Endometriosis, a debilitating condition, affects one in ten women of reproductive age. Its pathophysiology remains unclear, though deficiencies in immune surveillance are thought to create an environment conducive to the evasion of ectopic endometrial cells from the immune system. Our research explores the immunological impact of endometriosis both locally and systemically, emphasizing natural killer (NK) and T cell subpopulations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProblem: Endometriosis is a prevalent chronic gynecological disease linked to immune dysfunction. The protein T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-containing protein 3 (TIM-3) plays a crucial role in immune system balance. Malfunction of TIM-3 may result in excessive immune activation and inflammatory tissue damage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory disease of the pancreas with incompletely known pathogenic mechanisms. This study aimed to explore the temporal changes in serum cytokines in patients with AP and to assess the association of these changes with disease severity. : Fifty patients hospitalized with AP were enrolled, and their serum cytokine levels were analyzed at four different time points.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNatural killer (NK) cells have gained attention as a promising adoptive cell therapy platform for their potential to improve cancer treatments. NK cells offer distinct advantages over T-cells, including major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I)-independent tumor recognition and low risk of toxicity, even in an allogeneic setting. Despite this tremendous potential, challenges persist, such as limited persistence, reduced tumor infiltration, and low absolute NK cell numbers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcute pancreatitis (AP) is an increasingly frequent disease in which inflammation plays a crucial role. Fifty patients hospitalized with AP were included and peripheral blood samples were analyzed for B and T cell subpopulations at the time of hospitalization and 48 h after diagnosis. The Bedside Index of Severity in Acute Pancreatitis (BISAP) and length of hospital stay were also recorded.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcute pancreatitis is an acute inflammatory process of the pancreas with high prevalence and varying degrees of severity that can be potentially life-threatening. Much is still unknown about which mechanisms determine the course and severity of acute pancreatitis. The primary objective of this review is to identify the potential association between circulating lymphocytes and the severity of acute pancreatitis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with multiple cardiac manifestations. Left atrial strain (LA-S) by speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) is a novel transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) measure of LA myocardial deformation and diastolic dysfunction, which could lead to early recognition of cardiac injury in severe COVID-19 patients with possible implications on clinical management, organ dysfunction, and mortality. Cardiac injury may occur by direct viral cytopathic effects or virus-driven immune activation, resulting in heart infiltration by inflammatory cells, despite limited and conflicting data are available on myocardial histology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) affects 1-2% of women and is defined as having experienced two or more failed pregnancies. In almost 50% of cases, the causes are idiopathic (IRPL), but increasing evidence has suggested an immunological cause. B cells are known to provide crucial support for a successful pregnancy outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Physiol Endocrinol Metab
February 2023
Adipose tissue dysfunction is a key mechanism that leads to adiposity-based chronic disease. This study aimed to investigate the reliability of the adiponectin/leptin ratio (AdipoQ/Lep) as an adipose tissue and metabolic function biomarker in adults with obesity, without diabetes. Data were collected from a clinical trial conducted in 28 adults with obesity (mean body mass index: 35.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground & Aims: Although intermittent energy restriction (IER) seems to be as effective as continuous energy restriction (CER) for weight loss, there is still a need to determine the putative effect of this strategy upon the metabolic-inflammatory status. This study aimed to compare the effects of IER versus CER on cardiometabolic and inflammatory markers, over a 12-week period, in adults with obesity.
Methods: Twenty-eight Norwegian adults (20-55 years) with obesity [body mass index: 35.
Background: We aimed to explore immune parameters in COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) to identify distinctive features in patients with cardiac injury. Methods: A total of 30 COVID-19 patients >18 years admitted to the ICU were studied on days D1, D3 and D7 after admission. Cardiac function was assessed using speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRemote ischemic conditioning (RIC) is a novel promising therapy for treatment of neurological diseases, including ischemic stroke. RIC consists of short cycles of ischemia in a distant non-vital organ that may protect other organs against ischemia. Extensive experimental data and some few clinical trials support the neuroprotective role of RIC in ischemic stroke.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus
July 2022
Purpose: To evaluate the incidence and risk factors for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in two Portuguese neonatal units with a sub-analysis of infants with a gestational age (GA) of 28 weeks or older.
Methods: This was a retrospective case series of all infants who underwent ROP screening from 2012 to 2020. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected.
Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are persistent environmental pollutants, allowing a constant human exposure which carries several health risks, including the occurrence of breast cancer and vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D inhibits cell growth and is negatively associated with breast cancer risk. The effect of BFRs in breast cancer and vitamin D pathway is still poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo determine the association between hyperglycemia, glycated albumin (GlyA) and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Prospective study of all infants under ROP screening from March 2017 to July 2019. All demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSubjective tinnitus is a phantom sound heard only by the affected person and may be a symptom of various diseases. Tinnitus diagnosis and monitoring is based on subjective audiometric and psychometric methods. This review aimed to synthesize evidence for tinnitus presence or its severity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/objectives: To determine the efficacy of the DIGIROP model in detecting treatment-requiring retinopathy of prematurity (TR-ROP) in a Portuguese cohort.
Subjects/methods: Multicentre, retrospective cohort study of all consecutive preterm infants who underwent ROP screening from April 2012 to May 2019 in two neonatal units. Gestational age (GA), birth weight (BW) and sex were inserted in the DIGIROP platform.
Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol
June 2020
Purpose: Regulatory T cells (Tregs) have been intensively studied in a myriad of autoimmune diseases. As for noninfectious uveitis (NIU), results have been contradictory, and studies have failed to demonstrate a consistent reduction in Treg cell frequency in patients with active disease. The present study aims to characterize T lymphocyte subsets, including naïve and memory Tregs as well as their respective CD39 expression, in the peripheral blood of NIU patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSepsis leads to a systemic immune response, and despite the progress of modern medicine, it is still responsible for a high mortality rate. The immune response to sepsis is dependent on the innate and adaptive immune systems. The first line is the innate system, which requires complex and multiple pathways in order to eliminate the invading threats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe auto-inflammation and phospholipase Cγ2 (PLCγ2)-associated antibody deficiency and immune dysregulation (APLAID) syndrome is a rare primary immunodeficiency caused by a gain-of-function mutation S707Y in the gene previously described in two patients from one family. The APLAID patients presented with early-onset blistering skin lesions, posterior uveitis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and recurrent sinopulmonary infections caused by a humoral defect, but lacked circulating autoantibodies and had no cold-induced urticaria, contrary to the patients with the related PLAID syndrome. We describe a new APLAID patient who presented with vesiculopustular rash in the 1st weeks of life, followed by IBD, posterior uveitis, recurrent chest infections, interstitial pneumonitis, and also had sensorineural deafness and cutis laxa.
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