a view to aiding diagnosis. These pat were compared to 10 normal subjects (N) and 10 pat with advanced dilatative (congestive) cardiomyopathy (enddiastolic volume index 135 ml/m2, ejection fraction 44%) (DCM II). Even at rest, the LV diameters and the fractional shortening (FS) in the group DCM I differed significantly from those in N, and in the case of the mean FS the difference increased on ex (rest p less than 0.05, exertion p less than 0.0005). In none of the three groups did the enddiastolic diameter undergo any significant change on ex. The endsystolic diameter decreased in N by an average of 5.2 mm (p less than 0.0005); at 2.8 mm (p less than 0.005), the decrease (DCM I vs N p less than 0.005) was distinctly slighter to be observed in DCM I; in DCM II it was no longer significant. Within the group DCM I, 4 pat showed a behavior on ex that was not what the values at rest would have suggested. 2 pat showed a physiological reaction on ex despite a restricted function at rest; however, in 2 patients with relatively good values at rest, the FS decreased on ex. According to these findings, a restriction of LV function is to be recognized echocardiographically more clearly on ex than at rest, especially in low-level dilatative cardiomyopathy (DCM). In individual cases, a varying increase in LV functional impairment is to be observed during ex, or even generalized physiological reaction, which would not be expected from the echocardiogram at rest. Thus the results of the examination present a differentiated basis for the observation of the course of the disease, especially in pat with a moderate DCM.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

[Exercise studies in patients with cardiomyopathy (author's transl)].

Exercise tests were performed on 50 patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) and 19 patients with hypertrophic nonobstructive cardiomyopathy (HNCM) of NYHA classes I to IV, and on 16 patients with congestive cardiomyopathy (CCM) of NYHA classes III and IV as well as, for detection of latent cardiomyopathy (LCM), i.e. functional impairment during exercise with normal findings at rest, on 102 patients with typical or atypical angina pectoris and ECG abnormalities of unknown etiology (left bundle branch block or ST segment depression) but normal coronary arteries and normal left and right ventriculogram. Measurements included heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output, pulmonary artery pressure and minimal cardiac transit times of Indium-113m. Furthermore, in a large number of patients with latent cardiomyopathy, thallium-201 myocardial imaging and measurements of myocardial lactate extraction during high-rate atrial pacing were performed. The findings suggest that 1. the functional classification based on the patients' complaints often differs from the grade of hemodynamic impairment detected by exercise testing, 2. therapeutic effects (propranolol or surgery in HOCM, prazosin in CCM) are more pronounced under exercise as compared with resting conditions. Latent cardiomyopathy can be diagnosed only by detection of impaired function during exercise (increased pulmonary artery pressure, impaired myocardial lactate extraction during high-rate stimulation), since ventricular function and hemodynamics are normal at rest.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Structural alterations of tapetal cells in the retina of cats induced by prolonged treatment with chloroquine.

Cats were treated with high doses of chloroquine for one year during which the ocular fundus was periodically examined. After completion of the treatment, the tapetal cells were investigated by light and electron microscopy. Prolonged treatment with the retinotoxic drug chloroquine reduced the light reflection of the fundus, and examination by light and electron microscopy revealed a destruction of the rod-like structures in the cytoplasm of the tapetal cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Lack of correlation between melanin affinity and retinopathy in mice and cats treated with chloroquine or flunitrazepam.

Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol, Roche, Basel, Switzerland), which is similar to chloroquine, has an affinity to melanin in retinal cells. However, in contrast to chloroquine, it does not induce structural alterations in these cells or in adjacent tissues of pigmented mice and cats even after treatment for 6 and 12 months with respectively, 2000-times (mice, or 130-times (cats) the effective human daily dose. Treatment with chloroquine (with a dose similar to that used in human anti-rheumatic therapy) over the same period, resulted in the appearance of numerous membranous cytoplasmic bodies in the retinal ganglion cells of mice and cats. In addition, in cats, an augmentation of lysosomal structures in the pigment epithelium, chiefly in the melanin-free region, and destruction of the tapetal cells were observed. Moreover, the pigment epithelium with the highest concentration of melanin was unaffected in mice and only slightly affected in cats. It was concluded that the retinotoxic effect of chloroquine is not the result of its affinity to melanin-containing tissues. Consequently, the affinity to melanin-containing cells per se is not sufficient to class a substance as potentially harmful to vision.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Surgical aspects of typical subaortic and atypical midventricular hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM).

Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) is a special form of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. Clinical experience demonstrates 2 different types of HOCM of the left ventricle: the typical subaortic or subvalvular HOCM and the atypical midventricular form of myocardial obstruction. In a series of 108 patients operated upon, 96 had typical and 12 had atypical HOCM. Indications for surgical treatment were increase of clinical symptoms to class III or IV (NYHA) and unresponsiveness to drug therapy (beta-blocking agents, calcium-antagonists). The male: female ratio was 21:1. The mean age in the group with typical HOCM was 38.8 years, in the group with atypical HOCM 46.5 years. Transaortic myectomy (n = 85) was the predominant surgical approach for relief of isolated subaortic and midventricular obstruction. Patients with severe mitral insufficiency and mitral valve replacement were identified as a problematic group. The total hospital mortality was 8.3% (9 of 108 patients), 7.9% (7 of 96 patients) in the typical group, and 16.7% (2 of 12 patients) in the atypical group. Postoperative cardiological follow-up indicates the superior effect of surgery as compared to drug therapy. The late mortality for the medical group was 10% and for the postoperative group 2.5%. These facts support our recommendation for the surgical treatment of HOCM in symptomatic patients in clinical stages III and IV (NYHA).

Adult↗
PubMed1981

A simple method for the preparation of cell cultures for ultrastructural investigation.

A method is described that allows investigation of cultured cells at the light or electron microscopical level without changing the culturing conditions or the in situ situation during dehydration or embedding. Fixed and dehydrated cell culture layers were cut into small pieces and separated from the plastic dish by adding propylene oxide. With this simple method we could obtain orientated sections of selected cell groups.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

[Serum lipid levels under chronical treatment with beta-receptor blocking agents in patients with coronary artery disease (author's transl)].

Concerning the effects of beta-receptor blocking agents (beta-RB) on serum lipids levels of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides were determined in 237 consecutive male patients with coronarographically proven coronary artery disease. 43% (n = 101) of all patients were taking beta-RB. The percentage of factors apt to influence serum lipid levels and the extent of coronary artery disease were similar in the subsets with (group 1) and without (group 2) chronical beta-RB therapy.-The mean values of total cholesterol (group 1: 242 mg%, group 2: 239 mg%) and HDL cholesterol (group 1: 42 mg%, group 2: 41 mg%) were nearly identical; there were, however, significantly enhanced triglyceride concentration under beta-RB therapy (group 1: 222 mg%, group 2: 184 mg%, p less than 0.0125). This difference was most pronounced in patients with one-vessel disease. Patients treated with beta-1-selective RB had lower triglyceride levels than those treated with nonselective RB (208 mg% vs. 222 mg%, n.s.). In accordance with findings of other authors, these data might indicate that serum triglycerides are elevated by chronical administration of beta-RB. It should be a topic of further investigations if the present results can be interpreted the way that chronical application of beta-RB might favour development and/or deterioration of coronary artery disease.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed1981

[Holosystolic mitral valve prolapse and "SAM" after surgical treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (author's transl)].

In a 49-year-old male patient surgical treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM, clinical grade III, NYHA) by means of transaortic myotomy and myectomy was performed in November 1979. 6 months later the M-mode-echocardiogram revealed a distinct systolic anterior motion of parts of the mitral valve apparatus (SAM) as well as a marked holosystolic mitral valve prolapse (MVP). The two-dimensional echocardiographic examination demonstrated that the "SAM"-phenomenon was caused solely by chordae tendineae of the anterior mitral leaflet, while the prolapse was due to the posterior mitral leaflet itself.

Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic↗