Anti-tissue transglutaminase (tTG) screening using relative light units to identify IgA deficiency.

IgA deficiency is more common in patients with coeliac disease (CD). Total IgA levels are often recommended as part of first line coeliac testing along with anti-tissue transglutaminase (tTG) IgA, to identify these patients and reduce falsely negative results. This study aimed to identify patients with complete IgA deficiency by determining a cut-off threshold on chemiluminescent tTG IgA testing.

Biomarkers to Guide the Timing of Surgery: Neutrophil and Monocyte L-Selectin Predict Postoperative Sepsis in Orthopaedic Trauma Patients.

Deciding whether to delay non-lifesaving orthopaedic trauma surgery to prevent multiple organ failure (MOF) or sepsis is frequently disputed and largely based on expert opinion. We hypothesise that neutrophils and monocytes differentially express activation markers prior to patients developing these complications. Peripheral blood from 20 healthy controls and 162 patients requiring major orthopaedic intervention was collected perioperatively.

Natural killer cell subpopulations are associated with MRI activity in a relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patient cohort from Australia.

Background: The importance of the innate immune system in multiple sclerosis (MS) is increasingly recognized and the role of natural killer (NK) cells in controlling autoimmunity may be an important modulator of disease activity.

Objective: To examine NK subsets in MS patients on different treatments and to evaluate the role of NK subsets as indicators for disease activity.

Methods: We measured NK subset levels in blood obtained from 110 relapsing-remitting MS patients.

Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN): a rare entity.

Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare and aggressive haematological malignancy in the elderly, with a high frequency of cutaneous and bone marrow involvement and poor prognosis. We report a case of BPDCN with classic presentation and discuss its treatment and the value of different investigation tools used in diagnosis and response assessment.