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Biomedical subjects

J Köbberling

Publications and source records attributed to J Köbberling.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[A rare form of heart metastasis: hypernephroma. Successful surgical treatment].

An unusual cardiac metastasis, occurring in a 63-year-old man 19 years after nephrectomy because of renal cell carcinoma, is reported. The tumor extended from the right ventricle apex to the mid-portion of the interventricular septum. A complete excision could be achieved. To our knowledge, this is the third case of a renal cell carcinoma metastasis to the right ventricle which could be detected during a patient's lifetime and treated surgically. A review of the literature is also reported.

Carcinoma, Renal Cell

[Dietary iodine deficiency. Its consequences in the aged].

Persisting dietary iodine deficiency in the Federal Republic of Germany is reflected in endemic goiter, in particular in the elderly. Among 581 over-60-year-olds, 48.8% revealed enlargement of the thyroid gland on sonography. Thyroid nodules were present in 101 cases, and a cystic lesion in another 43. Goiter is appreciably less responsive to levothyroxine in the elderly than in younger patients. The indication for initiating such medication should therefore be established on an individual basis. A specific problem of iodine deficiency goiter in the elderly is the increasing development with age of autonomously functioning nodules in the thyroid. Iodine contamination can induce thyrotoxicosis, which is often difficult to treat; in the individual case, thyroidectomy must be performed.

Age Factors

Treatment of iodine deficiency goiter with iodine, levothyroxine or a combination of both.

During recent years several studies have been published comparing different ways of pharmacological treatment of a goiter due to iodine deficiency. These studies usually were performed with 300 to 500 micrograms of iodine, 100 to 150 micrograms levothyroxine, or a combination of in most cases 100 micrograms levothyroxine and 100 micrograms iodine. The largest data have been accumulated in 166 patients with in most cases diffuse goiter. Group A (n = 61) received 150 micrograms levothyroxine per day, group B (n = 50) 400 micrograms iodine per day and group C (n = 55) a combination of 75 micrograms levothyroxine and 200 micrograms iodine per day. During the eight months of therapy, in all three groups a significant and comparable mean decrease in goiter size was documented (-32.1% in group A, -37.3% in group B and -38.7% in group C [n.s. between the three groups]). Striking differences between the three groups are evident in the changes of basal and thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) stimulated thyrotropin (TSH). In group A, after eight months a sharp and significant decrease of TSH occurred (from 1.2 mU/l to 0.4 mU/l; mean; p < 0.05), while in group B TSH showed only a minor decrease (from 1.3 mU/l to 0.9 mU/l) and remained significantly higher compared to both, group A and C (p < 0.01). Similar changes were documented when the TSH after TRH administration was calculated. It is concluded, that all three therapeutic approaches are effective for goiter reduction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult

Prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in elderly subjects from the general population in an iodine deficiency area.

The prevalence of thyroid disorders was investigated in 466 (403 female, 63 male) subjects over the age of 60 years (79.2 +/- 7.5 years; mean +/- SD) from the general population in an area of iodine deficiency. In addition to thyroid hormone assays, thyroid antibodies and urinary iodine excretion were determined. In cases with thyroid dysfunction, ultrasound investigations were performed. Twenty-two of the 466 subjects (4.7%) showed hyper- or hypothyroidism; 7 subjects were hyperthyroid (1.5%), 5 had primary hypothyroidism (1.1%), and 10 showed "subclinical" hypothyroidism (2.2%). The latter constellation is defined as an elevation of thyrotropin (TSH) with normal values for thyroxine and triiodothyronine. Most subjects with hyperthyroidism had a goiter by palpation (6/7); thyroid volume by ultrasound (median) was 26.2 mL with an inhomogeneous echo pattern in 6 of the 7 subjects. In 4 cases, a rise in urinary iodine excretion was documented; none had TSH-receptor antibodies. Most subjects with overt or subclinical hypothyroidism had a homogeneous or low-echogenic pattern by ultrasound; thyroid volume (median) was 12.9 mL and 12.7 mL, respectively. By palpation, 8 of the 15 subjects had no goiter. In general, these persons had no rise in urinary iodine excretion (11/13), but most showed an elevation of antibodies against the microsomal antigen and/or thyroglobulin (11/15).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged

Sodium lithium countertransport is acutely influenced by heparin-induced extracorporal LDL precipitation.

Sodium lithium countertransport may be a genetic marker for arterial hypertension and for the risk of diabetic nephropathy in type 1 diabetic patients. Since various factors seem to influence the transport velocity including serum lipid alterations, erythrocytes of seven patients with severe hyperlipoproteinaemia who were chronically and intermittently treated with LDL apheresis were examined before and immediately after therapy. The LDL apheresis reduced sodium lithium countertransport significantly (0.383 vs 0.269, P less than 0.02). Therefore, we conclude that serum lipid composition must be considered when interpreting sodium lithium countertransport velocity.

Adult

Thyroid volume and goitre prevalence in the elderly as determined by ultrasound and their relationships to laboratory indices.

In 569 unselected elderly subjects over 60 years from the general population of an iodine-deficient area, a palpation and an ultrasound investigation of the thyroid were performed. Additionally, thyroid hormone values were determined in 466 of the 569 subjects (81.9%) and urinary iodine excretion in 491 subjects (86.3%). By palpation, no thyroid enlargement was noticed in 302 subjects (54.2%), goitre Ia in 98 (17.6%), goitre Ib in 94 (16.9%), goitre II in 53 (9.5%), and goitre III in 10 (1.8%). The thyroid volumes (medians) by ultrasound were 18.6 ml in the entire group, in women (N = 489) 19.2 ml, and in men (N = 80) 16.6 ml. One hundred and one subjects had a thyroid nodule (17.6%), 43 persons cystic lesions (7.6%). If, according to the literature, a goitre is defined as a thyroid enlargement of more than 18 ml in women and more than 25 ml in males, a goitre prevalence of 54.2% in females and of 22.5% in males was obtained. The goitre prevalence in the entire group was calculated as 49.7%. Thyroid hormone measurements showed in subjects with goitre a significant lower TSH value (p less than 0.001) and a higher thyroglobulin value (p less than 0.001). In summary, the study shows a high prevalence of goitre in elderly subjects, a high prevalence of nodules in these thyroids, a negative correlation of goitre volume with TSH, and a positive correlation of goitre volume with the thyroglobulin concentration.

Aged

The fructosamine assay in diagnosis and control of diabetes mellitus scientific evidence for its clinical usefulness?

The fructosamine assay is about to be used for the control of diabetic patients and for the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. An analysis of the original literature is presented to answer the question whether the evaluation of the test is methodologically reliable. Altogether 65 studies are evaluated. Thirty of these studies deal with technical aspects of the test (phase 1). A comparison of the distributions of test results for diabetic and non-diabetic patients is presented in 28 studies (phase 2). However, serious shortcomings in methodology and presentation are apparent. "Significant" differences and correlation coefficients are the basis for optimistic conclusions. Only 7 studies are identified where fundamental test parameters such as sensitivity and specificity are given, or can be calculated (phase 3). None of them achieves a satisfactory standard of methodology (selection of patients unclear, assessment made not mutually blind). There is no reliable phase-3-study for the metabolic control of diabetes mellitus. It can be concluded that the fructosamine test is not evaluated sufficiently to allow its routine clinical use. In fact, contrary to a widely quoted opinion, the results presented so far do not suggest a reliable test.

Child

Evaluation of a new enzyme immunoassay system for free thyroxine (Enzymun-Test FT4).

Free thyroxine (FT4) represents the metabolically active fraction of the circulating thyroid hormone thyroxine (T4). In this paper the results of the evaluation of a newly developed FT4 assay are reported. This assay system is based on an enzyme-labelled one-step immunoassay. The within-run imprecision, checked using serum pools and several commercial reference materials, showed a coefficient of variation (CV) of between 0.8 and 9.8%, depending on the reference material used. The between-run imprecision showed a CV of between 1.0 and 13.2%. Accuracy experiments yielded values between 80 and 116%. When the new FT4 was compared with the calculation of an index for free thyroxine (FT4I; derived from either the ratio of T4/thyroxine binding coefficient of from T4/thyroxine binding globulin) in a number of samples in the hypo-, eu- and hyperthyroid range, a good correlation was obtained. The same was true when the new FT4 assay was compared with a widely used two-step radioimmunoassay (y = -0.146 + 0.943 x). In euthyroid subjects the measured FT4 concentration was 10.3-25.8 pmol/l. No effect was evident when the influence of EDTA and citrate was investigated, whereas addition of heparin led to an increase in FT4 concentration of about 12 to 15%. Investigation of the possible influence of a large number of drugs showed that probenezid, carbamazepine and furosemide led to an increase in the measured FT4 concentration. Dialysis increased the FT4 concentration, as measured in patients before and after haemodialysis. No effect of alteration in protein concentration and/or protein distribution of FT4 concentration could be detected. In pregnancy, FT4 values were within the normal range.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Evaluation Studies as Topic

Treatment of endemic goitre due to iodine deficiency with iodine, levothyroxine or both: results of a multicentre trial.

Preliminary clinical studies and recent in vitro investigations suggest that iodine administration may be an effective alternative in the treatment of the diffuse euthyroid goitre of iodine deficiency. Therefore a 12-month multicentre study was initiated in which 166 patients were randomly assigned to take either 150 micrograms levothyroxine day-1 (group A, n = 61), 400 micrograms iodine day-1 (group B, n = 50), or a combination of 75 micrograms levothyroxine and 200 micrograms iodine day-1 (group C, n = 55) for 8 months with follow-up examinations at 4 and 8 months as well as 4 months after cessation of treatment. Initially, thyroid volume, as determined by ultrasound, was not significantly different in the three groups. In all three groups, during treatment a significant and comparable mean decrease in goitre size was documented (-32.1% in group A, -37.3% in group B, -38.7% in group C). After cessation of treatment in group A mean thyroid volume again increased to near the baseline value (-12.0% compared to the initial investigation), while the therapeutic effect was sustained in group B (-32.5%). In group C, only a slight rebound effect was observed (-26.3% vs baseline volume). Total thyroxine (T4) increased sharply and significantly in group A from 7.8 +/- 1.9 to 10.9 +/- 2.8 micrograms dl-1 after 8 months (P less than 0.001), but only slightly, although significantly in group B (from 7.8 +/- 1.5 micrograms dl-1 to 8.9 +/- 1.6 micrograms dl-1; P less than 0.02).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent

[Description and evaluation of diagnostic measures in German-language clinical journals].

A literature study was performed in four German-language medical journals of 1985 and 1986 on the methodology of published diagnostic studies. A total of 93 papers was investigated. The results showed that fundamental requirements for the evaluation of diagnostic tests, such as blindness of judgement, were met only in 5% of the papers. In more than half of the publications the use of test parameters (sensitivity, specificity) was insufficient and the relationship between pretest and posttest probability was considered only in isolated cases. It is concluded that the methodologic criteria for the evaluation of diagnostic tests do not seem to be widely known and that a significant improvement is desirable.

Austria

[Principles for evaluating simple, diagnostic tests].

The fundamental terms in the evaluation of diagnostic tests are described and the differences to corresponding test parameters in clinical chemistry are emphasized. The derivation of a two-by two contingency table is explained in detail and basic characteristics of diagnostic tests, i.e. sensitivity and specificity as well as their independence of the prevalence (in the sense of a-priori-probability) is pointed out. The importance of the so-called predictive values is shown graphically, also the problem of selecting a cut-off-level (discrimination value) for the evaluation of quantitative data. The various attempts to find a single value for the description of a diagnostic test are discussed and it is stressed that there is no principal necessity to use other terms than those mentioned above. Nevertheless it is possible to give a prevalence-independent measure which has some additional advantages in rating and comparing simple diagnostic tests.

Diagnostic Tests, Routine

[Alcoholic ketoacidosis. An important differential diagnosis from diabetic ketoacidosis].

Ketoacidosis developed in two patients, a woman aged 36 and a man aged 55 years, 48 and 36 hours, respectively, after a bout of drinking alcohol to excess. Both were dehydrated with hyperventilation and signs of cachexia. Other findings were polydipsia, polyuria, loss of weight and (in the woman) abdominal pain. Biochemical tests revealed a marked metabolic acidosis (pH 7.00 and 7.09, respectively), base deficit of -25 and -20 mmol/l, hyperglycaemia (210 and 297 mg/dl) and hyperkalaemia (6.3 and 6.0 mmol/l). Treatment with insulin and fluids, as well as normalization of the electrolytes, brought about rapid regression of the metabolic disorder and restoration of the carbohydrate metabolism. Both patients were discharged without medication or dietary prescription, other than abstinence from alcohol.

Acidosis

[Cold agglutinin disease].

Cold agglutinin disease is a normo- or macrocytic anemia due to antibodies, active under body temperature, mostly belonging to the immunoglobulin class M. Initially the agglutination of erythrocytes with acrocyanosis is reversible at body temperature. High antibody activity or long lasting period of coldness lead to intravascular or intrahepatic hemolysis, but high risk anemia is rare. Beside the idiopathic form, infection induced (especially infectious mononucleosis, cytomegalovirus, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Klebsiella), and drug induced (especially quinidine, alpha methyldopa, penicillin, para-aminosalicylic acid, various analgetics, sulfonylurea), tumor associated (especially malignant lymphomas), and autoimmune disease associated (especially systemic lupus erythematosus) cold agglutinin anemias are discribed. "Cross reacting antigenity" to the hemolysing agent and the membrane of erythrocyte, exogenous induced changing of erythrocytic antigenity, and diversification concerning the production of antibodies are discussed as pathophysiological explanations.

Agglutinins