Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M Becker.
The results of the ileus surgery in horses by a consistent performing of a known and standardised clinical and operative procedure are very good, provided that there are surgeons who have experience in abdominal surgery and that there is a co-operating team for the pre- and post-operative care.
Biliary lipid composition, standard liver function tests, serum lipids and faecal fat excretion were studied in 15 children with chronic intrahepatic cholestasis (severe intrahepatic cholestasis, n = 6; paucity of intralobular bile ducts, n = 4; benign recurrent cholestasis, n = 5) and compared to 15 children without gastrointestinal diseases. Severe and benign intrahepatic cholestasis were associated with normal or moderately elevated serum lipids. Biliary lipid concentrations were extremely reduced, bile acid concentrations were below the critical micellar concentration. This may account for the high incidence of gallstone formation in these patients. Remission periods in patients with benign recurrent cholestasis were not followed by complete normalisation of biliary lipid concentrations, indicating a primary defect in hepatic excretory function. Children with paucity of intralobular bile ducts showed markedly increased serum lipids, but only a two-fold reduction in biliary lipid concentrations. Cholic acid was the predominant bile acid in bile of all cholestatic children even during remission. Neither increased levels of monohydroxy bile acids nor unusual bile acids could be identified in notable amounts.
The effects of phenobarbital (5.4-7.5 mg/kg body weight) for 14 days were studied in four children with severe intrahepatic cholestasis (group I) and in four with a syndromatic type of paucity of intralobular bile ducts (group II). Phenobarbital administration resulted in a moderate improvement of pruritus in all patients. There was a significant decrease of bilirubin in serum (group I: from 4.8 to 2.7 mg/dl; group II: from 6.1 to 2.1 mg/dl); total bile acids (group I: from 416 to 337 mumol/l; group II: from 156 to 123 mumol/l) and cholesterol (group I: from 248 to 207 mg/dl; group II: from 351 to 292 mg/dl). Alkaline phosphatase activity increased from 929 to 1126 U/l in group I and from 1751 to 2360 U/l in group II. SGOT and SGPT activities remained unchanged in both groups. In group I total biliary lipid concentration and bile acid output increased from 0.09 to 0.17 g/dl and from 3.9 to 7.2 mumol/kg per 30 min, respectively. Molar percentages of cholesterol, phospholipids and bile acids in bile remained unchanged. In group II total lipid concentrations and bile acid output increased from 1.62 to 2.0 g/dl and from 27.8 to 39.1 mumol/kg per 30 min, respectively. The molar percentage of cholesterol decreased from 5.6 to 3.5 mol%. The present results indicate that short term administration of phenobarbital has only minimal effects on biliary lipid metabolism in children with chronic intrahepatic cholestasis.
A fully automatic analysis system based on television image analysis was developed to measure simultaneously three parameters in individual nuclei of microscopic autoradiographs prepared from mouse jejunal crypt cell squashes and ascites tumor cell smears: size, Feulgen fluorescence and reflection from silver grains. A dark light camera with an image intensified silicon tube (RCA-ISIT), an automatic scanning stage and an autofocus device were fitted to a Leitz-TAS microscope. The camera permitted localization of Feulgen stained nuclei and measurement of area and light intensity by means of incident of light fluorescence in the red. After automatic changes of the Opak-illuminator silver grains were determined by means of polarized incident light reflected from the grains in the blue. A 25 X oil objective (aperture 0.75) yielded sufficient resolution for measurements. The nadir between the proportions of labeled and unlabeled nuclei was calculated from the data of one specimen on a PDP-computer using a new algorithm based on the minimal variance of the logarithm of reflected light per nucleus. Labeling indices determined by visual grain counting and by automatic analysis of the autoradiographs were well correlated (r = 0.87 to 0.92). Visual grain counts/nucleus and reflected light/nucleus correlated well when individual nuclei were compared (r = 0.92 to 0.97) or means of labeled nuclei of various specimens prepared during a 5 year period (r = 0.90 to 0.93). Quenching of nuclear Feulgen fluorescence was minimal. The optimal labeling range is 30-100 grain counts/nucleus. The time interval between measurements of two specimens was 25 min for a squash of approximately 350 crypt cells within a 3 mm X 3 mm field, and 20 min for a meandering scan with 1,000 ascites tumor cells.
In two patients from southern Italy, the sonographic finding of great solitary focal liver lesions was contributed to brucella-abscesses (brucelloma) according to the clinical and serological data and to the results of ultrasonically guided fine needle aspiration biopsies. In both cases, laparotomy confirmed the diagnosis. We discuss the clinical findings and differential diagnosis of this uncommon inflammatory focal liver lesion.
Chemotherapeutic assays, using nitrosoureas, performed on tumor bearing rats have shown a regression of local tumor, accompanied with an amplification of pulmonary metastases, demonstrating that the treatment of metastasis differs from the treatment of a local tumor. Cells organizing a tumor are heterogeneous for their drug resistance, and for a series of properties including their ability to form metastasis. Metastatic cells have to leave the tumoral tissue, to traverse biological barriers, to resist to immune system, to implant and growth in the target tissue. An experimental model has been used to characterize metastatic cells. Metastatic potential has been defined as the ability to invade lungs. Highly metastatic cloned cell lines, such as subline 6, were strongly stimulated to proliferate by EGF, expressed fibronectin, actively degraded the extracellular matrix, rapidly attached to endothelial vascular cells, and resisted to natural killer lymphocytes. Inversely, weakly metastatic lines, such as subline 8, were preferentially stimulated by FGF and EDGF, poorly expressed fibronectin, did not degrade extracellular matrix, slowly attached to vascular cells, and were killed by NK lymphocytes. Studies on a large series of clones showed a diversity between them, and that no one property was determinant. Modulation of these characters by growth factors, hormones and immune state of the host is discussed, and leads to conclude that the expression of metastatic potential of a tumor depends on genetically defined characters and also on influences excerted by the host.
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10 adult, female Göttingen minipigs were anaesthetized with isoflurane under controlled ventilation. A mixture of O2: N2O = 1:3 was used to vaporize isoflurane in an inspiratory concentration of 1.75-2.0 Vol%. Electrocardiogram, blood pressure, cardiac output and central venous pressure were continuously monitored. To determine the maximum rate of rise of intraventricular pressure (dp/dt max) as an indirect measure of myocardial contractility we placed a micro-tip manometer in the left ventricle before and during (30 min value) the experiment. Acid-base balance was controlled by collecting arterial blood samples anaerobically. We found a negative chronotropic and marked inotropic effect of isoflurane on the heart-muscle. This probably is the main cause for the depression of arterial pressure, though peripheral vasodilatation has some effect. All cardiovascular changes were fully reversible within a few minutes of completing anaesthesia. After only 15 min all animals were fully conscious and data values had returned to control levels. Because of its deficient metabolism and toxicity isoflurane seems to be well qualified for use in experimental medicine in minipigs, especially when the animals require long or multiple exposure. But we recommend the use of isoflurane in combination with a basic anaesthesia, for example NLA or Ketamine to reduce cardiovascular depression.
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This is a case report of a four-year-old girl who presented with severe intermittent abdominal pain. She had an infra-levator imperforate anus repaired as a newborn. Operation demonstrated duplications of the right and left colons, separated by a normal transverse colon. The left colon duplication was closed at both ends, and it contained 500 cc of intestinal secretions. The sigmoid colon and its duplication volvulized. The terminal ileum was also duplicated; one ileum joining a normal ascending colon duplication, which was patent proximally, but closed distally.
Activation of adenylate cyclase (AC) by PGE2, histamine and gastrointestinal hormones was studied in parietal cell-free gastric biopsy specimens from the corpus of patients with proven high gastrin achlorhydria. PGE2, somatostatin, VIP, pentagastrin and secretin activated AC in a concentration-dependent manner both in normal and in atrophic mucosa. Histamine activated AC only in normal gastric mucosa, being entirely ineffective in mucosa devoid of parietal cells. The results indicate that histamine-sensitive AC disappears in patients with achlorhydria, probably due to their loss of parietal cells. Enzyme activity in response to somatostatin, VIP, pentagastrin, secretin and PGE2 remains unchanged in these patients indicating AC localization in nonparietal cells, e.g. chief or mucous cells.
The results of experimental work on rats with strontium (85SrCl2, 89SrCl2) and yttrium (90Y) in a citrate complex demonstrate high affinity to bone. Rhenium perrhenat (186Re) Re-colloid and Re-methylene-diphosphonate were rapidly eliminated without bone affinity.
In a randomized study on 150 patients (ASA 1) undergoing induction of anaesthesia, the effects of Fentanyl (0.1 mg), the combination of Fentanyl (0.1 mg) and Droperidol (5 mg) (Innovar, Thalamonal) and Atropine (0.01 mg/kg b.w.) alone on cardiocirculatory parameters were studied. Induction and intubation were carried out with Thiopentone and Succinylcholine. All patients were aged between 18 and 50 years. In addition to continuous ECG recording of standard leads I-III, blood pressure measurements (Riva-Rocci), capillary blood gases and serum potassium were estimated at regular intervals. Prior to intubation Atropine caused arrhythmias in 10% and during intubation in 40%, half of which occurred repeatedly. In comparison, the control group showed arrhythmias in only 28% at intubation time. The median value of the rate pressure products rose before intubation time to levels of almost 20,000 units whereas the control group reached the same high product only during intubation. Cardiac rhythm proved most stable using Fentanyl, the systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressure changes were significantly lower than in those groups without an additional analgesic. With Fentanyl and Atropine the increase of all haemodynamic parameters was less pronounced than in the control group given Atropine only. Comparison of the Fentanyl groups showed only a significantly lower arterial mean pressure when Atropine was given, the other parameters were similar. Using Innovar alone, 4 cases of severe and 1 of mild rhythm disturbances appeared, while with Innovar plus Atropine only 2 cases of mild and 1 of repeated extrasystoles occurred. In the Atropine-free groups, the addition of Innovar only caused a lesser increase in the heart rate, while the remaining parameters did not differ.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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The covalently bound products of [3H]benzo[alpha]pyrene (BP) were determined in the DNA isolated from the skin of mice 3 weeks after application of the carcinogen. In the relatively rapidly proliferating skin the persistence of BP-DNA adducts was observed, 50% of which were unmodified nucleosides. Small amounts of (7R) BPDE I-dG adduct (5% from the initial formation) were found after 3 weeks. The minor adducts observed at 18 h after treatment were excised.
Measurements of thymidine uptake and cell size with the Coulter ZBI Counter and C-1000 channelyzer were found to be comparable for mitogen-stimulated lymphocytes. These two technics show a discrete relation with correlated regions of high and low response. Electronic sizing was correlated linearly to microscopic sizing of lymphoblasts. The reproducibility of radiolabeled and electronic sizing measurements were similar and significantly better than that of manual microscopic sizing. The distribution of lymphocyte sizes after two or three days in culture with mitogen was found to be bimodal. This facilitated the direct detection of stimulation responses with the ZBI counter.