Degeneration model of the porcine lumbar motion segment: effects of various intradiscal procedures

Summary In an experimental study with 18 minipigs, we have tried to establish a model for the standardized evaluation of mechanical, histological and radiological phenomena of degenerative and reparative processes within the lumbar motion segment. Comparing different operative techniques revealed that the intradiscal application of hyaluronic acid into the nuclear defect is likely to enhance the regeneration process. Using the measurement of disc compliance, a semiautomatic picture analyzer and a new semiquantitative disc score could make future studies more comparable. From this basis, the intradiscal application of hyaluronic acid deserves further evaluation.     

Magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy of hepatic iron overload

Experimental animals that had been given excess iron in their diet were studied by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in vivo and by magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy in vitro. Hepatic iron overload in patients with transfusional iron excess was studied by MR imaging, and isolated iron protein fractions were studied in vitro by MR spectroscopy. The spin echo image intensity of livers with iron overload was decreased because of the extreme decreases in T2 compared with normal; T1 was decreased only moderately. The relaxation rates 1/T2 and 1/T1 both showed a linear relationship to hepatic iron levels. Ferritin solutions showed moderate decreases in T2 and mild decreases in T1. The T2 relaxivity of ferritin, which is due to the iron core rather than the apoferritin protein shell, does not appear sufficient to account for the extreme decrease in T2 observed in hepatic iron overload. Low molecular weight cytosol iron is present in lower concentrations than ferritin but potentially has much greater relaxivity and may contribute to the MR findings. These techniques may be useful in other studies of iron metabolism.     

Zur Anatomie der Madelungschen Deformität der Hand

Ohne Zusammenfassung (Mit 9 Abbildungen, Fig. 1, 6–9 im Text, Fig. 2–5 auf Tafel V.)     

Sonstige Körperverletzungen. Gewaltsammer Tod

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Chromosmonstudien

Zusammenfassung Die für die Humantherapie bedeutungsvolle Frage, ob Chromosmon (Methylenblau-Zucker) als spezifisches Antidot bei CO-Vergiftungen wirken kann, wurde an 88 Kaninchen, die unter ganz bestimmten, gleichmäßigen Versuchsbedingungen der Wirkung einer CO-Atmosphäre ausgesetzt waren, geprüft. Die Durchführung einer derartig großen Zahl von Tierversuchen war notwendig, um über die individuelle Verschiedenheit der Widerstandskraft gesunder Kaninchen gegen CO hinaus zu einem klaren Urteil über den Erfolg der Chromosmonbehandlung zu gelangen. Das Chromosmon wurde zum Teil unmittelbar vor, zum Teil unmittelbar nach der CO-Einwirkung dem Tier intravenös verabreicht. Das Gesamtergebnis aus vier sorgfältig beobachteten Versuchsreihen ist folgendes:Die zweifellos günstige Wirkung der intravenösen Chromosmoninjektion auf die Schwere und Dauer einer CO-Vergiftung ist nicht spezifisch; sie kann in eben derselben, ja in vielleicht noch besserer Weise durch Injektion einer reinen 10% igen Glucoselösung erzielt werden. Chromosmon ist kein spezifisches Antidot gegen CO-Vergiftung.     

Response switching in schizophrenia patients and healthy subjects: effects of the inter-response interval

Schizophrenia patients show impaired saccadic response switching, pointing to action control deficits at the level of response selection. Previous studies on healthy subjects suggested that response switch effects might decrease if the prior response is longer ago, reflecting a slow dissipation of the response program persisting from the previous trial. The present study aimed at directly investigating whether response switch effects in schizophrenia patients and healthy subjects depend on the inter-response interval (IRI). Effects of response switching on pro- and antisaccade performance were analyzed in 19 schizophrenia patients and 19 healthy controls at 3 different IRIs (2,500, 3,000, 4,000 ms). Response switch effects of healthy subjects did not vary with the IRI, suggesting that the previous response program persists as long as no contrary response program is activated. In schizophrenia, response switch deficits were replicated at an IRI of 3,000 ms, whereas at IRIs of 2,500 and 4,000 ms, effects of response switching did not significantly differ from healthy subjects. This might suggest that there is a specific IRI range particularly sensitive to response switch deficits in schizophrenia. However, effects of response switching at different IRIs remain to be consolidated.