The Journal of infectious diseases
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Thymosin alpha1- and ulinastatin-based immunomodulatory strategy for sepsis arising from intra-abdominal infection due to carbapenem-resistant bacteria.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential efficacy of therapy with thymosin alpha(1) and ulinastatin for patients with sepsis due to carbapenem-resistant bacteria. ⋯ Immunomodulatory therapy that combines thymosin alpha(1) and ulinastatin appears to improve the survival rate for patients infected with carbapenem-resistant bacteria. The number of patients in this study was relatively small, and although the same number of patients was initially enrolled in each study group, the groups were not the same size at the end of the study. Therefore, a larger clinical trial should be conducted to validate this conclusion.
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The efficacy of bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) may be enhanced by heterologous vaccination strategies that boost the BCG-primed immune response. One leading booster vaccine, MVA85A (where "MVA" denotes "modified vaccinia virus Ankara"), has shown promising safety and immunogenicity in human trials performed in the United Kingdom. We investigated the safety and immunogenicity of MVA85A in mycobacteria-exposed--but Mycobacterium tuberculosis-uninfected--healthy adults from a region of South Africa where TB is endemic. ⋯ The excellent safety profile and quantitative and qualitative immunogenicity data strongly support further trials assessing the efficacy of MVA85A as a boosting vaccine in countries where TB is endemic.
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Pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) play a key role in innate immunity against intracellular bacteria. NOD2 is one of the PRRs that contribute to the immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. ⋯ Three common nonsynonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms--Pro268Ser, Arg702Trp, and Ala725Gly--demonstrated significant associations with TB disease. This finding may contribute to the future development of immunotherapy and immunoprophylaxis for TB disease.
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High attack rates among vaccinated young adults reported during the 2006 mumps outbreak in the United States heightened concerns regarding mumps vaccine failure. ⋯ Lower levels of NA observed among persons who received MMR2 > or =15 years ago demonstrates antibody decay over time. MMR3 vaccination of most seronegative persons marked the capacity to mount an anamnestic response.