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Saad F, Gillessen S, Heinrich D, Keizman D, O’Sullivan JM, Nilsson S, Miller K, Wirth M, Reeves J, Seger M, Carles J, Heidenreich A. Disease Characteristics and Completion of Treatment in Patients With Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Treated With Radium-223 in an International Early Access Program. Clin Genitourin Cancer 2019; 17:348-355.e5. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clgc.2019.05.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2019] [Revised: 05/13/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Heidenreich A, Gillessen S, Heinrich D, Keizman D, O'Sullivan JM, Carles J, Wirth M, Miller K, Reeves J, Seger M, Nilsson S, Saad F. Radium-223 in asymptomatic patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer and bone metastases treated in an international early access program. BMC Cancer 2019; 19:12. [PMID: 30612558 PMCID: PMC6322274 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-018-5203-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2018] [Accepted: 12/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Radium-223, a targeted alpha therapy, is used to treat symptomatic patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and bone metastases. Data for radium-223 in asymptomatic CRPC patients with bone metastases are lacking. METHODS This was a prospective, single-arm phase 3b study. Patients with metastatic CRPC (malignant lymphadenopathy not exceeding 6 cm was allowed, visceral disease was excluded) received radium-223, 55 kBq/kg intravenously, every 4 weeks for up to 6 cycles. Co-primary endpoints were safety and overall survival. Post hoc analyses were performed according to baseline asymptomatic or symptomatic disease status. Asymptomatic status was defined as no pain and no opioid use at baseline. RESULTS Seven hundred eight patients received ≥1 radium-223 injection: 548 (77%) were symptomatic to various degrees, and 135 (19%) were asymptomatic. Asymptomatic patients had more favorable baseline disease characteristics than symptomatic. A lower proportion of asymptomatic versus symptomatic patients had received prior abiraterone (25% vs 35%) and prior docetaxel (52% vs 62%). A higher proportion of asymptomatic (71%) versus symptomatic (55%) patients completed radium-223 treatment. Overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] 0.486), time to disease progression (HR 0.722) and time to first symptomatic skeletal event (HR 0.328) were better in asymptomatic than symptomatic patients. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) response rates were similar (46% vs 47%), and ALP normalization (44% vs 25%) and prostate-specific antigen response rates (21% vs 13%) were higher in asymptomatic than symptomatic patients. A lower proportion of asymptomatic patients reported treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs, 61% vs 79%), grade 3-4 TEAEs (29% vs 40%) and drug-related TEAEs (28% vs 44%). There were two treatment-related deaths, both in patients with baseline symptomatic disease. CONCLUSIONS Using radium-223 earlier in the disease course, when patients are asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic, may enable patients to complete treatment and optimize treatment outcome compared to symptomatic patients, and therefore may allow sequencing with other life-prolonging therapies. TRIAL REGISTRATION The study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov , number NCT01618370 on June 13, 2012 and the European Union Clinical Trials Register, EudraCT number 2012-000075-16 on April 4, 2012.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Heidenreich
- Department of Urology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
| | - Silke Gillessen
- Division of Cancer Sciences, University of Manchester and the Christie, Manchester, UK.,Medical Oncology and Haematology, Kantonsspital St Gallen, St Gallen, Switzerland.,University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Heinrich
- Department of Oncology, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway
| | - Daniel Keizman
- Genitourinary Oncology Service, Institute of Oncology, Meir Medical Center, Kfar-Saba, Israel
| | - Joe M O'Sullivan
- Department of Clinical Oncology, The Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen's University Belfast and the Northern Ireland Cancer Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Joan Carles
- Department of Medical Oncology, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Manfred Wirth
- Department of Urology, University Hospital Carl-Gustav Carus, Dresden, Germany
| | - Kurt Miller
- Department of Urology, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - John Reeves
- Pharmaceutical Division of Bayer, Whippany, NJ, USA
| | - Monica Seger
- Pharmaceutical Division of Bayer, Whippany, NJ, USA
| | - Sten Nilsson
- Department of Oncology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Fred Saad
- Department of Urology, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM), Montreal, QC, Canada
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Pfeifer B, Seger M, Hintermüller C, Hanser F, Modre R, Tilg B, Trieb T, Kremser C, Roithinger FX, Hintringer F, Fischer G. Computationally Efficient Noninvasive Cardiac Activation Time Imaging. Methods Inf Med 2018. [DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1634024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Summary
Objective:
The computer model-based computation of the cardiac activation sequence in humans has been recently subject of successful clinical validation. This method is of potential interest for guiding ablation therapy of arrhythmogenic substrates. However, computation times of almost an hour are unattractive in a clinical setting. Thus, the objective is the development of a method which performs the computation in a few minutes run time.
Methods:
The computationally most expensive part is the product of the lead field matrix with a matrix containing the source pattern on the cardiac surface. The particular biophysical properties of both matrices are used for speeding up this operation by more than an order of magnitude. A conjugate gradient optimizer was developed using C++ for computing the activation map.
Results:
The software was tested on synthetic and clinical data. The increase in speed with respect to the previously used Fortran 77 implementation was a factor of 30 at a comparable quality of the results. As an additional finding the coupled regularization strategy, originally introduced for saving computation time, also reduced the sensitivity of the method to the choice of the regularization parameter.
Conclusions:
As it was shown for data from a WPW-patient the developed software can deliver diagnostically valuable information at a much shorter span of time than current clinical routine methods. Its main application could be the localization of focal arrhythmogenic substrates.
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Hanser F, Pfeifer B, Seger M, Hintermüller C, Modre R, Tilg B, Trieb T, Berger T, Roithinger FX, Hintringer F, Fischer G. A Signal Processing Pipeline for Noninvasive Imaging of Ventricular Preexcitation. Methods Inf Med 2018. [DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1634001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Summary
Objectives:
Noninvasive imaging of the cardiac activation sequence in humans could guide interventional curative treatment of cardiac arrhythmias by catheter ablation. Highly automated signal processing tools are desirable for clinical acceptance. The developed signal processing pipeline reduces user interactions to a minimum, which eases the operation by the staff in the catheter laboratory and increases the reproducibility of the results.
Methods:
A previously described R-peak detector was modified for automatic detection of all possible targets (beats) using the information of all leads in the ECG map. A direct method was applied for signal classification. The algorithm was tuned for distinguishing beats with an adenosine induced AV-nodal block from baseline morphology in Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) patients. Furthermore, an automatic identification of the QRS-interval borders was implemented.
Results:
The software was tested with data from eight patients having overt ventricular preexcitation. The R-peak detector captured all QRS-complexes with no false positive detection. The automatic classification was verified by demonstrating adenosine-induced prolongation of ventricular activation with statistical significance (p <0.001) in all patients. This also demonstrates the performance of the automatic detection of QRS-interval borders. Furthermore, all ectopic or paced beats were automatically separated from sinus rhythm. Computed activation maps are shown for one patient localizing the accessory pathway with an accuracy of 1 cm.
Conclusions:
The implemented signal processing pipeline is a powerful tool for selecting target beats for noninvasive activation imaging in WPW patients. It robustly identifies and classifies beats. The small beat to beat variations in the automatic QRS-interval detection indicate accurate identification of the time window of interest.
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Fischer G, Hanser F, Seger M, Hintermüller C, Modre-Osprian R, Trieb T, Tilg B, Pfeifer B. Atrial and Ventricular Myocardium Extraction Using Model-based Techniques. Methods Inf Med 2018. [DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1634032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Summary
Objectives:
This paper presents an efficient approach for extracting myocardial structures from given atrial and ventricular blood masses to enable non-invasive estimation of electrical excitation in human atria and ventricles.
Methods:
Based on given segmented atrial and ventricular blood masses, the approach constructs the myocardial structure directly, in the case that the myocardium can be detected in the volume data, or by using mean model information, in the case that the myocardium cannot be seen in the volume data due to image modalities or artefacts. The approach employs mathematical and gray-value morphology operations. Regulated by the spatial visibility of the myocardial structure in the medical image data especially the atrial myocardium needs to be estimated repeatedly using the a-priori knowledge given by the anatomy.
Results:
The approach was tested using eight patient data sets. The reconstruction process yielded satisfying results with respect to an efficient generation of a volume conductor model which is essential when trying to implement the estimation of electrical excitation in clinical application.
Conclusion:
The approach yields ventricular and atrial models that qualify for cardiac source imaging in a clinical setting.
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Seger M, Hintermüller C, Fischer G, Mühlthaler H, Modre-Osprian R, Tilg B, Pfeifer B. AAM-based Segmentation for Imaging Cardiac Electrophysiology. Methods Inf Med 2018. [DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1627829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Summary
Objectives: Activation time (AT) imaging from electrocardiographic (ECG) mapping data has been developing for several years. By coupling 4-dimensional volume data (3D + time) the electrical sequence can be computed non-invasively. In this paper an approach for extracting the ventricular and atrial blood masses for structurally normal hearts by using cine-gated shortaxis data obtained via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is introduced.
Methods: The blood masses are extracted by employing Active Appearance Models (AAMs). The ventricular blood masses are segmented, applying the AAMs after providing apex cordis and base of the heart in the volume data, whereas the more complex geometry of the atria requires a more specific attempt. On account of this the atrium was divided into three divisions of appearance, where the images of the volume data in the related divisions have a maximum affinity. The first division reaches from the base of the heart to initial visibility of the upper and left lower pulmonary vein. The second division up from there to the last occurrence and the third division from there to the end of the visibility of the right upper and lower pulmonary vein. After extracting the cardiac blood masses the result gets triangulated and remeshed for activation time imaging.
Results: With this method the cardiac models of eight patients were extracted and the AT imaging approach was applied to single-beat ECG data of atrial and ventricular depolarization.
Conclusion: The advantage of the proposed AAM approach is that only a few initial parameters have to be set. Therefore, the approach can be integrated into a processing pipeline that works semi-automatically. The extracted models can be used for further investigations.
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Hanser F, Seger M, Netzer M, Osl M, Modre-Osprian R, Schreier G, Baumgartner C, Pfeifer B, Wurz M. An Epidemiological Modeling and Data Integration Framework. Methods Inf Med 2018; 49:290-6. [DOI: 10.3414/me09-02-0025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2009] [Accepted: 03/08/2010] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Summary
Objectives: In this work, a cellular automaton software package for simulating different infectious diseases, storing the simulation results in a data warehouse system and analyzing the obtained results to generate prediction models as well as contingency plans, is proposed. The Brisbane H3N2 flu virus, which has been spreading during the winter season 2009, was used for simulation in the federal state of Tyrol, Austria.
Methods: The simulation-modeling framework consists of an underlying cellular automaton. The cellular automaton model is parameterized by known disease parameters and geographical as well as demographical conditions are included for simulating the spreading. The data generated by simulation are stored in the back room of the data warehouse using the Talend Open Studio software package, and subsequent statistical and data mining tasks are performed using the tool, termed Knowledge Discovery in Database Designer (KD3).
Results: The obtained simulation results were used for generating prediction models for all nine federal states of Austria.
Conclusion: The proposed framework provides a powerful and easy to handle interface for parameterizing and simulating different infectious diseases in order to generate prediction models and improve contingency plans for future events.
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Morris MJ, Loriot Y, Fizazi K, Sweeney C, Ryan CJ, Shevrin DH, Antonarakis ES, Seger M, Lu C, Higano CS. Effects of radium-223 (Ra-223) with docetaxel versus docetaxel alone on bone biomarkers in patients with bone-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC): A phase I/IIa clinical trial. J Clin Oncol 2017. [DOI: 10.1200/jco.2017.35.6_suppl.154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
154 Background: Interactions between metastatic prostate cancer cells, osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and other participants in bone metabolism are complex and result in pathologic bone physiology. Ra-223, a targeted alpha therapy, accumulates at sites of bone metastases and prolongs survival. Ra-223 and docetaxel (D), acting through different mechanisms of action, may have beneficial effects on bone pathophysiology and tumor microenvironment. Prior data suggest treatment with Ra-223 results in favorable alterations in bone biomarkers that are associated with survival. Methods: 53 patients with progressing CRPC and ≥ 2 bone metastases were randomized 2:1 to Ra-223 (55 kBq/kg q6wk × 5) + D (60 mg/m2 q3wk × 10) versus D (75 mg/m2 q3wk with step-down option to 60 mg/m2). Bone resorption (CTX-1, ICTP) and formation (P1NP, bALP) markers, tALP, and PSA were analyzed at wk 19 (after 3 Ra-223 injections) and 3 wk after end of treatment (EOT). Results: Mean % change at wk 19 and EOT are shown (Table). tALP, bALP, P1NP, and PSA declined early during treatment, reaching an average of > 30% decline from baseline by wk 19 in both arms. Mean % declines were greater in the Ra-223 + D versus the D-alone arm at wk 19 and EOT. Bone resorption markers CTX-1 and ICTP showed little decline at wk 19. Conclusions: Ra-223 + D patients had greater % decline in tALP and in bone formation markers bALP and P1NP. Due to small patient numbers and preliminary data, further analysis and correlation with clinical outcomes in a larger study is warranted. Clinical trial information: NCT01106352. [Table: see text]
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yohann Loriot
- Institut Gustave Roussy, University of Paris Sud, Villejuif, France
| | - Karim Fizazi
- Institut Gustave Roussy, University of Paris Sud, Villejuif, France
| | | | - Charles J. Ryan
- UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA
| | - Daniel H. Shevrin
- NorthShore University Health System, Evanston Hospital Kellogg Cancer Center, Evanston, IL
| | | | | | | | - Celestia S. Higano
- University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA
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Heidenreich A, Gillessen S, Heinrich D, Keizman D, O'Sullivan JM, Carles J, Wirth M, Miller K, Huang L, Seger M, Nilsson S, Saad F. Radium-223 (Ra-223) in asymptomatic metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients treated in an international early access program (iEAP). J Clin Oncol 2017. [DOI: 10.1200/jco.2017.35.6_suppl.158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
158 Background: Ra-223, a targeted alpha therapy, is currently used to treat mCRPC patients (pts). To investigate Ra-223 when used early in the disease course, we analyzed safety and efficacy in mCRPC pts with no symptoms at baseline treated in an iEAP. Methods: This was a prospective, single-arm phase 3b study of mCRPC pts (malignant lymphadenopathy not exceeding 6 cm was allowed, visceral disease was excluded). Pts received Ra-223, 55 kBq/kg IV, every 4 weeks for up to 6 cycles. Co-primary endpoints were safety and overall survival (OS). Post hoc analyses were performed according to asymptomatic or symptomatic disease status at baseline. Asymptomatic was defined as no pain and no opioid use at baseline. Results: 708 pts received ≥1 Ra-223 injection: 548 (77%) were defined as symptomatic and 135 (19%) were defined as asymptomatic. Asymptomatic pts had more favorable baseline characteristics than symptomatic pts (table). Fewer asymptomatic pts had received prior abiraterone (34 pts, 25% vs 190, 35%), enzalutamide (5 pts, 4% vs 43, 8%) and prior docetaxel (70 pts, 52% vs 339, 62%). More asymptomatic pts received 6 cycles of Ra-223 (96, 71% vs 300, 55%). Adverse events (AEs) were reported for fewer pts with asymptomatic vs symptomatic disease: any grade, 61% vs 79%; grade 3/4, 29% vs 40% and serious AEs, 22% vs 38%. OS was longer in asymptomatic pts and ALP normalization was more common (table). Conclusions: Asymptomatic pts were more likely to have a better prognosis and to complete all 6 cycles of Ra-223. Ongoing first-line combination studies (ERA-223: NCT02043678 and PEACE-3: NCT02194842) may show whether Ra-223 administered early in the disease course will lead to better outcomes. Clinical trial information: NCT01618370. [Table: see text]
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Joe M. O'Sullivan
- The Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen's University Belfast and the Northern Ireland Cancer Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland
| | - Joan Carles
- Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Manfred Wirth
- University Hospital Carl-Gustav Carus, Dresden, Germany
| | - Kurt Miller
- Charite University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | | | - Sten Nilsson
- Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Fred Saad
- University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Saad F, Keizman D, O'Sullivan JM, Carles J, Wirth M, Gillessen S, Thellenberg-Karlsson C, Miller K, Tucci M, Paganelli G, Procopio G, Gratt J, Seger M, Nilsson S, Heinrich D. Analysis of overall survival by number of radium-223 injections received in an international expanded access program (iEAP). J Clin Oncol 2016. [DOI: 10.1200/jco.2016.34.15_suppl.5082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Fred Saad
- University of Montreal Hospital Center, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Joe M. O'Sullivan
- Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen's University, Belfast, Ireland
| | - Joan Carles
- Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Manfred Wirth
- University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Sten Nilsson
- Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
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Seger M, Hanser F, Dichtl W, Stuehlinger M, Hintringer F, Trieb T, Pfeifer B, Berger T. Non-invasive imaging of cardiac electrophysiology in a cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator patient with a quadripolar left ventricular lead. Europace 2014; 16:743-9. [DOI: 10.1093/europace/euu045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Seger M, Fischer G, Handler M, Stöger M, Nowak CN, Hintringer F, Klima G, Baumgartner C. Achieving elongated lesions employing cardiac cryoablation: a preclinical evaluation study. Cryobiology 2012; 65:145-50. [PMID: 22580465 DOI: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2012.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2011] [Revised: 03/13/2012] [Accepted: 04/19/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Cardiac cryoablation applied for treating cardiac arrhythmias has shown promising results after intervention, particularly for the creation of elongated lesions. A model for simulating and assessing cryoablation interventions was developed, evaluated and validated with animal experiments. We employed two simulations of different freezing outlet settings for a loop shaped cryocatheter, applying Pennes heat equation for cardiac tissue. Our experiments demonstrated that an equidistantly spaced freezing outlet distribution of 5mm led to an improved formation of lesions, i.e., elongated lesions were observed throughout the transmural cardiac volume and on the epicardial structure. A complete transmural frozen lesion was not achieved with a freezing outlet distance of 10mm. These simulation results could be experimentally verified by morphological and histological examinations. Using our simulation model we were able to optimize the intervention procedure by predicting and assessing the freezing process. This should further increase the success rate of cardiac cryoablation in clinical interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Seger
- Institute of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering, UMIT - The Health and Life Sciences University, A-6060 Hall in Tirol, Austria.
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Sasaki JC, Chapin RE, Hall DG, Breslin W, Moffit J, Saldutti L, Enright B, Seger M, Jarvi K, Hixon M, Mitchard T, Kim JH. Incidence and nature of testicular toxicity findings in pharmaceutical development. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012; 92:511-25. [PMID: 22162370 DOI: 10.1002/bdrb.20338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Testicular toxicity (TT) is a sporadic and challenging issue in pharmaceutical drug development. Efforts to develop TT screening assays or biomarkers have been overshadowed by consortium efforts to predict drug-induced toxicities such as hepatic injury, which are encountered more frequently. METHODS To gauge the current state of the field and to prioritize future TT activities, the International Life Sciences Institute-Health and Environmental Sciences Institute Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology (DART) Technical Committee sponsored a survey to better understand the incidence and nature of TT findings encountered during drug development. RESULTS Highlights from the 16 survey respondents include: (1) Although preclinical TT was encountered relatively infrequently, half of the participants observed repeated problems with TT during pharmaceutical development, (2) despite control measures such as use of sexually mature animals to diminish confounding effects of spurious lesions, interpretation of TT remains a challenge, (3) "traditional" evaluation tools such as hormonal monitoring and newer approaches such as -omics are utilized to investigate testicular changes, and (4) an understanding of the risk and relevance of TT findings is achieved through joint consideration of factors such as species specificity, potential mode of action, and safety margins. CONCLUSIONS TT remains a relatively uncommon but persistent challenge in pharmaceutical development. Although current preclinical TT approaches appear to be effective in limiting the occurrence of pharmaceutical candidate attrition in clinical trials, improved biomarker or screening platforms would allow companies to identify TT at an earlier stage, thus decreasing the time and resources expended on safety evaluation of pharmaceutical candidates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer C Sasaki
- Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Raritan, New Jersey.
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Pfeifer B, Hanser F, Seger M, Fischer G, Modre-Osprian R, Tilg B. Patient-specific volume conductor modeling for non-invasive imaging of cardiac electrophysiology. Open Med Inform J 2008; 2:32-41. [PMID: 19415133 PMCID: PMC2666958 DOI: 10.2174/1874431100802010032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2008] [Revised: 01/29/2008] [Accepted: 02/24/2008] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
We propose a general workflow to numerically estimate the spread of electrical excitation in the patients' hearts. To this end, a semi-automatic segmentation pipeline for extracting the volume conductor model of structurally normal hearts is presented. The cardiac electrical source imaging technique aims to provide information about the spread of electrical excitation in order to assist the cardiologist in developing strategies for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. The volume conductor models of eight patients were extracted from cine-gated short-axis magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. The non-invasive estimation of electrical excitation was compared with the CARTO maps. The development of a volume conductor modeling pipeline for constructing a patient-specific volume conductor model in a fast and accurate way is one essential step to make the technique clinically applicable.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Pfeifer
- Institute of Biomedical Signal Processing and Imaging, University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology (UMIT), Hall i.T., Austria
| | - F Hanser
- Research Division for Pervasive Health, University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology (UMIT), Hall i.T. Austria
| | - M Seger
- Institute of Biomedical Signal Processing and Imaging, University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology (UMIT), Hall i.T., Austria
| | - G Fischer
- Institute of Biomedical Signal Processing and Imaging, University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology (UMIT), Hall i.T., Austria
| | | | - B Tilg
- Institute of Biomedical Signal Processing and Imaging, University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology (UMIT), Hall i.T., Austria
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Jarvi K, Dula E, Drehobl M, Pryor J, Shapiro J, Seger M. Daily vardenafil for 6 months has no detrimental effects on semen characteristics or reproductive hormones in men with normal baseline levels. J Urol 2008; 179:1060-5. [PMID: 18206950 DOI: 10.1016/j.juro.2007.10.077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2007] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors are the first choice therapy in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Many men in their reproductive years are now using phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of 6 months of treatment with 20 mg vardenafil, compared with 100 mg sildenafil and placebo, on semen characteristics and reproductive hormones in men with and without erectile dysfunction. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, parallel group, multicenter study. A total of 200 men with or without erectile dysfunction, able to produce semen samples without erectile dysfunction therapy, 25 to 64 years old, were randomized to daily treatment with vardenafil, sildenafil or placebo for 6 months. The primary variable was the percentage of vardenafil treated individuals with a 50% or greater decrease in mean sperm concentration from baseline to 6-month last observation carried forward, compared with placebo treated individuals. RESULTS The between group difference (vardenafil minus placebo) in the percentage of patients with 50% or greater decrease in sperm concentration (baseline to 6 months last observation carried forward) was 0.07% (95% CI, -8.53% to 8.39%). Vardenafil also had no clinically significant effects on any other semen parameters, or on levels of reproductive hormones, when compared with placebo. Similar data were observed with sildenafil. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated that vardenafil had no adverse effects on sperm concentration, compared with sildenafil and placebo, when administered daily at the maximum recommended dose for 6 months. Specifically, use of vardenafil for 6 months does not impair sperm concentration, total sperm count per ejaculate, or sperm morphology and motility. Levels of reproductive hormones were also unaffected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith Jarvi
- Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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Pfeifer B, Seger M, Hanser F, Hintermüller C, Fischer G, Mühlthaler H, Tilg B. A training whole-heart model for simulating propagation and ECG patterns. Biomed Signal Process Control 2007. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bspc.2007.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Jarvi K, Dula E, Drehobl M, Shapiro J, Seger M. Analysis of the long-term effects of vardenafil on semen characteristics in healthy men, and men with erectile dysfunction. Fertil Steril 2007. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.07.493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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18
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Schrader AJ, Seger M, Konrad L, Olbert P, Hegele A, Hofmann R, Heidenreich A. Clinical impact of MDR1-expression in testicular germ cell cancer. Exp Oncol 2007; 29:212-216. [PMID: 18004247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
AIM The multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1, P-gp, p-170) is a membrane glycoprotein that acts as an energy-dependent drug efflux pump. In various malignancies its expression is associated with resistance to diverse cytostatic drugs, and therefore predicts resistance to systemic treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of MDR1 expression in primary tumor tissue to predict necrosis or viable cancer in residual tumor masses after systemic chemotherapy for advanced testicular germ cell cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS Out of 77 patients, histopathological characteristics of primary testicular cancer specimens and retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) samples following chemotherapy were available from 72 and all 77 patients, respectively. Moreover, MDR1 expression was determined by immunohistochemistry in 47 primary tumors and corresponding 73 RPLND sections. RESULTS After chemotherapy and subsequent RPLND, the examination of residual tumor masses revealed that mature teratoma and active viable tumor were predominantly found in patients with non-seminoma (NSGCT; p=0.048), especially in those with containing mature teratoma (p=0.001). Moreover, using univariate analysis the expression of MDR1 in the primary testicular tumor predicted viable tumor/teratoma residues in RPLND sections (p=0.003). However, in multivariate analysis including the tumors' histological subtype, MDR1 expression alone failed to reach statistical significance as an independent prognostic marker for residual vital tumor (p>or=0.16). CONCLUSIONS With the limited number of patients given, the correlation between MDR1 expression in primary testis cancer and active residual retroperitoneal disease after chemotherapy failed to reach statistical significance as in independent marker. Therefore, up to now routine MDR1 staining of testicular germ cell cancer samples should not be performed in clinical practice. However, as there was a clear trend, a larger number of patients suffering from metastatic non-seminomas should be studied, as MDR1 expression might have significant prognostic value in this particular subgroup of patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- A J Schrader
- Department of Urology, Philipps-University Medical School, Baldingerstrasse, D-35043 Marburg, Germany.
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Benson C, Seger M, Voelker J. Inhibition of PKC β by Ruboxistaurin Does Not Enhance the Acute Blood Pressure Response to Nitroglycerin. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2007; 82:181-6. [PMID: 17443133 DOI: 10.1038/sj.clpt.6100210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Ruboxistaurin is a selective protein kinase C beta inhibitor undergoing clinical investigation for treatment of diabetic microvascular complications. This study assessed a possible blood pressure (BP) interaction between ruboxistaurin and the exogenous nitric oxide donor, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN). Subjects (N=22) with chronic stable angina received placebo or ruboxistaurin 96 mg/day orally to steady state in a crossover design. Graded GTN (0, 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, and 120 microg/min) or 5% dextrose solution was then infused intravenously and BP was measured following each dose. Ruboxistaurin did not alter the slope of change in standing systolic BP (DeltasSBP/1n[GTN dose]) curve (P=0.272 analysis of covariance) or affect the DeltasSBP at the estimated GTN dose producing a 10-mm Hg reduction in sSBP from baseline on placebo (mean difference -0.9 mm Hg; 95% confidence of interval, -3.3-1.5). In conclusion, ruboxistaurin does not potentiate the acute BP-lowering effects of GTN.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Benson
- Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, Lilly Corporate Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
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Pfeifer B, Seger M, Hintermüller C, Fischer G, Mühlthaler H, Modre-Osprian R, Tilg B. AAM-based segmentation for imaging cardiac electrophysiology. Methods Inf Med 2007; 46:36-42. [PMID: 17224978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Activation time (AT) imaging from electrocardiographic (ECG) mapping data has been developing for several years. By coupling 4-dimensional volume data (3D + time) the electrical sequence can be computed non-invasively. In this paper an approach for extracting the ventricular and atrial blood masses for structurally normal hearts by using cine-gated short-axis data obtained via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is introduced. METHODS The blood masses are extracted by employing Active Appearance Models (AAMs). The ventricular blood masses are segmented, applying the AAMs after providing apex cordis and base of the heart in the volume data, whereas the more complex geometry of the atria requires a more specific attempt. On account of this the atrium was divided into three divisions of appearance, where the images of the volume data in the related divisions have a maximum affinity. The first division reaches from the base of the heart to initial visibility of the upper and left lower pulmonary vein. The second division up from there to the last occurrence and the third division from there to the end of the visibility of the right upper and lower pulmonary vein. After extracting the cardiac blood masses the result gets triangulated and remeshed for activation time imaging. RESULTS With this method the cardiac models of eight patients were extracted and the AT imaging approach was applied to single-beat ECG data of atrial and ventricular depolarization. CONCLUSION The advantage of the proposed AAM approach is that only a few initial parameters have to be set. Therefore, the approach can be integrated into a processing pipeline that works semi-automatically. The extracted models can be used for further investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Pfeifer
- Institute for Biomedical Signal Processing and Imaging, University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology (UMIT), Hall i.T., Austria.
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21
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Pfeifer B, Fischer G, Hanser F, Seger M, Hintermüller C, Modre-Osprian R, Trieb T, Tilg B. Atrial and ventricular myocardium extraction using model-based techniques. Methods Inf Med 2006; 45:19-26. [PMID: 16482366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This paper presents an efficient approach for extracting myocardial structures from given atrial and ventricular blood masses to enable non-invasive estimation of electrical excitation in human atria and ventricles. METHODS Based on given segmented atrial and ventricular blood masses, the approach constructs the myocardial structure directly, in the case that the myocardium can be detected in the volume data, or by using mean model information, in the case that the myocardium cannot be seen in the volume data due to image modalities or artefacts. The approach employs mathematical and gray-value morphology operations. Regulated by the spatial visibility of the myocardial structure in the medical image data especially the atrial myocardium needs to be estimated repeatedly using the a-priori knowledge given by the anatomy. RESULTS The approach was tested using eight patient data sets. The reconstruction process yielded satisfying results with respect to an efficient generation of a volume conductor model which is essential when trying to implement the estimation of electrical excitation in clinical application. CONCLUSION The approach yields ventricular and atrial models that qualify for cardiac source imaging in a clinical setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Pfeifer
- Institute for Biomedical Signal Processing and Imaging, University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology (UMIT), Eduard-Wallnöfer-Zentrum 1, 6060 Hall in Tirol, Austria.
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22
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Rosen R, Shabsigh R, Berber M, Assalian P, Menza M, Rodriguez-Vela L, Porto R, Bangerter K, Seger M, Montorsi F. Efficacy and tolerability of vardenafil in men with mild depression and erectile dysfunction: the depression-related improvement with vardenafil for erectile response study. Am J Psychiatry 2006; 163:79-87. [PMID: 16390893 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.163.1.79] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Erectile dysfunction and depression are highly associated. Previous studies have shown benefits of phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor treatment for erectile dysfunction associated with antidepressant therapy or subsyndromal depression. The present study assessed the safety and efficacy of vardenafil in men with erectile dysfunction and untreated mild depression. METHOD In this 12-week, multicenter, randomized, flexible-dose, parallel-group, double-blind study, 280 men with erectile dysfunction for at least 6 months and untreated mild major depression received placebo or vardenafil, 10 mg/day, for 4 weeks, with the option to titrate to 5 mg/day or 20 mg/day after each of two consecutive 4-week intervals. Endpoints included International Index of Erectile Function erectile function domain and 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) scores. RESULTS Vardenafil produced statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in all erectile function parameters. The International Index of Erectile Function erectile function domain score was 22.9 with vardenafil compared to 14.9 with placebo. The HAM-D score was lower in the vardenafil group (7.9) than in the placebo group (10.1). Treatment with vardenafil was the most important predictor for return to normal erectile function. Improvement in International Index of Erectile Function erectile function domain score was the most important predictor of remission in depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Vardenafil was well tolerated and highly efficacious in men with erectile dysfunction and untreated mild major depression. Significant improvements in erectile function and depression were observed in patients treated with vardenafil versus placebo. Erectile dysfunction treatment should be considered a component of therapy for men with depression and erectile dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raymond Rosen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
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Rave K, Nosek L, de la Pena A, Seger M, Ernest II CS, Heinemann L, Batycky R, Muchmore DB. Dosis-Wirkungsbeziehung von inhalativem Humaninsulin als Pulver (HIIP) und Dosisäquivalenz im Vergleich zu subkutanem Insulin Lispro. DIABETOL STOFFWECHS 2006. [DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-943910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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24
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Seger M, Fischer G, Modre R, Messnarz B, Hanser F, Tilg B. Lead field computation for the electrocardiographic inverse problem--finite elements versus boundary elements. Comput Methods Programs Biomed 2005; 77:241-252. [PMID: 15721652 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2004.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2003] [Revised: 08/18/2004] [Accepted: 10/28/2004] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
In order to be able to solve the inverse problem of electrocardiography, the lead field matrix (transfer matrix) has to be calculated. The two methods applied for computing this matrix, which are compared in this study, are the boundary element method (BEM) and the finite element method (FEM). The performance of both methods using a spherical model was investigated. For a comparable discretization level, the BEM yields smaller relative errors compared to analytical solutions. The BEM needs less computation time, but a larger amount of memory. Inversely calculated myocardial activation times using either the FEM or BEM computed lead field matrices give similar activation time patterns. The FEM, however, is also capable of considering anisotropic conductivities. This property might have an impact for future development, when also individual myocardial fiber architecture can be considered in the inverse formulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Seger
- Institute for Biomedical Signal Processing and Imaging, University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Innrain 98, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
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Fischer G, Pfeifer B, Seger M, Hintermüller C, Hanser F, Modre R, Tilg B, Trieb T, Kremser C, Roithinger FX, Hintringer F. Computationally efficient noninvasive cardiac activation time imaging. Methods Inf Med 2005; 44:674-86. [PMID: 16400376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The computer model-based computation of the cardiac activation sequence in humans has been recently subject of successful clinical validation. This method is of potential interest for guiding ablation therapy of arrhythmogenic substrates. However, computation times of almost an hour are unattractive in a clinical setting. Thus, the objective is the development of a method which performs the computation in a few minutes run time. METHODS The computationally most expensive part is the product of the lead field matrix with a matrix containing the source pattern on the cardiac surface. The particular biophysical properties of both matrices are used for speeding up this operation by more than an order of magnitude. A conjugate gradient optimizer was developed using C++ for computing the activation map. RESULTS The software was tested on synthetic and clinical data. The increase in speed with respect to the previously used Fortran 77 implementation was a factor of 30 at a comparable quality of the results. As an additional finding the coupled regularization strategy, originally introduced for saving computation time, also reduced the sensitivity of the method to the choice of the regularization parameter. CONCLUSIONS As it was shown for data from a WPWpatient the developed software can deliver diagnostically valuable information at a much shorter span of time than current clinical routine methods. Its main application could be the localization of focal arrhythmogenic substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Fischer
- Institute for Biomedical Signal Processing and Imaging, University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology (UMIT), Innsbruck, Austria.
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Fischer G, Hanser F, Pfeifer B, Seger M, Hintermüller C, Modre R, Tilg B, Trieb T, Berger T, Roithinger FX, Hintringer F. A signal processing pipeline for noninvasive imaging of ventricular preexcitation. Methods Inf Med 2005; 44:508-15. [PMID: 16342917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Noninvasive imaging of the cardiac activation sequence in humans could guide interventional curative treatment of cardiac arrhythmias by catheter ablation. Highly automated signal processing tools are desirable for clinical acceptance. The developed signal processing pipeline reduces user interactions to a minimum, which eases the operation by the staff in the catheter laboratory and increases the reproducibility of the results. METHODS A previously described R-peak detector was modified for automatic detection of all possible targets (beats) using the information of all leads in the ECG map. A direct method was applied for signal classification. The algorithm was tuned for distinguishing beats with an adenosine induced AV-nodal block from baseline morphology in Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) patients. Furthermore, an automatic identification of the QRS-interval borders was implemented. RESULTS The software was tested with data from eight patients having overt ventricular preexcitation. The R-peak detector captured all QRS-complexes with no false positive detection. The automatic classification was verified by demonstrating adenosine-induced prolongation of ventricular activation with statistical significance (p <0.001) in all patients. This also demonstrates the performance of the automatic detection of QRS-interval borders. Furthermore, all ectopic or paced beats were automatically separated from sinus rhythm. Computed activation maps are shown for one patient localizing the accessory pathway with an accuracy of 1 cm. CONCLUSIONS The implemented signal processing pipeline is a powerful tool for selecting target beats for noninvasive activation imaging in WPW patients. It robustly identifies and classifies beats. The small beat to beat variations in the automatic QRS-interval detection indicate accurate identification of the time window of interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Fischer
- Institute for Biomedical Signal Processing and Imaging, University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Hall i T, Austria.
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Seger M, Roessler M, Beyer J, Heidenreich A. Residual tumor resection (RTR) in advanced testicular cancer: Indication, outcome and prediction of histology. J Clin Oncol 2004. [DOI: 10.1200/jco.2004.22.90140.4645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- M. Seger
- Philipps - University, Marburg, Germany; Division of Oncological Urology, Köln, Germany
| | - M. Roessler
- Philipps - University, Marburg, Germany; Division of Oncological Urology, Köln, Germany
| | - J. Beyer
- Philipps - University, Marburg, Germany; Division of Oncological Urology, Köln, Germany
| | - A. Heidenreich
- Philipps - University, Marburg, Germany; Division of Oncological Urology, Köln, Germany
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Modre R, Tilg B, Fischer G, Hanser F, Messnarz B, Seger M, Hintringer F, Roithinger FX. Ventricular surface activation time imaging from electrocardiogram mapping data. Med Biol Eng Comput 2004; 42:146-50. [PMID: 15125142 DOI: 10.1007/bf02344624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Non-invasive imaging of cardiac electrophysiology provides a non-invasive way of obtaining information about electrical excitation. An iterative algorithm based on a general regularisation scheme for non-linear, ill-posed problems in Hilbert scales was applied to the electrocardiographic inverse problem, imaging the ventricular surface activation time (AT) map. This method was applied to electrocardiographic data from a 31-year-old healthy volunteer and a 24-year-old patient suffering from a Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome. The objective was to evaluate non-invasive AT imaging of an autonomous sinus rhythm and to quantify the localisation error of non-invasive AT imaging by localising the accessory pathway of the WPW syndrome and a pacing site for left ventricle pacing. The distances between the invasive and non-invasive localisation of the pacing site and the accessory pathway were 8 mm and 5 mm. The clinical case presented, shows that this non-invasive AT imaging approach may enable the reconstruction of single focal events with sufficient accuracy for potential clinical application.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Modre
- Institute for Medical Signal Processing & Imaging, University for Health Informatics & Technology Tyrol, Innsbruck, Austria.
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Rosen R, Montorsi F, Assalian P, Rodriguez-Vela L, Porto R, Bangerter K, Seger M, Shabsigh R. LB14 Efficacy and tolerability of vardenafil in men with mild major depressive disorder and erectile dysfunction: The depression related improvement with vardenafil for erectile response (driver) study. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2004. [DOI: 10.1016/s1569-9056(04)90903-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Brock G, Nehra A, Lipshultz LI, Karlin GS, Gleave M, Seger M, Padma-Nathan H. Safety and Efficacy of Vardenafil for the Treatment of Men With Erectile Dysfunction After Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy. J Urol 2003; 170:1278-83. [PMID: 14501741 DOI: 10.1097/01.ju.0000086947.00547.49] [Citation(s) in RCA: 156] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE More than one-third of men may experience erectile dysfunction (ED) after nerve sparing radical retropubic prostatectomy. The efficacy and safety of vardenafil, a potent, selective, phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor, was assessed for the treatment of ED after radical prostatectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this double-blind study 440 men with ED after nerve sparing radical prostatectomy were randomized to take placebo, or 10 or 20 mg vardenafil. Efficacy was measured after 12 weeks using the erectile function domain of the International Index of Erectile Function, diary questions measuring vaginal penetration and intercourse success rates, and a global assessment question (GAQ) on erection. RESULTS Of the intent to treat population 70% had severe ED (erectile function less than 11) at baseline. After 12 weeks both vardenafil doses were significantly superior to placebo (p <0.0001) for all efficacy variables. Improved erections (based on GAQ) were reported by 65.2% and 59.4% of patients on 20 and 10 mg vardenafil, respectively, and by only 12.5% of patients on placebo (p <0.0001). Among men with bilateral neurovascular bundle sparing, positive GAQ responses were reported by 71.1% and 59.7% of patients on 20 and 10 mg vardenafil, respectively, versus 11.5% of those on placebo (p <0.0001). The average intercourse success rate per patient receiving 20 mg vardenafil was 74% in men with mild to moderate ED and 28% in men with severe ED, compared to 49% and 4% for placebo, respectively. Few adverse events were observed. They were generally mild to moderate headache, flushing and rhinitis. CONCLUSIONS In men with severe ED after nerve sparing radical retropubic prostatectomy, vardenafil significantly improved key indices of erectile function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerald Brock
- St. Joseph's Medical Center, Lawson Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada.
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Fischer G, Modre R, Tilg B, Seger M, Hanser F, Messnarz B, Schocke M, Kremser C, Berger T, Roithinger F, Hintringer F. NICHTINVASIVE VISUALISIERUNG VON VENTRIKULÄRER PRÄEXZITATION DURCH KOPPLUNG VON MRI & 65-KANAL-EKG-DATEN. BIOMED ENG-BIOMED TE 2003. [DOI: 10.1515/bmte.2003.48.s1.126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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Seger M, Hayn D, Fischer G, Hanser F, Pfeifer B, Hintringer F, Roithinger F, Kremser C, Schocke M, Messnarz B, Modre R, Hintermüller C, Schreier G, Tilg B. eHeart – EINE SIMULATIONSUMGEBUNG ZUR BERECHNUNG DES NAH- UND FERNFELDES. BIOMED ENG-BIOMED TE 2003. [DOI: 10.1515/bmte.2003.48.s1.10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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Hayn D, Seger M, Tilg B, Schreier G. MODELLIERUNG DER VENTRIKEL AUS MR-SCHNITTBILDERN ZUR SIMULATION DER ERREGUNGSAUSBREITUNG. BIOMED ENG-BIOMED TE 2003. [DOI: 10.1515/bmte.2003.48.s1.8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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Modre R, Fischer G, Hintringer F, Roithinger F, Schocke M, Kremser C, Hanser F, Seger M, Messnarz B, Pfeifer B, Hintermüller C, Tilg B. KOPPLUNG VON KERNSPIN-TOMOGRAPHIE UND EKG-MAPPING ZUR AKTIVIERUNGSSEQUENZBESTIMMUNG DES HERZENS. BIOMED ENG-BIOMED TE 2003. [DOI: 10.1515/bmte.2003.48.s1.94] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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Abstract
This study prospectively evaluated the appropriateness and ability of clinical pathways to fit trauma patients in five key conditions, severe head injury, fractured ribs, fractured pelvis, fractured femur and blunt abdominal trauma, who were admitted to a single Level 1 Trauma Centre, between February and July 1999. Each pathway consisted of 14 elements of care divided into observable outcomes. Failure to achieve an outcome resulted in a variance or deviation from the pathway, which was assessed by the number of non-applicable variances. Appropriateness of clinical pathways was assessed by the applicability index (the number of non-applicable variances divided by the potential variances). Critical mismatches occurred when non-applicable variances exceeded 50% of potential variances. 146 patients, with the mean age 41.9 years (S.D. 20.7), mean ISS 11.1 (S.D. 10.7) were enrolled; 18 with severe head injury, 59 with fractured ribs, 13 with fractured pelvis, 20 with fractured femur and 36 with blunt abdominal trauma. Critical mismatch occurred in seven patients. Applicability indexes were 87 for head, 93 for ribs, 92 for blunt abdominal trauma, 91 for femur and 92 for the pelvic pathway. Patient assessment, pain management, skin integrity and patient education were the most appropriate key elements of care, discharge planning, patient satisfaction, treatment and activity were least applicable. This study identified, for the first time, that clinical pathways are clinically appropriate for major trauma conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Wilson
- Trauma Department, Liverpool Hospital, Locked Bag 7017, NSW 1871, Liverpool BC, Australia
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Milicevic Z, Profozic V, Wyatt J, Ristic S, Woodworth JR, Seger M, Kaliterna D, Bates P, Metelko Z. Intramuscular injection of insulin lispro or soluble human insulin: pharmacokinetics and glucodynamics in Type 2 diabetes. Diabet Med 2001; 18:562-6. [PMID: 11553186 DOI: 10.1046/j.1464-5491.2001.00522.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
AIM The aim of the study was to compare the pharmacokinetics and glucodynamics of insulin lispro and soluble human insulin following intramuscular (i.m.) injection in patients with Type 2 diabetes with secondary failure of sulphonylureas. METHODS Single 15-U i.m. doses of insulin lispro or soluble human insulin were administered to 16 patients in a two-way, randomized, crossover design. Glucodynamic and pharmacokinetic parameters were determined over 6 h after insulin injection using clamp techniques. RESULTS Insulin C(max) was significantly higher (971 +/- 217 vs. 659 +/- 141 pmol/l, P < 0.001) and T(max) was significantly shorter (46.9 +/- 27 vs. 94.7 +/- 50.1 min, P = 0.002) with insulin lispro. Glucose infusion rate (GIR) curves showed clear separation 20 min after injection and were significantly greater for insulin lispro during the 40-60, 60-80 and 80-100-minute time intervals. Total glucose infused was only approximately 5% larger with insulin lispro during the 6-h follow-up, due to lower insulinaemia at later time points. The glucose R(max) and TR(max) were not statistically different between insulin treatments. CONCLUSION This study shows that i.m. injection of insulin lispro is followed by its more rapid absorption, which results in stronger metabolic effect in the first 2 h when compared with soluble human insulin under the same test conditions. Diabet. Med. 18, 562-566 (2001)
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Affiliation(s)
- Z Milicevic
- University Clinic for Diabetes, Vuk Vrhovac Institute, Zagreb, Croatia.
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Sesperez J, Wilson S, Jalaludin B, Seger M, Sugrue M. Trauma case management and clinical pathways: prospective evaluation of their effect on selected patient outcomes in five key trauma conditions. J Trauma 2001; 50:643-9. [PMID: 11303158 DOI: 10.1097/00005373-200104000-00008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study evaluated the implementation of clinical pathways and case management between July 1998 and July 1999 in five key trauma conditions: severe head injury, fractured ribs, fractured pelvis, blunt abdominal trauma, and fractured femurs presenting to a single trauma service. METHODS Thirteen key elements of care with expected outcomes were defined for each key trauma condition. Deviations from expected outcome were defined as variances. Attainment of the expected outcomes was measured before (stage 1) and after introduction (stages 2 and 3) of clinical pathways and case management. Nonattained outcomes were quantified and categorized into time of occurrence, and relationship to staff, patient, or system. RESULTS Two hundred thirty-five patients were studied, with a mean age of 41.8 (SD, 20.6) years and mean Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 11.7 (SD, 11.0). The mean number of observed variances per patient for stage 1 was 51.7 (SD, 43.5); stage 2, 42.3 (SD, 32.9); and stage 3, 23.2 (SD, 21.7) (p = 0.0001 for both stage 1 and stage 2 compared with stage 3). There was a significant improvement in outcomes achieved from stage 1 (92.7%; 95% confidence interval, 92.5-92.9%), to stage 3 (96.7%; 95% confidence interval, 96.5-96.9%). Of the total number of variances seen, 0.2% related to system errors, 25% related to patient factors, and 75.8% related to staff. The proportion of staff-related variances was significantly reduced in stage 3. CONCLUSION Clinical pathways and case management identified areas in need of remedial action and improved the delivery of patient care to our trauma population. It has set a template for the future management of our trauma service.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Sesperez
- Department of Trauma and Epidemiology, Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, BC, New South Wales, Australia
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Lu WH, Kolkman K, Seger M, Sugrue M. An evaluation of trauma team response in a major trauma hospital in 100 patients with predominantly minor injuries. Aust N Z J Surg 2000; 70:329-32. [PMID: 10830593 DOI: 10.1046/j.1440-1622.2000.01820.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A prospective study of trauma team response and performance at a major trauma service was undertaken between June and September 1998. METHODS Following activation of the trauma team, the timing of the trauma team's arrival, the subsequent early management of the patient, time to monitoring, X-ray investigation and procedures performed were documented. RESULTS The study evaluated 100 activations, 76% male, mean age 32 years and 65% were due to road trauma. The team leader, airway doctor and surgical registrar were present on patient arrival in 96%, 90% and 76% of cases, respectively. The airway, procedure and scribe nurses were present on patient arrival in 77%, 97% and 95% of cases, respectively. The radiographer was present in 69% of cases. Comparison between normal and after-hour response revealed little difference in medical and radiographer response, but the after-hour nurse response was significantly worse (P < 0.001). The median time to achieve electrocardiogram monitoring, blood pressure reading, and oxygen saturation tracing was 3 (range: 1-13), 4 (range: 2-20) and 3 (range: 1-21) min, respectively. Intravenous cannulation, phlebotomy and dispatch of bloods occurred at median times of 5 (range: 2-22), 6 (range: 3-23) and 17 (range: 7-40) min. The median times for intubation, chest tube and splintage of fracture were 10 (range: 3-19), 10 (range: 6-14) and 26 (range: 19-55) min, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The present study identified an excellent multidisciplinary trauma response and provides a template to improve performance in early trauma management.
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Affiliation(s)
- W H Lu
- Trauma Department, Liverpool Hospital, New South Wales, Australia
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Abstract
Survival and mortality outcomes for trauma patients admitted to Liverpool Hospital, Sydney were analysed to determine the adequacy of trauma care. TRISS and ASCOT survival probabilities and peer review were utilised to determine if deaths were avoidable. Evaluation methods were compared for assessment of care. During the study period 2205 trauma patients were admitted, 518 of which fulfilled the study entry criteria. There were 38 deaths. The age and Injury Severity Score (ISS) of survivors was 34 +/- 18 years, 9.8 +/- 9 (mean +/- sd) compared to age and ISS for nonsurvivors 37 +/- 22 years and 45 +/- 22*, *p < 0.001. Peer review suggested that 32 deaths were non avoidable, 4 potentially avoidable and 2 were probably avoidable. TRISS and ASCOT survival probabilities were > 0.5 in 16 and 18 patients respectively. TRISS and ASCOT had low positive predictive value (25%) in identifying avoidable deaths. The Z Score was 1.79. The standardised mortality ratio (SMR) was 1.16. The Effectiveness (E) value for outcome was 0.91. Poor communication within the Area Trauma System was the greatest contributor to avoidable deaths. All trauma deaths need peer review rather than solely relying upon ASCOT and TRISS probabilities to identify "unexpected" deaths for detailed review.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Sugrue
- Department of Trauma, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, Australia
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Sugrue M, Seger M, Dredge G, Davies DJ, Ieraci S, Bauman A, Deane SA, Sloane D. Evaluation of the prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse in motor vehicle trauma in south western Sydney. Aust N Z J Surg 1995; 65:853-6. [PMID: 8611107 DOI: 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1995.tb00575.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
This study estimated prospectively the prevalence of high drug and alcohol levels in road trauma cases who met the criteria for activation of the Liverpool Hospital's trauma team. Urine analysis of road trauma victims between October 1992 and October 1993 was undertaken for drug and alcohol estimation. A total of 164 drivers were studied. A urine alcohol concentration (UAC) exceeding 0.08 g/dL was detected in 27 drivers (16.5%). Cannabinoids were detected in the urine of 25 drivers (15.2%), in 17 the concentrations exceeded 400 ng/mL. In one instance amphetamine, cocaine and heroin were detected in the same injured driver. Combined use of alcohol with some other drugs was detected in only four drivers. Alcohol and cannabinoid levels were prevalent in the urine of injured drivers in this study, particularly in young males who remain over-represented in the group of injured drivers. In the population surveyed other drugs were rarely detected. The role of cannabinoids in road trauma and the use of cannabinoids in young male drivers will however need to be monitored more extensively.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Sugrue
- Department of Trauma, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Abstract
Existing open diagnostic peritoneal lavage techniques (DPL) use small bore catheters, through a small lower midline incision or infra-umbilical incision. This study evaluated a modified DPL technique using a 10 mm umbilical incision, with open insertion of a 20 French peritoneal lavage catheter. The catheter has 27 radial side holes in the terminal distal 13 cm, and a female Leur lock connector. Warmed saline is infused via a cystoscopy infusion set. The time required to perform a new technique was studied in 10 patients. The median time to catheter insertion was 2.4 +/- 3.8 min, infusion time 0.75 +/- 0.3 min, effusion time 0.3 +/- 1.7 min, and a median total time of 7.6 +/- 4.2 min (median +/- s.d.). There was no complications. This technique of DPL is cosmetically attractive, much quicker than existing techniques and we have found its initial use encouraging.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Sugrue
- Trauma Department, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Abstract
This study assessed the performance of the trauma team leader in 50 consecutive trauma resuscitations at Liverpool Hospital over a two-month period. The trauma team consists of intensive care (ICU), emergency, and surgical registrars, three nurses, a wardsman, a radiographer, and a social worker. The team leader position alternates between the ICU and emergency registrar on a fortnightly roster. A panel of specialists experienced in trauma management evaluated 38 aspects of the initial resuscitation. Individual variables received different weightings. The maximum possible score for team leader performance was 80. The mean team leader score was 70.4 +/- 8 (SD). The main deficiencies in the team leader's performances were in their interpersonal communications and in the adequacy of documentation of the history of the injury. In 20% of resuscitations there were failures to completely expose the patient. Medical skills were uniformly well performed. Poor communication with other team members were the main pitfall of the team leader in this study. The team leader score may prove a useful tool in improving the quality of the trauma team.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Sugrue
- Department of Trauma Services, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, Australia
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Keisari Y, Seger M, Lengy J, Pauli H, Nathan E, Gold D. IL-1, TNF-alpha and IL-2 production by peritoneal and spleen cells from Schistosoma mansoni infected mice and its potentiation by preimmunization with schistosomal antigens and immunostimulants. Immunobiology 1993; 188:446-59. [PMID: 8244448 DOI: 10.1016/s0171-2985(11)80226-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
In the present study we tested the effect of immunization with schistosome derived antigens such as frozen-thawed schistosomula in combination with either BCG, liposomes or liposomal muramyl tripeptide-phosphatidyl ethanolamine (MTP-PE), on the resistance of mice to infection, and on the function of their macrophages and lymphocytes. Immunization with either F-T schistosomula + BCG or F-T schistosomula + MTP-PE and subsequent infection, resulted in a 2-3-fold increase in adherent peritoneal macrophage-mediated schistosomulicidal activity (SCA). Peritoneal and spleen macrophages from immunostimulant treated and/or immunized animals showed a significant increase in LPS triggered TNF-alpha production, as compared to non-treated controls. The highest increase in TNF-alpha production was achieved after immunization with either F-T schistosomula + BCG or F-T schistosomula + MTP-PE. LPS triggered IL-1 production was elevated in spleen and peritoneal macrophages from F-T schistosomula + BCG treated mice, and also in spleen macrophages treated with F-T schistosomula + MTP-PE. Only immunization with F-T schistosomula + BCG increased ConA-induced spleen lymphocyte proliferation and IL-2 production. Immunization of mice with F-T schistosomula + BCG also induced protection against parasite infection, while F-T schistosomula + MTP-PE failed to do so. Potentiation of antischistosomal resistance seems to require both macrophage and lymphocyte activation which was achieved only when BCG served as an immunostimulant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Keisari
- Department of Human Microbiology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel
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Seger M, Gold D, Lengy J, Pauli H, Keisari Y. The schistosomulicidal activity and the production of IL-1 and TNF-alpha by peritoneal macrophages from infected mice and their potentiation by muramyl tripeptide-phosphatidyl ethanolamine (MTP-PE) treatment. Parasite Immunol 1993; 15:339-47. [PMID: 8361776 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3024.1993.tb00618.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Production of TNF-alpha and IL-1 by adherent peritoneal exudate macrophages (APEM) was monitored for 20 weeks in Schistosoma mansoni infected mice in comparison to their schistosomulicidal activity. LPS-triggered IL-1 and TNF-alpha production by APEM peaked 10 weeks post infection (p.i.) and declined thereafter. The schistosomulicidal activity of APEM also peaked after 10 weeks but remained elevated thereafter. Infected mice were also treated with the immunostimulator liposomal muramyl tripeptide-phosphatidyl ethanolamine (MTP-PE) 6 or 10 weeks p.i., and their APEM were tested 4 weeks later. APEM from such treated animals showed elevated IL-1 and TNF-alpha production when treatment commenced 6 weeks p.i., while their schistosomulicidal activity increased when treatment commenced either 6 or 10 weeks p.i. The L-arginine inhibitor, NG monomethyl arginine, markedly inhibited the schistosomulicidal activity but not the IL-1 and TNF-alpha production of APEM. Our results show that monokine production increases during the acute phase of infection and declines during its chronic phase, while macrophage schistosomulicidal activity remains constant throughout. Furthermore, TNF-alpha or IL-1 may play a minor role in APEM mediated killing of schistosomula.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Seger
- Department of Human Microbiology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel
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Seger M, Gold D, Lengy J, Pauli H, Keisari Y. On the interaction between macrophages and developmental stages of Schistosoma mansoni: effect of muramyl tripeptide phosphatidyl ethanolamine (MTP-PE) treatment on mice survival and the generation of schistosomulicidal macrophages. Parasite Immunol 1992; 14:355-69. [PMID: 1437229 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3024.1992.tb00011.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Schistosomiasis is a chronic disease afflicting hundreds of millions of people throughout the world against which there is as yet no effective vaccine. In the present study we tested the effect of the immunomodulator muramyl tripeptide phosphatidyl ethanolamine (MTP-PE) on the survival of Schistosoma mansoni-infected mice and on the induction in them of schistosomulicidal macrophages. Mice exposed to 80 cercariae each and then treated with MTP-PE showed prolonged survival following either single or repeat infection. The treatment with MTP-PE, when initiated 70 days post the schistosome infection, diminished significantly the mortality of infected mice over an observed period of 110 days. In terms of treatment efficacy there was no evident difference between the intravenous and intraperitoneal mode of administration of the drug. MTP-PE treatment significantly reduced granuloma size and markedly diminished liver damaged as judged by the lower levels of alkaline phosphatase in the serum. Such treatment exerted no significant effect on the spleen or liver weight in infected mice nor on the worm burden resulting from either a single or double infection. In infected and non-treated mice, schistosomulicidal macrophages appeared after 8-10 weeks of infection. In infected mice treated with MTP-PE there was an accelerated appearance of such macrophages and these exhibited a greater cidal effect on the schistosomula. These immunostimulatory and life-prolonging effects of MTP-PE on S. mansoni-infected mice might indicate an effect of this reagent on cells involved in the granulomatous process.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Seger
- Department of Human Microbiology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Israel
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van Leeuwen F, van der Beek E, Seger M, Burbach P, Ivell R. Age-related development of a heterozygous phenotype in solitary neurons of the homozygous Brattleboro rat. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1989; 86:6417-20. [PMID: 2762332 PMCID: PMC297851 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.86.16.6417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
A single-base deletion in the single-copy vasopressin gene is the cause of diabetes insipidus in the homozygous Brattleboro rat (di/di). It results in the synthesis of an altered vasopressin precursor of which the axonal transport is blocked. Paradoxically, a small number of solitary hypothalamic neurons displays all the immunoreactivities of the wild-type vasopressin precursor (i.e., vasopressin, neurophysin, and a glycopeptide). In the present paper we provide evidence that these neurons have undergone a switch to a genuine heterozygous (di/+) phenotype; i.e., they contain the immunoreactivities of both the wild-type and the mutated vasopressin precursors. In the neural lobe, glycopeptide fibers are also present, showing that axonal transport of the wild-type precursor is restored. Moreover, the number of neurons displaying this di/+ phenotype increases markedly and in a linear way (from 0.1% up to 3% of the vasopressin cells) with age. These findings indicate that after mitotic division has ceased, genomic alterations occur in somatic neurons in vivo. The molecular event generating the di/+ phenotype in the di/di animal could involve a somatic intrachromosomal gene conversion between the homologous exons of the vasopressin and the related oxytocin genes.
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Friedman J, Seger M, Levinsky H, Allalouf D. Modulation of carcinoembryonic antigen release by HT-29 colon carcinoma line in the presence of different agents. Experientia 1987; 43:1121-2. [PMID: 2444456 DOI: 10.1007/bf01956058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
In this study we followed the effects of various differentiating agents on the expression of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) released into the medium by a colon carcinoma cell line HT-29. Butyric acid 1 mM markedly increased the level of CEA (12-fold in comparison to control levels). 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) 50 ng/ml and 5-azacytidine 4 x 10(-6) M increased the amount of CEA, 2- and 1.5-fold respectively. On the other hand retinoic acid 10(-5) M, N methyl-formamide 1% and N,N hexamethylene bisacetamide 2.5 mM decreased CEA 2-, 4- and 3-fold respectively. Our results emphasize that various differentiating agents affect CEA levels differently. Thus changes in CEA levels appear not to be reliable as a marker of a more differentiated phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Friedman
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel
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Seger M, Pick E. Macrophage microtubules: an optimized method for the assay of tubulin concentration and state of polymerization in macrophages. J Leukoc Biol 1984; 35:303-16. [PMID: 6584523 DOI: 10.1002/jlb.35.3.303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
We describe a method for the assay of total tubulin content and the tubulin dimer/polymer ratio in cultured macrophages (MPs). The assay is based on the specific binding of [3H]colchicine to tubulin dimer units and on the separation of free and tubulin-complexed [3H]colchicine on diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-cellulose filters. The native state of microtubules (MTs) was conserved by suspending the cells in a microtubule-stabilizing solution specifically adapted for use with MPs and by disrupting the cells under carefully chosen conditions. Intact MTs were isolated from the cell homogenate by centrifugation at 150,000 X g and were subsequently depolymerized. [3H]Colchicine binding assays were performed on both the supernatant fraction, containing the pool of soluble tubulin, and on the deploymerized MTs. By using this method, we examined the influence of low temperature and of a number of agents known to affect MP function, on the tubulin dimer/polymer ratio in guinea pig peritoneal MPs. The results of the biochemical assay correlated well with the published information, derived by morphologic and functional approaches, on the effect of cold and of these agents on MTs in phagocytic cells.
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Wanless IR, Bernier V, Seger M. Intrahepatic portal vein sclerosis in patients without a history of liver disease. An autopsy study. Am J Pathol 1982; 106:63-70. [PMID: 7055212 PMCID: PMC1915976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Portal fibrosis with portal venous obliteration is characteristic of noncirrhotic portal hypertension, but similar lesions are also commonly seen in patients without clinical evidence of liver disease. Thus, the ability to predict the presence of portal hypertension with histologic criteria will probably depend on a quantitative assessment of liver tissue. The purpose of this study is to provide a quantitative basis in a "normal" population for evaluation of portal vein obliteration. We reviewed 414 consecutive autopsies of patients without known history of alcoholism or clinical liver disease. Intrahepatic portal vein obliteration was graded 0 to III. The grading system was standardized by morphometry on 34 selected cases. The incidence of portal vein lesions increased with age and reached a plateau at about 60 years of age. Lesions were more common in patients who had severe congestive heart failure or arterial thrombosis. These associations suggest that obliterative lesions may be the result of thrombosis in patients with sluggish portal blood flow or hypercoagulability. Portal tract mineral oil deposits may also have a role, because they were found more often than expected in livers with portal sclerosis.
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Pick E, Seger M, Honig S, Griffel B. Intracellular mediation of lymphokine action: mimicry of migration inhibitory factor (MIF) action by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and the ionophore A23187. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1979; 332:378-94. [PMID: 231407 DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1979.tb47132.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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