Antigenicity and immunogenicity of different morphological forms of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato spirochetes.

Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato is a species complex of pleomorphic spirochetes, including species that cause Lyme disease (LD) in humans. In addition to classic spiral forms, these bacteria are capable of creating morphological forms referred to as round bodies and aggregates. The subject of discussion is their possible contribution to the persistence of infection or post-infection symptoms in LD.

Myositis Autoantibodies in Patients with Suspected Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome.

Most patients suffering from Lyme disease are effectively treated with antibiotics. In some patients, however, problems persist for a long time despite appropriate therapy. The term post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS) is currently used for this condition in scientific literature.

Risk Factors for Severe COVID-19 and Hospital Admission in Patients With Inborn Errors of Immunity - Results From a Multicenter Nationwide Study.

Despite the progress in the understanding how COVID-19 infection may impact immunocompromised patients, the data on inborn errors of immunity (IEI) remain limited and ambiguous. Therefore, we examined the risk of severe infection course and hospital admission in a large cohort of patients with IEI. In this multicenter nationwide retrospective survey-based trial, the demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected by investigating physicians from 8 national referral centers for the diagnosis and treatment of IEI using a COVID-19-IEI clinical questionnaire.

Seroprevalence of Antibodies against Tick-Borne Pathogens in Czech Patients with Suspected Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome.

The hypothesized importance of coinfections in the pathogenesis of post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS) leads to the use of combined, ongoing antimicrobial treatment in many cases despite the absence of symptoms typical of the presence of infection with specific pathogens. Serum samples from 103 patients with suspected post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome were tested for the presence of antibodies to the major tick-borne pathogens , /, and . Although the presence of anti- antibodies was detected in 12.

The effect of omalizumab treatment on severe allergic asthma and allergic comorbidities: real-life experience from the Czech Anti-IgE Registry.

Introduction: Omalizumab is indicated for the treatment of severe allergic asthma (SAA) and chronic spontaneous urticaria, although a number of studies have confirmed the effectiveness of this therapy also for other IgE-mediated diseases.

Aim: To assess the impact of anti-IgE therapy on SAA and comorbid IgE-mediated allergic diseases in patients treated with omalizumab for SAA enrolled in the CAR (Czech Anti-IgE Registry).

Material And Methods: Three hundred and ten patients with SAA treated with omalizumab were enrolled in the CAR.

[Utility of Pneumonia Severity Index in hospitalized patients with pneumonia in intensive respiratory care units].

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) for prediction of 30-day mortality in patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). In patients with CAP, comorbidities, complications, and physical, laboratory, radiological and microbiological findings were evaluated relative to their prognosis.

Patient And Methods: In the study, 197 patients with CAP, hospitalised at ICU of Department of Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital Olomouc between 2008 and 2012, were enrolled.

Case of accelerated silicosis in a sandblaster.

Sandblasting is traditionally known as a high-risk profession for potential development of lung silicosis. Reported is a case of a sandblaster with confirmed accelerated silicosis, a condition rather rarely diagnosed in the Czech Republic. Initially, the patient presented with progressive dry cough and exertional dyspnoea.

The MCP-1-2518 (A to G) single nucleotide polymorphism in Czech patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis: association with Löfgren's syndrome.

Background And Aim: The chemokine Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein (MCP)-1/CCL2, a chemoattractant for mononuclear cells, has already been implicated in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located at the position -2518 (A to G) of the MCP-1 gene has been reported to alter production of the MCP-1 protein in vitro and ex vivo. The present study, therefore, explored a possible association between MCP-1-2518 SNP and pulmonary sarcoidosis including its clinical subtypes, especially Löfgren's syndrome (LS).

Protein profiles of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis.

Background: Pulmonary sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disease with various clinical phenotypes. So far, there has been little information on protein patterns (PPs) of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from patients with sarcoidosis and no data are available on PPs in clinical disease subtypes.

Objectives: To investigate the PP of BALF from patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, to evaluate whether PPs reflect disease course as assessed by chest X-ray (CXR), and to compare PPs between patients with/without Löfgren's syndrome.

Interleukin 1alpha single-nucleotide polymorphism associated with systemic sclerosis.

Objective: In systemic sclerosis (SSc), constitutive expression of the proinflammatory and fibrogenic cytokine interleukin 1alpha (IL-1alpha) by dermal fibroblasts from the affected skin has been observed. We investigated the association of a single-nucleotide polymorphism at position -889 in the IL-1alpha gene in patients with SSc.

Methods: Genotyping of IL-1alpha-889 polymorphism was performed in 46 patients with SSc and in 150 healthy controls by polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers.

Interleukin-1 gene cluster polymorphisms in sarcoidosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Members of the interleukin-1 (IL-1) family are implicated in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We have, therefore, performed a case-control study to investigate a plausible association between sarcoidosis and the polymorphisms in the IL-1alpha, IL-1beta, and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) genes. Further, as a separate question, we explored whether the aforementioned genes of the IL-1 cluster are associated with IPF.