Dysfunctional Sars-CoV-2-M protein-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes in patients recovering from severe COVID-19.

Although the importance of virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) in virus clearance is evident in COVID-19, the characteristics of virus-specific CTLs related to disease severity have not been fully explored. Here we show that the phenotype of virus-specific CTLs against immunoprevalent epitopes in COVID-19 convalescents might differ according to the course of the disease. We establish a cellular screening method that uses artificial antigen presenting cells, expressing HLA-A24:02, the costimulatory molecule 4-1BBL, SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins S, M, and N and non-structural proteins ORF3a and nsp6/ORF1a.

Prognostic Factors Associated With Mortality of Patients With COVID-19 Requiring Ventilator Management: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Aim There are few reports on the prognostic factors associated with mortality in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients with critical disease. This study assessed prognostic factors associated with mortality of patients with critical COVID-19 who required ventilator management. Methods This single-center, retrospective cohort study used medical record data of COVID-19 patients admitted to an emergency ICU at a hospital in Japan between March 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021, and provided with ventilator management.

A Novel Method for Measuring the Pupil Diameter and Pupillary Light Reflex of Healthy Volunteers and Patients With Intracranial Lesions Using a Newly Developed Pupilometer.

Physicians currently measure the pupil diameter and the pupillary light reflex with visual observations using a ruler and a traditional penlight, leading to possibly inaccurate and subjective assessments. Although a mobile pupillometer has been developed and is available in clinical settings, this device can only assess one pupil at a time. Hence, an indirect pupillary light reflex, including those under irradiation to the opposite side of pupil, cannot be evaluated.

Incomplete Kawasaki disease with development of fatal coronary artery thrombosis in a 13-year-old male.

Kawasaki disease (KD) is among one of the most common causes of vasculitis in children. Since KD was first described in 1967, there have been several reports of patients who did not meet the full diagnostic criteria for KD but who ultimately developed significant coronary artery lesions. Children with incomplete KD are at similar risk of developing coronary artery abnormalities to those with complete Kawasaki.

A Case of Severe Cardiac Sarcoidosis with Minimal Pulmonary Involvement: A Case Report with Literature Review.

Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous disease of unknown etiology. Although sarcoidosis is a systemic disease, there appears to be a predilection for involvement of certain organs. The pulmonary system is the most commonly affected system among all racial groups.