Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype distribution in Bangladeshi under-fives with community-acquired pneumonia pre-10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination.

Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most frequent causative pathogen of bacterial pneumonia in children worldwide. Bangladesh introduced the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) in their national immunization program for infants in 2015. We assessed its potential coverage in under-fives with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in the years before PCV10 was introduced.

Autoimmune Encephalitis and Paraneoplastic Neurologic Syndromes: A Nationwide Study on Epidemiology and Antibody Testing Performance.

Background And Objectives: Autoimmune encephalitis (AIE) and paraneoplastic neurologic syndromes (PNSs) encompass a heterogeneous group of antibody-associated disorders. Both the number of syndromes and commercially available antibody tests have increased considerably over the past decade. High-quality population-based data on epidemiology of these disorders and real-world performance of antibody tests are needed.

Prevalence and clinical associations of myositis antibodies in a large cohort of interstitial lung diseases.

Background: Serologic testing for autoantibodies is recommended in interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), as connective tissue diseases (CTDs) are an important secondary cause. Myositis antibodies are associated with CTD-ILD, but clinical associations with other ILDs are unclear. In this study, associations of myositis antibodies in various ILDs were evaluated.

Immunogenicity of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine followed by the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in people living with HIV on combination antiretroviral therapy.

People living with HIV (PLWH) are at increased risk of pneumococcal infections compared with the general population. The objective of this study was to investigate the immunogenicity of the combined pneumococcal vaccination schedule in PLWH. In this prospective cohort study, adult PLWH on antiretroviral therapy and HIV-negative controls received the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) at baseline followed by the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) at Month 2.

Immunogenicity of the 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV13) Followed by the 23-Valent Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine (PPSV23) in Adults with and without Immunosuppressive Therapy.

Immunosuppressive therapy increases the risk of pneumococcal disease. This risk can be mitigated by pneumococcal vaccination. The objective of this study was to investigate the immunogenicity of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13), followed by the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23), in adults with and without immunosuppressive therapy.

Immunogenicity of a 5-dose pneumococcal vaccination schedule following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

The optimal schedule of pneumococcal vaccination after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) remains controversial. The objective of this study was to investigate the immunogenicity of a 5-dose pneumococcal vaccination schedule in adult allo-HSCT recipients with and without immunosuppressive therapy. In this prospective cohort study, allo-HSCT recipients received four doses of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) and one dose of the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) starting 4-6 months after allo-HSCT.

A functional spleen contributes to afucosylated IgG in humans.

As a lymphoid organ, the spleen hosts a wide range of immune cell populations, which not only remove blood-borne antigens, but also generate and regulate antigen-specific immune responses. In particular, the splenic microenvironment has been demonstrated to play a prominent role in adaptive immune responses to enveloped viral infections and alloantigens. During both types of immunizations, antigen-specific immunoglobulins G (IgGs) have been characterized by the reduced amount of fucose present on N-linked glycans of the fragment crystallizable (Fc) region.

Detection of in granulomas of patients with either hypersensitivity pneumonitis or vasculitis reveals that its presence is not unique for sarcoidosis.

https://bit.ly/3pU0PeC.

Elevated Serum Amyloid a Levels Are not Specific for Sarcoidosis but Associate with a Fibrotic Pulmonary Phenotype.

Elevated Serum Amyloid A (SAA) levels have been found in several inflammatory diseases, including sarcoidosis. SAA is suggested to be involved in sarcoidosis pathogenesis by involvement in granuloma formation and maintenance. We hypothesized that SAA serum levels would be higher in sarcoidosis compared to other non-infectious granulomatous and non-granulomatous diseases.

Latent tuberculosis infection associates with cardiac involvement in patients with sarcoidosis.

Background: Sarcoidosis is a systemic disease characterized by formation of non-caseating granulomas. About 5% of patients have symptoms of cardiac sarcoidosis. Identification of cardiac involvement is important since it is a major cause of death.

Prevalence of Novel Myositis Autoantibodies in a Large Cohort of Patients with Interstitial Lung Disease.

Connective tissue diseases (CTDs) are an important secondary cause of interstitial lung disease (ILD). If a CTD is suspected, clinicians are recommended to perform autoantibody testing, including for myositis autoantibodies. In this study, the prevalence and clinical associations of novel myositis autoantibodies in ILD are presented.

Altered splenic [Zr]Zr-rituximab uptake in patients with interstitial lung disease not responding to rituximab: could this indicate a splenic immune-mediated mechanism?

Rituximab (RTX) for immune-mediated inflammatory disease (IMID) with interstitial pneumonitis (IP) results in non-response in about a third of patients for reasons not well understood. Complete peripheral B-cell depletion in IMID-IP does not seem to correlate with successful treatment outcome. A hypothesis is that splenic B cells might play a role in B-cell recovery and attraction of naïve B cells in non-responsive patients.

Frequencies and clinical associations of myositis-related antibodies in The Netherlands: A one-year survey of all Dutch patients.

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) are a heterogeneous group of connective tissue diseases, collectively known as myositis. Diagnosis of IIM is challenging while timely recognition of an IIM is of utter importance considering treatment options and otherwise irreversible (severe) long-term clinical complications. With the EULAR/ACR classification criteria (2017) considerable advancement has been made in the diagnostic workup of IIM.

Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccination Followed by Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccination in Lung Transplant Candidates and Recipients.

Background: Pneumococcal conjugate vaccination as well as pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination are recommended for lung transplant candidates and recipients, but the combination of these vaccines has not been extensively studied in these specific populations.

Methods: Lung transplant candidates and recipients were vaccinated with a 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, followed 8 weeks later by a pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine. Pneumococcal antibody levels against 13 pneumococcal serotypes were measured and followed up after 1 year in the transplant recipients.

Randomised, placebo-controlled trial of dexamethasone for quality of life in pulmonary sarcoidosis.

Background: Many patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis experience reduced quality of life. Although oral corticosteroids are the most common agents used in sarcoidosis, very little is known on the effects on quality of life.

Methods: In this double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, newly diagnosed patients without an indication for high dose immunosuppressive therapy were randomised to once-daily dexamethasone 1 mg (6.

Lung Transplant Patients Show a Dissimilar Peripheral B-Cell Subset Ratio Compared With Healthy Controls.

Objectives: Lung transplant is a last treatment option for patients with end-stage pulmonary disease. Chronic lung allograft dysfunction, which generally manifests as bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome, is a major long-term survival limitation. Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome is diagnosed when forced expiratory volume in 1 second declines > 20% in the absence of known causes.

The Haywain: Anti-synthetase Antibodies in Patients with Inflammatory Diseases: Targeting Monocytes or Neutrophils?

Autoantibiodies against aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are found in patients suffering from a wide range of autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. Recent data indicate that these antibodies are directed against splice-variants of synthetase genes, the so-called catalytic nulls. Latter molecules have cytokine-like functions and are involved in the regulation of the activation of lymphocytes, monocytes and granulocytes.

Multilaboratory Comparison of Pneumococcal Multiplex Immunoassays Used in Immunosurveillance of Streptococcus pneumoniae across Europe.

Surveillance studies are required to estimate the impact of pneumococcal vaccination in both children and the elderly across Europe. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends use of enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) as standard methods for immune surveillance of pneumococcal antibodies. However, as levels of antibodies to multiple serotypes are monitored in thousands of samples, a need for a less laborious and more flexible method has evolved.

Sarcoidosis in a patient clinically diagnosed with silicosis; is silica associated sarcoidosis a new phenotype?

A diagnosis of silicosis is made on the basis of exposure and typical radiological findings, according to the ILO's International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconiosis. Radiological patterns of silicosis can, however, resemble sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis is a multi-systemic disorder of unknown etiology, although a role for initiating inorganic triggers such as metals or silica has been suggested.

Prospective Study of Drug-induced Interstitial Lung Disease in Advanced Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Everolimus Plus Exemestane.

Background: Everolimus-related interstitial lung disease (ILD) (also: pneumonitis) poses a difficulty for physicians, as it is hard to discriminate ILD from other causes of respiratory symptoms and to decide on safe treatment continuation.

Objective: We investigated the capability of pulmonary function tests (PFT), plasma biomarkers, everolimus pharmacokinetics, and FDG-PET to discriminate between everolimus-related ILD and other causes of respiratory problems and to predict the severity of ILD.

Patients And Methods: Women starting treatment with everolimus plus exemestane for advanced breast cancer were included.

Immunogenicity of the Currently Recommended Pneumococcal Vaccination Schedule in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at increased risk of invasive pneumococcal infections. Therefore, vaccination with the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) followed by 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) 2 months later is recommended. However, the level of immunogenicity induced by this vaccination schedule in IBD patients with and without immunosuppressive medication remains unclear.

Long-term pneumococcal vaccine immunogenicity following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae is a life-threatening, but vaccine preventable complication in patients with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). The international consensus on post allo-HSCT immunization schedules, starting 3-6 months after HSCT, focuses on short-term immunogenicity while long-term immunogenicity is not well characterized. The current Dutch immunization schedule, which starts at 12 months post allo-HSCT, was developed as a result of concerns on the coverage of long-term immunogenicity in international guidelines.

Rheumatoid factor isotype and Ro epitope distribution in primary Sjögren syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis with keratoconjunctivitis sicca.

Primary Sjögren syndrome (pS) is associated with autoantibodies such as rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-nuclear antibodies such as anti-Ro (SS-A) and/or La (SS-B). Recent developments within autoimmune diagnostics allow quantitation of RF subclasses and anti-Ro epitopes. Will this refinement by autoimmune diagnostics help predicting development of extraglandular manifestations (EGM) in pS patients? A cohort of pS and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with keratoconjunctivitis sicca (n = 35 and 16, resp) was included.