Infection and Immunity nieuws
Infection and Immunity nieuws
Nov 21: Function and regulation of ERAP2 in birdshot uveitis
In this PhD research, Wouter Venema (UMC Utrecht) and colleagues worked on understanding the role of endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 2 (ERAP2) in the context of autoimmune uveitis, a severe inflammation of the eye. On November 21, Wouter defended his PhD thesis at Utrecht University.
Read morePhD project unravels associations between eye disease, atopic dermatitis and antibody treatment
Up to 90 percent of patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) or eczema appear to have ocular surface disease (OSD), that is accompanied by fewer conjunctival goblet cells compared to healthy controls. During dupilumab treatment, for which dupilumab-associated ocular surface disease (DAOSD) is the most commonly reported side effect, the function of these goblet cells decreased. In her PhD thesis, Roselie Achten (UMC Utrecht) concludes that it is important to follow a multidisciplinary approach to such ocular abnormalities involving both dermatologists and ophthalmologists for an early diagnosis and treatment of (DA)OSD.
Read moreDisturbances in sensory neurons may alter transient pain into chronic pain
Researchers from the Center for Translational Immunology at University Medical Center Utrecht (the Netherlands) have identified that a transient inflammatory pain causes mitochondrial and redox changes in sensory neurons that persist beyond pain resolution.
Read moreNov 9: Automated surveillance of healthcare-associated infections gains traction
Receiving medical care sometimes leads to healthcare-associated infections (HAI). An important part of preventing HAI is surveillance, the systematic recording, follow-up and reporting of how often and in which patients a particular infection occurs as a result of treatment. The implementation of surveillance is still mostly done manually and therefore labor-intensive, expensive, error-prone and difficult to scale. Efforts have long been underway to automate surveillance, with the goal of reducing workload and increasing quality. To broaden and accelerate the implementation of automated surveillance of healthcare-associated infections in hospitals, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and UMC Utrecht have developed an e-learning. It is intended for healthcare professionals, IT specialists and managers who want to start implementing automated surveillance of HAI in their own hospital or healthcare facility.
Read moreNov 3: Omalizumab also highly effective in chronic urticaria in real world setting
Treatment of chronic urticaria (including angioedema) with omalizumab is effective and safe in a real world setting. As a result, in the majority of patients, omalizumab treatmentintervals can be extended or treatment can even be discontinued at all. The majority of patient with insufficient treatment response to standard doses of omalizumab benefitted from high dose treatment. These were the main conclusions of the PhD research of Mehran Alizadeh Aghdam (UMC Utrecht) who defended his thesis on October 31 at Utrecht University.
Read moreUMC Utrecht investigates best treatment of bloodstream infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus
UMC Utrecht is coordinating an innovative, international study within Europe to determine the best treatment of bloodstream infections caused by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. This research is urgently needed because also in the Netherlands - despite the best possible care – each day 2-3 patients die due to such an infection.
Read moreOct 30: A harmonious dance between academia and industry to reduce the burden of RSV
The field of pediatric infectious disease has greatly benefited from indepth collaborations between academia and the pharmaceutical industry, which have recently resulted in several new vaccines and medicines to prevent severe infection with the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in both infants and the elderly. The doctoral studies by Annefleur Langedijk (UMC Utrecht), who defended her PhD thesis on October 27, were affiliated with various forms of public-private partnerships, emphasizing the pivotal role of collaborative efforts.
Read moreOct 25: REMAP-CAP study presents results to guide care of severely ill patients with COVID-19 using simvastatin and Vitamin C
Starting simvastatin, a readily available and inexpensive drug included in the WHO list of essential medicines, is likely to improve the outcome of critically ill patients with COVID-19. When 33 patients are treated with simvastatin on top of standard care for COVID-19, one more person survives, than without treatment with simvastatin. This is according to worldwide research, in which the European research leader is intensivist Lennie Derde from UMC Utrecht. "These results are really encouraging because simvastatin is an inexpensive drug with limited side effects," Derde said.
Read moreOct 13: New research: HIV cure for the group hit hardest
A solution to the HIV epidemic for the people hardest hit by it: sub-Saharan women. That is the goal of collaborating Dutch and African scientists. The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and the AidsFonds together recently granted more than 6 million euros to finance their plans for the SPIRAL project.
Read moreSep 28: New method improves tracking of AMR plasmid dissemination
In his PhD thesis, Julián Paganini (UMC Utrecht) developed a new approach to identify plasmids, mobile genetic elements that can transmit antimicrobial resistance from one bacterium to another. This new method has shown to be accurate when reconstructing plasmids of more than 70 bacterial species and has the potential to aid in identifying and tracking AMR in clinical settings at lower costs.
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