367 research outputs found
Transient plasma cell dyscrasia in COVID-19 patients linked to IL-6 triggering
An unusual clonal gammopathy was reported in COVID-19 patient but whether this anomaly is related or not to the disease has not yet been clarified. To this aim, we selected a cohort of 35 COVID-19 patients swab positive and investigated serological levels of IL-6, immune response to major viral antigens and electrophoretic profile. Elevated levels of IL-6 were accompanied by a significative humoral response to viral Spike protein, revealing an altered electrophoretic profile in the gamma region. We can conclude that elevated levels of IL-6 triggers humoral response inducing a transient plasma cell dyscrasia in severe COVID-19 patients
Electrochemical Impedance Biosensor for Chagas Disease Diagnosis in Clinical Samples
Chagas disease (CD) is one of the main neglected tropical diseases, diagnosed mainly by serological tests performed in centralized laboratories, which severely limits the clinical management of the disease in communities with scarce resources. Herein, an electrochemical impedance biosensor for the detection of CD was developed for the first time using a cruzipain-based sensor surface. The protein, highly immunogenic and isolated from Trypanosoma cruzi, was immobilized over the surface of gold disc electrodes modified with 11-mercaptoundecanoic (MUA) and 6-mercapto-1-hexanol (MCH) self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). Reproducible sensor surfaces, yielding 38 ± 3% coverage as measured by Surface Plasmon Resonance, were obtained by amide coupling of 120 μg/mL cruzipain onto 1/10 MUA/MCH SAMs for 30 min. Under optimized operational conditions, the impedimetric immunosensor recognized specific interactions for anti-T. cruzi antibodies in 1/800 diluted human serum patient samples. The charge transfer resistance of the biosensors increases by ∼18% in the presence of the positive samples, whereas the negative samples give rise to a negligible increase of around 6%. An excellent selectivity to clinical samples from patients infected with T. cruzi was obtained. The clear signal difference obtained for positive and negative clinical samples highlights the applicability of the sensors for the point-of-care diagnosis of CD.</p
Introduction of a pyramid guiding process for general musculoskeletal physical rehabilitation
Successful instruction of a complicated subject as Physical Rehabilitation demands organization. To understand principles and processes of such a field demands a hierarchy of steps to achieve the intended outcome. This paper is intended to be an introduction to a proposed pyramid scheme of general physical rehabilitation principles. The purpose of the pyramid scheme is to allow for a greater understanding for the student and patient. As the respected Food Guide Pyramid accomplishes, the student will further appreciate and apply supported physical rehabilitation principles and the patient will understand that there is a progressive method to their functional healing process
A Rare Complication during Vaginal Delivery, Hamman’s Syndrome: A Case Report and Systematic Review of Case Reports.
Generation and characterization of human insulin-releasing cell lines
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The in vitro culture of insulinomas provides an attractive tool to study cell proliferation and insulin synthesis and secretion. However, only a few human beta cell lines have been described, with long-term passage resulting in loss of insulin secretion. Therefore, we set out to establish and characterize human insulin-releasing cell lines.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We generated ex-vivo primary cultures from two independent human insulinomas and from a human nesidioblastosis, all of which were cultured up to passage number 20. All cell lines secreted human insulin and C-peptide. These cell lines expressed neuroendocrine and islets markers, confirming the expression profile found in the biopsies. Although all beta cell lineages survived an anchorage independent culture, none of them were able to invade an extracellular matrix substrate.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We have established three human insulin-releasing cell lines which maintain antigenic characteristics and insulin secretion profiles of the original tumors. These cell lines represent valuable tools for the study of molecular events underlying beta cell function and dysfunction.</p
- …