Endarterektomie mit Ultraschall

Zusammenfassung Die Wirksamkeit des Ultraschalles zur Endarterektomie wurde bei der offenen Aussch?lung von Leichenaorten überprüft. Ultraschall hat gegenüber konventionellen Aussch?lmethoden wesentliche Vorteile. Die Aussch?lwirkung des Ultraschalles beruht nicht auf einem Vibrationseffekt, sondern auf der Kavitation, die Ultraschall in der Aussch?lebene hervorruft.     

Die Bedeutung der Süchtigkeit für die Indikationsstellung zu schmerzchirurgischen Eingriffen

Zusammenfassung Die Medikamentensucht ist eine schwere Erkrankung, die sowohl den postoperativen Verlauf als auch das Ergebnis schmerzchirurgischer Eingriffe beeinflussen kann. Eine Nachuntersuchung von 136 Chordotomien, darunter waren auch 30 süchtige Patienten, ergab, da? beide Gruppen wohl die im wesentlichen gleiche Aussicht haben, durch den Eingriff schmerzfrei zu werden, jedoch ist die Zahl der Mi?erfolge in der Gruppe der süchtigen Patienten au?erordentlich hoch. Die Süchtigkeit ist unseres Erachtens keine absolute Kontraindikation zu einer Chordotomie, mu? jedoch als ein erh?htes Operationsrisiko berücksichtigt werden. Vor der beabsichtigten Operation sollte bekannt sein, da? der Patient süchtig ist und die „stabilisierende Dosis” des Suchtgiftes sollte ermittelt werden, die in der Lage ist, das Auftreten des Abstinenz-Syndroms zu verhindern. Vegetative St?rungen, Stoffwechselst?rungen, St?rungen im Flüssigkeitshaushalt sowie eine Unterern?hrung, die bei Suchtkranken, auftreten k?nnen, müssen pr?operativ entsprechend behandelt werden. Im Hinblick auf die Suchtgef?hrdung bei Patienten, die an starken chronischen Schmerzen leiden, sollte man sich frühzeitig zu einer Chordotomie entschlie?en.

---

Summary Drug addiction is a grave disease which may influence the postoperative course as well as the result of cordotomies. An examination of 136 cordotomies, including 30 patients with drug addiction, showed that both groups had essentially the same chance to be relieved from their pains, that however, the number of failures was especially high in the group of drug addicts. The preexistence of drug addiction is not necessarily a contraindication for cordotomy, it should however be considered as a greater risk for an operation. Before a cordotomy it should be known that the patient is a drug addict, furthermore it is necessary to find out the „stabilizing dose” of the drug which may prevent an abstinence-syndrom. The manifold disturbances (vegetative, fluid-balance, malnourishment and metabolism) which may occur with drug addicts, have to be treated accordingly before the planned operation. In view of the fact that patients suffering from severe chronical pain, may likely become drug-addicted, one should decide to make a cordotomy at an early sage.

---

---

Nach einem Vortrag am Neurochirurgischen Diskussionstag, 26. Oktober 1968, Salzburg.     

A comparison of the therapeutic efficacy and tolerability of etoricoxib and diclofenac in patients with osteoarthritis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and compare the efficacy and tolerability of etoricoxib and diclofenac in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip. METHODS: In this 6-week double-blind, active comparator controlled, parallel-group study eligible osteoarthritis patients were randomised to receive either etoricoxib 60 mg once daily (n = 256) or diclofenac 50 mg three times daily (n = 260). The primary study endpoint was the Western Ontario McMaster osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) pain subscale. Other endpoints included were the WOMAC stiffness and physical function subscales, and the Patient's Global Assessment of Response to Therapy (PGART) questionnaire. Early efficacy was evaluated using WOMAC first question (pain walking on a flat surface) and PGART 4 h after the morning dose of each drug on days 1 and 2. Rescue medication (paracetamol) used was also recorded. The study was designed to show comparable efficacy between etoricoxib 60 mg once daily and diclofenac 50 mg three times daily with respect to the primary endpoint and was conducted outside the United States at 67 centres in 29 countries. RESULTS: Etoricoxib (60 mg once daily) was comparable in efficacy to diclofenac (150 mg daily) on all the above parameters. The one exception was in the assessment of early efficacy where etoricoxib demonstrated significantly greater benefit within 4 h of taking the first dose on the first day of therapy (p = 0.007) as evaluated by the percentage of patients with good or excellent (PGART) responses. The treatment effects of both drugs were similar by the time day 2 was reached and were sustained throughout the 6 weeks of therapy. Both treatments were generally well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: Etoricoxib is clinically effective in the therapy of osteoarthritis providing a magnitude of effect comparable to that of the maximum recommended daily dose of diclofenac. The onset of clinical benefit with etoricoxib on day one is more rapid than that of diclofenac. Both drugs were generally well tolerated.     

Insulin resistance in the liver-specific IGF-1 gene-deleted mouse is abrogated by deletion of the acid-labile subunit of the IGF-binding protein-3 complex: relative roles of growth hormone and IGF-1 in insulin resistance

Liver IGF-1 deficient (LID) mice demonstrate a 75% reduction in circulating IGF-1 levels and a corresponding fourfold increase in growth hormone (GH) levels. At 16 weeks of age, LID mice demonstrate, using the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp, insulin insensitivity in muscle, liver, and fat tissues. In contrast, mice with a gene deletion of the acid-labile subunit (ALSKO) demonstrate a 65% reduction in circulating IGF-1 levels, with normal GH levels and no signs of insulin resistance. To further clarify the relative roles of increased GH and decreased IGF-1 levels in the development of insulin resistance, we crossed the two mouse lines and created a double knockout mouse (LID+ALSKO). LID+ALSKO mice demonstrate a further reduction in circulating IGF-1 levels (85%) and a concomitant 10-fold increase in GH levels. Insulin tolerance tests showed an improvement in insulin responsiveness in the LID+ALSKO mice compared with controls; LID mice were very insulin insensitive. Surprisingly, insulin sensitivity, while improved in white adipose tissue and in muscle, was unchanged in the liver. The lack of improvement in liver insulin sensitivity may reflect the absence of IGF-1 receptors or increased triglyceride levels in the liver. The present study suggests that whereas GH plays a major role in inducing insulin resistance, IGF-1 may have a direct modulatory role.     

Myostatin inhibition prevents diabetes and hyperphagia in a mouse model of lipodystrophy

Lipodystrophies are characterized by a loss of white adipose tissue, which causes ectopic lipid deposition, peripheral insulin resistance, reduced adipokine levels, and increased food intake (hyperphagia). The growth factor myostatin (MSTN) negatively regulates skeletal muscle growth, and mice with MSTN inhibition have reduced adiposity and improved insulin sensitivity. MSTN inhibition may therefore be efficacious in ameliorating diabetes. To test this hypothesis, we inhibited MSTN signaling in a diabetic model of generalized lipodystrophy to analyze its effects on glucose metabolism separate from effects on adipose mass. A-ZIP/F1 lipodystrophic mice were crossed to mice expressing a dominant-negative MSTN receptor (activin receptor type IIB) in muscle. MSTN inhibition in A-ZIP/F1 mice reduced blood glucose, serum insulin, triglyceride levels, and the rate of triglyceride synthesis, and improved insulin sensitivity. Unexpectedly, hyperphagia was normalized by MSTN inhibition in muscle. Blood glucose and hyperphagia were reduced in double mutants independent of the adipokine leptin. These results show that the effect of MSTN inhibition on insulin sensitivity is not secondary to an effect on adipose mass and that MSTN inhibition may be an effective treatment for diabetes. These results further suggest that muscle may play a heretofore unappreciated role in regulating food intake.     

Tick-borne encephalitis virus, Kyrgyzstan

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is an emerging pathogen in Europe and Asia. We investigated TBEV in Kyrgyzstan by collecting small mammals and ticks from diverse localities and analyzing them for evidence of TBEV infection. We found TBEV circulating in Kyrgyzstan much farther south and at higher altitudes than previously reported.