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Biomedical subjects

S Sommer

Publications and source records attributed to S Sommer.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Terminal hair growth after full thickness skin graft: Treatment with normal mode ruby laser.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Treatment of hirsutism is often unsatisfactory with many of the currently used methods providing only temporary improvement. The use of lasers for hair removal has shown promising results and treatment by using the normal mode ruby laser has provided reduction in hair numbers sustained on follow-up. We report a woman who developed terminal hair growth at the site of a full thickness skin graft and describe her successful treatment with the normal mode ruby laser.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Estrogen receptor and breast cancer.

Breast cancer, the most common malignancy in women, was already known to be associated with the steroid hormone estrogen more than a century ago. The discovery of the estrogen receptor (ER) provided us not only with a powerful predictive and prognostic marker, but also an efficient target for the treatment of hormone-dependent breast cancer with antiestrogens. In this paper we will sketch the important role of ER in the development, progression, and treatment of the disease, which is complicated by the receptor's interaction with co-regulatory proteins, its cross-talk with other signal transduction pathways, and its involvement in the development of antiestrogen resistance.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Affective symptoms at index hospitalization in childhood and depressive symptoms in adulthood: a "catch-up" study.

PURPOSE: To analyze whether affective symptoms during psychiatric treatment in childhood or adolescence could predict the later development of depressive symptoms. METHOD: We used a "catch-up" design. A cohort of former child and adolescent psychiatric patients was assessed in adulthood with standardized instruments according to the criteria of ICD-10 (SCAN) and dimensional values for depression (both self-reported and observer-rated). Initial affective symptoms had been extracted from clinical records according to a standardized system (AMDP). RESULTS: We assessed 164 former patients. Twelve percent of these fulfilled diagnostic criteria of an affective disorder (F3) according to ICD-10. In univariate analyses of variance the depression scores were significantly related to affective symptoms during childhood treatment, even if the presence of an affective disorder at catch-up was considered as an independent covariate variable. Nevertheless, the latter variable explained a large part of the variance of depression scores, while initial affective symptoms explained no more than 6%. CONCLUSION: Affective symptoms in childhood and adolescence may predict the later development of subthreshold depressive symptomatology.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

What becomes of children hospitalized for enuresis? Results of a catch-up study.

BACKGROUND: . The purpose of this study was to reassess former child and adolescent psychiatric patients with nocturnal enuresis as young adults and to compare them with former patients without enuretic symptoms and with a comparison group from the general population. METHOD: We used a 'catch-up' design. From a former child and adolescent psychiatric patient cohort we identified all subjects with documented enuretic symptoms in childhood and compared them with two groups matched for gender and age - non-enuretic patients and a comparison group from the general population. Subjects were assessed as adults with standardized instruments according to the criteria of ICD-10 (SCAN, IPDE) and dimensional values for depression, satisfaction with life, global functioning and personality (NEO-FFI). RESULTS: We assessed 55 former patients with nocturnal enuresis (recruitment rate 68%) after a mean interval of 13.1 years. At catch-up the former enuretic patients had a lower frequency of personality disorders (ICD-10), lower mean depression values, higher global functioning and a lower rate of psychiatric treatment after the age of 18 years than did former non-enuretic patients. Former enuretic patients did not differ significantly from the comparison group from the general population concerning any of the outcome variables, although there was a non-significant trend for former enuretic patients to more often fulfill criteria for a psychiatric ICD-10 diagnosis at catch-up. There were no differences concerning personality among the three groups at catch-up. CONCLUSION: Although it may constitute a mild vulnerability factor for further development, nocturnal enuresis had a good long-term outcome in a cohort of treated subjects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

VAPSE-based analysis: a two-phased candidate gene approach for elucidating genetic predisposition to complex disorders.

The extraordinary success of linkage analysis in diseases with Mendelian inheritance has not extended readily to the genetics of common complex diseases. VAPSE-based analysis is a type of candidate gene approach that represents an alternative strategy by which genetic mechanisms can be defined despite the presence of substantial genetic heterogeneity. Recent advances in mutation screening and statistical methodology have enhanced substantially the efficiency and power of this approach. The "bread and butter" of VAPSE-based analysis is genotype-to-phenotype searches in large populations with computerized medical records.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed2001

Arabidopsis polyamine biosynthesis: absence of ornithine decarboxylase and the mechanism of arginine decarboxylase activity.

Unlike other eukaryotes, which can synthesize polyamines only from ornithine, plants possess an additional pathway from arginine. Occasionally non-enzymatic decarboxylation of ornithine could be detected in Arabidopsis extracts; however, we could not detect ornithine decarboxylase (ODC; EC 4. 1.1.17) enzymatic activity or any activity inhibitory to the ODC assay. There are no intact or degraded ODC sequences in the Arabidopsis genome and no ODC expressed sequence tags. Arabidopsis is therefore the only plant and one of only two eukaryotic organisms (the other being the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi) that have been demonstrated to lack ODC activity. As ODC is a key enzyme in polyamine biosynthesis, Arabidopsis is reliant on the additional arginine decarboxylase (ADC; EC 4.1.1.9) pathway, found only in plants and some bacteria, to synthesize putrescine. By using site-directed mutants of the Arabidopsis ADC1 and heterologous expression in yeast, we show that ADC, like ODC, is a head-to-tail homodimer with two active sites acting in trans across the interface of the dimer. Amino acids K136 and C524 of Arabidopsis ADC1 are essential for activity and participate in separate active sites. Maximal activity of Arabidopsis ADC1 in yeast requires the presence of general protease genes, and it is likely that dimer formation precedes proteolytic processing of the ADC pre-protein monomer.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2001

A catch-up study of former child and adolescent psychiatric inpatients: psychiatric status in adulthood.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to reassess former child and adolescent psychiatric patients as adults with regard to their further development. METHODS: We used a 'catch-up' design. A former child and adolescent psychiatric patient cohort and controls (matched for sex and age) were assessed as adults with standardized instruments (Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry, International Personality Disorder Examination, biography, psychiatric history, Global Assessment Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale). RESULTS: We assessed 164 former patients and 80 controls. The mean catch-up period was 13.2 years, and the subjects had a mean age of 24.8 years. Thirty-nine percent of the former patients and 25% of the controls fulfilled criteria for an ICD-10 diagnosis (present state) at catch-up, with a clear excess of personality disorders in the former patient group (13 vs. 3%). Using a survival analysis we estimated that 38% of the former patients and 10% of the controls would undergo psychiatric treatment between the ages of 18 and 31 years. CONCLUSIONS: Most former child and adolescent psychiatric patients did not come into contact with psychiatric treatment facilities again in their twenties, although they had a higher risk for a psychiatric disorder than controls. Nevertheless, the risk of later developing a personality disorder according to ICD-10 seems to be markedly raised for former child and adolescent psychiatric patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

[Interferon beta-1b retinopathy during a treatment for multiple sclerosis].

Ocular adverse effects of interferon are described during the treatment of malignant diseases and chronic viral hepatitis with interferon alpha. At this time, there is no report of these effects during multiple sclerosis treatment with interferon beta-1b. The authors report a bilateral retinopathy during this treatment. The production of neutralizing antibodies during interferon beta-1b treatment leads to a decrease in diminution of therapeutic efficacy. When treatment failure occurs, neutralizing antibodies are to be tested.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed2000

Export and transport of tRNA are coupled to a multi-protein complex.

Vigilin is a ubiquitous multi heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) K homologous (KH)-domain protein. Here we demonstrate that purified recombinant human vigilin binds tRNA molecules with high affinity, although with limited specificity. Nuclear microinjection experiments revealed for the first time that the immuno-affinity-purified nuclear vigilin core complex (VCC(N)) as well as recombinant vigilin accelerate tRNA export from the nucleus in human cells. The nuclear tRNA receptor exportin-t is part of the VCC(N). Elongation factor (EF)-1alpha is enriched in VCC(N) and its cytoplasmic counterpart VCC(C), whereas EF-1beta, EF-1gamma and EF-1delta are basically confined to the VCC(C). Our results suggest further that vigilin and exportin-t might interact during tRNA export, provide evidence that the channeled tRNA cycle is already initiated in the nucleus, and illustrate that intracellular tRNA trafficking is associated with discrete changes in the composition of cellular cytoplasmic multi-protein complexes containing tRNA.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Sex-specific predation on a monogamous rat, Hypogeomys antimena (Muridae: Nesomyinae).

Sex-specific predation on adult individuals is often predicted by different behaviour in males and females resulting from different reproductive strategies and social systems. High predation pressure and the need for biparental care are considered a possible ecological basis for the evolution of monogamy, the most puzzling social system in mammals. In species where adults and offspring are vulnerable to the same predators, males and females may protect their offspring to different extents because of conflicting demands of investment in current and future offspring. I present the first empirical data on age- and sex-specific predation pressure by top predators on a monogamous rodent and the sex-specific behavioural responses of the prey species to different rates of predation. During an annual predation peak, only offspring and adult males were killed but no females. Whereas males and females travelled similar distances at night before the period of high predation on offspring, males moved further during this period. At the same time, males and females increased their distance from their offspring but males stayed closer to them than females. As a consequence, the distance between the members of the pair increased during the predation peak. The males' behaviour could lead to their encountering predators more frequently which would reduce survival prospects. The different behaviour of males and females provides empirical evidence that males invest in the welfare of current offspring at the cost of higher predation risk whereas females protect their residual reproductive value. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

In vivo measurements of the internal pH of Hediste (Nereis) diversicolor (Annelida, Polychaeta) exposed to ambient sulphidic conditions using pH microelectrodes.

The effect of different ambient sulphide concentrations on the internal pH regime of Hediste (Nereis) diversicolor was studied under in vivo conditions using liquid membrane pH microelectrodes, a method which is new to marine sciences. As a case study, the hypothesis was tested whether organisms exposed to ambient sulphidic conditions are able to lower their internal pH which, in effect, would reduce sulphide influx into the animals and thus could represent an effective detoxification mechanism. It was shown that a significant lowering of the internal pH occurred within only 20 min after adding sulphide. This pH lowering appeared to be dependent on the external sulphide concentration of the ambient medium and showed a saturation beyond a threshold level of about 130 microM. It is discussed whether this sulphide-induced pH drop is an active regulatory mechanism and acts as an effective protection mechanism against sulphide during short-term exposures.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

[Hemostatic wound management in marcumar patients. Collagen fleece vs. tranexamic acid].

A total of 124 patients on oral anticoagulation therapy with coumarin were treated by orosurgical procedures and entered into a study to determine the hemostatic efficiency of different methods. The therapeutic anticoagulation level was determined in accordance with the recommendations of the American Heart Association (low risk: 2.0 < INR < 3.0; high risk: 2.5 < INR < 3.5) and maintained during treatment. In one group, the alveoli were treated with collagen, in a second group a mouthrinse regime with tranexamic acid was implemented. Twenty-three patients had to be excluded because anticoagulation levels differed from the recommended values. The group treated with collagen included 31 patients, the group with tranexamic acid mouthwashes, 32 patients. A third group was analyzed in which a controlled change in the anticoagulation level had been performed and all treated alveoli had been covered by mucosal flaps (n = 38); they were compared to the other two groups. The surgical proceedings were outlined precisely. Patients treated with collagen had a bleeding rate of 19%, patients with tranexamic acid mouthwash 6%, and those treated with mucosal flaps 40%. The data were not suited for statistical evaluation, they were objected to a descriptive analysis: the confidence intervals were determined by tables for binomial distributions. These did confirm the difference in the frequency of bleeding for the tranexamic acid and mucosal flap groups.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Sweet's syndrome presenting as palmoplantar pustulosis.

Sweet's syndrome was initially described as a reactive dermatosis characterized by sudden onset of fever, leucocytosis, and raised erythematous plaques infiltrated with neutrophils, and therefore called acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis. However, later it became obvious that fever and neutrophilia are variable features, and a number of other characteristics have been described. Although the dorsa of the hands are frequently affected, the palmoplantar involvement mimicking pustulosis observed in our case appears to be unusual.

Administration, Topical↗