Expert opinion on biological therapy
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Expert Opin Biol Ther · Dec 2012
ReviewAn update on vaccines for tuberculosis - there is more to it than just waning of BCG efficacy with time.
Apart from better diagnostics and new anti-microbial drugs, an effective vaccine for tuberculosis is urgently needed to halt this poverty-related disease, afflicting millions of people worldwide. ⋯ It is argued that the variable protection conferred by the existing BCG vaccine against reactivation of latent TB is caused not only by waning of its efficacy with time but also by its weak induction of MHC class I restricted responses. Prime-boost strategies based on the actual BCG vaccine may not be sufficient to overcome this hurdle. The use of plasmid DNA vaccination might offer a solution.
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Expert Opin Biol Ther · Dec 2012
Bone marrow-derived mononuclear cell therapy for patients with ischemic heart disease and ischemic heart failure.
This meta-analysis aimed to assess whether bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BMMNCs) therapy may improve cardiac functional parameters in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD) or ischemic heart failure (IHF). ⋯ BMMNCs therapy is associated with moderate but significant improvement over regular therapy in LVEF in patients with IHD and IHF. This observation, therefore, supports further RCTs conducting safety and efficiency of BMMNCs therapy with longer-term follow-up.