Background: The world is set on the eradication of measles. Continuation of the measles vaccine (MV) after eradication could still reduce morbidity because the MV has so-called beneficial nonspecific effects. We evaluated the effect of a "booster" dose of the MV on overall severe morbidity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAsymptomatic malaria infections may affect red blood cell (RBC) homeostasis. Reports indicate a role for chronic hemolysis and splenomegaly, however, the underlying processes are incompletely understood. New hematology analysers provide parameters for a more comprehensive analysis of RBC hemostasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochim Biophys Acta Biomembr
March 2020
At concentrations exceeding 10 μM, arginine-rich cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) trigger a rapid cytoplasmic import that involves activation of acid sphingomyelinase (ASMase). ASMase activation occurs through a variety of stress signals and has also been related to the reorganization of membrane microdomains during entry of pathogens. However, in none of these cases has the initial trigger for ASMase activation been established on a molecular level.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Hypothesis: Maternal priming might enhance the beneficial nonspecific effects (NSEs) of live measles vaccination (MV). Children with a bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine scar have a lower mortality rate than those without a scar that is not explained by protection against tuberculosis. We examined the hypothesis that BCG scarring would have a stronger effect on a child if the mother also had a BCG scar.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine whether anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP) and rheumatoid factor (RF) are risk factors for 10-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Methods: Analyses were performed using data from the Nijmegen early RA inception cohort, in which patients with newly diagnosed RA, consecutively included since 1985, were regularly followed up. Anti-CCP and RF were determined at baseline (diagnosis).
Background: Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination possesses effects on health beyond its target disease, the so called "non-specific effects". We evaluate these effects, as well as the effect of timing of BCG and other vaccinations, on stunting in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) children under five.
Methods: We use a Big Data design, including cross-sectional data for 368,450 children from 33 SSA countries.