[The efficacy of drug therapy in structural lesions of the hair and in diffuse effluvium--comparative double blind study]. / Die Wirksamkeit einer medikamentösen Therapie bei Haarstrukturschäden und diffusen Effluvien--vergleichende Doppelblindstudie.

Growth and quality of hair was studied after treatment with Pantogar, another prescription (Verum-2) and placebo for four months in 60 patients with diffuse effluvium capillorum and agnogenic structural alternations of hair. Efficacy was assessed by measurements of swelling, dye-binding and thickness for hair-quality and evaluation of hair-density and trichograms for hair-growth. Statistical analysis of swelling properties and trichogram data indicated that Pantogar was effective, the second preparation improved quality of hair and retarded hair loss. Placebo was ineffective judged by the used parameters. Tolerance of the treatment was good and adverse effects could not be substantiated.

[Tattooing dyes]. / Tätowierungsfarbstoffe.

Nine different tattoo dyes were analysed by various tests. Mixtures of organic dyes and inorganic filler were found; the inorganic filler consisted mainly of titanium dioxide (TiO2). Heavy metals, e.g. mercury, cadmium, or chrome as the common components of the traditional tattoo dyes, are capable of evoking unwanted skin reactions, but were not detected. Tattoo dyes are not officially controlled, and thus it is not known which substances-in addition to those identified by us-are presently used to produce ornamental tattoos. However, our results suggest that classic dyes have been superceded by newer, mainly synthetic dyes.

[Bloch-Sulzberger incontinentia pigmenti with associated neurologic and ophthalmologic complications]. / Incontinentia pigmenti Bloch-Sulzberger mit assoziierten neurologischen und ophthalmologischen Komplikationen.

A female infant showing linear skin lesions arranged in an irregular way with bullae, vesicles, and erythema, which had predominantly affected her extremities since her birth, was examined by us at the age of one week. Histologic and immunofluorescence findings confirmed the preliminary diagnosis of incontinentia pigmenti. Electron microscopic investigations were additionally made. In the course of the disease, we observed the characteristic development of a warty and a pigmented stage. The disease was complicated by epileptic seizures, motor disturbances, and ocular defects. EEG, CT, and ultrasound revealed anomalies. Since her mother reports on similar skin lesions during her own childhood, we suspect an X-chromosomal genetic defect.

[Effects of sulfinpyrazone on early ventricular fibrillation and 2d-phase arrhythmias in acute myocardial infarction (author's transl)]. / Untersuchunger zur Wirkung von Sulfinpyrazon auf das frühe Kammerflimmern und die Arrhythmien der Spätphase bei akutem Herzinfarkt.

Clinical and experimental studies indicate that ventricular arrhythmias, mainly ventricular fibrillation, are responsible for sudden cardiac death. A recent double-blind multicenter trial ("Anturane Reinfarction Trial") showed that the incidence of sudden cardiac death was reduced in Sulfinpyrazone-treated patients after acute myocardial infarction compared with the placebo group, although the rate of reinfarctions was not diminished. We investigated the efficacy of Sulfinpyrazone on the reduction and prevention of ventricular arrhythmias and primary ventricular fibrillation, utilizing a standardized experimental canine preparation. At normal therapeutic and at high cumulative doses of the drug, a reduction in ventricular arrhythmias within the first 24 hours after coronary occlusion could not be observed. Sulfinpyrazone failed also to alter the ventricular vulnerability to fibrillation in the very early myocardial infarction period. Furthermore, haemodynamics, contractility and oxygen consumption of the heart were not changed. These experimental findings show that the reduction in sudden cardiac deaths in Sulfinpyrazone-treated patients cannot be attributed to antiarrhythmic effects of the drug. Further research is needed to delineate the mechanism of action of Sulfinpyrazone as reported by the Anturane Reinfarction Trial Research Group.