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Biomedical subjects

T Hunziker

Publications and source records attributed to T Hunziker.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Platelet-derived factors enhance pemphigus acantholysis in skin organ cultures.

Supernatant fluids were prepared from human platelets (2-2.5 X 10(10)/ml) after sonication of stimulation with cross-linked IgG; together with plasma samples from two patients with different types of pemphigus, they enhanced acantholysis in cultured punch biopsy specimens of human skin. In the absence of pemphigus plasma the platelet-derived materials did not induce acantholysis. The acantholysis-enhancing effect persisted after exhaustive dialysis or heating (56 degrees C, 30 min). The platelet-derived materials did not contain plasminogen activator; plasminogen itself was detectable by zymographic analysis, although in quantities too low (0.2-0.5 micrograms/ml) to account for the acantholysis-enhancing activity. We conclude that the platelet could contribute to the pathogenesis of pemphigus. The nature of the platelet-derived acantholysis-enhancing factors is presently unknown.

Blood Platelets↗
PubMed1986

[Acquired cutis laxa (elastolysis generalisata)].

Following glomerulonephritis with subsequent anasarca and repeated penicillin treatments, generalized cutis laxa developed in a forty-year-old patient. Progressive signs of pulmonary emphysema appeared in the same period. Additionally, a monoclonal gammopathy was detected during extensive examination.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

High doses of antigen-nonspecific IgG do not inhibit pemphigus acantholysis in skin organ cultures.

A patient suffering from severe pemphigus vulgaris was treated using large-volume plasma exchange in combination with an immunosuppressive regimen. As some recent reports have shown evidence that polyclonal, polyspecific human IgG in high doses through the i.v. route (IGIV) protect target platelets in idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura from attack by antiplatelet autoantibodies and/or immune complexes, we also administered IGIV to this pemphigus-vulgaris patient. In order to test the hypothesis that IGIV might protect in vitro-cultured human skin from acantholysis induced by pemphigus antibodies, studies with skin organ cultures were carried out using plasma from another pemphigus-vulgaris patient who had undergone plasma exchange. The preincubation of either the skin explants or the pemphigus plasma with various concentrations of IGIV (ranging from 0.15 to 15 mg/ml in the culture medium) did not prevent acantholysis induced by the pemphigus plasma nor did it inhibit the binding of the specific antibodies visualized by direct immunofluorescence. Thus, the assumption that IGIV may coat the pemphigus antigens on epidermal cells making them inaccessible to pathogenic autoantibodies was not substantiated by our tests in vitro; likewise, the hypothesis of functionally blocking autoantibody activity by means of anti-idiotype effects of IGIV cannot be supported.

Acantholysis↗
PubMed1983

[Thalidomide in dermatology].

Based on present publications we review indications of the therapy of dermatoses with thalidomide as well as possible mechanisms of action and side effects of this drug. In reactional states of leprosy the use of thalidomide is established. Further indications are chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus, prurigo nodularis, and eventually recurrent aphthosis and certain photodermatoses not responding to usual treatment. Therapeutical trials of thalidomide in diseases in which such a treatment is only occasionally or not at all mentioned in the literature will be reported. Concerning the mechanisms of action emphasis is put on a possible immunosuppression by thalidomide. Among the side effects the thalidomide neuropathy is stressed.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

[Plasma exchange in pemphigus vulgaris].

An attempt to treat a patient with pemphigus vulgaris by large volume plasma exchange with intravenous application of high doses of immunoglobulin at the end of each exchange procedure is reported. The therapeutic results--temporary clinical improvement parallel to a significant reduction in the level of circulating antiepithelial autoantibodies--are discussed in comparison with published case reports on plasma exchange in pemphigus vulgaris and bullous pemphigoid.

Autoantibodies↗
PubMed1980

[Drug fever caused by the antidepressive agent nomifensine (Alival)].

During 1979 4 patients were observed who developed short episodes of fever as high as 104 degrees F after oral intake of 25--100 mg nomifensine (Alival). In all four cases a clear fever spike was produced by reexposure to the drug. The reaction time was 4--6 hours. this drug-induced fever appeared initially 2--4 weeks after the commencement of Alival therapy. No other cause for the fever was identifiable. In one patient an allergic alveolitis was suspected to be a further reaction. In another patient a concomitant granulomatous hepatitis was possibly also due to this drug. It is probable that the febrile reactions have an allergic mechanism. Allergologic investigations have not yet been completed.

Aged↗
PubMed1978

[Acute mental disturbances following gynaecological operations (author's transl)].

In the first part acute mental disturbances of more or less psychotic character following upon major gynaecological operations are described. In general there were only minor somatic findings to be made. The mental disturbances were predominantly psychoreactive. They usually disappear under psychopharmacological therapy supporting psychotherapy quickly and do not recur. In the second part the literature relevant to this theme is compared and discussed. The attempt is made to interpret such disturbances as model cases for psychic disorders arising from an interaction between physical and mental components.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Increased coexpression of eotaxin and interleukin 5 in bullous pemphigoid.

While the presence of eosinophils in the skin lesions of bullous pemphigoid is well documented, the chemotactic factors responsible for eosinophil recruitment into the tissue still remain to be defined. In this study, eotaxin and interleukin-5 (IL-5) concentrations were determined in the blister fluid and sera of patients with bullous pemphigoid (acute and remission phase, n=6) in comparison with normal healthy controls (n=6) using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Eotaxin and IL-5 levels were increased in the blister fluid compared with the acute and remission phase sera, as well as compared with the sera of normal controls. In addition, immunoreactivity for eotaxin was predominantly found in the inflammatory cell infiltrate of lesional bullous pemphigoid biopsy specimens. In conclusion, the data provide evidence that co-operation of eotaxin and IL-5 may play an essential role in activating and recruiting eosinophils, which ultimately contribute to the tissue damage in bullous pemphigoid.

Aged↗