[CNS dysfunction as symptom of internal disease]. / Veränderungen des ZNS als Symptome wichtiger innerer Erkrankungen.

Patients with symptoms and signs of central nervous system dysfunction frequently present to outpatient clinics and emergency departments. Disturbances of consciousness and cognition, headache, vertigo, dizziness or light-headedness, seizures, hemiparesis or hemisensory deficits, and other motor dysfunctions may be due to diseases of internal medicine in up to 50% of cases apart from exclusively neurological diseases. A neurological syndrome oriented analysis of each clinical case allows the exact differential diagnosis of the causes of the disease. A combined approach of internal medicine physicians and neurologists is often warranted.

[Surgical resection of the thyroid and parathyroid glands]. / Entfernung von Schilddrüse und Nebenschilddrüsen.

The main indication for surgery of the thyroid gland is the resection of nodular, suspicious or hyperfunctioning tissue. Following thyroidectomy, L-thyroxine therapy is initiated adjusted to the remnant thyroid function. To prevent recurrence of a multinodular goiter, supplementation with iodine is strongly recommended. The management of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer depends on risk stratification. Although large prospective studies are missing, low-risk patients probably do not benefit from total thyroid ablation and lifelong thyroxine suppression therapy. As a result of impaired parathyroid function or resection of the parathyroid glands for hyperparathyroidism, acute or chronic hypocalcaemia can develop. If treatment with oral calcium is insufficient, the addition of a vitamin D analogue is necessary. This requires close monitoring to avoid renal or other hypercalcaemic complications.

Barrett's esophagus: a discrepancy between macroscopic and histological diagnosis.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: The diagnosis of Barrett's esophagus at present requires endoscopic and histological confirmation of specialized intestinal metaplasia. This study prospectively analyzed the endoscopic and histological prevalence of Barrett's esophagus and the risk factors for the presence of Barrett's esophagus among patients being treated in an endoscopy unit. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 474 unselected patients (58% men; mean age 52 y) were included in the study. Two biopsy specimens each were taken from below and above the squamocolumnar junction and from the antrum and gastric body. Four-quadrant biopsies were taken every 1-2 cm to confirm a macroscopic suspicion of Barrett's esophagus. RESULTS: Barrett's esophagus was suspected at endoscopy in 109 patients (23%). Of the 109 patients with endoscopically suspected Barrett's esophagus, only 46 (42%) had the finding confirmed histologically. The sensitivity and specificity for the endoscopic diagnosis of Barrett's esophagus were 62% and 84%, respectively. A multivariate logistic regression analysis identified age (P = 0.0001; odds ratio per life-year 1.087; 95% CI, 1.046-1.139), male sex (P = 0.0020; OR 6.346; 95% CI, 2.094-22.314), and the number of biopsies (P = 0.0025; OR 1.661; 95% CI, 1.247-2.392) as factors associated with evidence of intestinal metaplasia on biopsy. CONCLUSION: The striking discrepancy between the endoscopic findings and the histological diagnosis may be due to the focal distribution of intestinal metaplasia. This emphasizes the importance of an adequate biopsy protocol. In addition, better methods of detecting focal islands of intestinal metaplasia that are not visible at conventional endoscopy are needed.

[Therapy and prevention of hyperthyroidism]. / Therapie und Prävention der Hyperthyreose.

A decreased serum TSH level can be observed in more than 10% of the German population. Although treatment is not mandatory in each of these cases patients with an unrecognized autonomous thyroid dysfunction have a substantial risk of developing thyrotoxicosis when exposed to large amounts of iodine. Thionamid drugs in combination with potassium perchlorate are given for preventive and therapeutic reasons until definitive thyroidectomy or radioiodine therapy is performed. In younger patients Graves' disease is the main cause of hyperthyroidism. Medical treatment with antithyroid drugs is established to render patients euthyroid. Having decreased the dose as far as possible, drug therapy is continued for 12-18 months to achieve a maximum rate of permanent remission. Ongoing clinical research aims to characterize clinical or laboratory predictors associated with a high risk of relapse after medication is stopped. Selenium supplementation is proposed to be a new therapeutic approach for autoimmune thyroid disease. It is already used quite liberally although data of powerful randomized trials are not available.