Search results for "SERUM"

Standard graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis with or without anti-T-cell globulin in haematopoietic cell transplantation from matched unrelated don…

2009

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality after allogeneic haematopoietic cell transplantation from unrelated donors. Anti-T-cell globulins (ATGs) might lower the incidence of GVHD. We did a prospective, randomised, multicentre, open-label, phase 3 trial to compare standard GVHD prophylaxis with ciclosporin and methotrexate with or without anti-Jurkat ATG-Fresenius (ATG-F).Between May 26, 2003, and Feb 8, 2007, 202 patients with haematological malignancies were centrally randomly assigned using computer-generated centre-stratified block randomisation between treatment groups receiving ciclosporin and methotrexate with or without additional ATG-F. One patie…

Acute Phase Proteins Are Baseline Predictors of Tuberculosis Treatment Failure

2021

Systemic inflammation is a characteristic feature of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). Whether systemic inflammation is associated with treatment failure in PTB is not known. Participants, who were newly diagnosed, sputum smear and culture positive individuals with drug-sensitive PTB, were treated with standard anti-tuberculosis treatment and classified as having treatment failure or microbiological cure. The plasma levels of acute phase proteins were assessed at baseline (pre-treatment). Baseline levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), alpha-2 macroglobulin (a2M), Haptoglobin and serum amyloid P (SAP) were significantly higher in treatment failure compared to cured individuals. ROC curve analysis …

Circulating Levels of Adhesion Molecules in Chronic Kidney Disease Correlate with the Stage of Renal Disease and with C-Reactive Protein

2007

Patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) suffer from a series of complications linked to the atherosclerotic process in which the endothelial dysfunction mediated by the activation of some adhesion molecules plays an important role. This study aims to evaluate circulating levels of intercellular adhesion molecules-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecules-1 (VCAM-1) in patients with predialysis CRF, on maintenance hemodialysis (HD) and after kidney transplantation (KTx) and to correlate them with some inflammation and nutritional indexes.Thirty two patients with predialysis CRF, 30 on maintenance HD, 36 after KTx and 28 subjects as a control group (C) were included in this study. Cir…

Hepatitis E virus infection as a cause of acute hepatitis in Southern Italy

2011

Abstract Background Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a major cause of acute hepatitis in developing countries, whereas it is not considered a major health problem in Western World. Aims To investigate the spread of HEV and its possible role in causing acute hepatitis in Southern Italy. Methods Four hundred and thirty patients observed from April to December 2009 were studied and grouped as follows: 55 individuals with acute hepatitis (AH), 33 of whom cryptogenic; 321 individuals with chronic liver diseases (CLD), (278 Italians and 43 immigrants); 54 individuals without liver disease (control-group). Serum samples from all cases were tested for IgG anti-HEV antibodies and those positive to this te…

Levels of serum retinol-binding protein 4 before and after non-surgical periodontal treatment in lean and obese subjects: An interventional study

2018

AimWe aimed to evaluate serum RBP4 levels before and after periodontal therapy in lean and obese subjects with chronic periodontitis (CP) in order to determine its possible association with periodontitis. Materials and MethodsThis is an interventional study for which a total of 112 lean and 119 obese subjects were recruited. Patients with CP were evaluated before and after three months of non-surgical periodontal treatment. Periodontal, anthropometric, biochemical parameters and serum levels of TNF-, IL-6, hs-CRP and RBP4 were assessed. ResultsSerum RBP4 levels were associated with an increased probability of periodontitis (OR=1.60; 95% CI: 1.02-2.50), showing patients with CP to have highe…

Natural history of chronic HBV carriers in northern Italy: morbidity and mortality after 30 years

2004

Background & aims: Increased morbidity and mortality from liver disease have been reported in chronic hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers, but data on survival are equivocal. To assess the impact of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection on survival and liver-related complications, we re-evaluated, after a mean follow-up of 30 years, a cohort of 296 blood donors excluded from donation 30 years ago when HBsAg screening became mandatory. Methods: Clinical and ultrasound examination and biochemical and virologic tests were performed. The cause of death was recorded and survival was compared with a control population of 157 HBV-negative blood donors selected at baseline. Results: Thirty-two…

Rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin in liver transplantation: All that glitters is not gold, but 1000 patients are so many to dazzle

2012

Increased Levels of Elastase and α1-Antitrypsin in Sputum of Asthmatic Patients

1998

Asthma and chronic bronchitis are inflammatory diseases associated with remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Elastin, a major component of the ECM in the airways, has been previously found to be disrupted in asthma and chronic bronchitis. This study was aimed at evaluating whether elastin disruption might be associated with an imbalance between elastase (active and total) and alpha1-proteinase inhibitor (alpha1-PI), the main inhibitor of elastase. We measured elastase and alpha1-PI in induced sputum obtained from 16 control subjects, 10 healthy smokers, 19 asthmatic patients, and 10 chronic bronchitis patients. We also assessed the possible origin of elastase, evaluating its levels…

Perfluoroalkyl substances and immune cell counts in adults from the Mid-Ohio Valley (USA)

2021

Highlights • The literature on PFASs and circulating levels of immune cells is scarce. • Study of the association between PFASs and white blood cells at two different time points. • Cross-sectional study on the association between PFASs and lymphocyte subsets. • Positive association between PFHxS and total lymphocytes, especially for cell count. • Positive, but less consistent, association between PFOA and PFOS and total lymphocytes.

Comparison of high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and Griess reagent-spectroscopic methods for the measurement of nitrate in serum from health…

2008

Bioavailability of NO can be estimated by measuring the concentration of nitrate (NO(3)) in serum. However, the methods used for the measurement NO(3) in plasma or serum show a great degree of variation. Therefore, we compared two analytical methods for the measurement of NO(3) in serum.The concentration of NO(3) in 600 serum samples collected from healthy individuals was determined by the HPLC and by the Griess reagent-spectroscopic method.The concentration of NO(3) in the samples was 29.4+/-16.1 micromol/L and 26.2+/-14.0 micromol/L (mean+/-SD) measured by HPLC and Griess reagent-spectroscopic method respectively (p0.0001). We detected a significant correlation between the two methods (R=…