scholarly journals The Current Challenges in Developing Biological and Clinical Predictors of Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (24) ◽  
pp. 13487
Author(s):  
Kenji Tanimura ◽  
Akiko Uchida ◽  
Hitomi Imafuku ◽  
Shinya Tairaku ◽  
Kazumichi Fujioka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Neutralizing Antibodies ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Premature Delivery ◽  
Clinical Predictors ◽  
Accurate Identification ◽  
Serological Screening ◽  
Congenital Cytomegalovirus ◽  
Increased Risk

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection may cause severe long-term sequelae. Recent studies have demonstrated that early antiviral therapy for infants with symptomatic congenital CMV (cCMV) infection may improve neurological outcomes; thus, accurate identification of newborns at high risk of cCMV infection may contribute to improved outcomes in affected children. However, maternal serological screening for cCMV infection by diagnosing primary infection during pregnancy, which is a popular screening strategy, is inefficient, because the number of cCMV infections with nonprimary causes, including reactivation of or reinfection with CMV, is larger than that of cCMV infections with primary causes. Low levels of neutralizing antibodies against pentameric complex and potent CMV-specific T cell-mediated immune responses are associated with an increased risk of cCMV infection. Conversely, our prospective cohort studies revealed that the presence of maternal fever/flu-like symptoms, threatened miscarriage/premature delivery, or actual premature delivery are risk factors for cCMV infection among both women with normal pregnancies and those with high-risk ones, regardless of whether the infection is primary or nonprimary. This review focused on host immune responses to human CMV and current knowledge of potential biological and clinical factors that are predictive of cCMV infection.

scholarly journals Immune Responses against SARS-CoV-2—Questions and Experiences

Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1342
Author(s):  
Harald Mangge ◽  
Markus Kneihsl ◽  
Wolfgang Schnedl ◽  
Gerald Sendlhofer ◽  
Francesco Curcio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cell ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Neutralizing Antibodies ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Clinical Manifestations ◽  
Immune Reactivity ◽  
Fatigue Syndrome ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Systemic Symptoms

Understanding immune reactivity against SARS-CoV-2 is essential for coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. Herein, we discuss experiences and open questions about the complex immune responses to SARS-CoV-2. Some people react excellently without experiencing any clinical symptoms, they do not get sick, and they do not pass the virus on to anyone else (“sterilizing” immunity). Others produce antibodies and do not get COVID-19 but transmit the virus to others (“protective” immunity). Some people get sick but recover. A varying percentage develops respiratory failure, systemic symptoms, clotting disorders, cytokine storms, or multi-organ failure; they subsequently decease. Some develop long COVID, a new pathologic entity similar to fatigue syndrome or autoimmunity. In reality, COVID-19 is considered more of a systemic immune–vascular disease than a pulmonic disease, involving many tissues and the central nervous system. To fully comprehend the complex clinical manifestations, a profound understanding of the immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 is a good way to improve clinical management of COVID-19. Although neutralizing antibodies are an established approach to recognize an immune status, cellular immunity plays at least an equivalent or an even more important role. However, reliable methods to estimate the SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell capacity are not available for clinical routines. This deficit is important because an unknown percentage of people may exist with good memory T cell responsibility but a low number of or completely lacking peripheral antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Apart from natural immune responses, vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 turned out to be very effective and much safer than naturally acquired immunity. Nevertheless, besides unwanted side effects of the currently available vector and mRNA preparations, concerns remain whether these vaccines will be strong enough to defeat the pandemic. Altogether, herein we discuss important questions, and try to give answers based on the current knowledge and preliminary data from our laboratories.

scholarly journals Combined Gastric and Colorectal Cancer Screening—A New Strategy

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 3854 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Selgrad ◽  
Jan Bornschein ◽  
Arne Kandulski ◽  
Jochen Weigt ◽  
Albert Roessner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gastric Cancer ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Intestinal Metaplasia ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Screening Colonoscopy ◽  
Serum Pepsinogen ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Serological Screening ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
H Pylori

Background: Our aim was to evaluate the feasibility of a serological assessment of gastric cancer risk in patients undergoing colonoscopy in countries with low-to-moderate incidence rates. Methods: Serum samples were prospectively collected from 453 patients (>50 years old) undergoing colonoscopies. Of these, 279 (61.6%) also underwent gastroscopy to correlate the results for serum pepsinogen I and II (sPG-I and sPG-II), sPG-I/II ratio, and anti-H. pylori antibodies with gastric histopathology findings (graded according to the updated Sydney classification and the Operative Link of Gastritis Assessment (OLGA) and the Operative Link for Gastric Intestinal Metaplasia assessment (OLGIM) systems). Results: H. pylori was found in 85 patients (30.5%). Chronic atrophic gastritis was diagnosed in 89 (31.9%) patients. High-risk OLGA (III–IV) stages were present in 24 patients, and high-risk OLGIM stages were present in 14 patients. There was an inverse correlation of sPG-I with the degree of atrophy and intestinal metaplasia (IM), as well as with the respective OLGA (r = −0.425; p < 0.001) and OLGIM (r = −0.303; p < 0.001) stages. A pathological sPG-I result was associated with a relative risk (RR) of 12.2 (95% confidence interval: 6.29–23.54; p < 0.001) for gastric preneoplastic changes. Conclusions: The assessment of serum pepsinogen allows the identification of patients at increased risk of gastric cancer. A prevention strategy of combining a screening colonoscopy with a serological screening for preneoplastic gastric changes should be considered in the general population.

The Search for Biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease in Down Syndrome

2020 ◽  
Vol 125 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin L. Handen
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Amyloid Precursor Protein ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Chromosome 21 ◽  
Increased Risk

Abstract Adults with Down syndrome are at high risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD), with most individuals developing clinical dementia by their late 60s. This increased risk for AD has been attributed, at least in part, to triplication and overexpression of the gene for amyloid precursor protein (APP) on chromosome 21, leading to elevated levels of amyloid β peptides. This article offers a brief overview of our current knowledge of AD in the DS population. In addition, information on a NIA/NICHD-funded, multicenter longitudinal study of biomarkers of AD in adults with DS is provided.

scholarly journals Development and validation of a clinical risk score to predict the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection from administrative data: A population-based cohort study from Italy

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0237202
Author(s):  
Valentina Orlando ◽  
Federico Rea ◽  
Laura Savaré ◽  
Ilaria Guarino ◽  
Sara Mucherino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Kidney Diseases ◽  
Conditional Logistic Regression ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Infection Risk ◽  
Risk Of Infection ◽  
Clinical Predictors ◽  
Retrospective Case ◽  
Campania Region ◽  
Increased Risk

Background The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic spread rapidly worldwide increasing exponentially in Italy. To date, there is lack of studies describing clinical characteristics of the people at high risk of infection. Hence, we aimed (i) to identify clinical predictors of SARS-CoV-2 infection risk, (ii) to develop and validate a score predicting SARS-CoV-2 infection risk, and (iii) to compare it with unspecific scores. Methods Retrospective case-control study using administrative health-related database was carried out in Southern Italy (Campania region) among beneficiaries of Regional Health Service aged over than 30 years. For each person with SARS-CoV-2 confirmed infection (case), up to five controls were randomly matched for gender, age and municipality of residence. Odds ratios and 90% confidence intervals for associations between candidate predictors and risk of infection were estimated by means of conditional logistic regression. SARS-CoV-2 Infection Score (SIS) was developed by generating a total aggregate score obtained from assignment of a weight at each selected covariate using coefficients estimated from the model. Finally, the score was categorized by assigning increasing values from 1 to 4. Discriminant power was used to compare SIS performance with that of other comorbidity scores. Results Subjects suffering from diabetes, anaemias, Parkinson’s disease, mental disorders, cardiovascular and inflammatory bowel and kidney diseases showed increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Similar estimates were recorded for men and women and younger and older than 65 years. Fifteen conditions significantly contributed to the SIS. As SIS value increases, risk progressively increases, being odds of SARS-CoV-2 infection among people with the highest SIS value (SIS = 4) 1.74 times higher than those unaffected by any SIS contributing conditions (SIS = 1). Conclusion Conditions and diseases making people more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection were identified by the current study. Our results support decision-makers in identifying high-risk people and adopting of preventive measures to minimize the spread of further epidemic waves.

scholarly journals Potential Biomarkers for Predicting Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 3760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenji Tanimura ◽  
Hideto Yamada
Keyword(s):  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Invasive Procedure ◽  
Immunoglobulin M ◽  
Cmv Infection ◽  
Serological Screening ◽  
Congenital Cytomegalovirus ◽  
Neurological Outcomes ◽  
Congenital Cmv Infection ◽  
Congenital Cmv ◽  
Potential Biomarkers

Early diagnosis and treatment of infants with symptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection may improve neurological outcomes. For this reason, prenatal detection of newborns at high risk for congenital CMV infection is important. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for CMV DNA in the amniotic fluid is the gold standard for the diagnosis of intrauterine CMV infection; however, amniocentesis is an invasive procedure. Recently, we have found that the presence of CMV DNA in the maternal uterine cervical secretion is predictive of the occurrence of congenital CMV infection in CMV immunoglobulin M (IgM)-positive pregnant women. In contrast, we have suggested that maternal serological screening for primary CMV infection using CMV-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG), the IgG avidity index, or CMV-specific IgM overlooks a number of newborns with congenital CMV infection. We will review current knowledge of the potential biomarkers for predicting congenital CMV infection.

scholarly journals Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV): Infection, Immunological Response, and Vaccine Development

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayman Mubarak ◽  
Wael Alturaiki ◽  
Maged Gomaa Hemida
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Neutralizing Antibodies ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Immunological Response ◽  
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
World Health ◽  
Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 ◽  
Health Organization

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) first emerged in late 2012. Since its emergence, a total of 2279 patients from 27 countries have been infected across the globe according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report (Feb. 12th, 2019). Approximately 806 patients have died. The virus uses its spike proteins as adhesive factors that are proinflammatory for host entry through a specific receptor called dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4). This receptor is considered a key factor in the signaling and activation of the acquired and innate immune responses in infected patients. Using potent antigens in combination with strong adjuvants may effectively trigger the activation of specific MERS-CoV cellular responses as well as the production of neutralizing antibodies. Unfortunately, to date, there is no effective approved treatment or vaccine for MERS-CoV. Thus, there are urgent needs for the development of novel MERS-CoV therapies as well as vaccines to help minimize the spread of the virus from infected patients, thereby mitigating the risk of any potential pandemics. Our main goals are to highlight and describe the current knowledge of both the innate and adaptive immune responses to MERS-CoV and the current state of MERS-CoV vaccine development. We believe this study will increase our understanding of the mechanisms that enhance the MERS-CoV immune response and subsequently contribute to the control of MERS-CoV infections.

Contraception and thrombophilia

2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (02) ◽  
pp. 193-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Rott ◽  
A. Kruempel ◽  
G. Kappert ◽  
U. Nowak-Göttl ◽  
S. Halimeh
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Illness ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Hormonal Contraception ◽  
Hormonal Contraceptives ◽  
Thromboembolic Events ◽  
Contraceptive Methods ◽  
Secondary Complications ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Coagulation Proteins

SummaryThe risk of thromboembolic events (TE) is increased by acquired or inherited thrombo -philias (IT). We know that some hormonal contraceptives also increase the risk of thrombosis, thus, the use of such contraceptives are discussed as contraindications in women with IT. TEs are infrequent events in children and adolescents and in the majority of cases are associated with secondary complications from underlying chronic illness. Although adolescents are not typically considered to be at high-risk for TE, this cohort is frequently using hormonal contraception, leading to an increased risk in cases with unknown IT. The risk of TE with pregnancy alone is higher than associated with combined hormonal contra -ception. Progestin-only methods have not been found to increase the risk of TE with only moderate changes of coagulation proteins compared to normal reference values. Conclusion: Thrombophilic women are good candidates for progestin-only contraceptive methods.

Markers of Hypercoagulability in Patients with Hemophilia B Given Repeated, Large Doses of Factor IX Concentrates during and after Surgery

1994 ◽  
Vol 71 (06) ◽  
pp. 737-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Santagostino ◽  
P M Mannucci ◽  
A Gringeri ◽  
G Tagariello ◽  
F Baudo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Factor Ix ◽  
Hemophilia B ◽  
Coagulation System ◽  
Prolonged Treatment ◽  
Orthopedic Procedures ◽  
Factor X ◽  
Prothrombin Complex Concentrates ◽  
Increased Risk

SummaryPurer factor IX (FIX) concentrates have been produced for the treatment of hemophilia B in the attempt to reduce the risk of thrombotic complications associated with the use of prothrombin complex concentrates. To evaluate ex vivo whether or not FIX concentrates activate the coagulation system in conditions associated with a high risk for thrombosis, we measured markers of hypercoagulability in 10 patients with hemophilia B who underwent surgery, mainly orthopedic procedures, covered by multiple concentrate infusions (40-80 U/kg/day). Postinfusion plasma levels of prothrombin fragment 1+2 and factor X activation peptide did not differ significantly from the presurgical levels, neither before nor after each concentrate dose. Therefore, it appears that prolonged treatment of patients with hemophilia B undergoing high risk surgical procedures with high doses of FIX concentrate does not cause systemic activation of coagulation. This suggests that purified FIX concentrates are preferable to prothrombin complex concentrates for conditions associated with an increased risk of thrombosis.

scholarly journals Epilepsy in Down Syndrome: A Highly Prevalent Comorbidity

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (13) ◽  
pp. 2776
Author(s):  
Miren Altuna ◽  
Sandra Giménez ◽  
Juan Fortea
Keyword(s):  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Functional Outcomes ◽  
Clinical Presentation ◽  
Late Onset ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Epileptic Seizures ◽  
Myoclonic Epilepsy ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Number Of Individuals

Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) have an increased risk for epilepsy during the whole lifespan, but especially after age 40 years. The increase in the number of individuals with DS living into late middle age due to improved health care is resulting in an increase in epilepsy prevalence in this population. However, these epileptic seizures are probably underdiagnosed and inadequately treated. This late onset epilepsy is linked to the development of symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which is the main comorbidity in adults with DS with a cumulative incidence of more than 90% of adults by the seventh decade. More than 50% of patients with DS and AD dementia will most likely develop epilepsy, which in this context has a specific clinical presentation in the form of generalized myoclonic epilepsy. This epilepsy, named late onset myoclonic epilepsy (LOMEDS) affects the quality of life, might be associated with worse cognitive and functional outcomes in patients with AD dementia and has an impact on mortality. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge about the clinical and electrophysiological characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of epileptic seizures in the DS population, with a special emphasis on LOMEDS. Raised awareness and a better understanding of epilepsy in DS from families, caregivers and clinicians could enable earlier diagnoses and better treatments for individuals with DS.

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