Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R Ziegler

Publications and source records attributed to R Ziegler.

600 records · Page 34Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Smoking influences the atherogenic potential of low-density lipoprotein.

The possible influence of smoking on the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and its biological activity was investigated. Plasma LDL was prepared from healthy male smokers and nonsmokers, and oxidized with Cu (II) as prooxidant. Oxidized LDL from smokers generated significantly more lipid peroxidation products, so-called thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), when compared to oxidized nonsmoker LDL. Analysis of vitamin E levels in LDL obtained from both smokers and nonsmokers revealed that the vitamin E content of smoker LDL was significantly less than that of nonsmoker LDL. The amounts of cholesteryl esters formed in cultured P388. D.1 macrophages were greater in the presence of smoker LDL than with nonsmoker LDL. The data suggest that some of the proatherogenic effects of smoking may be related to oxidative modification of LDL and alteration of its biological activity.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Adipokinetic hormone controls lipid metabolism in adults and carbohydrate metabolism in larvae of Manduca sexta.

The peptide hormone which controls activation of fat body glycogen phosphorylase in starving larvae of Manduca sexta was isolated from larval corpora cardiaca and sequenced by FAB tandem mass spectrometry. It was found to be identical with Manduca AKH. This, together with earlier observations, demonstrates that in M. sexta AKH controls glycogen phosphorylase activation in starving larvae while in adults it controls lipid mobilization during flight. Larval corpora cardiaca contain about 10 times less AKH than the corpora cardiaca of adults. The corpora cardiaca of M. sexta appear to contain only one AKH.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis: prevention and treatment.

Glucocorticoid excess carries the risk of inducing secondary osteoporosis. In endogenous Cushing's syndrome, osteoporosis may be the presenting symptom of the underlying disease. Bone loss may reverse after the condition is cured, but often active treatment of established osteoporosis is necessary. In long-term glucocorticoid treatment at therapeutic doses, bone loss is likely and should be prevented; if prevention is ineffective, treatment is necessary. Hypercortisolism impairs calcium homeostasis and bone metabolism in a complex, multifactorial way: Glucocorticoids diminish calcium absorption and increase renal calcium excretion; this negative calcium balance leads to secondary hyperparathyroidism and osteoclast activation. Osteoblast activity is directly impaired by glucocorticoids, which lower activity of the gonadal hormone axis so that hypogonadism also contributes to bone loss. Glucocorticoids lead to muscle atrophy and decreased muscle strength with negative consequences for bone formation. For prevention and treatment, two different strategies have been used. The pathophysiological approach substitutes calcium and vitamin D in the first step; if bone loss nevertheless continues, bone formation is stimulated by fluorides. The alternative pharmaco-dynamic approach uses antiresorptives-calcitonin or, for preference, bisphosphonates. Clinically it is mandatory to monitor all patients in whom glucocorticoids are used (e.g., organ transplant recipients) before and after the initiation of treatment to stabilize bone metabolism as early as possible.

Bone Resorption↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Use of Iscador, an extract of European mistletoe (Viscum album), in cancer treatment: prospective nonrandomized and randomized matched-pair studies nested within a cohort study.

CONTEXT: In anthroposophical medicine, total extracts of Viscum album (mistletoe) have been developed to treat cancer patients. The oldest such product is Iscador. Although Iscador is regarded as a complementary cancer therapy, it is the most commonly used oncological drug in Germany. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether Iscador treatment prolongs survival time of patients with carcinoma of the colon, rectum, or stomach; breast carcinoma with or without axillary or remote metastases; or small cell or non-small-cell bronchogenic carcinoma; and to explore synergies between Iscador treatment and psychosomatic self-regulation. DESIGN: Prospective nonrandomized and randomized matched-pair studies nested within a cohort study. SETTING: General community in Germany. PARTICIPANTS: 10,226 cancer patients involved in a prospective long-term epidemiological cohort study, including 1668 patients treated with Iscador and 8475 who had taken neither Iscador nor any other mistletoe product (control patients). INTERVENTION: Iscador. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Survival time. RESULTS: In the nonrandomized matched-pair study, survival time of patients treated with Iscador was longer for all types of cancer studied. In the pool of 396 matched pairs, mean survival time in the Iscador groups (4.23 years) was roughly 40% longer than in the control groups (3.05 years; P < .001). Synergies between Iscador treatment and self-regulation manifested in a longer survival advantage for Iscador patients with good self-regulation (56% relative to control group; P = .03) than for patients with poor self-regulation. Results of the 2 randomized matched-pair studies largely confirmed the results of the non-randomized studies. CONCLUSION: Iscador treatment can achieve a clinically relevant prolongation of survival time of cancer patients and appears to stimulate self-regulation.

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Primary hyperparathyroidism and multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN).

In about 80% of the cases, primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) is caused by a single parathyroid adenoma. However, the disease may be complicated by involvement of more than one parathyroid gland or by the combination with other endocrine tumors (syndrome of multiple endocrine neoplasia = MEN). This presentation deals with our experience in such conditions. During 11 years, 98 cases of pHPT were seen (90 in Ulm from 1968 to 1979, 8 since then in Heidelberg). In 9 patients, 2 to 4 parathyroids were in hyperfunction. A recurrence of pHPT was diagnosed after symptomfree intervals of 2 - 13 years in 5 patients. Data are presented of 4 patients suffering from MEN type I (Wermer syndrome): 3 had Zollinger-Ellison syndrome and pHPT, and the 4th insulinoma and pHPT. Whereas pHPT is the most frequent endocrinopathy in MEN type I, it is rarely seen in MEN type II, the Sipple syndrome (combination of medullary thyroid carcinoma, MTC, and pheochromocytoma). Among 20 own cases with MTC and 10 others with pheochromocytoma, no pHPT was observed. The common basis for the development of MEN syndromes is Pearse's concept of the diffuse neuroendocrine system (DNES).

Adult↗