Skeletal involvement in Erdheim-Chester disease: Multimodality imaging features and association with the BRAF mutation.

Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize the distribution of skeletal involvement in Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) by using radiography, computed tomography (CT), F-FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), and bone scans, as well as looking for associations with the BRAF mutation.

Material And Methods: Prospective study of 50 consecutive patients with biopsy-confirmed ECD who had radiographs, CT, F-FDG PET/CT, and Tc-99m MDP bone scans. At least two experienced radiologists with expertise in the relevant imaging studies analyzed the images.

Immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a prototype pneumococcal bioconjugate vaccine.

Capsular polysaccharides (CPSs), with which most pathogenic bacterial surfaces are decorated, have been used as the main components of glycoconjugate vaccines against bacterial diseases in clinical practice worldwide. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) are administered globally to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). While PCVs have played important roles in controlling IPD in all age groups, their empirical, and labor-intensive chemical conjugation yield poorly characterized, heterogeneous, and variably immunogenic vaccines, with poor immune responses in high-risk populations such as the elderly and patients with weak immune systems.

Modulation of immunosuppressant drug treatment to improve SARS-CoV-2 vaccine efficacy in mice.

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically demonstrated the need for improved vaccination strategies and therapeutic responses to combat infectious diseases. However, the efficacy of vaccines has not yet been demonstrated in combination with commonly used immunosuppressive drug regimens. We sought to determine how common pharmaceutical drugs used in autoimmune disorders can alter immune responses to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein vaccination.

Harnessing galactose oxidase in the development of a chemoenzymatic platform for glycoconjugate vaccine design.

In the preparation of commercial conjugate vaccines, capsular polysaccharides (CPSs) must undergo chemical modification to generate the reactive groups necessary for covalent attachment to a protein carrier. One of the most common approaches employed for this derivatization is sodium periodate (NaIO) oxidation of vicinal diols found within CPS structures. This procedure is largely random and structurally damaging, potentially resulting in significant changes in the CPS structure and therefore its antigenicity.

A retrospective longitudinal study and comprehensive review of adult patients with glycogen storage disease type III.

Introduction: A deficiency of glycogen debrancher enzyme in patients with glycogen storage disease type III (GSD III) manifests with hepatic, cardiac, and muscle involvement in the most common subtype (type a), or with only hepatic involvement in patients with GSD IIIb.

Objective And Methods: To describe longitudinal biochemical, radiological, muscle strength and ambulation, liver histopathological findings, and clinical outcomes in adults (≥18 years) with glycogen storage disease type III, by a retrospective review of medical records.

Results: Twenty-one adults with GSD IIIa (14 F & 7 M) and four with GSD IIIb (1 F & 3 M) were included in this natural history study.