Search results for "IMMUNOLOGY"

Incidence of HSV and HPV with azathioprine

2009

IBd Incidence of HSV and HPV with azathioprine Mario Cottone and Sara Renna severe infections are an established risk of immunosuppressive therapy; however, the risk of opportunistic infections in patients with IBd who receive immunosuppressive therapy has so far only been studied retrospectively. the increased incidence of herpes flares and development or worsening of viral warts in patients with IBd who receive azathioprine has now been demonstrated for the first time in a prospective study. the rate of opportunistic infections in patients with iBD is dependent on the patient’s nutritional status, degree of innate immune system activity, whether the patient has undergone surgery and their…

Treatment of acute hepatitis C in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients: The HEPAIG study

2010

Acute hepatitis C continues to be a concern in men who have sex with men (MSM), and its optimal management has yet to be established. In this study, the clinical, biological, and therapeutic data of 53 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected MSM included in a multicenter prospective study on acute hepatitis C in 2006-2007 were retrospectively collected and analyzed. The mean hepatitis C virus (HCV) viral load at diagnosis was 5.8 ± 1.1 log10 IU/mL (genotype 4, n = 28; genotype 1, n = 14, genotype 3, n = 7). The cumulative rates of spontaneous HCV clearance were 11.0% and 16.5% 3 and 6 months after diagnosis, respectively. Forty patients were treated, 38 of whom received pegylated interf…

Treatment of chronic hepatitis C

1991

alpha-Interferon given subcutaneously at doses between 1-3 million units leads to responses in about 50% of patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C. A 24-week treatment is frequently (approx. 50%) followed by relapses reducing the percentage of lasting responders to approx. 20%. The patients who relapse are sensitive to retreatment with interferon-alpha. A better understanding of HCV replication and of the interferon action in this viral disease might help to further improve treatment schedules. Side effects of interferon were frequently mild and readily reversible after cessation of treatment. At present interferon treatment should not be recommended in asymptomatic patients or individ…

Hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance are associated with severe fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis caused by HBV or HCV infection

2011

Background and aims: Steatosis and insulin resistance (IR) are the major disease modifying in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Only few studies evaluated these features in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). We aimed to assess the prevalence and the factors related to steatosis and IR in CHB patients, compared with CHC subjects, and to evaluate the potential association between these features and fibrosis severity. Material and methods: One hundred and seventy consecutive patients with CHB (28 HBeAg positive, 142 HBeAg negative), were evaluated using liver biopsy and metabolic measurements and matched for sex, age and body mass index with 170 genotype 1 CHC patients. IR was def…

Immune status towards Epstein-Barr virus in a group of Sicilian children.

1989

The prevalence of antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus-determined antigens was studied in 17 children with acute infectious mononucleosis (IM) and in 263 children hospitalized for diseases unrelated to EBV infection. Antibodies against Epstein-Barr viral capsid antigens (VCA) were observed in 173 patients of the control group (66%), but 58 of them (33,5%) had not yet developed antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus-associated nuclear antigen (EBNA). IgM-specific antibodies were not found in any of the children of the control group but were present in all of the 17 patients with IM. The rates of positivity for IgA anti-VCA and IgG anti-early antigen (EA) were similar in all age groups. Anti-viral…

Complement C6 deficiency protects against diet-induced atherosclerosis in rabbits.

1998

Abstract —Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) can be transformed to an atherogenic moiety by nonoxidative, enzymatic degradation. Enzymatically degraded LDL induces macrophage foam cell formation, provokes release of cytokines, and also activates complement. To determine whether complement activation may contribute to atherogenesis, 6 pairs of homozygous C6-deficient rabbits and their non–C6-deficient heterozygous siblings were fed a cholesterol-rich diet for 14 weeks. Cholesterol levels and plasma lipoprotein profiles of the animals in the C6-competent and C6-deficient groups did not significantly differ, and the high density lipoprotein and LDL cholesterol ratios at the end of the experiment w…

HLA antigens and immunoresponsiveness to insulin in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

2008

HLA-A and B antigens were determined in 112 patient with insulin-dependent juvenile onset diabetes mellitus, who could be subdivided into “non” and “high responders” to insulin. The data revealed a trend of an association of these diabetes subgroups with only one of the diabetes-associated antigens HLA-B8 and HLA-BW15 and indicated the existence of at least two different genetic constellations for susceptibility to juvenile diabetes mellitus. One form with a strong immune-response to insulin seemed to be associated with HLA-BW 15 and the other form without humoral immunoreactivity to insulin seemed to be associated with the presence of HLA-B8 and the absence of HLA-B7.

FRI0299 Prevalence of Vertebral Fractures in Osteoporotic HIP Fractured Patients: The Focus Study

2015

Background Osteoporosis is a multifactorial systemic skeletal disease, characterized by low bone mass and microarchitectural modifications of bone tissue, with a consequent increase in fragility fractures [1]. Vertebral fractures are the most prevalent osteoporotic fractures and osteoporotic hip fractures are the most serious complication of osteoporosis resulting in increased mortality and high socio-economic cost [2,3]. The coexistence of these two pathological conditions in elderly patients has been previously described, leading to even worse functional outcomes than each one alone [4]. Objectives To determine the prevalence of vertebral fractures in osteoporotic hip fractured women and …

2015

Cells secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs) by default and in response to diverse stimuli for the purpose of cell communication and tissue homeostasis. EVs are present in all body fluids including peripheral blood, and their appearance correlates with specific physiological and pathological conditions. Here, we show that physical activity is associated with the release of nano-sized EVs into the circulation. Healthy individuals were subjected to an incremental exercise protocol of cycling or running until exhaustion, and EVs were isolated from blood plasma samples taken before, immediately after and 90 min after exercise. Small EVs with the size of 100–130 nm, that carried proteins character…

Treatment Persistence and Safety of Apremilast in Psoriasis: Experience With 30 Patients in Routine Clinical Practice

2020

Apremilast is a phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor taken orally. Little information about its use in routine clinical practice is available. We aimed to assess treatment safety and persistence rates in patients on apremilast for different forms of plaque psoriasis. This observational retrospective study included 30 patients with psoriasis who were treated with apremilast between January 2016 and December 2017 in our hospital. Twelve patients had palmar-plantar psoriasis, 8 had plaque psoriasis mainly on the scalp, and 10 had plaque psoriasis in other locations. The probable period of treatment persistence in patients in the 50th percentile was 18.5 months according to survival analysis of the se…