Effective virus-specific T-cell therapy for high-risk SARS-CoV-2 infections in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients: initial case studies and literature review.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated mortality rates among immunocompromised patients, accentuating the need for novel, targeted therapies. Transplant recipients, with their inherent immune vulnerabilities, represent a subgroup at significantly heightened risk. Current conventional therapies often demonstrate limited effectiveness in these patients, calling for innovative treatment approaches. In immunocompromised transplant recipients, several viral infections have been successfully treated by adoptive transfer of virus-specific T-cells (VST). This paper details the successful application of SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T-cell therapy, produced by an interferon-γ cytokine capture system (CliniMACS® Prodigy device), in three stem cell transplant recipients diagnosed with COVID-19 (case 1: alpha variant, cases 2 and 3: delta variants). These patients exhibited persistent SARS-CoV-2 PCR positivity accompanied by bilateral pulmonary infiltrates and demonstrated only partial response to standard treatments. Remarkably, all three patients recovered and achieved viral clearance within 3 to 9 weeks post-VST treatment. Laboratory follow-up investigations identified an increase in SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cells in two of the cases. A robust anti-SARS-CoV-2 S (S1/S2) IgG serological response was also recorded, albeit with varying titers. The induction of memory T-cells within the CD4 + compartment was confirmed, and previously elevated interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-8 levels normalized post-VST therapy. The treatment was well tolerated with no observed adverse effects. While the need for specialized equipment and costs associated with VST therapy present potential challenges, the limited treatment options currently available for COVID-19 within the allogeneic stem cell transplant population, combined with the risk posed by emerging SARS-CoV-2 mutations, underscore the potential of VST therapy in future clinical practice. This therapeutic approach may be particularly beneficial for elderly patients with multiple comorbidities and weakened immune systems.

[Investigation of reading abilities of ischemic stroke patients with aphasia]. / Ischaemiás stroke-on átesett afáziás személyek olvasási folyamatainak elemzése.

Background and purpose: Reading is a part of the language processes; a strong interaction can be found between them so the damage of the one has a strong impact on the other. It is worth to put emphasis on the exploration of reading disorders which occur with aphasia to have a better outcome of the rehabilitation process. The aim of our study is to explore the main characteristics of aqcuired reading disorders to have a more specialized and individualized language therapy. Methods: 19 ischemic stroke patients with aphasia took part in our study. All participants were right-handed with a lesion of left arteria cerebri media infarct. Due to the Hungarian version of Western Aphasia Battery 10 mild and 9 moderate participated. Reading abilities were investigated with our reading battery which consisted four main tasks: grapheme-phoneme correspondence, reading words, lexical access and reading comprehension. Tobii X120 device was used for recording and analyzing patients' eye-movements. Results: Significant positive correlations were found between the four subscales of Western Aphasia Battery and some part of the reading tasks. Eye-movements were analyzed, especially fixation count and total fixation duration. The severity of language disorder had a strong impact on fixation count and fixation duration. The more serious the language disorder was the more eye movements were detected. Conclusion: Our data support the idea that the severity of aphasia had a strong impact on reading processes and eye-movements. Eye-tracking device can help to have a deeper insight in the background brain mechanisms during reading. Our results contribute to have a more accurate diagnostic process to have a more specialized language therapy with better outcome.

[Hungarian Diet and Nutritional Status Survey - The OTAP2014 study. V. Vitamin intake of the Hungarian population]. / Országos Táplálkozás- és Tápláltsági Állapot Vizsgálat ­ OTÁP2014. V. A magyar lakosság vitaminbevitele.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: The Hungarian Diet and Nutritional Status Survey was implemented on a sub-sample of the European Health Interview Survey. In this paper, the authors present the data on the vitamin intake of the Hungarian population. METHOD: The survey represents the vitamin intake of the Hungarian non-institutionalised adult population of 18 years and older. There are significant differences between men's and women's vitamin intake. RESULTS: The intake of all water-soluble vitamins except for vitamin C is higher in men than in women, and the difference between the genders regarding the intake of vitamin E and D is significant. The intake of vitamin B1, B2, B6, B12, niacin and vitamin C is in line with the recommendations, however, there is an unfavourable decrease in the intake of vitamin A and ß-carotene in the case of men compared to the previous survey. Vitamin D and folic acid intakes are critically low, particularly in the elderly, and mainly in case of vitamin D. The population's intake of panthotenic acid and biotin did not reach the recommendations. CONCLUSION: In order to reach the dietary reference intakes and to prevent deficiencies, it is necessary to inform the population and to make healthy food choices available. Orv Hetil. 2017; 158(33): 1302-1313.

[Hungarian Diet and Nutritional Status Survey - OTÁP2014. II. Energy and macronutrient intake of the Hungarian population]. / Országos Táplálkozás és Tápláltsági Állapot Vizsgálat ­ OTÁP2014. II. A magyar lakosság energia- és makrotápanyag-bevitele.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: The aim of the study was to assess and monitor the dietary habits and nutrient intake of Hungarian adults. METHOD: Three-day dietary records were used for dietary assessment, the sample was representative for the Hungarian population aged ≥18ys by gender and age. RESULTS: The mean proportion of energy from fat was higher (men: 38 energy%, women: 37 energy%), that from carbohydrates was lower (men: 45 energy%, women: 47 energy%) than recommended, the protein intake is adequate. CONCLUSION: Unfavorable change compared to the previous survey in 2009 was the increase of fat and saturated fatty acid energy percent in women, the decrease in fruit and vegetable consumption, which explains the decreased fiber intake. An increasing trend in added sugar energy percent in each age groups of both genders was observed compared to 2009. Interventions focusing on the promotion of fruit and vegetable consumption and decreasing of saturated fat and added sugar intake are needed. Orv. Hetil., 2017, 158(15), 587-597.

Social Pre-treatment Modulates Attention Allocation to Transient and Stable Object Properties.

Increasing evidence suggests that ostensive-communicative signals in social learning situations enable observers to focus their attention on the intrinsic features of an object (e.g., color) at the expense of ignoring transient object properties (e.g., location). Here we investigated whether off-line social cues, presented as social primes, have the same power to modulate attention allocation to stable and transient object properties as on-line ostensive-communicative cues. The first part of the experiment consisted of a pre-treatment phase, where adult male participants either received intensive social stimulation or were asked to perform non-social actions. Then, they participated in a change detection test, where they watched pairs of pictures depicting an array of five objects. On the second picture, a change occurred compared to the first picture. One object changed either its location (moving forward or backward) or was replaced by another object, and participants were required to indicate where the change had happened. We found that participants detected the change more successfully if it had happened in the location of the object; however, this difference was reduced following a socially intense pre-treatment phase. The results are discussed in relation to the claims of the natural pedagogy theory.