Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R Scherer.
The sera from 50 psoriatic patients, 130 patients with other skin diseases and from 24 healthy blood donors were tested for the presence of circulating immune complexes. By means of the 125I-C1q deviation test a positive result was obtained in 70% of the sera from psoriatic patients as compared to 8% in the healthy controls.
C-reactive protein (CRP) was isolated from pleura exudate of patients with metastasing cancer and added to plasma of healthy blood donors. Only the addition of excessive amounts of CRP (220 mg/ml) caused a notable increase in erythrocyte sedimentation rate. An immunoelectrophoretic method for the simultaneous quantitative determination of CRP together with C 3 or other acute phase reactants is described.
A new electroimmunoprecipitation technique is presented by means of which a great variety of antigens e.g. plasma proteins can be simultaneously and quantitatively determined with a single-step electrophoretic separation. The essential features of the new technique are: (a) subdivision of the antibody gel into gel strips containing monospecific antibodies to individual plasma proteins. (b) sample application as a "sample gel" filling a trough over the width of the immunoplate. Quantitation is based on the fact that the distance an antigen can migrate within a gel containing a defined amount of specific antibody directed against the antigen is determined by the concentration of the appropriate antigen within the sample. The area where the antigen is finally completely consumed by immunoprecipitation and antibody present in excess is sharply delineated. The applicability of the method in simultaneous quantitative determination of 15 plasma proteins is demonstrated with plasma from healthy blood donors and patients with various diseases. The advantage of the new technique as compared to commonly used clinical acetate folia electrophoresis is the high degree of specificity for the determination of a great number of individual, diagnostically meaningful plasma proteins. The advantage over common quantitative two-dimensional immunoelectrophoresis is its uncomplicated way of evaluation. The potential clinical application of the new quantitative immunoelectrophoretic technique in diagnostic screening and differential diagnosis is discussed.
In order to elucidate the pathogenesis of the skin lesions in 'benign gonococcal sepsis' direct immunofluorescence of an early macular lesion and routine histopathology of a mature papulopustular lesion in a patient with septic gonococcal dermatitis have been performed. Histopathology of the mature skin lesion revelaed a pattenr of 'allergic vasculitis'. Direct immunofluorescence showed exclusively deposits of C3 around and within the capillaries and in the basement membrane zone. No specific IgG, IgM, IgA or C4 deposits could be demonstrated. This, together with serological findings and reports from the literature, suggests an important pathogenetic function for complement, activated through the alternative pathway by means of gonococcal endotoxic lipopolysaccharide, in the pathogenesis of the skin lesions in benign gonococcal sepsis.
Increased erythrocyte aggregation can be induced by high concentrations of human lipoproteins. The dependence of aggregate formation on lipoprotein concentration was recorded by determination of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), by electrical measurement of the erythrocyte aggregation index (EAI) and by scanning electron microscopy. The lipoprotein concentrations necessary to induce a significantly increased ESR in an otherwise normal human plasma are much too high to be encountered in physiologic or even severe pathologic states. Therefore hyperlipoproteinaemia by itself cannot explain a raised ESR. In cases where the ESR is raised due to the presence of increased amounts of other erythrocyte aggregating plasma proteins (agglomerins), hyperlipoproteinaemia can contribute to a limited extent to the increase in ESR. The possible pathophysiological significance of the demonstrated erythrocyte aggregating capacity of human lipoproteins in a microvascular environment is noted.
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Dilated and varicose veins constricted with a Dacron mesh tube were successfully used as arterial bypass grafts to avoid nonautogenous vascular prostheses. Mesh constriction has also been used to adapt the venous graft lumen to the diameters of grafted arteries. The influence of the external mesh on the wall elasticity of such venous grafts and the reactions of the host artery were not investigated. Elastic properties of mesh constricted autologous veins used as arterial grafts in femoropopliteal reconstructions, as well as consecutive formation of distal anastomotic intimal hyperplasia (DAIH), were investigated in this experiment. Twenty-four autologous venous grafts were implanted in 12 sheep. Grafts were left natural (Groups 1 and 3) or were constricted with an external Dacron mesh (Groups 2 and 4); their diameters were left unchanged (Groups 1 and 2) or were matched to the diameter of the host artery (Groups 3 and 4). Wall elasticity of the graft, distal anastomosis, and distal artery were measured by locally applied crystal transducers during surgery and follow-up. Formation and localization of DAIH was evaluated histomorphologically after a median of 8.3 months. Graft wall elasticity was found to be lower (54.6 vs. 147.9, P = 0.006) and overall DAIH was found to be higher in mesh tube grafts (49.42 vs. 20.8 microns, P = 0.001, Mann-Whitney U-test). No differences in elasticity and DAIH formation were observed between grafts with adapted and large diameters. Constriction of venous grafts by a Dacron mesh tube reduces graft wall elasticity and promotes formation of DAIH. To avoid such an increased mismatch in compliance while making use of the advantages of this method, the external mesh tube must not be brought close to the distal anastomotic area itself.
Endotoxin infusion (lipopolysaccharide from Escherichia coli 120 micrograms kg-1 i.v.) was titrated to produce hypercoagulability in rabbits and the effects of prostacyclin (PGI2) treatment (continuous infusion of 6 ng kg-1 min-1 i.v.) on coagulation variables, cardiorespiratory variables, and fibrin deposition in the microcirculation of vital organs were studied. PGI2 infusion did not influence the concentration of soluble fibrin, thrombelastographic variables, or systemic platelet aggregability. Fibrin deposition in the microcirculation of the liver and the lungs was reduced to 50% of that observed in untreated animals (p < 0.01). The antiplatelet properties of PGI2 were unable to reduce experimental endotoxin-induced systemic procoagulant turnover but improved organ perfusion during the initial phase of disseminated intravascular coagulation.
The aim of the present study was to investigate the most significant frequency components in electrocorticogram (ECoG) recordings in order to operate a brain computer interface (BCI). For this purpose the time-frequency ERD/ERS map and the distinction sensitive learning vector quantization (DSLVQ) are applied to ECoG from three subjects, recorded during a self-paced finger movement. The results show that the ERD/ERS pattern found in ECoG generally matches the ERD/ERS pattern found in EEG recordings, but has an increased prevalence of frequency components in the beta range.
The effect of cortisol, dexamethasone, insulin and a liver cell growth promoting tripeptide on the secretion of plasma proteins into the medium of rat hepatocytes in monolayer cultures was studied. Cortisol and dexamethasone resulted in equal to or approximately 2.5-fold increase in the fibrinogen synthesis with general suppression of albumin and alpha-lipoprotein synthesis. On the other hand, insulin inhibited the biosynthesis of most plasma proteins except for the complement system and transferrin. Concentrations of alpha-lipoprotein, alpha-1-macroglobulin and haptoglobin were moderately elevated when the tripeptide Gly-His-Lys was applied in low concentration.