La fonctionnalité alimentaire : illusion aujourd’hui, réalité demain

Foods have always been considered by man as a means of ensuring his physiological needs, allowing the growth, development and preservation of the body and its tissues (nutritional value of food). To this can be added the feelings of satisfaction and well-being that food gives to its consumer, thus constituting an element that is fundamental for our physiological and mental balance (the sensorial value of food).Nevertheless, recent scientific studies have shown that over and above the ensuring of nutritional needs, eating habits can also adjust certain functions of the human organism and thus play a beneficial or harmful role on one's health (the functional value of food).The whole concept of nutrition has been enriched by the notion that eating is not only a survival reflex (satisfaction derived through eating and the avoidance of harmful effects due to eating deficiencies or excesses): eating aims to improve one's health and well-being and to reduce the risk of developing various pathologies. These new data open interesting new horizons in today's context where health is increasingly expensive and people are increasingly concerned to improve their quality of live.     

Autoimmune diseases in myelodysplastic syndrome favors patients survival: A case control study and literature review

Background

We conducted a monocentric retrospective study of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and autoimmune or inflammatory disorders (AIMs) and a literature review. We analyzed the association with subgroups of the WHO 2016 MDS classification and patient's survival in a case control study. Risk factors associated with survival were analyzed by uni- and multivariate analysis.

Generation of potent T(h)1 responses from patients with lymphoid malignancies after differentiation of B lymphocytes into dendritic-like cells

Dendritic cells (DC) are a group of potent antigen-presenting cells (APC) specialized for initiating T cell immune responses. They originate from the bone marrow and upon stimulation with bacterial products, cytokines or CD40 ligation they acquire the ability to migrate to the secondary lymphoid organs. In vitro DC can be generated from human CD34(+) bone marrow cells and CD14(+) peripheral blood monocytes after culture with different cytokine combinations. Since most leukemic cells and tumors in general are devoid of APC capacities, various strategies have been used to increase their recognition and confer the capacity of antigen presentation on them. Because of our interest in the design of vaccine immunotherapy protocols for the adjuvant treatment of patients with lymphoid malignancies (LM), we chose to explore the capacity of human acute lymphoblastic leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and plasma cell leukemia to differentiate into cells with APC and DC features. Our results among a sample of 10 patients demonstrate that such approach is feasible. Leukemic cells could be induced in the presence of IL-4 and CD40L to exhibit a DC morphology with a phenotype of mature DC-like cells. They could also induce a potent proliferative response in naive CD4(+) T cells. In addition, they expressed chemokine receptor CCR7 and CD62L, and could drive T cells towards a T(h)1 response with secretion of IFN-gamma. Our strategy leading to increased LM cell immunogenicity may have potential clinical applications and LM appear to be attracting candidates for adjuvant vaccination and adoptive immunotherapy.     

Illness cognitions and health-related quality of life in liver transplant patients related to length of stay,comorbidities and complications

Quality of Life Research - Illness cognitions regarding helplessness and acceptance are known to play a role in health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Our study examined the evolution of these...     

Possible role of CYP2B6 genetic polymorphisms in ifosfamide‐induced encephalopathy: report of three cases

Ifosfamide (IFA) is a potent alkylating antitumoral agent, but its use is limited by neurological side effects. IFA is a racemic mixture of two enantiomeric forms, R‐IFA and S‐IFA with a stereoselective metabolism by CYP3A4 and CYP2B6, leading either to bioactive or to toxic pathways. In three consecutive cases of pediatric patients who exhibited IFA‐induced encephalopathy (IIE), genotyping of clinically relevant single‐nucleotide polymorphisms associated with decreased CYP3A4 and CYP2B6 activities was performed. Genetic investigations revealed the presence of CYP2B6 rs4803419 (C>T) in one patient while the two others carried the CYP2B6*6 allelic variant. All patients carried CYP3A4 wild‐type genotype (CYP3A4*1/*1). Because CYP2B6‐deficient alleles may be responsible for an increased conversion of S‐IFA into neurotoxic metabolites, screening for CYP2B6 polymorphisms may help to avoid IIE and improve clinical outcomes.