Small, Prospective, Observational, Pilot Study in Patients with Severe Asthma after Discontinuation of Omalizumab Treatment.

Purpose: Omalizumab has demonstrated clinical efficacy in severe allergic asthma by reducing exacerbation rates and increasing quality of life. However, data concerning its sustained effect after treatment discontinuation are still needed.

Methods: This analysis was an observational pilot study (simple within-subjects design) of 12 patients experiencing severe asthma, treated with omalizumab, for 1 year after treatment discontinuation.

[Secondary humoral immunodeficiency in patiens with systemic lupus erythematosus].

Introduction: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune multisystem disease. The aim of our study was to clarify the frequency of decreased serum immunoglobulin levels in SLE patients. There were evaluated 799 results of serum immunoglobulin levels gained from 157 patients fulfilling revised ACR criteria in the retrospective study.

Cytomegalovirus disease in patients with common variable immunodeficiency: three case reports.

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most frequent clinically relevant primary immunodeficiency and shows enormous heterogeneity in clinical presentation. Despite clinical immunodeficiency, opportunistic infections are not a typical manifestation of CVID. A retrospective study of 32 patients followed up for 335 patient-years was performed to determine the frequency of cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease.

[Cell death and its role in immunopathogenesis of infectious diseases].

Cell death is still a matter of debate and scientific opinions have been challenged and are not uniform due to complexity of this issue. Recent research has brought some new evidence about the very subtle border between programmed cell death and necrosis. The concept of their mutual independence, broadly accepted for decades, is now significantly challenged.

[Principles of macrophage resistance to intracellular parasites].

Intracellular parasitism is a phenomenon present in nature for more than one billion years. Its keystone is the intriguing ability of viruses and some bacteria to survive and multiply inside eukaryotic host cells and to parasitize on their metabolic machinery. According to the classical definition, germs are classified as intracellular parasites only if they are able to survive inside macrophages.

The effect of various forms of selenium supplied to pregnant goats on the levels of selenium in the body of their kids at the time of weaning.

The aim of this trial was to compare the effect of long-term supplementation of goats with different forms of selenium on body reserves of selenium in their kids at the time of weaning. Thirty-three pregnant goats were divided into five groups. Group C was control while the other four groups were supplemented with selenium (Se) for 6 weeks before parturition (0.

Schizophrenia in childhood and adolescence.

Schizophrenia is a disorder characterized by delay in neurodevelopment and by a central disorder of recognition (i.e. with generalized cognitive deficit).

The contribution of gastric emptying scintigraphy to the treatment of obesity with gastric bandage--preliminary results.

Introduction: Gastric banding for morbid obesity is among the least mutilating of procedures used in bariatric surgery and is classified as a restrictive surgical method. Although it is widespread, so far, however the mechanism responsible has not been fully explained.

Methods And Results: The authors present the preliminary results from scintigraphic examination of the evacuation ability of the stomach using food labeled with (99m)Tc-colloid in six obese patients with a gastric bandage.

Benefits of complementary therapy with insulin aspart versus human regular insulin in persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Background: Absorption rates of the phosphate-buffered insulin analogs aspart, lispro, and glulisine prevail over that of regular human insulin. The aim of this prospective observational open-label controlled study was to compare the effects of aspart and human regular insulin resulting from their sequential long-lasting routine administration in small preprandial boluses to individuals with type 2 diabetes according to identical algorithms.

Methods: Fifty-seven individuals with type 2 diabetes 64.