Performance of microvesicles as biomarkers of clinical outcome in sepsis and trauma: A pilot study.

Sepsis remains one of the main causes of death in intensive care unit (ICU) worldwide, despite all technological and scientific advances. Microvesicles (MV) have become promising biomarkers for quick and accurate monitoring of several illnesses. The aim of this pilot study was to characterize and evaluate the performance of MV as biomarker of clinical outcome in septic and trauma patients.

Amlodipine Increases the Therapeutic Potential of Ravuconazole upon Trypanosoma cruzi Infection.

Mining existing agents that enhance the therapeutic potential of ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitors (EBI) is a promising approach to improve Chagas disease chemotherapy. In this study, we evaluated the effect of ravuconazole, an EBI, combined with amlodipine, a calcium channel blocker, upon experimental infection. assays confirmed the trypanocidal activity of both compounds in monotherapy and demonstrated an additive effect (sum of the fractional inhibitory concentration [ΣFIC] > 0.

Cell-derived microvesicles in infective endocarditis: Role in diagnosis and potential for risk stratification at hospital admission.

Objectives: To characterize the plasmatic profile of cell-derived microvesicles (MVs) at diagnosis and during the treatment of patients with infective endocarditis (IE).

Methods: Blood samples from 57 patients with IE were obtained on 3 consecutive moments: upon admission (T0), at 2 weeks (T1), and at the end of treatment (T2), and were compared with 22 patients with other bacterial infections. MPs were measured by flow cytometry and labeled for specific cell markers of CD45 (leukocytes), CD66b (neutrophils), CD14 (monocytes), CD41a (platelets), CD51 (endothelial cells), CD3 (T lymphocyte) and CD235a (erythrocytes).

Serum albumin nanoparticles vaccine provides protection against a lethal Pseudomonas aeruginosa challenge.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that causes severe infections in immunocompromised individuals and in patients with cystic fibrosis. A range of vaccines to prevent infections caused by P. aeruginosa has already been tested, yet no vaccine against this pathogen is currently available.

Immune senescence and biomarkers profile of Bambuí aged population-based cohort.

During immunosenescence many proinflammatory markers such as cytokines and chemokines are increased. This process called by Franceschi and colleagues as inflammaging is associated with chronic inflammation and the ethiology and pathophysiolgy of many ageing diseases as Alzheimer's and atherosclerosis. The knowledge of immune profile during ageing may provide some interventions that would improve the immune function in elderly and quality of life for old people.