Soluble Membrane Attack Complex: Biochemistry and Immunobiology.

The soluble membrane attack complex (sMAC, a.k.a.

Epidemiology of lumbar punctures in hospitalized patients in the United States.

Objectives: Lumbar puncture (LP) is an important technique for assessing and treating neurological symptoms. The objective of this study was to describe the characteristics of diagnostic lumbar punctures performed on hospitalized patients in the United States.

Methods: We analyzed data from the 2010 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) and the National Emergency Department Survey (NEDS).

Soluble membrane attack complex in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of HIV-infected individuals, relationship to HIV RNA, and comparison with HIV negatives.

The soluble membrane attack complex (sMAC) represents the terminal product of the complement cascade. We enrolled 47 HIV+ adults (12 of whom underwent a second visit at least 24weeks after starting therapy) as well as 11 HIV negative controls. At baseline, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sMAC was detectable in 27.