Faecalibacterium prausnitzii : from microbiology to diagnostics and prognostics

We thank Dr Xavier Aldeguer and MD David Busquets from the Hospital Dr Josep Trueta (Girona, Spain) and M.D Míriam Sabat Mir from the Hospital Santa Caterina (Salt, Spain) for their help and critical discussion concerning clinical aspects. This work was partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science through the projects SAF2010-15896 and SAF2013-43284-P, which has been co-financed with FEDER funds. Dr Sylvia H Duncan acknowledges support from the Scottish Government Food, Land and People program.Peer reviewedPostprin

Salvage therapy of progressive and recurrent Hodgkin's disease: results from a multicenter study of the pediatric DAL/GPOH-HD study group.

Contains fulltext : 48383.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)PURPOSE: To evaluate a salvage therapy (ST-HD-86) for patients with progressive and relapsed Hodgkin's disease after primary treatment in the pediatric DAL/GPOH studies. The essential chemotherapeutic regimens were ifosfamide, etoposide, and prednisone (IEP) and doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD). METHODS: One hundred seventy-six patients with progression (n = 51) or first relapse (n = 125) were enrolled by 67 centers. The median time from initial diagnosis to progression/relapse was 1.1 year (range, 0.1 to 15.3 years), and the patients' median age was 14.7 years (range, 4.3 to 24.5 years). Salvage chemotherapy consisted of two to three cycles of IEP alternating with one to two cycles of ABVD supplemented in part by one to two cycles of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone or lomustine (CCNU), etoposide, and prednimustine. Radiotherapy was given to involved areas using individualized doses. In the 1990s, additional high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem-cell transplantation (SCT) was introduced for patients with unfavorable prognosis. RESULTS: Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) after 10 years are 62% and 75%, respectively (SE, 4% each). Of 176 patients, 73 suffered second events. The risk-factor analysis revealed the time to progression/relapse as the strongest prognostic factor (P = .0001). Patients with progression have an inferior outcome (DFS, 41%; OS, 51%), whereas patients with late relapse (> 12 months after end of therapy) do well (DFS, 86%; OS, 90%), although none of them received SCT in second remission. CONCLUSION: The result can be considered favorable. Whereas the salvage strategy for progressive disease has to be optimized further, it is possible to reduce intensity and avoid SCT in late relapses after Hodgkin's disease in childhood/adolescence

Effects of immunoglobulin G from patients with dilated cardiomyopathy on rat cardiomyocytes

This study was designed to compare the effects of purified antibodies against the β1-adrenoceptor autoantibodies and total immunoglobulin G obtained during immunoadsorption on L-type Ca2+ currents, action potentials and cell shortening, in rat ventricular myocytes. Patients with dilated cardiomyopathy frequently develop autoantibodies against β1-adrenoceptors, which can be removed by immunoadsorption. There is some controversy, however, whether the beneficial effects of this therapeutic option are due to the removal of cardiostimulatory or cardiodepressive antibodies. Therefore we studied the effects of immunoglobulin G on two of the regulators of excitation-contraction coupling and on cell shortening. Immunglobulin G was obtained during immunoadsorption therapy. Dissociated myocytes from rat hearts were electrically stimulated and cell shortening was measured by cell edge detection. Single electrode patch clamp technique in current or voltage clamp mode was used to measure L-type Ca 2+ currents or action potentials, respectively. (-)-Isoprenaline was used for comparative purposes. In comparison to (-)-isoprenaline, immunoglobulin G increased Ca2+ current to a similar extent, but prolonged the plateau duration of action potentials to a lesser extent. Immunoglobulin G and β1-adrenoceptor enhanced cell shortening to a similar degree, however, the effects were smaller than with (-)-isoprenaline. The increase in contraction amplitude was prevented by (-)-bisoprolol. We conclude that both β1-adrenoceptors and immunoglobulin G derived from patients positive for β1-adrenoceptor autoantibodies mediate the cardiostimulatory effects via β1-adrenoceptors