Turning subscribers into customers: the future is now.

The launch of Medicare's prescription drug plan marks a major milestone in federal health policy. Nearly 90 percent of Medicare's 43 million beneficiaries now have some form of prescription drug coverage, approximately 6 million of whom had no coverage prior to the introduction of Part D. The enrollment boom presents a tremendous opportunity for health insurers.

A new approach to the molecular characterization of the c-ANCA antigen in Wegener's granulomatosis.

Classic anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (c-ANCA) specific for constituents of neutrophil primary granules and monocyte lysosomes have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Wegener's Granulomatosis (WG). The revised amino-terminal sequence of Proteinase 3 (PR-3) as ANCA antigen, suggested that PR-3 is identical to myeloblastin (MBN). As it has been proposed that autoantibodies recognize a conformational epitope on c-ANCA, prokaryotic expressed protein might not be recognized by the patients sera.

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCA) recognizing a recombinant myeloperoxidase subunit.

Sera from 76 patients with diverse vasculitis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and hydralazine-induced lupus (HiL) were analysed by ELISA for their reactivity with native, reduced or urea-denatured MPO, respectively, as well as with bacterially expressed heavy and light subunits of MPO. All sera (n = 20) recognizing native MPO showed a positive reaction with reduced MPO, while 12 recognized the denatured protein. Most of the linear epitopes are located in the light subunit, since 9 MPO-positive sera recognized significantly the bacterially expressed, denatured light subunit, while only one serum recognized the bacterially expressed heavy subunit purified under denaturing conditions.

The role of antineutrophil cytoplasm antibodies, anticardiolipin antibodies, von Willebrand factor antigen, and fibronectin for the diagnosis of systemic vasculitis.

Autoantibodies directed against cytoplasmic components of neutrophil granulocytes and monocytes (c-ANCA) are a disease specific marker for Wegner's granulomatosis (WG). Autoantibodies against cardiolipin (aCl) are specific for a subgroup of autoimmune disorders, which can also be associated with systemic vasculitis. Fibronectin (Fn) and von Willebrand factor antigen (vWfAg) are produced by blood vessel endothelial cells in response to injury.

IGM-containing immune complexes and antiphospholipid antibodies in patients with Sneddon's syndrome.

We report three patients with a Sneddon syndrome in whom predominantly small (500-900 kD) IgM-containing serum immune complexes were detectable. Furthermore, antiphospholipid antibodies and increased von Willebrand factor antigen were found in the sera of two cases. Especially the data demonstrating small circulating immune complex as suggest that Sneddon's syndrome, a rare vasculitis disorder, might immunologically be characterized by circulating IgM-containing immune complexes which, in addition, could play a role in the pathogenesis of this disease entity.