Publications

265 Publications visible to you, out of a total of 265

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The Three-Factor-Eating-Questionnaire (TFEQ) is an established instrument to assess eating behaviour. Analysis of the TFEQ-factor structure was based on selected, convenient and clinical samples so far. Aims of this study were (I) to analyse the factor structure of the German version of the TFEQ and (II)--based on the refined factor structure--to examine the association between eating behaviour and the body mass index (BMI) in a general population sample of 3,144 middle-aged and older participants (40-79 years) of the ongoing population based cohort study of the Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases (LIFE Health Study). The factor structure was examined in a split-half analysis with both explorative and confirmatory factor analysis. Associations between TFEQ-scores and BMI values were tested with multiple regression analyses controlled for age, gender, and education. We found a three factor solution for the TFEQ with an 'uncontrolled eating', a 'cognitive restraint' and an 'emotional eating' domain including 29 of the original 51 TFEQ-items. Scores of the 'uncontrolled eating domain' showed the strongest correlation with BMI values (partial r = 0.26). Subjects with scores above the median in both 'uncontrolled eating' and 'emotional eating' showed the highest BMI values (mean = 29.41 kg/m(2)), subjects with scores below the median in all three domains showed the lowest BMI values (mean = 25.68 kg/m(2); F = 72.074, p<0.001). Our findings suggest that the TFEQ is suitable to identify subjects with specific patterns of eating behaviour that are associated with higher BMI values. Such information may help health care professionals to develop and implement more tailored interventions for overweight and obese individuals.

Authors: A. Loffler, T. Luck, F. S. Then, C. Sikorski, P. Kovacs, Y. Bottcher, J. Breitfeld, A. Tonjes, A. Horstmann, M. Loffler, C. Engel, J. Thiery, A. Villringer, M. Stumvoll, S. G. Riedel-Heller

Date Published: 1st Aug 2015

Publication Type: Not specified

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BACKGROUND The ’German Consortium for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer’ (GC-HBOC) offers women with a family history of breast and ovarian cancer genetic counseling. The aim of this modeling studyy was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of genetic testing for BRCA 1/2 in women with a high familial risk followed by different preventive interventions (intensified surveillance, risk-reducing bilateral mastectomy, risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, or both mastectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy) compared to no genetic test. METHODS A Markov model with a lifelong time horizon was developed for a cohort of 35-year-old women with a BRCA 1/2 mutation probability of ≥ 10%. The perspective of the German statutory health insurance (SHI) was adopted. The model included the health states ’well’ (women with increased risk), ’breast cancer without metastases’, ’breast cancer with metastases’, ’ovarian cancer’, ’death’, and two post (non-metastatic) breast or ovarian cancer states. Outcomes were costs, quality of life years gained (QALYs) and life years gained (LYG). Important data used for the model were obtained from 4380 women enrolled in the GC-HBOC. RESULTS Compared with the no test strategy, genetic testing with subsequent surgical and non-surgical treatment options provided to women with deleterious BRCA 1 or 2 mutations resulted in additional costs of \text€7256 and additional QALYs of 0,43 (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of \text€17,027 per QALY; cost per LYG: \text€22,318). The results were robust in deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION The provision of genetic testing to high-risk women with a BRCA1 and two mutation probability of ≥ 10% based on the individual family cancer history appears to be a cost-effective option for the SHI.

Authors: Dirk Müller, Marion Danner, Rita Schmutzler, Christoph Engel, Kirsten Wassermann, Björn Stollenwerk, Stephanie Stock, Kerstin Rhiem

Date Published: 1st Jul 2019

Publication Type: Journal article

Human Diseases: hereditary breast ovarian cancer syndrome

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OBJECTIVES: even though a great number of research studies have shown that high education has protective effects against dementia, some studies did not observe such a significant effect. In that respect, the aim of our study was to investigate and compare various operationalisation approaches of education and how they impact dementia risk within one sample. METHODS: data were derived from the Leipzig longitudinal study of the aged (LEILA75+). Individuals aged 75 and older underwent six cognitive assessments at an interval of 1.5 years and a final follow-up 15 years after the baseline assessment. We operationalised education according to different approaches used in previous studies and analysed the impact on dementia incidence via multivariate cox regression modelling. RESULTS: the results showed that whether education is identified as significant protector against dementia strongly depends on the operationalisation of education. Whereas the pure number of years of education showed statistically significant protective effects on dementia risk, other more complex categorical classification approaches did not. Moreover, completing >10 years of education or a tertiary level seems to be an important threshold to significantly reduce dementia risk. CONCLUSION: findings suggest a protective effect of more years of education on a lower dementia risk with a particular critical threshold of completing >10 years of education. Further, the findings highlight that, when examining risks and protective factors of dementia, a careful consideration of the underlying definitions and operationalisation approaches is required.

Authors: F. S. Then, T. Luck, M. C. Angermeyer, S. G. Riedel-Heller

Date Published: 9th Apr 2016

Publication Type: Journal article

Human Diseases: dementia

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PURPOSE Guidelines recommend administering antibiotics within 1 h of sepsis recognition but this recommendation remains untested by randomized trials. This trial was set up to investigate whetherr survival is improved by reducing the time before initiation of antimicrobial therapy by means of a multifaceted intervention in compliance with guideline recommendations. METHODS The MEDUSA study, a prospective multicenter cluster-randomized trial, was conducted from July 2011 to July 2013 in 40 German hospitals. Hospitals were randomly allocated to receive conventional continuous medical education (CME) measures (control group) or multifaceted interventions including local quality improvement teams, educational outreach, audit, feedback, and reminders. We included 4183 patients with severe sepsis or septic shock in an intention-to-treat analysis comparing the multifaceted intervention (n = 2596) with conventional CME (n = 1587). The primary outcome was 28-day mortality. RESULTS The 28-day mortality was 35.1% (883 of 2596 patients) in the intervention group and 26.7% (403 of 1587 patients; p = 0.01) in the control group. The intervention was not a risk factor for mortality, since this difference was present from the beginning of the study and remained unaffected by the intervention. Median time to antimicrobial therapy was 1.5 h (interquartile range 0.1-4.9 h) in the intervention group and 2.0 h (0.4-5.9 h; p = 0.41) in the control group. The risk of death increased by 2% per hour delay of antimicrobial therapy and 1% per hour delay of source control, independent of group assignment. CONCLUSIONS Delay in antimicrobial therapy and source control was associated with increased mortality but the multifaceted approach was unable to change time to antimicrobial therapy in this setting and did not affect survival.

Authors: Frank Bloos, Hendrik Rüddel, Daniel Thomas-Rüddel, Daniel Schwarzkopf, Christine Pausch, Stephan Harbarth, Torsten Schreiber, Matthias Gründling, John Marshall, Philipp Simon, Mitchell M. Levy, Manfred Weiss, Andreas Weyland, Herwig Gerlach, Tobias Schürholz, Christoph Engel, Claudia Matthäus-Krämer, Christian Scheer, Friedhelm Bach, Reimer Riessen, Bernhard Poidinger, Karin Dey, Norbert Weiler, Andreas Meier-Hellmann, Helene H. Häberle, Gabriele Wöbker, Udo X. Kaisers, Konrad Reinhart

Date Published: 1st Nov 2017

Publication Type: Journal article

Human Diseases: disease by infectious agent

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CONTEXT: Early appropriate antimicrobial therapy leads to lower mortality rates associated with severe sepsis. The role of empirical combination therapy comprising at least 2 antibiotics of different mechanisms remains controversial. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect of moxifloxacin and meropenem with the effect of meropenem alone on sepsis-related organ dysfunction. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: A randomized, open-label, parallel-group trial of 600 patients who fulfilled criteria for severe sepsis or septic shock (n = 298 for monotherapy and n = 302 for combination therapy). The trial was performed at 44 intensive care units in Germany from October 16, 2007, to March 23, 2010. The number of evaluable patients was 273 in the monotherapy group and 278 in the combination therapy group. INTERVENTIONS: Intravenous meropenem (1 g every 8 hours) and moxifloxacin (400 mg every 24 hours) or meropenem alone. The intervention was recommended for 7 days and up to a maximum of 14 days after randomization or until discharge from the intensive care unit or death, whichever occurred first. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Degree of organ failure (mean of daily total Sequential Organ Failure Assessment [SOFA] scores over 14 days; score range: 0-24 points with higher scores indicating worse organ failure); secondary outcome: 28-day and 90-day all-cause mortality. Survivors were followed up for 90 days. RESULTS: Among 551 evaluable patients, there was no statistically significant difference in mean SOFA score between the meropenem and moxifloxacin group (8.3 points; 95% CI, 7.8-8.8 points) and the meropenem alone group (7.9 points; 95% CI, 7.5-8.4 points) (P = .36). The rates for 28-day and 90-day mortality also were not statistically significantly different. By day 28, there were 66 deaths (23.9%; 95% CI, 19.0%-29.4%) in the combination therapy group compared with 59 deaths (21.9%; 95% CI, 17.1%-27.4%) in the monotherapy group (P = .58). By day 90, there were 96 deaths (35.3%; 95% CI, 29.6%-41.3%) in the combination therapy group compared with 84 deaths (32.1%; 95% CI, 26.5%-38.1%) in the monotherapy group (P = .43). CONCLUSION: Among adult patients with severe sepsis, treatment with combined meropenem and moxifloxacin compared with meropenem alone did not result in less organ failure. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00534287.

Authors: F. M. Brunkhorst, M. Oppert, G. Marx, F. Bloos, K. Ludewig, C. Putensen, A. Nierhaus, U. Jaschinski, A. Meier-Hellmann, A. Weyland, M. Grundling, O. Moerer, R. Riessen, A. Seibel, M. Ragaller, M. W. Buchler, S. John, F. Bach, C. Spies, L. Reill, H. Fritz, M. Kiehntopf, E. Kuhnt, H. Bogatsch, C. Engel, M. Loeffler, M. H. Kollef, K. Reinhart, T. Welte

Date Published: 13th Jun 2012

Publication Type: Not specified

Human Diseases: bacterial infectious disease

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Importance: Adjunctive hydrocortisone therapy is suggested by the Surviving Sepsis Campaign in refractory septic shock only. The efficacy of hydrocortisone in patients with severe sepsis without shock remains controversial. Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone therapy in patients with severe sepsis prevents the development of septic shock. Design, Setting, and Participants: Double-blind, randomized clinical trial conducted from January 13, 2009, to August 27, 2013, with a follow-up of 180 days until February 23, 2014. The trial was performed in 34 intermediate or intensive care units of university and community hospitals in Germany, and it included 380 adult patients with severe sepsis who were not in septic shock. Interventions: Patients were randomly allocated 1:1 either to receive a continuous infusion of 200 mg of hydrocortisone for 5 days followed by dose tapering until day 11 (n = 190) or to receive placebo (n = 190). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was development of septic shock within 14 days. Secondary outcomes were time until septic shock, mortality in the intensive care unit or hospital, survival up to 180 days, and assessment of secondary infections, weaning failure, muscle weakness, and hyperglycemia (blood glucose level >150 mg/dL [to convert to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.0555]). Results: The intention-to-treat population consisted of 353 patients (64.9% male; mean [SD] age, 65.0 [14.4] years). Septic shock occurred in 36 of 170 patients (21.2%) in the hydrocortisone group and 39 of 170 patients (22.9%) in the placebo group (difference, -1.8%; 95% CI, -10.7% to 7.2%; P = .70). No significant differences were observed between the hydrocortisone and placebo groups for time until septic shock; mortality in the intensive care unit or in the hospital; or mortality at 28 days (15 of 171 patients [8.8%] vs 14 of 170 patients [8.2%], respectively; difference, 0.5%; 95% CI, -5.6% to 6.7%; P = .86), 90 days (34 of 171 patients [19.9%] vs 28 of 168 patients [16.7%]; difference, 3.2%; 95% CI, -5.1% to 11.4%; P = .44), and 180 days (45 of 168 patients [26.8%] vs 37 of 167 patients [22.2%], respectively; difference, 4.6%; 95% CI, -4.6% to 13.7%; P = .32). In the hydrocortisone vs placebo groups, 21.5% vs 16.9% had secondary infections, 8.6% vs 8.5% had weaning failure, 30.7% vs 23.8% had muscle weakness, and 90.9% vs 81.5% had hyperglycemia. Conclusions and Relevance: Among adults with severe sepsis not in septic shock, use of hydrocortisone compared with placebo did not reduce the risk of septic shock within 14 days. These findings do not support the use of hydrocortisone in these patients. Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00670254.

Authors: D. Keh, E. Trips, G. Marx, S. P. Wirtz, E. Abduljawwad, S. Bercker, H. Bogatsch, J. Briegel, C. Engel, H. Gerlach, A. Goldmann, S. O. Kuhn, L. Huter, A. Meier-Hellmann, A. Nierhaus, S. Kluge, J. Lehmke, M. Loeffler, M. Oppert, K. Resener, D. Schadler, T. Schuerholz, P. Simon, N. Weiler, A. Weyland, K. Reinhart, F. M. Brunkhorst

Date Published: 1st Nov 2016

Publication Type: Journal article

Human Diseases: disease by infectious agent

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IMPORTANCE: High-dose intravenous administration of sodium selenite has been proposed to improve outcome in sepsis by attenuating oxidative stress. Procalcitonin-guided antimicrobial therapy may hasten the diagnosis of sepsis, but effect on outcome is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether high-dose intravenous sodium selenite treatment and procalcitonin-guided anti-infectious therapy in patients with severe sepsis affect mortality. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: The Placebo-Controlled Trial of Sodium Selenite and Procalcitonin Guided Antimicrobial Therapy in Severe Sepsis (SISPCT), a multicenter, randomized, clinical, 2 x 2 factorial trial performed in 33 intensive care units in Germany, was conducted from November 6, 2009, to June 6, 2013, including a 90-day follow-up period. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomly assigned to receive an initial intravenous loading dose of sodium selenite, 1000 microg, followed by a continuous intravenous infusion of sodium selenite, 1000 microg, daily until discharge from the intensive care unit, but not longer than 21 days, or placebo. Patients also were randomized to receive anti-infectious therapy guided by a procalcitonin algorithm or without procalcitonin guidance. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary end point was 28-day mortality. Secondary outcomes included 90-day all-cause mortality, intervention-free days, antimicrobial costs, antimicrobial-free days, and secondary infections. RESULTS: Of 8174 eligible patients, 1089 patients (13.3%) with severe sepsis or septic shock were included in an intention-to-treat analysis comparing sodium selenite (543 patients [49.9%]) with placebo (546 [50.1%]) and procalcitonin guidance (552 [50.7%]) vs no procalcitonin guidance (537 [49.3%]). The 28-day mortality rate was 28.3% (95% CI, 24.5%-32.3%) in the sodium selenite group and 25.5% (95% CI, 21.8%-29.4%) (P = .30) in the placebo group. There was no significant difference in 28-day mortality between patients assigned to procalcitonin guidance (25.6% [95% CI, 22.0%-29.5%]) vs no procalcitonin guidance (28.2% [95% CI, 24.4%-32.2%]) (P = .34). Procalcitonin guidance did not affect frequency of diagnostic or therapeutic procedures but did result in a 4.5% reduction of antimicrobial exposure. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Neither high-dose intravenous administration of sodium selenite nor anti-infectious therapy guided by a procalcitonin algorithm was associated with an improved outcome in patients with severe sepsis. These findings do not support administration of high-dose sodium selenite in these patients; the application of a procalcitonin-guided algorithm needs further evaluation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00832039.

Authors: F. Bloos, E. Trips, A. Nierhaus, J. Briegel, D. K. Heyland, U. Jaschinski, O. Moerer, A. Weyland, G. Marx, M. Grundling, S. Kluge, I. Kaufmann, K. Ott, M. Quintel, F. Jelschen, P. Meybohm, S. Rademacher, A. Meier-Hellmann, S. Utzolino, U. X. Kaisers, C. Putensen, G. Elke, M. Ragaller, H. Gerlach, K. Ludewig, M. Kiehntopf, H. Bogatsch, C. Engel, F. M. Brunkhorst, M. Loeffler, K. Reinhart

Date Published: 1st Sep 2016

Publication Type: Journal article

Human Diseases: disease by infectious agent

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BACKGROUND Women with highly penetrant BRCA mutations have a 55-60 % lifetime risk for breast cancer and a 16-59 % lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer. However, penetrance differs interindividually,, indicating that environmental and behavioral factors may modify this risk. It is well documented that the risk for sporadic breast cancer disease can be modified by changing lifestyle factors that primarily include physical activity, dietary habits, and body weight. It can thus be hypothesized that the modification of these lifestyle factors may also influence the incidence and progression of cancer in BRCA mutation carriers. METHODS/DESIGN This multicenter, interdisciplinary, prospective, two-armed, randomized (1:1) controlled trial aims to enroll a minimum of 600 BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers to partake in either a lifestyle intervention or usual care. The study primarily aims to demonstrate an improvement of nutritional behavior (adherence to the Mediterranean diet), body mass index, and physical fitness. Furthermore, the effects on quality of life, stress coping capacity, breast cancer incidence, and mortality will be investigated. The intervention group (IG) will receive a structured lifestyle intervention over 12 months, whereas the control group (CG) will only receive information regarding a healthy lifestyle. During the first 3 months, women in the IG will receive structured, individualized, and mainly supervised endurance training with a minimum of 18 MET-h physical activity per week and nutrition education based on the Mediterranean diet. Over the following 9 months, IG monthly group training sessions and regular telephone contacts will motivate study participants. The CG will receive one general training session about healthy nutrition in accordance with the recommendations of the German Society of Nutrition (standard of care in Germany) and the benefits of regular physical activity on health status. At randomization and subsequent time points (3 and 12 months), cardiopulmonary fitness will be assessed by spiroergometry, and nutritional and psychological status will be assessed by validated questionnaires, interviews, and clinical examinations. DISCUSSION As data on the role of lifestyle intervention in women with a hereditary risk for breast and ovarian cancer are currently lacking, this study will be of major importance from a scientific, as well as a practical advice viewpoint. It will investigate the optimal strategy to improve physical fitness, nutritional status, and psychological factors such as quality of life, perceived stress, optimism, as well as incidence and outcome of cancer in this selected group of women at high risk. If the study indicates a positive long-term outcome, a structured lifestyle intervention program could be added to health care prevention strategies for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02516540 . Registered on 22 July 2015.

Authors: Marion Kiechle, Christoph Engel, Anika Berling, Katrin Hebestreit, Stephan C. Bischoff, Ricarda Dukatz, Michael Siniatchkin, Katharina Pfeifer, Sabine Grill, Maryam Yahiaoui-Doktor, Ellen Kirsch, Uwe Niederberger, Ute Enders, Markus Löffler, Alfons Meindl, Kerstin Rhiem, Rita Schmutzler, Nicole Erickson, Martin Halle

Date Published: 1st Dec 2016

Publication Type: Journal article

Human Diseases: hereditary breast ovarian cancer syndrome

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OBJECTIVE: The current study investigates potential pathways from socio-economic status (SES) to BMI in the adult population, considering psychological domains of eating behaviour (restrained eating, uncontrolled eating, emotional eating) as potential mediators stratified for sex. DESIGN: Data were derived from the population-based cross-sectional LIFE-Adult-Study. Parallel-mediation models were conducted to obtain the total, direct and indirect effects of psychological eating behaviour domains on the association between SES and BMI for men and for women. SETTING: Leipzig, Germany. SUBJECTS: We studied 5935 participants aged 18 to 79 years. RESULTS: Uncontrolled eating mediated the association between SES and BMI in men only and restrained eating in both men and women. Emotional eating did not act as mediator in this relationship. The total effect of eating behaviour domains on the association between SES and BMI was estimated as beta=-0.03 (se 0.02; 95 % CI -0.062, -0.003) in men and beta=-0.18 (se 0.02; 95 % CI -0.217, -0.138) in women. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings do not indicate a strong overall mediation effect of the eating behaviour domains restrained eating, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating on the association between SES and BMI. Further research on other pathways of this association is strongly recommended. Importantly, our findings indicate that, independent from one's social position, focusing on psychological aspects in weight reduction might be a promising approach.

Authors: A. Loffler, T. Luck, F. S. Then, C. Luck-Sikorski, A. Pabst, P. Kovacs, Y. Bottcher, J. Breitfeld, A. Tonjes, A. Horstmann, M. Loffler, C. Engel, J. Thiery, A. Villringer, M. Stumvoll, S. G. Riedel-Heller

Date Published: 25th Jul 2017

Publication Type: Journal article

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Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a risk factor of dementia. The effect of T2DM treatment quality on dementia risk, however, is unclear. 1,342 elderly individuals recruited via general practitioner registries (AgeCoDe cohort) were analyzed. This study analyzed the association between HbA1c level and the incidence of all-cause dementia (ACD) and of Alzheimer's disease dementia (referred to here as AD). HbA1c levels >/=6.5% were associated with 2.8-fold increased risk of incident ACD (p = 0.027) and for AD (p = 0.047). HbA1c levels >/=7% were associated with a five-fold increased risk of incident ACD (p = 0.001) and 4.7-fold increased risk of incident AD (p = 0.004). The T2DM diagnosis per se did not increase the risk of either ACD or AD. Higher levels of HbA1c are associated with increased risk of ACD and AD in an elderly population. T2DM diagnosis was not associated with increased risk if HbA1c levels were below 7%.

Authors: A. Ramirez, S. Wolfsgruber, C. Lange, H. Kaduszkiewicz, S. Weyerer, J. Werle, M. Pentzek, A. Fuchs, S. G. Riedel-Heller, T. Luck, E. Mosch, H. Bickel, B. Wiese, J. Prokein, H. H. Konig, C. Brettschneider, M. M. Breteler, W. Maier, F. Jessen, M. Scherer

Date Published: 20th Dec 2014

Publication Type: Not specified

Human Diseases: diabetes mellitus, dementia, Alzheimer's disease

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INTRODUCTION: The optimal nutritional strategy remains controversial, particularly in severely septic patients. Our aim was to analyze the effect of three nutritional strategies--enteral (EN), parenteral (PN), and combined nutrition (EN+PN)--on the outcome of patients with severe sepsis or septic shock. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This secondary analysis of the prospective, randomized-controlled, multicenter "Intensive Insulin Therapy and Pentastarch Resuscitation in Severe Sepsis (VISEP)" trial only included patients with a length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) of more than 7 days. Besides patient characteristics, data on nutrition therapy were collected daily for up to 21 days. Morbidity as measured by the mean Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, incidence of secondary infections, renal replacement therapy, ventilator-free days and severe hypoglycemia, length of ICU stay, and mortality at 90 days were compared between the three nutritional strategies. RESULTS: In all, 353 patients were included in the analysis with the majority (68.5 %) receiving EN+PN, 24.4 % receiving EN, and only 7.1 % receiving PN. Median caloric intake was 918 kcal/day (EN), 1,210 kcal/day (PN), and 1,343 kcal/day (EN+PN; p < 0.001). In the latter group, calories were predominantly administered via the parenteral route within the first week. The rate of death at 90 days was lower with EN than with EN+PN (26.7 % vs. 41.3 %, p = 0.048), as was the rate of secondary infections, renal replacement therapy, and duration of mechanical ventilation. In the adjusted Cox regression analysis, the effect on mortality [hazard ratio (HR)= 1.86, 95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.16-2.98, p = 0.010] and the rate of secondary infections (HR= 1.89, 95 % CI: 1.27-2.81, p = 0.002) remained different between EN and EN+PN. CONCLUSION: In patients with severe sepsis or septic shock and prolonged ICU stay, EN alone was associated with improved clinical outcome compared to EN+PN. This hypothesis-generating result has to be confirmed by a randomized-controlled trial in this specific patient population.

Authors: G. Elke, E. Kuhnt, M. Ragaller, D. Schadler, I. Frerichs, F. M. Brunkhorst, M. Loffler, K. Reinhart, N. Weiler

Date Published: 5th Mar 2013

Publication Type: Not specified

Human Diseases: disease by infectious agent

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OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence and mortality of ICU patients with severe sepsis in Germany, with consideration of hospital size. DESIGN Prospective, observational, cross-sectional 1-dayday point-prevalence study. SETTING 454 ICUs from a representative nationwide sample of 310 hospitals stratified by size. Data were collected via 1-day on-site audits by trained external study physicians. Visits were randomly distributed over 1 year (2003). PATIENTS Inflammatory response of all ICU patients was assessed using the ACCP/SCCM consensus conference criteria. Patients with severe sepsis were followed up after 3 months for hospital mortality and length of ICU stay. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Main outcome measures were prevalence and mortality. A total of 3,877 patients were screened. Prevalence was 12.4% (95% CI, 10.9-13.8%) for sepsis and 11.0% (95% CI, 9.7-12.2%) for severe sepsis including septic shock. The ICU and hospital mortality of patients with severe sepsis was 48.4 and 55.2%, respectively, without significant differences between hospital size. Prevalence and mean length of ICU stay of patients with severe sepsis were significantly higher in larger hospitals and universities (\textless/= 200 beds: 6% and 11.5 days, universities: 19% and 19.2 days, respectively). CONCLUSIONS The expected number of newly diagnosed cases with severe sepsis in Germany amounts to 76-110 per 100,000 adult inhabitants. To allow better comparison between countries, future epidemiological studies should use standardized study methodologies with respect to sepsis definitions, hospital size, and daily and monthly variability.

Authors: Christoph Engel, Frank M. Brunkhorst, Hans-Georg Bone, Reinhard Brunkhorst, Herwig Gerlach, Stefan Grond, Matthias Gruendling, Guenter Huhle, Ulrich Jaschinski, Stefan John, Konstantin Mayer, Michael Oppert, Derk Olthoff, Michael Quintel, Max Ragaller, Rolf Rossaint, Frank Stuber, Norbert Weiler, Tobias Welte, Holger Bogatsch, Christiane Hartog, Markus Loeffler, Konrad Reinhart

Date Published: 23rd Mar 2007

Publication Type: Journal article

Human Diseases: disease by infectious agent

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Carriers of mismatch repair (MMR) gene mutations have a high lifetime risk for colorectal and endometrial cancers, as well as other malignancies. As mutation analysis to detect these patients is expensive and time-consuming, clinical criteria and tumor-tissue analysis are widely used as pre-screening methods. The aim of our study was to evaluate the performance of commonly applied clinical criteria (the Amsterdam I and II Criteria, and the original and revised Bethesda Guidelines) and the results of tumor-tissue analysis in predicting MMR gene mutations. We analyzed 3,671 families from the German HNPCC Registry and divided them into nine mutually exclusive groups with different clinical criteria. A total of 680 families (18.5%) were found to have a pathogenic MMR gene mutation. Among all 1,284 families with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) colorectal cancer, the overall mutation detection rate was 53.0%. Mutation frequencies and their distribution between the four MMR genes differed significantly between clinical groups (p < 0.001). The highest frequencies were found in families fulfilling the Amsterdam Criteria (46.4%). Families with loss of MSH2 expression had higher mutation detection rates (69.5%) than families with loss of MLH1 expression (43.1%). MMR mutations were found significantly more often in families with at least one MSI-H small-bowel cancer (p < 0.001). No MMR mutations were found among patients under 40-years-old with only colorectal adenoma. Familial clustering of Lynch syndrome-related tumors, early age of onset, and familial occurrence of small-bowel cancer were clinically relevant predictors for Lynch syndrome.

Authors: V. Steinke, S. Holzapfel, M. Loeffler, E. Holinski-Feder, M. Morak, H. K. Schackert, H. Gorgens, C. Pox, B. Royer-Pokora, M. von Knebel-Doeberitz, R. Buttner, P. Propping, C. Engel

Date Published: 1st Jul 2014

Publication Type: Not specified

Human Diseases: colon cancer

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BACKGROUND: Risk prediction models are widely used in clinical genetic counselling. Despite their frequent use, the genetic risk models BOADICEA, BRCAPRO, IBIS and extended Claus model (eCLAUS), used to estimate BRCA1/2 mutation carrier probabilities, have never been comparatively evaluated in a large sample from central Europe. Additionally, a novel version of BOADICEA that incorporates tumour pathology information has not yet been validated. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Using data from 7352 German families we estimated BRCA1/2 carrier probabilities under each model and compared their discrimination and calibration. The incremental value of using pathology information in BOADICEA was assessed in a subsample of 4928 pedigrees with available data on breast tumour molecular markers oestrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and human epidermal growth factor 2. RESULTS: BRCAPRO (area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC)=0.80 (95% CI 0.78 to 0.81)) and BOADICEA (AUC=0.79 (0.78-0.80)), had significantly higher diagnostic accuracy than IBIS and eCLAUS (p<0.001). The AUC increased when pathology information was used in BOADICEA: AUC=0.81 (95% CI 0.80 to 0.83, p<0.001). At carrier thresholds of 10% and 15%, the net reclassification index was +3.9% and +5.4%, respectively, when pathology was included in the model. Overall, calibration was best for BOADICEA and worst for eCLAUS. With eCLAUS, twice as many mutation carriers were predicted than observed. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the use of BRCAPRO and BOADICEA for decision making regarding genetic testing for BRCA1/2 mutations. However, model calibration has to be improved for this population. eCLAUS should not be used for estimating mutation carrier probabilities in clinical settings. Whenever possible, breast tumour molecular marker information should be taken into account.

Authors: C. Fischer, K. Kuchenbacker, C. Engel, S. Zachariae, K. Rhiem, A. Meindl, N. Rahner, N. Dikow, H. Plendl, I. Debatin, T. Grimm, D. Gadzicki, R. Flottmann, J. Horvath, E. Schrock, F. Stock, D. Schafer, I. Schwaab, C. Kartsonaki, N. Mavaddat, B. Schlegelberger, A. C. Antoniou, R. Schmutzler

Date Published: 9th Apr 2013

Publication Type: Not specified

Human Diseases: hereditary breast ovarian cancer syndrome

Abstract (Expand)

BACKGROUND In this study we aimed to evaluate the role of a SNP in intron 1 of the ERCC4 gene (rs744154), previously reported to be associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer in the generall population, as a breast cancer risk modifier in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. METHODS We have genotyped rs744154 in 9408 BRCA1 and 5632 BRCA2 mutation carriers from the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA) and assessed its association with breast cancer risk using a retrospective weighted cohort approach. RESULTS We found no evidence of association with breast cancer risk for BRCA1 (per-allele HR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.93-1.04, P = 0.5) or BRCA2 (per-allele HR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.89-1.06, P = 0.5) mutation carriers. CONCLUSION This SNP is not a significant modifier of breast cancer risk for mutation carriers, though weak associations cannot be ruled out.

Authors: A. Osorio, R. L. Milne, G. Pita, P. Peterlongo, T. Heikkinen, J. Simard, G. Chenevix-Trench, A. B. Spurdle, J. Beesley, X. Chen, S. Healey, S. L. Neuhausen, Y. C. Ding, F. J. Couch, X. Wang, N. Lindor, S. Manoukian, M. Barile, A. Viel, L. Tizzoni, C. I. Szabo, L. Foretova, M. Zikan, K. Claes, M. H. Greene, P. Mai, G. Rennert, F. Lejbkowicz, O. Barnett-Griness, I. L. Andrulis, H. Ozcelik, N. Weerasooriya, A-M Gerdes, M. Thomassen, D. G. Cruger, M. A. Caligo, E. Friedman, B. Kaufman, Y. Laitman, S. Cohen, T. Kontorovich, R. Gershoni-Baruch, E. Dagan, H. Jernström, M. S. Askmalm, B. Arver, B. Malmer, S. M. Domchek, K. L. Nathanson, J. Brunet, T. Ramón Y Cajal, D. Yannoukakos, U. Hamann, F. B. L. Hogervorst, S. Verhoef, E. B. Gómez García, J. T. Wijnen, A. van den Ouweland, D. F. Easton, S. Peock, M. Cook, C. T. Oliver, D. Frost, C. Luccarini, D. G. Evans, F. Lalloo, R. Eeles, G. Pichert, J. Cook, S. Hodgson, P. J. Morrison, F. Douglas, A. K. Godwin, O. M. Sinilnikova, L. Barjhoux, D. Stoppa-Lyonnet, V. Moncoutier, S. Giraud, C. Cassini, L. Olivier-Faivre, F. Révillion, J-P Peyrat, D. Muller, J-P Fricker, H. T. Lynch, E. M. John, S. Buys, M. Daly, J. L. Hopper, M. B. Terry, A. Miron, Y. Yassin, D. Goldgar, C. F. Singer, D. Gschwantler-Kaulich, G. Pfeiler, A-C Spiess, Thomas v. O. Hansen, O. T. Johannsson, T. Kirchhoff, K. Offit, K. Kosarin, M. Piedmonte, G. C. Rodriguez, K. Wakeley, J. F. Boggess, J. Basil, P. E. Schwartz, S. V. Blank, A. E. Toland, M. Montagna, C. Casella, E. N. Imyanitov, A. Allavena, R. K. Schmutzler, B. Versmold, C. Engel, A. Meindl, N. Ditsch, N. Arnold, D. Niederacher, H. Deissler, B. Fiebig, R. Varon-Mateeva, D. Schaefer, U. G. Froster, T. Caldes, M. de La Hoya, L. McGuffog, A. C. Antoniou, H. Nevanlinna, P. Radice, J. Benítez

Date Published: 1st Dec 2009

Publication Type: Journal article

Human Diseases: hereditary breast ovarian cancer syndrome

Abstract (Expand)

INTRODUCTION Current attempts to identify genetic modifiers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 associated risk have focused on a candidate gene approach, based on knowledge of gene functions, or the development off large genome-wide association studies. In this study, we evaluated 24 SNPs tagged to 14 candidate genes derived through a novel approach that analysed gene expression differences to prioritise candidate modifier genes for association studies. METHODS We successfully genotyped 24 SNPs in a cohort of up to 4,724 BRCA1 and 2,693 BRCA2 female mutation carriers from 15 study groups and assessed whether these variants were associated with risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. RESULTS SNPs in five of the 14 candidate genes showed evidence of association with breast cancer risk for BRCA1 or BRCA2 carriers (P \textless 0.05). Notably, the minor alleles of two SNPs (rs7166081 and rs3825977) in high linkage disequilibrium (r^2 = 0.77), located at the SMAD3 locus (15q22), were each associated with increased breast cancer risk for BRCA2 mutation carriers (relative risk = 1.25, 95% confidence interval = 1.07 to 1.45, P(trend) = 0.004; and relative risk = 1.20, 95% confidence interval = 1.03 to 1.40, P(trend) = 0.018). CONCLUSIONS This study provides evidence that the SMAD3 gene, which encodes a key regulatory protein in the transforming growth factor beta signalling pathway and is known to interact directly with BRCA2, may contribute to increased risk of breast cancer in BRCA2 mutation carriers. This finding suggests that genes with expression associated with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation status are enriched for the presence of common genetic modifiers of breast cancer risk in these populations.

Authors: Logan C. Walker, Zachary S. Fredericksen, Xianshu Wang, Robert Tarrell, Vernon S. Pankratz, Noralane M. Lindor, Jonathan Beesley, Sue Healey, Xiaoqing Chen, Dominique Stoppa-Lyonnet, Carole Tirapo, Sophie Giraud, Sylvie Mazoyer, Danièle Muller, Jean-Pierre Fricker, Capucine Delnatte, Rita K. Schmutzler, Barbara Wappenschmidt, Christoph Engel, Ines Schönbuchner, Helmut Deissler, Alfons Meindl, Frans B. Hogervorst, Martijn Verheus, Maartje J. Hooning, Ans Mw van den Ouweland, Marcel R. Nelen, Margreet Gem Ausems, Cora M. Aalfs, Christi J. van Asperen, Peter Devilee, Monique M. Gerrits, Quinten Waisfisz, Csilla I. Szabo, Douglas F. Easton, Susan Peock, Margaret Cook, Clare T. Oliver, Debra Frost, Patricia Harrington, D. Gareth Evans, Fiona Lalloo, Ros Eeles, Louise Izatt, Carol Chu, Rosemarie Davidson, Diana Eccles, Kai-Ren Ong, Jackie Cook, Tim Rebbeck, Katherine L. Nathanson, Susan M. Domchek, Christian F. Singer, Daphne Gschwantler-Kaulich, Anne-Catharina Dressler, Georg Pfeiler, Andrew K. Godwin, Tuomas Heikkinen, Heli Nevanlinna, Bjarni A. Agnarsson, Maria Adelaide Caligo, Håkan Olsson, Ulf Kristoffersson, Annelie Liljegren, Brita Arver, Per Karlsson, Beatrice Melin, Olga M. Sinilnikova, Lesley McGuffog, Antonis C. Antoniou, Georgia Chenevix-Trench, Amanda B. Spurdle, Fergus J. Couch

Date Published: 1st Dec 2010

Publication Type: Journal article

Human Diseases: hereditary breast ovarian cancer syndrome

Abstract (Expand)

External ventricular drainage (EVD) is frequently used in neurosurgery to drain cerebrospinal fluid in patients with raised intracranial pressure. We performed a retrospective single center study in order to evaluate the incidence of EVD-related infections and to identify underlying risk factors. 246 EVDs were placed in 218 patients over a 30-month period. EVD was continued in median for 7 days (range 1-44). The cumulative incidence of EVD-related infections was 8.3% (95% CI, 5.3-12.7) with a device-associated infection rate of 10.4 per 1000 drainage days (95% CI, 6.2-16.5). The pathogens most commonly identified were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (62%) followed by Enterococcus spp. (19%). Patients with an EVD-related infection had a significantly longer ICU (11 versus 21 days, P \textless 0.01) and hospital stay (20 versus 28.5 days, P \textless 0.01) than patients without. Median total duration of external drainage was twice as long in patients with EVD-related infection (6 versus 12 days, P \textless 0.01). However, there was no significant difference in the duration between first EVD placement and the occurrence of EVD-related infection and EVD removal in patients without EVD-related infection (6 versus 7 days, P = 0.87), respectively. Interestingly no risk factor for EVD-related infection could be identified in our cohort of patients.

Authors: S. Hagel, T. Bruns, M. W. Pletz, C. Engel, R. Kalff, C. Ewald

Date Published: 2014

Publication Type: Journal article

Human Diseases: disease by infectious agent

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