Pemphigus is a blistering disease characterized by pemphigus autoantibodies (PVIgG) directed mostly against desmogleins (Dsgs), resulting in the loss of keratinocyte adhesion (acantholysis). Yet, the mechanisms underlying blister formation remain to be clarified. We have shown previously that anti-Fas ligand (FasL) antibody (Ab) prevents PVIgG-induced caspase-8 activation and Dsg cleavage in hu...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Blister aneurysms of the supraclinoid ICA represent a rare but well-documented cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage. These aneurysms are difficult to detect, and their surgical treatment is challenging, with high morbidity and mortality rates. The reports currently in the literature that describe the surgical and endovascular treatment of these aneurysms offer no clear consen...

Spirocerca lupi (Spirurida: Spirocercidae) is a cosmopolitan parasite, principally of domestic dogs and dung beetles are its main intermediate hosts. In South Africa there has recently been growing concern over the upsurge of reported cases of clinical spirocercosis in dogs, while little is known or understood about the dynamics of the host-parasite associations between dung beetles and this ne...

Hand removal is often recommended as a method for small-scale control of Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica Newman). In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of daily hand removal for controlling damage by Japanese beetles on grape plants. We also investigated whether the timing of the removal (at 0800, 1400, or 1900 hours, or at all 3 periods) influenced the effectiveness of the techn...

Exotic ambrosia beetles are damaging pests in ornamental tree nurseries in North America. The species Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Motshulsky) and Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford) are especially problematic. Management of these pests relies on preventive treatments of insecticides. However, field tests of recommended materials on nursery trees have been limited because of unreliable attacks by am...

Objective: To characterize amikacin pharmacokinetics in serum and in blister fluid of severe burn patients to guide optimal treatment timing. Methods: Patients (N = 32) were divided into four groups based on amikacin administration timing and groups received drug minutes to hours after injury. In Groups A, B, C, and D, amikacin (400 mg, IV) was administered 3 4, 10, 20 and 30 h post burn injury...

Since a decade the blistering of pure tungsten under hydrogen implantation has been one of the major research topics in relation to the plasma-wall interaction of tungsten-armored first wall. Overall blistering may reduce the erosion lifetime of the wall. Mature blisters grown by high internal pressure are likely to burst leading to exfoliation of the surface. Therefore, the control and suppres...

OBJECTIVE Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a common cause of chronic lumbar pain and disability. Conventional therapy approaches include analgesics and spinal surgery. Topical cantharidin applications are used for the treatment of severe chronic lumbar pain in traditional European medicine (TEM). We tested the pain-relieving effect of lumbar cantharidin blisters in a non-randomised controlled pi...

Our aim was to simultaneously investigate 2 techniques for in vivo sampling of peripheral compartment pharmacokinetics after systemic administration of acetylsalicylic acid. Ten volunteers were given 2 g acetylsalicylic acid orally. Blood samples and dialysates from 4 microdialysis probes inserted in the dermis of the forearm were collected for 5 h and suction blisters were raised 1-3 h after d...

BACKGROUND Suction blister grafting is a useful modality of treatment of patients with resistant and stable vitiligo. However, there have been no detailed studies to find out the best donor site for blister formation. METHODS The study was conducted between the period of October 2004 and February 2005 in the dermatology department at a tertiary care center. Nine patients with vitiligo (focal ...