Assessing a treatment on the basis of an individual or a group. An example: the homeopathic treatment of digestive-tract strongyles in sheep

Homeopathic treatments, widely used in organic farming, remain unevaluated. Assessment is difficult since the individuals that respond to treatment are not identified, although it is central to the concept of homeopathic treatment. Classifying lambs into those to be treated (since they have high parasitic infection rate or poor production performances) or that should remain untreated (in other words, even when treated, they will not benefit from treatment) is not simple. The identification of lambs to be treated can be based on parasitological examinations (eggs per gram of faeces), clinical (anaemia or diarrhoea)or production-related (weight gain) results. The classification of lambs was a posteriori and based on dendrograms using UPGMA (unweighted pairwise grouping on arithmetic average) and Gower’s similarity index. Parasitological, clinical and production identifiers were used for assessing the efficacy of Teucrium marum (9 CH) on digestive-tract strongyles. There was no reduction in gastro-intestinal infection in lambs with high infection rates or poor live weight gain

Novel mutations in TLR genes cause hyporesponsiveness to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis infection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Toll like receptors (TLR) play the central role in the recognition of pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Mutations in the TLR1, TLR2 and TLR4 genes may change the ability to recognize PAMPs and cause altered responsiveness to the bacterial pathogens.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The study presents association between TLR gene mutations and increased susceptibility to <it>Mycobacterium avium </it>subsp. <it>paratuberculosis </it>(MAP) infection. Novel mutations in TLR genes (TLR1- Ser150Gly and Val220Met; TLR2 – Phe670Leu) were statistically correlated with the hindrance in recognition of MAP legends. This correlation was confirmed subsequently by measuring the expression levels of cytokines (IL-4, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12 and IFN-γ) in the mutant and wild type moDCs (mocyte derived dendritic cells) after challenge with MAP cell lysate or LPS. Further <it>in silico </it>analysis of the TLR1 and TLR4 ectodomains (ECD) revealed the polymorphic nature of the central ECD and irregularities in the central LRR (leucine rich repeat) motifs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The most critical positions that may alter the pathogen recognition ability of TLR were: the 9^thamino acid position in LRR motif (TLR1–LRR10) and 4^thresidue downstream to LRR domain (exta-LRR region of TLR4). The study describes novel mutations in the TLRs and presents their association with the MAP infection.</p

Severe neurological outcomes after very early bilateral nephrectomies in patients with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD)

To test the association between bilateral nephrectomies in patients with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) and long-term clinical outcome and to identify risk factors for severe outcomes, a dataset comprising 504 patients from the international registry study ARegPKD was analyzed for characteristics and complications of patients with very early (� 3 months; VEBNE) and early (4�15 months; EBNE) bilateral nephrectomies. Patients with very early dialysis (VED, onset � 3 months) without bilateral nephrectomies and patients with total kidney volumes (TKV) comparable to VEBNE infants served as additional control groups. We identified 19 children with VEBNE, 9 with EBNE, 12 with VED and 11 in the TKV control group. VEBNE patients suffered more frequently from severe neurological complications in comparison to all control patients. Very early bilateral nephrectomies and documentation of severe hypotensive episodes were independent risk factors for severe neurological complications. Bilateral nephrectomies within the first 3 months of life are associated with a risk of severe neurological complications later in life. Our data support a very cautious indication of very early bilateral nephrectomies in ARPKD, especially in patients with residual kidney function, and emphasize the importance of avoiding severe hypotensive episodes in this at-risk cohort. © 2020, The Author(s)

The long-term outcomes of idiopathic hypercalciuria in children

Objective: Idiopathic hypercalciuria (IH) is a metabolic risk factor in patients with urinary calcium stones and implicated in 30%-50% of all urinary stone diseases. Clinical manifestations and distribution of types of IH are reviewed, as well as current treatment methods and long-term outcomes. Patients: A total of 131 patients (70 boys and 61 girls), aged 1-15 years (mean 7.9 ± 3.19 years), were studied. Follow up was between 6 months and 16 years (mean 4.1 ± 6.8 years). Results: Fifty-three patients (40%) were diagnosed following calcium challenge as renal type, and 51 (39%) as absorptive type of hypercalciuria. Whereas 72 patients (54.9%) had a family history of nephrolithiasis, 59 patients did not. Nephrolithiasis was found in 27 patients (20%) on admission (absorptive = 9.9%, renal = 4.5%, undetermined = 6.1%), but developed in eight other patients (6.1%) (absorptive = 2.2%, renal = 0.7%, undetermined = 3.8%). Urinary calcium excretion reversed in 65 patients with the suggested diet therapy; it recurred in 30 patients (22.9%) (absorptive = 9.1%, renal = 11.4%, undetermined = 2.2%) but 35 returned to normal definitively (26.7%) (absorptive = 11.4%, renal = 12.9%, undetermined = 2.2%). No change was seen in the status of 50 patients (38.1%) (absorptive = 18.3%, renal = 16%, undetermined = 3.8%). Conclusion: IH may be accompanied by nephrolithiasis; type must be determined and those patients with absorptive type should be followed for nephrolithiasis. Our results suggest that formation of new stones could be prevented with diet and thiazide therapies in IH. © 2005 Journal of Pediatric Urology Company

Interleukin 8 gene 2767 A/G polymorphism is associated with increased risk of nephritis in children with Henoch-Schönlein purpura

PubMed ID: 21240497The objective of this study is to investigate the association between IL-8 gene 2767 G/A polymorphism and clinical features, kidney involvement and prognosis in childhood Henoch Schnölein purpura (HSP). A total of 115 patients with HSP (59 male, 56 female) were included in the study with age at diagnosis between 2 and 17 years (8.0 ± 3.0). Hundred and eight healthy adults were included in the study as controls. The patients had been followed up for kidney involvement for at least 6 months and in average 8.2 ± 7.5 months. Interleukin 8 (IL-8) gene 2767 G/A polymorphism was studied by PCR-RFLP method. Frequency of the "A" allele was 0.37 in the patient group, whereas it was 0.36 in the control group. The difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.696). No association was detected between the IL-8 gene G/A polymorphism and the clinical, laboratory, and demographic data related to the patients with HSP. Kidney involvement was more common in those with the G/A polymorphism of the IL-8 gene. While a 0.44 frequency of the "A" allele was detected in those with kidney involvement, this rate was 0.29 in those with no kidney involvement (P = 0.046). Follow-up of those with the "A" allele revealed higher proteinuria (P = 0.023, odds ratio 0.176, 95% CI 0.034-0.917) and higher creatinine levels (P = 0.049, odds ratio 0.024, 95% CI 0.036-0.094). These results suggest that the kidney involvement is more common in patients with the "A" allele, and degree of proteinuria and creatinine levels is higher in these patients at follow-up. © Springer-Verlag 2011

RAS gene polymorphisms in primary FSGS and steroid responsive nephrotic syndrome

42nd Annual Meeting of the European-Renal-Association/European-Dialysis-and-Transplant-Association (ERA-EDTA) -- JUN 04-07, 2005 -- Istanbul, TURKEYWOS: 000234376900084European Renal Assoc, European Diaysis &Transplant Asso