965-48 Ejection Fraction and Wall Thickness Correlate with Impaired Energy Metabolism in Patients with Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Using 31P-MR spectroscopy, abnormalities of cardiac energy metabolism have been demonstrated in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). However. a detailed analysis of the correlations among energy metabolism, cardiac hemodynamics and myocardial hypertrophy obtained from 31P-MR, right and left heart catheterization and echocardiography has not been presented, 23 patients with DCM (left ventricular (LV) EF 34±3%; NYHA class 2.7±0.1; SE) underwent right and left heart catheterization and echocardiography±3 days before/after MR spectroscopy. Coronary artery disease was ruled out by coronary angiography. ECG-triggered. localized 31 P-MR spectra from the anteroseptal myocardium were acquired at rest (prone position) during 30min on a 1.5 T Philips Gyroscan MR system using ISIS localization, adiabatic pulses. and a 15 sec repetition time. Peak areas were corrected for T1 effects and for blood contamination. and were determined with Lorentzian line fits in the time domain. Linear correlations between creatine phosphate (CP)/ATP ratios and hemodynamic parameters were calculated.LV pressures and diameters. cardiac output, stroke volume, pulmonary arterial pressures, right atrial pressure and pulmonary arterial oxygen saturation did not correlate with CP/ATP. Thus, our data demonstrate that in DCM, the extent of high-energy phosphate depletion is related to the extent of mechanical dysfunction as well as to LV wall thickness

Flächendeckende Erfassung der Vegetation als Instrument der räumlichen Planung, dargestellt am Beispiel einer Vegetationstypenkarte

Nach einem kurzen Überblick über die unterschiedlichen Ansätze flächendeckender Vegetationskartierungen in Japan und Deutschland wird die Vegetationstypenkarte Düsseldorf als Fallbeispiel erläutert. Die Karte setzt die reale Vegetation ins Verhältnis mit der Flächennutzung und der Baustruktur und aggregiert 37 Vegetationstypen aus den Haupttypen "Vegetation des bebauten Bereichs", "Ruderalvegetation", "Vegetation des landwirtschaftlich genutzten Bereichs", "Vegetation des forstwirtschaftlich genutzten Bereichs" und "Gewässervegetation". Zu den einzelnen Typen werden Planungsziele vor allem aus Sicht des Biotop- und Artenschutzes formuliert. Die Vegetationstypenkarte ist als Ergänzung zu den Karten der potentiell natürlichen Vegetation in der Stadtlandschaft und zu den meist selektiven Stadtbiotopkartierungen zu verstehen

Vimentin 3, the new hope, differentiating RCC versus oncocytoma

Vimentin is currently used to differentiate between malignant renal carcinomas and benign oncocytomas. Recent reports showing Vimentin positive oncocytomas seriously question the validity of this present diagnostic approach. Vimentin 3 is a spliced variant and ends with a unique C-terminal ending after exon 7 which differentiates it from the full length version that has 9 exons. Therefore, the protein size is different; the full length Vimentin version has a protein size of ~57 kDa and the truncated version of ~47 kDa. We designed an antibody, called Vim3, against the unique C-terminal ending of the Vimentin 3 variant. Using immune histology, immune fluorescence, Western blot, and qRT-PCR analysis, a Vim3 overexpression was detectable exclusively in oncocytoma, making the detection of Vim3 a potential specific marker for benign kidney tumors. This antibody is the first to clearly differentiate benign oncocytoma and the mimicking eosinophilic variants of the RCCs. This differentiation between malignant and benign RCCs is essential for operative planning, follow-up therapy, and patients' survival. In the future the usage of Vimentin antibodies in routine pathology has to be applied with care. Consideration must be given to Vimentin specific binding epitopes otherwise a misdiagnosis of the patients' tumor samples may result