Cyclosporine A in hospitalized COVID-19 pneumonia patients to prevent the development of interstitial lung disease: a pilot randomized clinical trial.

Post-COVID-19 interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a new entity that frequently causes pulmonary fibrosis and can become chronic. We performed a single-center parallel-group open-label pilot randomized clinical trial to investigate the efficacy and safety of cyclosporine A (CsA) in the development of ILD in the medium term among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive CsA plus standard of care or standard of care alone.

Storage Proteins Are Driving Pediatric Hazelnut Allergy in a Lipid Transfer Protein-Rich Area.

Oral food challenge (OFC) remains the gold standard for the diagnosis of food allergies. However, this test is not without risks, given that severe allergic reactions can be triggered while it is conducted. The purpose of this study is to identify potential demographic variables, clinical characteristics of the patients and biomarkers that may be associated with severe reactions during the hazelnut oral challenge test.

Predicting Aggressive Multiple Sclerosis With Intrathecal IgM Synthesis Among Patients With a Clinically Isolated Syndrome.

Objective: To determine the best method to measure intrathecal immunoglobulin (Ig) M synthesis (ITMS), a biomarker of worse prognosis in multiple sclerosis (MS). We compared the ability for predicting a poor evolution of 4 methods assessing ITMS (IgM oligoclonal bands [OCMBs], lipid-specific OCMBs [LS-OCMBs], Reibergram, and IgM index) in patients with a clinically isolated syndrome (CIS).

Methods: Prospective study with consecutive patients performed at a referral MS center.

New Algorithms Improving PML Risk Stratification in MS Patients Treated With Natalizumab.

We assessed the role of age and disease activity as new factors contributing to establish the risk of progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy in multiple sclerosis patients treated with natalizumab in 36 University Hospitals in Europe. We performed the study in 1,307 multiple sclerosis patients (70.8% anti-John Cunninghan virus positive antibodies) treated with natalizumab for a median time of 3.

Quantitation of cell-free DNA and RNA in plasma during tumor progression in rats.

Background: To clarify the implications of cell-free nucleic acids (cfNA) in the plasma in neoplastic disease, it is necessary to determine the kinetics of their release into the circulation.

Methods: To quantify non-tumor and tumor DNA and RNA in the plasma of tumor-bearing rats and to correlate such levels with tumor progression, we injected DHD/K12-PROb colon cancer cells subcutaneously into syngenic BD-IX rats. Rats were sacrificed and their plasma was analyzed from the first to the eleventh week after inoculation.

Sphingosylphosphorylcholine induces mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in neuro 2a cells: involvement of protein kinase C.

We demonstrate that sphingosylphosphorylcholine-mediated cell death involves the activation of different protein kinase C isozymes in different manners. Treating cells with sphingosylphosphorylcholine resulted in activation of protein kinase C delta, which is necessary, together with elevation of Ca2+ for sphingosylphosphorylcholine-induced apoptosis. A rapid translocation from cytosol to membrane, and a proteolytic protein kinase C delta cleavage was found, probably due to activation of caspase-3, to give a catalytically active fragment involved in cellular apoptosis.

Release of cell-free DNA into the bloodstream leads to high levels of non-tumor plasma DNA during tumor progression in rats.

To examine the implications of cell-free DNA in the plasma in neoplastic disease, it is necessary to clarify various features of this DNA, such as the contribution of DNA from the host's normal cells and the kinetics of the release of this latter DNA. To quantify non-tumor DNA in the plasma of tumor-bearing rats and to correlate levels of this DNA with tumor progression, we injected DHD/K12-PROb colon cancer cells subcutaneously into BD-IX rats and recorded tumor diameters weekly. After euthanasia, we collected plasma from each rat and quantified non-mutated and mutated DNA in the plasma.