Temporal Dynamics of Plasma Neurofilament Light in Blood Donors With Preclinical Multiple Sclerosis.

Background And Objectives: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a CNS disease, characterized by demyelination, inflammation, and neurodegeneration. Recent advances in technology allow measurement of the axonal damage marker neurofilament light chain in peripheral blood. Two studies have shown that patients with MS have elevated neurofilament light levels before their first symptom, but longitudinal studies are lacking.

A partial loss-of-function variant in STAT6 protects against type 2 asthma.

Background: Signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) is central to type 2 (T2) inflammation, and common noncoding variants at the STAT6 locus associate with various T2 inflammatory traits, including diseases, and its pathway is widely targeted in asthma treatment.

Objective: We sought to test the association of a rare missense variant in STAT6, p.L406P, with T2 inflammatory traits, including the risk of asthma and allergic diseases, and to characterize its functional consequences in cell culture.

A serosurvey examining exposure to and tick-borne encephalitis virus in Danish blood donors, August 2022.

Objectives: (Bbsl) and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) are tick-borne pathogens. This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of these pathogens in Danish blood donors.

Methods: A total of 1000 plasma samples equally distributed (n = 200) from all five Danish regions were analyzed.

Integrative common and rare variant analyses provide insights into the genetic architecture of liver cirrhosis.

We report a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study on liver cirrhosis and its associated endophenotypes, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and γ-glutamyl transferase. Using data from 12 cohorts, including 18,265 cases with cirrhosis, 1,782,047 controls, up to 1 million individuals with liver function tests and a validation cohort of 21,689 cases and 617,729 controls, we identify and validate 14 risk associations for cirrhosis. Many variants are located near genes involved in hepatic lipid metabolism.

Pregnancy-Associated Bleeding and Genetics: Five Sequence Variants in the Myometrium and Progesterone Signaling Pathway are associated with postpartum hemorrhage.

Bleeding in early pregnancy and postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) bear substantial risks, with the former closely associated with pregnancy loss and the latter being the foremost cause of maternal death, underscoring the severity of these complications in maternal-fetal health. Here, we investigated the genetic variation underlying aspects of pregnancy-associated bleeding and identified five loci associated with PPH through a meta-analysis of 21,512 cases and 259,500 controls. Functional annotation analysis indicated candidate genes, , , and / at three loci and showed that at each locus, associated variants were located within binding sites for progesterone receptors (PGR).

A randomized placebo-controlled trial of convalescent plasma for adults hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Passive immunotherapy with convalescent plasma may be the only available agent during the early phases of a pandemic. Here, we report safety and efficacy of high-titer convalescent plasma for COVID-19 pneumonia. Double-blinded randomized multicenter placebo-controlled trial of adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Optimization and evaluation of a live virus SARS-CoV-2 neutralization assay.

Virus neutralization assays provide a means to quantitate functional antibody responses that block virus infection. These assays are instrumental in defining vaccine and therapeutic antibody potency, immune evasion by viral variants, and post-infection immunity. Here we describe the development, optimization and evaluation of a live virus microneutralization assay specific for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Estimation of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Fatality Rate by Real-time Antibody Screening of Blood Donors.

Background: The pandemic due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has tremendous consequences for our societies. Knowledge of the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 is needed to accurately monitor the spread of the epidemic and to calculate the infection fatality rate (IFR). These measures may help the authorities make informed decisions and adjust the current societal interventions.

Low transfusion transmission of hepatitis E among 25,637 single-donation, nucleic acid-tested blood donors.

Background: Hepatitis E virus genotype-3 (HEV-gt-3) causes autochthonous infections in western countries, with a primary reservoir in animals, especially pigs. HEV transfusion transmission has been reported, and HEV-gt-3 prevalence is high in some European countries. The prevalence of HEV RNA was investigated among Danish blood donors, and the prevalence of HEV transfusion-transmitted infection (TTI) was investigated among recipients.