Replacement and Immunomodulatory Activities of 20% Subcutaneous Immunoglobulin Treatment: A Single-Center Retrospective Study in Autoimmune Myositis and CVID Patients

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Replacement and Immunomodulatory Activities of 20% Subcutaneous Immunoglobulin Treatment: A Single-Center Retrospective Study in Autoimmune Myositis and CVID Patients Via Traditional dysphagia therapy Front Immunol. 2022 Jan 17;12:805705. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.805705. eCollection 2021. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Immunoglobulin (Ig) replacement therapy represents a life-saving treatment in primary antibody deficiencies. The introduction of subcutaneous Ig (SCIg) administration brings a major improvement in quality of life for patients, compared to the traditional intravenous administration. In recent years, an additional role has been proposed for Ig therapy for various inflammatory and immune-mediated diseases. Consequently, the use of SCIg has expanded from immunodeficiencies to immune-mediated diseases, such as polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM). Given the rarity of these conditions, it is still difficult to evaluate the real impact of SCIg treatment on PM and DM, and additional data are constantly required on this topic, particularly for long-term treatments in real-life settings. AIM: This study aimed to increase the knowledg e about the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of SCIg treatment for myositis. To this aim, a long-term evaluation of the effectiveness of 20% human SCIg treatment (20% SCIg, Hizentra®, CSL Behring) was carried out in patients with PM/DM in care at our Center. In addition, an evaluation of the 20% SCIg therapy in CVID patients was provided. This analysis, beside adding knowledge about the use of SCIg therapy in this real-life setting, was intended as a term of comparison, regarding the safety profile. RESULTS: Results support the beneficial effect and tolerability of long-term 20% SCIg therapy in PM/DM patients, reporting a significant improvement in creatine kinase levels, muscle strength, skin conditions, dysphagia, disease activity (MITAX score) and disability (HAQ-DI score). None of the patients reported systemic reactions. The duration of the reported local reactions was a few hours in 80% of the patients, and all resolved spontaneously. CVID patie nts reported an improvement in all the considered effectiveness parameters at the end of 20% SCIg therapy. The frequency of the adverse events reported by PM/DM patients was not different from what reported in CVID patients, where the use of SCIg therapy is more consolidated. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that 20% SCIg treatment represents a viable and safe treatment for PM/DM patients and a valid therapeutic alternative to IVIg, with important advantages for patients' quality of life. PMID:35111165 | PMC:PMC8801806 | DOI:10.3389/fimmu.2021.805705 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Surgical strategy for squamous cell carcinoma of the external auditory canal: management of locally advanced cases with skull base involvement

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Surgical strategy for squamous cell carcinoma of the external auditory canal: management of locally advanced cases with skull base involvement Via Journal of Neurological Surgery Part B: Skull Base J Neurol Surg B Skull Base DOI: 10.1055/a-1733-2585 Objective Surgical indications for advanced-stage squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the external auditory canal (EAC) are highly dependent on the skull base surgery team. The aim of this study was to evaluate the surgical outcomes in patients with SCC of the EAC and to clarify the surgical indication of far advanced cases using the T4-subclassification. Methods Patients with SCC of the EAC who underwent curative treatment from 2002-2021 were retrospectively reviewed at our hospital. Clinical and surgical results, including operative data, overall survival (OS), and disease-specific survival (DSS) were analyzed. To clarify the surgical indication for advanced stage, we proposed the T4-subclassification. Results In 46 patients, the tumors were in T1 stage in 8 patients, T2 in 10, T3 in 5, and T4 in 23. The 5-year DSS with T1, T2, T3, and T4 tumors were 100%, 85.7%, 100%, and 61.7%, respectively. No prognostic impacts for margin status were found between the 5-year OS and DSS (p = 0.23 and p = 0.13). Patients with far advanced stage (T4b) tumors were significantly associated with shorter DSS than those with early stage (T1/T2) and advanced stage (T3/T4a) tumors (p = 0.007 and p = 0.03). Conclusion The present study focused on patients with SCC of the EAC at a University hospital over a period of 20-years, especially with skull base involvement, and a T4-subclassification was proposed. Complete tumor resection in an en bloc fashion could help to achieve a good survival rate even in patients with locally advanced tumors. [...] Georg Thieme Verlag KG Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany Article in Thieme eJournals: Table of contents  |  Abstract View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Artemisinin resistance: an important emerging clinical problem in tropical medicine

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Artemisinin resistance: an important emerging clinical problem in tropical medicine Via International Journal of Physiology, Pathophysiology and Pharmacology Int J Physiol Pathophysiol Pharmacol. 2021 Dec 15;13(6):152-157. eCollection 2021. ABSTRACT Artemisinin is an important antimalarial drug which is originated and developed from Chinese traditional herbal regimen. At present, artemisinin is used as an antimalarial drug for treatment of drug resistant malarial infection. The effectiveness of artemisinin is clinically accepted. Hence, artemisinin is currently used as main drug for malaria treatment in many tropical countries. Artemisinin resistance is a new emerging clinical problem in tropical medicine. New mutation can result in artemisinin resistance and the resistance becomes important new emerging problem in clinical malariology. It is necessary to control of artemisinin use and searching for new effective drug against artemisinin resistant malaria. In this article, the authors summarizes on important updated information regarding artemisinin resistance. PMID:35103097 | PMC:PMC8784654 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Modified genioglossus advancement with radiofrequency tongue base reduction for retroglossal collapse in obstructive sleep apnea patients

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Modified genioglossus advancement with radiofrequency tongue base reduction for retroglossal collapse in obstructive sleep apnea patients Via American Journal of Otolaryngology Publication date: Available online 2 February 2022 Source: American Journal of Otolaryngology Author(s): Tarek Abdelzaher Emara, Ahmed Ashraf S. Elhamshary, Ahmed Soliman Elkady, Ahmed Mohamed Mahmoud Elhewity, Hesham Abdelrahman Abdelsamee View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Effects of oral screen exercise on orofacial and pharyngeal activity: An exploratory study using videofluoroscopy and surface electromyography in healthy adults

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Effects of oral screen exercise on orofacial and pharyngeal activity: An exploratory study using videofluoroscopy and surface electromyography in healthy adults Via swallowing exercises Clin Exp Dent Res. 2022 Feb 1. doi: 10.1002/cre2.538. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: The oral screen is a device commonly used for treatment of orofacial disorders. The objective of this exploratory study was to examine the effect of oral screen exercise on the muscle activity in the lips, submental complex, masseter muscle, and kinematic activity of the tongue base, soft palate, pharynx, and larynx in healthy adults. This was compared with the kinematic activity during a dry swallow. It was hypothesized that not only the lip musculature but also other structures in the oral and pharyngeal cavities are activated while using an oral screen device. METHOD: Ten healthy subjects used an oral screen during examination with videofluoroscopy and surface electromyography (EMG). Three different instructions for oral screen application and a dry swallow were examined. RESULTS: The lip muscles showed the highest activity during oral screen exercise. The other muscle groups were activated to a lesser degree. The pattern of activation differed between individuals. Compared with a dry swallow, the range of motion of the tongue base, posterior pharyngeal wall, and the larynx was significantly smaller during oral screen activation. No major differences were found between three different instructions. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that the lips and submental complex and, to a lesser degree, oral, pharyngeal, and laryngeal structures are activa ted with the oral screen, but the pattern of activation varied between individuals. In comparison to the activity during a dry swallow, range of motion during oral screen exercise is small. PMID:35106972 | DOI:10.1002/cre2.538 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

The 'hyperdense basivertebral vein' sign: another marker of a CSF-venous fistula

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader The "hyperdense basivertebral vein" sign: another marker of a CSF-venous fistula Via leak of cerebrospinal fluid Neuroradiology. 2022 Feb 1. doi: 10.1007/s00234-022-02908-x. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT CSF-venous fistulas - initially described in 2014 - are a significant cause of spontaneous intracranial hypotension. Dynamic lateral decubitus digital subtraction and/or CT myelography typically show a hyperdense paraspinal vein. In case of a central drainage toward the internal vertebral venous plexus, it is the "hyperdense basivertebral vein" which should be searched for carefully. PMID:35106631 | DOI:10.1007/s00234-022-02908-x View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

An analysis of hematological, coagulation and biochemical markers in COVID-19 disease and their association with clinical severity and mortality: an Indian outlook

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader An analysis of hematological, coagulation and biochemical markers in COVID-19 disease and their association with clinical severity and mortality: an Indian outlook Via American Journal of Blood Research Am J Blood Res. 2021 Dec 15;11(6):580-591. eCollection 2021. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: The "cytokine storm" (CS) in COVID-19 leads to the worst stage of illness which can be controlled only with timely intervention. There is an urgent need to identify laboratory markers of disease progression for optimum allocation of resources in developing countries like India. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 COVID-19 positive patients over two months. The cases were sub-classified based on disease severity into mild to moderate (n=61), severe (n=26) and very severe (n=13) and into survivors (n=85) and non-survivors (n=15) based on survivor status. These patients were tested for hematological parameters (total blood lymphocyte counts, NLR, PLR, platelet indices etc.), coagulation markers (D-dimer, fibrin degradation products (FDP), fibrinogen etc.) and biochemical markers (LDH, ferritin, IL-6, procalcitonin, hs-CRP). RESU LTS: Statistically significant differences were observed in hematological variables (ANC, NLR and ESR), coagulation parameters (D-dimer, FDP, fibrinogen and thrombin time) and biochemical markers (LDH, ferritin, IL-6, procalcitonin and hs-CRP) with regard to subcategories based of disease severity as well as survivor status. There was strong correlation between NLR, D-dimer, IL-6, procalcitonin and ferritin. IL-6 emerged as the single best marker of disease severity (AUC: 0.997, P=0.00), however procalcitonin, LDH, D-dimer, FDP and NLR could also predict severe disease with a good sensitivity and specificity. CONCLUSION: To conclude, study demonstrates a plethora of biomarkers which could be utilized to accurately identify the hyperinflammation and tissue damage reminiscent of cytokine storm in COVID-19 patients so that timely, safe, and effective therapies can be administered to prevent progression and potentially reduce mortality. PMID:35103112 | PMC:PMC8784646 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.