BACKGROUND Anti-muscle specific kinase antibody positive myasthenia gravis (MuSK MG) is often characterized by a relatively severe and progressive course, refractoriness to standard myasthenia gravis (MG) medications, and an increased risk of myasthenic crisis. We report here successful management of three MuSK MG patients using maintenance therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) treatment for up to ...

Tuberculous pleural effusions (TPEs) and malignant pleural effusions (MPEs) are difficult to differentiate between in certain clinical situations. Interleukin (IL)-33 is a cytokine that participates in inflammatory responses and may have a role in pleural effusions. The present study aimed to investigate the concentrations and potential differential significance of IL-33 in patients with TPE an...

The purpose of this document is to provide background information for physicians and patients who have reviewed the research literature on the use of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) to treat systemic sclerosis (SSc) and made the determination that this may be an appropriate treatment option. While this is not intended to be a formal research proposal, it is hoped that by following a standardi...

Here, we explore the new application of an old molecule. We find that the tetraphenylethene-indolium molecule (TPE-indo) can both image the mitochondria (in the aggregated state), and indicate mitochondrial activity by the fluorescence change of TPE-indo. TPE-indo shows good photostability, longer emission wavelength, targeting effect for mitochondria, and better response to the changes of the ...

Background The differential diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) and malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is difficult because the biochemical profiles are similar. The present study aimed to differentiate TPE from MPE, using a decision tree and a weighted sparse representation-based classification (WSRC) method, based on the best combination of routine pleural effusion fluid biomarkers....

Lymphocytic pleurisy is commonly observed in tuberculosis and cancer. Noninvasive biomarkers are needed to distinguish tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) from malignant pleural effusion (MPE) because current clinical diagnostic procedures are often invasive. We identified immune response biomarkers that can discriminate between TPE and MPE. Fourteen pleural effusion biomarkers were compared in ...

BACKGROUND The efficacy of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) in stiff-person syndrome (SPS) is unclear. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS A retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with SPS who underwent TPE and a systematic literature review were conducted. RESULTS Nine patients with the presumptive diagnosis of SPS who underwent TPE were identified. The mean age was 55 years (range, 34-72 year...

Because eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) are critical in the pathogenesis of tropical pulmonary eosinophilia (TPE), we analyzed genetic polymorphisms of both in 181 individuals from southern India with varying clinical manifestations of Wuchereria bancrofti infection (including 26 with TPE). Using haplotype frequency analysis, we identified four known (o...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Observation of an increased frequency of an intermediate deficiency of serum alpha1-antitrypsin (α1-AT) in patients with Tropical Pulmonary Eosinophilia (TPE) was earlier reported. Though the possibility of existence of an acquired deficiency was suggested, without phenotyping a hereditary α1-AT deficiency in TPE could not totally be ruled out. In this study, we have don...