Human antibodies specific, for polyribosyl-ribitol-phosphate (PRP), the capsular polysaccharide of Hemophilus influenzae b, were studied using idiotypic analysis. Antisera were prepared against purified F(ab')2 anti-PRP from two unrelated adults, H.H. and P.T. After repeated absorption with IgG myeloma proteins and with PRP-absorbed normal human Ig and donor Ig, anti-idiotypic (anti-Id) sera we...

BACKGROUND Observational studies and randomized, controlled trials have yielded uncertain results regarding the benefits of drug-eluting stents (DES) for the treatment of saphenous vein graft (SVG) disease. The objective of this meta-analysis was to assess the cumulative evidence regarding the efficacy and effectiveness of DES to treat SVG compared with bare metal stent (BMS). METHODS AND RES...

BACKGROUND Local corticosteroid injections are commonly used to improve the short-term symptomatic severity and the functional status of the hands affected by carpal tunnel syndrome. We conducted a systematic review and Bayesian network-meta-analysis to compare the clinical effectiveness of local corticosteroid injections using different injection approaches. METHODS Electronic literature in ...

Since the description of the first three cases of the 'cri du chat' syndrome by Lejeune, Lafourcade, Berger, Vialatte, Boeswillwald, Seringe, and Turpin (1963), 12 patients have been reported on in whom part of the short arms of a chromosome in the 4-5 group were absent (Lejeune, Lafourcade, de Grouchy, and Berger, 1964b; Punnett, Carpenter, and DiGeorge, 1964; Book, Atkins, and Santesson, 1963...

A/J anti-p-azobenzenearsonate (ABA) antibodies bearing cross-reactive idiotypic (CRI) determinants, when coupled to spleen cells and then injected intravenously into naive animals, stimulate suppressor T cell (Ts) responses. Moreover, previous studies have demonstrated that the ability of such idiotype-coupled spleen cells to induce immune unresponsiveness to subsequent immunization with ABA-co...

T-cell derived suppressor factor(s) (SF) specific for azobenzenearsonate (ABA) were prepared by the mechanical disruption of suppressor cells. Such suppressor factors were adsorbed to and recovered from immunoadsorbents prepared from the F(ab')2 fragments of rabbit immunoglobulin directed against the cross-reactive idiotype of A/J anti-ABA antibodies. These ABA-suppressor factors were not retai...

We consider self-tolerance and its failure-autoimmunity-in a minimal mathematical model of the idiotypic network. A node in the network represents a clone of B-lymphocytes and its antibodies of the same idiotype which is encoded by a bitstring. The links between nodes represent possible interactions between clones of almost complementary idiotype. A clone survives only if the number of populate...

BACKGROUND Clinicians are faced with an increasingly difficult choice regarding the optimal bronchodilator for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) given the number of new treatments. The objective of this study is to evaluate the comparative efficacy of indacaterol 75/150/300 μg once daily (OD), glycopyrronium bromide 50 μg OD, tiotropium bromide 18 μg/5 μg OD, salmeterol...