Meningoencephalitis syndrome following influenza vaccination.

Immunological reactions to non-virus substances of vaccines may be of considerable significance to the pathogenesis of neurological complications after anti-influenza vaccination. A 60 year old female patient with a known allergic diathesis developed a meningoencephalitis syndrome a few hours after vaccination. The case history as well as the clinical course suggested an immunopathogenetic mechanism. We therefore analyzed the immune profile. Intracutaneous testing with chicken meat and chicken egg protein lead to a striking local anaphylactic reaction which is discussed in causal relation to the postvaccination complication.

Studies on electrical and mechanical activity in hypoxic papillary muscles of the guinea-pig.

The hypoxia-induced changes in transmembrane potentials and in force of contraction of isolated papillary muscles of the guinea-pig were studied. With different glucose concentrations in the hypoxic medium both the extent and the time course of the reduction in force of contraction and action potential duration could be modified. A time lag of 10 minutes was observed in the onset of action potential shortening. The membrane potential decreased only at advanced stages of hypoxia. Lack of glucose was tolerated for a considerable longer period of time when the preparations were mainly quiescent during hypoxia, although membrane depolarization could not be prevented. Memembrane depolarization was basent only if the mucles were completely unloaded when exposed to hypoxia. The dissociation of events during hypoxia is interpredted as evidence for compartmentalization of energy supply within the cells.

[Plasma lipid concentrations during the healing phase after myocardial infarction (author's transl)]. / Plasmalipidkonzentrationen während der Infarktheilung

In the initial phase after myocardial infarction the cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations were statistically significantly decreased with respect to the first evaluations. Subsequent analyses during the following four to five weeks revealed some increase in the plasma lipid level. On discharge from hospital the mean plasma lipid concentrations were elevated compared to the first day after myocardial infarction. The time courses of the changes in concentrations of the particular lipids were different. On discharge three quarters of the patients with myocardial infarction had developed hypertriglyceridaemia (hyperlipoproteinaemia type IV or type IIb). Our investigations demonstrate the difficulties in discovering a possible disorder in lipid metabolism during the healing phase after a myocardial infarction.

Plasma and platelet phospholipids in normal subjects and in patients with chronic arterial obliterations.

Normally a substantially higher percentage of phosphoethanolamine is found in thrombocytes (24%) than in plasma (2.7%). The thrombocytes of patients with chronic arterial occlusions contain significantly less phosphoethanolamine (16.1%) than thrombocytes of normal subjects (24.0%; p less than 0.01). On the contrary, the plasma phosphoethanolamine levels of these patients are significantly elevated (4.8%) in comparison to normal subjects (2.7; p less than 0.05), possibly as the result of some 'leakage' of phosphoethanolamine from platelets. An anti-aggregating treatment did not change the phospholipid pattern of the plasma and of the thrombocytes.

The role of linoleic acid in hypoxia-induced changes of the action potentials and the force of contraction of isolated papillary muscles of the guinea pig.

With sufficient oxygen supply to isolated papillary muscles of the guinea pig no specific effect of linoleic acid on the parameters of muscle function could be detected. During hypoxia, however, there was a marked reduction in effective refractory period and in contractile force which had the same order of magnitude in substrate-free and in linoleic acid-containing medium. With glucose in addition to linoleic acid, the shortening in refractory period could be delayed, although no influence on the impairment of force of contraction was observed. Conversely, the decrease in both action potential duration and force of contraction could be delayed considerably in hypoxic perfusion media containing increasing concentrations of glucose.