Untersuchungen über die elektrophoretische Wanderungsgeschwindigkeit kompletter und inkompletter A-, B- und Rh (D)-Antikörper

Medical Microbiology and Immunology - In der Säulen-Elektrophorese-Apparatur nachSvensson mit äthanolisierter Cellulose nachFlodin u.Kupke als Trägerstoff wurden sechs Seren von...     

Use of the PATH Alliance database to measure adherence to IDSA guidelines for the therapy of candidemia

Candidemia is an increasing complication of the care of complex patients. Adherence to Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) guidelines for the treatment of candidemia was investigated to assess the impact of compliance on outcomes of therapy. Data on the epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with invasive fungal infections (IFIs) was extracted from the PATH Alliance registry, a prospective, multicenter, observational database of invasive fungal infections. Patients with proven candidemia were evaluated for adherence to the IDSA guidelines in terms of choice, dosage, and duration of antifungal therapy. Removal of central venous catheters and time to treatment initiation were assessed. Four-week survival data were compared. Of the 418 patients with candidemia who were included in the study, 361 patients with the necessary data sets were identified, of whom 262 (72.6%) were treated within the IDSA guidelines for the treatment of candidemia (IDSA group); the remaining 99 (27.4%) patients received treatment different from the guidelines (non-IDSA group). Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival analysis for patients in the IDSA and non-IDSA group showed mortality rates of 21.9 and 13.6%, respectively; the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (P = 0.093). Following the exclusion of patients requiring mechanical ventilation or acute cardiac support, the modified survival KM curves were similar between the two groups. Significantly more patients in the IDSA group required mechanical ventilation and tunneled central catheters, had a concomitant IFI, and received caspofungin. The duration of treatment and inappropriate dosing did not appear to have had a significant impact on survival. Most of the deviations from IDSA guidelines were due to the inappropriate duration and dosing of therapy. No significant difference in mortality was noted between the IDSA and non-IDSA groups. The basis of these differences merit further study. Presented in part at the 44th Annual Meeting of Infectious Disease Society of America, Toronto, Canada, 2006.     

Cytokine gene polymorphism in human disease: on-line databases

The pathologies of many infectious, autoimmune and malignant diseases are influenced by the profiles of cytokine production in pro-inflammatory (TH1) and anti-inflammatory (TH2) T cells. Interindividual differences in cytokine profiles appear to be due, at least in part, to allelic polymorphism within regulatory regions of cytokine gene. Many studies have examined the relationship between cytokine gene polymorphism, cytokine gene expression in vitro, and the susceptibility to and clinical severity of diseases. A review of the findings of these studies is presented. An on-line version featuring appropriate updates is accessible from the World Wide Web site, http://www.pam.bris.ac.uk/services/GAI/cytokine4.htm.     

Age related differences in binding of Concanavalin a to plasma membranes of isolated neurons

Neurons isolated from the lateral vestibular nucleus of young adult and senescent Fischer-344 rats were incubated with fluorescamine-labelled Concanavalin A (fl-Con A) alone, or following incubation in trypsin or Vibrio cholerae neuraminidase. They were then observed and photographed. Microdensitometric analysis of fluorescence micrographs showed that senescent rat neurons were significantly more fluorescent than those from young adult rats. Additionally, either patches or caps of fl-Con A were seen on the surface of neurons from senescent rats, while most young adult rat neurons bound fl-Con A uniformly. Pretreatment with trypsin or neuraminidase had no effect on the amount of fluorescence on the surface of senescent rat neurons, and only a slight effect on the surface distribution. Trypsin and neuraminidase treatments caused a significant increase in fluorescence on the neuronal plasma membranes of young adult rats and a rearrangement of the binding pattern in the majority of neurons observed.     

Erfolgreiche Behandlung einer thyreotoxischen Krise durch kontinuierliche Plasmapherese am Blutzellseparator

Zusammenfassung Bei einem 26jährigen Patienten im thyreotoxischen Koma erwies sich die kontinuierliche Plasmapherese am IBM-Blutzellseparator klinisch als akut wirksame Krisentherapie. Schon während der Plasmapherese mit Austausch von 51 Plasma in 3 1/2 h wurde der Patient aus einem tiefen Koma heraus ansprechbar. Mit den 51 Plasma wurden 633 µg Thyroxin (T₄) und 13,6 µg Trijodthyronin (T₃) entzogen. Dies führte erstaunlicherweise nicht zu einem Abfall der Gesamtspiegel von T₄ und T₃ im Serum, ein Befund, der als Hinweis auf einen raschen Rückstrom aus dem Gewebe in die Blutbahn zu interpretieren ist. Die freien Schilddrüsenhormonspiegel nahmen dagegen signifikant ab, erkennbar am Abfall der Werte des T₃-in vitro-Tests und der T₄- und T₃-Ausscheidung im Urin. Diese Befunde zeigen auf, daß neben dem Entzug von Schilddrüsenhormon vor allem die Zufuhr freier Bindungsstellen für Schilddrüsenhormon mit dem Spenderplasma bei der Behandlung der thyreotoxischen Krise von Bedeutung ist.Mit Unterstützung der Sonderforschungsbereiche SFB 51¹ und SFB 37²     

Amnesic effects of bilateral lesions placed in the hyperstriatum ventrale of the chick after imprinting

Summary The purpose of this study was to investigate whether bilateral lesions to a part of the hyperstriatum ventrale (IMHV) impair retention if they are placed after chicks have been imprinted. Domestic chicks were hatched and reared in darkness and exposed to an imprinting (training) stimulus for 2 h commencing 22 h post hatch. The chicks were then anaesthetised and bilateral lesions placed in IMHV (N = 16) birds, hyperstriatum accessorium (HA; N = 16) or the lateral part of the cerebral hemispheres (LCA; N = 16). Forty-eight sham-operated chicks served as controls. Chicks were returned to the dark incubator, and, 15–20 h after the operation, their approach towards the training stimulus and to a second novel stimulus was measured. The controls and the chicks with lesions in HA and LCA showed a strong preference for the training stimulus and hence a high level of retention. The preferences of these three experimental groups did not differ significantly from one another. The mean preference of chicks with lesions in IMHV was significantly less than that of the sham-operated controls (P<0.01) and of chicks lesioned in HA (P<0.05). Bilateral lesions to IMHV therefore selectively impair retention of a preference acquired through imprinting. This impairment is unlikely to be a non-specific consequence of defective sensory processing or motor performance because the four groups did not differ from each other in (i) the time taken accurately to peck a rocking bead, (ii) the accuracy of pecking millet seeds and (iii) the performance of a simultaneous visual discrimination task involving heat reinforcement.Supported by grants from the Science Research Council, the Leverhulme Trust, the Wellcome Trust and FAPESP (Brazil)     

Immunobiology of tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily

The proteins of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor superfamily are a group of cell-surface receptors critically involved in the maintenance of homeostasis of the immune system. By interacting with their corresponding ligands, these receptors either induce cell death or promote cell survival of immune cells. The number of recognized members of the TNF receptor and ligand superfamily has expanded substantially in the last several years. More important, the biologic function of this group of proteins has been closely associated with the regulation of the immune response and the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease. Thus, the direct targeting of these receptors by either inducing apoptosis or blocking survival of autoimmune T and B cells may be an important therapeutic strategy in the treatment of autoimmune disease. This review summarizes the recent progress in immunobiology of the TNF receptor superfamily and focuses on our studies of three critical family members-FasL/Fas, TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)/TRAIL-Rs, and B lymphocyte stimulator(BLyS)/BLyS-Rs--to demonstrate the therapeutic potential of targeting these receptors for the treatment of autoimmune disease.     

Monocyte-mediated growth control and the induction of tumor cell death

In the present article a hypothesis is put forward and supporting data are referred that explain the elimination of tumorigenic cells as a consequence of their failure to comply with the rules of ubiquitous negative growth control mechanisms involving among others also mononuclear phagocytes as effector cells. This hypothesis does not invoke the recognition of altered cell surface structures on tumorigenic cells as the basis for discriminating them from normal cells and thus avoids one of the most irritating problems of hypothetical tumor defense mechanisms involving the recognition of spontaneously arising tumor cells as 'non-self' by immunologic effector cells.