Refine
Year of publication
Document Type
- Article (216)
- Preprint (88)
- Contribution to a Periodical (4)
Has Fulltext
- yes (308)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (308)
Keywords
- SARS-CoV-2 (10)
- COVID-19 (5)
- Heavy-ion collisions (4)
- Solution NMR-spectroscopy (4)
- COVID19-NMR (3)
- Covid19-NMR (3)
- Diffraction (3)
- Non-structural protein (3)
- risk factors (3)
- ACLF (2)
- Beam Energy Scan (2)
- Biomarkers (2)
- Chiral Magnetic Effect (2)
- Collectivity (2)
- Correlation (2)
- Elastic scattering (2)
- Immunology (2)
- Mitochondria (2)
- Non-small cell lung cancer (2)
- Portal hypertension (2)
- Protein drugability (2)
- Shear viscosity (2)
- Solution NMR spectroscopy (2)
- acute myeloid leukemia (2)
- acute-on-chronic liver failure (2)
- aging (2)
- cirrhosis (2)
- inflammation (2)
- portal hypertension (2)
- (Hydroxymethyl)diphenyl(piperidinoalkyl)silanes (1)
- 32D progenitor cells (1)
- 3years (1)
- 5'-UTR (1)
- 5_SL4 (1)
- 5′-UTR (1)
- ABCB1 (1)
- ABCC1 (1)
- ADGRE1 (1)
- ALK-rearranged NSCLC (1)
- AML (1)
- Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) (1)
- Acute kidney injury (1)
- Advanced stage (1)
- Alpha-synuclein (1)
- Alternative oxidase (1)
- American crocodile (1)
- Angiogenesis (1)
- Angiography (1)
- Ankylosierende Spondylitis (1)
- Ankylosing spondylitis (1)
- Artificial Intelligence (1)
- Atmospheric chemistry (1)
- Axial spondyloarthritis (1)
- Axiale Spondyloarthritis (1)
- B-slope (1)
- BCOR (1)
- BCORL1 (1)
- BI1361849 (1)
- BRVO (1)
- Beam energy scan (1)
- Biodiversity Data (1)
- Biomonitoring (1)
- Blood (1)
- Blood loss (1)
- Blood plasma (1)
- Botanical Collections (1)
- Brain tumor (1)
- CAKUT (1)
- CBA (1)
- CLIF-C ACLF score (1)
- CLIF-C ACLF-R score (1)
- COPD (1)
- COVID (1)
- CV9202 (1)
- CVD biomarker (1)
- Cancer (1)
- Cardiology (1)
- Care gaps (1)
- Charged-particle multiplicity (1)
- Charm quark spatial diffusion coefficient (1)
- Chiral magnetic effect (1)
- Cirrhosis (1)
- Climate sciences (1)
- Climate-change impacts (1)
- Clinical trial (1)
- Coalescence (1)
- Cohort studies (1)
- Cold nuclear matter effects (1)
- Colloids (1)
- Complex II (1)
- Complicated stage (1)
- Conservation (1)
- Critical point (1)
- Crocodylus acutus (1)
- Cryptic species (1)
- DME (1)
- Data sharing (1)
- Deuteron production (1)
- Devic disease (1)
- Devic syndrome (1)
- Di-hadron correlations (1)
- Diabetes (1)
- Digitization (1)
- Dimerization domain (1)
- Drug resistance (1)
- Drug targets (1)
- EMR1 (1)
- EWSR1 (1)
- Elliptic flow (1)
- Emphysema (1)
- Everolimus (1)
- Extended donor criteria (1)
- F4/80 (1)
- FOXO3a (1)
- Forward physics (1)
- G3BP (1)
- Gene fusion (1)
- Genetic testing (1)
- Genetics (1)
- Germany (1)
- Graft function (1)
- Graft survival (1)
- Groomed jet radius (1)
- HES (1)
- Hadron-Hadron scattering (experiments) (1)
- Hadronization (1)
- Haematocrit (1)
- Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (1)
- Health care (1)
- Health information (1)
- Health-seeking behaviour (1)
- Heat shock protein 27 (1)
- Heavy Ion Experiments (1)
- Heavy Quark Production (1)
- Heavy ion collisions (1)
- Heavy-Ion Collision (1)
- Heavy-flavor decay electron (1)
- Helpline (1)
- Herbaria (1)
- Higher moments (1)
- Hydroxyethyl starch (1)
- Hypofractionated radiotherapy (1)
- IL-6 (1)
- ILUVIEN (1)
- Immunogenetics (1)
- Immunomonitoring (1)
- Interference fragmentation function (1)
- J/ψ suppression (1)
- JAK2V617F (1)
- Jet substructure (1)
- K3EDTA plasma sampling (1)
- Kidney transplantation (1)
- LEOSS (1)
- Lipidomics (1)
- Liver cirrhosis (1)
- Liver transplantation (1)
- Ltbp4 (1)
- MCP (1)
- MN1 (1)
- MR-proADM (1)
- Machine learning (1)
- Macrodomain (1)
- Marginal grafts (1)
- Mean erythrocyte volume (1)
- Medication Appropriateness Index (1)
- Metabolic models (1)
- Metabolic vulnerabilities (1)
- Metabolomics (1)
- Mitochondrial disease (1)
- Molecular diagnostic testing (1)
- Molecular medicine (1)
- Mortality (1)
- Multiple parton interactions (1)
- Muscarinic Antagonists (1)
- Muscarinic Receptors (1)
- NAFL (1)
- NAFLD (1)
- NASH (1)
- NMO-IgG (1)
- NMR spectroscopy (1)
- Nephrons (1)
- Net-charge correlations (1)
- Net-charge fluctuations (1)
- Neuroepithelial (1)
- Neuromyelitis optica (1)
- Neurooncology (1)
- Nrf2 (1)
- Nucleic acid-binding domain (1)
- Nucleocapsid (1)
- Number of platelets (1)
- Ocean sciences (1)
- Oncology (1)
- Organ rinse (1)
- Organ shortage (1)
- Oxidative phosphorylation (1)
- PATZ1 (1)
- PTDM (1)
- Palaeoceanography (1)
- Palaeoclimate (1)
- Parkinson’s disease (1)
- Pdgfrβ (1)
- Pediatric (1)
- Periodontitis grades B and C (1)
- Phylogeny (1)
- Polo-like kinase 3 (1)
- Portal veins (1)
- Post-transplant (1)
- Pre-analytics (1)
- Predictive model (1)
- Primary prophylaxis (1)
- Protein druggability (1)
- Proteins (1)
- Proton-proton collisions (1)
- Proton–proton collisions (1)
- Psychiatric disorders (1)
- Quality of care (1)
- Quality standards (1)
- Qualitätsstandards (1)
- Quarkonium (1)
- RHIC (1)
- RNA genome (1)
- ROS (1)
- Radical nephrectomy (1)
- Rare diseases (1)
- Registries (1)
- Renal cancer (1)
- Renal system (1)
- Research Infrastructure (1)
- Respiratory chain (1)
- Retro-IDEAL (1)
- Rho GTPases (1)
- SD-OCT (1)
- SL1 (1)
- SLC20A1 (1)
- SOFA (1)
- SPSS (1)
- STAR (1)
- STK3 (1)
- Sampling protocol (1)
- Semantics (1)
- Sepsis (1)
- Septic shock (1)
- Sila-difenidol (1)
- Sila-pridinol (1)
- SoftDrop (1)
- Splitting function (1)
- Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (1)
- Steroid (1)
- Structural protein (1)
- Surgical and invasive medical procedures (1)
- Surgical oncology (1)
- Survival analysis (1)
- TGR(mREN2)27 (1)
- TOR inhibitor (1)
- TP53 mutation status (1)
- Tacrolimus (1)
- Taxonomy (1)
- Telemedicine (1)
- Tgfβ (1)
- Thermal model (1)
- Transversity (1)
- Trauma (1)
- UCN-01 (1)
- VEGF (1)
- Versorgungslücken (1)
- Versorgungsqualität (1)
- Volume therapy (1)
- Western diet (1)
- White blood cells (1)
- YM155 (1)
- accessory proteins (1)
- accident (1)
- acute decompensation (1)
- acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) (1)
- adhesion (1)
- advanced care planning (1)
- aftercare structures (1)
- ambulatory assessment (1)
- anal carcinoma (1)
- anticonvulsants (1)
- aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody (1)
- bioactivity testing (1)
- bladder exstrophy-epispadias complex (1)
- bleeding (1)
- cancer (1)
- caspase-8 (1)
- cell-free expression (1)
- cell-free protein synthesis (1)
- cerebrospinal fluid (1)
- chemoradiotherapy (1)
- chronic kidney disease (1)
- chronic myeloid leukemia (1)
- clinical features (1)
- cloacal malformation (1)
- comorbidities (1)
- computed tomography (1)
- computer-assisted drug therapy (1)
- consensus (1)
- context (1)
- critically ill patients (1)
- cytarabine dose (1)
- day clinic (1)
- decompensated liver cirrhosis (1)
- differentiated thyroid carcinoma (1)
- drug resistance (1)
- dysbiosis (1)
- easyPACId (1)
- ectosomes (1)
- elderly (1)
- epidemiology (1)
- epilepsy (1)
- epileptic encephalopathies (1)
- essential thrombocythemia (ET) (1)
- exosomes (1)
- experience sampling (1)
- extracellular vesicles (1)
- functional genetics (1)
- global change (1)
- glycobiology (1)
- glycoconjugate (1)
- guidelines (1)
- habitat destruction (1)
- health information exchange (1)
- heavy-ion collisions (1)
- hepatic encephalopathy (1)
- homing (1)
- hospital admission (1)
- immunity (1)
- infectious disease (1)
- injury (1)
- intrinsically disordered region (1)
- kidney formation (1)
- land use (1)
- lasso regression (1)
- lethal toxin (1)
- levetiracetam (1)
- liver (1)
- liver fibrosis (1)
- liver transplantation (1)
- liver transplantation center (1)
- local control (1)
- lockdown (1)
- long-term outcome (1)
- longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (1)
- loss-of-function (1)
- mRNA active cancer immunotherapy (1)
- macrophage (1)
- magnetic resonance imaging (1)
- male (1)
- mechanical ventilation (1)
- medication reconciliation (1)
- metabolic reprogramming (1)
- metabolic syndromes (1)
- microbiome (1)
- microdosing (1)
- microparticles (1)
- microvesicles (1)
- migration (1)
- minimal information requirements (1)
- mitosis (1)
- molecular modeling (1)
- molecular switch (1)
- monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1) (1)
- mortality (1)
- mtDNA (1)
- multimodal complex treatment (1)
- multimorbidity (1)
- multiple chronic conditions (1)
- myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) (1)
- nanodiscs (1)
- natural products (1)
- networks (1)
- neuroblastoma (1)
- neurodegeneration (1)
- neurological manifestations (1)
- neutralizing antibodies (1)
- nomogram (1)
- nonstructural proteins (1)
- p+p collisions (1)
- pediatric intensive care (1)
- peptide antibiotics (1)
- peri-implantitis (1)
- personalized medicine (1)
- phage lysis proteins (1)
- polycythemia vera (PV) (1)
- polypharmacy (1)
- portosystemic shunt (1)
- post-liver transplantation management (1)
- primary myelofibrosis (PMF) (1)
- proteobacteria (1)
- proteomics (1)
- pulmonary failure (1)
- qualitative research (1)
- quality control (1)
- rare diseases (1)
- real-life study (1)
- recurrent optic neuritis (1)
- renal dysfunction (1)
- reproducibility (1)
- respiratory failure (1)
- retrovirus (1)
- rigor (1)
- risk factor progression (1)
- risk stratification (1)
- seizure (1)
- sequential ALK-inhibitor therapy (1)
- sialic acid (1)
- simplified production (1)
- sirtuin1 (1)
- situation (1)
- spike protein (1)
- spontaneous portosystemic shunt (1)
- standardization (1)
- structural proteins (1)
- survival (1)
- survivin (1)
- thromboembolism (1)
- thrombosis (1)
- toxin B (1)
- transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) (1)
- trauma (1)
- tyrosine kinase inhibitors. (1)
- urinary tract development (1)
- variants of concern (1)
- vitamin D (1)
- vitamin D receptor (1)
- vitreous samples (1)
- zebrafish development (1)
- Υ suppression (1)
Institute
During January/February 2013, at the High Alpine Research Station Jungfraujoch a measurement campaign was carried out, which was centered on atmospheric ice-nucleating particles (INP) and ice particle residuals (IPR). Three different techniques for separation of INP and IPR from the non-ice-active particles are compared. The Ice Selective Inlet (ISI) and the Ice Counterflow Virtual Impactor (Ice-CVI) sample ice particles from mixed phase clouds and allow for the analysis of the residuals. The combination of the Fast Ice Nucleus Chamber (FINCH) and the Ice Nuclei Pumped Counterflow Virtual Impactor (IN-PCVI) provides ice-activating conditions to aerosol particles and extracts the activated INP for analysis.Collected particles were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis to determine size, chemical composition and mixing state. All INP/IPR-separating techniques had considerable abundances (median 20 – 70 %) of instrumental contamination artifacts (ISI: Si-O spheres, probably calibration aerosol; Ice-CVI: Al-O particles; FINCH+IN-PCVI: steel particles). Also, potential sampling artifacts (e.g., pure soluble material) occurred with a median abundance of < 20 %. While these could be explained as IPR by ice break-up, for INP their IN-ability pathway is less clear. After removal of the contamination artifacts, silicates and Ca-rich particles, carbonaceous material and metal oxides were the major INP/IPR particle types separated by all three techniques. Soot was a minor contributor. Lead was detected in less than 10 % of the particles, of which the majority were internal mixtures with other particle types. Sea-salt and sulfates were identified by all three methods as INP/IPR. Most samples showed a maximum of the INP/IPR size distribution at 400 nm geometric diameter. In a few cases, a second super-micron maximum was identified. Soot/carbonaceous material and metal oxides were present mainly in the submicron range. ISI and FINCH yielded silicates and Ca-rich particles mainly with diameters above 1 μm, while the Ice-CVI also separated many submicron IPR. As strictly parallel sampling could not be performed, a part of the discrepancies between the different techniques may result from variations in meteorological conditions and subsequent INP/IPR composition. The observed differences in the particle group abundances as well as in the mixing state of INP/IPR express the need for further studies to better understand the influence of the separating techniques on the INP/IPR chemical
composition.
During the Late Cretaceous and early Cenozoic the Earth experienced prolonged climatic cooling most likely caused by decreasing volcanic activity and atmospheric CO2 levels. However, the causes and mechanisms of subsequent major global warming culminating in the late Paleocene to Eocene greenhouse climate remain enigmatic. We present deep and intermediate water Nd-isotope records from the North and South Atlantic to decipher the control of the opening Atlantic Ocean on ocean circulation and its linkages to the evolution of global climate. The marked convergence of Nd-isotope signatures 59 million years ago indicates a major intensification of deep-water exchange between the North and South Atlantic, which coincided with the turning point of deep-water temperatures towards early Paleogene warming. We propose that this intensification of Atlantic overturning circulation in concert with increased atmospheric CO2 from continental rifting marked a climatic tipping point contributing to a more efficient distribution of heat over the planet.
Objectives: Investigate the effectiveness of a complex intervention aimed at improving the appropriateness of medication in older patients with multimorbidity in general practice.
Design: Pragmatic, cluster randomised controlled trial with general practice as unit of randomisation.
Setting: 72 general practices in Hesse, Germany.
Participants: 505 randomly sampled, cognitively intact patients (≥60 years, ≥3 chronic conditions under pharmacological treatment, ≥5 long-term drug prescriptions with systemic effects); 465 patients and 71 practices completed the study.
Interventions: Intervention group (IG): The healthcare assistant conducted a checklist-based interview with patients on medication-related problems and reconciled their medications. Assisted by a computerised decision support system, the general practitioner optimised medication, discussed it with patients and adjusted it accordingly. The control group (CG) continued with usual care.
Outcome measures: The primary outcome was a modified Medication Appropriateness Index (MAI, excluding item 10 on cost-effectiveness), assessed in blinded medication reviews and calculated as the difference between baseline and after 6 months; secondary outcomes after 6 and 9 months’ follow-up: quality of life, functioning, medication adherence, and so on.
Results: At baseline, a high proportion of patients had appropriate to mildly inappropriate prescriptions (MAI 0–5 points: n=350 patients). Randomisation revealed balanced groups (IG: 36 practices/252 patients; CG: 36/253). Intervention had no significant effect on primary outcome: mean MAI sum scores decreased by 0.3 points in IG and 0.8 points in CG, resulting in a non-significant adjusted mean difference of 0.7 (95% CI −0.2 to 1.6) points in favour of CG. Secondary outcomes showed non-significant changes (quality of life slightly improved in IG but continued to decline in CG) or remained stable (functioning, medication adherence).
Conclusions: The intervention had no significant effects. Many patients already received appropriate prescriptions and enjoyed good quality of life and functional status. We can therefore conclude that in our study, there was not enough scope for improvement.
Trial registration number: ISRCTN99526053. NCT01171339; Results.
The emerging disciplines of lipidomics and metabolomics show great potential for the discovery of diagnostic biomarkers, but appropriate pre-analytical sample-handling procedures are critical because several analytes are prone to ex vivo distortions during sample collection. To test how the intermediate storage temperature and storage period of plasma samples from K3EDTA whole-blood collection tubes affect analyte concentrations, we assessed samples from non-fasting healthy volunteers (n = 9) for a broad spectrum of metabolites, including lipids and lipid mediators, using a well-established LC-MS-based platform. We used a fold change-based approach as a relative measure of analyte stability to evaluate 489 analytes, employing a combination of targeted LC-MS/MS and LC-HRMS screening. The concentrations of many analytes were found to be reliable, often justifying less strict sample handling; however, certain analytes were unstable, supporting the need for meticulous processing. We make four data-driven recommendations for sample-handling protocols with varying degrees of stringency, based on the maximum number of analytes and the feasibility of routine clinical implementation. These protocols also enable the simple evaluation of biomarker candidates based on their analyte-specific vulnerability to ex vivo distortions. In summary, pre-analytical sample handling has a major effect on the suitability of certain metabolites as biomarkers, including several lipids and lipid mediators. Our sample-handling recommendations will increase the reliability and quality of samples when such metabolites are necessary for routine clinical diagnosis.
Breaking tolerance to the natural human liver autoantigen cytochrome P450 2D6 by virus infection
(2008)
Autoimmune liver diseases, such as autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and primary biliary cirrhosis, often have severe consequences for the patient. Because of a lack of appropriate animal models, not much is known about their potential viral etiology. Infection by liver-tropic viruses is one possibility for the breakdown of self-tolerance. Therefore, we infected mice with adenovirus Ad5 expressing human cytochrome P450 2D6 (Ad-2D6). Ad-2D6–infected mice developed persistent autoimmune liver disease, apparent by cellular infiltration, hepatic fibrosis, “fused” liver lobules, and necrosis. Similar to type 2 AIH patients, Ad-2D6–infected mice generated type 1 liver kidney microsomal–like antibodies recognizing the immunodominant epitope WDPAQPPRD of cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6). Interestingly, Ad-2D6–infected wild-type FVB/N mice displayed exacerbated liver damage when compared with transgenic mice expressing the identical human CYP2D6 protein in the liver, indicating the presence of a stronger immunological tolerance in CYP2D6 mice. We demonstrate for the first time that infection with a virus expressing a natural human autoantigen breaks tolerance, resulting in a chronic form of severe, autoimmune liver damage. Our novel model system should be instrumental for studying mechanisms involved in the initiation, propagation, and precipitation of virus-induced autoimmune liver diseases.
Background: The treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma patients consists of multimodal induction therapy to achieve remission followed by consolidation therapy to prevent relapses. However, the type of consolidation therapy is still discussed controversial. We applied metronomic chemotherapy in the prospective NB90 trial and monoclonal anti-GD2-antibody (MAB) ch14.18 in the NB97 trial. Here, we present the long term outcome data of the patient cohort. Methods: A total of 334 stage 4 neuroblastoma patients one year or older were included. All patients successfully completed the induction therapy. In the NB90 trial, 99 patients received at least one cycle of the oral maintenance chemotherapy (NB90 MT, 12 alternating cycles of oral melphalan/etoposide and vincristine/cyclophosphamide). In the NB97 trial, 166 patients commenced the MAB ch14.18 consolidation therapy (six cycles over 12 months). Patients who received no maintenance therapy according to the NB90 protocol or by refusal in NB97 (n = 69) served as controls. Results: The median observation time was 11.11 years. The nine-year event-free survival rates were 41 ± 4%, 31 ± 5%, and 32 ± 6% for MAB ch14.18, NB90 MT, and no consolidation, respectively (p = 0.098). In contrast to earlier reports, MAB ch14.18 treatment improved the long-term outcome compared to no additional therapy (p = 0.038). The overall survival was better in the MAB ch14.18-treated group (9-y-OS 46 ± 4%) compared to NB90 MT (34 ± 5%, p = 0.026) and to no consolidation (35 ± 6%, p = 0.019). Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed ch14.18 consolidation to improve outcome compared to no consolidation, however, no difference between NB90 MT and MAB ch14.18-treated patients was found. Conclusions: Follow-up analysis of the patient cohort indicated that immunotherapy with MAB ch14.18 may prevent late relapses. Finally, metronomic oral maintenance chemotherapy also appeared effective.
Qualitätsstandards (QS) sind messbare Konstrukte, die helfen sollen, Versorgungslücken quantitativ zu erfassen, um langfristig die Versorgungsqualität zu verbessern. Die Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society (ASAS) hat kürzlich erstmals internationale QS für das Management von Patient*innen mit axialer Spondyloarthritis (axSpA) konsentiert und veröffentlicht. Die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Rheumatologie (DGRh) hat daraufhin beschlossen, diese Standards durch eine Gruppe von Expert*innen aus unterschiedlichen Versorgungsbereichen zu übersetzen, zu prüfen und ggf. zu übernehmen. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurden erstmals nationale QS für das Management von Patient*innen mit axSpA für Deutschland entwickelt. Hierbei wurde v. a. auf Machbarkeit und Praxisrelevanz geachtet. Letztlich wurden 9 QS definiert, mit denen die Qualität der Versorgung in Deutschland gemessen und verbessert werden kann bzw. soll.
Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are currently the standard chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However, due to TKI resistance acquisition in CML patients, identification of new vulnerabilities is urgently required for a sustained response to therapy. In this study, we have investigated metabolic reprogramming induced by TKIs independent of BCR-ABL1 alterations. Proteomics and metabolomics profiling of imatinib-resistant CML cells (ImaR) was performed. KU812 ImaR cells enhanced pentose phosphate pathway, glycogen synthesis, serine-glycine-one-carbon metabolism, proline synthesis and mitochondrial respiration compared with their respective syngeneic parental counterparts. Moreover, the fact that only 36% of the main carbon sources were utilized for mitochondrial respiration pointed to glycerol-phosphate shuttle as mainly contributors to mitochondrial respiration. In conclusion, CML cells that acquire TKIs resistance present a severe metabolic reprogramming associated with an increase in metabolic plasticity needed to overcome TKI-induced cell death. Moreover, this study unveils that KU812 Parental and ImaR cells viability can be targeted with metabolic inhibitors paving the way to propose novel and promising therapeutic opportunities to overcome TKI resistance in CML.
TRIANNI mice carry an entire set of human immunoglobulin V region gene segments and are a powerful tool to rapidly isolate human monoclonal antibodies. After immunizing these mice with DNA encoding the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and boosting with spike protein, we identified 29 hybridoma antibodies that reacted with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Nine antibodies neutralize SARS-CoV-2 infection at IC50 values in the subnanomolar range. ELISA-binding studies and DNA sequence analyses revealed one cluster of three clonally related neutralizing antibodies that target the receptor-binding domain and compete with the cellular receptor hACE2. A second cluster of six clonally related neutralizing antibodies bind to the N-terminal domain of the spike protein without competing with the binding of hACE2 or cluster 1 antibodies. SARS-CoV-2 mutants selected for resistance to an antibody from one cluster are still neutralized by an antibody from the other cluster. Antibodies from both clusters markedly reduced viral spread in mice transgenic for human ACE2 and protected the animals from SARS-CoV-2-induced weight loss. The two clusters of potent noncompeting SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies provide potential candidates for therapy and prophylaxis of COVID-19. The study further supports transgenic animals with a human immunoglobulin gene repertoire as a powerful platform in pandemic preparedness initiatives.
Background: Rare diseases are, by definition, very serious and chronic diseases with a high negative impact on quality of life. Approximately 350 million people worldwide live with rare diseases. The resulting high disease burden triggers health information search, but helpful, high-quality, and up-to-date information is often hard to find. Therefore, the improvement of health information provision has been integrated in many national plans for rare diseases, discussing the telephone as one access option. In this context, this study examines the need for a telephone service offering information for people affected by rare diseases, their relatives, and physicians.
Methods: In total, 107 individuals participated in a qualitative interview study conducted in Germany. Sixty-eight individuals suffering from a rare disease or related to somebody with rare diseases and 39 health care professionals took part. Individual interviews were conducted using a standardized semi-structured questionnaire. Interviews were analysed using the qualitative content analysis, triangulating patients, relatives, and health care professionals. The fulfilment of qualitative data processing standards has been controlled for.
Results: Out of 68 patients and relatives and 39 physicians, 52 and 18, respectively, advocated for the establishment of a rare diseases telephone service. Interviewees expected a helpline to include expert staffing, personal contact, good availability, low technical barriers, medical and psychosocial topics of counselling, guidance in reducing information chaos, and referrals. Health care professionals highlighted the importance of medical topics of counselling—in particular, differential diagnostics—and referrals.
Conclusions: Therefore, the need for a national rare diseases helpline was confirmed in this study. Due to limited financial resources, existing offers should be adapted in a stepwise procedure in accordance with the identified attributes.