Quantitative somatosensory assessments in patients with persistent pain following groin hernia repair: A systematic review with a meta-analytical approach.

Objectives: Quantitative sensory testing (QST) provides an assessment of cutaneous and deep tissue sensitivity and pain perception under normal and pathological settings. Approximately 2-4% of individuals undergoing groin hernia repair (GHR) develop severe persistent postsurgical pain (PPSP). The aims of this systematic review of PPSP-patients were (1) to retrieve and methodologically characterize the available QST literature and (2) to explore the role of QST in understanding mechanisms underlying PPSP following GHR.

Predictive value of soluble haemoglobin scavenger receptor CD163 serum levels for survival in verified tuberculosis patients.

Pre-treatment serum levels of sCD163 were measured in a cohort of 236 suspected tuberculosis (TB) cases from Guinea-Bissau, with a median follow-up period of 3.3 years (range 0-6.4 years).

Severe acute respiratory syndrome--a new coronavirus from the Chinese dragon's lair.

The recent identification of a novel clinical entity, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the rapid subsequent spread and case fatality rates of 14-15% have prompted a massive international collaborative investigation facilitated by a network of laboratories established by the World Health Organization (WHO). As SARS has the potential of becoming the first pandemic of the new millennium, a global warning by the WHO was issued on 12 March 2003. The disease, which is believed to have its origin in the Chinese Guangdong province, spread from Hong Kong via international airports to its current worldwide distribution.

Adverse effect of the CCR5 promoter -2459A allele on HIV-1 disease progression.

HIV positive individuals heterozygous for a 32 basepair deletion in the CCR5 encoding gene (CCR5 Delta32) have a reduced number of CCR5 receptors on the cell surface and a slower progression towards AIDS and death. Other human polymorphisms, such as the CCR2 64I and the CCR5 promoter -2459 A/G transition that has been discovered recently, have also been shown to influence HIV progression. Since genetic linkages make these polymorphisms interdependent variables, the aim of the present study was to isolate and evaluate the effect on HIV disease progression for each of these mutations independently.

A new multiplex PCR strategy for the simultaneous determination of four genetic polymorphisms affecting HIV-1 disease progression.

The CCR5 Delta32, CCR2 64I, SDF1 3'A, and CCR5 promoter 59029 polymorphisms have been suggested to influence HIV-1 disease progression. Furthermore, the CCR5 Delta32 and the CCR2 64I polymorphisms have been associated with various other diseases. The purpose of the present study was to develop a multiplex assay for the simultaneous determination of these four polymorphisms.