Publications by authors named "Christian Kempf"

Nosocomial coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a major airborne health threat for inpatients. Architecture and ventilation are key elements to prevent nosocomial COVID-19 (NC), but real-life data are challenging to collect. We aimed to retrospectively assess the impact of the type of ventilation and the ratio of single/double rooms on the risk of NC (acquisition of COVID-19 at least 48 h after admission).

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Thromboembolic events, including ischemic stroke, are major complications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The clinical characteristics of COVID-19-related stroke are not clearly defined, and few controlled studies assessed the underlying mechanisms of cerebrovascular complications of COVID-19. This single-center retrospective observational study compared stroke characteristics between patients with and without COVID-19.

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Background: Real-world comparisons of biologic treatment outcomes for ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD) patients are limited. We sought to evaluate the real-world effectiveness of vedolizumab (VDZ) and anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNFα) in UC and CD patients in Germany.

Methods: A retrospective chart review (15 sites) investigated UC and CD patients who were biologic-treatment naïve (biologic-naïve) or had received no more than one prior anti-TNFα before initiating treatment with VDZ or anti-TNFα between 15 July 2014 and 20 October 2015.

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Background And Aims: Extraintestinal manifestations [EIMs] such as arthritis/arthralgia are common in inflammatory bowel disease. We performed post hoc analyses of data from the GEMINI studies to evaluate the effect of vedolizumab, a gut-selective anti-trafficking agent, on arthritis/arthralgia.

Methods: Sustained resolution of baseline arthritis/arthralgia, worsening of baseline arthritis/arthralgia, the occurrence of new arthritis/arthralgia, and the composite of new/worsening arthritis/arthralgia were evaluated.

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Objective: To characterize the brain-infiltrating immune cell repertoire in Rasmussen encephalitis (RE) with special focus on the subsets, clonality, and their cytokine profile.

Methods: The immune cell infiltrate of freshly isolated brain tissue from RE was phenotypically and functionally characterized using immunohistology, flow cytometry, and T-cell receptor (TCR) deep sequencing. Identification of clonally expanded T-cell clones (TCCs) was achieved by combining flow cytometry sorting of CD4 and CD8 T cells and high-throughput TCR Vβ-chain sequencing.

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Introduction: Hypertension, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), is frequently associated with other CVD risk factors. Despite recent improvement in blood pressure (BP) control in Europe, a substantial proportion of patients fail to achieve BP targets.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used longitudinal patient databases (LPDs) in France and Italy to examine CVD risk profiles, treatment patterns, and BP goal attainment in hypertensive patients treated in real-world clinical practice between 2007 and 2008.

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Objective: Symptomatic infections of the central nervous system (CNS) with JC polyomavirus (JCV) usually occur as a result of immunocompromise and manifest as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) or granule cell neuronopathy (GCN). After immune reconstitution, some of these cases may show long-term persistence of JCV and delayed clinical improvement despite inflammation.

Methods: We followed 4 patients with multiple sclerosis, who developed natalizumab-associated PML or GCN with regard to JC viral load and JCV-specific T-cell responses in the CNS.

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Background & Aims: Recent studies have suggested that the gut microflora has metabolic effects. We aimed to evaluate postnatal growth in preterm infants who received different probiotic supplements, and to assess the safety of probiotic administration.

Methods: This prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial was performed at three tertiary care neonatal units.

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Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) involves uncommon, severe complications following the transplantation of solid organs, bone marrow and stem cells. Despite comprising mainly lymphoid proliferations that are predominantly driven by lymphotropic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections, PTLD often displays substantial morphologic heterogeneity that can pose diagnostic challenges. With the steady increase in transplantations accompanied by potent immunosuppressive therapy, it is important to heighten awareness of this entity among clinicians and pathologists.

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Objective: The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of Bifidobacterium animalis subspecies lactis (B lactis) alone or with 90% galacto-oligosaccharide (GOS) and 10% fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS) on infections in infants.

Methods: In a multicenter trial, healthy, term, newborn infants ages 42 days or younger whose mothers had decided not to breast-feed beyond this age received infant and follow-on formulas containing B lactis (10 colony-forming units/g) + GOS/FOS (0.4 g/100 mL, intention-to-treat, n = 261) or B lactis alone (10⁷ colony-forming units/g, intention-to-treat, n = 267).

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Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy is the most common clinical presentation of JC virus (JCV)-associated central nervous system (CNS) disease and has emerged as a major safety concern in multiple sclerosis patients treated with the monoclonal antibody natalizumab. Here we report clinical, radiological, and histological findings of a case of cerebellar granule cell neuronopathy (GCN), a JCV-associated CNS disease, so far unreported amongst patients treated with natalizumab. GCN should be considered as a JCV CNS manifestation in patients with newly developed, progressive cerebellar signs under natalizumab treatment, especially in cases where cerebellar atrophy can be visualized by magnetic resonance imaging.

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The calyx of Held, a large glutamatergic terminal in the mammalian auditory brainstem has been extensively employed to study presynaptic structure and function in the central nervous system. Nevertheless, the nanoarchitecture of presynaptic proteins and subcellular components in the calyx terminal and its relation to functional properties of synaptic transmission is only poorly understood. Here, we use stimulated emission depletion (STED) nanoscopy of calyces in thin sections of aldehyde-fixed rat brain tissue to visualize immuno-labeled synaptic proteins including VGluT1, synaptophysin, Rab3A and synapsin with a lateral resolution of approximately 40 nm.

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Presynaptic nerve terminals contain scaffolding proteins that orchestrate neurotransmitter release at active zones. Here we describe mover, a yet unknown non-transmembrane protein that is targeted to presynaptic terminals when overexpressed in cultured neurons. Confocal immunomicroscopy revealed that mover colocalizes with presynaptic markers in the calyx of Held.

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Objective: Excess protein in infant formula may lead to renal overload and play a role in later obesity. The objective of this controlled, prospective, randomized, double-blind study was to assess the suitability and safety of a modified protein content infant formula and its noninferiority as compared to a conventional formula.

Patients And Methods: Healthy term infants age < 7 days were either breast-fed or randomized to be fed exclusively with a conventional casein-predominant formula (protein/energy ratio: 2.

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Activity deprivation in neurons induces a slow compensatory scaling up of synaptic strength, reflecting a homeostatic mechanism for stabilizing neuronal activity. Prior studies have focused on the loss of action potential (AP) driven neurotransmission in synaptic homeostasis. Here, we show that the miniature synaptic transmission that persists during AP blockade profoundly shapes the time course and mechanism of homeostatic scaling.

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Objective: To assess the interest of a personal digital assistant (PDA) when used as data collector in a prospective survey on pain in general practice.

Methods: Prospective, multicentre and national survey concerning the identification of 4g/24h paracetamol prescription conditions as well as the characterization of the pain justifying it. Data were collected with a dedicated PDA including an electronic visual analogue scale (VAS).

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