La Revue de médecine interne
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Regulatory/suppressor T cells (Tregs) maintain immunologic homeostasis and prevent autoimmunity. They are the guardians of dominant tolerance. Recent research reveals quantitative and/or functional defect of Tregs in systemic autoimmune diseases. ⋯ Immunosuppressive treatments, like corticosteroids and anti-TNF, modulate Tregs cells population. There is increasing interest in the use of Tregs as a biological therapy to preserve and restore tolerance to self-antigen. However, difficulties to characterize these lymphocytes and controversies in the results of studies refrain their use in current clinical practice.
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Case Reports
[Repeated intestinal tract perforations secondary to cryoglobulinemia and cytomegalovirus infection: a case report].
Cryoglobulinemia associated vasculitis is usually related to hepatitis C virus. Clinical features include purpura, glomerulonephritis, or peripheral neuropathy. ⋯ The related immunodepression exposes to a reactivation of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection that may also be potentially responsible for intestinal injury. We report a 68-year-old man who presented with iterative intestinal perforations secondary to a cryoglobulinemia vasculitis and then to a CMV infection.