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Biomedical subjects

J Fuchs

Publications and source records attributed to J Fuchs.

282 records · Page 16Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Chemiluminescence in semen of infertile men.

Luminol-dependent chemiluminescence (CL) can be used to determine the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by cells. Enhanced formation of ROS in human semen was reported to be of pathological significance for a disturbed sperm function. To investigate incidence of elevated CL-signals in semen samples and their correlation to conventional semen parameters, CL-signals in the semen of both 49 consecutive infertile men and 20 controls were measured. Semen was analysed according to WHO-criteria including bovine mucus-penetration- and water-test. A CL-signal of 1.5 x 10(5) counts min-1/2 x 10(6) spermatozoa was considered to be the upper normal limit. The CL in infertile men's semen was elevated with statistically significant differences in oligozoospermia patients/controls (P < 0.0001) and normozoospermia patients/controls (P < 0.05). In the group with elevated CL-signals, a higher percentage of spermatozoa with a pathologic morphology was detected (P = 0.05). In the groups with pathologic results of eosin- and water-tests, the CL-counts were elevated (P < 0.006; P < 0.03). The spermatozoa motility in the group with elevated CL-counts was significantly reduced after 4 h (P < 0.05). The CL-signals correlated inversely with the results of the bovine mucus-penetration-test (r = -0.67), P < 0.0001). In conclusion, semen samples of 28% of our patients showed elevated CL-signals; these were associated with pathological results of membrane integrity-tests. The negative correlation of CL with the results of Penetrak-test reflects its importance to depict the functional capacity of spermatozoa.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Electron spin resonance detection of UVA-induced free radicals.

Free radicals generated during UV irradiation of human skin biopsies were measured with electron spin resonance spectroscopy by using spin traps. The generation of hydroxyl and lipid radicals in skin is mainly caused by the UVA part of the solar spectrum.

Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cranial nerve paralysis following carotid endarterectomy.

During the past seven years 347 patients have been entered into a data bank at the Duke University Medical Center for evaluation of transient neurologic ischemia. One hundred fifty eight of these patients had carotid endarterectomies of whom 24 (15.1%) developed 26 (16.4%) peripheral cranial nerve palsies. Injury to the peripheral portion of the hypoglossal nerve was noted in 13 patients, to the cervical branch of the facial nerve in five and to the recurrent laryngeal nerve branch of the vagus in eight. Complete recovery of nerve function usually occurred within four months but residual deficit was present at one year in two patients with facial nerve and four with hypoglossal nerve involvement. Even though these complications of carotid endarterectomy are generally benign and transient, the frequency of occurrence can be reduced if careful attention is given to anatomic localization of the cranial nerves during surgery.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Characterization of highly polar DNA adducts derived from dibenz[A,H]anthracene (DBA), 3,4-dihydroxy-3,4-dihydro-DBA, and 3,4,10,11-tetrahydroxy-3,4,10,11-tetrahydro-DBA.

Two highly polar DNA adducts were found after metabolic activation of 3,4,10,11-tetrahydroxy-3,4,10,11-tetrahydrodibenz[a,h]anthracene (DBA-3,4,10,11-bisdiol) by liver microsomes isolated from male Sprague-Dawley rats pretreated with Aroclor 1254 in presence of calf thymus DNA. These DNA adducts could be assigned to the metabolites of dibenz[a,h]anthracene (DBA), of 3R,4R,10R,11R-tetrahydroxy-3,4,10,11-tetrahydro-DBA and of 3R,4R,10S,11S-tetrahydroxy-3,4,10,11-tetrahydro-DBA. DNA adducts derived from metabolites of 3S,4S,10S,11S-tetrahydroxy-3,4,10,11-tetrahydro-DBA were not found. These highly polar adducts also could be detected by reversed phase HPLC after incubation of dibenz[a,h]anthracene, 3R,4R-dihydroxy-3,4-dihydro-DBA ((-)-DBA-3,4-diol) and 3S,4S-dihydroxy-3,4-dihydro-DBA ((+)-DBA-3,4-diol) with DNA in presence of the activating system. After incubation of 14C labelled DBA DNA adducts derived from DBA-3,4,10,11-bisdiol were found in a fraction of 38% and bay region 3,4-dihydroxy-1,2-epoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-DBA-DNA adducts at a level of 25%. DBA-3,4,10,11-bisdiol exhibited a higher DNA binding yield (38 +/- 12 pmol/mg DNA) than (-)-DBA-3,4-diol (23 +/- 6 pmol/mg DNA), the most mutagenic 3,4-diol enantiomer. For (+)-DBA-3,4-diol the highly polar DNA adducts derived from DBA-3,4,10,11-bisdiol were by far the most predominant adducts in vitro.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Health care providers on the World Wide Web: quality of presentations of surgical departments in Germany.

It is becoming increasingly common for health care providers to present information on the World Wide Web (WWW). Patients, as well as health care professionals, do not really know what they can expect today. Many quality criteria are proposed for the assessment of medical Internet sites focusing mainly on structure and content management. The objective of this study was to assess the quality of presentations by health care providers on the WWW and to detect strengths and weaknesses with regard to potential target groups, patients, colleagues, and students. A sample of 171 presentations was randomly selected in March 2000 from a collection of 469 surgical departments in Germany. Medical doctors undergoing a full-time training in medical informatics rated the presentations. A previously evaluated questionnaire was used to assess the presentations with regard to 12 criteria about content and technical features. For each criterion the categories 'very good', 'sufficient', and 'insufficient' could be used. Twenty medical doctors assessed 168 presentations with one to seven valuations per presentation. Three presentations could not be accessed at the time of evaluation. Sixty-eight per cent of the median values of each criterion were rated as insufficient. The only criteria rated sufficient or better in at least 50% were: employees/map, survey of offered medical services, navigation, and layout. University hospitals and heart centres achieved significantly better results than regional hospitals. In conclusion, the quality of provider information on the W WW is unsatisfactory. Most surgical departments do not provide information that could help patients to choose their physicians. The criteria set developed here could be a useful tool for a target-group-oriented self-assessment of provider presentations on the World Wide Web.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Glucagon as a non species-specific regulator of the glycaemia in honeybee (Apis mellifica).

It is known that hormones which exist in vertebrates are very old in respect to evolution. The presence of insulin and glucagon in insects had already been suggested in the early sixties. In this study honeybees are living in an "artificial hive" in the German laboratory under exactly standardized conditions. In the French laboratory standardized conditions yielded because only emerging worker bees were used i.e. those which were just slipping from the honeycomb alveoli. It seemed of interest to introduce an in vivo model in which one animal is punctured at tergum III in order to gain 1 microliter hemolymph using a glass capillary tube . *For the first time it is possible to puncture one animal three times. The main sugars in the hemolymph were silylated* and determined by gas chromatography in the German resp. by nano thin layer chromatography in the French laboratory. 0-500 ng porcine glucagon resp. the same amount of purified bee glucagon were injected to the animals and the action on carbohydrates observed during 2 hours. Similar to the action of glucagon in vertebrates, carbohydrate metabolism although completely different, appears to be regulated in part in this invertebrate stem. It is concluded that glucagon may represent a key hormone for degradation of the glycogen stores.

Acclimatization↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Alterations in total lactate dehydrogenase and its isoenzyme-5 in hepatic disorders.

Values for total lactate dehydrogenase (LD, EC 1.1.1.27) and LD isoenzyme-5 were determined in serum of 106 patients with benign hepatic disorders, 54 of whom had acute liver disorders, either acute hepatitis (39 patients) or acute circulatory disturbances (15 patients). Fifty-two had chronic hepatic disorders, either cirrhosis (25 patients) or chronic right heart failure (27 patients). Overall, values for LD were above normal for 86 percent of the 106 patients with benign hepatic disorders. In 83 percent of 30 patients with non-fulminant viral hepatitis, LD values were below 350 U per L, while in all nine patients with either fulminant viral or toxic hepatitis, and in all 15 patients with acute circulatory disturbances, LD values were above 500 U per L. In all 52 patients with chronic hepatic disorders, LD values were below 350 U per L. In patients with acute liver disorders, both the total LD and LD-5 proportions were sensitive for liver injury (87 percent and 91 percent, respectively). On the other hand, LD-5 proportion was much less sensitive than total LD in patients with chronic liver disorders (40 percent versus 85 percent). In conclusion, a difference was found in LD values and LD-5 ratios between patients with non-fulminant viral hepatitis and patients with other causes for acute liver injury. The LD-5 proportions are more sensitive for hepatic injury in patients with acute liver disorders than in those with chronic liver disorders.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cellular immunity in lobomycosis (keloidal blastomycosis).

The cellular immune response of twelve patients from the Brazilian Amazon basin with lobomycosis were assessed. Delayed skin reaction to bacterial and fungal antigens, skin allograft rejection, and sensitization to dinitrochlorobenzene were studied. Ninety-two percent of the patients were not reactive to dinitrochlorobenzene after sensitization; skin allograft rejection occurred in an average of 17 days. Delayed skin reaction to streptococcal, staphylococcal, trichophytin and candida antigens was negative in the majority of the patients. Reactivity to mycobacterial antigens, however, was very high. The results suggest that patients with lobomycosis are partially cellular immunodeficient.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Examination of the extracranial carotid bifurcation by thin-section dynamic CT: direct visualization of intimal atheroma in man (Part 2).

Examination of the extracranial carotid bifurcation by thin-section computed tomographic (CT) scans after bolus, high-volume contrast enhancement allowed detection of more disease than did arteriograms in six of eight consecutive patients with transient ischemic attacks. In four patients this was on the clinical side of the lesion; in two the disease was in the asymptomatic carotid artery. One patient appeared to show a carotid ulcer; the ulcer was detected on CT. However, at surgery and subsequent histology, the surface of the lesion was endothelialized. The carotid CT examination is performed in the scanner "dead time" between unenhanced and enhanced head CT scans using the same contrast material for both studies. The examinations covers 3-3.6 cm of the carotid bifurcation region. Thin-section CT of the extracranial carotid arteries is a noninvasive examination that on preliminary evaluations appears to have sensitivity at least equal to that of carotid angiography in the detection of intimal disease.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Altered expression of resistance associated genes in hepatoblastoma xenografts incorporated into mice following treatment with adriamycin or cisplatin.

To study the development of drug resistance in childhood hepatoblastoma (HB) using a model closely related to in vivo conditions, we cultivated HB xenografts from 3 patients into mice and treated these tumors with either adriamycin (ADR) or cisplatin (CIS). Determination of the relative expression levels of various resistance associated genes by a cDNA-PCR approach showed: a) Significantly enhanced MDR1 gene expression levels after treatment with ADR in each case. b) Significantly enhanced glutathione S-transferase mu (GST mu) gene expression levels after treatment with CIS in 2/3 xenografts. c) Significantly decreased levels of topoisomerase IIa (TOPO IIa) in tumors of the same two patients after treatment with either ADR or CIS. These findings give evidence that the MDR1-, GST mu- and TOPO IIa-gene products may contribute to drug resistance in HB.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗