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Biomedical subjects

P Koch

Publications and source records attributed to P Koch.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

[Alternatives and further development of therapy of acute myeloid leukemia in adults. Update of West German multicenter studies].

The 1982 randomized, multicenter trial on adult-AML in West Germany revealed a superiority of remission duration (p = 0.004) and survival (p = 0.06) for patients receiving monthly myelosuppressive maintenance chemotherapy after TAD9-induction and consolidation as compared to patients without maintenance. In the 1985 pilot study double induction as a new approach followed by consolidation and monthly maintenance in patients up to 60 years of age was found well practicable, with 77% complete remissions and 12% early deaths in 81 patients. In addition preliminary remission duration and survival at 1 1/2 years appear favorable.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Variation of behavioral and physiological variables in children attending kindergarten and primary school.

Twenty-one children aged 5-6 years (mean age: 71.2 months; S.D. = 2.7) were videotaped in 4 different kindergartens throughout the school day for a period of one week. Eighteen of these children were then followed up after the summer holidays and videotaped for one week while attending the first year of primary school. The behaviors measured for each child were yawning and general motor activity. It was found that: (1) The frequency of yawning appears to be 5 times higher in the first year of primary school than in the last year of kindergarten; (2) Throughout the school-day the percentage of yawning children is higher in the first year of primary school, with the exception of the 1400-1430 period; (3) In the first year of primary school, the percentage of yawning children and the frequency of yawning peak between 900 and 930 and 1430 and 1500; (4) In this school institution the percentage of children who get up from their chair and spontaneously move above increases from the beginning to the end of each school-day. Three cardio-vascular variables were investigated in 17 children of the sample population: heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. We found that: (1) The lowest values for heart rate in the first year of primary school are in agreement with the classical data of child development, as the children are 5-6 months older than in the last year of kindergarten. However, this is not the case at 1400 when the heart rate peaks at a higher level in the first year of primary school; (2) If the evolution in time of the blood pressure agrees in both institutions with the classical data of human chronobiology, i.e. the maximum values at 1400, the differences in mean level at all times during the school day between both institutions do not agree with what is commonly accepted, i.e. an increase in blood pressure with age; (3) The amplitude of the variations of the heart rate and blood pressure from one 30-min period to another throughout the school day is significantly higher in primary school. The comparison of the data obtained in both school institutions suggests that the observed differences are related to sharp modifications in school rhythms and constraints when the children go from the last year of kindergarten to the first year of primary school.

Aging↗
PubMed1987

[Effects of a single intra-articular injection of antibiotics on cartilage structure in rabbits].

Nebacetin, chloramphenicol, penicillin, and isotonic sodium chloride solution were injected once into 80 knee- and elbow-joints of rabbits. The histologic investigation of the hyaline cartilage after 2 respectively 5 months did not show any kind of lesions. The results of other authors in similar investigations and the indication for intra-articular application of antibiotics are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

[Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in adults. Further development of therapy based on clinical phase II and phase III studies].

By a review of relevant clinical studies on adult AML no substantial progress can be seen in the eighties so far. After the development of successful chemotherapy regimens during the seventies, further improvement can only be expected in small steps. Clinical studies, therefore, should concentrate on the analysis of the different components and new elements of treatment in order to utilize and combine them more effectively. For this purpose, a standardization of treatment and, for many aspects, a randomized comparison is inevitable. Thus, the role of monthly maintenance as well as of a special type of immunotherapy could be elucidated for the first time by our multicenter trial.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Plasma exchange in severe erythema nodosum leprosum.

Four patients with severe erythema nodosum leprosum were treated by plasma exchange and/or fresh frozen plasma infusions after failure of classical therapy. After the procedures, the patients improved rapidly; with a follow-up between 4 and 7 years after the last plasma exchange, no clinical relapse was noted. The replacement fluids were variable; the most beneficial procedure seemed to be plasma exchange replaced with fresh frozen plasma. Elimination of circulating immune complexes, replacement of a lacking plasma factor are possible mechanisms of action. Plasma exchange may also work like a regulator of immune mechanisms, since it has been shown that there is a depression of suppressor cells in erythema nodosum leprosum.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Rhythmical stereotypies (leg-swinging) associated with reductions in heart-rate in normal school children.

This experiment examined the relationship between rhythmical stereotypies (leg-swinging) and heart rate in 12 normal school children. Telemetric measurement of heart rate was made while the children were filmed during active and passive school behaviour. Heart rate decreased during leg-swinging and was more pronounced in girls than in boys. Heart rate also decreased more when school behaviour was active than when it was passive. The correlative use of heart rate thus strengthened functional interpretations of behaviour.

Arousal↗
PubMed1985

Immunotherapy with allogeneic neuraminidase-treated blasts for maintenance in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Significant prolongation of remission duration in patients receiving at least 3 cycles of therapy.

102 patients with AML (leukemia after preleukemia, 2nd neoplasia included) were treated for remission induction by a modified TAD regimen in Munster; 55 patients (54%) achieved a complete remission (CR). For CR maintenance 40 patients were eligible for randomization according to the study protocol: cyclic chemotherapy (CT) alone vs. chemoimmunotherapy (CIT: plus allogeneic Neuraminidase-treated blasts in high dosage). 5 CR patients, induced identically in Essen, were randomized additionally. Evaluating all patients randomized there is only a marginally beneficial effect of CIT (21 patients) compared to CT (24 patients) concerning median survival (1020+ vs. 612 days) and relapse-free survival (494 vs. 380 days) until now. For patients receiving more than 2 cycles of maintenance therapy, however, CIT prolongs relapse-free survival significantly (930+ vs. 409 days; p = 0,02); that is also true for remission duration. This suggests that only repeated application of blasts may induce an immune response leading to a biologically relevant antileukemic effect.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed1984

New data on the wake-sleep rhythm of children aged from 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 years.

In this paper, data concerning the duration of night and nap sleep of 107 children aged from 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 years are analysed. Data were collected over a period of 9 months and showed a significant negative correlation between night and nap sleep. The reduction in the amount of nap sleep throughout the year was related to the decrease in the frequency of naps. However, its duration remained constant. The variations in the duration of the night and nap sleep were also analysed in relation to the week day and the month of the year and socio-ecological factors.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1984

Intensified therapy in acute lymphoblastic and acute undifferentiated leukemia in adults.

One hundred seventy adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or acute undifferentiated leukemia (AUL) were entered into a prospective multicenter therapy trial at 25 hospitals. The aim of the trial was to improve remission duration by using a modified form of an intensified induction regimen that was successful in childhood ALL, to define immunologic subtypes of ALL by use of cell-surface markers, and to extract other possible prognostic factors. The overall complete remission rate was 77.8%. The median overall survival time was 26 months, being 4 months for nonresponders and 32 months for responders. The median remission duration for the 126 patients with complete remission was 20 months. Prognostically favorable factors for remission duration were response to chemotherapy within 4 weeks, age less than 35 years, a low initial leukocyte count, and the immunologic subtypes c-ALL with early response to therapy and T-ALL, where 61% and 58%, respectively, are still in complete remission at 3 years. An adverse influence on remission duration was observed for the subtype null-ALL, with a median survival of 13 months, and for patients with a delayed response to induction therapy, independent of phenotype.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1983

[Recruiting patients and results of a preliminary study on the therapy of acute lymphatic leukemia and acute undifferentiated leukemia in adults].

The aim of the study was to improve remission quality through application of an intensified induction therapy successful in childhood ALL; in a modified form for patients of 15-35 years and in a reduced form for patients of greater than 35-65 years with ALL or AUL. The 8-week induction therapy consists of two phases. In phase I, prednisone, vincristine, daunorubicin, and L-asparaginase are given and in phase II, cyclophosphamide, cytosine-arabinoside, and 6-mercaptopurinee. As CNS-prophylaxis, intrathecal methotrexate, and CNS-irradiation with 24 Gy are used. After 3 months a re-induction therapy similar to the induction therapy is given with dexamethasone and adriamycin instead of prednisone and daunorubicin and without L-asparaginase. Maintenance therapy with 6-mercaptopurin and methotrexate follows over a period of 2 years. Since the formation of the study group in 1979 up to 30.06.81, 170 patients from 25 hospitals with newly diagnosed ALL or AUL were treated according to the protocol. Up to 30.11.81, 162 patients had completed treatment and were evaluable. Of these, 77.8% achieved complete remission, 80.7% in the age group 15-35 years and 68.3% in the age group greater than 35-65 years. The median survival time for all patients was 24 months and for the 126 patients with complete remission the median has not yet been reached (last observation 31 months). The median remission duration is 20 months. Prognostic factors for remission duration are (1) the number of chemotherapy courses required to reach complete remission, (2) the immunological subtype, (3) age and (4) initial leukocyte count.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Synthesis and release of gonadotropins: effect of an oral contraceptive.

A double-stimulation test with 100 micrograms gonadotropin-releasing hormone per dose given twice within two hours was carried out in eight normally cyclic women before and during treatment with a combined oral contraceptive (30 micrograms ethinyl-estradiol + 150 micrograms desogestrel). The test was performed on days 8 to 11, 19 to 22, and 24 to 27 of a control cycle, and during the first and third treatment cycles. This oral contraceptive was found to diminish the capacity of the gonadotropes for the synthesis of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) to a higher degree than that for the acute release in each treatment cycle. During the treatment-free interval, the reaction of LH differed from that of FSH: while the release of the former remained suppressed, that of FSH did not differ from the control cycle.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Indications for platelet transfusion in children with acute leukemia.

In an attempt ot determine the indications for platelet transfusion in thrombocytopenic patients, we randomized 56 children with acute leukemia to one of two regimens of platelet transfusion. The prophylactic group received platelets when the platelet count fell below 20,000 per mm3 irrespective of clinical events. The therapeutic group was transfused only when significant bleeding occurred and not for thrombocytopenia alone. The time to first bleeding episode was significantly longer and the number of bleeding episodes were significantly reduced in the prophylactic group. The survival curves of the two groups could not be distinguished from each other. Prior to the last month of life, the total number of days on which bleeding was present was significantly reduced by prophylactic therapy. However, in the terminal phase (last month of life), the duration of bleeding episodes was significantly longer in the prophylactic group. This may have been due to a higher incidence of immunologic refractoriness to platelet transfusion. Because of this terminal bleeding, comparison of the two groups for total number of days on which bleeding was present did not show a significant difference over the entire study period.

Actuarial Analysis↗