Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

K E Bergmann

Publications and source records attributed to K E Bergmann.

67 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

[Incidence of iron deficiency in a sample-population of Frankfurt children (author's transl)].

Using customary hematological and biochemical criteria, peripheral iron deficiency was observed, depending on age, in 12-51% and anemia in up to 6%, in a sample of 337 children (age: 4 4 months to 10 years). The majority of children were well nourished. Since iron deficiency occurs even in these children, it appears to be important to study this situation in underpriviledged German children as well. Even after peripheral iron deficiency was excluded, hemoglobin concentration varied significantly with age. This has to be considered in order to avoid unnecessary iron medication, that, according to recent findings, could cause adverse effects. The data presented here, do not as yet justify a general iron fortification program for all infants in Germany. Iron research should be directed toward the relationship of iron nutrition and iron-related blood chemistry of children on the one hand, and general criteria of functional capacity, morbidity, and longivity on the other. It will only be possible to give rational definitions of what are normal iron and hemoglobin concentrations in childhood, when we know more about these relationships.

Age Factors↗

Acrodermatitis enteropathica. II. Zinc deficiency and ultrastructural findings.

The basic defect in acrodermatitis enteropathica (A.E.) is zinc deficiency caused by zinc malabsorption. The clinical symptoms disappear and serum zinc levels normalize after oral treatment with zinc. A report is given on two siblings suffering from A.E., both treated with oxyquinolines for a long period with changing clinical success. A permanent clinical remission could be achieved by treatment with zinc-sulphate at doses of 110-220 mg daily. The serum zinc levels normalized. The correlation between the zinc concentration of the hair and the kind of therapy was not very close. As we have shown in our first communication, the Paneth cells of the intestinal mucosa display ultrastructural changes in form of an unhomogeneous structure of the cytoplasm, formation of giant granules, and inclusion bodies. The zinc-therapy led to a complete normalization of the pathological changes in the Paneth cells. Thus, the changes in the Paneth cells in A.E. are the result and not the cause of zinc deficiency.

Acrodermatitis↗

Skim milk in infant feeding.

Skim milk in infant feeding. Acta Paediatr Scand, 66:17, 1977. --Ninety-four infants were enrolled at 112 days of age in a study of food intake and growth and 88 were considered to have completed satisfactorily the planned 56 days of observation. The infants lived at home. Feedings consisted of a commercially available formula (Similac, 67 kcl/100 ml) or a slightly modified skim milk (Formula 305, 36 kcal/100 ml) and commercially prepared strained foods. Energy intake and gain in weight were significantly greater by infants fed Similac than by those fed Formula 305. Gain in length was nearly identical in the two feeding groups. During the 56 days of observation, triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses changed little in infants fed Similac but decreased approximately 25% in infants fed Formula 305. It is suggested that body fat stores of infants fed Formula 305 were mobilized to permit growth of fat-free tissue.

Adipose Tissue↗

[Alternative ways of fluoride supplementation in childhood (author's transl)].

Fluorine is a nutritionally essential trace element. Fluoride concentration in drinking water of West Germany is very low, with rare exceptions. Fluoride intake with food therefore is inadequate. Consequently, for maintenance of normal dental health, fluoride has to be supplemented by some way. A number of methods of fluoride supplementation are being discussed in this paper and compared to drinking waster fluoridation.

Administration, Oral↗

[Medium chain triglycerides in the feeding of praemature infants. Fat balance studies (author's transl)].

18 72-H Fat balance studies were performed in 9 premature infants with birthweights between 1650 and 2400 gm. At the age of two and three weeks, they received alternatively, one of two formulas identical in composition except for the type of fat: 30% of the vegetable fat in the first formula had been substituted by medium chain triglycerides (MCT) in the second formula. On the MCT-containing formula, the fat absorption significantly improved in the same infants as compared to their fat absorption capacity on the vegetable fat formula. The absorption of individual fatty acids, calculated by gaschromatographic analysis of pooled stool samples, also improved for most of the fatty acids with the MCT-formula. There were no adverse changes in blood glucose concentrations or in acidbase status of the infants when being fed the MCT-containing formula.

Acid-Base Equilibrium↗

Acrodermatitis enteropathica: recent findings concerning clinical features, pathogenesis, diagnosis and therapy.

Acrodermatitis enteropathica (AE) was diagnosed in 2 siblings, boy and girl, at the age of 10 and 6 weeks. The family history is unremarkable except for consanguinity 5 generations previously. The clinical symptoms of the 2 patients conformed to the known features of AE, the gastrointestinal involvement loosing its significance with increasing age. In one patient in a stage of exacerbation the serum level of oleic acid (18:1) was lowered and of linoleic (18:2) acid slightly increased while that of arachidonic acid was decreased (Fig. 4). In both patients the serum zinc levels were significantly lowered. Under substitution with ZnSO4 the clinical condition improved and the serum zinc levels returned to normal. Histologically the small bowel mucosa was practically normal. Ultrastructural examination of jejunal biopsies revealed rather unspecific changes in the enterocytes in the form of numerous multivesicular bodies. The Paneth cells sometimes contained irregularly formed inhomogeneous structures within their cytoplasm. In addition the secretory granules varied in size and displayed a granular heteromorphic matrix. Frequently they were confluent and formed giant granules.

Acrodermatitis↗

Hexestrol diazirine photoaffinity labeling reagent for the estrogen receptor.

3-Azibutyl (2R*,3S*)-2,3-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)pentyl sulfide (1), a photoaffinity labeling reagent for the estrogen receptor (ER), has been prepared in unlabeled and in high specific activity tritium-labeled form (32 Ci/mmol) and has been shown to undergo selective and efficient photocovalent attachment to rat uterine ER. Diazirine 1 demonstrates high binding affinity for ER, as determined by both a competitive binding assay and a direct binding assay (relative binding: estradiol = 100; (1) = 17. Kd: estradiol = 0.19 nM; (1) = 0.98 nM, respectively). It is efficient in site-specific photoinactivation of ER, reaching the level of 31% after 5 min of irradiation at > 315 nm. The tritium-labeled diazirine [3H]-1 undergoes specific photocovalent attachment to ER with an attachment efficiency of 29% and a selectivity of 90%. Both of these values are quite high for a photoaffinity reagent. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic analysis of the photolabeled proteins shows specific labeling of a major species at M(r) 65,000, the same species that is labeled by [3H]tamoxifen aziridine, a well-characterized affinity label for ER. Hexestrol diazirine 1 is the first carbene-generating photoaffinity label that covalently labels ER with high efficiency and selectivity, and it should be useful in further studies on the hormone-binding domain of ER.

Affinity Labels↗

[Competent parenting: expectations of young parents of counseling on pregnancy and labor].

BACKGROUND: Are expecting parents prepared to change their lifestyle to benefit their unborn child? Do they see a need for more knowledge and competence to be good parents? What are the key expectations with respect to pregnancy, delivery conditions, and infant health care? To answer these questions, a study presented them to expecting and young parents in Germany. METHODS: 123 delivery units were selected to represent the 1120 delivery facilities of Germany identified in 1997 from all accessible sources. 109 participated, and of 7862 distributed questionnaires 5900 (75%) were filled-in completely by parents. RESULTS: Most parents (73%) expect information about pregnancy, birth and child health care in any instance. 25% would request information but only in problem situations. Preferred topics were prevention of diseases of the mother and her child (97%), intra-uterine development, preparation for delivery as well as breastfeeding, and nutrition of the infant (90% each). Although books had been the most frequent source of information, pediatricians, midwives, and gynecologists received the highest scores for satisfaction with their advice. The majority of expecting and new parents wished to get personal advice. For the choice of the delivery place, 59% had consulted friends and relatives, 43% their gynecologist. The most important criteria for their decision were high medical standards (95%), the hospital's attitude towards breast feeding and rooming-in (94% each), as well as the availability of neonatal care (89%). Also of prime interest were mother-child-contact immediately after delivery (99%), and well-rested personnel (96%). CONCLUSIONS: Across social classes, most expecting and new parents see a need of a broad spectrum of topics in health information and education related to pregnancy, delivery and the expected infant. As far as delivery is concerned, most expect a perfect combination of modern medical care and safety on the one hand, and the undisturbed humane experience of the birth on the other.

Adult↗

[Obstetrical care in Berlin: possibilities for delivery from the gynaecologists' point of view].

BACKGROUND: Berlin offers a variety of delivery facilities: maternity clinics, birth centres, obstetrical practices and ambulant working midwives for the various options and kinds of delivery. To select an individual service is a difficult task for most women. In this process of decision-making the gynaecologist plays an important part. This raised the question as to how established gynaecologists appraise the available services, which delivery sites they recommend, and what criteria are decisive for their recommendation. METHODS: A postal survey of all the 523 gynaecologists of Berlin was conducted anonymously, 273 (52.2 %) of whom completed the questionnaire. RESULTS: The results of the study demonstrated that the most important aspects for the recommendation of a delivery place are the technological equipment and qualification of the staff. However, characteristics of good care and support and an atmosphere of kindness and mutual trust are equally important. According to these goals, criticism has been expressed especially in the area of care and kindness, larger obstetrical divisions having more defaults in this regard. CONCLUSIONS: Future developments in delivery units of hospitals should take into consideration that both safety and optimal care are expected.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

[Strategies of prevention].

Prematurity is one of the most stubborn health problems in our society, no other problem impairs afflicted children more seriously and long lasting. In spite of remarkable progress in the treatment of premature infants, the outcomes are still not satisfying and the prematurity rate is still increasing. Prevention of prematurity therefore seems a public health goal with a high priority in obstetrics. Health promotion should be an important issue of counseling in the gynecological practice, recommending favorable living habits in and before pregnancy. Risk factors have to be identified and adverse influences removed for the primary prevention of premature delivery. Secondary prevention requires screening with predictors for the treatment or avoidance of an imminent premature delivery, while the goal of tertiary prevention is the avoidance of health consequences for mother and newborn from a premature delivery and the prevention of recurrence. Not all risk factors for prematurity are known, so far. The identification and removal of unfavorable factors in the society and the individual are important tasks for the future. Better predictors for screening have to be identified and evaluated for the prevention of a premature delivery in order to make tertiary prevention a rare necessity. The prevention of prematurity remains a persistent challenge to obstetrics.

Child↗

[Comments on theory development in "public health". Berlin Public Health Research Committee--partial projects "Goals and goal indicators for public health in East and West Berlin"].

Due to extensive government funding, public health research in Germany presently goes through times of revival and relative prosperity. The multiprofessionality of its background, its nearly disrupted scientific tradition in Germany, and the idiosyncrasies in their understanding of "health" among different professions impede the development of a common scientific identity. This paper underscores the importance of semantic precision and the avoidance of pretentious, overstrained theories in favour of pragmatic scientific approaches. Complementary to its action-oriented rationale, the German public health community should more than ever devote itself to health objectives and outcomes.

Berlin↗