Effects of age, education and gender in the Consortium to Establish a Registry for the Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD)-Neuropsychological Assessment Battery for Cantonese-speaking Chinese elders

2010-2011 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Impact of COVID-19 infection and vaccination in pancreatobiliary IgG4-related disease patients: an international multicenter study

Background and Aim: Dedicated studies evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on out-comes of pancreatobiliary IgG4 related disease (IgG4-RD) patients are scarce. WhetherCOVID-19 infection or vaccination would trigger IgG4-RD exacerbation remains unknown. Methods: Pancreatobiliary IgG4-RD patients≥18 years old with active follow-up since January 2020 from nine referral centers in Asia, Europe, and North America were included in this multicenter retrospective study. Outcome measures include incidence and severity ofCOVID-19 infection, IgG4-RD disease activity and treatment status, interruption of indicated IgG4-RD treatment. Prospective data on COVID-19 vaccination status and newCOVID-19 infection during the Omicron outbreak were also retrieved in the Hong Kong cohort. Results: Of the 124 pancreatobiliary IgG4-RD patients, 25.0% had active IgG4-RD, 71.0%were on immunosuppressive therapies and 80.6% had≥1 risk factor for severe COVID. In2020 (pre-vaccination period), two patients (1.6%) had COVID-19 infection (one requiring ICU admission), and 7.2% of patients had interruptions in indicated immunosuppressive treatment for IgG4-RD. Despite a high vaccination rate (85.0%), COVID-19 infection rate has increased to 20.0% during Omicron outbreak in the Hong Kong cohort. A trend to-wards higher COVID-19 infection rate was noted in the non-fully vaccinated/unvaccinated group (17.6%vs33.3%, P= 0.376). No IgG4-RD exacerbation followingCOVID-19 vaccination or infection was observed. Conclusion: While a low COVID-19 infection rate with no mortality was observed in pancreatobiliary IgG4-RD patients in the pre-vaccination period of COVID-19, infection rate has increased during the Omicron outbreak despite a high vaccination rate. NoIgG4-RD exacerbation after COVID-19 infection or vaccination was observed

The Immunosuppressive Activity of Polymeric Micellar Formulation of Cyclosporine A: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

We have previously developed micelles of methoxy poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(ε-caprolactone) as vehicles for the solubilization and delivery of cyclosporine A (CsA). These micelles were able to reduce the renal uptake and nephrotoxicity of CsA. The purpose of the current study was to test the efficacy of polymeric micellar formulation of CsA (PM-CsA) in suppressing immune responses by either T cells or dendritic cells (DCs). The performance of PM-CsA was compared to that of the commercially available formulation of CsA (Sandimmune®). Our results demonstrate that PM-CsA could exert a potent immunosuppressive effect similar to that of Sandimmune® both in vitro and in vivo. Both formulations inhibited phenotypic maturation of DCs and impaired their allostimulatory capacity. Furthermore, both PM-CsA and Sandimmune® have shown similar dose-dependent inhibition of in vitro T cell proliferative responses. A similar pattern was observed in the in vivo study, where T cells isolated from both PM-CsA-treated and Sandimmune®-treated mice have shown impairment in their proliferative response and IFN-γ production at similar levels. These results highlight the potential of polymeric micelles to serve as efficient vehicles for the delivery of CsA