Allergen immunotherapy during the COVID‐19 pandemic—A survey of the German Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology

BackgroundWhen the coronavirus pandemic 2019 (COVID‐19) emerged, concerns were also raised regarding the safety of allergen immunotherapy (AIT). The German Society for Allergology and Clinical Immunology (DGAKI) conducted a survey to collect real‐world data on the daily routine of administering subcutaneous AIT (SCIT) and sublingual AIT (SLIT) during the COVID‐19 pandemic.MethodsA web‐based retrospective survey using the online platform survio with 26 standardized questions was used to survey physicians treating allergic patients during the pandemic.ResultsThree hundred and forty‐five physicians who regularly offer and perform AIT in German‐speaking countries responded to the questions. 70.4% of the respondents stated that they regularly initiated and dosed up SCIT for inhalant allergies (41.4% venom‐SCIT, 73.6% SLIT), and 85.2% of the respondents stated that they continued SCIT for inhalant allergies during the maintenance phase in a regular way (59.1% venom‐SCIT, 90.4% SLIT) in healthy patients without current symptoms indicating an infection with COVID‐19. With regard to tolerability, there was no evidence for increased occurrence of adverse events in patients without current symptoms of COVID‐19 infection during the pandemic.ConclusionsThis retrospective study demonstrated adherence to national and international position papers of AIT during the COVID‐19 pandemic in German‐speaking countries. Besides, the survey has confirmed a good tolerability of AIT for both SCIT and SLIT.     

New multi protein patterns differentiate liver fibrosis stages and hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic hepatitis C serum samples

~~New multi protein patterns differentiate liver fibrosis stages and hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic hepatitis C serum samples@Thomas Gbel$Klinik für Gastroenterologie,Hepatologie und Infektiologie,Heinrich-Heine-UniversitatDusseldorf,Moorenstr.e,D…     

Divergent effects of human lymphokine derived oligopeptides on PMNLs function of young and aged healthy subjects

The effects of low molecular weight lymphokine-derived oligopeptides (LK-OPs) on PMNLs effector functions and receptor mediated biochemical events were studied in the case of healthy young and aged subjects. In the case of young subjects the low mol. wt. LK-OPs stimulated the Fc gamma receptor-mediated effector functions of PMNLs, whereas an inhibition was observed in PMNLs of the elderly (extracellular cytotoxicity and intracellular killing). The underlying biochemical events, induced by low mol. wt. LK-OPs stimulation, were also investigated. In PMNLs of young subjects the oxidative metabolism was stimulated (enhanced O2 consumption, O2 and H2O2 production) by low mol. wt. LK-OPs, while in elderly subjects it was inhibited. The cyclic nucleotides regulating the Fc gamma receptor mediated effector functions and the oxygen radicals formation showed an altered dynamic response under low mol. wt. LK-OPs stimulation with aging i.e. the cGMP level could not be changed at all. Our results suggest that low mol. wt. LK-OPs induced inhibition of Fc gamma receptor mediated effector functions with aging could be partly explained by an altered post receptorial coupling switch and as a consequence the lymphokines could not play their role of immunomodulators further impairing the altered immune response with aging.     

Histopathology of smokeless tobacco lesions in professional baseball players. Associations with different types of tobacco.

We examined 142 biopsy specimens of smokeless tobacco-associated oral mucosal lesions from 133 professional baseball players. Four types of epithelial change were observed in the specimens: hyperparakeratosis, hyperorthokeratosis, pale surface staining, and basal cell hyperplasia. These types of epithelial change were associated with the type of smokeless tobacco used (snuff or chewing tobacco) but not with the duration (years) or amount (hours per day) of use. The thickness of hyperkeratosis in a specimen correlated directly with the amount of smokeless tobacco use. The use of snuff was more frequently associated with development of oral mucosal lesions than was the use of chewing tobacco, and snuff appeared to cause a greater variety and severity of epithelial change than did chewing tobacco.     

Thin Slice Unenhanced Brain CT Can Detect Aneurysms Larger than 7 mm

Purpose:To evaluate the detection rate of intracranial aneurysms on reconstructed thin slice non enhanced CT (NECT) scans.Methods:NECT scans from 34 patients with 35 aneurysms and 35 individuals without aneurysms were collected. Thin slice maximum intensity projections of the NECT scans were reconstructed. One observer evaluated the native images twice with a time interval of six month between both passes with respect to the prevalence and location of an aneurysm. The size and location of the aneurysms were evaluated in corresponding CT-Angiography and Time of flight datasets. A logit regression analysis was performed with size and location as dependent variables. 2 × 2 tables were constructed. The sensitivity and false negative rate were calculated for aneurysms with 0–6.9 mm, 7–9.9 mm and 10–20 mm and the under the curve (AUC) was calculated.Results:The overall detection rate of the aneurysms was 63% for the first pass and 66% for the second pass in the reconstructed NECT scans. The detection rate of aneurysms is size dependent. The sensitivity to detect aneurysms with a size of 0–6.9 mm was 0.09 and 0.03, for aneurysms with a size of 7–9.9. mm was 0.8 and 0.7 and for aneurysms with a size of 10–20 mm was 0.92 for both passes.The AUC was 0.77 for the first pass and 0.78 for the second pass.Conclusions:NECT scans can be used to detect a significant proportion of intracranial aneurysms larger than 7 mm if properly displayed and reconstructed. These patients should receive further vascular imaging to prevent future aneurysm related subarachnoid hemorrhage.     

Tricuspid Atresia Associated with Truncus Arteriosus versus Aortopulmonary Window: Combining Fetal and Postnatal Echocardiography to Make the Diagnosis

The coincident occurrence of tricuspid atresia and aortopulmonary window (APW) is exceedingly rare, with one previous case reported in the literature. We present a patient with tricuspid atresia, pulmonary atresia, and APW. Postnatal echocardiograms demonstrated no visible pulmonary valve, and additional defects including a bicuspid aortic valve, right aortic arch and anomalous coronary arteries raised suspicion for tricuspid atresia with persistent truncus arteriosus. However, fetal echocardiography and direct visualization of the anatomy confirmed the alternate diagnosis. The patient underwent successful palliation consisting of APW repair, atrial septectomy and a 3.5 mm modified Blalock–Taussig shunt, followed by a bidirectional cavopulmonary connection.     

Heterogeneous in vitro effects of doxorubicin on gene expression in primary human liposarcoma cultures

Background  

Doxorubicin is considered one of the most potent established chemotherapeutics in the treatment of liposarcoma; however, the response rates usually below 30%, are still disappointing. This study was performed to identify gene expression changes in liposarcoma after doxorubicin treatment.