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- Grankvist, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Infections With the Tick-Borne Bacterium "Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis" Mimic Noninfectious Conditions in Patients With B Cell Malignancies or Autoimmune Diseases
- 2014
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Ingår i: Clinical Infectious Diseases. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1058-4838 .- 1537-6591. ; 58:12, s. 1716-1722
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background. Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis is a newly discovered noncultivatable bacterium spread among ticks and rodents in Europe and Asia that can infect humans, particularly immunocompromised patients. Methods.aEuro integral We compiled clinical and laboratory data from 11 patients with hematological malignances or autoimmune diseases who were diagnosed with Candidatus N. mikurensis infection in Europe 2010-2013. Both published (6) and unpublished cases (5) were included. Results.aEuro integral The patients had a median age of 67, were mostly male (8/11), and resided in Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. All but one had ongoing or recent immune suppressive treatment and a majority were splenectomized (8/11). Less than half of them recalled tick exposure. The most frequent symptoms were fever (11/11), localized pain afflicting muscles and/or joints (8/11), vascular and thromboembolic events (6/11), that is, deep vein thrombosis (4), transitory ischemic attacks (2), pulmonary embolism (1), and arterial aneurysm (1). Typical laboratory findings were elevated C-reactive protein, leukocytosis with neutrophilia, and anemia. Median time from onset of symptoms to correct diagnosis was 2 months. In at least 4 cases, the condition was interpreted to be due to the underlying disease, and immunosuppressive therapy was scheduled. All patients recovered completely when doxycycline was administered. Conclusions.aEuro integral Candidatus N. mikurensis is an emerging tick-borne pathogen that may give rise to a systemic inflammatory syndrome in persons with hematologic or autoimmune diseases that could be mistaken for recurrence of the underlying disease and/or unrelated arteriosclerotic vascular events. Awareness of this new pathogen is warranted among rheumatologists, hematologists, oncologists, and infectious disease specialists.
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| 5. |
- Mattsson, Niklas, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Reduced cerebrospinal fluid BACE1 activity in multiple sclerosis.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England). - : SAGE Publications. - 1352-4585 .- 1477-0970. ; 15:4, s. 448-54
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Cell and animal experiments have shown that beta-site APP-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) may be involved in myelination. OBJECTIVE: Here, we assess the association of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) BACE1 activity with multiple sclerosis (MS). METHODS: BACE1 activity and levels of secreted amyloid precursor protein (APP) and amyloid-beta (Abeta) isoforms were analyzed in CSF from 100 patients with MS and 114 neurologically healthy controls. Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 26 with and 41 without cerebral engagement, were also included to enable comparisons with regards to another autoimmune disease. A subset of patients with MS and controls underwent a second lumbar puncture after 10 years. RESULTS: MS patients had lower CSF BACE1 activity than controls (P = 0.03) and patients with cerebral SLE (P < 0.001). Patients with cerebral SLE had higher BACE1 activity than any other group (P < 0.05 for all comparisons). BACE1 activity correlated with the different amyloid markers in all study groups. BACE1 activity decreased over 10 years in the MS group (P = 0.039) and correlated weakly with clinical disease severity scores in an inverse manner. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest an involvement of BACE1 in the MS disease process.
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| 6. |
- Svenungsson, E., et al.
(författare)
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Quick Systemic Lupus Activity Questionnaire (Q-SLAQ): a simplified version of SLAQ for patient-reported disease activity
- 2021
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Ingår i: Lupus Science & Medicine. - : BMJ. - 2053-8790. ; 8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives Most indices of disease activity in SLE combine physicians' assessments and laboratory tests. However, there is also a need to capture patients' perspectives of disease activity. Consequently, we need new, preferably quick and easy instruments to collect this information, which can be very useful for online consultations and registry purposes. We compared patients' assessments of SLE disease impact/activity, as reported by a shorter version of the Quick Systemic Lupus Activity Questionnaire (Q-SLAQ), with physicians' assessments using SLE Activity Measure (SLAM) and SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI-2K) and with the original Systemic Lupus Activity Questionnaire (SLAQ). Methods Patients with SLE (n=115), with a disease duration of 15 years (IQR 17), completed the Q-SLAQ prior to physicians' assessments by SLAM and SLEDAI-2K. A second set of patients (n=85) with similar characteristics filled out Q-SLAQ and SLAQ. Spearman's rho correlations were explored between patients' total Q-SLAQ and subscales (Symptom Score, Patient's Global Disease Activity) and physicians' SLAM and SLEDAI-2K, with and without laboratory items (SLAM-nolab and SLEDAI-2K-nolab) and SLAQ. Corresponding items in Q-SLAQ and SLAM were compared. Results Correlations between patients' and physicians' assessments were higher for SLAM-nolab (total Q-SLAQ, rho=0.71; Symptom Score, rho=0.67; and Patient's Global Disease Activity, rho=0.68) than for the original SLAM (total Q-SLAQ, rho=0.53; Symptom Score, rho=0.50; and Patient's Global Disease Activity, rho=0.53). Regarding specific symptoms, fatigue (rho=0.72) and alopecia (rho=0.71) correlated best, while pulmonary/respiratory symptoms correlated least (rho=0.19, p=0.039). Physicians assessment with SLEDAI-2K-nolab correlated weakly with patients' assessments (total Q-SLAQ, rho=0.30; Symptom Score, rho=0.30; and Patient's Global Disease Activity, rho=0.36). Bivariate correlations between Q-SLAQ and SLAQ were good (rho=0.82-0.96). Conclusions Q-SLAQ and the original SLAQ performed equally well, demonstrating that the shorter Q-SLAQ can safely be used to monitor patients' perception of disease impact/activity. We also noted an intriguing discrepancy between physicians' and patients' evaluations of pulmonary/respiratory symptoms, which requires further investigations.
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| 7. |
- Trysberg, Estelle, 1960, et al.
(författare)
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Decreased levels of soluble amyloid beta-protein precursor and beta-amyloid protein in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
- 2004
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Ingår i: Arthritis Res Ther. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1478-6362 .- 1465-9905. ; 6:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Symptoms originating from the central nervous system (CNS) frequently occur in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). These symptoms are extremely diverse, including a state of dementia. The aim of this study was to examine the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) content of soluble molecules indicating axonal degeneration and amyloidogenesis.One hundred and fourteen patients with SLE and age-matched controls were evaluated clinically, with magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and CSF analyses. Levels of tau, amyloid precursor protein (APP), beta-amyloid protein (Abeta42), and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) were all determined using sandwich ELISAs.APP and Abeta42 levels were significantly decreased in SLE patients irrespective of their CNS involvement, as compared with healthy controls. Patients with neuropsychiatric SLE who underwent a second lumbar puncture following successful cyclophosphamide treatment showed further decreases of Abeta42. CSF-tau levels were significantly increased in SLE patients showing magnetic resonance imaging-verified brain pathology as compared with SLE patients without such engagement. Importantly, tau levels displayed significant correlation to Abeta42 levels in the CSF. Finally, TGF-beta levels were significantly increased in patients with neuropsychiatric SLE as compared with those without.Low intrathecal levels of Abeta42 found in SLE patients seem to be a direct consequence of a diminished production of APP, probably mediated by heavy anti-inflammatory/immuno-suppressive therapy. Furthermore, our findings suggest that CSF tau can be used as a biochemical marker for neuronal degeneration in SLE. Finally, the increased TGF-beta levels observed may support a notion of an ongoing anti-inflammatory response counteracting tissue injury caused by CNS lupus.
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