There have only been few investigations comparing total fluoride intake and the fluoride proportion excreted in urine in pre–school children. In addition, the results of available studies are conflicting. Total fluoride intake was assessed in 11 healthy children aged 3–6 years on 2 consecutive days and urinary fluoride excretion was determined. The duplicate–diet approach was used for the assessment of fluoride intake from solid and liquid foods. Fluoride intake from toothbrushing was calculated as the difference between the amount of fluoride in the paste put on the toothbrush and the drinking water (fluoride concentration 0.25 mg/l) used for rinsing vs. the fluoride amounts recovered in the toothpaste spat out and in the rinsing water. Use of fluoridated domestic salt and/or fluoride tablets was recorded. The children’s intake of fluoride from food averaged 202.5±116.2 μg F/day. They swallowed an average amount of 273.9±175.6 μg F/day when brushing their teeth. Daily fluoride ingestion from all sources totalled 930.7±391.5 μg or 53.0±21.4 μg/kg body weight. On average 51.5% of the fluoride ingested was excreted in urine. The wide interindividual variation makes it necessary to evaluate the urinary excretion rate for fluoride in larger study populations with varied fluoride exposure. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

The intention of this analysis was to identify patients with treated Wilson disease (WD) and residual neurological symptoms in order to determine whether or not they were undergoing any treatment in addition to the common decoppering medication. Moreover, the effects of any symptomatic medication were analyzed. Two samples of WD patients were investigated either by a mailed questionnaire survey (n = 135) or by a retrospective analysis (n = 75). A considerable proportion of patients still suffered from neurological symptoms (n = 106, 50.5%), of whom a relatively small proportion was treated symptomatically (n = 33, 31.1%). The documented effects varied substantially, with anticholinergics and botulinum toxin (against dystonia) and primidone (against tremor) apparently being the most promising compounds. Further studies are required to analyze the symptomatic treatment of WD patients with residual neurological symptoms in more detail. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

The Scheimpflug principle was recommended as allowing distortion-free imaging; however, a detailed analysis reveals geometrical errors as well as distortions arising from absorption of light along the optical pathway. Correction formulas and factors will be presented and applied to the biometry of the eye. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

The estrogenic flavanone rac-8-prenylnaringenin (8-PN) and 3 derivatives (rac-7-(O-prenyl)naringenin-4′-acetate (7-O-PN), rac-5-(O-prenyl)naringenin-4′,7-diacetate (5-O-PN), and rac-6-(1,1-dimethylallyl)naringenin (6-DMAN) were prepared by chemical synthesis and analyzed with respect to their toxicity and possible cell cycle effects in human acute myeloid leukemia (HL-60) cells. With the exception of 5-O-PN, all the other naringenins showed only weak toxic effects at concentrations below 50 μmol/l. A cell cycle analysis over several cell generations up to 4 days was carried out using the fluorescent dye carboxyfluorescein diacetate N-succinimidyl ester (CFSE) followed by propidium iodide (PI) staining at the end of the experiment. The well-studied flavonol quercetin was included in the analysis as a reference substance. All flavonoids affected cell proliferation, but the extent and the resulting changes in the proliferation pattern were specific for each substance. In contrast to the radical scavenging activity of quercetin, the tested flavanones showed no anti-oxidative properties using several different test systems. Similarly, the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) was hardly effected by these compounds, while both menadione and quercetin strongly reduced the potential after 1 h of treatment. The reported chemical modification of interesting lead substances (like the strongly estrogenic 8-PN) presents a promising approach to modulate the properties of a relevant substance in a pharmacologically desirable way. The low toxicity and weak cytostatic properties of the tested naringenin derivatives is encouraging for further studies on known naringenin target molecules. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Inguinoscrotal herniation of the ureter is a rare finding with the potential for serious surgical complications. Two anatomic forms are defined. In the more common paraperitoneal variant, the herniating peritoneal sac drags the ureter and sometimes other abdominal structures with it. The uncommon variant – extraperitoneal inguinal hernia – is without a peritoneal sac and consists of the ureter and fat tissue. We report a case of extraperitoneal inguinoscrotal hernia possibly due to a prior inguinal hernia repair. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Background/Aim: Little is known about the clinical significance of phantosmia. The literature on phantosmia indicates that this symptom has a wide range of differential diagnoses. However, most cases of phantosmia remain of unknown origin. Our goal was to follow up patients with idiopathic phantosmia, with special regard to improvement rates and possible severe health conditions preceded by phantosmia of unknown origin. Methods: Forty-four patients with idiopathic phantosmia which had consulted our Ear-Nose-Throat Smell and Taste Clinic over the last 10 years were contacted by telephone and underwent a structured medical interview. Results: None of the patients had eveloped any severe health condition or Parkinson’s disease. More than 5 years after the occurrence of hantosmia, more than 50% of the patients experienced disappearance (31.8%) or improvement (25%). In the remaining cases, phantosmia did not change (38.7%) or became worse ( ! 5%). Conclusion: The main findings of the present study were that idiopathic phantosmia improves or disappears in almost two thirds of the patients after more than 5 years, and that idiopathic phantosmia seems to be more likely a harmless symptom rather than a reliable predictor of early Parkinson’s disease or other severe diseases. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

The present study aimed to investigate intranasal trigeminal sensitivity in a large sample of patients with anosmia due to different etiologies. We investigated the trigeminal detection threshold for formic acid in healthy controls (n = 96) and patients with anosmia due to head trauma (n = 18) or sinonasal disease (n = 54). Anosmics exhibited higher thresholds compared with normosmics (p < 0.001). In addition, thresholds were found to be higher in patients with posttraumatic anosmia compared to anosmics with sinonasal disease (p < 0.001). The data indicate that (1) loss of olfactory sensitivity in humans may be associated with a decreased sensitivity towards trigeminal stimuli and (2) alteration of intranasal trigeminal function is stronger in patients with posttraumatic anosmia compared to patients with sinonasal disease. This may have implications for the medicolegal investigation of anosmic patients where trigeminal stimuli are frequently used to assess the patient’s response bias. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.