Search

BackgroundThe emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants challenges immunity, particularly among immunocompromised kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). To address this, vaccines have been adjusted to circulating variants. Despite intensive vaccination efforts, SARS-CoV-2 infections surged among KTRs during the Omicron wave, enabling a direct comparison of variant-specific immunity following-vaccination against Omicron BA.4/5 or Omicron infection in KTRs.Methods98 SARS-CoV-2 naïve KTRs who had received four vaccine doses were studied. Before and after a 5th antigen exposure, either via the bivalent vaccine composed of ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and Omicron BA.4/5 (29 KTRs) or via natural infection with Omicron (38 BA.4/5, 31 BA.1/2), spike-specific T cells were quantified using Elispot and serum pseudovirus neutralizing activity was assessed against the ancestral Wuhan strain, BA.5 and XBB.1.5.ResultsCompared to BA.4/5 vaccination, spike-specific T-cell responses and neutralization activity were higher up to six months post-Omicron infection and reached levels similar to healthy controls. Vaccinated KTRs showed modestly boosted neutralization activity against the Wuhan strain and BA.5, but not XBB.1.5. Baseline immunity correlated with immune responses three months post-vaccination and post-infection, indicating a predictive value for peak immune responses. Tixagevimab/Cilgavimab treatment was associated with robust neutralization of the Wuhan strain, but ineffective against XBB.1.5.ConclusionThe BA.4/5 vaccine improved neutralizing activity against the BA.4/5 variant, but not against the subsequently circulating XBB.1.5 variant in KTRs. Conversely, omicron infection boosted T cells and humoral responses more effectively, showing efficacy against XBB.1.5. These findings suggest that infection-induced immunity associates with greater protection than vaccination against future variants in KTRs.

The late American philosopher and critic Shirley Robin Letwin argued that 'the most perfect gentleman in Trollope's novels is Madame Max Goesler'. Goesler, the rich daughter of a German-Jewish lawyer, [...]

Capital joins the list of monumental works that are "very famous and almost unknown", writes Jonathan Ree in his review of a new English translation by Paul Reitter, edited by [...]

Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace rejected the "great man" theory of history, made fashionable by Thomas Carlyle. Napoleon, Cromwell and Caesar were "history's slaves", fulfilling the will of Providence, argued [...]

Background: The emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants challenges immunity, particularly among immunocompromised kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). To address this, vaccines have been adjusted to circulating variants. Despite intensive vaccination efforts, SARS-CoV-2 infections surged among KTRs during the Omicron wave, enabling a direct comparison of variant-specific immunity following-vaccination against Omicron BA.4/5 or Omicron infection in KTRs. Methods: 98 SARS-CoV-2 naïve KTRs who had received four vaccine doses were studied. Before and after a 5th antigen exposure, either via the bivalent vaccine composed of ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and Omicron BA.4/5 (29 KTRs) or via natural infection with Omicron (38 BA.4/5, 31 BA.1/2), spike-specific T cells were quantified using Elispot and serum pseudovirus neutralizing activity was assessed against the ancestral Wuhan strain, BA.5 and XBB.1.5. Results: Compared to BA.4/5 vaccination, spike-specific T-cell responses and neutralization activity were higher up to six months post-Omicron infection and reached levels similar to healthy controls. Vaccinated KTRs showed modestly boosted neutralization activity against the Wuhan strain and BA.5, but not XBB.1.5. Baseline immunity correlated with immune responses three months post-vaccination and post-infection, indicating a predictive value for peak immune responses. Tixagevimab/Cilgavimab treatment was associated with robust neutralization of the Wuhan strain, but ineffective against XBB.1.5. Conclusion: The BA.4/5 vaccine improved neutralizing activity against the BA.4/5 variant, but not against the subsequently circulating XBB.1.5 variant in KTRs. Conversely, omicron infection boosted T cells and humoral responses more effectively, showing efficacy against XBB.1.5. These findings suggest that infection-induced immunity associates with greater protection than vaccination against future variants in KTRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bilateral coordination of the upper limbs (UL) is important for activities of daily living and physical activities. Motor coordination improves from childhood through adolescence. However, age-coordination trajectories for bilateral UL movements are not well-established, and it is unclear if bimanual coordination develops slower than unilateral coordination. In this study we examined age-related changes in UL coordination from childhood to late adolescence. Typically-developing children (N = 29, aged 7–17 years) performed unilateral and bilateral, antiphase cycling tasks with their ULs. Variations in cycling velocity and interlimb phase errors were computed as measures of coordination. Linear regression was used to examine age-coordination effects. Given the sensorimotor processing for bilateral movements and gradual development of the corpus callosum, we hypothesized different relationships between age and coordination for bilateral and unilateral movements. Results showed UL coordination was significantly related to age, where coordination was better in older compared to younger children (p < 0.001); however, there were similar significant effects for unilateral movements. Differences in unilateral and bilateral coordination were not significantly explained by biological sex, although power to detect sex differences was low. We conclude that bilateral and unilateral UL coordination are age-dependent; each improves at similar rates through childhood and adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]