Inaugural tumor-like multiple sclerosis: clinical presentation and medium-term outcome in 87 patients.

Background: Tumefactive demyelinating lesions of the central nervous system can be the initial presentation in various pathological entities [multiple sclerosis (the most common), Balo's concentric sclerosis, Schilder's disease and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis] with overlapping clinical presentation. The aim of our study was to better characterize these patients.

Methods: Eighty-seven patients (62 women and 25 men) from different MS centers in France were studied retrospectively.

Safety and efficacy of mechanical thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke of anticoagulated patients.

Background: Anticoagulated patients (APs) are currently excluded from acute ischemic stroke reperfusion therapy with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IV-rtPA); however, these patients could benefit from mechanical thrombectomy (MT). Evidence for MT in this condition remains scarce. The aim of this study was to analyze the safety and efficacy of MT in APs.

Oncolytic viruses sensitize human tumor cells for NY-ESO-1 tumor antigen recognition by CD4+ effector T cells.

Oncolytic immunotherapy using oncolytic viruses (OV) has been shown to stimulate the antitumor immune response by inducing the release of tumor-associated antigens (TAA) and danger signals from the dying infected tumor cells. In this study, we sought to determine if the lysis of tumor cells induced by different OV: measles virus, vaccinia virus, vesicular stomatitis virus, herpes simplex type I virus, adenovirus or enterovirus, has consequences on the capacity of tumor cells to present TAA, such as NY-ESO-1. We show that the co-culture of NY-ESO-1/HLA-DP4 melanoma cells with NY-ESO-1/HLA-DP4 melanoma cells infected and killed by different OV induces an intercellular transfer of NY-ESO-1 that allows the recognition of NY-ESO-1/HLA-DP4 tumor cells by an HLA-DP4/NY-ESO-1-specific CD4+ cytotoxic T cell clone, NY67.

PD-1 expression on tumor-specific T cells: Friend or foe for immunotherapy?

Inhibitory properties of PD-1 receptor engagement on activated T cells are well established in physiologic and pathological contexts. In cancer, the use of checkpoint blockade, such as anti-PD-1 antibodies, becomes progressively a reference treatment of a growing number of tumors. Nonetheless, it is also established that PD-1 expression on antigen-specific T cells reflects the functional avidity and anti-tumor reactivity of these T cells.

Inverse probability weighting to control confounding in an illness-death model for interval-censored data.

Multistate models with interval-censored data, such as the illness-death model, are still not used to any considerable extent in medical research regardless of the significant literature demonstrating their advantages compared to usual survival models. Possible explanations are their uncommon availability in classical statistical software or, when they are available, by the limitations related to multivariable modelling to take confounding into consideration. In this paper, we propose a strategy based on propensity scores that allows population causal effects to be estimated: the inverse probability weighting in the illness semi-Markov model with interval-censored data.

Examination of reactive motor responses to Achilles tendon vibrations during an inhibitory stepping reaction time task.

Inhibition is known to influence balance, step initiation and gait control. A specific subcomponent of inhibition, the perceptual inhibition process, has been suggested to be specifically involved in the integration of proprioceptive information that is necessary for efficient postural responses. This study aimed to investigate the inhibition requirements of planning and executing a choice step initiation task in young adults following experimental perturbation of proprioceptive information using Achilles tendon vibrations.

Diagnostic approach to neurotransmitter monoamine disorders: experience from clinical, biochemical, and genetic profiles.

Background And Aim: To improve the diagnostic work-up of patients with diverse neurological diseases, we have elaborated specific clinical and CSF neurotransmitter patterns.

Methods: Neurotransmitter determinations in CSF from 1200 patients revealed abnormal values in 228 (19%) cases. In 54/228 (24%) patients, a final diagnosis was identified.

Use of water turnover method to measure mother's milk flow in a rat model: Application to dams receiving a low protein diet during gestation and lactation.

Assessment of milk production is of utmost relevance for pediatricians and scientists interested in early life nutrition. The weight-suckle-weight (WSW) method, which consists of weighing babies before and after they suckle their mother, uses the difference in body weight as an estimate of milk intake. However, this is prone to many sources of error.

Position paper for the evaluation and management of oral status in patients with valvular disease: Groupe de Travail Valvulopathies de la Société Française de Cardiologie, Société Française de Chirurgie Orale, Société Française de Parodontologie et d'Implantologie Orale, Société Française d'Endodontie et Société de Pathologie Infectieuse de Langue Française.

Oral health is of particular importance in patients with heart valve diseases because of the risk of infective endocarditis. Recommendations for antibiotic prophylaxis before dental procedures have been restricted, but the modalities of oral evaluation and dental care are not detailed in guidelines. Therefore, a multidisciplinary working group reviewed the literature to propose detailed approaches for the evaluation and management of buccodental status in patients with valvular disease.

Sub-Saharan African migrants have slower initial CD4+ cell recovery after combined antiretroviral treatment initiation than French natives.

Objective: Poorer immunologic responses to combined antiretroviral treatment (cART) have been reported among sub-Saharan African (SSA) migrants than among native Europeans. We studied whether differences in CD4 cell recovery between French natives and SSA migrants starting first-line cART could be explained by differences in socioeconomic conditions, inflammatory marker levels, and other established determinants.

Methods: We compared 319 French natives and 175 SSA migrants (ANRS-COPANA cohort).

Efficient CNS targeting in adult mice by intrathecal infusion of single-stranded AAV9-GFP for gene therapy of neurological disorders.

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy constitutes a powerful tool for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. While AAVs are generally administered systemically to newborns in preclinical studies of neurological disorders, in adults the maturity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) must be considered when selecting the route of administration. Delivery of AAVs into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) represents an attractive approach to target the central nervous system (CNS) and bypass the BBB.

Cutoffs of isokinetic strength ratio and hamstring strain prediction in professional soccer players.

Hamstring strain injuries frequently occur during professional soccer practice. Low hamstring strength represents an intrinsic modifiable risk factor but cutoffs of isokinetic knee strength ratios are controversial to predict hamstring strain in professional soccer players. We aimed to predict hamstring strain in accordance with cutoffs of isokinetic knee strength ratios.

Topotecan-Vincristine-Doxorubicin in Stage 4 High-Risk Neuroblastoma Patients Failing to Achieve a Complete Metastatic Response to Rapid COJEC: A SIOPEN Study.

Purpose: Metastatic response to induction therapy for high-risk neuroblastoma is a prognostic factor. In the International Society of Paediatric Oncology Europe Neuroblastoma (SIOPEN) HR-NBL-1 protocol, only patients with metastatic complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) with ≤ three abnormal skeletal areas on iodine 123-metaiodobenzylguanidine ([I]mIBG) scintigraphy and no bone marrow disease proceed to high dose therapy (HDT). In this study, topotecan-vincristine-doxorubicin (TVD) was evaluated in patients failing to achieve these criteria, with the aim of improving the metastatic response rate.

Draft Genome Sequence of an Erythromycin-Resistant Propionibacterium acnes Isolate Recovered from Folliculitis of the Scalp.

Propionibacterium acnes is now well-known and recognized for its implication in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of an erythromycin-resistant P. acnes strain isolated from a case of folliculitis of the scalp belonging to phylotype IA1 and sequence type 18 (ST18).

Neuropathologic, phenotypic and functional analyses of Mucosal Associated Invariant T cells in Multiple Sclerosis.

Background: The involvement of Mucosal Associated Invariant T (MAIT) cells, which are anti-microbial semi-invariant T cells, remains elusive in Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Objective: Deciphering the potential involvement of MAIT cells in the MS inflammatory process.

Methods: By flow cytometry, blood MAIT cells from similar cohorts of MS patients and healthy volunteers (HV) were compared for frequency, phenotype, activation potential after in vitro TCR engagement by bacterial ligands and transmigration abilities through an in vitro model of blood-brain barrier.

Different cutaneous innate immunity profiles in acne patients with and without atrophic scars.

Background: Acne is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with scar development in many patients.

Objectives: To check whether early inflammatory events in the epidermis via keratinocytes influence the development of scars in acne patients.

Methods: We investigated several immunological markers involved in epidermal innate immunity in both clinically normal skin and inflammatory early papules in acne patients prone to scars or not.

Impact of Early Blood Transfusion After Kidney Transplantation on the Incidence of Donor-Specific Anti-HLA Antibodies.

Little is known about the impact of posttransplant blood transfusion on the sensitization of anti-HLA antibodies and the formation of donor-specific antibodies (DSAs). The aims of our study were to determine the 1-year incidence of DSAs (assessed using a solid-phase assay) and antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) in kidney transplant patients who had or had not received a blood transfusion during the first year after transplantation. Included were 390 non-HLA-sensitized patients who had received an ABO-compatible kidney transplant and had not previously or simultaneously received a nonkidney transplant.

Involvement of CD8(+) T Cells in Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system characterized by focal demyelination patches associated with inflammatory infiltrates containing T lymphocytes. For decades, CD4(+) T cells have been recognized as playing a major role in the disease, especially in animal models, which has led to the development of several therapies. However, interest has recently developed in the involvement of CD8(+) T cells in MS following the analysis of infiltrating T cells in human brain lesions.

Comparisons of the performance of different statistical tests for time-to-event analysis with confounding factors: practical illustrations in kidney transplantation.

Confounding factors are commonly encountered in observational studies. Several confounder-adjusted tests to compare survival between differently exposed subjects were proposed. However, only few studies have compared their performances regarding type I error rates, and no study exists evaluating their type II error rates.

Pathologic Major Response After FOLFIRINOX is Prognostic for Patients Secondary Resected for Borderline or Locally Advanced Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: An AGEO-FRENCH, Prospective, Multicentric Cohort.

Purpose: In view of increased response rates and survivals in patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) with FOLFIRINOX, many centers proposed this regimen as induction chemotherapy for borderline (BR) or locally advanced (LA) PAC. The aim of this study was to assess surgical and oncological outcomes of patients who underwent resection after induction FOLFIRINOX therapy.

Methods: We prospectively identified surgical consecutive BR or LA PAC patients after induction FOLFIRINOX in 20 observational French centers between November 2010 and December 2013.

Expanded CD8 T-cell sharing between periphery and CNS in multiple sclerosis.

Objective: In multiple sclerosis (MS), central nervous system (CNS), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and blood display TCR clonal expansions of CD8(+) T cells. These clones have been assumed - but never demonstrated - to be similar in the three compartments. Addressing this key question is essential to infer the implication of peripheral clonally expanded CD8(+) T cells in the disease.

Adoptive T cell therapy combined with intralesional administrations of TG1042 (adenovirus expressing interferon-γ) in metastatic melanoma patients.

Tumor immune escape has recently been shown to be related to the development of an immune tolerance state of the microenvironment. Cytokines activating the immune system such as IFN-γ can be used to reverse the immune escape and thus to potentiate the efficacy of immunotherapy. A clinical study was conducted in 18 stage IIIc/IV melanoma patients treated with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in combination with intratumoral TG1042 injection (adenovirus expressing IFN-γ).