Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease: Medical or surgical treatment? Report of an interactive workshop

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the most common disease of the upper gastrointestinal tract. With the introduction of proton pump inhibitors medical treatment of GERD has been significantly improved. However, the development of laparoscopic antireflux surgery resulted in an increasing interest of surgeons in this disease. An interactive meeting was organized in order to develop an agreement between gastoenterologists and surgeons regarding therapeutic decisions and this is the main topic of this paper.     

Beta-defensin genomic copy number is not a modifier locus for cystic fibrosis

Human beta-defensin 2 (DEFB4, also known as DEFB2 or hBD-2) is a salt-sensitive antimicrobial protein that is expressed in lung epithelia. Previous work has shown that it is encoded in a cluster of beta-defensin genes at 8p23.1, which varies in copy number between 2 and 12 in different individuals. We determined the copy number of this locus in 355 patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), and tested for correlation between beta-defensin cluster genomic copy number and lung disease associated with CF. No significant association was found.     

Die Inkorporation von markiertem Sauerstoff aus Wasser in die ATP-, Kreatinphosphat- und Orthophosphat-Fraktion intakter Muskeln bei Ruhe,tetanischer Reizung und Erholung

Ohne ZusammenfassungMit 7 TextabbildungenDie vorliegenden Studien am Physiologischen Institut Freiburg i. Br. wurden durch einen Bundeszuschuß des Ministeriums für Atomkernenergie und Wasserwirtschaft (Bonn) ermöglicht. Die Untersuchungen in Zürich wurden aus Mitteln des Schweizer Nationalfonds getragen. Den genannten Institutionen gilt unser besonderer Dank. Vorläufige Mitteilungen über die Methode und die hier dargestellten Ergebnisse wurden bereits früher gegeben [siehe Fleckenstein, A. E. Gerlach, u. J. Janke gemeinsam mit P. Marmier: Naturwissenschaften 46, 365 (1959); Pflügers Arch. ges. Physiol. 270, 20 (1959); P. Marmier gemeinsam mit E. Gerlach, J. Janke u. A. Fleckenstein: Pflügers Arch. ges. Physiol. 270, 19 (1959); A. Fleckenstein: University of London Special University Lectures in Physiology 26–28. Oct. 1959: The turnover rates of high energy phosphate compounds during activity and rest as indicated by the oxygen exchange with H₂O¹⁸. Bericht von E. Gerlach sowie von J. Janke vor der Freiburger Med. Ges. vom 24. 11. 1959, vgl. Klin. Wschr. 38, 341–342 (1960)].     

Missense FGFR3 mutations create cysteine residues in thanatophoric dwarfism type I (TD1)

Thanatophoric dwarfism (TD) is a sporadic lethal skeletal dysplasia with micromelic shortening of the limbs, macrocephaly, platyspondyly and reduced thoracic cavity. In the most common subtype (TD1), femurs are curved, while in TD2, straight femurs are associated with cloverleaf skull. Mutations in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) gene were identified in both subtypes. While TD2 was accounted for by a single recurrent mutation in the tyrosine kinase 2 domain, TD1 resulted from either stop codon mutations or missense mutations in the extracellular domain of the gene. Here, we report the identification of FGFR3 mutations in 25/26 TD cases. Two novel missense mutations (Y373C and G370C) were detected in 8/26 and 1/26 TD1 cases respectively. Both mutations created cysteine residues in the juxta extramembrane domain of the receptor. Sixteen cases carried the previously reported R248C (9/26 cases), S249C (2/26 cases) or stop codon FGFR3 mutations (5/26 cases). Our results suggest that TD1 is a genetically homogeneous condition and give additional support to the view that newly created cysteine residues in the extracellular domain of the protein play a key role in the severity of the disease.