Publications by authors named "Nina Babel"

: According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 3-6% of people suffer from post-COVID condition or syndrome (PCS). A subset meets the diagnostic criteria for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Studies have reported that SARS-CoV-2 proteins or RNA can persist after acute infection in serum or tissues, but their role in PCS is unclear.

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Autoantibodies (AABs) are currently being investigated as causative or aggravating factors during post-COVID. In this study, we analyze the effect of immunoadsorption therapy on symptom improvement and the relationship with immunological parameters in post-COVID patients exhibiting symptoms of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) induced or aggravated by an SARS-CoV-2 infection. This observational study includes 12 post-COVID patients exhibiting a predominance of ME/CFS symptoms alongside increased concentrations of autonomic nervous system receptor (ANSR) autoantibodies and neurological impairments.

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Many complications associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are closely linked with the generation of reactive species or free radicals leading to oxidative/nitrosative stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of combined administration of metformin with propionate on the degree of oxidative/nitrosative damage in the brain of rats with an experimental model of T2DM. Male Wistar rats were divided into control (healthy rats); rats with T2DM and no further therapy; rats with T2DM that received: metformin, propionate, propionate + metformin.

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Article Synopsis
  • LCP-Tacro (LCPT) is a new once-daily formulation of tacrolimus for kidney transplant patients that allows for a 30% lower dosage while maintaining similar efficacy and safety compared to the traditional immediate-release tacrolimus (IR-Tac).
  • In a study involving 16 kidney transplant patients, researchers examined changes in T-cells and B-cells before and after switching from IR-Tac to LCPT, using detailed flow cytometry techniques.
  • The results showed no significant changes overall in immune cell populations post-conversion, but there was a notable transient increase in regulatory T cells and B cell expansion at 4 weeks that reverted thereafter, indicating some adaptive immune changes with the switch.
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  • The study investigates the effects of propionic acid on inflammation and T-cell composition in kidney transplant patients compared to dialysis patients.
  • A total of 26 participants (10 dialysis and 16 transplant patients) received propionic acid supplementation for 30 days while their immune systems were analyzed before, after, and during follow-ups.
  • Results showed that propionic acid enhanced Treg expansion in dialysis patients but had no significant effect on Treg levels in transplant patients, likely due to the immunosuppressive therapy they were undergoing.
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The fouling resistance of zwitterionic coatings is conventionally explained by the strong hydrophilicity of such polymers. Here, the biocompatibility of a set of systematically varied amphiphilic, zwitterionic copolymers is investigated. Photocrosslinkable, amphiphilic copolymers containing hydrophilic sulfobetaine methacrylate (SPe) and butyl methacrylate (BMA) were systematically synthesized in different ratios (50:50, 70:30, and 90:10) with a fixed content of photo-crosslinker by free radical copolymerization.

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Article Synopsis
  • Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) has two types, HHV-6A and HHV-6B, with HHV-6A being more prevalent in kidney transplant patients.
  • A study involving 93 patients showed that HHV-6A was found in over half of the participants, while HHV-6B was much less common, and the viral loads for HHV-6A were significantly higher than those of other viruses tested.
  • Despite high levels of HHV-6A, no negative impact on kidney function or overall health was observed in patients one year post-transplant.
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Background: Mono and combined reactivation of latent viruses occurs frequently under immunosuppressive therapy in kidney transplant patients. Recently, monitoring torque teno virus (TTV) reactivation came more into focus as a potential biomarker for immune status. The surrogate characteristics of TTV reactivation on acute rejection, and the combined reactivation with other latent viruses such as cytomegalovirus (CMV), human BK virus (BKV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and human herpes virus-6A (HHV-6A) on allograft function, are unknown so far.

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Purpose: There is evidence that lower activity of the RAF/MEK/ERK network is associated with positive outcomes in mild and moderate courses of COVID-19. The effect of this cascade in COVID-19 sepsis is still undetermined. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that activity of the RAF/MEK/ERK network in COVID-19-induced sepsis is associated with an impact on 30-day survival.

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Background: During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic it was speculated that the virus might be associated with a persistent increase of cardiovascular risk. The present study compares pre- and post-pandemic hospital admission rates for hypertension and coronary artery disease.

Methods: Systematic multicentric retrospective cohort analysis of 57.

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Pyuria in dipstick examination serves as the most widespread screening tool for urinary tract infections (UTI). The absence of pyuria, however, does not exclude UTI. We investigated the diagnostic value of urinary calprotectin, a mediator protein of the innate immune system, which is released by leukocytes, for the detection of UTI and compared it with dipstick pyuria.

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Background: Sepsis, a life-threatening condition caused by the dysregulated host response to infection, is a major global health concern. Understanding the impact of viral or bacterial pathogens in sepsis is crucial for improving patient outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) seropositivity as a risk factor for development of sepsis in patients with COVID-19.

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There is a controversial debate regarding whether unattended blood pressure (BP) measurement should be regarded as the new gold standard of office BP measurement. Unattended BP measurement eliminates the white-coat effect and reduces external influences on the patient. On the other hand, it might underestimate real-life BP.

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Osteosarcopenia, the concurrent presence of sarcopenia and osteopenia/osteoporosis, poses a significant health risk to older adults, yet its impact on clinical outcomes is not fully understood. The aim of this prospective, longitudinal multicentre study was to examine the impact of osteosarcopenia on 3-year mortality and unplanned hospitalizations among 572 older hospitalized patients (mean age 75.1 ± 10.

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Article Synopsis
  • Scientists looked at health data from very sick patients with a condition called sepsis to see if machine learning can help predict who might survive better than using regular methods.
  • They tested two machine learning methods using data from a big group of patients and found that these methods were much better at predicting survival than the standard way of checking changes in scores.
  • The results showed that using daily scores from the first week could really help doctors know who might be in trouble, which could lead to better patient care in the future.
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Background: Sleep apnea is associated with hypertension. Metaanalyses indicate that treatment of sleep apnea by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) reduces blood pressure (BP) by a mean of 3 mmHg. To date, predictors of BP response to CPAP remain incompletely understood.

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Sepsis is a common life-threatening disease caused by dysregulated immune response and metabolic acidosis which lead to organ failure. An abnormal expression of aquaporins plays an important role in organ failure. Additionally, genetic variants in aquaporins impact on the outcome in sepsis.

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Sepsis involves an immunological systemic response to a microbial pathogenic insult, leading to a cascade of interconnected biochemical, cellular, and organ-organ interaction networks. Potential drug targets can depict aquaporins, as they are involved in immunological processes. In immune cells, AQP3 and AQP9 are of special interest.

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Background: A proportion of the convalescent SARS-CoV-2 pediatric population presents nonspecific symptoms, mental health problems, and a reduction in quality of life similar to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and long COVID-19 symptomatic. However, data regarding its clinical manifestation and immune mechanisms are currently scarce.

Methods: In this study, we perform a comprehensive clinical and immunological profiling of 17 convalescent COVID-19 children with post-acute COVID-19 sequelae (PASC) manifestation and 13 convalescent children without PASC manifestation.

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Background: SARS-CoV-2mRNA vaccination related seroconversion rates are reduced in dialysis and kidney transplant patients.

Methods: We evaluated nine months follow up data in our observational Dia-Vacc study exploring specific cellular (interferon-γ release assay) or/and humoral immune responses after 2x SARS-CoV-2mRNA vaccination in 880 participants including healthy medical personnel (125-MP), dialysis patients (595-DP), kidney transplant recipients (111-KTR), and apheresis patients (49-AP) with positive seroconversion (de novo IgA or IgG antibody positivity by ELISA) after eight weeks.

Findings: Nine months after first vaccination, receptor binding domain (RBD) antibodies were still positive in 90 % of MP, 86 % of AP, but only 55 %/48 % of DP/KTR, respectively.

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Cross-reactive cellular and humoral immunity can substantially contribute to antiviral defense against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC). While the adult SARS-CoV-2 cellular and humoral immunity and its cross-recognition potential against VOC is broadly analyzed, similar data regarding the pediatric population are missing. In this study, we perform an analysis of the humoral and cellular SARS-CoV-2 response immune of 32 convalescent COVID-19 children (children), 27 convalescent vaccinated adults(C + V+) and 7 unvaccinated convalescent adults (C + V-).

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Objectives: Immune monitoring is an important aspect in diagnostics and clinical trials for patients with compromised immune systems. Flow cytometry is the standard method for immune cell counting but faces limitations. Best practice guidelines are available, but lack of standardization complicates compliance with e.

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused millions of COVID-19 cases and deaths worldwide. Severity of pulmonary pathologies and poor prognosis were reported to be associated with the activation non-virus-specific bystander T cells. In addition, high concentrations of the macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) were found in serum of COVID-19 patients.

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Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a devastating disease affecting millions of people worldwide. Due to the 2019 pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), we are facing a significant increase of ME/CFS prevalence. On May 11th to 12th, 2023, the second international ME/CFS conference of the Charité Fatigue Center was held in Berlin, Germany, focusing on pathomechanisms, diagnosis, and treatment.

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