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Pre-publication peer review of scientific literature in its present state suffers from a lack of evaluation validity and transparency to the community. Inspired by social networks, we propose a framework for the open exchange of post-publication evaluation to complement the current system. We first formulate a number of necessary conditions that should be met by any design dedicated to perform open scientific evaluation. To introduce our framework, we provide a basic data standard and communication protocol. We argue for the superiority of a provider-independent framework, over a few isolated implementations, which allows the collection and analysis of open evaluation content across a wide range of diverse providers like scientific journals, research institutions, social networks, publishers websites, and more. Furthermore, we describe how its technical implementation can be achieved by using existing web standards and technology. Finally, we illustrate this with a set of examples and discuss further potential.
Background: Liver cirrhosis is associated with high morbidity and mortality. MicroRNAs (miRs) circulating in the blood are an emerging new class of biomarkers. In particular, the serum level of the liver-specific miR-122 might be a clinically useful new parameter in patients with acute or chronic liver disease.
Aim: Here we investigated if the serum level of miR-122 might be a prognostic parameter in patients with liver cirrhosis.
Methods: 107 patients with liver cirrhosis in the test cohort and 143 patients in the validation cohort were prospectively enrolled into the present study. RNA was extracted from the sera obtained at the time of study enrollment and the level of miR-122 was assessed. Serum miR-122 levels were assessed by quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and were compared to overall survival time and to different complications of liver cirrhosis.
Results: Serum miR-122 levels were reduced in patients with hepatic decompensation in comparison to patients with compensated liver disease. Patients with ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and hepatorenal syndrome had significantly lower miR-122 levels than patients without these complications. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that the miR-122 serum levels were associated with survival independently from the MELD score, sex and age.
Conclusions: Serum miR-122 is a new independent marker for prediction of survival of patients with liver cirrhosis.
Hereditary angioedema (HAE) in children and adolescents : a consensus on therapeutic strategies
(2012)
Hereditary angioedema due to C1 inhibitor (C1 esterase inhibitor) deficiency (types I and II HAE-C1-INH) is a rare disease that usually presents during childhood or adolescence with intermittent episodes of potentially life-threatening angioedema. Diagnosis as early as possible is important to avoid ineffective therapies and to properly treat swelling attacks. At a consensus meeting in June 2011, pediatricians and dermatologists from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland reviewed the currently available literature, including published international consensus recommendations for HAE therapy across all age groups. Published recommendations cannot be unconditionally adopted for pediatric patients in German-speaking countries given the current approval status of HAE drugs. This article provides an overview and discusses drugs available for HAE therapy, their approval status, and study results obtained in adult and pediatric patients. Recommendations for developing appropriate treatment strategies in the management of HAE in pediatric patients in German-speaking countries are provided.Conclusion Currently, plasma-derived C1 inhibitor concentrate is considered the best available option for the treatment of acute HAE-C1-INH attacks in pediatric patients in German-speaking countries, as well as for short-term and long-term prophylaxis.
Einleitung: Beim allergischen Asthma bronchiale handelt es sich um eine weltweit zunehmende Erkrankung, für die es bislang nur wenige kausale Therapien gibt. In der Therapie chronisch-entzündlicher Erkrankungen wie der chronischen Rhinitis, Sinusitis, Akne vulgaris oder auch dem Asthma bronchiale, werden seit vielen Jahrzehnten autologe Autovaccine eingesetzt und stellen eine effektive Behandlungsoption dar.
Methoden: In einer prospektiven, randomisierten, doppelblinden Studie wurden 31 Probanden mit einem Asthma GINA I° sowie einem positiven Prick-Hauttest und einer positiven bronchialen Allergenprovokation mit Hausstaubmilbe entweder mit einer autologen E. coli Autovaccine (AV) oder einem Placebo über 24 Wochen behandelt, woraufhin eine abschließende Provokationsphase folgte. Als primären Zielparameter bestimmten wir das exhalative Stickstoffmonoxid (eNO) als Marker der bronchialen Entzündung. Die sekundären Zielparameter waren die bronchiale Hyperreagibilität vor und nach Behandlung sowie nach Provokation, das Allergie-Labor (Gesamt-IgE, spezifisches IgE gegen Hausstaubmilbe), die klinische Verträglichkeit sowie die Spätreaktion und der Medikamentenverbrauch in der abschließenden Provokationswoche.
Ergebnisse: Die Patienten der AV-Gruppe (36,7 ppb) fielen unter Behandlung signifikant auf 24,2 ppb ab, während die Placebo-Gruppe (26,8 ppb) mit 30,6 ppb eher angestiegen war. Bezüglich der bronchialen Hyperreagibilität ergab sich in der AV-Gruppe ebenfalls eine deutliche Verbesserung im Vergleich zur Placebo-Gruppe: Placebo 1,17 mg vs. AV 0,51 mg vor Behandlung auf Placebo 1,03 mg vs. AV 0,99 mg nach Behandlung. Sowohl bezüglich der BHR als auch der eNO-Werte konnten diese Ergebnisse unter Provokation nicht bestätigt werden. In beiden Gruppen stieg das eNO unter den abschließenden bronchialen Allergenprovokationen signifikant auf 104,4 ppb in der Placebo-Gruppe und 91,1 ppb in der AV-Gruppe an. Während der abschließenden Provokationsphase zeigten sich in der AV-Gruppe ein signifikant geringerer Salbutamol-Bedarf sowie ein signifikant geringeres Auftreten von Spätreaktionen (LAR) im Vergleich zur Placebo-Gruppe. Es traten nur leichte, selbst limitierende Lokalreaktionen auf.
Diskussion: Die Anwendung einer autologen E. coli Autovaccine war sicher und gut verträglich. Die Ergebnisse zeigten einen positiven Einfluss auf die bronchiale Entzündung und Hyperreagibilität bei leichten Asthmatikern mit Hausstaubmilben-Allergie und stellen so eine neue Behandlungsoption dar. Zum genauen Wirkmechanismus der AV bedarf es weiterer Studien.
Volkmar Siguschs 1984 erschienenes Buch "Die Mystifikation des Sexuellen" bietet gute Anknüpfungspunkte, um die Eingebundenheit der Kategorien "Geschlecht" und "Sexualität" in die kapitalistische Produktionsweise verstehen und Ableitungen für emanzipatorisches Streiten treffen zu können. Zusammen mit weiteren – auch neueren – Arbeiten Siguschs ergeben sich Anschlussmöglichkeiten für die kapitalismuskritische und antikapitalistische Fortentwicklung feministischer und queer-feministischer Ansätze.
Background: Liver fibrosis in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals is mostly attributable to co-infection with hepatitis B or C. The impact of other risk factors, including prolonged exposure to combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) is poorly understood. Our aim was to determine the prevalence of liver fibrosis and associated risk factors in HIV-infected individuals based on non-invasive fibrosis assessment using transient elastography (TE) and serum biomarkers (Fibrotest [FT]).
Methods: In 202 consecutive HIV-infected individuals (159 men; mean age 47 ± 9 years; 35 with hepatitis-C-virus [HCV] co-infection), TE and FT were performed. Repeat TE examinations were conducted 1 and 2 years after study inclusion.
Results: Significant liver fibrosis was present in 16% and 29% of patients, respectively, when assessed by TE (≥ 7.1 kPa) and FT (> 0.48). A combination of TE and FT predicted significant fibrosis in 8% of all patients (31% in HIV/HCV co-infected and 3% in HIV mono-infected individuals). Chronic ALT, AST and γ-GT elevation was present in 29%, 20% and 51% of all cART-exposed patients and in 19%, 8% and 45.5% of HIV mono-infected individuals. Overall, factors independently associated with significant fibrosis as assessed by TE (OR, 95% CI) were co-infection with HCV (7.29, 1.95-27.34), chronic AST (6.58, 1.30-33.25) and γ-GT (5.17, 1.56-17.08) elevation and time on dideoxynucleoside therapy (1.01, 1.00-1.02). In 68 HIV mono-infected individuals who had repeat TE examinations, TE values did not differ significantly during a median follow-up time of 24 months (median intra-patient changes at last TE examination relative to baseline: -0.2 kPa, p = 0.20).
Conclusions: Chronic elevation of liver enzymes was observed in up to 45.5% of HIV mono-infected patients on cART. However, only a small subset had significant fibrosis as predicted by TE and FT. There was no evidence for fibrosis progression during follow-up TE examinations.
Background and Aims: The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies in Germany has been estimated to be in the range of 0.4–0.63%. Screening for HCV is recommended in patients with elevated ALT levels or significant risk factors for HCV transmission only. However, 15–30% of patients report no risk factors and ALT levels can be normal in up to 20–30% of patients with chronic HCV infection. The aim of this study was to assess the HCV seroprevalence in patients visiting two tertiary care emergency departments in Berlin and Frankfurt, respectively.
Methods: Between May 2008 and March 2010, a total of 28,809 consecutive patients were screened for the presence of anti-HCV antibodies. Anti-HCV positive sera were subsequently tested for HCV-RNA.
Results: The overall HCV seroprevalence was 2.6% (95% CI: 2.4–2.8; 2.4% in Berlin and 3.5% in Frankfurt). HCV-RNA was detectable in 68% of anti-HCV positive cases. Thus, the prevalence of chronic HCV infection in the overall study population was 1.6% (95% CI 1.5–1.8). The most commonly reported risk factor was former/current injection drug use (IDU; 31.2%) and those with IDU as the main risk factor were significantly younger than patients without IDU (p<0.001) and the male-to-female ratio was 72% (121 vs. 46 patients; p<0.001). Finally, 18.8% of contacted HCV-RNA positive patients had not been diagnosed previously.
Conclusions: The HCV seroprevalence was more than four times higher compared to current estimates and almost one fifth of contacted HCV-RNA positive patients had not been diagnosed previously.
Background and Aims: Chronic infection with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major health issue worldwide. Recently, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DP locus were identified to be associated with HBV infection in Asian populations. Most significant associations were observed for the A alleles of HLA-DPA1 rs3077 and HLA-DPB1 rs9277535, which conferred a decreased risk for HBV infection. We assessed the implications of these variants for HBV infection in Caucasians.
Methods: Two HLA-DP gene variants (rs3077 and rs9277535) were analyzed for associations with persistent HBV infection and with different clinical outcomes, i.e., inactive HBsAg carrier status versus progressive chronic HBV (CHB) infection in Caucasian patients (n = 201) and HBsAg negative controls (n = 235).
Results: The HLA-DPA1 rs3077 C allele was significantly associated with HBV infection (odds ratio, OR = 5.1, 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.9–13.7; p = 0.00093). However, no significant association was seen for rs3077 with progressive CHB infection versus inactive HBsAg carrier status (OR = 2.7, 95% CI: 0.6–11.1; p = 0.31). In contrast, HLA-DPB1 rs9277535 was not associated with HBV infection in Caucasians (OR = 0.8, 95% CI: 0.4–1.9; p = 1).
Conclusions: A highly significant association of HLA-DPA1 rs3077 with HBV infection was observed in Caucasians. However, as a differentiation between different clinical courses of HBV infection was not possible, knowledge of the HLA-DPA1 genotype cannot be translated into personalized anti-HBV therapy approaches.
1. Introduction: The autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxias (ADCA) are a clinically, pathologically and genetically heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders caused by degeneration of cerebellum and its afferent and efferent connections. The degenerative process may additionally involves the ponto- medullar systems, pyramidal tracts, basal ganglia, cerebral cortex, peripheral nerves (ADCA I) and the retina (ADCA II), or can be limited to the cerebellum (ADCA III) (Harding et al., 1993). The most common of these dominantly inherited autosomal ataxias, ADCA I, includes many Spinocerebellar Ataxias (SCA) subtypes, some of which are caused by pathological CAG trinucleotide repeat expansion in the coding region on the mutated gene. Such is the case for SCA1, SCA2, SCA3/MJD, SCA6, SCA7, SCA17 and Dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA) (Matilla et al., 2006). Among the almost 30 SCAs, the variant SCA2 is the second most prevalent subtype worldwide, only surpassed by SCA3 (Schöls et al., 2004; Matilla et al., 2006; Auburger, 2011)...
Adult human cardiac mesenchymal-like stromal cells (CStC) represent a relatively accessible cell type useful for therapy. In this light, their conversion into cardiovascular precursors represents a potential successful strategy for cardiac repair. The aim of the present work was to reprogram CStC into functionally competent cardiovascular precursors using epigenetically active small molecules. CStC were exposed to low serum (5% FBS) in the presence of 5 µM all-trans Retinoic Acid (ATRA), 5 µM Phenyl Butyrate (PB), and 200 µM diethylenetriamine/nitric oxide (DETA/NO), to create a novel epigenetically active cocktail (EpiC). Upon treatment the expression of markers typical of cardiac resident stem cells such as c-Kit and MDR-1 were up-regulated, together with the expression of a number of cardiovascular-associated genes including KDR, GATA6, Nkx2.5, GATA4, HCN4, NaV1.5, and α-MHC. In addition, profiling analysis revealed that a significant number of microRNA involved in cardiomyocyte biology and cell differentiation/proliferation, including miR 133a, 210 and 34a, were up-regulated. Remarkably, almost 45% of EpiC-treated cells exhibited a TTX-sensitive sodium current and, to a lower extent in a few cells, also the pacemaker If current. Mechanistically, the exposure to EpiC treatment introduced global histone modifications, characterized by increased levels of H3K4Me3 and H4K16Ac, as well as reduced H4K20Me3 and H3s10P, a pattern compatible with reduced proliferation and chromatin relaxation. Consistently, ChIP experiments performed with H3K4me3 or H3s10P histone modifications revealed the presence of a specific EpiC-dependent pattern in c-Kit, MDR-1, and Nkx2.5 promoter regions, possibly contributing to their modified expression. Taken together, these data indicate that CStC may be epigenetically reprogrammed to acquire molecular and biological properties associated with competent cardiovascular precursors.