High levels of peripheral blood NK cells in women suffering from recurrent spontaneous abortion are reverted from high-dose intravenous immunoglobulins.

Problem: To determine the levels of peripheral blood natural killer (NK) cells in healthy women and recurrent aborters, and the effect of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIGs) on these levels.

Method Of Study: A total of 659 women were evaluated for NK cells by means of flow cytofluorimetry: 42 non-pregnant healthy women, 394 non-pregnant recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) women, 36 pregnant healthy women and 187 pregnant RSA women. Fifty-four of the pregnant RSA women were treated with IVIG; in 18 of them NK cells were measured immediately before and after the very first IVIG infusion (0.

Non-invasive diagnostic and functional evaluation of cardiac and pulmonary involvement in systemic sclerosis.

Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of non-invasive methods in the early detection of pulmonary and cardiac involvement in Systemic sclerosis (SSc) and to identify clinical and/or instrumental patterns of prognostic value.

Patients And Methods: Twenty female patients affected by SSc (8 with diffuse cutaneous SSc and 12 with limited cutaneous SSc) were enrolled in our study. Cardiac and pulmonary involvement (respiratory function tests and carbon monoxide lung diffusion [DLCO], chest radiography, high resolution computed tomography [HRCT] and lung perfusion magnetic resonance) were evaluated.