Steroid-insensitive asthma is an infrequent but problematic airway disease that presents with persistent symptoms, airflow limitation, or recurrent exacerbations even when treated with steroid-based therapies. Because of unsatisfactory results obtained from currently available therapies for steroid-insensitive asthma, a better understanding of its pathogenesis and the development of new targete...

The potential of microalgae for steroid transformation has been studied less than other microorganisms. They have been applied for the years in the treatment of environmental pollutions and preparation of nutrients. At the first time, Abul-Hajj and Qian indicated the conversion of androstendione (AD) to testosterone with eleven different strains of microalgae. Previtera’s group showed the trans...

AIM To evaluate the efficacy of 5 compared to 10 granulocyteaphaeresis sessions in patients with active steroid-dependent ulcerative colitis. METHODS In this pilot, prospective, multicenter randomized trial, 20 patients with moderately active steroid-dependent ulcerative colitis were randomized to 5 or 10 granulocyteaphaeresis sessions. The primary objective was clinical remission at wk 17. S...

The potential of microalgae for steroid transformation has been studied less than other microorganisms. They have been applied for the years in the treatment of environmental pollutions and preparation of nutrients. At the first time, Abul-Hajj and Qian indicated the conversion of androstendione (AD) to testosterone with eleven different strains of microalgae. Previtera’s group showed the trans...

Studies using pharmacological gonadotropin stimulation suggest that ovarian steroidogenesis is abnormal in the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). We assessed ovarian steroid secretion in response to near-physiological gonadotropin stimuli in 12 ovulatory controls and 7 women with PCOS. A gonadotropin-releasing hormone-receptor antagonist (ganirelix, 2 mg sc) was given to block endogenous LH secr...

to determine the prognostic value of response to treatment in patients with focal segmental glomerulo-sclerosis. fsgs includes 10-15% of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome in children. bulk of evidence supports disease relationship with immune system. unfortunately, responses to immunosuppressive drugs are not desirable and progression to end-stage renal disease is common. we analyzed 62 out of 99 c...

The photoinactivation and photoaffinity labeling of androgen binding sites present in cytosol prepared from intact sexually mature rat epididymides have been demonstrated by using unlabeled and [3H]-labeled 17 beta-hydroxy-4,6-androstadien-3-one. Both photoinactivation and photolabeling are dependent upon exposure to light. These processes are inhibited when photolysis is conducted in the prese...

Steroid-resistant asthma comprises an important source of morbidity in patient populations. T(H)17 cells represent a distinct population of CD4(+) Th cells that mediate neutrophilic inflammation and are characterized by the production of IL-17, IL-22, and IL-6. To investigate the function of T(H)17 cells in the context of Ag-induced airway inflammation, we polarized naive CD4(+) T cells from DO...