Das Purtscher-Syndrom

Zusammenfassung Die Angiopathia retinae traumatica Purtscher ist eine seltene, ggf. schwerwiegende Folge von Kopf- und Thoraxtraumata. Es finden sich typische Augenhintergrundveränderungen (Purtscher-Flecken, Cotton-wool-Herde u. a.). Prognostische Aussagen zum Heilverlauf können nicht gegeben werden. Wir berichten über einen Fall dieser Erkrankung 3 Tage nach Motorradunfall.     

Methodological standards for migrant-sensitive epidemiological research

Migrant-sensitive epidemiological research often encounters methodological problems: differences among studies with regard to the definition of the term "migrant", difficulties in identifying migrants among the study participants and low participation rates of migrants in epidemiological studies. Therefore, a project has been initiated at the Robert Koch Institute with the aim of developing standards which ensure migrant-sensitive epidemiological research, provide a uniform framework for data collection and analysis, and make different data sources comparable. Ideally, the following standards should be followed: a comprehensive definition of the study population which includes migrants, standardisation of the term "migrant" and of its operationalization, adequate participation rates of migrants in the study, inclusion of migrant-specific topics and questions, and migrant-specific non-responder analysis, data analysis, reporting of results and quality assurance. We give an overview of the status quo of the implementation of the these standards in ongoing studies of the Robert Koch Institute and propose minimum standards, which do not require considerable additional financial resources.     

Entgegnung zu der Bemerkung vonJ. ten Doesschate zu unserem Beitrag: Untersuchungen der Eiweißkörper in der subretinalen Flüssigkeit bei Netzhautablösung

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Absence of muscle capillary basement membrane thickening and retinopathy in patients with myocardial infarction and impaired I.V. glucose tolerance

Summary We have investigated the possible contribution of an early capillaropathy to the increased incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) in patients who had impaired glucose tolerence (IGT) during an i.v. glucose tolerance test (IVGTT). In lieu of the myocardium, biopsies from the quadriceps femoris muscle were studied for muscle capillary basement membrane (MCBM) thickening. Fluorescence angiography was performed to detect capillary retinopathy. Plasma growth hormone (GH) concentrations were determined during IGT. Data were obtained from 14 male patients with MI and IGT on IVGTT. Nine healthy subjects served as controls. MCBM thickness was similar in patients and controls (1,107±55vs 1,067±88 ?). None of the patients had signs of capillary retinopathy, and plasma GH concentrations were not higher in the patients as compared to control subjects. It is concluded that, in patients with IGT on IVGTT, MCBM thickening is probably not a factor for the development of MI.     

Experimentelle Untersuchungen mit Radiojod zur Iontophorese

Zusammenfassung Es wurde der Radiojodgehalt des Kammerwassers nach Iontophorese mittels markierter Jodlösung bei Mensch und Tier unter verschiedenen Bedingungen untersucht.Die Iontophorese wurde einerseits bei geöffneter Lidspalte, andererseits durch die geschlossenen Lider durchgeführt. Dabei konnten im Tierversuch bei direktem Kontakt des Elektrolyten mit der Hornhaut 30–78mal höhere Jodwerte im Kammerwasser als bei geschlossener Lidspalte festgestellt werden. Ebenso wie im Tierversuch konnte bei 2 Patienten nach Iontophorese bei geschlossenen Lidern keine nennenswerte Anreicherung von Jod im Kammerwasser nachgewiesen werden.     

Neurofeedback-based EEG alpha and EEG beta training. Effectiveness in patients with chronically decompensated tinnitus

BACKGROUND: Persisting tinnitus is an often devastating disease condition with restricted and rarely successful therapeutic options. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The present study investigates the therapeutic effect of short term neurofeedback-based EEG-Alpha- and EEG-Beta-training in 40 patients suffering from "chronic decompensated tinnitus". Patients were assigned to the Alpha or Beta group according to results of an initial EEG monitored stress-test. Four patients were excluded because they showed abnormal reactions in both EEG patterns. RESULTS: During 12 sessions, 23 patients succeeded to increase EEG Alpha activity by 16% (p< or =0.042) while 13 patients achieved no decrease of EEG Beta activity. However, both groups showed a significant reduction of subjective tinnitus annoyance by the end of the therapy (p< or =0.001) CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that neurofeedback may represent a new promising technique in the therapy of chronic decompensated tinnitus. However, it remains to be established whether the reduction of tinnitus annoyance results from the altered brain activity patterns supported by the neurofeedback learning process.     

Methylphenidate analogs with behavioral differences interact differently with arginine residues on the dopamine transporter in rat striatum

The methylphenidate analogs N-methyl-4-methyl-methylphenidate and N-benzylmethylphenidate are believed to interact differently with the dopamine transporter (DAT) in vitro and in vivo. Herein, we report that methylphenidate and N-methyl-4-methyl-methylphenidate, but not N-benzylmethylphenidate, protect the rat striatal DAT from the arginine-selective chemical modifying agent, phenylglyoxal. This suggests that methylphenidate and N-methyl-4-methyl-methylphenidate, but not N-benzylmethylphenidate, interact with the guanidine groups of arginine residues in the DAT of rat striatum. This differential interaction may, at least in part, explain the in vitro and in vivo differences between N-methyl-4-methyl-methylphenidate and N-benzylmethylphenidate.     

The role of V5/MT+ in the control of catching movements: an rTMS study

Milner and Goodale described a model which distinguishes between two visual streams in the brain. It is claimed that the ventral stream serves object recognition (i.e. vision for perception), and the dorsal streams provides visual information for the guidance of action (i.e. vision for action). This model is supported by evidence from the domain of spatial vision, but it remains unclear how motion vision fits into that model. More specifically, it is unclear how the motion complex V5/MT contributes to vision for perception and vision for action. We addressed this question in an earlier study with the V5-lesioned patient LM. Can a motion-blind patient reach for moving objects? We found that she is not only impaired in perceptual tasks but also in catching, suggesting a role for V5/MT+ in vision for both perception and action. However, LM's lesion goes beyond V5/MT+ into more dorsal regions. It is thus possible, that the catching deficit was not produced by damage to V5/MT+ itself. In this case, one would expect that selective interference with V5/MT+ would have no effect on catching. In the present study we tested this prediction by applying rTMS over V5/MT+ of the left hemisphere while healthy subjects were either performing a catching or a reaching task. We found that V5-TMS reduced the speed of the catching but not the reaching response. These results confirm that V5/MT+ is not only involved in perceptual but also in visuomotor tasks.