Immunogenicity of meningococcal polysaccharide ACWY vaccine in primary immunized or revaccinated adults.

Meningococcal polysaccharide (Men-Ps) vaccine immunogenicity following either primary immunization or revaccination in adults was evaluated. The study population consisted of subjects who have received tetravalent Men-Ps vaccine once (group 1) or at least twice, with a 2-6 dose range (group 2). Human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-typing was performed by polymerase chain reaction and specific immunoglobulin (Ig)G was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Nine months post-immunization, the percentages of individuals with levels of anti-Men-Ps IgG ≥ 2 µg/ml were comparable in both groups, with the exception of anti-Men-PsW135 IgG, which were significantly higher in group 2. The percentage of subjects doubling IgG levels at 9 months was significantly higher in group 1. The high baseline anti-Men-Ps antibody levels negatively influenced the response to revaccination, suggesting a feedback control of specific IgG. The calculated durability of anti-Men-Ps IgG was 2·5-4·5 years, depending on the Men-Ps, following a single vaccine dose. No interference by other vaccinations nor HLA alleles association with immune response were observed. This study confirms that Men-Ps vaccine in adults is immunogenic, even when administered repeatedly, and underlines the vaccine suitability for large-scale adult immunization programmes that the higher costs of conjugate vaccines may limit in developing countries.

Cutaneous manifestations in antiphospholipid syndrome.

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a hypercoagulable state that leads to thrombosis and recurrent pregnancy loss related to the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (LAC, anticardiolipin, antiA2-glycoprotein). Among cutaneous manifestations, livedo reticularis is the most frequent form of APS. In the literature, there are rare cases associated with diffuse skin necrosis (widespread skin necrosis) and intravascular thrombosis in the small vessels of the dermis. We describe the case of a 44-year-old man with positive anticardiolipin antibodies and protein S deficiency that developed scattered, bullous skin lesions, haemorrhagic in appearance with signs of necrosis as first clinical manifestation of antiphospholipid syndrome.

Safety and immunogenicity of co-administered MF59-adjuvanted 2009 pandemic and plain 2009-10 seasonal influenza vaccines in rheumatoid arthritis patients on biologicals.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under immunosuppressive therapy are particularly susceptible to infections, mainly of the respiratory tract, thus vaccination may represent a strategy to reduce their incidence in this vulnerable population. In the 2009-10 influenza season, the safety and immunogenicity of co-administered non-adjuvanted seasonal and MF59-adjuvanted pandemic influenza vaccines were evaluated in this study in 30 RA patients under therapy with anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α agents or Abatacept and in 13 healthy controls (HC). Patients and HC underwent clinical and laboratory evaluation before (T0), 1 (T1) and 6 months (T2) after vaccinations. No severe adverse reactions, but a significant increase in total mild side effects in patients versus HC were observed. Both influenza vaccines fulfilled the three criteria of the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products (CPMP). Seroconversion rate for any viral strain in patients and HC was, respectively, 68 versus 45 for H1-A/Brisbane/59/07, 72 versus 81 for H3-A/Brisbane/10/07, 68 versus 54 for B/Brisbane/60/08 and 81 versus 54 for A/California/7/2009. A slight increase in activated interferon (IFN)-γ-, TNF-α- or interleukin (IL)-17A-secreting T cells at T1 compared to T0, followed by a reduction at T2 in both patients and HC, was registered. In conclusion, simultaneous administration of adjuvanted pandemic and non-adjuvanted seasonal influenza vaccines is safe and highly immunogenic. The largely overlapping results between patients and HC, in terms of antibody response and cytokine-producing T cells, may represent further evidence for vaccine safety and immunogenicity in RA patients on biologicals.

An incomplete form of childhood Behçet's disease treated with infliximab.

Behçet's disease (BD) is a multi-systemic vasculitis characterized by the possible presence of cutaneous, ocular, articular and neurological manifestations. In this report, we examine the case of a fifteen-year old boy with an incomplete form of juvenile Behçet's disease which began with joint involvement and developed into a complete form only after several years. The patient showed a rapid response to anti-TNF-alpha (infliximab) with an improvement of mucocutaneous lesions (oral and genital ulcers, pseudofolliculitis) and arthritis.

Hyper-IgM, neutropenia, mild infections and low response to polyclonal stimulation: hyper-IgM syndrome or common variable immunodeficiency?

A young woman presenting respiratory infections, polyarthritis, severe neutropenia, and increased serum IgM was treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) with good clinical and laboratory outcome followed by a loss of efficacy. The increased serum IgM associated to recurrent infections and autoimmune manifestations suggested the diagnosis of a hyper-IgM syndrome (HIGMs). The frequency of peripheral T cells, the expression of CD40 on the patients' B cells and CD40L on T cells and the activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) and uracil-DNA glycosylase (UNG) at mRNA level was comparable to controls. In contrast, the frequency of B cells was one half of the healthy control and all cells showed an atypical phenotype. Although AID and UNG were normal, class-switch recombination was not very efficient because circulating switched memory were reduced and, once stimulated with CpG, generated less antibody-secreting cells than controls. An increase in serum B Lymphocytes stimulator (BLyS) was also found. The patient presented a peculiar clinical and immunological phenotype fitting for many aspects of both HIGM4 and Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID). These findings underline the need to better explore the complex link between these two diseases.

Long-term prophylactic administration of octreotide reduces the rise in serum amylase after endoscopic procedures on Vater's papilla.

The pancreas commonly reacts to endoscopic papillosphincterotomy (EST) with a rise in serum amylase, and acute pancreatitis may also develop. The long-acting somatostatin analogue octreotide has recently been proposed for prevention of colangiopancreatography (ERCP)/EST-induced pancreatic reaction. Therefore, we tested the prophylactic effects of a subcutaneous 3-day administration of octreotide to 60 consecutive patients undergoing ERCP and EST. They were randomly allocated to receive either 200 micrograms octreotide t.i.d. for 3 days (30 cases) or placebo (control group, 30 cases) before the procedure. On the day of the examination, serum amylase levels were determined at baseline and 2, 4, 8, and 24 h thereafter. In the patients as a whole, the increases were statistically significant at 4 h (p < 0.01) and 8 h (p < 0.01). Epigastric pain occurred in 2 patients in the octreotide group and in 13 control subjects (p < 0.001). Even in some patients who had had previous episodes of relapsing pancreatitis, the rise in serum amylase was significantly lower in the octreotide group than in the control group at 4 h (p < 0.01), 8 h (p = 0.05), and 24 h (p = 0.05). Our data suggest that 3 days of prophylactic treatment with octreotide is effective for reducing the rise in serum amylase after EST/ERCP and could be proposed for patients with relapsing pancreatitis and other risk conditions before the Vater's papilla manipulation.

Idiopathic recurrent pancreatitis: long-term results after ERCP, endoscopic sphincterotomy, or ursodeoxycholic acid treatment.

OBJECTIVE: In about 30% of cases, the etiology of acute recurrent pancreatitis remains unexplained, and the term "idiopathic" is currently used to define such disease. We aimed to evaluate the long-term outcome of patients with idiopathic recurrent pancreatitis who underwent endoscopic cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) followed by either endoscopic biliary (and seldom pancreatic) sphincterotomy or ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) treatment, in a prospective follow-up study. METHODS: A total of 40 consecutive patients with intact gallbladder entered the study protocol after a 24-month observation period during which at least two episodes of pancreatitis occurred. All patients underwent diagnostic ERCP, followed by biliary or minor papilla sphincterotomy in cases of documented or suspected bile duct microlithiasis and sludge, type 2 sphincter of Oddi dysfunction, or pancreas divisum with dilated dorsal duct. Patients with no definite anatomical or functional abnormalities received long-term treatment with UDCA. After biliary sphincterotomy, patients with further episodes of pancreatitis underwent main pancreatic duct stenting followed by pancreatic sphincterotomy if the stent had proved to be effective. RESULTS: ERCP found an underlying cause of pancreatitis in 70% of cases. Patients were followed-up for a period ranging from 27 to 73 months. Effective therapeutic ERCP or UDCA oral treatment proved that occult bile stone disease and type 2 or 3 sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (biliary or pancreatic segment) had been etiological factors in 35 of the 40 cases (87.5%) After therapeutic ERCP or UDCA, only three patients still continued to have episodes of pancreatitis. CONCLUSIONS: Diagnostic and therapeutic ERCP and UDCA were effective in 92.5% of our cases, over a long follow-up, indicating that the term "idiopathic" was justified only in a few patients with acute recurrent pancreatitis.

Twenty-four-hour serum amylase predicting pancreatic reaction after endoscopic sphincterotomy.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Acute pancreatitis is still the most common complication after endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES) and cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). The aim of this study was to detect the time when the peak of serum amylase was predictive for postprocedure pancreatitis or long-lasting severe hyperamylasemia, in order to plan the follow-up of patients. METHODS: Serum amylase activity was measured in a prospective series of 409 consecutive patients after ES, immediately before ES and two, four, eight and 24 hours thereafter; the two, four and eight-hour data were compared with those at 24 hours and with the outcome. Evaluation was done separately for the 198 cases with pancreatic duct opacification and for the 202 cases at high risk for postprocedure pancreatitis. RESULTS: Twenty-four hours after ES, amylase was still more than five times the upper normal limit in 26 patients, associated with pancreatic-like pain in 19 of them (mild/moderate pancreatitis) and asymptomatic in the remaining seven (long-lasting severe hyperamylasemia). There was a significant difference at all sampling times between the 26 patients with 24-hour severe hyperamylasemia and those with the lower level. Although the sensitivity of amylase measurement in detecting pancreatitis was highest at eight hours, in practice the four-hour assessment appears a reliable predictor. Almost all patients with serum amylase levels more than five times the upper normal limit at four, eight and 24 hours had had pancreatic duct opacification. In contrast, patient-related risk factors for postprocedure pancreatitis did not play a significant role in the present series. CONCLUSIONS: Serum amylase assessment four hours after ES is a reliable, cost-effective follow-up and minimizes the likelihood of underestimating the risk of post-procedure pancreatic reaction. It should be recommended particularly in out-patients and when pancreatic duct opacification has occurred.

Serum amylase measured four hours after endoscopic sphincterotomy is a reliable predictor of postprocedure pancreatitis.

OBJECTIVE: Acute pancreatitis is a common complication after endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). The aim of this study was to detect the time when the peak of serum amylase was predictive for pancreatitis or severe hyperamylasemia, to plan a prolonged follow-up in the hospital and for outpatients. METHODS: In a prospective series of 409 consecutive patients undergoing ES, serum amylase activity was measured immediately before the procedure and 2, 4, 8, and 24 h thereafter; the data obtained at 2, 4, and 8 h were compared with those at 24 h and with the outcome. Sensitivity for long-lasting severe hyperamylasemia (more than five times the upper normal limit) and pancreatitis were also defined for all sampling times. RESULTS: At 24 h after ES, amylase was still more than five times the upper normal limit in 26 patients, 19 of whom had mild/moderate acute pancreatitis. There was a significant difference (p < 0.01 at all sampling times) between the 26 patients with 24-h severe hyperamylasemia and those with lower levels. The sensitivity of amylase measurement in detecting pancreatitis or long-lasting severe hyperamylasemia was highest at 8 h. However, the 4-h assessment appears to be a reliable predictor in practice, as more than two-thirds of cases of pancreatitis (all but one with computed tomography-confirmed pancreatitis) occurred among patients whose 4-h amylasemia was higher than five times the upper normal limit. CONCLUSIONS: Serum amylase assessment 4 h after ES minimizes the likelihood of underestimating the risk of postprocedure pancreatitis. It is therefore a reliable, cost-effective follow-up, particularly in outpatients.