Search results for "Polysaccharide"
showing 10 items of 635 documents
Analysis of different contrast enhancement patterns after microbubble-based contrast agent injection in liver hemangiomas with atypical appearance on…
2006
BACKGROUND: We describe different possible enhancement patterns in liver hemangiomas with atypical appearance on baseline ultrasound after microbubble-based contrast agent injection. METHODS: From a series of 253 consecutive lesions that were indeterminate on baseline ultrasound and then scanned after injection of air-filled microbubble contrast agent, 65 focal liver lesions were retrospectively selected on the basis of a diagnosis of liver hemangioma on multiphase contrast-enhanced computed tomography (n = 23), magnetic resonance imaging (n = 27), or histology (n = 15). Each lesion was scanned during arterial phase (30 s after microbubble injection) and late phase (5 min after injection). …
Increased interleukin 6 production by bronchoalveolar lavage cells in patients with active sarcoidosis
1993
Alveolitis of sarcoidosis is characterized by activated alveolar macrophages (AMs) and T cells. The mediators interleukin-1 (IL-1) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) released by AMs represent essential factors for the progression of the T cells in the cell cycle. The role of IL-1 in pulmonary sarcoidosis has previously been studied; however, the relevance of other mediators (i.e. IL-6) has not yet been evaluated. We measured the spontaneous and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced release of IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) by bronchoalveolar lavage cells (BAL) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) in 6 control subjects (group A) and in 15 patients with sarcoidosis, 10 with activ…
Laquinimod dampens IL-1β signaling and Th17-polarizing capacity of monocytes in patients with MS
2020
ObjectiveTo assess the impact of laquinimod treatment on monocytes and to investigate the underlying immunomodulatory mechanisms in MS.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we performed in vivo and in vitro analyses of cluster of differentiation (CD14+) monocytes isolated from healthy donors (n = 15), untreated (n = 13), and laquinimod-treated patients with MS (n = 14). Their frequency and the expression of surface activation markers were assessed by flow cytometry and the viability by calcein staining. Cytokine concentrations in the supernatants of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated monocytes were determined by flow cytometry. The messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression level of gene…
Antibody Response to Meningococcal Polysaccharides A and C in Patients with Complement Defects
1993
Patients with defects of terminal complement components are particularly exposed to the risk of developing neisserial infections and seem to respond poorly to meningococcal capsular polysaccharide (PS) C via natural immunization. The sole meningococcal PSC is. on the other hand, an excellent immunogen in normal people. Considering the great importance of vaccine prophylaxis for the prevention of meningococcal infections in patients with complement defects, it is crucial to study the antibody response to the sole meningococcal PS in these patients. We therefore analysed the levels of anti-PSA and PSC antibodies in the members of four families including patients with homozygous and heterozygo…
Randomized Study of Early versus Late Immunization with Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine after Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation
2009
BACKGROUND: Invasive pneumococcal disease is a life-threatening complication after allogeneic stem cell transplantation, and at least 20% of cases occur within 1 year after transplantation. The 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) has limited efficacy, especially during the first year after transplantation. The immune response to the conjugated vaccines is expected to be better than that to the polysaccharide vaccine, but the optimal timing of vaccination is not defined. Our objective was to show that a 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7; Prevnar) was not inferior when first given 3 months after transplantation, compared with when first given 9 months after trans…
IL-34 is overexpressed in the inflamed salivary glands of patients with Sjogren's syndrome and is associated with the local expansion of pro-inflamma…
2013
Objectives To investigate the expression of IL-34 in labial salivary glands (LSGs) of patients with primary SS (p-SS) and its role in inducing a pro-inflammatory monocyte phenotype. Methods LSG biopsies were obtained from 20 patients with p-SS and 10 patients with non-Sjogren's sicca syndrome (n-SS). The expression of IL-34, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-17 and IL-23 was assessed by real-time PCR. IL-34 expression was also investigated in LSGs by immunohistochemistry. The frequencies of subpopulations of CD14(+) monocytes were evaluated by flow cytometry among isolated mononuclear cells from peripheral blood and salivary glands from both patients and controls. The role of recombinant IL-34 on isolated p…
Glucose polymer syrup attenuates prolonged endurance exercise-induced vasopressin release
1989
We investigated the effect of glucose and glucose polymer ingestion on plasma arginine vasopressin (pAVP) levels, on plasma osmolality (p-osm), and on performance during two prolonged endurance events. The study subjects were 37 Finnish elite endurance athletes, of whom 18 were orienteers and 19 cross-country skiers. Plasma AVP increased in both combined glucose and glucose polymer groups, but the increase in the glucose polymer group was significantly smaller (P less than 0.001) than that in the glucose group. A significant change in p-osm caused a significant change in pAVP and vice versa. Both the orienteers and the skiers on glucose polymer tended to have more success in the competition…
Utility of presepsin (sCD14-ST) as a diagnostic and prognostic marker of sepsis in the emergency department
2015
Presepsin (PSEP) is released during infectious diseases and can be detected in the blood. PSEP has shown promising results as sepsis marker. We examined the diagnostic and prognostic validity of PSEP in patients suspicious of sepsis on admission in the emergency department (ED). Methods One hundred twenty three patients with signs of SIRS and/or sepsis and 123 healthy individuals were enrolled. PSEP was determined on admission, after 8, 24 and 72 h. Results Mean PSEP concentrations of the control group and the patient group were 130 and 1945 pg/ml. PSEP differed between SIRS, sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock and showed strong association with 30-day mortality ranging from 10.3% in the…
Effectiveness of vaccination with 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in preventing hospitalization with laboratory confirmed influenza dur…
2013
Background: Since influenza predisposes to bacterial pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, studies have suggested that pneumococcal vaccination might reduce its occurrence during pandemics. We assessed the effectiveness of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination alone and in combination with influenza vaccination in preventing influenza hospitalization during the 2009–2010 pandemic wave and 2010–2011 influenza epidemic. Methods: We conducted a multicenter case-control study in 36 Spanish hospitals. We selected patients aged ≥ 18 y hospitalized with confirmed influenza and two hospitalized controls per case, matched according to age, date of hospitalization and province of residence.…
Contrast echocardiography of the left ventricle an independent predictor of pulmonary artery pressure?
1994
To test the hypothesis that left heart opacification is dependent on pulmonary artery pressure, we analyzed consecutively 12 patients with normal and 8 patients with abnormal pulmonary artery pressure with a new lung capillary stable echo contrast agent. Patients underwent contrast echocardiographic examination within 6 hours before right and left heart catheterization with 200 mg/ml and 400 mg/ml SHU 508A intravenously. The mean pulmonary artery pressure was 15.4 mmHg in the patients with normal pulmonary artery pressures and 46.4 mmHg in the patients with pulmonary hypertension (p0.000). Echocardiograms were video-intensitometrically analyzed for intensity maximum (MAX), half-time of vide…