| 1. |
- Vergoossen, Dana L. E., et al.
(författare)
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Enrichment of serum IgG4 in MuSK myasthenia gravis patients
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Neuroimmunology. - : Elsevier. - 0165-5728 .- 1872-8421. ; 373
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Muscle-specific kinase (MuSK) myasthenia gravis (MG) is a neuromuscular autoimmune disease belonging to a growing group of IgG4 autoimmune diseases (IgG4-AIDs), in which the majority of pathogenic autoantibodies are of the IgG4 subclass. The more prevalent form of MG with acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibodies is caused by IgG1-3 autoantibodies. A dominant role for IgG4 in autoimmune disease is intriguing due to its antiinflammatory characteristics. It is unclear why MuSK autoantibodies are predominantly IgG4. We hypothesized that MuSK MG patients have a general predisposition to generate IgG4 responses, therefore resulting in high levels of circulating IgG4. To investigate this, we quantified serum Ig isotypes and IgG subclasses using nephelometric and turbidimetric assays in MuSK MG and AChR MG patients not under influence of immunosuppressive treatment. Absolute serum IgG1 was increased in both MuSK and AChR MG patients compared to healthy donors. In addition, only MuSK MG patients on average had significantly increased and enriched serum IgG4. Although more MuSK MG patients had elevated serum IgG4, for most the IgG4 serum levels fell within the normal range. Correlation analyses suggest MuSK-specific antibodies do not solely explain the variation in IgG4 levels. In conclusion, although serum IgG4 levels are slightly increased, the levels do not support ubiquitous IgG4 responses in MuSK MG patients as the underlying cause of dominant IgG4 MuSK antibodies.
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| 2. |
- Bakker, M. Els, et al.
(författare)
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Assessment of Regional Progression of Pulmonary Emphysema With CT Densitometry
- 2008
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Ingår i: Chest. - : Elsevier BV. - 1931-3543 .- 0012-3692. ; 134:5, s. 931-937
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Lung densitometry is an effective method to assess overall progression of emphysema, but generally the location of the progression is not estimated. We hypothesized that progression of emphysema is the result of extension from affected areas toward less affected areas in the lung. To test this hypothesis, a method was developed to assess emphysema severity at different levels in the lungs in order to estimate regional changes. Methods: Fifty subjects with emphysema due to alpha(1)-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) [AATD deficiency of phenotype PiZZ (PiZ) group] and 16 subjects with general emphysema (general emphysema without phenotype PiZZ [non-.PiZ] group) were scanned with CT at baseline and after 30 months. Densitometry was performed in 12 axial partitions of equal volumes. To indicate predominant location, craniocaudal locallity was defined as the slope in the plot of densities against partitions. Regional progression of emphysema was calculated after volume correction, and its slope identifies the area of predominant progression. The hypothesis was tested by investigating the correlation between predominant location and predominant progression. Results: As expected, the PiZ patients showed more basal emphysema than the non-PiZ group (craniocaudal locality, -40.0 g/L vs -6.2 g/L). Overall progression rate in PiZ patients was lower than in non-PiZ subjects. A significant correlation was found between craniocaudal locality and progression slope in PiZ subjects (R = 0.566, p < 0.001). In the non-PiZ group, no correlation was found. Conclusions: In the PiZ group, the more emphysema is distributed basally, the more progression was found in the basal area. This finding suggests that emphysema due to AATD spreads out from affected areas. (CHEST 2008; 134:931-937)
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| 3. |
- Stoel, Berend C., et al.
(författare)
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Eureka?
- 2011
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Ingår i: Radiology. - : Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). - 1527-1315 .- 0033-8419. ; 259:2, s. 610-611
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 4. |
- Stolk, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Progression parameters for emphysema: A clinical investigation
- 2007
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Ingår i: Respiratory Medicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 1532-3064 .- 0954-6111. ; 101:9, s. 1924-1930
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In patients with airflow limitation caused by cigarette smoking, lung density measured by computed tomography is strongly correlated with quantitative pathology scores of emphysema, but the ability of lung densitometry to detect progression of emphysema is disputed. We assessed the sensitivity of lung densitometry as a parameter of disease progression of emphysema in comparison to FEV1 and gas transfer. At study baseline and after 30 months we measured computed tomography (CT)-derived lung density, spirometry and carbon monoxide diffusion coefficient in 144 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in five different centers. Annual change in lung density was 1.31 g/L/year (CI 95%: -2.12 to -0.50 HU, p = 0.0015, 39.5 mL/year (CI 95%: -100.0-21.0 mL, p = 0.2) for FEV1, (-39.5 mL) and 24.3 mu mol/min/kPa/L/year for gas transfer (CI 95%: -61.0-12.5 mu mol/min/kPa/L/year, p = 0.2). Signal-to-noise ratio (mean change divided by standard error of the change) for the detection of annual change was 3.2 for lung densitometry, but 1.3 for both FEV1 and gas diffusion. We conclude that detection of progression of emphysema was found to be 2.5-fold more sensitive using lung densitometry than by using currently recommended lung function parameters. Our results support CT scan as an efficacious test for novel drugs for emphysema. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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