Antigenicity of legume proteins

In the food and feed industry, large amounts of agro‐industrial basic materials are used for the formulation of end‐products meant for human or animal nutrition. These basic ingredients and the final end‐products often have to fulfil special requirements regarding nutritional and anti‐nutritional factors (ANFs). A special need therefore exists for the identification and characterization of these factors. As there is increasing interest in the use of legume seeds as protein and energy sources in various foods and feedstuffs, a number of methods for the immunochemical detection and quantification of proteinaceous ANFs in legumes have been developed. Current knowledge of the immunochemical detection and analysis of antigenic proteins in legume seeds and some of the phenomena of these proteinaceous ANFs in young animals are described in this paper.     

Jaco J.M. Zwanenburg,Joost P.A. Kuijer,J. Tim Marcus,Robert M. Heethaar. Steady‐state free precession with myocardial tagging: CSPAMM in a single breathhold,Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (2003)49(4):722‐730

The original article to which this Erratum refers was published in Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (2003) 49(4):722–730     

Accelerated autoantibody clearance by intravenous immunoglobulin therapy: studies in experimental models to determine the magnitude and time course of the effect.

Recently, it has been postulated that the beneficial effect of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIGs) in antibody-mediated autoimmune disorders is based on accelerated catabolism of autoantibodies. In the current study, in vivo experiments were performed with mice in which autoantibody production was mimicked by continuous infusion of monoclonal antibodies. In this model, a single dose of IVIG reduced the plasma concentrations of the infused immunoglobulin (Ig)G1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) by approximately 40% after 3 days, whereas the concentration of an IgA mAb was not affected. To extrapolate these findings to humans, a computational model for IgG clearance was established that accurately predicted the time course and magnitude of the decrease in IgG plasma levels observed in mice. Adapted for humans, this model predicted a gradually occurring decrease in autoantibody levels after IVIG administration (2 g/kg), with a maximum reduction of approximately 25% after 3 to 4 weeks and a continued decrease of several months. In conclusion, a single high dose of IVIG induces a relatively small but long-lasting reduction of autoantibody levels by accelerated IgG clearance. This mechanism has clinical relevance in the sense that it can fully explain, as the sole mechanism, the gradual decrease in autoantibody levels observed in several patient studies. However, in some clinical studies, larger or more rapid effects have been observed that cannot be explained by accelerated clearance. Hence, IVIG can also reduce autoantibody levels through mechanisms such as down-regulation of antibody production or neutralization by anti-idiotypic antibodies.     

Food questionnaire for assessment of infant gluten consumption

BACKGROUND: In light of the possibly preventive role of timing and amount of gluten in celiac disease, it would be helpful to have a questionnaire to assess the gluten intake in infants. AIMS: Development and validation of a food questionnaire to assess gluten consumption in healthy infants aged 0-12 months (FQ-gluten). METHODS: A food frequency questionnaire, previously developed for the Generation R study, was adapted for the assessment of gluten intake. The results of a 2-day food record (FR) were compared with the results of this FQ-gluten. RESULTS: Eighty-seven parents filled in the FR and the FQ-gluten. The number of children who consume gluten and who are breast-fed is higher, reported in the FQ-gluten. The amount of gluten is comparable from the age of 3 up to 10 months, but at 11 and 12 months a higher gluten intake is reported using the FR, probably due to a larger variety of food products not detectable by the FQ-gluten. However, there is a high agreement in the food groups (Cohens' kappa=0.6-0.8). CONCLUSIONS: This new, short, standardized, validated and easy to use FQ-gluten may be a useful instrument to assess gluten intake in infants, both at the individual and at the population level. The use of this method by investigators in other countries provides the opportunity for a better comparison of the results of gluten consumption in (co-operative) studies throughout different countries.     

Impact of viability and scar tissue on response to cardiac resynchronization therapy in ischaemic heart failure patients.

AIMS: At present, 20-30% of patients do not respond to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). In this study, the relation between the extent of viable myocardium and scar tissue vs. response to CRT was evaluated. In addition, the presence of scar tissue in the left ventricular (LV) lead position was specifically related to response to CRT. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 51 consecutive patients with ischaemic heart failure and substantial LV dyssynchrony undergoing CRT were included. All patients underwent gated SPECT before CRT implantation to determine the extent of scar tissue and viable myocardium. Clinical and echocardiographic parameters were assessed at baseline and after 6 months of CRT. The results demonstrated direct relations between the response to CRT and the extent of viable myocardium and scar tissue. In addition, the 15 patients (29%) with transmural scar tissue (< 50% tracer activity) in the region of the LV pacing lead showed no improvement after 6 months of CRT. CONCLUSION: The extent of scar tissue and viable myocardium were directly related to the response to CRT. Furthermore, scar tissue in the LV pacing lead region may prohibit response to CRT. Evaluation for viability and scar tissue may be considered in the selection process for CRT.     

The spectrum of MR detectable cortical microinfarcts: a classification study with 7-tesla postmortem MRI and histopathology

Cerebral microinfarcts (CMIs) are common neuropathologic findings in aging and dementia. We explored the spectrum of cortical CMIs that can be visualized with 7T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Thirty-three coronal brain slices of 11 individuals with neuropathologically confirmed dementia were subjected to a high-resolution postmortem 7T MRI protocol. First, we identified all visible small (⩽5 mm) intracortical and juxtacortical lesions on postmortem MRI. Lesions were classified as CMI or nonCMI based on histology, and their MR features were recorded. Thirty lesions were identified on the initial MRI evaluation, of which twenty-three could be matched with histology. Histopathology classified 12 lesions as CMIs, all of which were located intracortically. On the basis of their MR features, they could be classified as chronic gliotic CMIs—with or without cavitation or hemorrhagic components—and acute CMIs. Eleven MRI identified lesions were not of ischemic nature and most commonly enlarged or atypically shaped perivascular spaces. Their MRI features were similar to gliotic CMIs with or without cavitation, but these ‘CMI mimics'' were always located juxtacortically. 7T postmortem MRI distinguishes different histopathologic types of cortical CMIs, with distinctive MR characteristics. On the basis of our findings, we propose in vivo rating criteria for the detection of intracortical CMIs.     

Semi-automatic quantitative measurements of intracranial internal carotid artery stenosis and calcification using CT angiography

Introduction

Intracranial carotid artery atherosclerotic disease is an independent predictor for recurrent stroke. However, its quantitative assessment is not routinely performed in clinical practice. In this diagnostic study, we present and evaluate a novel semi-automatic application to quantitatively measure intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) degree of stenosis and calcium volume in CT angiography (CTA) images.

Methods

In this retrospective study involving CTA images of 88 consecutive patients, intracranial ICA stenosis was quantitatively measured by two independent observers. Stenoses were categorized with cutoff values of 30% and 50%. The calcification in the intracranial ICA was qualitatively categorized as absent, mild, moderate, or severe and quantitatively measured using the semi-automatic application. Linear weighted kappa values were calculated to assess the interobserver agreement of the stenosis and calcium categorization. The average and the standard deviation of the quantitative calcium volume were calculated for the calcium categories.

Results

For the stenosis measurements, the CTA images of 162 arteries yielded an interobserver correlation of 0.78 (P?Conclusions Quantitative degree of stenosis measurement of the intracranial ICA on CTA is feasible with a good interobserver agreement ICA. Qualitative calcium categorization agrees well with quantitative measurements.