Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to K Hartmann.
Serum creatinine and protein are age dependent in the dog as well as in the cat. The differences require consideration of special reference values in young animals. In contrast, the mean value of serum bilirubin shows only a slight, but significant dependency on age in dogs, which is not of diagnostic importance.
Releasability of mast cells and basophils to an IgE-dependent stimulus is regulated by extra- and intracellular factors which are only partly understood. As gangliosides are known to modulate receptor-dependent processes in various cell types, we have evaluated the effect of these molecules on mast cell mediator release. Human skin mast cells and the human mast cell line HMC1 were pretreated with the gangliosides GM2, GM3 and GD1a as well as with asialo-GM3, heparin and buffer alone (controls). After washing, the cells were stimulated with anti-IgE, calcium ionophore A 23187, N-FMLP or substance P. All gangliosides but not asialo-GM3 and heparin augmented anti-IgE-induced mediator release in a dose-dependent fashion, whereas the release to A 23187, N-FMLP and substance P remained unaffected. Only sequential but not simultaneous addition of ganglioside and anti-IgE showed an enhancement in mediator release compared to controls. Mediator release in both ganglioside-pretreated cells and controls was calcium-dependent and could be inhibited by pretreatment of cells with staurosporine or dibutyryl cAMP, indicating an unchanged signal transduction. Gangliosides appear to specifically optimize IgE-receptor-ligand interaction and alterations in cellular gangliosides could thus induce enhanced releasability as observed in atopics.
Acute pancreatitis may be caused by a number of different drugs. However, reports on the frequency of drug-related acute pancreatitis and on the drugs involved are rare. We therefore investigated all cases of drug-related acute pancreatitis which had been reported to the Swiss Drug Monitoring Center (Schweizerische Arzneimittel-Nebenwirkungszentrale, SANZ) between 1981 and 1993. During this period the total number of reported adverse drug reactions was 7338, 20 of which (0.3%) were considered to be probable cases of drug-related pancreatitis. In 18 cases a single drug was incriminated, whereas in two cases two and four drugs respectively had to be investigated. Serious courses, deaths, or chronic pancreatitis were not reported. The most frequent single drugs incriminated were sulfonamide derivatives (5 cases), valproic acid (3 cases) and nonsteroidal anti-flammatory drugs (2 cases). The frequencies reported here are consistent with the literature. Considering the total number of drugs prescribed, acute pancreatitis is a rare adverse drug reaction.
Chemokines are considered important mediators of various inflammatory processes. In human basophils, different CC chemokines are known to stimulate release of histamine and generation of leukotriene (LT)C4. In the present study, we have evaluated the effect of RANTES (regulated upon activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted), monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1, MCP-2, MCP-3, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1 alpha and MIP-1 beta on mast cell activation. Whereas all these CC chemokines caused dose-dependent release of histamine from basophils in mixed human leukocyte suspensions, none of them was able to induce release of histamine as well as tryptase or prostaglandin (PG)D2 from human skin mast cells, nor did priming with these substances enhance IgE-mediated mediator release. In addition, all chemokines failed to promote changes in the cytosolic free calcium level in the human mast cell line HMC-1. These results add further evidence for the differences between human mast cells and basophils regarding cytokine-dependent activation.
In chronic urticaria, the possible pathogenetic role of pseudoallergic reactions to food has been repeatedly discussed, but stringent prospective studies regarding their clinical significance are not available. All patients with chronic urticaria and/or angioedema hospitalized at the department of dermatology during a period of 2 years were therefore included in a prospective study. Patients (n = 64) were screened for common causes of urticaria and then evaluated for possible benefits of a stringently controlled pseudoallergen-free diet. Double-blind, placebo-controlled oral provocation tests with food additives were performed on those patients benefitting from diet. In 73% of patients, symptoms ceased or were greatly reduced within 2 weeks on diet, although only 19% of them responded to individual pseudoallergens on provocation tests. Of the remaining patients, 11% responded to treatment of an associated inflammatory disease, and in 16%, no cause of the urticaria was ascertained. Follow-up at 6 months after hospitalization showed complete remission on diet in 46% and lasting improvement in all but one of the remaining patients on diet. An additive-free, stringently controlled diet thus provides a simple means of diagnosing and treating the majority of patients with chronic urticaria.
The importance of small pets as domestic animals and patients in veterinary practice increased in the last years. Differences in physiology and behaviour require exact knowledge of appropriate handling and sex determination, techniques of blood collection as well as drug application methods. Therefore, a survey of rabbit, guinea-pig, chinchilla, hamster, gerbil, mouse, and rat as patients in veterinary practice is given.
Body effusions from 197 cats and blood serum samples from 252 cats, where Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) was part of the differential diagnosis, were analysed. The diagnoses were confirmed by clinical follow up or histopathology. The final diagnosis FIP was always confirmed by histopathology. The median age of cats with FIP was 1.6 years. FIP was responsible for 41% of the body effusions, whereas malignomas caused 24%, cardial insufficiencies 14% and purulent serositis 12% of the body effusions. The rivalta test was highly sensitive for FIP. Predictive value of a negative result was 100%, predictive value of a positive result was 84%. In half of the cases with purulent serositis and in 20% of malignomas rivalta reacted positive. The cardial insufficiencies were negative for rivalta. Coronavirus antigen could be demonstrated by immunofluorescence in 34 of 49 body effusions caused by FIP, whereas in the 50 body effusions caused by other diseases no coronavirus antigen was detected. An albumin globulin ratio of < 0.6 was highly diagnostic for an inflammatory process, nearly exclusively for FIP. An albumin globulin ratio of > or = 0.8 almost excluded FIP. Only a negative or very high (1:1600) FIP titer could contribute to confirm diagnosis. Low and medium titers, however, should not be interpreted.
In this study 52 canine fecal samples were examined for the presence of canine parvovirus (CPV). The two different test systems used to confirm infection were electron microscopy as standard method and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In comparison, the results conferred in 92.3%. The CPV ELISA had a sensitivity of 89.7% and a specificity of 100%. Therefore, it can be used as a quick, reliable method for diagnosis of canine parvovirus infection in veterinary practice.
A significant dependency on the age of dogs can be observed in the following serum enzymes: AST, GLDH (low degree), SAP, GGT, and CK. In cats a dependancy on age can be seen in ALT, AST, SAP, LDH, alpha-HBDH, alpha-Amylase, Lipase, and CK. The differences between old and young animals are small in AST, GLDH, GGT, and LDH. Therefore, the differences are not important for routine diagnosis. Comparing ALT activities, lower values were found in kittens. Similar results were found in CK activities. On the other hand higher values of SAP can be seen in young than in adult individuals. In geriatric animals, diagnostically important changes of the enzyme activities examined in this study could not be found.
Small pets as domestic animals and patients in veterinary practice have gained in importance during the last years. Their different habits and needs require exact knowledge of their descent and physiology, as well as husbandry and feeding requirements. Therefore, a survey of rabbit, guinea-pig, chinchilla, hamster, gerbil, mouse and rat as pets is given.
The FIV PetCheck ELISA is a practical and commercially available method routinely used for the detection of anti-FIV antibodies in FIV infection. However, false positive and false negative results occur, although the reliability of the negative results is higher than that of the positive results. To determine the predictive value of a positive result in Bavaria, 1911 randomly selected cat sera were collected. Using the PetCheck anti-FIV ELISA, 103 (5.4%) of the 1911 samples tested were positive. These positive samples were reexamined by two other ELISA and by Western Blot. Sixty-one (59.2%) were positive with the second ELISA, 53 (51.5%) with the third ELISA and 40 (40.7%) by Western Blot. Therefore, 59.2% of all positive samples could be considered false positive. The ELISA as a single method to diagnose FIV infection is not reliable in Germany due to the low prevalence of FIV infection. Therefore, a Western Blot confirmation of every positive ELISA is of absolute necessity.
This paper reports on a case of hepatozoonosis of a dog imported from Italy to Germany. A survey of the biology and ecology of the causative agent as well as the pathogenesis, clinics, diagnosis, therapy and prophylaxis of Hepatozoon canis infection is presented.
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Drug-induced liver disease can mimic any form of acute or chronic liver disease. Suspected drug-induced liver disease makes up between 4 and 7% of all reports of adverse drug effects voluntarily reported to central registries. We report on all patients with drug-induced hepatotoxic reactions voluntarily reported to the Swiss Adverse Drug Reaction Center from 1989 to 1991. In that period there was a total of 2084 reports of which 140 (6.7%) concerned the liver. In 16 cases two drugs were simultaneously involved, so that 156 investigations were carried out. We found a causal relationship in 123 cases. Antibiotic and chemotherapeutic agents were the drugs most frequently involved. There were seven fatal cases (5%). Our data correspond with the data in the literature. Regarding the amount of drugs prescribed, the hepatic adverse effect can be regarded as common.
Two weeks after vaccination against tick-born encephalitis (TBE) a 69-year-old patient developed subacute myelo-polyradiculitis. The neurological symptoms subsided after a few weeks. Alerted by this observation, we scanned the database of the Swiss Drug Monitoring Center (SANZ) for similar case reports. Of twenty spontaneous reports 11 concerned neurological side effects closely related to TBE vaccination. We conclude that TBE vaccination is associated with substantial neurological side effects and should, therefore, remain restricted to individuals at high risk for TBE.
The present study was undertaken to further explore the comparative dynamics of growth hormone-binding protein (GH-BP) in relation to the turnover of the GH-receptor (GH-R) in vivo in rabbits and rats. The strategy used was to examine the time course of hepatic GH-R turnover over a 3 h period after cycloheximide treatment, with simultaneous measurements of serum GH-BP level. In the rabbit we sampled multiple liver biopsies and serum samples consecutively from each animal. In the rat, experiments on individual animals were conducted for each time point. In the rat, both liver GH-R and serum GH-BP declined after cycloheximide injection following first-order kinetics. The t 1/2 values for GH-R and GH-BP were 29.7-44.5 and 82.7-119.5 min (95% confidence limits), respectively. A significant positive correlation was found between rat liver GH-R and serum GH-BP (r = 0.85; p < 0.001). In contrast, the decline in rabbit liver GH-R, following cycloheximide treatment was accompanied by simultaneous time-dependent accumulation of serum GH-BP. The t 1/2 for rabbit serum GH-BP accumulation was 30.4-67.6 min. Scatchard analysis of [125I]hGH binding to rabbit GH-BP indicated that the binding capacity increased from 2818 +/- 538 fmol/ml, at time zero, to 5236 +/- 419 fmol/ml following 60 min cycloheximide treatment (p < 0.05). No significant changes in affinity were observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Diseases caused by FeLV are very variable. They can be classified in FeLV associated, proliferative and neoplastic signs. Moreover there are other nonspecific diseases and clinically inapparent infections. FeLV as well as FIV may cause immunodeficiency syndromes; this is the main problem in FIV infections. In contrast to humans FIV does not induce specific secondary diseases. Positive diagnostic results obtained by use of commercial test kits must be verified by other methods. Methods of treatment and their problems are discussed.