Booster Dose of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine in Kidney Transplanted Patients Induces Wuhan-Hu-1 Specific Neutralizing Antibodies and T Cell Activation but Lower Response against Omicron Variant.

Kidney transplanted recipients (KTR) are at high risk of severe SARS-CoV-2 infection due to immunosuppressive therapy. Although several studies reported antibody production in KTR after vaccination, data related to immunity to the Omicron (B.1.

Episodic Angioedema with Hypereosinophilia (Gleich's Syndrome): A Case Report and Extensive Review of the Literature.

Episodic angioedema with eosinophilia (EAE) (Gleich's syndrome) is a rare disease characterized by hypereosinophilia (up to 95 × 10 cells/L), recurrent episodes of angioedema, urticaria, weight gain, and fever, that occur at periodical intervals (usually every 3-4 weeks). The exact etiology of EAE is still unclear, but both eosinophils and abnormalities of cytokines homeostasis seem to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of the disease. In particular, the cyclic elevation of serum interleukin-5 before the increase in eosinophil count has been reported.

Uncommon immune-mediated extrahepatic manifestations of HCV infection.

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been associated with myriad extrahepatic manifestations, often resulting from aberrant immune responses. Among the most common immune-mediated manifestations of HCV infection, mixed cryoglobulinemia is the best known extra-hepatic complication. Areas covered: Here we review less common extrahepatic manifestations of HCV infection, with ascertained or presumed immune pathogenesis and the role of the new all oral direct-acting antiviral agents.

Telehealth provides a comprehensive approach to the surgical patient.

Background: This study describes telehealth use within the Department of Surgery in a large urban academic medical center and its role in diverse surgical patients.

Methods: We performed a retrospective descriptive study of video telehealth visits conducted by an academic urban surgery department from February 2017 to November 2017. We report our experience in accordance with the National Quality Forum recommended domains of access, experience and effectiveness.

Tocilizumab reduces complement C3 and C4 serum levels in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Tocilizumab, an anti-interleukin-6 receptor monoclonal antibody, is known to be able to rapidly reduce acute phase reactants. Although complement components are part of the acute phase, no data are available on a possible effect of tocilizumab on complement proteins. Serum levels of complement components C3 and C4 were retrospectively assessed in 19 consecutive rheumatoid arthritis patients eligible for tocilizumab treatment.

Atrial fibrillation following therapy with high-dose i.v. methylprednisolone: A brief case-based review.

Atrial fibrillation following high-dose i.v. steroids for treatment of severe immune-mediated diseases has been rarely reported in the literature.

Repertoire of gluten peptides active in celiac disease patients: perspectives for translational therapeutic applications.

Celiac disease is a common and lifelong food intolerance, affecting approximately 1% of the population. Because of a mechanism not completely understood, the ingestion of wheat gluten, and of homologue proteins of barley and rye, induces in genetically predisposed individuals pronounced inflammatory reactions mainly at the site of small intestine. Gluten, the triggering factor, is a complex protein mixture highly resistant to the gastrointestinal enzymatic proteolysis, and this results in the presence of large, and potentially immunogenic, peptides at the intestinal mucosa surface.

Peripheral blood immune response elicited by beta-lactoglobulin in childhood cow's milk allergy.

Several studies analyzing the immune responses in patients with cow's milk allergy (CMA) have used T-cell lines or T-cell clones that require prolonged in vitro cell culturing and may result in a switched cell phenotype and function. We investigated immune responses to beta-lactoglobulin (b-LG) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells after a short in vitro antigen stimulation in children with acute CMA (both IgE-mediated and non-IgE-mediated forms) and in those who outgrew an IgE-mediated CMA. Healthy controls were also investigated.