Guselkumab demonstrates long-term efficacy and maintenance of treatment response postwithdrawal in systemic treatment-naïve patients and nonresponders to fumaric acid esters: results from parts II and III of a randomized active-comparator-controlled phase IIIb trial (POLARIS).

Background: The anti-interleukin-23 antibody guselkumab (GUS) demonstrated favourable week 24 efficacy and safety over fumaric acid esters (FAE) in systemic treatment-naïve patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (study part I).

Objectives: To compare, in study part II, the sustainability of treatment responses (weeks 24-32) in GUS- and FAE-treated patients and treatment responses (weeks 32-56) in patients treated with GUS and FAE and in FAE nonresponders switching to GUS; and, in part III, to investigate the maintenance of response through week 100 in patients withdrawn from GUS at week 56.

Methods: At week 0, systemic treatment-naïve patients were randomized 1 : 1 to GUS or FAE as per label.

B-cell receptor reactivity against in nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma.

Nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL) is a Hodgkin lymphoma expressing functional B-cell receptors (BCR). Recently, we described a dual stimulation model of IgD+ lymphocyte-predominant cells by Moraxella catarrhalis antigen RpoC and its superantigen MID/hag, associated with extralong CDR3 and HLA-DRB1*04 or HLADRB1* 07 haplotype. The aim of the present study was to extend the antigen screening to further bacteria and viruses.

European Stroke Organisation guideline on endarterectomy and stenting for carotid artery stenosis.

Atherosclerotic stenosis of the internal carotid artery is an important cause of stroke. The aim of this guideline is to analyse the evidence pertaining to medical, surgical and endovascular treatment of patients with carotid stenosis. These guidelines were developed based on the ESO standard operating procedure and followed the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.

European Stroke Organisation guideline on endarterectomy and stenting for carotid artery stenosis.

Atherosclerotic stenosis of the internal carotid artery is an important cause of stroke. The aim of this guideline is to analyse the evidence pertaining to medical, surgical and endovascular treatment of patients with carotid stenosis. These guidelines were developed based on the ESO standard operating procedure and followed the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.

LRPAP1 autoantibodies in mantle cell lymphoma are associated with superior outcome.

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor-related protein-associated protein 1 (LRPAP1) had been identified by B-cell receptor (BCR) expression cloning and subsequent protein array screening as a frequent and proliferation-inducing autoantigen of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). Of interest, high-titered and light chain-restricted LRPAP1 autoantibodies were detected in 8 of 28 patients with MCL. In the present study, LRPAP1 autoantibodies in sera of patients treated within the Younger and Elderly trials of the European MCL Network were analyzed regarding frequency, association with disease characteristics, and prognostic impact.

Guselkumab is superior to fumaric acid esters in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who are naive to systemic treatment: results from a randomized, active-comparator-controlled phase IIIb trial (POLARIS).

Background: Guselkumab, a fully human interleukin-23 antibody, is approved for systemic treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

Objectives: To compare the efficacy and safety of guselkumab with those of fumaric acid esters (FAE) in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who are naive to systemic treatment.

Methods: Eligible patients were randomized to this multicentre, randomized, open-label, assessor-blinded, active-comparator-controlled phase IIIb study to receive guselkumab 100 mg by subcutaneous injection or oral FAE according to local label guidelines.

Carotid Stenting in Neuroradiology : A Short Journey from the Past to Current Debates.

After a period of stagnation due to negative results of randomized trials for patients with symptomatic stenosis, the relevance of carotid artery stenting (CAS) is increasing again. CAS has become an important and evidence-based part of interventional stroke treatment. Our ability to manage acute recanalization of carotid occlusions and other niche indications properly led some skeptical neurologists to trust in carotid intervention for elective cases as well.

There Is a Method to the Madness: Strategies to Study Host Complement Evasion by Lyme Disease and Relapsing Fever Spirochetes.

Lyme disease and relapsing fever are caused by various species. Lyme disease , the most common vector-borne pathogens in both the U.S.

Donor BMI >30 Is Not a Contraindication for Live Liver Donation.

The increased prevalence of obesity worldwide threatens the pool of living liver donors. Although the negative effects of graft steatosis on liver donation and transplantation are well known, the impact of obesity in the absence of hepatic steatosis on outcome of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is unknown. Consequently, we compared the outcome of LDLT using donors with BMI <30 versus donors with BMI ≥30.

A Coding Variant of ANO10, Affecting Volume Regulation of Macrophages, Is Associated with Borrelia Seropositivity.

In a first genome-wide association study (GWAS) approach to anti-Borrelia seropositivity, we identified two significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs17850869, P = 4.17E-09; rs41289586, P = 7.18E-08).

The thymidine-dependent small-colony-variant phenotype is associated with hypermutability and antibiotic resistance in clinical Staphylococcus aureus isolates.

Thymidine-dependent small-colony variants (TD-SCVs) of Staphylococcus aureus can be isolated from the airway secretions of patients suffering from cystic fibrosis (CF) and are implicated in persistent and treatment-resistant infections. These characteristics, as well as the variety of mutations in the thymidylate synthase-encoding thyA gene which are responsible for thymidine dependency, suggest that these morphological variants are hypermutable. To prove this hypothesis, we analyzed the mutator phenotype of different S.

Prevalence and clinical significance of Staphylococcus aureus small-colony variants in cystic fibrosis lung disease.

Small-colony variants (SCVs) of Staphylococcus aureus can be isolated from the chronically infected airways of patients suffering from cystic fibrosis (CF). These slow-growing morphological variants have been associated with persistent and antibiotic-resistant infections, such as osteomyelitis and device-related infections, but no information is available to date regarding the clinical significance of this special phenotype in CF lung disease. We therefore investigated the prevalence of S.

Rapid detection of epidemic strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Fifty methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) initial isolates obtained from patients hospitalized in the orthopedic clinic of the Frankfurt University Hospital and 150 methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) isolates were investigated in this study to determine whether the Slidex Staph-Kit is capable of differentiating between MRSA and MSSA owing to its unique performance characteristics. The Slidex Staph-Kit is a combined latex hemagglutination test designed to detect clumping factor, protein A, and a specific surface immunogen for S. aureus.

High resolution of human lactate dehydrogenase: new multiple forms and potential tumor markers.

Human lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was investigated by ultrathin-layer polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing (IEF). In serum, approximately 15 bands and in lyzates of erythrocytes approximately 20 bands were detected. Known LDH isoenzymes (identified by markers) appeared in the zymograms as follows: LDH-1 as a single or double band, LDH-2 as a single band in serum and in the marker, and as a double band in hemolyzate, LDH-3 as a double band, and LDH-4 and LDH-5 each as a single band.