Anti-NKG2D mAb:A New Treatment for Crohn's Disease?

Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are immunologically-mediated, debilitating conditions resulting from destructive inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The pathogenesis of IBD is incompletely understood, but is considered to be the result of an abnormal immune response with a wide range of cell types and proteins involved. Natural Killer Group 2D (NKG2D) is an activating receptor constitutively expressed on human Natural Killer (NK), γδ T, mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT), CD56+ T, and CD8+ T cells. Activation of NKG2D triggers cellular proliferation, cytokine production, and target cell killing. Research into the NKG2D mechanism of action has primarily been focused on cancer and viral infections where cytotoxicity evasion is a concern. In human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) this system is less characterized, but the ligands have been shown to be highly expressed during intestinal inflammation and the following receptor activation may contribute to tissue degeneration. A recent phase II clinical trial showed that an antibody against NKG2D induced clinical remission of CD in some patients, suggesting NKG2D and its ligands to be of importance in the pathogenesis of CD. This review will describe the receptor and its ligands in intestinal tissues and the clinical potential of blocking NKG2D in Crohn’s disease

Vikingernes skibsbygningsværktøj

Søren Vadstrup er arkitekt og har været bygmester på de seneste vikingeskibskopier fra Roskilde, ROAR EGE (1984) og HELGE ASK (1991). I artiklen sammenfattes den eksisterende viden om vikingernes værktøj, og hvordan de anvendte det i skibsbygningsprocessen

Predictors of Effects of Lifestyle Intervention on Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 Patients

The main aim of the study was to identify predictors of the effects of lifestyle intervention on diabetes mellitus type 2 patients by means of multivariate analysis. Data from a previously published randomised clinical trial, which compared the effects of a rehabilitation programme including standardised education and physical training sessions in the municipality's health care centre with the same duration of individual counseling in the diabetes outpatient clinic, were used. Data from 143 diabetes patients were analysed. The merged lifestyle intervention resulted in statistically significant improvements in patients' systolic blood pressure, waist circumference, exercise capacity, glycaemic control, and some aspects of general health-related quality of life. The linear multivariate regression models explained 45% to 80% of the variance in these improvements. The baseline outcomes in accordance to the logic of the regression to the mean phenomenon were the only statistically significant and robust predictors in all regression models. These results are important from a clinical point of view as they highlight the more urgent need for and better outcomes following lifestyle intervention for those patients who have worse general and disease-specific health