Autoimmune polyendocrinopathy type II is rarely reported in Chinese patients. A 42-year-old Chinese woman with a history of Hashimoto's thyroiditis and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism presented with pneumonia. During hospitalisation, she went into an adrenal crisis and diabetic ketoacidosis. Subsequent dynamic hormonal tests revealed primary and secondary adrenal insufficiency. She also had perni...

The characteristics of humoral immunity have been proposed to reflect the bias between two T helper (Th) lymphocyte subsets: Th1 cells, which activate cell-mediated immunity, and Th2 cells, which mediate humoral immunity. The present study aimed to characterize the humoral immunity to betacell autoantigens insulin and glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) in preclinical and clinical type 1 diabet...

The Bible translation theory called “dynamic equivalence” from the middle of the twentieth century was more than what may be called the first definable theory of Bible translation. Indirectly or directly, it spawned or related to seven other specific theories: meaning-based translation, cultural equivalence or transculturation, complete equivalence, optimal equivalence, closest natural equivale...

The themes of the Eighth International Conference of the Chemistry of the Platinum Group Metals (PGM8), held at the University of Southampton, from 7th to 12th July 2002, covered a broad spectrum from the chemistry of these fascinating elements, ranging through Organometallic chemistry Coordination and supramolecular chemistry Biological and medicinal chemistry Surfaces, materials and crystal e...

Objective: A humoral autoimmune response to glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) is common both in patients with type 1 diabetes and in those with the autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasisectodermal dystrophy (APECED) syndrome, while overt type 1 diabetes is relatively rarely diagnosed in APECED patients. The aim of this study was to assess whether this difference in the incidence of type 1 ...

BACKGROUND The autoimmune regulator (AIRE) gene influences thymic self-tolerance induction. In autoimmune polyendocrinopathy syndrome type 1 (APS1; OMIM 240300), recessive AIRE mutations lead to autoimmunity targetting endocrine and other epithelial tissues, although chronic candidiasis usually appears first. Autoimmunity and chronic candidiasis can associate with thymomas as well. Patients wit...

Primary immunodeficiency disorders (PIDs) are inborn errors of the immune system. There are over 150 types of PIDs and because of their rarity, multi-center collaboration for pooled data analysis and molecular studies is important to gain meaningful insights about the phenotypic and genetic diversities of PIDs. Since 2001, our unit established collaboration with 30 pediatric centers in China an...

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic necroinflammatory disease of the liver characterized by hypergammaglobulinemia, characteristic autoantibodies, association with HLA DR3 or DR4 and a favorable response to immunosuppressive treatment. The etiology is unknown. The detection of non-organ and liver-related autoantibodies remains the hallmark for the diagnosis of the disease in the absence of ...

Introduction Minimally invasive surgery for colorectal diseases has dramatically changed since the introduction of laparoscopic surgery. The frontline for minimally invasive surgery has further progressed since the advent of robotic surgery, with developments more pronounced for rectal cancers especially considering the perceived technological advantages of robotic surgery over the laparoscopic...

The autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy (APECED) syndrome is a genetic disorder caused by a mutation in the autoimmune regulator (AIRE) gene. Immune deficiency, hypoparathyroidism and Addison's disease due to autoimmune dysfunction are the major clinical signs of APECED. We report on a 21-year-old female APECED patient with two inactivating mutations in the AIRE gene....