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Biomedical subjects

K Fassbender

Publications and source records attributed to K Fassbender.

63 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

[Interleukin-6 (IL-6), soluble interleukin-2-receptor (sIL-2R) and microheterogeneity of alpha-! acid glycoprotein (AGP): new markers of the acute-phase reaction?].

Cytokines and the different glycosylation profiles of some acute phase proteins appear to be of great value in investigating the activity of inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Using an ELISA to measure the serum concentration of sIL-2R and IL-6 and an affinity electrophoresis with Concanavalin A as a lectin to determine the microheterogenity of the alpha-1-acid-glycoprotein (AGP), we tested the sera of 63 patients with various rheumatic and infectious diseases and 17 healthy persons and compared the results with the usual markers of inflammation, e.g. erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP), and with the clinical activity of the disease. ESR, CRP and sIL-2R were significantly elevated (p less than 0.001) in seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in acute bacterial infection. ESR and CRP showed a better correlation with the clinical activity of RA than sIL-2R. Marked elevation of IL-6 was found only in 30% of RA patients in the early stage of the acute phase reaction (APR). The AGP reactivity coefficient (AGP-RC) was significantly decreased in RA (p less than 0.01) but increased in bacterial infections (p less than 0.001). Our results show that there is no advantage in measuring sIL-2R in the routine diagnosis of rheumatic diseases. Raised IL-6 levels seem to indicate an early stage of APR. If ESR and CRP are elevated, the AGP-RC helps to differentiate between infection and chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases.

Acute-Phase Reaction↗
PubMed1992

Nocturnal plasma levels of cytokines in healthy men.

Nocturnal cytokine levels were measured serially in 12 healthy male volunteers for 12 h, including 8 h of polygraphically monitored nocturnal sleep. Plasma concentrations of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were determined in 30-min intervals by enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assays. In some subjects cytokines were not detectable at all. In the remaining volunteers (27% for IL-1 beta, 58% for IL-6 and TNF-alpha, respectively) occasional values near to the detection limits (DL) of the assays could be measured. With respect to IL-1 beta and IL-6, plasma levels above the DL were significantly more frequent during sleep than during the preceding time of wakefulness. No temporal association with NREM or REM episodes could be shown. TNF-alpha values above the DL were randomly distributed across the 12-h period investigated. It is concluded that in a considerable percentage of healthy subjects small amounts of cytokines are released at night. Release of IL-1 beta and IL-6 is temporally associated with sleep, whereas the release of TNF-alpha is not. It remains to be established whether nocturnal cytokine release reflects either an interaction between sleep and host defense mechanisms or a sleep-independent circadian rhythmicity.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Soluble interleukin-2 receptors in children with juvenile chronic arthritis.

Concentrations of interleukin-2 receptors were studied in sera of 81 patients with pauciarticular-, polyarticular-, and systemic-onset juvenile chronic arthritis using a double antibody "sandwich" enzyme-linked immunosorbent technique. Serum concentrations were significantly increased in all subgroups when compared with the healthy controls. Higher concentrations were found in systemic onset disease than in pauci- or polyarticular onset disease. Serum levels were found to be increased in both inactive and active disease, showing maximal values in patients with systemic features. A correlation to C-reactive protein, alpha 1-acid glycoprotein, and erythrocyte sedimentation was observed. Increased sIL-2R values suggest disease activity despite the absence of clinical symptoms.

Acute-Phase Proteins↗
PubMed1991

Glycosylation of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein in relation to duration of disease in acute and chronic infection and inflammation.

Microheterogeneity of acute phase proteins frequently differs in acute and chronic types of inflammation. However, it is unknown whether these changes depend on the duration of the inflammation in a given disease. We therefore investigated the microheterogeneity of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) in sera from patients with acute and chronic bacterial infection in comparison to rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. In acute bacterial infection Con A-reactivity of AGP was significantly elevated. By contrast, AGP in chronic bacterial infection showed the same glycosylation pattern as rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis being characterized by a decreased reactivity to Con A. Serial measurements in individual patients with bacterial infections showed a transition from the initially elevated to decreased reactivity to Con A as the disease became chronic.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1991

[Alpha-1-acid glycoprotein in differential diagnosis of rheumatic diseases].

In recent years, the investigation of acute-phase proteins with the aid of affinity electrophoresis employing lectins as carrier substance, has become ever more important, in particular in the diagnosis of inflammatory rheumatic diseases. In order to investigate the usefulness of a determination of alpha-1 glycoprotein microheterogeneity in the sera as a diagnostic parameter, we evaluated, on a prospective basis, the sera of 85 consecutive patients presenting at our department with various inflammatory rheumatic diseases (chronic rheumatoid arthritis [RA] [n = 22], seronegative spondarthropathies [SpA] [n = 15], polymyalgia rheumatica [PMR] [n = 10], polymyositis dermatomyositis [PM/DM] [n = 8], osteoarthritis [n = 18], and infectious diseases [n = 12]). The results were expressed as reactivity coefficient of the alpha-1 acid glycoproteins (AGP/RC). A significant increase in the AGP/RC was observed in patients with various infections, and in those with RA or SpA with intercurrent infection, as compared with patients with RA or SpA with no intercurrent infection, or in healthy controls. It also proved possible to differentiate between PM/DM and PMR. Determination of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and quantification of the C-reactive protein and of alpha-1 glycoprotein, permitted no discrimination between an increase in inflammatory activity related to the basic disease, and an intercurrent bacterial infection. The results show that the determination of qualitative changes in the acute phase proteins, in particular alpha-1 acid glycoproteins, may make it possible to differentiate between inflammatory and infectious diseases. This examination technique may be of future clinical importance.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Quantification of hen egg white lysozyme in cartilage by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

We have developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with an inhibition step to quantify hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) on a weight basis. The assay is relatively insensitive to changes in ionic strength or pH. Quantification is not affected by the presence or large amounts of mammalian lysozymes or inhibitors of enzymatic activity such as soluble chitin oligomers. We used this ELISA to show that the HEWL content of chick cartilages increases progressively between days 14 and 18 of embryonic life. The maturation-related increase does not appear to be the result of increased synthesis by the chondrocytes for the latter did not synthesize detectable amounts of lysozyme in vitro. Evidence was obtained to suggest that most, if not all, the lysozyme in cartilage is derived from the surrounding fluids which come in contact with the matrix.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pain perception in depression: relationships to symptomatology and naloxone-sensitive mechanisms.

A decrease in pain sensitivity during acute depression has been observed in several studies, apparently related to the severity of symptomatology. However, the question remains whether this relationship can be found only in heterogeneous groups of depressive patients or also in a single diagnostic group, such as major depression. In the present study, pain thresholds were assessed in 20 patients with major depression (DSM-III-R) and in 20 healthy controls. Two threshold methods with a differing impact of reaction time on the results were used. Contact heat was applied as a natural source of pain. With both methods the pain thresholds were significantly increased in the depressive patients. No relationship was found to the various symptoms of depression assessed by psychopathometric scales. In contrast to the pain thresholds, the thresholds of skin sensitivity for nonnoxious stimuli (warmth, cold, vibration) were only slightly increased. In subsamples (N = 10 in each group), naloxone (5 mg i.v.) and placebo were administered in a double-blind design. No systematic changes in pain thresholds occurred under either treatment. Our findings suggest that the decrease in skin sensitivity in major depression is specific to pain and not due to an increased reaction time. Moreover, the decrease appears to be related neither to a naloxone-sensitive mechanism nor to symptomatology.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Vascular cell adhesion molecule--a new approach to detect endothelial cell activation in MS and encephalitis in vivo.

INTRODUCTION: Leukocyte migration into inflammatory lesions is controlled by adhesion molecules on activated vascular endothelium. Pivotal among these are E-selectin and the vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), which are found on very few cell types other than activated endothelium. METHODS: We determined the presence of the soluble form of these adhesion molecules (sE-selectin and sVCAM-1) in serum and CSF of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), viral encephalitis, and controls, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. RESULTS: MS patients with active, Gadolinium-DTPA-enhancing lesions on magnetic resonance imaging had significantly higher sVCAM-1 serum levels than normal controls. Patients with viral encephalitis had significantly higher levels of sVCAM-1 in serum and cerebrospinal fluid than controls. sE-selectin levels showed no significant variations. CONCLUSION: Activated vascular endothelium controlling leukocyte migration may be demonstrated in MS patients in vivo by determining sVCAM-1 in serum. Furthermore, sVCAM-1 may be useful for monitoring inflammatory activity in central nervous system inflammatory disease.

Adult↗