Systemic vasculitides: сlinical cases

Systemic vasculitides (SV) are a group of diseases characterized by vessel wall inflammation that leads to ischemic changes in the organs and tissues, which the respective vessels supply blood to; the spectrum of the clinical manifestations of SV depends on the type, size, location of the affected vessels, and on the activity of systemic inflammation. The etiology of the majority of primary vasculitides is unknown. It is assumed that many microorganisms may initiate inflammation of vessels of various sizes, but only some forms of SV (and in some patients) can be clearly related to certain causative and/or trigger factors (drug hypersensitivity, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, etc.). The paper gives clinical examples of the timely diagnosis and treatment of 2 SV cases in young men working on the railway of the town of Ruzaevka

Системные васкулиты: наблюдения из практики

Systemic vasculitides (SV) are a group of diseases characterized by vessel wall inflammation that leads to ischemic changes in the organs and tissues, which the respective vessels supply blood to; the spectrum of the clinical manifestations of SV depends on the type, size, location of the affected vessels, and on the activity of systemic inflammation. The etiology of the majority of primary vasculitides is unknown. It is assumed that many microorganisms may initiate inflammation of vessels of various sizes, but only some forms of SV (and in some patients) can be clearly related to certain causative and/or trigger factors (drug hypersensitivity, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, etc.). The paper gives clinical examples of the timely diagnosis and treatment of 2 SV cases in young men working on the railway of the town of Ruzaevka.Системные васкулиты (СВ) – группа заболеваний, характеризующихся воспалением сосудистой стенки, приводящим к ишемиче-ким изменениям органов и тканей, кровоснабжающихся соответствующими сосудами; спектр клинических проявлений СВ зависит от типа, размера, локализации пораженных сосудов и активности системного воспаления. Этиология большинства первичных васкулитов неизвестна. Предполагается, что многие микроорганизмы могут инициировать развитие воспаления сосудов различного калибра, но только некоторые формы СВ (и у отдельных больных) удается четко связать с определенными причинными и/или триггерными факторами (лекарственная гиперчувствительность, вирусы гепатита В, С и др.). Представлены клинические примеры своевременной диагностики и лечения 2 случаев СВ у мужчин молодого возраста, работающих на железной дороге г. Рузаевка

CERTOLIZUMAB PEGOL IN THE TREATMENT OF TAKAYASU ARTERITIS: THE FIRST EXPERIENCE AND PROSPECTS

Certolizumab pegol (CZP) is the only pegylated biological agent (BA) that does not contain an Fc fragment, which minimizes its transplacental transfer. Takayasu arteritis mostly occurs in reproductive-aged women.Objective: to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CZP used to treat standard immunosuppressive therapy-resistant Takayasu arteritis.Subjects and methods. The retrospective study enrolled 6 female patients aged 18 to 35 years with Takayasu arteritis who received CZP. The median disease duration before BA usage was 66 months (24 to 204 months). The median duration of immunosuppressive therapy prior to CZP treatment was 92 months (14 to 132 months). All the female patients had taken glucocorticoids and methotrexate before and during CZP therapy. Only four patients had received two to five immunosuppressive drugs at different times prior to BA administration. Three patients had previously used other BAs. The disease activity was determined by the National Institute of Health (NIH) criteria. The Indian Takayasu Clinical Activity Score (ITAS2010) was used. The disease activity was recorded in all the patients prior to CZP therapy.Results and discussion. The median duration of CZP treatment was 17 months (6 to 24 months). The median erythrocyte sedimentation rate after CZP usage decreased from 22.5 to 10.5 mm/h; the median C-reactive protein level dropped from 7.8 to 0.39 mg/dl (p<0.05), the median daily dose of prednisolone was reduced from 20 to 8.75 mg (p<0.05). All the patients achieved complete remission an average of 4 months after starting CZP therapy. Three patients were still in remission after 12–24 months. One relapse of the disease was recorded following 24 months. ITAS2010 reduced from 1–4 to 0 in five patients and to 2 in one patient with recurrence. There was a good tolerance in five female patients. The adverse events were herpes labialis in two cases, community-acquired pneumonia in one case, and postoperative abscess in one case too.Conclusion. CZP in Takayasu arteritis was shown to be an effective drug for remission induction and maintenance. The presented results of the first experience in treating this disease with CZP are indicative of its promising further investigation as a steroid-sparing drug in patients with refractory vasculitis. One of the important advantages of CZP is its supposed high safety throughout pregnancy

Small-angle neutron and X-ray scattering analysis of the supramolecular organization of rhodopsin in photoreceptor membrane

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. The supramolecular organization of the visual pigment rhodopsin in the photoreceptor membrane remains contentious. Specifically, whether this G protein-coupled receptor functions as a monomer or dimer remains unknown, as does the presence or absence of ordered packing of rhodopsin molecules in the photoreceptor membrane. Completely opposite opinions have been expressed on both issues. Herein, using small-angle neutron and X-ray scattering approaches, we performed a comparative analysis of the structural characteristics of the photoreceptor membrane samples in buffer, both in the outer segment of photoreceptor cells, and in the free photoreceptor disks. The average distance between the centers of two neighboring rhodopsin molecules was found to be ~5.8 nm in both cases. The results indicate an unusually high packing density of rhodopsin molecules in the photoreceptor membrane, but molecules appear to be randomly distributed in the membrane without any regular ordering

Small-angle neutron and X-ray scattering analysis of the supramolecular organization of rhodopsin in photoreceptor membrane

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. The supramolecular organization of the visual pigment rhodopsin in the photoreceptor membrane remains contentious. Specifically, whether this G protein-coupled receptor functions as a monomer or dimer remains unknown, as does the presence or absence of ordered packing of rhodopsin molecules in the photoreceptor membrane. Completely opposite opinions have been expressed on both issues. Herein, using small-angle neutron and X-ray scattering approaches, we performed a comparative analysis of the structural characteristics of the photoreceptor membrane samples in buffer, both in the outer segment of photoreceptor cells, and in the free photoreceptor disks. The average distance between the centers of two neighboring rhodopsin molecules was found to be ~5.8 nm in both cases. The results indicate an unusually high packing density of rhodopsin molecules in the photoreceptor membrane, but molecules appear to be randomly distributed in the membrane without any regular ordering