The authors examined 23 precipitin-positive symptomatic patients with Farmer's Lung(FL) and compared them to different groups of exposed asymptomatic precipitin-positive(EAPP) and precipitin- ...negative(EAPN) farmers. The sera were tested using several techniques (i.e., immunodiffusion and ELISA for specific antibodies; polyethylene glycol PEG for circulating immune complexes CIC) in an attempt to find an in vitro test correlated with the disease which could also provide an insight into the pathogenic mechanisms of Farmer's Lung. Circulating immune complexes formed by IgG were significantly higher in Farmer's Lung patients than in EAPP subjects. In polyethlyene glycol precipitates from Farmer's Lung patients, specific antibodies found by ELISA correlated well with serum positivity, but they were not found in EAPP subjects. The possibility that the circulating immune complexes found were Ig aggregates was ruled out, as was the possibility that the antibodies found in the polyethylene glycol precipitate were also due to an unspecific link. The authors suggest that the circulating immune complexes of Farmer's Lung patients contain specific specific antibodies and that since their composition is different in EAPP subjects, these circulating immune complexes may play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease.
No consistently effective therapy is yet available for the treatment of chronic HBsAg, anti-HBe, HBV-DNA-positive hepatitis. A multicenter trial has shown that the response rates are not ...significantly different when patients with anti-HBe-positive hepatitis are treated with six-month course of thymosin-alpha1 or of interferon-alpha. However, since among these patients, interferon's real efficacy is still debated, with sustained biochemical response achieved in only a few of the treated patients, we conducted this controlled study to investigate the safety and efficacy of thymosin-alpha1 as compared with no treatment. Forty-four chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers, who were anti-HBe- and HBV-DNA-positive, were randomized, with stratification for the presence of cirrhosis at baseline liver biopsy, to receive either thymosin-alpha1 at a dose of 900 microg/m2 twice a week for six months or no treatment. At entry, both groups of patients were comparable for sex, age, liver histology, ALT, IgM anti-HBc, and HBV-DNA levels. Forty-two patients were followed-up for 20 months (median; range 12-32 months) after completion of therapy: one dropped out, and one developed hepatocellular carcinoma at six months. Thymosin-alpha1 treatment had no side effects. Six months after the end of the therapy, HBV-DNA was negative and ALT had normalized in 14% of treated cases and in 4.5% of control group, while IgM anti-HBc was negative (<0.200) in 14% of the treated patients and in 4.5% of the controls. Among the treated patients, the median ALT levels stayed significantly lower compared to the pretreatment values during the treatment period and six months of follow-up. During the first year, there were six flares of hepatitis in the control group and five among the treated patients (P = NS), yielding a per year average of 0.3 and 0.23 flares per patient, respectively. Among the treated patients, median IgM anti-HBc levels were low with respect to baseline values 4-10 months after treatment started. None became HBsAg negative. In conclusion, these results indicate that, in anti-HBe, HBV-DNA-positive chronic hepatitis B, thymosin-alpha1 therapy alone does not increase the response rate, but may contribute to reduce the immune-mediated liver cell necrosis as indirectly assessed by ALT and IgM anti-HBc levels.
The operations involved in the extraction of chorionic somatomammotropin from human placentas cause hemolysis of blood which is present in placental tissue and contamination of crude extract with ...large amounts of hematic pigments. Most of the pigments are removed by the purification procedure. The portion of purified hCS with high heme content was subjected to treatments with acid acetone and neutral butanone on the basis of procedures generally used for the separation of heme and protein portions in hemoproteins. Both treatments resulted in the removal of heme from hCS; the treatment using butanone was more efficient than the one using acetone. After treatment with both organic solvents, the immunological activity measured with radial immunodiffusion was entirely retained while binding activity on rat ventral prostate particles was slightly decreased.
It has recently been shown that thymosin‐α1(T‐α1), a synthetic polypeptide of thymic origin, is able to promote disease remission and inhibition of hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication in patients ...affected by hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐positive chronic active hepatitis. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of T‐α1 treatment in patients with hepatitis B e antibody (anti‐HBe) and HBV‐DNA‐positive chronic hepatitis. Thirty‐three patients were randomly assigned to receive either T‐α1 900 microg/m2 body surface area twice weekly (17 patients) or 5 MU of interferon alfa (IFN‐α) three times weekly (16 patients) for 6 months. At baseline, both groups were comparable concerning age, sex, liver histology, and alanine transaminase (ALT) levels. At the end of treatment, complete response (defined as ALT normalization and HBV‐DNA loss) occurred in 5 of 17 (29.4%) in the T‐α1 group and in 7 of 16 (43.8%) in the IFN‐α group (P = not significant). After a follow‐up period of 6 months, a complete response was observed in 7 of 17 (41.2%) in the T‐α1 group and in 4 of 16 (25%) in the IFN‐α group (P = n.s.). Compared with the results observed in a group of 15 patients never treated with IFN‐α and followed for 12 months, the rate of complete response was significantly higher in the IFN‐α group at the end of therapy (1 of 15 vs. 7 of 16, respectively; P < .05) and in the T‐α1 group at the end of follow‐up (1 of 15 vs. 7 of 17, respectively; P < .05). Unlike IFN‐ α, T‐α1 was well tolerated by all patients. The only side effect, reported by some, was local discomfort at injection sites. The results of this trial suggest that T‐α1 is able to reduce HBV replication in patients affected by anti‐HBe‐positive chronic hepatitis. Furthermore, compared with IFN‐α, T‐α1 is better tolerated and seems to induce a gradual and more sustained ALT normalization and HBV‐DNA loss. In conclusion, T‐α1 appears to be a safe and effective alternative treatment for anti‐HBe‐positive chronic hepatitis. The benefit of this agent in producing long‐term inhibition of HBV replication must be confirmed by future trials.
The purification process can cause alterations in the structure and thus in the activity of the product undergoing purification. In the case of human chorionic somatomammotropin (hCS), a protein ...hormone of placental origin, the possible effects of purification are unknown, even though it is prepared under mild conditions. hCS is able to displace labelled ovine prolactin from rat ventral prostate membranes and we have measured this activity in a crude and in a purified preparation of the hormone. At the same weight level, both the crude and the purified hormone are equally active.
It has recently been shown that thymosin-alpha1(T-alpha1), a synthetic polypeptide of thymic origin, is able to promote disease remission and inhibition of hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication in ...patients affected by hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic active hepatitis. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of T-alpha1 treatment in patients with hepatitis B e antibody (anti-HBe) and HBV-DNA-positive chronic hepatitis. Thirty-three patients were randomly assigned to receive either T-alpha1 900 microg/m2 body surface area twice weekly (17 patients) or 5 MU of interferon alfa (IFN-alpha) three times weekly (16 patients) for 6 months. At baseline, both groups were comparable concerning age, sex, liver histology, and alanine transaminase (ALT) levels. At the end of treatment, complete response (defined as ALT normalization and HBV-DNA loss) occurred in 5 of 17 (29.4%) in the T-alpha1 group and in 7 of 16 (43.8%) in the IFN-alpha group (P = not significant). After a follow-up period of 6 months, a complete response was observed in 7 of 17 (41.2%) in the T-alpha1 group and in 4 of 16 (25%) in the IFN-alpha group (P = n.s.). Compared with the results observed in a group of 15 patients never treated with IFN-alpha and followed for 12 months, the rate of complete response was significantly higher in the IFN-alpha group at the end of therapy (1 of 15 vs. 7 of 16, respectively; P < .05) and in the T-alpha1 group at the end of follow-up (1 of 15 vs. 7 of 17, respectively; P < .05). Unlike IFN- alpha, T-alpha1 was well tolerated by all patients. The only side effect, reported by some, was local discomfort at injection sites. The results of this trial suggest that T-alpha1 is able to reduce HBV replication in patients affected by anti-HBe-positive chronic hepatitis. Furthermore, compared with IFN-alpha, T-alpha1 is better tolerated and seems to induce a gradual and more sustained ALT normalization and HBV-DNA loss. In conclusion, T-alpha1 appears to be a safe and effective alternative treatment for anti-HBe-positive chronic hepatitis. The benefit of this agent in producing long-term inhibition of HBV replication must be confirmed by future trials. (Hepatology 1996 Oct;24(4):774-7)
3D Food printing is an emerging technology able to manufacture food with desired shapes and structure. We investigated the effect of two printing variables, print speed and flow level, on the ...printability of a fruit-based formulation designed to provide the 5–10% of energy, calcium, iron and vitamin D required for children of 3–10 years old. Printed snacks satisfactorily matched the designed structure. A 70% flow resulted in irregular structures with oversized porosity. By increasing flow level, a higher amount of deposited material produced an increase of total volume, weight and side-length of the samples while the fraction of porosity reduced. The distribution of filament thickness also enlarged by flow while the pore diameter distribution varied both with flow and print speed. The growth rate in height of samples increased by print speed until 50 mm/s, while the deposition rate of formulation was affected by print speed and flow level.
•A nutritionally customised fruit-based snack was obtained by means of 3D printing.•The effect of print speed and flow on printing kinetic and microstructure was studied.•The snack could provide 5–10% of Energy, Ca, Fe and vitamin D of 3–10 years old children.•Print speed reduced the printing time by 30%, without compromising the structure.•Printing flow increased the deposited material, altering the structural characteristics.
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