OBJECTIVE We are conducting an open-label phase 1b study on the efficacy of intrathecal (IT) administration of rituximab, provided via an Ommaya reservoir, for the treatment of progressive multiple sclerosis (PMS). The objective of this initial study was to monitor B lymphocytes in peripheral blood (PB) and CSF from the first 10 patients 1 year posttreatment. METHODS Dose titration was perfor...

A panel of six monoclonal antibodies produced against cell surface glycoproteins of a rabbit T lymphocyte line was used with flow cytometry to define rabbit lymphocyte subpopulations. Four thymocyte populations were characterized by size and expression of cell surface antigens and appear to represent stages in thymocyte differentiation. Rabbit spleen contained five subpopulations: two of T line...

Thirty-eight mature horses were assigned to one of two equal groups to evaluate two treatments consisting of either 24 hours of continuous road transport (24T) or two 12-hour periods of transport separated by off-loading, resting and feeding the horses for 12 hours (12/12T). A subset of six horses from each group served as controls for the other group. The horses were loaded into a commercial s...

BACKGROUND Ataxia telangiectasia (A-T) is a genetic disorder caused by the homozygous mutation of the A-T mutated gene. It is frequently associated with variable degrees of cellular and humoral immunodeficiency. However, the immune defects in A-T patients are not well characterized. To the best of our knowledge, no studies have focused on the major lymphocyte subpopulations and recent thymic em...

BACKGROUND The complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and fibromyalgia (FM) are chronic pain syndromes occurring in highly stressed individuals. Despite the known connection between the nervous system and immune cells, information on distribution of lymphocyte subsets under stress and pain conditions is limited. METHODS We performed a comparative study in 15 patients with CRPS type I, 22 patie...