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Biomedical subjects

M Egger

Publications and source records attributed to M Egger.

177 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

The influence of the antiviral drugs amantadine and rimantadine on erythrocyte and platelet membranes and its comparison with that of tetracaine.

The influence of the antivirus drugs amantadine and rimantadine and of the anionic analogue 1-adamantane-carboxylic acid on a range of properties of human erythrocyte membrane and of thrombocytes has been compared with the effect of the local anaesthetic tetracaine. At low antiviral drug concentrations the abilities of the drugs to induce erythrocyte shape change and suppress osmotic haemolysis were quantitatively proportional to their clinical potency (rimantadine more effective than amantadine at the same concentration). Rimantadine was also more effective than amantadine in suppressing influenza virus-erythrocyte fusion and viral induced haemolysis. The antiviral drug effects were qualitatively similar to those induced by tetracaine. At the quantitative level, tetracaine was more efficient than the antiviral drugs in inhibiting osmotic haemolysis, virus membrane fusion and platelet aggregation. In the absence of any specificity of the antiviral drug effects we argue for a lysosomotropic mode of drug action, i.e. that the drugs modify virus-membrane interactions by changing the endosomal or lysosomal pH.

Adamantane↗
PubMed1987

Twenty four hour intermittent, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.

Blood pressure and heart rate were measured every 30 minutes during the day and every hour during the night in 43 children (20 girls and 23 boys, aged 10 to 16) with a portable automated monitor. The apparatus was better accepted in girls than in boys, and the failure rate was lower during the day. The overall failure rate was 22%, which corresponds with comparable studies in adults. During the night blood pressure and heart rate fell by 10% and 14% of the daytime values, respectively. Mean (SD) blood pressure was significantly higher in boys than in girls (126/72 (17/8) v 109/64 (9/5) mm Hg) and measurements correlated positively with age, body weight, and height of the subjects. Heart rate was not significantly influenced by gender or age. A positive correlation between heart rate and blood pressure was found when expressed as standard normal deviations or hourly variations. In children intermittent monitoring of ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate is a suitable method for measuring individual diurnal patterns.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Electrorotation--a new method for investigating membrane events during thrombocyte activation. Influence of drugs and osmotic pressure.

The measurement of the spin of cells in rotating high-frequency electric fields ('electrorotation') make possible the investigation of dielectric membrane properties of single cells. This method was applied to membrane permeability changes accompanying thrombocyte activation and compared with light-scattering data. Describing the dielectric behavior of platelets by a single-shell model and assuming a sufficiently low membrane conductivity of 1 X 10(-7) S/m we found for nonactivated platelets a membrane capacity of 5.5 mF/m2 and the conductivity of the internal medium was estimated to be 0.12 S/m. Upon activation, the electrorotation decreased continuously, with half-times in the range of few minutes. This could be explained assuming a 500-fold increase in membrane conductivity. The application of both local anesthetics and virostatics inhibited the decrease of electrorotation, as did hypertonic osmotic pressure. In all cases this was accompanied by inhibition of platelet aggregation. Hypotonic solutions induced self-aggregation and spontaneous loss of electrorotation. It was concluded that the increase in permeability of the granule membrane is a crucial step in the release reaction and that the electrorotation method is able to detect the incorporation of the granule membranes into the plasma membrane during activation. The advantage of this electrorotation method is that it enables measurements on a single-cell level, thus avoiding interactions between platelets.

Adamantane↗
PubMed1977

Complications of diuresis in the alcoholic patient with ascites: a controlled trial.

Forty-three patients with decompensated alcoholic liver disease and ascites of recent onset were randomized to salt and water restriction alone (control group) or to salt and water restriction plus diuretics (diuresis group). The two treatment groups were comparable in clinical findings and laboratory results. Seven patients in the control group and 5 patients in the diuresis group died during the acute illness. Weight loss was more marked and the disappearance of ascites more common in those given diuretics. A modest decrease in serum sodium and increase in serum potassium, and readily reversible elevations of blood urea nitrogen were noted in the diuresis group. Eight patients in each treatment group developed either the hepatorenal syndrome, marked electrolyte abnormalities, or encephalopathy. Diuresis can be accomplished in these critically ill patients without serious complications that can be attributed to the diuretic treatment.

Alcoholism↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Intestinal cryptosporidiosis acquired from a cat.

A case of intestinal cryptosporidiosis in an eight-year-old boy is presented. The patient became ill during a visit to a farm where diarrhoea in newborn calves is a recurrent problem. Furthermore, on that farm kittens periodically suffer from diarrhoea and failure to thrive. Oocysts of Cryptosporidium sp. were identified in the stool of the patient, and in the stool of the cat he had contact with. At that time the calves were not infected. The patient's gastrointestinal symptomatology consisted of severe diarrhoea, vomiting, colics and moderate dehydration, and was preceded by coughing.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A miniaturized micro-fluorescence film balance for protein-containing lipid monolayers spread from a vesicle suspension.

In order to study protein-lipid monolayers at the air/water interface a miniaturized micro-fluorescence film-balance apparatus has been developed and combined with a modified technique of spreading and separating a monolayer from a vesicle suspension. The spreading method provides non-denaturing conditions for protein-lipids. When applied to protein-lipid vesicles, monolayers with incorporated proteins are obtained, and their thermodynamic parameters may be controlled in a well-defined way by film balance techniques. In the apparatus introduced, a movable microscope allows the observation of micro-fluorescence during the tracking of individual domains at the air/water interface of a fixed Langmuir trough. After the control of parameters such as subphase temperature, surface pressure and lateral molecule distribution, a monolayer may be transferred and immobilized on a planar solid support, making it accessible to optical surface-sensitive measuring methods as well as to electron microscopy and scanning probe techniques.

Lipids↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Increased risk of wasting syndrome in HIV-infected travellers: prospective multicentre study.

HIV-infected patients from moderate regions who travel in tropical countries may experience clinical disease progression due to exposure to bacteria (including mycobacteria), fungi and parasites. In the Swiss HIV Cohort Study we examined the hypothesis that travelling increases the risk of tuberculosis, wasting syndrome, cryptosporidiosis, isosporiasis, cryptococcosis, coccidiomycosis, histoplasmosis and Salmonella septicaemia. A total of 4549 participants were included (in 1988-98) of whom 596 (13.1%) travelled at least once. During 16,800 person-years of follow-up 231 patients developed at least 1 of the diseases of interest. Wasting syndrome was the only diagnosis significantly associated with travelling (hazard ratio 2.16, 95% confidence interval 1.09 to 4.30). The risk of wasting syndrome ('slim disease') should be taken into account when counselling HIV-infected patients intending to travel in tropical regions.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Genital Chlamydia trachomatis infections in Uppsala County, Sweden, 1985-1993: declining rates for how much longer?

BACKGROUND: In Uppsala County, between 1985 and 1993, examinations for Chlamydia trachomatis were being performed in a central laboratory. A change in national sexually transmitted disease legislation in 1988 encouraged screening. GOALS OF THIS STUDY: To analyze trends in detection rates of genital chlamydial infections by age, sex, and clinic type, and to assess the influence of the legislation change. STUDY DESIGN: This was an analysis of 119,892 tests, representing 95.4% of all specimens sampled. Eighty-six percent of the samples were cultured, 14% were examined by enzyme immunoassay. RESULTS: Seventy-nine percent of specimens came from women. 7,989 positive samples were identified. Detection rates declined from 107.2 per 1,000 in 1985 to 32.3 in 1993 in women and from 183.3 to 70.7 in men. Positivity rates were highest in sexually transmitted disease and youth clinics and lowest in private practices. Among female youths, rates leveled off in later years, but the rates increased in male youths. The legislation change reduced the probability of a positive test in men but not in women. CONCLUSIONS: Genital chlamydial infection generally declined. However, among youths, an increase has occurred in recent years. Continued screening and the introduction of noninvasive diagnostic methods for males is warranted, particularly in youth clinics. Selective screening may be more cost-effective in other age groups.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Uses and abuses of meta-analysis.

Meta-analysis, the statistical combination of results from several studies to produce a single estimate of the effect of a treatment, continues to attract controversy. We illustrate the potentials and pitfalls of meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials. Cumulative meta-analysis demonstrates that this technique could prevent delays in the introduction of effective treatments. Meta-analyses are, however, liable to numerous biases both at the level of the individual trial ('garbage in, garbage out') and the dissemination of trial results (publication bias). We argue that meta-analysis should be performed only within the framework of systematic reviews--that is, reviews prepared using a systematic approach to minimise bias and address the combinability of studies.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗