Memory formation is the most important aspect of a vaccine which can guarantee long-lasting immunity and protection. The main aim of the present study was to evaluate the memory immune responses after immunization with a mini vaccine. Mice were immunized with human immunodeficiency virus-1 P24-Nef fusion peptide and then cellular and humoral immune responses were evaluated. In order to determin...

BACKGROUND The number of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices has increased progressively and has led to an increased need for transvenous lead extraction (TLE). Multiple reports of TLE procedural outcomes exist; however, data regarding postprocedural and long-term mortality are limited. METHODS AND RESULTS We performed a retrospective study of consecutive patients undergoing TLE at ...

Many stroke survivors, despite improvements in mortality and morbidity, remain dependent on others for everyday activities. People with stroke need access to effective specialist multidisciplinary rehabilitation services that are organised and integrated within the whole system of health and social care. They also commonly come under the care of generalists in various clinical contexts, includi...

OBJECTIVE Among the many therapeutic options for treating tracheal stenosis (e.g. bouginage, laser resection and stenting), segmental resection and reconstruction with end-to-end anastomosis is the method of choice. We verified this in an analysis of clinical material. PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively evaluated 110 tracheal sleeve resections performed between 1985 and 2001. Data before...

AIM Short-term survival after emergency surgery for perforated diverticulitis is poor. Less is known about long-term survival. The aims of this study were to evaluate long-term survival after discharge from hospital and to identify factors associated with prognosis. METHOD All patients who underwent emergency surgery for perforated diverticulitis in five hospitals in Rotterdam, the Netherland...

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy in clinical practice is traditionally a long-term treatment conducted by well-trained psychotherapists. However, very few studies have been published that evaluate the effects of such treatment. To redress this lack of studies, 55 individuals selected for long-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy (average, 3 years) were invited to participate in a naturalistic study. T...

Over the past four decades increasingly effective cancer therapies have been developed, involving surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. With an 60% 5-year relative survival for cancer patients (all sites combined) the prevalence of long-term cancer survivors (‡5 years after diagnosis) is 3% [1]. In Europe, patients with breast cancer dominate among 10-year survivors, followed by survivors aft...

ARDS is a life-threatening organ failure due to several pulmonary and extrapulmonary injuries with an incidence between 5 and 60 cases/100,000 persons/y. Patients with ARDS have non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema and dyspnea often requiring invasive mechanical ventilation and intensive care admission. Although the short-term mortality rate has significantly decreased in the last decade, mainly due...

The main objective of the present study was to prospectively evaluate long-term surgical success and safety in patients with nasolacrimal duct obstruction treated with a multidiode transcanalicular laser and bicanalicular silicone intubation stenting. 42 patients treated with transcanalicular laser dacryocystorhinostomy for nasolacrimal duct obstruction were prospectively enrolled. In all cases...