Cytokine signature in convalescent SARS-CoV-2 patients with inflammatory bowel disease receiving vedolizumab.

While differential antibody responses SARS-CoV-2 in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) receiving infliximab and vedolizumab are well-characterized, the immune pathways underlying these differences remain unknown. Prior to COVID-19 vaccine development, we screened 235 patients with IBD receiving biological therapy for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and measured serum cytokines. In seropositive patients, we prospectively collected clinical data.

Scanning Super/Ultrapulsed CO Laser Efficacy in Laryngeal Malignant Lesions.

The authors review their experience in transoral laryngeal microsurgery (TLM) that they performed with two different CO laser devices from the same company, which were both equipped with a micromanipulator and digital scanner. A total of 91 glottic and glotto-supraglottic cancers were treated during the years 2009-2016 and then analyzed in relation to the laser performances and the long-term oncologic results. Laser devices proved to be very efficient and the UP mode was confirmed to be the best in terms of cutting precision and lowest thermal damage.

Close and positive margins in non-melanoma skin malignancies of the head and neck. What to do in patients over 75 years of age? A preliminary study.

Background: The incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) of the head and neck is increasing among older adults where it is credited to have a poorer prognosis also because the radicality of the surgery is often missed for a too conservative approach. An assessment of the amount of tumor regrowth and its prognostic consequences, in patients with surgical margins close or involved and older than 75 years, seems thus worth to be pursued in order to provide the best therapeutic strategy.

Methods: 91 cases of basal cell carcinomas (BBC) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), in patients older than 75 years of age, were followed from a minimum of one year to up to ten years.

Self-Renewal and Toll-like Receptor Signaling Sustain Exhausted Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells during Chronic Viral Infection.

Although characterization of T cell exhaustion has unlocked powerful immunotherapies, the mechanisms sustaining adaptations of short-lived innate cells to chronic inflammatory settings remain unknown. During murine chronic viral infection, we found that concerted events in bone marrow and spleen mediated by type I interferon (IFN-I) and Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) maintained a pool of functionally exhausted plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs). In the bone marrow, IFN-I compromised the number and the developmental capacity of pDC progenitors, which generated dysfunctional pDCs.

Interleukin-27R Signaling Mediates Early Viral Containment and Impacts Innate and Adaptive Immunity after Chronic Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus Infection.

Chronic viral infections represent a major challenge to the host immune response, and a unique network of immunological elements, including cytokines, are required for their containment. By using a model persistent infection with the natural murine pathogen lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus clone 13 (LCMV Cl13) we investigated the role of one such cytokine, interleukin-27 (IL-27), in the control of chronic infection. We found that IL-27 receptor (IL-27R) signaling promoted control of LCMV Cl13 as early as days 1 and 5 after infection and that transcripts were rapidly elevated in multiple subsets of dendritic cells (DCs) and myeloid cells.

Current usefulness of aspiration cytology (FNAC) in the head and neck diagnosis.

Background: Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) is a well established and widely used method for both a preliminary and sometime final non-invasive pathologic diagnosis. FNAC is a simple and inexpensive diagnostic tool and should represent the standard of care in developing and resource-poor countries while maintaining its diagnostic usefulness in developed and advanced ones.

Methods: The concordance between preoperative FNAC and final histology was evaluated in 168 patients operated on at the Otorhinolaryngology Unit, "A.

Src family kinases Fyn and Lyn are constitutively activated and mediate plasmacytoid dendritic cell responses.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) are type I interferon-producing cells with critical functions in a number of human illnesses; however, their molecular regulation is incompletely understood. Here we show the role of Src family kinases (SFK) in mouse and human pDCs. pDCs express Fyn and Lyn and their activating residues are phosphorylated both before and after Toll-like receptor (TLR) stimulation.

JC virus infection is acquired very early in life: evidence from a longitudinal serological study.

JC virus (JCV) is a widespread member of the Polyomaviridae family. Following primary infection, which occurs asymptomatically during childhood, JCV establishes latency in the host. JCV seroprevalence can reach 80 % in healthy adults, but the age of viral exposure has not been yet characterized.

Biobanking and Privacy Law in Brazil.

This article analyzes the current regulatory framework for biobanking, genomic research, and protection of privacy in Brazil. It is divided in four parts. The first describes the biobanking context in Brazil and its evolution in recent years.

[Social representations of municipal health counselors on health surveillance].

The objective of this study is to describe and analyze the social representations of the Health Counselors of the city of Belo Horizonte regarding their experiences with health surveillance. The research used the interview technique based on a semi-structured script. The data obtained were analyzed using the Collective Subject Discourse technique.

[Social control in the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS): discourse, action and reaction].

This article seeks to describe and analyze the dynamics of social participation, from the standpoint of the social representations of the City Health Councillors of Belo Horizonte on the significance of social control. A methodological approach was used, backed by qualitative research techniques: semi-structured interviews and participant observation. Three years after the survey, documentary research was conducted to check for signs of institutional reaction seeking to minimize or even to overcome the difficulties reported.

Investigation of polyomaviruses replication in pediatric patients with nephropathy receiving rituximab.

Rituximab is a chimeric monoclonal antibody reacting with the CD20 antigen on B cells. It has been proposed as treatment for the idiopathic nephrotic syndrome, recurrent idiopathic nephropathy, and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis refractory to steroids. Rituximab influences T-cell immunity and may predispose the patients to opportunistic infections, such as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy caused by the polyomavirus JC (JCV).

[Current issues regarding health surveillance of fluoride concentrations in foods].

This study analyzed the position of the Federal (Brazil), State (São Paulo), and municipal (Bauru, São Paulo) governments, civil society representatives, the regulated sector, and research associations concerning issues with fluoride content in foods. Analysis of the interviews (N = 15) used a qualitative methodology (collective subject discourse theory). Various central ideas were identified, including the need for stronger health surveillance in monitoring and controlling fluoride levels, educational measures, and more research in the area.