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Biomedical subjects

J Treib

Publications and source records attributed to J Treib.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Prevalence of antibodies to tick-borne encephalitis virus and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in samples from patients with abnormalities in the cerebrospinal fluid.

Within the last few years, an increase in cases of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) as well as an expansion of TBE-endemic regions have been noted in southern Germany. In 1994, a patient was diagnosed for the first time with TBE that had been acquired in Saarland. Up to this point, the Saarland had been considered TBE-free. In a retrospective study, we tested serum samples from 904 patients with abnormalities in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for TBE antibodies. The IgG ELISA used (Immunozym-FSME-IgG, Immuno GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany) yielded 47 positive and 134 borderline sera. The percentage of positive sera showed a significant increase during the time period studied (1989-1994): One IgG-positive serum sample was also IgM-positive. Of the CSF samples, 2 were IgG-positive and 7 were borderline for IgG. In three patients, a positive intrathecal antibody index (IAI) was found, indicating an incrathecal antibody production. An analysis of the vaccination history of the patients showed that only 19% of the patients with a positive TBE IgG titre and only 5.9% of the borderline patients had been vaccinated against TBE. We compared 98 patients that tested positive or borderline for TBE IgG with 98 sex-and-age-matched patients that tested negative. The parameters studied included the patient's complaints upon discharge, the average duration of stationary treatment and 16 different neurological symptoms. We did not observe any significant differences between the two groups. We also tested the sera of 704 of the 904 patients for antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi (Borrelia burgdorferi ELISA, Genzyme Virotech GmbH, Rüsselsheim, Germany). 155 (22.0%) of the sera were IgG-positive, 136 (19.3%) were borderline, 32 patients (4.6%) had a positive intrathecal antibody index (IAI). The fact that no patient with a clinically manifest case of TBE had acquired the disease in the Saarland indicates that the actual risk of acquiring an acute TBE in the Saarland is very low, despite the high percentage of samples that tested positive for IgG in the ELISA. The increase in the number of serum samples that tested positive for TBE IgG during the last years could be explained by an expansion of TBE regions into the Saarland, increasing vaccination of the population or more travel to endemic regions. The proportion of patients with IgG antibodies to Borrelia was 22%. Because only part of the patients suffered from an acute, clinically manifest borreliosis, and since the serum IgG titre had remained positive for many years after contact with the microorganisms, we suspected that a large percentage of the population would show signs of a clinically silent infection in their sera. 4.6% of the patients had a positive IAI quotient, a clear indication of neuroborreliosis.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1998

Hemodynamics of stroke patients under therapy with low molecular weight hydroxyethyl starch.

In stroke penumbra perfusion depends passively on hemodynamics. So far hemodynamic effects of low molecular weight hydroxyethylstarch (HES) has not been investigated. Ten stroke patients received hypervolemic HES therapy. Cardiac output and heart rate were monitored using the bioimpedance method, blood pressure by conventional measurement. The Scandinavian Stroke Scale assessed clinical outcome. Circadian cardiac output changes were measured in 20 controls. Patients' cardiac output increased after the loading dose (5.3 +/- 1.4 l min(-1) to 6.5 +/- 1.7 l min(-1), p < 0.01), fluctuating then between 5 and 7 l min(-1) without nocturnal decrease. Beside an initial increase, the heart rate showed, like blood pressure, no remarkable changes. The Scandinavian Stroke Scale score did not change significantly. The controls showed a circadian cardiac output fluctuation (2.00 am, 5.3 +/- 0.3 l min(-1); 8.30 am, 8.1 +/- 0.6 l min(-1). Our patients showed a hemodynamic and clinical stabilization under therapy with low molecular weight HES. The physiological nocturnal decrease of cardiac output and blood, which might cause clinical deterioration in stroke patients, was avoided.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Changes of cerebral perfusion after osmotherapy in acute cerebral edema assessed with perfusion weighted MRI.

Perfusion is thought to be impaired in brain edema due to reduced perfusion pressure. Brain edema therapy is assumed to improve perfusion. We assessed regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV) and mean transit time of blood (MTT) using perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 15 patients showing acute local brain edema due to infarction or intracerebral hematoma. Patients were treated by intravenous infusion of 125 ml 40% sorbitol over 10 min. rCBF, rCBV and MTT in the edematous region were measured before and 30 min after treatment. Before treatment rCBF (46.5 +/- 12.1 vs. 42.9 +/- 10.5 ml 100 g-1 min-1), MTT (4.7 +/- 1.9 vs. 4.0 +/- 1.7 s) and rCBV (5.4 +/- 1.7 vs. 4.7 +/- 1.1 ml 100 g-1) were significantly (p < 0.05) increased in the edematous region compared to the contralateral side. After treatment no significant differences could be found. We interpret the elevation of MTT and rCBV in the edema as signs of an autoregulative compensation of an impaired perfusion. rCBF is even over-compensated. After brain edema therapy perfusion seems normalised. This new MRI method appears as useful for measuring therapeutic effects on cerebral perfusion.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Transcranial doppler monitoring of intracranial pressure therapy with mannitol, sorbitol and glycerol in patients with acute stroke.

INTRODUCTION: The noninvasive management of the conservative therapy for intracranial pressure (ICP) with hyperosmolar substances is a central problem in the treatment of brain edema. Using transcranial Doppler (TCD), a continuous monitoring of ICP is now possible, because the TCD pulsatility index (PI) intraindividually closely correlates with the level of ICP. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We administered an ICP-lowering treatment 113 times in 10 patients with intracranial bleeding or ischemic stroke who also had signs of elevated ICP in the computer tomogram. The treatment was carried out over a period of 9 days, using 50 g each of intravenous sorbitol (n = 38) and mannitol (n = 32) or oral glycerol (n = 43). RESULTS: PI was significantly lowered between 20.0 and 23.9% (p < 0.01) by all substances in the affected and unaffected sides. The differences between the three substances and the differences between the affected and unaffected sides were not significant. The duration of the therapeutic effect of glycerol (190 +/- 41 min) was significantly longer (p < 0.01) than that of sorbitol (150 +/- 28 min) or mannitol (130 +/- 20 min). The duration of the therapeutic effect was also significantly shorter (p < 0.01) in patients with a high PI (> 1.5). All three substances led to a significant increase (p < 0.01) in minimal (= diastolic) flow velocity (Vmin). The increase was highest for glycerol (56.3 +/-72.6%). SUMMARY: The decrease in PI under therapy was caused by an increase in Vmin. This indicates that ICP therapy with hyperosmolar substances improves brain edema and does not suggest a therapy-induced vasoconstriction.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1998

Thunderclap headache caused by Erve virus?

Systematic studies of a possible human neuropathogenicity of the Erve virus have not yet been carried out. In a randomized, blind study 166 patients with viral encephalitis, 46 patients with cerebral hemorrhage, 72 patients with "thunderclap" headache, and 205 healthy blood donors were examined by indirect immunofluorescence for Erve virus antibodies. None of the patients with encephalitis, two patients with cerebral hemorrhage (4.3%), 10 patients with thunderclap headache (13.9%; p < 0.0001), and two blood donors (1.0%) exhibited antibodies against the Erve virus. These results suggest a human pathogenicity of the Erve virus for the first time.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Clinical and serologic follow-up in patients with neuroborreliosis.

The authors performed a clinical and serologic follow-up study after 4.2 +/- 1.2 years in 44 patients with clinical signs of neuroborreliosis and specific intrathecal antibody production. All patients had been treated with ceftriaxone 2 g/day for 10 days. Although neurologic deficits decreased significantly, more than half the patients had unspecific complaints resembling a chronic fatigue syndrome and showed persisting positive immunoglobulin M serum titers for Borrelia in the Western blot analysis.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1997

Increased haemorrhagic risk after repeated infusion of highly substituted medium molecular weight hydroxyethyl starch.

Infusion of the large volumes of high molecular weight hydroxyethyl starch (HES) has been know to lead to coagulation disorders. Medium molecular starch is considered a safe alternative, even after repeated administration. In 10 patients with cerebrovascular diseases, a 10-day hemodilution was carried out using 10% HES 200/0.62. Initially, a loading dose of 500 ml was administered once over 45-60 min, followed by 500 ml maintenance dose per day for 10 days. Its high intravascular molecular weight (120,000 D) showed that cleavage of the starch is slowed due to the higher degree of substitution. The continuous increase of HES-serum concentration to 27.7 mg/ml gave evidence of a cumulation of poorly degradable molecules. Although this caused a prolonged volume effect, plasma viscosity and erythrocyte aggregation were influenced in an unfavourable way. The negative effects were not evident in their influence on the coagulation system. Under therapy, a significant 42.8% increase (p < 0.01) in activated partial thromboplastin time occurred. Factor VIII:C, von Willebrand ristocetin co-factor and von Willebrand factor antigen dropped during the therapy below the hemostasiological limit of 30% (p < 0.01), and in some patients below 10%. A high degree of substitution, particularly after repeated infusion, leads to a cumulation of large molecules that are difficult to break down and which unfavourably affect rheological and hemostasiological parameters.

Blood Coagulation↗
PubMed1997

Clinical value of specific intrathecal production of antibodies.

The production of intrathecal antibodies is considered a highly specific marker for an infection of the central nervous system (CNS), e.g. borreliosis or tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). To investigate the validity of this assumption, we examined records of patients who had been hospitalized between 1989 and 1995, who were tested for borreliosis (n = 8003) and TBE (n = 904) and whose cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) had subsequently tested positive for intrathecal production of antibodies. The time period between the beginning of the symptoms and the time of the CSF examination ranged from one day to six weeks. Seventy-seven patients showed a production of intrathecal antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi. Three of these patients were false positives with no history and no clinical signs of neuroborreliosis. In two cases, this was due to a non-specific cross-reaction caused by a preceding infection with syphilis. The third false positive was possibly caused by an earlier administration of immunoglobulins. Three patients showed a production of intrathecal antibodies against TBE virus. Two of these patients were false positives. In one case, we suspect that the production of intrathecal antibodies was caused by a non-specific immune reaction during an acute neuroborreliosis. One year earlier, the patient had contact with TBE virus through a vaccination against TBE. The cause of the second false positive is unclear, the clinical findings, acute encephalitis and the serological analysis suggest a cross-reaction with a virus similar to TBE. A specific intrathecal production of antibodies is not a proof for an infection of the CNS. In unclear cases, one should carry out a Western blot analysis or, if one suspects a case of TBE, a neutralization test.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Coagulation disorders caused by hydroxyethyl starch.

Initially, hydroxyethyl starch (HES) was only characterized by its in vitro molecular weight (MW). This is not sufficient because HES is degraded in vivo. One relevant parameter that predicts the rate of enzymatic breakdown is the degree of substitution, a measure of the average number of hydroxyethyl groups per glucose unit. The higher this degree of substitution, the slower the break-down. In addition, because the glucose units can be substituted at carbon 2, 3 and 6, different substitution patterns are possible. They are classified by their C2/C6 hydroxyethylation ratio. A higher C2/C6 ratio results in less metabolism of the starch in vivo and results in a larger in vivo MW. This in turn affects therapy, because the larger the in vivo MW, the longer is the duration of the volume effect of HES. Of particular importance is the fact that HES with a high in vivo MW affects factor VIII/von Willebrand factor which can lead to an acquired von Willebrand syndrome. During a 10-day volume therapy with a medium-MW HES 200, a form that is difficult to metabolize, we observed an 80% drop in factor VIII/von Willebrand factor. Therapy with a medium-MW HES 200, a form that is easily degraded, and therapy with a low-MW HES 70 did not result in a relevant decline of factor VIII/von Willebrand factor. This explains why hemorrhagic complications have been observed repeatedly in the United States after therapy with HES infusions, some of them lethal. In the United States high-MW HES 480 which is difficult to degrade is most frequently used and results in a larger in vivo MW and subsequent decrease in factor VIII/von Willebrand factor levels. In Europe, medium-MW HES 200 that is easily degraded and low-MW HES 70 are preferred. In the future, HES should be characterized by the in vivo, not the in vitro MW.

Blood Coagulation Disorders↗
PubMed1996

Cardiac output in patients with acute stroke.

It is well known that blood pressure is elevated during acute stroke. Despite its importance for cerebral haemodynamics, cardiac output (CO) has been determined only in individual cases during acute stroke. We measured CO and blood pressure in patients with no history of heart disease who suffered from acute stroke (n = 30) and in a control group comparable with regard to age, gender and cardiac health (n = 30). CO, blood pressure and heart rate were significantly (P < 0.01) higher in the group of stroke patients than in the control group. There was a tendency for more time to have elapsed between the onset of symptoms and measurements, the higher the CO [b = 0.08 l/min per hour (-0.01; 0.17)]. Adjusted for age in a multiple regression model, the regression coefficient was significant (CO = 10.35 +0.094 x time -0.077 x age). The present study shows for the first time that patients with a healthy cardiovascular system who suffer from acute stroke have a higher CO than a group of comparable controls.

Acute Disease↗