Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) is an acute smallvessel leucocytoclastic vasculitis. HSP is the most common vasculitis in children, with an incidence of about 10 cases per 100 000 a year. In most series, boys are aff ected more often than girls. Although it can occur at any age, HSP is overwhelmingly a disease of childhood. The mean age of patients is 6 years; 75% of patients are under 8 years o...

CD27 expression has been used to distinguish between memory and naive B cells in humans. However, low levels of mutated and isotype-switched CD27-IgD- cells are seen in healthy adults, and these are increased in some autoimmune diseases and in the elderly. Thus CD27 is not a universal marker of memory B cells in humans. Various hypotheses have been put forward as to the function of the CD27- me...

this paper argues for acceptance of digniry as a concept that ne use to describe an aggregate ef values and qualities of someone or something that deserve esteem and respect. the primary value that creates the nght to have dzgniry is life. the degree of dzgniry according to a particular life form depends on its place in the evolutionary scale. human beings are the hzghestform ef life so thry po...

LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE T he efficacy of recombinant antibodies (rMAbs) results from their specificity for target antigens and the biological activities (effector functions) activated by the immune complexes formed. Numerous parameters influence the effector function profile (including antibody class, IgG subclass, and glycoform), and their definition offers opportunities for optimizing a recombina...

A cholera vaccine containing killed vibrios and cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) was used to compare mucosal immunization routes for induction of systemic and mucosal Ab. Four groups of women were given three monthly immunizations by the rectal immunization (R(imm)) route, nasal immunization (N(imm)) route, or vaginal immunization route during either the follicular (V-FP(imm)) or luteal (V-LP(imm)...