Articles

Estrogen exposure, obesity and thyroid disease in women with severe pulmonary hypertension

Severe pulmonary hypertension is a lethal group of disorders which preferentially afflicts women. It appears that in recent years the patient profile has shifted towards older, obese, and postmenopausal women,...

Authors: Lori Sweeney and Norbert F Voelkel

Epidemiological composition, clinical and treatment characteristics of the patient cohort of the german competence network for HIV/AIDS

As its central basis for research, the Competence Network for HIV/AIDS (KompNet) established a nationwide cohort study on HIV-positive patients being in medical care in Germany. In this paper, we describe the ...

Authors: K Jansen, NH Brockmeyer, M Hahn, I Kaul, S Fenske, M Rausch, B Kuhlmann, A Ulmer, E Lauenroth-Mai, T Harrer, M Hower, A Skaletz-Rorowski and C Michalik

Gene expression of circulating tumour cells and its correlation with tumour stage in breast cancer patients

Breast cancer (BC) represents one of the leading causes of cancer related deaths worldwide. New tools for diagnostic staging and therapeutic monitoring are needed to improve individualized therapies and improv...

Authors: E Bölke, K Orth, PA Gerber, G Lammering, R Mota, M Peiper, C Matuschek, W Budach, E Rusnak, S Shaikh, B Dogan, HB Prisack and H Bojar

Gasperini syndrome as clinical manifestation of pontine demyelination

The Gasperini syndrome is a very rare brainstem disease characterized by the typical combination of ipsilateral lesions of the cranial nerves V-VII and dissociated contralateral hemihypesthesia, whereas both c...

Authors: M Krasnianski, T Müller, S Zierz and M Winterholler

Echinacea/sage or chlorhexidine/lidocaine for treating acute sore throats: a randomized double-blind trial

The aim of this trial was to assess the relative efficacy of a sage/echinacea spray and a chlorhexidine/lidocaine spray in the treatment of acute sore throats.

Authors: A Schapowal, D Berger, P Klein and A Suter

Effects of exercise training on mobilization and functional activity of blood-derived progenitor cells in patients with acute myocardial infarction

The aim of the present study was to determine whether regular exercise training (ET) is effective at promoting the mobilization of CPCs and improving their functional activity in patients with recently acquire...

Authors: M Brehm, F Picard, P Ebner, G Turan, E Bölke, M Köstering, P Schüller, T Fleissner, D Ilousis, K Augusta, M Peiper, Ch Schannwell and BE Strauer

Idiopathic Recurrent Calcium Urolithiasis (IRCU): variation of fasting urinary protein is a window to pathophysiology or simple consequence of renal stones in situ? A tripartite study in male patients providing insight into oxidative metabolism as possible driving force towards alteration of urine composition, calcium salt crystallization and stone formation*

In IRCU it is uncertain whether variation of urinary protein, especially non-albumin protein (NAlb-P), is due to the presence of stones or reflects alteration of oxidative metabolism.

Authors: PO Schwille, A Schmiedl and J Wipplinger

Evaluation of quantitative liver function tests in HIV-positive patients under anti-retroviral therapy

Quantitative tests of liver function (QTLF) which are based on the hepatic metabolism or clearance of test substances have been successfully used to predict prognosis of a variety of different liver diseases. ...

Authors: M Miller, A Kahraman, B Ross, M Beste and G Gerken

Maintenance electroconvulsive therapy for comorbid pharmacotherapy-refractory obsessive-compulsive and schizoaffective disorder

There is a high comorbidity of schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsory disorder (OCD) associated with more severe symptoms. Standard pharmacotherapy achieve symptom improvement in approximately 60% only.

Authors: F Hanisch, J Friedemann, J Piro and P Gutmann

Mycophenolate mofetil as second line immunosuppressant in myasthenia gravis - a long-term prospective open-label study

The preferred immunosuppressive drug for long term treatment of myasthenia gravis (MG) is azathioprine (AZA). Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) was suggested as an effective and safe second line alternative to AZA.

Authors: F Hanisch, M Wendt and S Zierz

A phase II study on safety and efficacy of high-dose N-acetylcysteine in patients with cystic fibrosis

We conducted a single-centre, randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled phase II clinical study to test safety and efficacy of a 12-week therapy with low-dose (700 mg/daily) or high-dose (2800 mg/daily) o...

Authors: N Dauletbaev, P Fischer, B Aulbach, J Gross, W Kusche, U Thyroff-Friesinger, TOF Wagner and J Bargon

The time of diagnosis impacts surgical management but not the outcome of patients with gallbladder Carcinoma

Only 50% of gallbladder cancers (GBC) are recognized before operation and the remaining tumors are diagnosed during surgery or afterwards by the pathologist. These situations may demand substantial modificatio...

Authors: F Löhe, G Meimarakis, C Schauer, M Angele, KW Jauch and RJ Schauer

The patient cohort of the German competence network for HIV/AIDS (KompNet):a profile

In this paper, we describe the main objectives, the study design and the onset of the patient cohort of the German Competence Network for HIV/AIDS (KompNet). Furthermore, we depict sociodemographic and clinica...

Authors: K Jansen, C Michalik, M Hahn, S Dupke, S Esser, H Jaeger, S Köppe, A Moll, A Plettenberg, RE Schmidt, A Skaletz-Rorowski and NH Brockmeyer

Conservative management of rectal perforation after nerve sparing endoscopic extraperitoneal radical prostatectomy (NS EERPE) in a patient with a past history of polypectomy

Rectal polypectomy causes thinning (or even perforation) of the rectal wall in addition to thermic injury at the polypectomy site.

Authors: WY Khoder, AJ Becker, B Schlenker, S Tritschler, PJ Bastian and CG Stief

Angiogenic squamous dysplasia-like phenomenon in oral epithelial precursor lesions

Dysplasia, the morphological yardstick of epithelial precursor lesions, is the collective term for a variety of architectural and cytological changes within the altered oral epithelium. Angiogenic squamous dys...

Authors: CH Siar, VPA Oo, H Nagatsuka, K Nakano, KH Ng and T Kawakami

Macrolide antibiotics like azithromycin increase lipopolysaccharide-induced IL-8 production by human gingival fibroblasts

Macrolide antibiotics are reported to modulate the production of cytokines in various type of cells. We examined the effect of macrolide antibiotics on inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and IL-8) and chemical media...

Authors: A Kamemoto, T Ara, T Hattori, Y Fujinami, Y Imamura and P-L Wang

Airway surface liquid contains endogenous DNase activity which can be activated by exogenous magnesium

The removal of highly viscous mucus from the airways is an important task in the treatment of chronic lung disease like in cystic fibrosis. The inhalation of recombinant human DNase-I (rhDNase-I) is used to fa...

Authors: J Rosenecker, S Naundorf and C Rudolph

Antihypertensive efficacy of metoprolol XL/Low dose chlorthalidone (6.25 mg) combination: a randomized, comparative study in Indian patients with mild-to-moderate essential hypertension

High blood pressure is one of the most important risk factors, directly responsible for increasing the cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The primary objective was to evaluate the efficacy of metoprolol X...

Authors: A Pareek, SD Zawar, SB Salagre, NB Chandurkar and ND Karnik

Perioperative blood loss in open retropubic radical prostatectomy - is it safe to get operated at an educational hospital?

Blood loss during radical prostatectomy has been a long term issue. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the training level of the first assistant regarding blood loss in open retropubic r...

Authors: A Karl, A Buchner, H Beckerv, M Staehler, M Seitz and C Stief

Very early posttraumatic serum alterations are significantly associated to initial massive RBC substitution, injury severity, multiple organ failure and adverse clinical outcome in multiple injured patients

Multiple severe trauma frequently leads to massive dysbalances of the human immune system. This phenomenon is known as "Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS)". SIRS is connected to multiple organ failure...

Authors: V Bogner, L Keil, K-G Kanz, C Kirchhoff, BA Leidel, W Mutschler and P Biberthaler

Treatment during primary HIV infection does not lower viral set point but improves CD4 lymphocytes in an observational cohort

To investigate if early treatment of primary HIV-1 infection (PHI) reduces viral set point and/or increases CD4 lymphocytes.

Authors: C Koegl, E Wolf, N Hanhoff, H Jessen, K Schewe, M Rausch, J Goelz, A Goetzenich, H Knechten and H Jaeger

1. Deutsch-Österreichisch-Schweizerischer AIDS-Kongress (SÖDAK 2009)

Authors:

Dysplasia epiphysealis hemimelica of the distal ulna: a case report and review of the literature

Dysplasia epiphysealis hemimelica (DEH) or Trevor's Disease is a very rare disease with an estimated incidence of one in 1.000.000. The majority of cases reported affect the lower limb and only 25 case reports...

Authors: T Vogel, T Skuban, C Kirchhoff, A Baur-Melnyk, S Siegert and B Heimkes

Acoustic monitoring (RFM) of total hip arthroplasty results of a cadaver study

At present there are no reliable non-traumatic and non-invasive methods to analyse the healing process and loosening status after total hip replacement. Therefore early as well as late loosening of prosthesis ...

Authors: AC Unger, H Cabrera-Palacios, AP Schulz, Ch Jürgens and A Paech

Short-term outcome after posterior versus lateral surgical approach for total hip arthroplasty - a randomized clinical trial*

Currently, total hip replacement (THR) is most commonly performed via a posterior or a direct lateral approach, but the impact of the latter on the invention's outcome has yet not been quantified.

Authors: W-C Witzleb, L Stephan, F Krummenauer, A Neuke and K-P Günther

BCL2-938C > A and CALCA-1786T > C polymorphisms in aseptic loosened total hip arthroplasty

The search for influencing factors and new pathways in aseptic loosening of arthroplasties is a major focus of recent studies. Analyses of polymorphisms of genes revealed a correlation between a specific allel...

Authors: C Wedemeyer, MD Kauther, S Hanenkamp, H Nückel, M Bau, W Siffert and HS Bachmann

Impaired CD4-cell immune reconstitution upon HIV therapy in patients with toxoplasmic encephalitis compared to patients with pneumocystis pneumonia as AIDS indicating disease

There is only little data on immune reconstitution in antiretroviral naïve AIDS-patients with toxoplasmosis. The observation of several cases with reduced increase of CD4-cells upon start of antiretroviral tre...

Authors: U Kastenbauer, E Wolf, C Kollan, O Hamouda and JR Bogner

Chest wall and intrathoracic desmoid tumors: surgical experience and review of the literature

Desmoid tumors are fibroblastic/myofibroblastic neoplasms, which originate from musculo-aponeurotic structures and are classified as deep fibromatoses. Despite their benign histologic appearance and lack of me...

Authors: E Bölke, H Krasniqi, G Lammering, R Engers, C Matuschek, S Gripp, PA Gerber, G Fischer, M Peiper, S Shaikh, W Budach and K Orth

Natural history, clinical pattern, and surgical considerations of pneumatosis intestinalis

Pneumatosis intestinalis has been increasingly detected in recent years with the more frequent use of computed tomography for abdominal imaging of the intestine. The underlying causes of the gas found during r...

Authors: PN Khalil, S Huber-Wagner, R Ladurner, A Kleespies, M Siebeck, W Mutschler, K Hallfeldt and K-G Kanz

Adherence to prescribed oral medication in adult patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis: A critical review of the literature

Poor adherence to complex multimodal therapies is a widely recognized problem in the daily care of dialysis patients, contributing to excess morbidity and mortality of this population. While a few studies have...

Authors: H Schmid, B Hartmann and H Schiffl

Myositis associated with localized lipodystrophy: an unrecognized condition?

Lipodystrophies represent a heterogeneous group of diseases characterized by altered body fat repartition and often metabolic alterations. Here we illustrate a 20 year old male with myositis in association wit...

Authors: H-J Gdynia, P Weydt, A Ernst, S Klein, A-D Sperfeld and A Riecker

Validation of the self regulation questionnaire as a measure of health in quality of life research

Several epidemiological studies address psychosomatic 'self regulation' as a measure of quality of life aspects. However, although widely used in studies with a focus on complementary cancer treatment, and rec...

Authors: A Büssing, M Girke, C Heckmann, F Schad, T Ostermann and M Kröz

Impact of maternal body mass index on neonatal outcome

Maternal body mass index has an impact on maternal and fetal pregnancy outcome. An increased maternal BMI is known to be associated with admission of the newborn to a neonatal care unit. The reasons and impact...

Authors: P Kalk, F Guthmann, K Krause, K Relle, M Godes, G Gossing, H Halle, R Wauer and B Hocher

Renal impairment after liver transplantation - a pilot trial of calcineurin inhibitor-free vs. calcineurin inhibitor sparing immunosuppression in patients with mildly impaired renal function after liver transplantation

Chronic kidney disease is frequent in patients after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) and has impact on survival. Patients receiving calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) are at increased risk to develop impaired...

Authors: T Gerhardt, B Terjung, P Knipper, H Palmedo, RP Woitas, J Kalff, T Sauerbruch and U Spengler

Biliary diseases in heart transplanted patients: a comparison between cyclosporine a versus tacrolimus-based immunosuppression

A cyclosporine (CsA)-based immunosuppression is associated with an increased incidence of cholelithiasis after heart transplantation. It is not known if tacrolimus (Tac) has comparable biliary side effects in ...

Authors: J Stief, HU Stempfle, M Götzberger, P Überfuhr, M Köpple, P Lehnert, C Kaiser and U Schiemann

Functional and radiological evaluations of high-energy tibial plateau fractures treated with double-buttress plate fixation

This study was designed to evaluate the functional and radiological outcomes of patients with complex tibial plateau fractures treated with double-buttress plate fixation.

Authors: Z Yu, L Zheng, Y Zhang, J Li and B Ma

Switch from a ZDV/3TC-based regimen to a completely once daily (QD) regimen of emtricitabine/tenofovir DF fixed dose combination plus a third QD agent (SONETT)

To assess the efficacy and safety of a treatment switch from a twice-daily (BID) regimen containing zidovudine (ZDV) and lamivudine (3TC) plus a third agent to a once daily (QD) regimen containing the fixed-do...

Authors: K Arasteh, L Weitner, S Fenske, B Kuhlmann, M Freiwald, R Ebrahimi, L Gallo, B Ranneberg and T Mertenskoetter

Wireless capsule endoscopy for the detection of small bowel diseases in HIV-1-infected patients

In HIV-infected patients, manifestations of the disease are common in the gastrointestinal tract. The objective of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic yield of the Given^® Video Capsule System (Given Imaging,...

Authors: M Oette, A Stelzer, K Göbels, M Wettstein, A Sagir, T Feldt and D Häussinger

Coinheritance of hereditary spherocytosis and reversibility of cirrhosis in a young female patient with hereditary hemochromatosis

Here we report a 33-years-old woman with hereditary spherocytosis and hemochromatosis due to homozygosity for the C282Y mutation of the HFE gene. The coinheritance of both conditions led to severe iron overload a...

Authors: A Höblinger, C Erdmann, CP Strassburg, T Sauerbruch and F Lammert

The dark side of the moon: Impact of moon phases on long-term survival, mortality and morbidity of surgery for lung cancer

Superstition is common and causes discomfiture or fear, especially in patients who have to undergo surgery for cancer. One superstition is, that moon phases influence surgical outcome. This study was performed...

Authors: A Kuehnl, M Herzog, M Schmidt, H-M Hornung, K-W Jauch, RA Hatz and C Graeb

Validation of the brief multidimensional life satisfaction scale in patients with chronic diseases

We intended to determine the reliability of a brief life satisfaction scale in a sample of patients with chronic diseases, and to analyze its external validity.

Authors: A Büssing, J Fischer, A Haller, P Heusser, T Ostermann and PF Matthiessen

Surgical management of splenic echinococcal disease

Infection of the spleen with echinococcus is a rare clinical entity. Because the diagnosis of a splenic infestation with echinococcus is sometimes delayed, large hydatid cysts or pseudotumors may develop, dema...

Authors: G Meimarakis, G Grigolia, F Loehe, KW Jauch and RJ Schauer

Gait patterns after intraarticular treatment of patients with osteoarthritis of the Knee - Hyaluronan versus triamcinolone: a prospective, randomized, doubleblind, monocentric study

Evaluation of gait performance and muscle activity patterns as well as clinical efficacy and safety after single intraarticular injection with hyaluronan compared with triamcinolone in patients with knee osteo...

Authors: A Skwara, R Ponelis, CO Tibesku, D Rosenbaum and S Fuchs-Winkelmann

Proinflammatory and prothrombotic effects on human vascular endothelial cells of Immune-cell-derived LIGHT

LIGHT (TNFSF 14) belongs to the tumor necrosis factor superfamily and is expressed by activated T cells as well as various types of antigen presenting cells. LIGHT binds to its cellular receptors TR2 and LTßR ...

Authors: S Celik, V Shankar, A Richter, H-J Hippe, M Akhavanpoor, F Bea, C Erbel, S Urban, N Blank, N Wambsganss, HA Katus and TJ Dengler

HIV or HIV-Therapy? Causal attributions of symptoms and their impact on treatment decisions among women and men with HIV

Among people with HIV, we examined symptom attribution to HIV or HIV-therapy, awareness of potential side effects and discontinuation of treatment, as well as sex/gender differences.

Authors: H Kremer, U Sonnenberg-Schwan, G Arendt, NH Brockmeyer, A Potthoff, A Ulmer, K Graefe, T Lorenzen, W Starke and UA Walker

Efficacy and safety of darunavir and etravirine in an antiretroviral multi-experienced youth with vertically HIV-1 infection

Multiclass-drug resistance, often caused by poor treatment compliance, is a challenging problem in all categories of HIV-infected patients. Selective pressure is higher in youth for both biological and behavio...

Authors: R Rosso, C Bernardini, B Bruzzone, G Secondo, G Icardi, C Viscoli and A Di Biagio

Effects of maleimide-polyethylene glycol-modified human hemoglobin (MP4) on tissue necrosis in SKH1-hr hairless mice

Tissue hypoxia after blood loss, replantation and flap reperfusion remains a challenging task in surgery. Normovolemic hemodilution improves hemorheologic properties without increasing oxygen carrying capacity...

Authors: O Goertz, MH Kirschner, H Lilienfein, P Babilas, HU Steinau, C Andree, A Daigeler, A Stachon, H Homann and S Langer

Differential number of CD34+, CD133+ and CD34+/CD133+ cells in peripheral blood of patients with congestive heart failure

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) which are characterised by the simulateous expression of CD34, CD133 and vascular endothelial growth receptor 2 (VEGF 2) are involved in the pathophysiology of congestive hea...

Authors: M Fritzenwanger, F Lorenz, C Jung, M Fabris, H Thude, D Barz and HR Figulla

The effects of physical exercise on plasma levels of relaxin, NTproANP, and NTproBNP in patients with ischemic heart disease

The insulin-like and vasodilatatory polypeptide relaxin (RLX), formerly known as a pregnancy hormone, has gained interest as a potential humoral mediator in human heart failure. Controversy exists about the re...

Authors: M Heringlake, T Kox, J Poeling, S Klaus, T Hanke, N Franz, F Eberhardt, H Heinze, FP Armbruster and L Bahlmann

Neurofibromatosis

Neurofibromatosis (NF) is one of the most common genetic disorders. Inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion, this phacomatosis is classified into two genetically distinct subtypes characterized by multiple ...

Authors: PA Gerber, AS Antal, NJ Neumann, B Homey, C Matuschek, M Peiper, W Budach and E Bölke