Recurrent meningococcal infections as a sign of inborn error immunity.

Invasive meningococcal diseases (IMD) caused by Neisseria meningitidis are generally rare. They affect mostly selected age categories and risk groups of patients (in terms of age, comorbidities, or applied therapy), and the immune system and its defects may play an important modifying role. Meningococcal infections could be the first and only clinical sign of unrecognised immunodeficiency.

New-Onset Complement-Mediated Thrombotic Microangiopathy during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Introduction: The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus is alleged to enable a proinflammatory state that leads to the activation of the coagulation and the complement cascade. In this study, we aimed to establish the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with new onset of cTMA/aHUS in the Vienna TMA cohort and whether COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations would pose a greater risk of initial manifestation of cTMA/aHUS.

sMR and PTX3 levels associate with COVID-19 outcome and survival but not with Long COVID.

Biomarkers for monitoring COVID-19 disease course are lacking. Study aim was to identify biomarkers associated with disease severity, survival, long-term outcome, and Long COVID. As excessive macrophages activation is a hallmark of COVID-19 and complement activation is key in this, we selected the following proteins involved in these processes: PTX3, C1q, C1-INH, C1s/C1-INH, and sMR.