Long-term follow-up of the STOPAGO study.

In an open prospective, multicenter study enrolling 48 selected patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia who achieved complete response for 1 year on thrombopoietin receptor agonists, half of the patients maintained a sustained response off treatment 4 years after treatment discontinuation.

Prolonged response after TPO-RA discontinuation in primary ITP: results of a prospective multicenter study.

Sustained response off treatment (SROT) after thrombopoietin receptor agonist (TPO-RA) discontinuation has been reported in immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). This prospective multicenter interventional study enrolled adults with persistent or chronic primary ITP and complete response (CR) on TPO-RAs. The primary end point was the proportion of patients achieving SROT (platelet count >30 × 109/L and no bleeding) at week 24 (W24) with no other ITP-specific medications.

High-affinity autoreactive plasma cells disseminate through multiple organs in patients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura.

The major therapeutic goal for immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is to restore normal platelet counts using drugs to promote platelet production or by interfering with mechanisms responsible for platelet destruction. Eighty percent of patients with ITP possess anti-integrin αIIbβ3 IgG autoantibodies that cause platelet opsonization and phagocytosis. The spleen is considered the primary site of autoantibody production by autoreactive B cells and platelet destruction.

Single-Dose 13-Valent Conjugate Pneumococcal Vaccine in People Living With HIV - Immunological Response and Protection.

Background: Patients living with HIV (PLHIV) are prone to invasive pneumococcal disease. The 13-valent conjugated pneumococcal vaccine (PCV13) is currently recommended for all PLHIV, followed in most guidelines by a 23-valent polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine. Data are scarce concerning the immunological efficacy of PCV13 among PLHIV.

The 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Elicits Serological Response and Lasting Protection in Selected Patients With Primary Humoral Immunodeficiency.

Background: Patients with primary humoral immunodeficiency are more prone to invasive as well as recurrent pneumococcal infections. Therefore, anti-pneumococcal vaccination including the 13-valent conjugate vaccine is recommended. Nevertheless, to date, no data is available on immunogenicity of this vaccine in this population.

Molecular Signatures of Kidney Antibody-Secreting Cells in Lupus Patients With Active Nephritis Upon Immunosuppressive Therapy.

Objective: This study was undertaken to characterize kidney and urine antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) from patients with active lupus nephritis, before and after induction therapy.

Methods: We included patients with biopsy-proven active lupus nephritis and performed anti-CD138 staining of kidney biopsy samples to visualize ASCs. We performed single-cell gene expression profiling on sorted ASCs from fresh biopsy samples using multiplex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction.

Obesity and Preoperative Anaemia as Independent Risk Factors for Sternal Wound Infection After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery with Pedicled (Non-Skeletonized) Internal Mammary Arteries: The Role of Thoracic Wall Ischemia?

Purpose: Obesity remains statistically associated with coronary artery disease, for which coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) remains the standard of care. However, obesity is also associated with sternal wound infection (SWI) which is a severe complication of CABG despite advances in surgery and in infection prevention and control. Strategies to reduce the incidence of SWI are still being investigated, and we therefore conducted a retrospective study to revisit factors other than obesity associated with SWI after CABG.

Diagnostic Utility of Separate Anti-Ro60 and Anti-Ro52/TRIM21 Antibody Detection in Autoimmune Diseases.

Anti-SS-A antibodies are often sought for in autoimmune diseases diagnosis. Two different target proteins have actually been identified: Ro52 and Ro60. Clinical and immunological associations seem different depending on anti-Ro52 or anti-Ro60 antibodies presence.

Two case reports of pyoderma gangrenosum and systemic lupus erythematosus: A rare but nonfortuitous association?

Rationale: Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG), like other neutrophilic dermatosis, may be associated with a variety of systemic disorders including inflammatory bowel diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, and hematologic disorders. Conversely, the association between PG and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has rarely been reported.

Patient Concerns: We report here 2 cases of this association.

Autoantibodies Associated With Connective Tissue Diseases: What Meaning for Clinicians?

Connective tissue diseases (CTDs) such as systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, myositis, Sjögren's syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis are systemic diseases which are often associated with a challenge in diagnosis. Autoantibodies (AAbs) can be detected in these diseases and help clinicians in their diagnosis. Actually, pathophysiology of these diseases is associated with the presence of antinuclear antibodies.

BAFF and CD4 T cells are major survival factors for long-lived splenic plasma cells in a B-cell-depletion context.

Previous data have suggested that B-cell-depletion therapy may induce the settlement of autoreactive long-lived plasma cells (LLPCs) in the spleen of patients with autoimmune cytopenia. To investigate this process, we used the AID-CreERT2-EYFP mouse model to follow plasma cells (PCs) engaged in an immune response. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction at the single-cell level revealed that only a small fraction of splenic PCs had a long-lived signature, whereas PCs present after anti-CD20 antibody treatment appeared more mature, similar to bone marrow PCs.

Factors Associated with Geophagy and Knowledge About Its Harmful Effects Among Native Sub-Saharan African, Caribbean and French Guiana HIV Patients Living in Northern France.

Geophagy, or the ingestion of earth or clay, is widespread among women of Sub-Saharan African, Caribbean or French Guiana origin. Little is known about this practice among HIV patients native of these countries and who are followed-up in France. The aims of this study were to determine (i) the prevalence and factors associated with geophagy among HIV patients native of these countries, (ii) patients' knowledge about the harmful effects of geophagy, and (iii) the association of geophagy with iron deficiency, or a history of anemia or constipation.

Rapidly evolving conjunctivitis due to Pasteurella multocida, occurring after direct inoculation with animal droplets in an immuno-compromised host.

Background: The rare descriptions, in the literature, of ocular infections due to Pasteurella multocida include: endophtalmitis, keratitis and corneal ulcers, Parinaud's oculoglandular syndrome, and conjunctivitis. Here, we report a rare case of rapidly evolving conjunctivitis due to Pasteurella multocida, occurring after direct inoculation with animal droplets in an immuno-compromised host.

Case Presentation: A 69-year-old, Caucasian male was referred to our department with purulent conjunctivitis, occurring five days after chemotherapy for an angioimmunoblastic-T-cell-lymphoma, and thirty-three hours after being struck in his right eye by his sneezing Dachshund dog.