INTRODUCTION Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, pruritic inflammatory disease, characterized by a relapsing-remitting course. The pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis is not completely understood, although the disorder appears to result from the complex interaction between immune abnormalities, genetic and environmental factors. Trace elements are essential for normal functioning of the immune s...

PURPOSE To investigate renal function estimated by markers in full-term newborns with hyperbilirubinemia. METHODS A total of 332 full-term newborns with hyperbilirubinemia and 60 healthy full-term newborns were enrolled. Total serum bilirubin, serum creatinine (Cr), serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum cystatin C (Cys-C), urinary beta-2-microglobulin (β 2MG) index, and urinary N-acetyl-beta...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Tuberculous pleuritis is used as a model to understand the protective immune response in tuberculosis. It is predominated by Th1 response at the site of infection, where a possible role for the leptin, a known enhancer of Th1 response, could be speculated. Hence, we investigated leptin levels in pleural effusions in patients with both tuberculous (TP) and non-tuberculous...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the Th17/Treg immune balance in the ulcerative colitis (UC) patients in a Chinese Han population. METHODS Ninety UC patients and 30 healthy subjects were enrolled. The serum IL-17 and TGF-β1 levels of these participants were measured with ELISA; the percentage of Th17 and Treg cells in peripheral blood was determined with flow cytometry. RESULTS In UC patients, the ...

BACKGROUND Patients with underlying disease represent a high-risk group for influenza-associated complications and hospitalization. However, few studies investigated the immunogenicity of influenza vaccine in patients with liver disease. OBJECTIVE To examine immunogenicity of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccine in patients with liver disease and to explore the associated factors on lowered immune ...

BACKGROUND The relationship between obesity, physical fitness, and inflammation was analyzed in a Polish population aged 12 to 18 years. MATERIAL/METHODS Body mass index measurements and Eurofit physical fitness tests were undertaken to assess the adiposity and physical fitness status, respectively, of subjects. Serum samples were collected to measure standard inflammatory markers, including ...

TARGETT, G. A. T., AND VIENS, P. 1975. Ablastin: Control of Trypanosoma musculi infections in mice. Experimental Parasitology 38, 309316. Trypanosoma musculi infections in CBA mice consist of a phase of increasing parasitemia during which dividing forms of the parasite are present in the blood, followed by a period when only nondividing trypomastigotes are seen. A second crisis terminates the b...