The histopathological characteristic of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is the presence chronic enthesitis. Our aim was to develop a clinical measurement severity tenderness over entheses. scoring system based on patients9 response palpation entheses easily accessible examination. enthesis index (EI) correlated with pain (r = 0.67, p less than 0.01) and stiffness 0.46, 0.05) scores. A single, blind, crossover study conducted determine sensitivity change in state associated non-steroidal...

Psychological factors may be important in the assessment and management of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Our primary objective was to describe associations between disease psychological status AS, using AS-specific tools questionnaires. secondary objectives were identify patient subgroups based on such determine stability measures over time.A total 110 patients assessed at 6-monthly intervals up four times measure [Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Bath Functional...

Background. There have been no systematic studies following up the longer term health effects of cases cryptosporidiosis for which genotype data exist.

ABSTRACT An isogenic mutant of Streptococcus pyogenes Manfredo that lacks the ability to make streptococcal acid glycoprotein (SAGP) has been constructed by inserting a deletion in sagp gene using method allelic exchange. assay cell extracts (CE) prepared from wild-type and strains for enzyme arginine deiminase (AD) showed significant activity was present CE but none could be detected CE. These findings confirm our earlier conclusion SAGP AD (B. A. Degnan, J. M. Palmer, T. Robson, C. E. D....

Anti‐hormone‐sensitive lipase (HSL) immunoglobulin selectively immunoprecipitates a single 84 kDa 32 P‐phosphoprotein from macrophage homogenates previously phosphorylated by cyclic AMP‐dependent protein kinase in the presence of [γ‐ P]ATP‐Mg. This also completely removes neutral cholesterol ester hydrolase activity homogenates. These data demonstrate that HSL is responsible for macrophages and hence plays key role metabolism these cells.

Group A streptococci (GAS) can cause a wide variety of human infections ranging from asymptomatic colonization to life-threatening invasive diseases. Although antibiotic treatment is very effective, when left untreated, Streptococcus pyogenes lead poststreptococcal sequelae and severe disease causing significant morbidity mortality worldwide. To aid the development non-M protein-based prophylactic vaccine for prevention group streptococcal infections, we identified novel immunogenic proteins...

Abstract Injection of incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) into the footpads BALB/c mice induced an acute inflammation. Draining popliteal lymph nodes showed major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II‐restricted proliferation when challenged in vitro with recombinant Mycobacterium bovis 65‐kDa heat shock protein (hsp65). αβ Tcell receptor‐positive, CD4 + , hsp65‐specific T cell lines and clones were generated from these nodes, 87% responded to a P galactosidase fusion containing residues...

ABSTRACT Streptococcus pyogenes (group A ) cell extracts (CE) have a remarkably powerful and dose-dependent inhibitory effect on antigen, superantigen, or mitogen-stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear (PBMC) proliferation in vitro. Purification of the component present S. type M5 (Manfredo strain) CE by anion-exchange chromatography followed gel filtration showed that inhibitor had an approximate native molecular mass 100 kDa. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide electrophoresis...

Group A streptococcal cell surface M proteins elicit highly protective, serotype-specific opsonic antibodies and many serotypes also host cross-reactive antibodies, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of poststreptococcal autoimmune disease. To date, studies aimed at designing safe (non-host-cross-reactive, defined-epitope) vaccines have focused almost exclusively on antibody epitopes. Here we identify T-cell epitopes recognized by T cells from BALB/c, C57BL/6, CBA/Ca mice immunized...

Websites on the Internet are used increasingly by patients and those caring for them as a source of medical information. This study investigated nature quality kidney transplant-related information currently available World Wide Web (WWW).Four common search engines were to explore using keywords "kidney transplantation." Each website was assessed following categories: source, language, accessibility, presence kitemarks, quality/depth scored independently four transplant clinicians (two...

Our objective was to determine the efficacy and feasibility of a new approach for identifying candidate biomarkers knee osteoarthritis (OA), based on selecting promising candidates from range high-frequency acoustic emission (AE) measurements generated during weight-bearing movement. Candidate AE identified by this could then be validated in larger studies use future clinical trials stratified medicine applications common health condition. A population cohort participants with pain...

SUMMARY We investigated the ability of T cells from patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and Graves' disease as well control donors to proliferate in response thyroid peroxidase (TPO) thyroglobulin using (i) lymphoid different organs; (ii) unfractionated or CD8-depleted suspensions cells+autologous low density (LDC); (iii) 200-μI cultures 20-μl hanging-drop microcultures; (iv) intact TPO thyroglobulin, denatured 12 synthetic peptides predicted on basis amino acid sequence be cell epitopes....

Hormone‐sensitive lipase (HSL) is responsible for the neutral cholesterol ester hydrolase activity in macrophages. Incubation of intact WEHI macrophages or mouse peritoneal leads to phosphorylation HSL, which increased by incubation with either dibutyryl cyclic AMP and 3‐isobutyl‐1‐methylxanthine okadaic acid. Correspondingly, these agents also activate cells. Regulation mobilisation esterified may be antiatherogenic value, this model system now allows us investigate further.

Oral mucosal Langerhans cells (OMLC) may have an important role in the induction of immune responses to oral pathogens. In this study, anti-HLA-DR antibody-coated immunomagnetic beads were used purify OMLC from suspensions normal human buccal epithelium and capacity purified function as accessory (AC) was investigated. Electron microscopy show that possessed all recognized ultrastructural features previously described epidermal cells. Using T lymphocyte proliferation assays hanging drop...

There is a paucity of biomarkers in knee osteoarthritis (OA) to inform clinical decision making, evaluate treatments, enable early detection and identify people who are most likely progress severe OA. The absence places considerable limitations on the design research studies, barrier toward applying principles stratified medicine Here we describe key processes biomarker development focus two promising areas that draw upon technologies have only relatively recently been developed for...

Disease activity was monitored sequentially over 1 year in 22 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) attending regularly the local NASS group. Assessments, using standard methods, were made at monthly intervals by same observer. There marked heterogeneity such that each patient's profile of disease virtually unique. All experienced least one exacerbation and most underwent exacerbations remissions, reminiscent experience many rheumatoid arthritis. In instances no reason for changes could...

<italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Objective</i> : Acoustic emission (AE) sensed from knee joints during weight-bearing movements greatly increases with joint deterioration, but the relationship between AE patterns and specific anatomical damage, as seen for example in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is unknown. This knowledge essential to validate biomarkers evaluation of joints, forms objective this exploratory work associate...