Über den Einfluss des Lactoflavins auf die Gewebsatmung von Gehirn und Netzhaut

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Selective resection of colorectal liver metastases.

AIMS: Safety of liver surgery for colorectal cancer liver metastases after neoadjuvant chemotherapy has to be re-evaluated. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two hundred Patients were prospectively analyzed after surgery for colorectal cancer liver metastases between 2001 and 2004 at our institution. Special emphasis was given to perioperative morbidity and mortality under modern perioperative care. RESULTS: There was no in-hospital mortality and the perioperative morbidity was 10% (20/200). Four patients had to be reoperated due to bile leak or intraabdominal abscess. The remainder either had infectious complications or pleural effusion and/or ascites requiring tapping. Variables strongly associated with decreased survival were T, N, G and UICC (International Union against cancer) classification of the primary, hepatic lesions>5 cm and elevated tumour markers. Short disease free interval and neoadjuvant chemotherapy without response predicted impaired recurrence free survival (RFS). Multivariate analysis revealed lymph node status and differentiation of the primary, presence of extrahepatic tumour and gender as factors associated with decreased survival. Administration of neoadjuvant chemotherapy was not associated with higher postoperative morbidity or prolonged hospital stay. CONCLUSIONS: Modern dissection techniques and improved perioperative care contributed to a very low rate of surgery-related morbidity (10%) and a zero percent mortality which was also observed in patients pretreated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to resection. Liver resection in experienced hands has become a safe part in the potentially curative attempt of treating patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.     

Comparative genomics and understanding of microbial biology

The sequences of close to 30 microbial genomes have been completed during the past 5 years, and the sequences of more than 100 genomes should be completed in the next 2 to 4 years. Soon, completed microbial genome sequences will represent a collection of >200,000 predicted coding sequences. While analysis of a single genome provides tremendous biological insights on any given organism, comparative analysis of multiple genomes provides substantially more information on the physiology and evolution of microbial species and expands our ability to better assign putative function to predicted coding sequences.     

Diagnosis and therapy of laryngeal sarcoidosis

The larynx may be involved in patients with systemic sarcoidosis or may be the first or only manifestation of the disease. The symptoms depend on the degree of involvement of the larynx, and include a sensation of lump in the throat, dysphagia, hoarseness, cough, stridor and dyspnea. The supraglottis is the most frequently affected area. There are pale pink, edematous, diffuse hypertrophy of the supraglottic structures or granular areas of the glottic and subglottic region. The diagnosis is made by the characteristic appearance of the larynx, histologic and laboratory findings and exclusion of other granulomatous diseases. Laryngeal sarcoidosis may cause life-threatening upper airway obstruction. Systemic corticosteroid therapy is the treatment of choice in most cases, but surgical excision or local steroid injections are useful in selected cases.     

Regulation of voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels in the early developing heart: role of beta1 integrins

In contrast to adult ventricular cardiomyocytes the developmentally early stage cardiomyocytes show a suppression of the basal voltage-dependent calcium channels (DCC L-type Ca2+ channels, I(Ca)) by carbachol (CCh). This effect is mediated by the endothelial NO-synthase (NOS III). In contrast late stage and adult cardiomyocytes a direct coupling of the muscarinic receptor to the adenylyl cyclase. Thus, NO may function as an early signal transduction molecule during development. This review elucidates the role of beta1-integrins in mediating signal transduction between muscarinic receptors and coupled downstream target proteins such as ion channels. The key finding is that in embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes deficient of beta1-integrins, the modulation of L-type Ca2+ channels via the M2 receptor is absent. Experiments indicate that this selective signaling defect occurs at the G-protein level. This suggests a novel critical role for integrins in membrane delimited signal transduction processes.     

Stair-step artifacts with single versus multiple detector-row helical CT

PURPOSE: To compare the effects of acquisition parameters on the magnitude and appearance of artifacts between single and multiple detector-row helical computed tomography (CT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cylindric (12.7 x 305.0-mm) acrylic rod inclined 45 degrees relative to the z axis was scanned at the isocenter and 100 mm from the isocenter with single detector-row (single-channel) helical CT (beam width, 1-10 mm; pitch, 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0) and multiple detector-row (four-channel) helical CT (detector width, 1. 25, 2.5, 3.75, and 5 mm; pitch, 0.75 or 1.5). The SD of radius measurements along the rod (SD(r)) was used to quantify artifacts in all 72 data sets and to analyze their frequency patterns. Volume-rendered images of the data sets were ranked by six independent and blinded readers; findings were correlated with acquisition parameters and SD(r) measurements. RESULTS: SD(r) was smaller in four- than in single-channel helical CT for any given table increment (TI). In single-channel helical CT, SD(r) increased linearly with beam width and geometrically with pitch. In four-channel helical CT, SD(r) measurements were directly proportional to the TI, regardless of the detector width and pitch combination used. Off-center object position on average increased SD(r) by a factor of 1.6 for single-channel helical CT and by a factor of 2.0 for four-channel helical CT. Subjective rankings of image quality correlated excellently with SD(r) (Spearman r = 0.94, P <.001). CONCLUSION: Artifacts are quantitatively and subjectively smaller with four- compared with single-channel helical CT for any given TI.     

Isolated Langerhans cell histiocytosis of the vulva: a case report and review of the literature

Isolated Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) of the female genital tract is very rare. A review of the literature revealed that only 15 cases of primary vulvar LCH have previously been published in the English literature. We describe an additional case of confined vulvar LCH. A 49-year-old woman presented with an ulcerous lesion that turned out to be LCH confined to the vulva only. After surgical excision, four recurrences followed, which were treated again by surgery. After the fourth recurrence, adjuvant radiotherapy was applied. When the fifth recurrence occurred, only surgical excision was performed, and the patient has now been disease-free for 51 months. There are no standard treatment options for this rare disease. The most effective treatment options still remain elusive. In our case in the end surgery proved to be effective.     

An atrionodal and nodo-Hisian gap phenomenon.

Two cases of the gap phenomenon are presented. The first was an example of a gap between the atrium and the AV node. In the second the gap was at the nodo-Hisian junction. At a critical H1H2 interval splitting of the premature His potential occurred. A decrease of the H1H2 interval led to the disappearance of the distal H2 potential and to atrioventricular block. But at even shorter coupling intervals the H1H2 interval lengthened suddenly with resumption of the AV conduction. These observations provide further evidence that the gap phenomenon has a wider spectrum than was previously thought.