Search results for " Immunology"
showing 10 items of 1841 documents
Effects of performing dual tasks on postural sway and postural control complexity in people with haemophilic arthropathy
2019
Introduction People with haemophilic arthropathy (PWHA) have impairments in postural control. However, little is known about the effects of demanding conditions, including the unipedal stance and dual tasks, on postural control in PWHA. Aim Determine the effects of performing dual tasks while in the one-leg stance on postural sway and postural control complexity in PWHA vs. healthy active (HAG) and non-active (HNAG) groups of individuals. Methods Fifteen PWHA and 34 healthy subjects (18 active and 16 non-active) were recruited. Vertical (V), mediolateral (ML) and anteroposterior (AP) centre of mass signals were acquired using a 3-axis accelerometer placed at the L3/L4 vertebrae of subjects …
Ropeginterferon alfa-2b versus phlebotomy in low-risk patients with polycythaemia vera (Low-PV study): a multicentre, randomised phase 2 trial.
2021
Summary Background There is no evidence that phlebotomy alone is sufficient to steadily maintain haematocrit on target level in low-risk patients with polycythaemia vera. This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of ropeginterferon alfa-2b on top of the standard phlebotomy regimen with phlebotomy alone. Methods In 2017, we launched the Low-PV study, a multicentre, open-label, two-arm, parallel-group, investigator-initiated, phase 2 randomised trial with a group-sequential adaptive design. The study involved 21 haematological centres across Italy. Participants were recruited in a consecutive order. Participants enrolled in the study were patients, aged 18–60 years, with a diagnosis…
The potential role of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in preventing respiratory complications in bacteraemic pneumococcal community-acquired…
2015
Abstract Introduction Pneumococcal 13-valent vaccine (PCV-13) has a potential role in preventing bacteraemic pneumococcal pneumonia and its complications, but little is known about its ability to specifically prevent respiratory complications. Our aim were to analyse the pneumococcal serotypes associated with the development of respiratory complications and the potential role of PCV-13 in preventing respiratory complications in bacteraemic pneumococcal pneumonia. Material and methods We analysed demographic characteristics, comorbidities, antibiotic resistances and the outcomes of a cohort of 65 vaccine-naive bacteraemic pneumococcal pneumonias, stratified by the pneumococcal serotypes incl…
Immune tolerance induction with moroctocog-alpha (Refacto/Refacto AF) in a population of Italian haemophilia A patients with high-titre inhibitors: D…
2019
Background: The appearance of inhibitors is the most serious complication in haemophilia A (HA) patients. The primary objective is their eradication. Up to date, immune tolerance induction (ITI) was the only therapeutic option to achieve this. Aim: To assess the efficacy of moroctocog-alpha as an ITI regimen in a population of HA patients with high-titre inhibitors. Methods: The REF.IT Registry is a retrospective-prospective study that collected data on all patients with HA and high-titre inhibitors treated with moroctocog-alpha as an ITI regimen at twelve Italian Haemophilia Centres. Results: We enrolled 27 patients, 85.2% were children. All patients were high responders, 88.9% had severe …
The Severe Asthma Network in Italy: Findings and Perspectives
2019
Background Severe Asthma Network in Italy (SANI) is a registry of patients recruited by accredited centers on severe asthma. Objective To analyze epidemiological, clinical, inflammatory, functional, and treatment characteristics of severe asthmatics from the SANI registry. Methods All consecutive patients with severe asthma were included into the registry, without exclusion criteria to have real-life data on demographics, asthma control, treatments (including biologics), inflammatory biomarkers, and comorbidities. Results A total of 437 patients (mean age: 54.1 years, 57.2% females, 70.7% atopics, 94.5% in Global Initiative for Asthma severity step V) were enrolled into the study. The mean …
RhinAsthma patient perspective: a short daily asthma and rhinitis QoL assessment.
2012
Background The present study aimed to develop a short validated patient-completed questionnaire, the RhinAsthma Patient Perspective (RAPP), to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with asthma and comorbid allergic rhinitis in clinical practice. Methods A provisional RAPP questionnaire was formed from candidate items identified through retrospective analysis of 333 RHINASTHMA questionnaires. This was then tested on 150 asthma patients with allergic rhinitis. Results Psychometric analyses identified eight items fitting a unidimensional model to form RAPP. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient > 0.8) and agreement with RHINASTHMA (r = −0.31, P = 0.0001) we…
The epidemiology of mumps in Italy.
2008
In Italy, although vaccination has been recommended for a number of years, vaccination coverage for mumps is still sub-optimal. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the seroprevalence of mumps antibodies in the Italian population, stratified by age, gender and geographical area. The proportion of individuals positive for mumps antibodies remained stable in the age classes 0–11 months and 1 year (25.4% and 30.8%, respectively) and showed a continuous increase after the second year of life. The percentage of susceptible individuals was higher than 20% in persons 2–14 years of age and exceeded 10% in persons 15–39 years of age. No statistically significant differences were observ…
Microcentrifuge or Automated Hematological Analyzer to Assess Hematocrit in Exercise? Effect on Plasma Volume Loss Calculations
2016
The assessment of plasma volume loss (∆PV) induced by exercise can be estimated from changes in hematocrit (Htc) and hemoglobin (Hb), and it is essential when investigating the metabolic or biologic response to exercise of circulating biomarkers. We aimed to ascertain whether the estimation of ∆PV may differ when Hb and Htc are determined by automated hematological analyzer (AHA) versus manual methods. Twenty-five healthy male subjects performed a maximal running incremental exercise. Blood samples were taken before exercise, immediately after exercise, and after a 30-min recovery. Hb and Htc (Htc-AHA) were determined by an AHA. Htc was also determined by microcentrifugation (Htc-M). The ∆P…
Postoperative Reduction of Fibrinolysis as a Prognostic Factor of Fatal Outcome
2001
For the resection of an esophagus carcinoma a mortality rate of 2 to 30% was described, It is still unclear whether an abdominothoracic or transhiatal intervention is superior regarding the outcome. To investigate the prognostic value of fibrinolytic markers, plasmin-α2-antiplasmin (PAP) and D-dimer (DD) values were determined daily in the early postoperative period for 11days. In addition, the course of PAP and DD concentrations was compared with the method of esophagectomy. Of the 28 patients enclosed in the study, 5 died between day 10 and day 34 owing to adult respiratory distress syndrome and septicemia. The PAP and DD concentrations increased in survivors after surgery until day 5 an…
Lemierre Syndrome: Clinical Update and Protocol for a Systematic Review and Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis.
2018
Lemierre syndrome usually affects otherwise healthy adolescents or young adults and occurs at an overall rate of 1 to 10 cases per million person-years with an estimated fatality rate of 4 to 9%. Diagnostic criteria remain debated and include acute neck/head bacterial infection (often tonsillitis caused by anaerobes at high potential for sepsis and vascular invasion, notably Fusobacterium necrophorum) complicated by local vein thrombosis, usually involving the internal jugular vein, and systemic septic embolism. Medical treatment is based on antibiotic therapy with anaerobic coverage, anticoagulant drugs and supportive care in case of sepsis. Surgical procedures can be required, including d…