Use of preconditioned human phagocytes for extracorporeal adsorption of viruses.

Conventional treatment of severe viral disease is limited by the narrow choice as well as the often-significant side effects or lack of clear efficacy of antiviral chemotherapy. At the same time, however, it is known that a reduction in viral load leads to significant clinical improvement in a number of important viral diseases. In this paper we discuss the possibility of using preconditioned human phagocytes in an extracorporeal biohybrid system for adsorption of viral pathogens.

Cytomegalovirus and proliferative signals in the vascular wall of CABG patients.

Objective: To further elucidate the mechanism by which cytomegalovirus (CMV) may promote atherosclerosis, we studied the expression pattern of cellular inflammatory and proliferative signals in the aortic wall of CMV(+) and CMV(-) patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Methods: Aortic biopsies and blood samples of 68 CABG patients were investigated for CMV-DNA by PCR and IN SITU hybridisation. Expression of pp65 antigen, adhesion molecules (ICAM-1, VCAM-1, E-selectin), growth factors (PDGF-AA, TGF-beta), and the cellular proliferation factor Ki-67 was studied by immunohistochemistry.

Primer design for a prokaryotic differential display RT-PCR.

We have developed a primer set for a prokaryotic differential display of mRNA in the Enterobacteriaceae group. Each combination of ten 10mer and ten 11mer primers generates up to 85 bands from total Escherichia coli RNA, thus covering expressed sequences of a complete bacterial genome. Due to the lack of polyadenylation in prokaryotic RNA the type T11VN anchored oligonucleotides for the reverse transcriptase reaction had to be replaced with respect to the original method described by Liang and Pardee [ Science , 257, 967-971 (1992)].

[Parvovirus B 19 infection and associated arthritis in children and adolescents].

The commonest clinical manifestation of an acute parvovirus B 19 infection is "infectious erythema (E.i.)".

Pharmacokinetics of iloprost in patients with severe peripheral arterial occlusive disease.

The pharmacokinetics of iloprost were studied in 12 hospitalized patients suffering from severe peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) stages III or IV according to Fontaine. The patients were 8 males and 4 females aged from 49 to 83 years. Apart from PAOD, several other concomitant diseases were present, e.