Publications

251 Publications visible to you, out of a total of 251

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Authors: David Freiermuth, Berend Mets, Daniel Bolliger, Oliver Reuthebuch, Thomas Doebele, Markus Scholz, Michael Gregor, Marcel Haschke, Manfred Seeberger, Jens Fassl

Date Published: 1st Dec 2017

Publication Type: Journal article

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BACKGROUND Advanced stages of liver cirrhosis lead to a dramatically increased mortality. For valid identification of these patients suitable biomarkers are essential. The most important biomarkers forr liver function are bilirubin and prothrombin time expressed as International Normalized Ratio (INR). However, the influence of several anticoagulants on the prothrombin time limits its diagnostic value. Aim of this study was the evaluation of cholesterol esterification (CE) fraction (esterified cholesterol vs. total cholesterol) as an alternative biomarker for liver synthesis and mortality prediction. Under physiological conditions the CE fraction in blood is closely regulated by lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) which is produced in the liver. METHODS One hundred forty-two patients with liver disease clinically considered for orthotopic liver transplant for different indications were enrolled in the study. One patient was excluded because of the intake of a direct oral factor Xa inhibitor which has a strong impact on prothrombin time. RESULTS Results of CE fraction were in good agreement with INR (R(2) = 0.73; p \textless 0.001). In patients who died or survived within three months mean CE fraction was 56% vs. 74% (p \textless 0.001) and mean INR was 2.0 vs. 1.3 (p \textless 0.001), respectively. The predictive value of CE fraction for three-month mortality risk was higher compared to INR (p = 0.04). Results for one-year mortality were comparable. CONCLUSIONS The cholesterol esterification fraction is a valid biomarker for liver synthesis and allows reliable prediction of mortality. In contrast to INR, it is independent of anticoagulation and other analytical limitations of coagulation tests.

Authors: Thorsten Kaiser, Benedict Kinny-Köster, Michael Bartels, Thomas Berg, Markus Scholz, Cornelius Engelmann, Daniel Seehofer, Susen Becker, Uta Ceglarek, Joachim Thiery

Date Published: 1st Dec 2017

Publication Type: Journal article

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PURPOSE: Although G-CSF is widely used to prevent or ameliorate leukopenia during cytotoxic chemotherapies, its optimal use is still under debate and depends on many therapy parameters such as dosing and timing of cytotoxic drugs and G-CSF, G-CSF pharmaceuticals used and individual risk factors of patients. METHODS: We integrate available biological knowledge and clinical data regarding cell kinetics of bone marrow granulopoiesis, the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapy and pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of G-CSF applications (filgrastim or pegfilgrastim) into a comprehensive model. The model explains leukocyte time courses of more than 70 therapy scenarios comprising 10 different cytotoxic drugs. It is applied to develop optimized G-CSF schedules for a variety of clinical scenarios. RESULTS: Clinical trial results showed validity of model predictions regarding alternative G-CSF schedules. We propose modifications of G-CSF treatment for the chemotherapies 'BEACOPP escalated' (Hodgkin's disease), 'ETC' (breast cancer), and risk-adapted schedules for 'CHOP-14' (aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in elderly patients). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that we established a model of human granulopoiesis under chemotherapy which allows predictions of yet untested G-CSF schedules, comparisons between them, and optimization of filgrastim and pegfilgrastim treatment. As a general rule of thumb, G-CSF treatment should not be started too early and patients could profit from filgrastim treatment continued until the end of the chemotherapy cycle.

Authors: S. Schirm, C. Engel, S. Loibl, M. Loeffler, M. Scholz

Date Published: 6th Nov 2017

Publication Type: Journal article

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Background Dyslexia is a specific learning disorder affecting reading and spelling abilities. Its prevalence is ~5% in German-speaking individuals. Although the etiology of dyslexia largely remains too be determined, comprehensive evidence supports deficient phonological processing as a major contributing factor. An important prerequisite for phonological processing is auditory discrimination and, thus, essential for acquiring reading and spelling skills. The event-related potential Mismatch Response (MMR) is an indicator for auditory discrimination capabilities with dyslexics showing an altered late component of MMR in response to auditory input. Methods In this study, we comprehensively analyzed associations of dyslexia-specific late MMRs with genetic variants previously reported to be associated with dyslexia-related phenotypes in multiple studies comprising 25 independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within 10 genes. Results First, we demonstrated validity of these SNPs for dyslexia in our sample by showing that additional inclusion of a polygenic risk score improved prediction of impaired writing compared with a model that used MMR alone. Secondly, a multifactorial regression analysis was conducted to uncover the subset of the 25 SNPs that is associated with the dyslexia-specific late component of MMR. In total, four independent SNPs within DYX1C1 and ATP2C2 were found to be associated with MMR stronger than expected from multiple testing. To explore potential pathomechanisms, we annotated these variants with functional data including tissue-specific expression analysis and eQTLs. Conclusion Our findings corroborate the late component of MMR as a potential endophenotype for dyslexia and support tripartite relationships between dyslexia-related SNPs, the late component of MMR and dyslexia.

Authors: Bent Müller, Gesa Schaadt, Johannes Boltze, Frank Emmrich, Michael A. Skeide, Nicole E. Neef, Indra Kraft, Jens Brauer, Angela D. Friederici, Holger Kirsten, Arndt Wilcke

Date Published: 1st Nov 2017

Publication Type: Journal article

Abstract (Expand)

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Growth is an important criterion to evaluate health in childhood and adolescence, especially in patients depending on special dietary treatment. Phenylketonuria (PKU) is thee most common inherited disease of amino acid metabolism. Patients with PKU depend on a special phenylalanine-restricted diet, low in natural protein. The study aimed to evaluate growth, growth rate, and target height in 224 patients with PKU. METHODS Retrospective, longitudinal analysis of standardized, yearly measurements of height, weight, and calculated growth rate (SD score [SDS]) of patients with PKU aged 0 to 18 years were conducted by using the national computerized CrescNet database. Inclusion was restricted to patients carried to term with a confirmed diagnosis of PKU or mild hyperphenylalaninemia determined by newborn screening and early treatment initiation. RESULTS From birth to adulthood, patients with PKU were significantly shorter than healthy German children (height SDS at 18 years: -0.882 \pm 0.108, P \textless .001). They missed their target height by 3 cm by adulthood (women: P = .02) and 5 cm (men: P = .01). In patients receiving casein hydrolysate during childhood, this was more pronounced compared with patients receiving amino acid mixtures (P \textless .001). Growth rate was significantly reduced during their first 2 years of life and in puberty (growth rate SDS: -1.1 to -0.5 m/year, P \textless .001 and -0.5; P \textless .02). CONCLUSIONS Early diagnosed, treated, and continuously monitored patients with PKU showed reduced height from birth onward. During the last 2 decades, this phenomenon attenuated, probably because of advances in PKU therapy related to protein supplements and special low-protein foods.

Authors: Alena G. Thiele, Ruth Gausche, Cornelia Lindenberg, Christoph Beger, Maria Arelin, Carmen Rohde, Ulrike Mütze, Johannes F. Weigel, Klaus Mohnike, Christoph Baerwald, Markus Scholz, Wieland Kiess, Roland Pfäffle, Skadi Beblo

Date Published: 1st Nov 2017

Publication Type: Journal article

Abstract (Expand)

AIMS Inverse relationships have been described between the largely genetically determined levels of serum/plasma lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], type 2 diabetes (T2D) and fasting insulin. Here, we aimed too evaluate the nature of these relationships with respect to causality. METHODS We tested whether we could replicate the recent negative findings on causality between Lp(a) and T2D by employing the Mendelian randomization (MR) approach using cross-sectional data from three independent cohorts, Berlin Aging Study II (BASE-II; n = 2012), LIFE-Adult (n = 3281) and LIFE-Heart (n = 2816). Next, we explored another frequently discussed hypothesis in this context: Increasing insulin levels during the course of T2D disease development inhibits hepatic Lp(a) synthesis and thereby might explain the inverse Lp(a)-T2D association. We used two fasting insulin-associated variants, rs780094 and rs10195252, as instrumental variables in MR analysis of n = 4937 individuals from BASE-II and LIFE-Adult. We further investigated causality of the association between fasting insulin and Lp(a) by combined MR analysis of 12 additional SNPs in LIFE-Adult. RESULTS While an Lp(a)-T2D association was observed in the combined analysis (meta-effect of OR [95% CI] = 0.91 [0.87-0.96] per quintile, p = 1.3x10(-4)), we found no evidence of causality in the Lp(a)-T2D association (p = 0.29, fixed effect model) when using the variant rs10455872 as the instrumental variable in the MR analyses. Likewise, no evidence of a causal effect of insulin on Lp(a) levels was found. CONCLUSIONS While these results await confirmation in larger cohorts, the nature of the inverse Lp(a)-T2D association remains to be elucidated.

Authors: Nikolaus Buchmann, Markus Scholz, Christina M. Lill, Ralph Burkhardt, Rahel Eckardt, Kristina Norman, Markus Loeffler, Lars Bertram, Joachim Thiery, Elisabeth Steinhagen-Thiessen, Ilja Demuth

Date Published: 1st Nov 2017

Publication Type: Journal article

Abstract (Expand)

Neonatal chronic lung disease (nCLD) affects a significant number of neonates receiving mechanical ventilation with oxygen-rich gas (MV-O2). Regardless, the primary molecular driver of the disease remains elusive. We discover significant enrichment for SNPs in the PDGF-R\textgreeka gene in preterms with nCLD and directly test the effect of PDGF-R\textgreeka haploinsufficiency on the development of nCLD using a preclinical mouse model of MV-O2 In the context of MV-O2, attenuated PDGF signaling independently contributes to defective septation and endothelial cell apoptosis stemming from a PDGF-R\textgreeka-dependent reduction in lung VEGF-A. TGF-\textgreekb contributes to the PDGF-R\textgreeka-dependent decrease in myofibroblast function. Remarkably, endotracheal treatment with exogenous PDGF-A rescues both the lung defects in haploinsufficient mice undergoing MV-O2 Overall, our results establish attenuated PDGF signaling as an important driver of nCLD pathology with provision of PDGF-A as a protective strategy for newborns undergoing MV-O2.

Authors: Prajakta Oak, Tina Pritzke, Isabella Thiel, Markus Koschlig, Daphne S. Mous, Anita Windhorst, Noopur Jain, Oliver Eickelberg, Kai Foerster, Andreas Schulze, Wolfgang Goepel, Tobias Reicherzer, Harald Ehrhardt, Robbert J. Rottier, Peter Ahnert, Ludwig Gortner, Tushar J. Desai, Anne Hilgendorff

Date Published: 9th Oct 2017

Publication Type: Journal article

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