Publications

100 Publications visible to you, out of a total of 100

Abstract (Expand)

The E/E'-ratio is used as a surrogate parameter for the estimation of the left ventricular enddiastolic pressure. It is assumed that chronic systolic and diastolic heart failure is associated with E/E'-values of more than 15 or at least with intermediate values between 9 – 5. The aim of the present retrospective analysis of the epidemiological echocardiographic cohort of the LIFE-Adult study (Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Diseases) was to evaluate the correlation of NT-BNP (N-terminales propeptid BNP) values to the E/E'-ratio by the assessment of left ventricular diastolic function in this cohort. In 773 participants (pts) standardised transthoracic echocardiography was performed and in 748 pts NT-BNP was analysed. The E/E'-ratio was determined according to the international recommendations by measuring the maximum velocity of the early diastolic inflow by pulsed wave Doppler echocardiography and the basal septal maximum myocardial velocity by tissue Doppler echocardiography at early diastole. NT-BNP was determined using commercially available diagnostic tests. Pathological NT-BNP levels were assumed in the range > 222pg/ml. Normal E/E'-ratios as well as normal NT-BNP levels were observed in 91% of all participants. In 1.4% of the pts elevated NT-BNP levels were found in the presence of normal E/E'-ratio. In contrast in 1.1% of the pts elevated E/E'-ratios were found in the presence of normal NT-BNP levels. Most of the pts with heart failure detected by NT-BNP vales > 222pg/ml also showed intermediate E/E'-ratios between 9 and 15 (42pts). In only 0.8% of the pts (5 pts) significantly elevated E/E'-ratios > 15 and pathological NT-BNP levels could be observed (see fig). Only 4 pts with elevated NT-BNP values showed left ventricular systolic dysfunction. E/E'-ratio has to be verified to be suitable for the detection of heart failure patients. The present data show that E/E'-ratio of > 15 is not well correlated to increased NT-BNP levels.

Authors: S. Stöbe, A. Hagendorff, S. Zeynalova, S. Tautenhahn, S. Wirkner, F. Gerardo, D. Jurisch, D. Pfeiffer, M. Loeffler

Date Published: 18th Aug 2016

Publication Type: Journal article

Abstract (Expand)

Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is characterized by profound destruction of cortical language areas. Anatomical studies suggest an involvement of cholinergic basal forebrain (BF) in PPA syndromes, particularly in the area of the nucleus subputaminalis (NSP). Here we aimed to determine the pattern of atrophy and structural covariance as a proxy of structural connectivity of BF nuclei in PPA variants. We studied 62 prospectively recruited cases with the clinical diagnosis of PPA and 31 healthy older control participants from the cohort study of the German consortium for frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). We determined cortical and BF atrophy based on high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Patterns of structural covariance of BF with cortical regions were determined using voxel-based partial least square analysis. We found significant atrophy of total BF and BF subregions in PPA patients compared with controls [F(1, 82) = 20.2, p < .001]. Atrophy was most pronounced in the NSP and the posterior BF, and most severe in the semantic variant and the nonfluent variant of PPA. Structural covariance analysis in healthy controls revealed associations of the BF nuclei, particularly the NSP, with left hemispheric predominant prefrontal, lateral temporal, and parietal cortical areas, including Broca's speech area (p < .001, permutation test). In contrast, the PPA patients showed preserved structural covariance of the BF nuclei mostly with right but not with left hemispheric cortical areas (p < .001, permutation test). Our findings agree with the neuroanatomically proposed involvement of the cholinergic BF, particularly the NSP, in PPA syndromes. We found a shift from a structural covariance of the BF with left hemispheric cortical areas in healthy aging towards right hemispheric cortical areas in PPA, possibly reflecting a consequence of the profound and early destruction of cortical language areas in PPA.

Authors: S. Teipel, T. Raiser, L. Riedl, I. Riederer, M. L. Schroeter, S. Bisenius, A. Schneider, J. Kornhuber, K. Fliessbach, A. Spottke, M. J. Grothe, J. Prudlo, J. Kassubek, A. Ludolph, B. Landwehrmeyer, S. Straub, M. Otto, A. Danek

Date Published: 11th Aug 2016

Publication Type: Journal article

Human Diseases: aphasia

Abstract (Expand)

Three-dimensional (3D) whole body scanners are increasingly used as precise measuring tools for the rapid quantification of anthropometric measures in epidemiological studies. We analyzed 3D whole body scanning data of nearly 10,000 participants of a cohort collected from the adult population of Leipzig, one of the largest cities in Eastern Germany. We present a novel approach for the systematic analysis of this data which aims at identifying distinguishable clusters of body shapes called body types. In the first step, our method aggregates body measures provided by the scanner into meta-measures, each representing one relevant dimension of the body shape. In a next step, we stratified the cohort into body types and assessed their stability and dependence on the size of the underlying cohort. Using self-organizing maps (SOM) we identified thirteen robust meta-measures and fifteen body types comprising between 1 and 18 percent of the total cohort size. Thirteen of them are virtually gender specific (six for women and seven for men) and thus reflect most abundant body shapes of women and men. Two body types include both women and men, and describe androgynous body shapes that lack typical gender specific features. The body types disentangle a large variability of body shapes enabling distinctions which go beyond the traditional indices such as body mass index, the waist-to-height ratio, the waist-to-hip ratio and the mortality-hazard ABSI-index. In a next step, we will link the identified body types with disease predispositions to study how size and shape of the human body impact health and disease.

Authors: H. Loffler-Wirth, E. Willscher, P. Ahnert, K. Wirkner, C. Engel, M. Loeffler, H. Binder

Date Published: 29th Jul 2016

Publication Type: Not specified

Human Diseases: obesity

Abstract

Not specified

Authors: S. Bisenius, J. Neumann, M. L. Schroeter

Date Published: 20th Jul 2016

Publication Type: Not specified

Human Diseases: dementia, aphasia

Abstract (Expand)

OBJECTIVES: Normative data concerning the speaking voice in the general population were gathered with the aim to establish standard values for clinical diagnostics. Associations between the speaking voice and sociodemographic factors were examined. STUDY DESIGN: This is a prospective cross-sectional population-based study. METHODS: Speaking voice profiles were measured for 2472 (1154 male and 1318 female) participants between the ages of 40 and 79 years, using four speaking voice intensity levels: softest speaking voice (I), conversational voice (II), classroom voice (III), and shouting voice (IV). Smoking status and socioeconomic status were assessed. Data were analyzed using multivariate regression. RESULTS: The mean voice frequencies were 111.8 Hz for male and 161.3 Hz for female participants (I), 111.9 Hz for male and 168.5 Hz for female participants (II), 130.2 Hz for male and 198.0 Hz for female participants (III), and 175.5 Hz for male and 246.2 Hz for female participants (IV). Frequencies increased significantly with age for male but not for female participants. Sound pressure levels rose significantly with age at intensity levels I-III for both sexes, but decreased at intensity level IV. Frequencies and sound pressure levels were similar between nonsmokers and former smokers. Current smokers showed significantly lower frequencies as opposed to non- and former smokers. Speaking voice range and dynamics increased with higher socioeconomic status. CONCLUSIONS: The data are suitable as age-adjusted normative values for clinical measurement of the speaking voice. The mean fundamental speaking voice frequency of female participants was six to seven semitones lower than previously described.

Authors: M. Berg, M. Fuchs, K. Wirkner, M. Loeffler, C. Engel, T. Berger

Date Published: 3rd Jul 2016

Publication Type: Journal article

Abstract (Expand)

PURPOSE: Daytime sleepiness is associated with several medical problems. The aim of this paper is to provide normative values for one of the most often used questionnaires measuring daytime sleepiness, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). METHODS: A large sample of 9711 people from the German general population took part in this study. In addition to the ESS, several other questionnaires were used, and sociodemographic and behavioral factors were recorded. RESULTS: Normative values for the ESS are given. According to the generally accepted criterion ESS > 10, 23 % of the sample showed excessive daytime sleepiness. Males reported significantly more daytime sleepiness than females (effect size d = 0.19). In the age range of 40-80 years, a continuous decline of daytime sleepiness was observed. Psychometric properties of the ESS were good. Alcohol intake and nicotine consumption were marginally associated with daytime sleepiness, and obese people reported significantly more sleepiness than people of normal weight (OR = 1.39). CONCLUSIONS: The normative tables allow clinicians and researchers to assess the degree of their patients' daytime sleepiness, especially in the upper range of scores.

Authors: C. Sander, U. Hegerl, K. Wirkner, N. Walter, R. D. Kocalevent, K. Petrowski, H. Glaesmer, A. Hinz

Date Published: 29th May 2016

Publication Type: Journal article

Abstract (Expand)

Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) is a widespread method for calculating myocardial strains and estimating left ventricle function. Since echocardiographic clips are corrupted by speckle decorrelation noise, resulting in irregular, nonphysiological tissue displacement fields, smoothing is performed on the displacement data, affecting the strain results. Thus, strain results may depend on the specific implementations of 2-D STE, as well as other systems' characteristics of the various vendors. A novel algorithm (called K-SAD) is introduced, which integrates the physiological constraint of smoothness of the displacement field into an optimization process. Simulated B-mode clips, modeling healthy and abnormal cases, were processed by K-SAD. Peak global and subendocardial longitudinal strains, as well as regional strains, were calculated. In addition, 410 healthy subjects were also processed. The results of K-SAD are compared with those of one of the leading commercial product. K-SAD provides global mid-wall strain values, as well as subendocardial and regional strain values, all in good agreement with the ground-truth-simulated phantom data. K-SAD peak global longitudinal systolic strain values for 410 healthy subjects are quite similar for the different regions: - 17.02 +/- 4.02%, - 19.00 +/- 3.45%, and - 19.72 +/- 5.06% at the basal, mid, and apical regions, respectively. Improved performance under noisy conditions was demonstrated by comparing a subgroup of 40 subjects with the best image quality with the remaining 370 cohort: K-SAD provides statistically similar global and regional results for the two cohorts. Our study indicates that the sensitivity of strain values to speckle noise, caused by the post block-matching weighted smoothing, can be significantly reduced and accuracy enhanced by employing an integrated one-stage, physiologically constrained optimization process.

Authors: H. Khamis, S. Shimoni, A. Hagendorff, N. Smirin, Z. Friedman, D. Adam

Date Published: 24th May 2016

Publication Type: Journal article

Powered by
(v.1.13.0-master)
Copyright © 2008 - 2021 The University of Manchester and HITS gGmbH
Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology, University of Leipzig

By continuing to use this site you agree to the use of cookies