Expert review of clinical immunology
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Expert Rev Clin Immunol · Nov 2014
ReviewIdiopathic recurrent pericarditis as an immune-mediated disease: current insights into pathogenesis and emerging treatment options.
Idiopathic recurrent pericarditis affects 30-50% of patients with a previous attack of pericarditis. The etiopathogenesis is incompletely understood and most cases remain idiopathic with a presumed immune-mediated pathogenesis. The mainstay of therapy is aspirin or a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug plus colchicine and the possible adjunct of a low-to-moderate dose of a corticosteroid in more difficult cases. ⋯ The outcome of idiopathic recurrent pericarditis is good with a negligible risk of developing constrictive pericarditis. Thus, it is important to reassure patients on their prognosis, explaining the nature of the disease and the likely course. Moreover, therapeutic choices should include less toxic agents and favor cheaper drugs whenever possible.
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Expert Rev Clin Immunol · Nov 2014
ReviewCanakinumab for the treatment of systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
The introduction of methotrexate in the 1980s and of TNF-inhibiting agents and abatacept in the late 1990s led to a dramatic improvement in the outcomes of non-systemic categories of juvenile idiopathic arthritis. By contrast, the same treatment approaches had no strong impact on the outcome of systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA), and the main effective treatment in these patients remained glucocorticoids with their known side effects. Encouraging findings in small studies involving SJIA patients treated with IL-1 and IL-6 inhibitors led to large Phase III trials, and the results in these trials provide hope that substantial joint damage and disability seen in the majority of patients with persistent SJIA can be prevented. The purpose of this review is to discuss the safety and efficacy of the IL-1 and IL-6 inhibiting agents in SJIA with the main focus on canakinumab, a fully human monoclonal anti-IL-1β antibody.
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Expert Rev Clin Immunol · Oct 2014
ReviewCurrent recommendations and emerging options for the treatment of allergic rhinitis.
Allergic rhinitis (AR) is one of the most common diseases and represents a global health problem, currently affecting up to 30% of the general population, with a continuously increasing prevalence and significant comorbidities and complications. The aim of this review is to provide an update on AR treatment, with a focus on current therapies defined by AR and its impact on asthma guidelines and with a particular emphasis on new and future therapeutic perspectives.
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Expert Rev Clin Immunol · Oct 2014
ReviewBiomarkers of sepsis and their potential value in diagnosis, prognosis and treatment.
Biomarkers have great potential to improve the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis. The available literature supports the potential utility of sTREM-1, IL-27, suPAR, neutrophil CD64, presepsin, cfDNA and miRNAs as novel diagnostic, prognostic and treatment response biomarkers. The future of sepsis biomarkers lies in extensive validation studies of such novel biomarkers across heterogeneous populations and exploration of their power in combination. Furthermore, the use of a companion diagnostics model may augment the ability of investigators to identify novel sepsis biomarkers and develop specific therapeutic strategies based on biomarker information.
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Challenges in in vitro allergy diagnostics lie in the development of accessible and reliable assays allowing identification of all offending allergens and cross-reactive structures. Flow-assisted analysis and quantification of in vitro activated basophils serves as a diagnostic instrument with increasing applications developed over the years. From the earliest days it was clear that the test could constitute a diagnostic asset in basophil-mediated hypersensitivity. ⋯ However, results in these nondiagnostic applications are preliminary. We review the most relevant clinical applications of the basophil activation test. Some personal comments and views about perspectives and challenges about flow-assisted allergy diagnosis are made.