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Despite the use of high-dose systemic corticosteroids in combination with other immunosuppressants, in some patients with autoimmune bullous diseases only insufficient improvement is achieved. In these cases and in acute severe disease, adjuvant immunoapheresis has been increasingly used. A consensus meeting was held in mid-2005 in Hamburg, aiming at developing guidelines for the use of immunoapheresis in the treatment of autoimmune bullous diseases. This paper summarizes the experts' recommendations.

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The objectives of this study were to investigate the kinetics of Lawsonia intracellularis (L. intracellularis) antibodies in foals on a farm with occurrence of equine proliferative enteropathy (EPE) by immunoperoxidase monolayer assay (IPMA). 63 foals were monitored from the age of two to 10 months at two-week intervals via physical examination and selected blood parameters. Serum was used to measure total protein and albumin concentrations as well as antibodies to L. intracellularis by IPMA. In case of hypoproteinaemia and/or hypoalbuminemia, a transabdominal ultrasonographic examination was performed to measure the wall thickness of small intestinal loops. Rectal swabs were taken from foals with suspected EPE to test for L. intracellularis by polymerase chain reaction. 55 of the monitored foals developed antibodies against L. intracellularis, only three foals developed EPE. The progressions of the individual antibody titres showed great variability, no specific pattern was observed. Foals with at least two consecutive seropositive samples considering an interval of two weeks did not develop EPE later during the observation period. Four foals showed developments of antibody titres against L. intracellularis interrupted by one or two negative serum results. Since there was no uniform titre progression and foals with and foals without EPE showed high antibody titres that were detectable for different lengths of time, it was not possible to conclude the further titre progression in foals based on the kinetics. The results illustrated that a single blood analysis is not always reliable to determine by IPMA whether a foal has been infected with L. intracellularis. Due to technical weaknesses of IPMA, the authors recommend to run all samples in duplicate in order to obtain reliable results on the foal’s exposure to L. intracellularis for further studies on the kinetics of L. intracellularis antibodies and when using the serology as a diagnostic tool for detecting L. intracellularis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrophoretic study of the serum proteins in individuals with periodontal disease. Total protein was determined in serum samples from 20 subjects affected with periodontal disease and from 20 healthy persons. In addition the authors performed paper chromatographic and immuno-electrophoretic studies. It was found that the relative ans also the absolute mean values for gamma globulins were significantly higher in the control group. In individuals affected with periodontal disease, an increase of all three immunoglobulins (i.e., IgA, IgG and IgM) was observed in 10 of 20 cases, whereas such an increase occurred but once in the control group. The increase in the immunoglobulin content of serum samples from individuals affected with periodontal disease is brought in relation to the inflammatory condition of the periodontium.

The present paper is a report on the determination of G, M and A serum immunoglobulins of 177 patients (98 men and 79 women) at the age of 19 to 78 years with malignant tumors and of 100 healthy controls of the same setup with respect to age and sex. The results were evaluated by cross-section and longitudinal examinations dependent upon localization, TNM classification, histological differentiation and the therapy of the tumor. The results show that the G, M and A immunoglobulins are not suitable for statements on the situation of the reaction of the organism of tumor bearers and on the prognostic course. Neither is it possible to use the determination of the concentration of serum immunoglobulins for the regulation of a therapy.

After dealing with cellular immune aspects in the first part of the paper the authors describe in the second part the state of humoral immunity in healthy full-term newborns aged one to three days. The number of complementreceptor lymphocytes was 17.0 +/- 8.9% or 0.75 +/- 0.51 (mean +/- S.D.) respectively, with the EAC-rosette method. The percentage value equalled that of adults but the absolute count is higher. Using the immunodiffusion method IgA was detectable in 4 out of 132 newborns only 8.86 +/- 2.52 g/l (mean +/- S.D.) was measured as an average IgG concentration. With regard to the IgM content the values often exceeded 0.30 g/l in newborns of mothers who had been suffering from pre-eclampsia. Their mean value of 0.35 +/- 0.21 g/l, too, was significantly higher than 0.13 +/- 0.08 in the resting infants. Raised IgM values frequently coincided with high spontaneous transformation activities in lymphocyte cultures. The possible causes are discussed. Complement C3-component was measured on average with 0.78 +/- 0.18 g/l and C4-component with 0.34 +/- 0.11 g/l. When calculating reference values for newborns the results of infants with maternal pre-eclampsia have been omitted.

Medical treatment of dystonia, particularly generalised forms of the disorder, is often not satisfactory or causes intolerable side effects. In focal dystonia, a reasonable treatment option with botulinum toxin exists but some patients either do not respond well or develop neutralising antibodies with secondary therapy failure. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the globus pallidus internus has been shown to be effective in both generalised and focal dystonia. This paper gives recommendations regarding the use of DBS in different forms of dystonia based on the currently available scientific data as well as the longstanding personal experience of the authors. The inclusion criteria for DBS candidates as well as the peri- and postoperative patient management are addressed. These recommendations were developed in a consensus procedure in the German Deep Brain Stimulation Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Oto-Rhino-Laryngologia Nova is the property of Karger AG and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)