Search results for " Monitoring"
showing 10 items of 3129 documents
Invasion of Finnish inland waters by the alien moss animal Pectinatella magnifica Leidy, 1851 and associated potential risks
2018
Introduced alien species bring potential adverse impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functions. International shipping is an important vector for such unintentional introductions in aquatic environments. Therefore, in addition to climate change and eutrophication, increasing international shipping may enhance the spread of alien species into areas which have not previously been considered prone to alien invasions. One example of such development might be the recent invasion of the moss animal Pectinatella magnifica into Finnish inland waters, which are generally considered to be hostile to alien species. We took advantage of observations made by the general public and recorded by environm…
Maristem stem cells of marine/aquatic invertebrates: from basic research to innovative applications
2018
The “stem cells” discipline represents one of the most dynamic areas in biomedicine. While adult marine/aquatic invertebrate stem cell (MISC) biology is of prime research and medical interest, studies on stem cells from organisms outside the classical vertebrate (e.g., human, mouse, and zebrafish) and invertebrate (e.g., Drosophila, Caenorhabditis) models have not been pursued vigorously. Marine/aquatic invertebrates constitute the largest biodiversity and the widest phylogenetic radiation on Earth, from morphologically simple organisms (e.g., sponges, cnidarians), to the more complex mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, and protochordates. These organisms contain a kaleidoscope of MISC-type…
Early detection of gastric cancer beyond endoscopy - new methods
2021
Early detection of gastric cancer is remaining a challenge. This review summarizes current knowledge on non-invasive methods that could be used for the purpose. The role of traditional cancer markers such as CEA, CA 72-4, CA 19-9, CA 15-3, and CA 12-5 lies mainly in therapy monitoring than early detection. Most extensive studied biomarkers (pepsinogens, ABC method) are aiming at the detection of precancerous lesions with modest sensitivity for cancer. Tests based on the detection of cancer-specific methylation patterns (PanSeer), circulating proteins and mutations in circulating tumour DNA (CancerSEEK), as well as miRNA panels have demonstrated promising results bringing those closer to pra…
Recommendations for clinical monitoring of patients with acid sphingomyelinase deficiency (ASMD)
2018
Abstract Background Acid sphingomyelinase deficiency (ASMD), a rare lysosomal storage disease, results from mutations in SMPD1, the gene encoding acid sphingomyelinase (ASM). As a result, sphingomyelin accumulates in multiple organs including spleen, liver, lung, bone marrow, lymph nodes, and in the most severe form, in the CNS and peripheral nerves. Clinical manifestations range from rapidly progressive and fatal infantile neurovisceral disease, to less rapidly progressing chronic neurovisceral and visceral forms that are associated with significant morbidity and shorter life span due to respiratory or liver disease. Objectives To provide a contemporary guide of clinical assessments for di…
European Guidelines (S1) on the use of high‐dose intravenous immunoglobulin in dermatology
2016
Background The treatment of severe dermatological autoimmune diseases and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) with high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is a well-established procedure in dermatology. As treatment with IVIg is usually considered for rare clinical entities or severe clinical cases, the use of immunoglobulin is not generally based on data from randomized controlled trials that are usually required for the practice of evidence-based medicine. Owing to the rarity of the indications for the use of IVIg, it is also unlikely that such studies will be available in the foreseeable future. Because the high costs of IVIg treatment also limit its first-line use, the first clinical g…
Association of 5-FU Therapeutic Drug Monitoring to DPD Phenotype Assessment May Reduce 5-FU Under-Exposure
2020
In order to limit 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) toxicity, some health agencies recommend evaluating dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) deficiency before any 5-FU treatment introduction. In our study, we investigated relationships between 5-FU clearance and markers of DPD activity such as uracilemia (U), dihydrouracilemia (UH2)/U ratio, or genotype of the gene encoding DPD (DPYD). All patients with gastrointestinal cancers who received 5-FU-based regimens form March 2018 to June 2020 were included in our study. They routinely benefited of a pre-therapeutic DPYD genotyping and phenotyping. During 5-FU infusion, blood samples were collected to measure 5-FU steady-state concentration in order to ada…
Vacuolated PAS-Positive Lymphocytes on Blood Smear: An Easy Screening Tool and a Possible Biomarker for Monitoring Therapeutic Responses in Late Onse…
2018
Background: Primary aim was to investigate the diagnostic value of PAS-positive vacuolated lymphocytes on blood smear in Late Onset Pompe Disease (LOPD) patients and, secondly, to evaluate its potential utility in monitoring treatment effects.Methods: We examined blood smear of 26 LOPD patients. We evaluated 10 treated and 16 untreated LOPD patients. Among the latter group, 7 patients later initiated ERT and were tested again 6 months after start. Blood smear was also sampled from 82 controls and 19 patients with other muscle glycogenoses (MGSDs). PAS staining was used to evaluate: (1) presence of lymphocytes with glycogen-filled vacuoles, (2) quantification of vacuolated lymphocytes.Result…
Initiation of Vancomycin Therapy and the First Therapeutic Drug Monitoring
2021
Abstract There have been a limited number of studies in Latvia that were focused on vancomycin therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), especially during the initiation phase of the therapy. The aim of this study was to investigate details of vancomycin therapy in its initiation phase and to analyse the results of the first therapeutic drug monitoring within a multidisciplinary hospital in Latvia. A retrospective observational study was performed in a multidisciplinary hospital in Latvia. Adult patients hospitalised in an intensive care unit and undergoing vancomycin therapy with at least one concentration measurement were included in this study. Data about patients included demographic and clini…
Monitoring of ticks and tick-borne pathogens through a nationwide research station network in Finland.
2020
In 2015 a long-term, nationwide tick and tick-borne pathogen (TBP) monitoring project was started by the Finnish Tick Project and the Finnish Research Station network (RESTAT), with the goal of producing temporally and geographically extensive data regarding exophilic ticks in Finland. In the current study, we present results from the first four years of this collaboration. Ticks were collected by cloth dragging from 11 research stations across Finland in May September 2015-2018 (2012-2018 in Seili). Collected ticks were screened for twelve different pathogens by qPCR: Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii, Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia miyamotoi, Babesia sp…
Mercury, lead and cadmium concentrations in Talpa occidentalis and in their digeneans of the genus Ityogonimus
2019
Many parasites living in aquatic ecosystems are useful indicators of environmental health. On the other hand, information is scarcer with respect to the use of helminth parasites of vertebrates living in terrestrial ecosystems as monitoring tools for toxic element environmental pollution. The present study evaluates the suitability of the model Talpa occidentalis/Ityogonimus spp. as a bioindicator system for mercury (Hg), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) contamination in agricultural soils from Asturias (Spain). Kidney and liver samples collected from T. occidentalis specimens (n = 36) and Ityogonimus spp. samples collected from 14 infected hosts were analyzed by ICP-MS. The highest mean levels o…