Komplementäre und alternative Medizin (CAM) bei der Therapie des Nierenzellkarzinoms

Das Immunsystem von Patienten mit Nierenzellkarzinomen ist beeintr?chtigt, worauf sich die verschiedenen immuntherapeutischen Ans?tze gründen. Bei einer Tumornephrektomie sind mehrere Mediatoren des Immunssystems im Besonderen beteiligt. Diese Ver?nderungen k?nnen durch die pr?operative Vorbehandlung mit Interleukin-2 (IL-2) moduliert werden. Ein geeignetes immunmodulatorisches Schema, welches unter ambulanten Bedingungen verabreicht werden kann, erscheint m?glich.     

Rheumatoid arthritis: explanatory power of specific radiographic findings for patient clinical status

Radiographs of the hands and wrists of 201 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were scored for erosion, joint space narrowing, and malalignment. The explanatory power of these findings for measures of clinical status was studied with stepwise multiple linear regression analyses. Radiographic scores explained 59.2% of variation in physical joint count deformity scores, 58.5% of variation in limited motion scores, 22.5% of variation in grip strength scores, 20.5% of variation in button test scores, and 13.5% of variation for the American Rheumatism Association (ARA) Functional Class. Malalignment scores best explained variation in physical deformity, limited motion, and button test scores; joint-space-narrowing scores best explained variation in grip strength; erosion scores best explained variation in ARA Functional Class. When age, duration of disease, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and rheumatoid factor titer were included in the regression analyses, results were similar to those without these variables. Therefore quantitative scores of specific radiographic findings are in themselves explanatory for measures of clinical status.     

Politische Entscheidungen in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz

Resources for public health are limited. The term “resource allocation” refers to the allocation of available financial means (averagely 10% of GNP in EU countries) to the various population groups, mostly divided by age. For example, Pediatrics naturally competes here with adult medicine, and in particular Geriatrics. Politicians are usually responsible for decisions about the distribution of available health budgets. The structure and responsibility of political committees, however, remains widely unknown to the majority of pediatricians. This article, therefore, aims to present a three-country comparison between Germany, Austria and Switzerland of the political decision-making process in relation to health care. An understanding of these processes is a precondition for being a successful“pediatric lobbyist”.     

Adjuvante Therapie des lokal fortgeschrittenen Prostatakarzinoms mit Ibandronat

Ohne Zusammenfassung Das Projekt wird im Rahmen einer Phase-II-Studie von der Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Grenzach-Wyhlen unterstützt.     

Cerebral vasculitis--recognition, diagnosis and management

Cerebral vasculitis is a serious but uncommon condition which presents considerable difficulties in recognition, diagnosis and treatment. We studied eight consecutive patients in whom this diagnosis was made. Despite the great diversity of symptoms and signs, we noted three clinical patterns: (i) acute or sub-acute encephalopathy, (ii) a picture with some similarities to multiple sclerosis ('MS-plus'), and (iii) features of a rapidly progressive space-occupying lesion. The identification of these patterns may help recognition of cerebral vasculitis. The diagnostic value of four investigative procedures not previously studied in cerebral vasculitis was assessed: ophthalmological examination using low-dose fluorescein angiography with slit-lamp video microscopy of the anterior segment (abnormal in 4/5 patients); spinal fluid oligoclonal band analysis (abnormal in 3/6 patients); anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody assay (abnormal in 3/8 patients); and indium-labelled white-cell cerebral imaging (positive in only one patient). Treatment was with steroid alone (n = 2) or steroid with cyclophosphamide (n = 6). Seven patients responded clinically.      

The binding of bovine factor XII to kaolin

Purified bovine factor XII was radiolabeled with iodine-125 and its binding to kaolin studied. Binding was rapid and was not readily reversible upon adding unlabeled factor XII. The optimum pH for binding was in the region of pH 5-7. The isoelectric point of factor XII was pH 5.7. High concentrations of urea or increasing the ionic strength of the medium did not inhibit binding. Polyvalent macromolecules, such as Polybrene and polylysine, were effective inhibitors of factor XII binding to kaolin. Polylysine caused the release of factor XII that had bound to the kaolin surface.