747 results on '"Hengartner H"'
Search Results
202. Isolation of different thermophilic enzymes from Bacillus stearothermophilus.
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Hengartner, H., Stoll, E., and Zuber, H.
- Abstract
Copyright of Experientia is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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- 1973
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203. T cells and memory lapses: Response
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Zinkernagel, R. M., Bachmann, M. F., Kuendig, T. M., and Hengartner, H.
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- 1997
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204. Induction of T-cell dependent VSV neutralizing antibodies by a fusion protein comprising VSV-G and the human IgG1 Fc portion
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Lo´pez-Maci´as, C., Kalinke, U., Fehr, T., Bucher, E., Zinkemagel, R.M., and Hengartner, H.
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- 1997
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205. Validation of questionnaire-reported chest wall abnormalities with a telephone interview in Swiss childhood cancer survivors.
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Kasteler, Rahel, Lichtensteiger, Christa, Schindera, Christina, Ansari, Marc, Kuehni, Claudia E., for the Swiss Pediatric Oncology Group (SPOG) Scientific Committee, Rössler, J., Ansari, M., Beck Popovic, M., Brazzola, P., Greiner, J., Niggli, F., Hengartner, H., Kuehni, C., Schilling, F., Scheinemann, K., von der Weid, N., Gerber, N., and Swiss Pediatric Oncology Group (SPOG) Scientific Committee
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CHILDHOOD cancer , *CANCER survivors , *TELEPHONE interviewing , *PHYSICIANS , *HUMAN abnormalities , *CHEST (Anatomy) , *INTERVIEWING , *RESEARCH funding ,CENTRAL nervous system tumors ,RESEARCH evaluation - Abstract
Background: Chest wall abnormalities are a poorly studied complication after treatment for childhood cancer. Chest wall abnormalities are not well-described in the literature, and little is known on the impact on daily life of survivors.Methods: We investigated prevalence and risk factors of chest wall abnormalities in childhood cancer survivors in a nationwide, population-based cohort study (Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study) with a questionnaire survey. We then interviewed a nested sample of survivors to validate types of chest wall abnormalities and understand their impact on the daily life of survivors.Results: Forty-eight of 2382 (95%CI 2-3%) survivors reported a chest wall abnormality. Risk factors were older age at cancer diagnosis (16-20 years; OR 2.5, 95%CI 1.0-6.1), lymphoma (OR 3.8, 95%CI 1.2-11.4), and central nervous system tumors (OR 9.5, 95%CI 3.0-30.1) as underlying disease, and treatment with thoracic radiotherapy (OR 2.0, 95%CI 1.0-4.2), surgery to the chest (OR 4.5, 95%CI 1.8-11.5), or chemotherapy (OR 2.9, 95%CI 1.0-8.1). The nature of the chest wall abnormalities varied and included thoracic wall deformities (30%), deformations of the spine (5%) or both (55%), and scars (10%). Chest wall abnormalities affected daily life in two thirds (13/20) of those who reported these problems and necessitated medical attention for 15 (75%) survivors.Conclusion: It is important that, during follow-up care, physicians pay attention to chest wall abnormalities, which are rare late effects of cancer treatment, but can considerably affect the well-being of cancer survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2021
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206. Bayesian spatial modelling of childhood cancer incidence in Switzerland using exact point data: a nationwide study during 1985–2015.
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Konstantinoudis, Garyfallos, Schuhmacher, Dominic, Ammann, Roland A., Diesch, Tamara, Kuehni, Claudia E., Spycher, Ben D., for the Swiss Paediatric Oncology Group, Ammann, R. A., Scheinemann, K., Ansari, M., Popovic, M. Beck, Brazzola, P., Greiner, J., Grotzer, M., Hengartner, H., Kuehne, T., Rössler, J., Niggli, F., Schilling, F., and von der Weid, N.
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CHILDHOOD cancer , *CENTRAL nervous system cancer , *BACKGROUND radiation , *JUVENILE diseases , *CENTRAL nervous system , *ENVIRONMENTAL exposure prevention - Abstract
Background: The aetiology of most childhood cancers is largely unknown. Spatially varying environmental factors such as traffic-related air pollution, background radiation and agricultural pesticides might contribute to the development of childhood cancer. This study is the first investigation of the spatial disease mapping of childhood cancers using exact geocodes of place of residence. Methods: We included 5947 children diagnosed with cancer in Switzerland during 1985–2015 at 0–15 years of age from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry. We modelled cancer risk using log-Gaussian Cox processes and indirect standardisation to adjust for age and year of diagnosis. We examined whether the spatial variation of risk can be explained by modelled ambient air concentration of NO2, modelled exposure to background ionising radiation, area-based socio-economic position (SEP), linguistic region, duration in years of general cancer registration in the canton or degree of urbanisation. Results: For all childhood cancers combined, the posterior median relative risk (RR), compared to the national level, varied by location from 0.83 to 1.13 (min to max). Corresponding ranges were 0.96 to 1.09 for leukaemia, 0.90 to 1.13 for lymphoma, and 0.82 to 1.23 for central nervous system (CNS) tumours. The covariates considered explained 72% of the observed spatial variation for all cancers, 81% for leukaemia, 82% for lymphoma and 64% for CNS tumours. There was weak evidence of an association of CNS tumour incidence with modelled exposure to background ionising radiation (RR per SD difference 1.17; 0.98–1.40) and with SEP (1.6; 1.00–1.13). Conclusion: Of the investigated diagnostic groups, childhood CNS tumours showed the largest spatial variation. The selected covariates only partially explained the observed variation of CNS tumours suggesting that other environmental factors also play a role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2020
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207. Preferences for long-term follow-up care in childhood cancer survivors.
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Michel, G., Gianinazzi, M.E., Eiser, C., Bergstraesser, E., Vetsch, J., Weid, N., Kuehni, C.E., Ammann, R., Angst, R., Ansari, M., Beck Popovic, M., Brazzola, P., Greiner, J., Grotzer, M., Hengartner, H., Kuehne, T., Leibundgut, K., Niggli, F., and Rischewski, J.
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CANCER patients , *PATIENT aftercare , *LONG-term health care , *QUESTIONNAIRES , *RESEARCH funding , *TUMORS in children - Abstract
Follow-up care is important for childhood cancer survivors to facilitate early detection and treatment of late effects. We aimed to describe preferences for different organisational aspects and models of follow-up care among Swiss childhood cancer survivors, and characteristics associated with preferences for different models. We contacted 720 survivors aged 18+ years, diagnosed with cancer after 1990 (age 0-16 years), registered in the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry ( SCCR), and Swiss resident, who previously participated in a baseline survey. They received questionnaires to assess attendance and preferences for follow-up (rated on 4-point scales, 0-3). Clinical information was available from the SCCR. Survivors ( n = 314: response rate 43.6%; 47.8% still attended follow-up) rated clinical reasons for follow-up higher than supportive reasons ( p < .001). They rated checking for cancer recurrence (mean = 2.78, SD = 0.53) and knowing about risks for my children most important (mean = 2.22, SD = 0.83). They preferred to attend a children's hospital (mean = 1.94, SD = 1.11), adult hospital (mean = 1.86, SD = 0.98) or general practitioner (mean = 1.86, SD = 1.01) rather than a central specialised late effects clinic (mean = 1.25, SD = 1.06, p < .001), and be seen by paediatric (mean = 2.24, SD = 0.72) or medical oncologist (mean = 2.17, SD = 0.69). Survivors preferred decentralised clinic-based follow-up, rather than one central specialised late effects clinic. Survivors' preferences should be considered to ensure future attendance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2016
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208. Reactive oxygen species delay control of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus.
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Lang, P A, Xu, H C, Grusdat, M, McIlwain, D R, Pandyra, A A, Harris, I S, Shaabani, N, Honke, N, Kumar Maney, S, Lang, E, Pozdeev, V I, Recher, M, Odermatt, B, Brenner, D, Häussinger, D, Ohashi, P S, Hengartner, H, Zinkernagel, R M, Mak, T W, and Lang, K S
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REACTIVE oxygen species , *LYMPHOCYTIC choriomeningitis virus , *IMMUNOPATHOLOGY , *GRANULOCYTES , *MACROPHAGE activation - Abstract
Cluster of differentiation (CD)8+ T cells are like a double edged sword during chronic viral infections because they not only promote virus elimination but also induce virus-mediated immunopathology. Elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been reported during virus infections. However, the role of ROS in T-cell-mediated immunopathology remains unclear. Here we used the murine lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus to explore the role of ROS during the processes of virus elimination and induction of immunopathology. We found that virus infection led to elevated levels of ROS producing granulocytes and macrophages in virus-infected liver and spleen tissues that were triggered by the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase. Lack of the regulatory subunit p47phox of the NADPH oxidase diminished ROS production in these cells. While CD8+ T cells exhibited ROS production that was independent of NADPH oxidase expression, survival and T-cell function was elevated in p47phox-deficient (Ncf1−/−) mice. In the absence of p47phox, enhanced T-cell immunity promoted virus elimination and blunted corresponding immunopathology. In conclusion, we find that NADPH-mediated production of ROS critically impairs the immune response, impacting elimination of virus and outcome of liver cell damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2013
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209. Subversion of immune responses
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Melief, C.J.M., Braciale, T., Kozinowski, U., Hengartner, H., McMichael, A., Steinman, R., Morse, H., and Rickinson, A.
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- 1993
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210. Induction of T-cell dependent VSV neutralizing antibodies by a fusion protein comprising VSV-G and the human IgG1 Fc portion
- Author
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López-Macías, C., Kalinke, U., Fehr, T., Bucher, E., Zinkemagel, R.M., and Hengartner, H.
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- 1997
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211. No B cell tolerance, but generation of antibody escape mutants in vivo in anti-lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus specific antibody transgenic mice
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Seiler, P., Senn, B.M., Bründler, M.-A., Zinkernagel, R.M., and Hengartner, H.
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- 1997
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212. Low adherence to dietary recommendations in adult childhood cancer survivors
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Grit Sommer, Jeanette Greiner, Kurt Leibundgut, Laura Wengenroth, Pierluigi Brazzola, Roland A. Ammann, Marc Ansari, T. Kuehne, N. X. von der Weid, Fabiën N. Belle, Johannes Rischewski, Maja Beck Popovic, M. Beck Popovic, R. Angst, Michael A. Grotzer, Heinz Hengartner, Murielle Bochud, Annette Weiss, Claudia E. Kuehni, Eva Bergstraesser, Felix Niggli, Swiss Paediatric Oncology Group (SPOG), Ammann, R., Angst, R., Ansari, M., Beck Popovic, M., Bergstraesser, E., Brazzola, P., Greiner, J., Grotzer, M., Hengartner, H., Kuehne, T., Leibundgut, K., Niggli, F., Rischewski, J., and von der Weid, N.
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Adult ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Pediatrics ,Cross-sectional study ,Population ,Disease ,Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine ,Recommended Dietary Allowances ,Body Mass Index ,03 medical and health sciences ,Young Adult ,0302 clinical medicine ,Cancer Survivors ,Case-Control Studies ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Diet ,Female ,Humans ,Incidence ,Life Style ,Neoplasms/epidemiology ,Nutrition Assessment ,Patient Compliance ,Risk Factors ,Socioeconomic Factors ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Switzerland/epidemiology ,Cardiovascular diseases ,Childhood cancer survivors ,Dietary recommendations ,Europe ,Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry ,Internal medicine ,Neoplasms ,medicine ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Young adult ,education ,610 Medicine & health ,education.field_of_study ,ddc:618 ,Nutrition and Dietetics ,business.industry ,Incidence (epidemiology) ,fungi ,Case-control study ,Institutional repository ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,business ,Body mass index ,360 Social problems & social services ,Switzerland - Abstract
Background & aims Poor diet may increase the risk that childhood cancer survivors (CCS) will suffer from chronic disease. We compared adherence to national dietary recommendations between CCS, their siblings and the Swiss population, identified determinants of adherence, and assessed the association of adherence with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk profiles. Methods As part of the Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (SCCSS), a questionnaire was sent to all Swiss resident CCS aged
- Published
- 2016
213. Clustering of health behaviours in adult survivors of childhood cancer and the general population
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Rebholz C E, Rueegg C S, Michel G, Ammann R A, von der Weid N X, Kuehni C E, Spycher B D, Swiss Paediatric Oncology Group (SPOG), Swiss Paediatric Oncology Group (SPOG), Angst, R., Paulussen, M., Kühne, T., Hirt, A., Leibundgut, K., Ozsahin, AH., Popovic, MB., Buetti, N., Brazzola, P., Caflisch, U., Greiner, J., Hengartner, H., Grotzer, M., and Niggli, F.
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Male ,Gerontology ,Marijuana Abuse ,Cancer Research ,Health Behavior ,Psychological intervention ,0302 clinical medicine ,Risk Factors ,Neoplasms ,Medicine ,Survivors ,030212 general & internal medicine ,education.field_of_study ,Smoking ,Cannabis use ,humanities ,Latent class model ,3. Good health ,Oncology ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,population characteristics ,Female ,Switzerland ,Sports ,Adult ,Adolescent ,Alcohol Drinking ,childhood cancer survivors ,alcohol consumption ,Childhood cancer ,Population ,610 Medicine & health ,03 medical and health sciences ,Risk-Taking ,health behaviour ,Humans ,Social determinants of health ,education ,Life Style ,business.industry ,Health behaviour ,social sciences ,Diet ,Alcohol Drinking/epidemiology ,Follow-Up Studies ,Marijuana Abuse/epidemiology ,Neoplasms/epidemiology ,Smoking/epidemiology ,Survivors/psychology ,Switzerland/epidemiology ,Clinical Study ,Moderate drinking ,business ,human activities ,cluster analysis - Abstract
Background:Little is known about engagement in multiple health behaviours in childhood cancer survivors.Methods:Using latent class analysis we identified health behaviour patterns in 835 adult survivors of childhood cancer (age 20 35 years) and 1670 age and sex matched controls from the general population. Behaviour groups were determined from replies to questions on smoking drinking cannabis use sporting activities diet sun protection and skin examination.Results:The model identified four health behaviour patterns: 'risk avoidance' with a generally healthy behaviour; 'moderate drinking' with higher levels of sporting activities but moderate alcohol consumption; 'risk taking' engaging in several risk behaviours; and 'smoking' smoking but not drinking. Similar proportions of survivors and controls fell into the 'risk avoiding' (42 vs 44) and the 'risk taking' cluster (14 vs 12) but more survivors were in the 'moderate drinking' (39 vs 28) and fewer in the 'smoking' cluster (5 vs 16). Determinants of health behaviour clusters were gender migration background income and therapy.Conclusion:A comparable proportion of childhood cancer survivors as in the general population engage in multiple health compromising behaviours. Because of increased vulnerability of survivors multiple risk behaviours should be addressed in targeted health interventions.British Journal of Cancer advance online publication 21 June 2012; doi:10.1038/bjc.2012.250 www.bjcancer.com.
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- 2012
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214. Childhood cancer and nuclear power plants in Switzerland: a census-based cohort study
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Ben D, Spycher, Martin, Feller, Marcel, Zwahlen, Martin, Röösli, Nicolas X, von der Weid, Heinz, Hengartner, Matthias, Egger, Claudia E, Kuehni, M, Oris, Swiss Paediatric Oncology Group, Swiss National Cohort Study Group, Angst, R., Paulussen, M., Kuehne, T., Brazzola, P., Hirt, A., Leibundgut, K., Ozsahin, AH., Beck Popovic, M., von der Weid NX., Nobile Buetti, L., Rischewski, J., Caflisch, U., Greiner, J., Hengartner, H., Grotzer, M., Niggli, F., Gutzwiller, F., Bopp, M., Faeh, D., Egger, M., Clough-Gorr, K., Schmidlin, K., Spoerri, A., Sturdy, M., Zwahlen, M., Künzli, N., Paccaud, F., Oris, M., University of Zurich, and Kuehni, C E
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Male ,Pediatrics ,Epidemiology ,030218 nuclear medicine & medical imaging ,Cohort Studies ,0302 clinical medicine ,Residence Characteristics ,Risk Factors ,Radiation, Ionizing ,Neoplasms ,Medicine ,Registries ,Child ,Leukemia, Radiation-Induced ,education.field_of_study ,Childhood Cancer Registry ,Geography ,Child Health ,Censuses ,General Medicine ,Environmental exposure ,Census ,Nuclear power ,3. Good health ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Child, Preschool ,Nuclear Power Plants ,Cohort ,leukaemia ,symbols ,Regression Analysis ,Female ,ionizing radiation ,Switzerland ,Cohort study ,Adolescent ,Air Pollutants, Radioactive/adverse effects ,Environmental Exposure/adverse effects ,Humans ,Infant ,Infant, Newborn ,Leukemia, Radiation-Induced/epidemiology ,Leukemia, Radiation-Induced/etiology ,Neoplasms/chemically induced ,Neoplasms/epidemiology ,Switzerland/epidemiology ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Population ,Childhood cancer ,610 Medicine & health ,population based ,03 medical and health sciences ,symbols.namesake ,Environmental health ,cancer ,cancer registry ,Poisson regression ,education ,business.industry ,Cancer ,Environmental Exposure ,medicine.disease ,Childhood ,Cancer registry ,10036 Medical Clinic ,Air Pollutants, Radioactive ,business ,Nuclear medicine ,2713 Epidemiology - Abstract
BACKGROUND: Previous studies on childhood cancer and nuclear power plants (NPPs) produced conflicting results. We used a cohort approach to examine whether residence near NPPs was associated with leukaemia or any childhood cancer in Switzerland. METHODS: We computed person-years at risk for children aged 0-15 years born in Switzerland from 1985 to 2009, based on the Swiss censuses 1990 and 2000 and identified cancer cases from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry. We geo-coded place of residence at birth and calculated incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) comparing the risk of cancer in children born 15 km away, using Poisson regression models. RESULTS: We included 2925 children diagnosed with cancer during 21 117 524 person-years of follow-up; 953 (32.6%) had leukaemia. Eight and 12 children diagnosed with leukaemia at ages 0-4 and 0-15 years, and 18 and 31 children diagnosed with any cancer were born 15 km away, the IRRs (95% CI) for leukaemia in 0-4 and 0-15 year olds were 1.20 (0.60-2.41) and 1.05 (0.60-1.86), respectively. For any cancer, corresponding IRRs were 0.97 (0.61-1.54) and 0.89 (0.63-1.27). There was no evidence of a dose-response relationship with distance (P > 0.30). Results were similar for residence at diagnosis and at birth, and when adjusted for potential confounders. Results from sensitivity analyses were consistent with main results. CONCLUSIONS: This nationwide cohort study found little evidence of an association between residence near NPPs and the risk of leukaemia or any childhood cancer.
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- 2011
215. Parents' preferences for the organisation of long-term follow-up of childhood cancer survivors
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J, Vetsch, C S, Rueegg, L, Mader, E, Bergstraesser, M, Diezi, C E, Kuehni, G, Michel, N, On der Weid, Swiss Paediatric Oncology Group, Ammann, R., Angst, R., Ansari, P.M., Beck-Popovic, P.M., Brazzola, P., Greiner, J., Grotzer, M., Hengartner, H., Kuehne, T., Leibundgut, K., Niggli, F., Rischewski, P.J., and On der Weid, N.
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Adult ,Male ,Parents ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Adolescent ,Long term follow up ,Childhood cancer ,education ,MEDLINE ,Aftercare ,Cancer recurrence ,Patient Care Planning ,Likert scale ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Cancer Survivors ,Neoplasms ,Europe ,cancer registry ,follow-up care ,models of care ,paediatric oncology ,parents of childhood cancer survivors ,medicine ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,610 Medicine & health ,Paediatric oncologist ,Child ,Attending clinic ,business.industry ,Continuity of Patient Care ,Middle Aged ,Cancer registry ,Oncology ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Family medicine ,Female ,business ,360 Social problems & social services ,Specialization - Abstract
Parents take an important role in follow-up of young cancer survivors. We aimed to investigate (1) parents' preferences for organisation of follow-up (including content, specialists involved and models of care), and (2) parents' and children's characteristics predicting preference for generalist vs. specialist-led follow-up. We sent a questionnaire to parents of childhood cancer survivors aged 11–17 years. We assessed on a 4-point Likert scale (1–4), parents' preferences for organisation of long-term follow-up. Proposed models were: telephone/questionnaire, general practitioner (GP) (both categorised as generalist for regression analysis); and paediatric oncologist, medical oncologist or multidisciplinary team (MDT) (categorised as specialists). Of 284 contacted parents, 189 responded (67%). Parents welcomed if visits included checking for cancer recurrence (mean = 3.89), late effects screening (mean = 3.79), taking patients seriously (mean = 3.86) and competent staff (mean = 3.85). The preferred specialists were paediatric oncologists (mean = 3.73). Parents valued the paediatric oncologist model of care (mean = 3.49) and the MDT model (mean = 3.14) highest. Parents of children not attending clinic-based follow-up (OR = 2.97, p = .009) and those visiting a generalist (OR = 4.23, p = .007) favoured the generalist-led model. Many parents preferred a clinic-based model of follow-up by paediatric oncologists or a MDT. However, parents also valued the follow-up care model according to which their child is followed up., + ID der Publikation: unilu_14963 + Sprache: Englisch + Letzte Aktualisierung: 2018-12-18 10:49:37
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- 2017
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216. Domestic Radon Exposure and Risk of Childhood Cancer: A Prospective Census-Based Cohort Study
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Hauri, D., Spycher, B., Huss, A., Zimmermann, F., Grotzer, M., von der Weid, N., Weber, D., Spoerri, A., Kuehni, C.E., Röösli, M., Risk Assessment of Toxic and Immunomodulatory Agents, Dep IRAS, Risk Assessment of Toxic and Immunomodulatory Agents, Dep IRAS, Swiss National Cohort, Swiss Paediatric Oncology Group (SPOG), Gutzwiller, F., Bopp, M., Egger, M., Spoerri, A., Zwahlen, M., Künzli, N., Paccaud, F., Oris, M., Ammann, R., Angst, R., Ansari, M., Beck Popovic, M., Bergstraesser, E., Brazzola, P., Greiner, J., Grotzer, M., Hengartner, H., Kuehne, T., Leibundgut, K., Niggli, F., Rischewski, J., von der Weid, N., University of Zurich, and Röösli, Martin
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Male ,Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Adolescent ,Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis ,Childhood cancer ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Radon ,610 Medicine & health ,Ionizing radiation ,Radon exposure ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Risk Factors ,360 Social problems & social services ,Neoplasms ,Environmental health ,2307 Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis ,Humans ,Medicine ,Prospective Studies ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Child ,Prospective cohort study ,business.industry ,Research ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Censuses ,Environmental Exposure ,Environmental exposure ,2739 Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Census ,3. Good health ,chemistry ,Air Pollutants, Radioactive ,10036 Medical Clinic ,Child, Preschool ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Air Pollutants, Radioactive/adverse effects ,Female ,Neoplasms/epidemiology ,Radon/adverse effects ,business ,Cohort study - Abstract
Background: In contrast with established evidence linking high doses of ionizing radiation with childhood cancer, research on low-dose ionizing radiation and childhood cancer has produced inconsistent results. Objective: We investigated the association between domestic radon exposure and childhood cancers, particularly leukemia and central nervous system (CNS) tumors. Methods: We conducted a nationwide census-based cohort study including all children < 16 years of age living in Switzerland on 5 December 2000, the date of the 2000 census. Follow-up lasted until the date of diagnosis, death, emigration, a child’s 16th birthday, or 31 December 2008. Domestic radon levels were estimated for each individual home address using a model developed and validated based on approximately 45,000 measurements taken throughout Switzerland. Data were analyzed with Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for child age, child sex, birth order, parents’ socioeconomic status, environmental gamma radiation, and period effects. Results: In total, 997 childhood cancer cases were included in the study. Compared with children exposed to a radon concentration below the median (< 77.7 Bq/m3), adjusted hazard ratios for children with exposure ≥ the 90th percentile (≥ 139.9 Bq/m3) were 0.93 (95% CI: 0.74, 1.16) for all cancers, 0.95 (95% CI: 0.63, 1.43) for all leukemias, 0.90 (95% CI: 0.56, 1.43) for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and 1.05 (95% CI: 0.68, 1.61) for CNS tumors. Conclusions: We did not find evidence that domestic radon exposure is associated with childhood cancer, despite relatively high radon levels in Switzerland. Citation: Hauri D, Spycher B, Huss A, Zimmermann F, Grotzer M, von der Weid N, Weber D, Spoerri A, Kuehni C, Röösli M, for the Swiss National Cohort and the Swiss Paediatric Oncology Group (SPOG). 2013. Domestic radon exposure and risk of childhood cancer: a prospective census-based cohort study. Environ Health Perspect 121:1239–1244; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1306500
- Published
- 2013
217. Physical performance limitations in adolescent and adult survivors of childhood cancer and their siblings
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Corina S, Rueegg, Gisela, Michel, Laura, Wengenroth, Nicolas X, von der Weid, Eva, Bergstraesser, Claudia E, Kuehni, N, von der Weid, University of Zurich, Swiss Paediatric Oncology Group (SPOG), Ammann, R., Angst, R., Beck Popovic, M., Bergstraesser, E., Brazzola, P., Caflisch, U., Greiner, J., Grotzer, M., Hengartner, H., Kühne, T., Leibundgut, K., Niggli, F., Nobile Buetti, L., Ozsahin, H., Paulussen, M., Rischewski, J., and von der Weid, N.
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Male ,Pediatrics ,Activities of daily living ,Anatomy and Physiology ,Epidemiology ,medicine.medical_treatment ,Cancer Treatment ,Logistic regression ,Cohort Studies ,0302 clinical medicine ,Neoplasms ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Activities of Daily Living ,Medicine ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Survivors ,Young adult ,Child ,Pediatric Epidemiology ,Childhood Cancer Registry ,Multidisciplinary ,Statistics ,Child Health ,Socioeconomic Aspects of Health ,3. Good health ,Oncology ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Observational Studies ,Female ,Public Health ,Cancer Epidemiology ,Sports ,Research Article ,Adult ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Adolescent ,Clinical Research Design ,Science ,610 Medicine & health ,1100 General Agricultural and Biological Sciences ,Childhood Cancer Survivor Study ,Motor Activity ,Biostatistics ,03 medical and health sciences ,Young Adult ,Adolescent Medicine ,1300 General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,Humans ,Pediatric Hematology ,Statistical Methods ,Sports and Exercise Medicine ,1000 Multidisciplinary ,Survey Research ,business.industry ,Siblings ,Odds ratio ,Radiation therapy ,Neoplasms/complications ,Neoplasms/physiopathology ,Questionnaires ,10036 Medical Clinic ,Physical performance ,Pediatric Oncology ,Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation ,Preventive Medicine ,business ,Mathematics - Abstract
PurposeThis study investigates physical performance limitations for sports and daily activities in recently diagnosed childhood cancer survivors and siblings.MethodsThe Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study sent a questionnaire to all survivors (≥ 16 years) registered in the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry, who survived >5 years and were diagnosed 1976-2003 aged ResultsThe sample included 1038 survivors and 534 siblings. Overall, 96 survivors (9.5%) and 7 siblings (1.1%) reported a limitation in sports (Odds ratio 5.5, 95%CI 2.9-10.4, pConclusionSurvivors of childhood cancer, even those diagnosed recently and treated with modern protocols, remain at high risk for physical performance limitations. Treatment and follow-up care should include tailored interventions to mitigate these late effects in high-risk patients.
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- 2012
218. Daily Physical Activities and Sports in Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer and Healthy Controls: A Population-Based Questionnaire Survey
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Rueegg, Corina S., von der Weid, Nicolas X., Rebholz, Cornelia E., Michel, Gisela, Zwahlen, Marcel, Grotzer, Michael, Kuehni, Claudia E., Swiss Paediatric Oncology Group, SPOG, Swiss Paediatric Oncology Group (SPOG), Ammann, R., Angst, R., Beck Popovic, M., Brazzola, P., Caflisch, U., Greiner, J., Grotzer, M., Hengartner, H., Kühne, T., Leibundgut, K., Niggli, F., Nobile Buetti, L., Ozsahin, H., Paulussen, M., Rischewski, J., von der Weid, N., and University of Zurich
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Gerontology ,Male ,Activities of daily living ,Epidemiology ,Life Course Epidemiology ,Logistic regression ,Pediatrics ,0302 clinical medicine ,Risk Factors ,Neoplasms ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Clinical Epidemiology ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Survivors ,Young adult ,Pediatric Epidemiology ,education.field_of_study ,Childhood Cancer Registry ,Multidisciplinary ,Child Health ,Hematology ,Socioeconomic Aspects of Health ,3. Good health ,Oncology ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Medicine ,Female ,Public Health ,Behavioral and Social Aspects of Health ,Cancer Epidemiology ,Sports ,Research Article ,Adult ,Science ,Population ,610 Medicine & health ,Childhood Cancer Survivor Study ,1100 General Agricultural and Biological Sciences ,Motor Activity ,03 medical and health sciences ,Young Adult ,1300 General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,medicine ,Case-Control Studies ,Health Surveys ,Humans ,Life Style ,Logistic Models ,Neoplasms/physiopathology ,Neoplasms/rehabilitation ,Questionnaires ,Pediatric Hematology ,Sports and Exercise Medicine ,education ,Biology ,1000 Multidisciplinary ,Population Biology ,business.industry ,Case-control study ,medicine.disease ,Obesity ,10036 Medical Clinic ,Pediatric Oncology ,Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation ,Preventive Medicine ,business - Abstract
BACKGROUND: Healthy lifestyle including sufficient physical activity may mitigate or prevent adverse long-term effects of childhood cancer. We described daily physical activities and sports in childhood cancer survivors and controls, and assessed determinants of both activity patterns. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study is a questionnaire survey including all children diagnosed with cancer 1976-2003 at age 0-15 years, registered in the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry, who survived ≥5 years and reached adulthood (≥20 years). Controls came from the population-based Swiss Health Survey. We compared the two populations and determined risk factors for both outcomes in separate multivariable logistic regression models. The sample included 1058 survivors and 5593 controls (response rates 78% and 66%). Sufficient daily physical activities were reported by 52% (n = 521) of survivors and 37% (n = 2069) of controls (p
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- 2012
219. Health-related quality of life in long-term survivors of relapsed childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia
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Stefan Essig, Nicolas X von der Weid, Marie-Pierre F Strippoli, Cornelia E Rebholz, Gisela Michel, Corina S Rueegg, Felix K Niggli, Claudia E Kuehni, Swiss Pediatric Oncology Group (SPOG), Swiss Pediatric Oncology Group (SPOG), Ammann, R., Angst, R., Beck Popovic, M., Brazzola, P., Greiner, J., Hengartner, H., Kuehne, T., Leibundgut, K., Niggli, F., Nobile Buetti, L., Ozsahin, A., Rischewski, J., Grotzer, M., and von der Weid, N.
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Male ,Pediatrics ,Non-Clinical Medicine ,Epidemiology ,Lymphoblastic Leukemia ,Hematologic Cancers and Related Disorders ,0302 clinical medicine ,Quality of life ,Recurrence ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Reference population ,Survivors ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Child ,Pediatric Epidemiology ,education.field_of_study ,Multidisciplinary ,Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ,Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ,humanities ,3. Good health ,Oncology ,Child, Preschool ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Medicine ,Female ,Public Health ,Adolescent ,Humans ,Infant ,Infant, Newborn ,Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/psychology ,Quality of Life ,Questionnaires ,Survivors/psychology ,Switzerland ,Cancer Epidemiology ,Research Article ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Relapsed Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ,Science ,Population ,Childhood Cancer Survivor Study ,03 medical and health sciences ,Leukemias ,medicine ,education ,Health related quality of life ,Health Care Policy ,business.industry ,Cancers and Neoplasms ,Long-Term Care ,Mental health ,Pediatric Oncology ,Preventive Medicine ,business - Abstract
BackgroundRelapses occur in about 20% of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Approximately one-third of these children can be cured. Their risk for late effects is high because of intensified treatment, but their health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was largely unmeasured. Our aim was to compare HRQOL of ALL survivors with the general population, and of relapsed with non-relapsed ALL survivors.Methodology/principal findingsAs part of the Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (SCCSS) we sent a questionnaire to all ALL survivors in Switzerland who had been diagnosed between 1976-2003 at age Conclusion/significanceCompared to population norms, ALL survivors reported good HRQOL, even after a relapse. However, relapsed ALL survivors reported poorer general health than non-relapsed. Therefore, we encourage specialists to screen for poor general health in survivors after a relapse and, when appropriate, specifically seek and treat underlying late effects. This will help to improve patients' HRQOL.
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- 2012
220. Corrigendum: Toll-like receptor engagement converts T-cell autoreactivity into overt autoimmune disease.
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Lang, K. S., Recher, M., Junt, T., Navarini, A. A., Harris, N. L., Freigang, S., Odermatt, B., Conrad, C., Ittner, L. M., Bauer, S., Luther, S. A., Uematsu, S., Akira, S., Hengartner, H., and Zinkernagel, R. M.
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- *
MEDICINE - Abstract
Presents a corrected reprint of an article concerning toll-like receptor engagement in T cell autoreactivity, published in the periodical "Nature Medicine."
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- 2005
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221. Recombinant vaccines.
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OEHEN, STEPHAN, HENGARTNER, HANS, ZINKERNAGEL, ROLF, Oehen, S, Hengartner, H, and Zinkernagel, R
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- 1991
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222. Diagnosis, treatment, and surveillance of Diamond-Blackfan anaemia syndrome: international consensus statement.
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Wlodarski MW, Vlachos A, Farrar JE, Da Costa LM, Kattamis A, Dianzani I, Belendez C, Unal S, Tamary H, Pasauliene R, Pospisilova D, de la Fuente J, Iskander D, Wolfe L, Liu JM, Shimamura A, Albrecht K, Lausen B, Bechensteen AG, Tedgard U, Puzik A, Quarello P, Ramenghi U, Bartels M, Hengartner H, Farah RA, Al Saleh M, Hamidieh AA, Yang W, Ito E, Kook H, Ovsyannikova G, Kager L, Gleizes PE, Dalle JH, Strahm B, Niemeyer CM, Lipton JM, and Leblanc TM
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- Humans, Disease Management, Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, Anemia, Diamond-Blackfan diagnosis, Anemia, Diamond-Blackfan therapy, Anemia, Diamond-Blackfan genetics, Consensus
- Abstract
Diamond-Blackfan anaemia (DBA), first described over 80 years ago, is a congenital disorder of erythropoiesis with a predilection for birth defects and cancer. Despite scientific advances, this chronic, debilitating, and life-limiting disorder continues to cause a substantial physical, psychological, and financial toll on patients and their families. The highly complex medical needs of affected patients require specialised expertise and multidisciplinary care. However, gaps remain in effectively bridging scientific discoveries to clinical practice and disseminating the latest knowledge and best practices to providers. Following the publication of the first international consensus in 2008, advances in our understanding of the genetics, natural history, and clinical management of DBA have strongly supported the need for new consensus recommendations. In 2014 in Freiburg, Germany, a panel of 53 experts including clinicians, diagnosticians, and researchers from 27 countries convened. With support from patient advocates, the panel met repeatedly over subsequent years, engaging in ongoing discussions. These meetings led to the development of new consensus recommendations in 2024, replacing the previous guidelines. To account for the diverse phenotypes including presentation without anaemia, the panel agreed to adopt the term DBA syndrome. We propose new simplified diagnostic criteria, describe the genetics of DBA syndrome and its phenocopies, and introduce major changes in therapeutic standards. These changes include lowering the prednisone maintenance dose to maximum 0·3 mg/kg per day, raising the pre-transfusion haemoglobin to 9-10 g/dL independent of age, recommending early aggressive chelation, broadening indications for haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, and recommending systematic clinical surveillance including early colorectal cancer screening. In summary, the current practice guidelines standardise the diagnostics, treatment, and long-term surveillance of patients with DBA syndrome of all ages worldwide., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests AK declares honoraria from chiesi and Novartis and a research grant from Novaris. AK is on the advisory board of Chiesi and Novartis. FML declares honoraria from Chiesi and is on the advisory board of Chiesi. LK is on the advisory board of Agios, Amgen, Bayer, and Novartis. All other authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
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- 2024
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223. Treatment of NF1-Associated Optic Pathway/Hypothalamic Gliomas in Patients With Diencephalic Syndrome.
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Weiser A, Hengartner H, Kottke R, Grehten P, Toelle SP, Gerber NU, Grotzer MA, and Guerreiro Stucklin AS
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- Humans, Infant, Newborn, Syndrome, Neurofibromatosis 1 diagnosis, Optic Nerve Glioma complications, Optic Nerve Glioma therapy, Infant, Newborn, Diseases
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Diencephalic syndrome is usually associated with tumors in the hypothalamic region, rarely occurring in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1)-associated gliomas. We describe the clinical presentation and response to treatment in 3 patients with NF1 presenting with diencephalic syndrome as first symptom of optic pathway/hypothalamic glioma (OPHG). Because of the rarity of this constellation, knowledge about the clinical course and best treatment options for patients with NF1-associated OPHG and diencephalic syndrome is still limited. All 3 patients showed good response to treatment with normalization of body mass index and decrease in tumor volume within 6 months., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)
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- 2023
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224. Access to paediatric oncology centres in Switzerland: Disparities across rural-urban and Swiss-foreigners cohorts.
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Rauch S, Rakic M, Hengartner H, Elger B, and Rost M
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- Child, Humans, Switzerland, Health Services Accessibility, Rural Population, Urban Population, Emigrants and Immigrants, Neoplasms therapy
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Objective: In face of disparities in access to cancer care, it has been proposed to measure accessibility and to explore policy strategies for mitigating inequality of access. We aimed to determine the accessibility of Swiss paediatric oncology centres., Methods: We employed spatial accessibility analysis, calculating driving time to nearest facility. Four data types were used: disaggregated population data, administrative data, street network data and addresses of centres. Besides analysing general accessibility, we compared access of urban versus rural areas and of Swiss citizens versus foreign residents and evaluated designating a new centre to improve accessibility., Results: Overall, 97.4% could reach the nearest centre within 120 min (95.0% < 90 min, 86.5% < 60 min, 48.5% < 30 min). Accessibility could most effectively be improved by a new centre in Sion (city in the southwest of Switzerland). Access in urban areas was better than in rural areas. In urban areas, access of European Union/European Free Trade Association (EU/EFTA) and non-European residents was better than access of Swiss citizens and residents from non-EU European countries., Conclusion: Access is satisfactory. However, our study presents high-resolution insights which could serve as points of leverage for policymakers to mitigate inequalities by designating a new centre and to evaluate potential benefits of centralisation., (© 2022 The Authors. European Journal of Cancer Care published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
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- 2022
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225. A national survey of Swiss paediatric oncology care providers' cross-cultural competences.
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Rakic M, Hengartner H, Lüer S, Scheinemann K, Elger BS, and Rost M
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- Child, Cross-Sectional Studies, Culturally Competent Care, Humans, Switzerland, Cultural Competency psychology, Neoplasms
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Background and Purpose: Culturally diverse countries such as Switzerland face the challenge of providing cross-cultural competent care. Cross-cultural competent care needs an understanding of a patient's cultural context in order to provide safe and effective care. Therefore, we sought to examine cross-cultural competence of Swiss paediatric oncology care providers, and to explore their perceptions of barriers to and facilitators of cross-culturally competent care., Design and Sample: We conducted a cross-sectional study. The data collection period was three weeks. Providers were recruited through collaborators at the participating paediatric oncology centres. All occupational groups who are in direct contact with patients and involved in their care were eligible (e.g., physicians, nurses, social workers, occupational therapists and physiotherapists). Surveying providers online, we captured five subscales of their cross-cultural competence and their perceptions as to how to facilitate cross-culturally competent paediatric oncology care. We employed the Cross-Cultural Competence of Healthcare Professionals (CCCHP) questionnaire. Besides descriptive and inferential statistics, we performed content analysis., Findings: The response rate was 73.2% (n = 183/250). Analyses revealed differences in cross-cultural competence between occupational groups of paediatric oncology providers. Overall, social workers' cross-cultural competence was higher than nurses' or occupational therapists' and physiotherapists' cross-cultural competence. Physicians' cross-cultural competence was higher than nurses (with no statistically significant difference identified between physicians, occupational therapists and physiotherapists). Furthermore, our results suggest noteworthy differences among the four main occupational groups on the five CCCHP subscales. Physicians and social workers declared more positive attitudes than nurses; occupational therapists and physiotherapists reported lower skills than the other three groups; social workers scored higher on the emotions and empathy subscale than the other three groups; physicians were more knowledgeable and aware than nurses. Most frequently mentioned barriers were: language barriers (68.5%), different culture and values (19.2%), different illness understanding (9.2%). Most frequently mentioned facilitators were: professional translators (47.2%), continuous training (20.8%), professional cultural mediators (8.8%)., Conclusions/implications: Trainings and interventions are widely considered a principal strategy to advance providers' cross-cultural competence. Our findings of differences in cross-cultural competence among occupational groups further underpin the need to adapt training programmes and interventions to the respective occupational group and the respective dimension(s) of cross-cultural competence. In addition, professional translators and cultural mediators should be used. Lastly, reciprocal supervision and the promotion of multidisciplinary teams is crucial to enable oncology care providers to learn from each other and this exchange could also help to reduce some of the differences between the various occupational groups.
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- 2022
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226. Childhood cancer and traffic-related air pollution in Switzerland: A nationwide census-based cohort study.
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Kreis C, Héritier H, Scheinemann K, Hengartner H, de Hoogh K, Röösli M, and Spycher BD
- Abstract
Motor vehicle exhaust is a major contributor to air pollution, and exposure to benzene or other carcinogenic components may increase cancer risks. We aimed to investigate the association between traffic-related air pollution and risk of childhood cancer in a nationwide cohort study in Switzerland. We identified incident cases from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry diagnosed < 16 years of age between 1990 and 2015 and linked them probabilistically with the census-based Swiss National Cohort study. We developed land use regression models to estimate annual mean ambient levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO
2 ) and benzene outside 1.4 million children's homes. We used risk-set sampling to facilitate the analysis of time-varying exposure and fitted conditional logistic regression models adjusting for neighborhood socio-economic position, level of urbanization, and background ionizing radiation. We included 2,960 cancer cases in the analyses. The adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals for exposure to NO2 per 10 μg/m3 were 1.00 (95%-CI 0.88-1.13) for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 1.31 (95%-CI 1.00-1.71) for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Using exposure lagged by 1 to 5 years instead of current exposure attenuated the effect for AML. The adjusted HR for exposure to benzene per 1 μg/m3 was 1.03 (95%-CI 0.86-1.23) for ALL and 1.29 (95%-CI 0.86-1.95) for AML. We also observed increased HRs for other diagnostic groups, notably non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Our study adds to the existing evidence that exposure to traffic-related air pollution is associated with an increased risk of childhood leukemia, particularly AML., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2022
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227. The landscape of pediatric Diamond-Blackfan anemia in Switzerland: genotype and phenotype characteristics.
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Vogel N, Schmugge M, Renella R, Waespe N, and Hengartner H
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- Child, Genotype, Humans, Mutation, Phenotype, Retrospective Studies, Ribosomal Proteins genetics, Switzerland epidemiology, Anemia, Diamond-Blackfan diagnosis, Anemia, Diamond-Blackfan genetics
- Abstract
Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA) is caused mainly by genetic mutations in large (RPL) or small ribosomal subunit genes (RPS) and presents with macrocytic anemia and congenital malformations. Clinical differences between genotypes are insufficiently understood. The aim of this study was to assess clinical features, treatment strategies, and genotypes in the Swiss pediatric DBA population. We retrospectively reviewed medical charts of pediatric patients with DBA in Switzerland and stratified patients by RPL versus RPS mutations. We report 17 DBA patients in Switzerland who were all genetically investigated. In our cohort, patients showed a wide spectrum of clinical presentations and treatment needs. We found a high proportion of physical malformations (77%) including lower limb (17%) and anorectal (12%) malformations. The two patients with anorectal malformations presented both with antepositioning of the anus needing surgery within the first 15 months of life. One of these patients had sphincteric dysfunction, the other coccygeal agenesis. We found that included patients with an RPL mutation more frequently tended to have physical malformations and a milder anemia compared to patients with an RPS mutation (median hemoglobin at diagnosis 76 g/l versus 22 g/l).Conclusion: We illustrate the wide clinical and genetic spectrum of DBA in Switzerland. Our findings highlight the need to take this diagnosis into consideration in patients with severe anemia but also in patients with mild anemia where malformations are present. Lower limb and anorectal malformation extend the spectrum of DBA-associated malformations. What is Known? • There is a large variation in the phenotype of Diamond-Blackfan Anemia (DBA) and diversity of genetic mutations. • Malformation of the upper limbs, head and face, heart, and genitourinary system is frequently identified. What is New? • Patients with lower limb and anorectal malformations were repetitively found in our cohort enlarging the clinical spectrum of malformations. • We show two patients of the same family with a DBA-like condition where the same RPL17 variant was identified., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)
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- 2021
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228. Comment on: Intravenous ferric carboxymaltose for iron deficiency anemia or iron deficiency without anemia after poor response to oral iron treatment: Benefits and risks in a cohort of 144 children and adolescents.
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Schmugge M, Mattiello V, Hengartner H, von der Weid N, and Renella R
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- Administration, Intravenous, Adolescent, Child, Ferric Compounds therapeutic use, Humans, Iron, Maltose adverse effects, Maltose analogs & derivatives, Risk Assessment, Anemia, Anemia, Iron-Deficiency drug therapy
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- 2021
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229. Insights from the Hereditary Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura Registry: Discussion of Key Findings Based on Individual Cases from Switzerland.
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Kremer Hovinga JA, Braschler TR, Buchkremer F, Farese S, Hengartner H, Lovey PY, Largiadèr CR, Mansouri Taleghani B, and Tarasco E
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- Female, Humans, Male, Registries, Switzerland, Purpura, Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic diagnosis
- Abstract
The Hereditary TTP Registry is an international cohort study for patients with a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of hereditary thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (hTTP) and their family members. Hereditary TTP is an ultra-rare blood disorder (prevalence of ∼1-2 cases per million), the result of autosomal-recessively inherited congenital ADAMTS13 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with a thrombospondin type 1 motif, member 13) deficiency (ADAMTS13 activity <10% of the normal), and associated with yet many unanswered questions. Until December 2017, the Hereditary TTP Registry had enrolled 123 confirmed hTTP patients. Their median age at disease onset was 4.5 years (range: 0-70) and at clinical diagnosis 16.7 years (range: 0-69), a difference that highlights the existing awareness gap in recognizing hTTP. The systematic collection of clinical data of individual patients revealed their substantial baseline comorbidities, as a consequence of recurring TTP episodes in the past. Most notable was the high proportion of patients having suffered from premature arterial thrombotic events, mainly transient ischemic attacks, ischemic strokes, and to a lesser extent myocardial infarctions. At 40 to 50 years of age and above, more than 50% of patients had suffered from at least one such event, and many had experienced arterial thrombotic events despite regular plasma infusions every 2 to 3 weeks that supplements the missing plasma ADAMTS13. The article by van Dorland et al. (Haematologica 2019;104(10):2107-2115) and the ongoing Hereditary TTP Registry cohort study were recognized with the Günter Landbeck Excellence Award at the 50th Hemophilia Symposium in Hamburg in November 2019, the reason to present the Hereditary TTP Registry in more detail here., Competing Interests: J.A.K.H. is a member of advisory board of Shire, member of the Takeda group of companies and of Ablynx, now part of Sanofi. All honoraria are paid to her employer, Insel Gruppe AG, Bern, Switzerland. The other authors have nothing to declare., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)
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- 2020
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230. Age and DNA methylation subgroup as potential independent risk factors for treatment stratification in children with atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors.
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Frühwald MC, Hasselblatt M, Nemes K, Bens S, Steinbügl M, Johann PD, Kerl K, Hauser P, Quiroga E, Solano-Paez P, Biassoni V, Gil-da-Costa MJ, Perek-Polnik M, van de Wetering M, Sumerauer D, Pears J, Stabell N, Holm S, Hengartner H, Gerber NU, Grotzer M, Boos J, Ebinger M, Tippelt S, Paulus W, Furtwängler R, Hernáiz-Driever P, Reinhard H, Rutkowski S, Schlegel PG, Schmid I, Kortmann RD, Timmermann B, Warmuth-Metz M, Kordes U, Gerss J, Nysom K, Schneppenheim R, Siebert R, Kool M, and Graf N
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- Adolescent, Adult, Age Distribution, Child, DNA Methylation, Europe, Female, Humans, In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence, Male, Risk Factors, Young Adult, Rhabdoid Tumor genetics, Rhabdoid Tumor therapy, Teratoma genetics, Teratoma therapy
- Abstract
Background: Controversy exists as to what may be defined as standard of care (including markers for stratification) for patients with atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (ATRTs). The European Rhabdoid Registry (EU-RHAB) recruits uniformly treated patients and offers standardized genetic and DNA methylation analyses., Methods: Clinical, genetic, and treatment data of 143 patients from 13 European countries were analyzed (2009-2017). Therapy consisted of surgery, anthracycline-based induction, and either radiotherapy or high dose chemotherapy following a consensus among European experts. Fluorescence in situ hybridization, multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification, and sequencing were employed for assessment of somatic and germline mutations in SWItch/sucrose nonfermentable related, matrix associated, actin dependent regulator of chromatin, subfamily B (SMARCB1). Molecular subgroups (ATRT-SHH, ATRT-TYR, and ATRT-MYC) were determined using DNA methylation arrays, resulting in profiles of 84 tumors., Results: Median age at diagnosis of 67 girls and 76 boys was 29.5 months. Five-year overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) were 34.7 ± 4.5% and 30.5 ± 4.2%, respectively. Tumors displayed allelic partial/whole gene deletions (66%; 122/186 alleles) or single nucleotide variants (34%; 64/186 alleles) of SMARCB1. Germline mutations were detected in 26% of ATRTs (30/117). The patient cohort consisted of 47% ATRT-SHH (39/84), 33% ATRT-TYR (28/84), and 20% ATRT-MYC (17/84). Age <1 year, non-TYR signature (ATRT-SHH or -MYC), metastatic or synchronous tumors, germline mutation, incomplete remission, and omission of radiotherapy were negative prognostic factors in univariate analyses (P < 0.05). An adjusted multivariate model identified age <1 year and a non-TYR signature as independent negative predictors of OS: high risk (<1 y + non-TYR; 5-y OS = 0%), intermediate risk (<1 y + ATRT-TYR or ≥1 y + non-TYR; 5-y OS = 32.5 ± 8.7%), and standard risk (≥1 y + ATRT-TYR, 5-y OS = 71.5 ± 12.2%)., Conclusions: Age and molecular subgroup status are independent risk factors for survival in children with ATRT. Our model warrants validation within future clinical trials., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Neuro-Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)
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- 2020
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231. Diagnosis and management of iron deficiency in children with or without anemia: consensus recommendations of the SPOG Pediatric Hematology Working Group.
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Mattiello V, Schmugge M, Hengartner H, von der Weid N, and Renella R
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- Administration, Intravenous adverse effects, Administration, Oral, Adolescent, Child, Child, Preschool, Consensus, Ferric Compounds administration & dosage, Ferric Compounds adverse effects, Ferric Compounds economics, Ferritins blood, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Iron Deficiencies, Iron, Dietary standards, Pediatrics methods, Switzerland, Anemia, Iron-Deficiency blood, Anemia, Iron-Deficiency diagnosis, Anemia, Iron-Deficiency physiopathology, Anemia, Iron-Deficiency therapy, Iron blood
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Iron deficiency is the most prevalent nutritional deficiency affecting children and adolescents worldwide. A consistent body of epidemiological data demonstrates an increased incidence of iron deficiency at three timepoints: in the neonatal period, in preschool children, and in adolescents, where it particularly affects females.Conclusion: This narrative review focuses on the most suggestive symptoms of iron deficiency in childhood, describes the diagnostic procedures in situations with or without anemia, and provides Swiss expert-based management recommendations for the pediatric context.What is Known:• Iron deficiency (ID) is one of the most common challenges faced by pediatricians.• Significant progress in the diagnosis and therapy of ID has been made over the last decade.What is New:• Our expert panel provides ID management recommendations based on the best available evidence.• They include strategies for ID diagnosis and therapy, both oral and intravenous.
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- 2020
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232. Temporal trends in incidence of childhood cancer in Switzerland, 1985-2014.
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Sommer G, Schindler M, Redmond S, Pfeiffer V, Konstantinoudis G, Ammann RA, Ansari M, Hengartner H, Michel G, and Kuehni CE
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- Adolescent, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, History, 20th Century, History, 21st Century, Humans, Incidence, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Risk Factors, Switzerland, Cancer Survivors statistics & numerical data
- Abstract
Background: Incidence of childhood cancer increased in most countries worldwide, but reasons are unclear. This study investigates trends of childhood cancer incidence in Switzerland from 1985 to 2014., Methods: We extracted data on all childhood cancer cases diagnosed at ages 0-14 years in Switzerland from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry. We included ICCC-3 main groups I-XII and calculated age-standardised, cumulative, and age-specific incidence for different diagnostic groups. We analysed trends of annual age-standardised incidence using JoinPoint regression models., Results: Over the study period from 1985 to 2014, 5104 of 5486 cancer diagnoses (93%) were microscopically verified. The proportion of children treated in paediatric cancer centres increased from 84% during 1985-1994 to 93% in 1995-2004 and 98% in 2005-2014 (p < 0.001). Using the World standard population, age-standardised incidence was 143 in 1985-1994, 154 in 1995-2004, and 162 per million in 2005-2014. Incidence increased by 0.7% (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.5; 1.0) per year for all cancers from 1985 to 2014, 0.8% (95% CI 0.2%-1.4%) for leukaemias over the same period, 3.0% (95% CI 0.2%-1.4%) for CNS tumours during 1985-2002, and 3.8% (95% CI 1.7%-6.0%) for epithelial neoplasms and melanomas over the period 1985-2014., Conclusion: Trends in incidence were driven mostly by increases among leukaemias and CNS tumours. For CNS tumours, observed trends may be explained at least partially by diagnostic changes and improved registration. For leukaemias, rising incidence may be real and due to risk factors that experience similar increases in trends., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2019
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233. Burden of treatment in the face of childhood cancer: A quantitative study using medical records of deceased children.
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Rost M, Wangmo T, Rakic M, Acheson E, Rischewski J, Hengartner H, Kühne T, and Elger BS
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- Adolescent, Central Nervous System Neoplasms therapy, Child, Child, Preschool, Death, Female, Hospitalization, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Length of Stay, Leukemia therapy, Male, Medical Records, Retrospective Studies, Switzerland, Terminal Care, Adaptation, Psychological, Family, Neoplasms therapy
- Abstract
Lived experiences of childhood cancer patients and their families have been described as interrupted and as a loss of normal life. Apart from symptoms due to the cancer disease, families continuously experience burden of treatment. Since coping capacities are unique to each individual, we captured variables that offer objective measures of treatment burden, with a particular focus on the disruptive effects of treatment on families' lives. Our sample was comprised by 193 children that died of cancer. Medical records were extracted retrospectively. Quantitative data were statistically analysed with respect to variables related to treatment burden. Deceased children with cancer and their families faced a significant burden of treatment. Results revealed that deceased leukaemia patients had a higher number of inpatient stays, spent more time in the hospital both during their illness and during the last month of their life, and were more likely to die in the hospital when compared to deceased patients with CNS neoplasms and with other diagnoses. Our findings highlight the disruptive effects of treatment that are likely to have a great impact on families' daily life, that go beyond exclusively focusing on side effects, and that needs to be taken into account by the treating staff., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
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- 2018
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234. Parents' and Physicians' Perceptions of Children's Participation in Decision-making in Paediatric Oncology: A Quantitative Study.
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Rost M, Wangmo T, Niggli F, Hartmann K, Hengartner H, Ansari M, Brazzola P, Rischewski J, Beck-Popovic M, Kühne T, and Elger BS
- Subjects
- Adult, Age Factors, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Parent-Child Relations, Pediatrics, Perception, Professional-Family Relations, Prospective Studies, Sex Factors, Surveys and Questionnaires, Attitude, Attitude of Health Personnel, Decision Making, Neoplasms therapy, Parents, Patient Participation, Physicians
- Abstract
The goal is to present how shared decision-making in paediatric oncology occurs from the viewpoints of parents and physicians. Eight Swiss Pediatric Oncology Group centres participated in this prospective study. The sample comprised a parent and physician of the minor patient (<18 years). Surveys were statistically analysed by comparing physicians' and parents' perspectives and by evaluating factors associated with children's actual involvement. Perspectives of ninety-one parents and twenty physicians were obtained for 151 children. Results indicate that for six aspects of information provision examined, parents' and physicians' perceptions differed. Moreover, parents felt that the children were more competent to understand diagnosis and prognosis, assessed the disease of the children as worse, and reported higher satisfaction with decision-making on the part of the children. A patient's age and gender predicted involvement. Older children and girls were more likely to be involved. In the decision-making process, parents held a less active role than they actually wanted. Physicians should take measures to ensure that provided information is understood correctly. Furthermore, they should work towards creating awareness for systematic differences between parents and physicians with respect to the perception of the child, the disease, and shared decision-making.
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
235. Patients with Bernard-Soulier syndrome and different severity of the bleeding phenotype.
- Author
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Boeckelmann D, Hengartner H, Greinacher A, Nowak-Göttl U, Sachs UJ, Peter K, Sandrock-Lang K, and Zieger B
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Bernard-Soulier Syndrome pathology, Blood Platelets pathology, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Genotype, Hemorrhage pathology, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Mutation, Pedigree, Phenotype, Platelet Aggregation, Platelet Count, Platelet Glycoprotein GPIb-IX Complex genetics, Bernard-Soulier Syndrome complications, Bernard-Soulier Syndrome genetics, Hemorrhage complications, Hemorrhage genetics
- Abstract
Bernard-Soulier syndrome is a rare (1:1million), hereditary bleeding disorder caused by defects of the platelet GPIb-IX-V complex. Patients suffer from mucocutaneous bleedings. Typical are thrombocytopenia, giant platelets and impaired agglutination after stimulation with ristocetin. In populations in which consanguineous marriages are common the frequency of the disorder is increased because Bernard-Soulier syndrome is mostly inherited autosomal recessively. Genetic analyses of the disease-related genes may help to gain more insights regarding the phenotype/genotype correlation. Here, we investigated several patients with Bernard-Soulier syndrome from different families. We analyzed two patients with severe bleeding symptoms from one family of middle east origin and confirmed the diagnosis by identifying a pathogenic variant in GP1BB. We compared phenotype/genotype correlation of this GP1BB mutation with the GP9 (p.Asn61Ser) European founder mutation present in 9 patients out of 4 families for whom we also performed molecular genetic analysis., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
236. Participation in pediatric oncology: views of child and adolescent patients.
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Ruhe KM, Badarau DO, Brazzola P, Hengartner H, Elger BS, and Wangmo T
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Child, Female, Humans, Male, Physician-Patient Relations, Qualitative Research, Switzerland, Communication, Decision Making, Patient Participation, Patient Preference
- Abstract
Objective: The aim of the present study is to explore patient's perspectives in pediatric oncology on participation in discussions and decision-making surrounding their cancer diagnosis., Methods: Seventeen patients between 9 and 17 years of age receiving treatment at centers of the Swiss Pediatric Oncology Group were interviewed for this study. Their interview data was analyzed qualitatively to identify themes with regard to participation in medical communication and/or decision-making., Results: Participants highlighted how their roles in health care discussions varied from direct participation to indirect involvement. Overall, there were fewer accounts of involvement in decision-making than in overall health care discussions. Challenges with regard to completely understanding the information provided and making decisions were identified. Participants also discussed situations when they were not involved in medical communication or decision-making. While they generally valued their participation, the preferred level of involvement oscillated between participants as well as within one and the same child across time., Conclusions: The complex pattern of participation found in this study calls for a flexible model of involving children and adolescents in health care that accounts for the varying roles and preferences that they manifest. A patient may appreciate active involvement in some decisions while choosing to remain in the background for others. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., (Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)
- Published
- 2016
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- View/download PDF
237. Space-time clustering of childhood cancers in Switzerland: A nationwide study.
- Author
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Kreis C, Grotzer M, Hengartner H, and Spycher BD
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Child, Child, Preschool, Cluster Analysis, Female, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Registries, Space-Time Clustering, Switzerland epidemiology, Neoplasms epidemiology
- Abstract
The aetiology of childhood cancers remains largely unknown. It has been hypothesized that infections may be involved and that mini-epidemics thereof could result in space-time clustering of incident cases. Most previous studies support spatio-temporal clustering for leukaemia, while results for other diagnostic groups remain mixed. Few studies have corrected for uneven regional population shifts which can lead to spurious detection of clustering. We examined whether there is space-time clustering of childhood cancers in Switzerland identifying cases diagnosed at age <16 years between 1985 and 2010 from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry. Knox tests were performed on geocoded residence at birth and diagnosis separately for leukaemia, acute lymphoid leukaemia (ALL), lymphomas, tumours of the central nervous system, neuroblastomas and soft tissue sarcomas. We used Baker's Max statistic to correct for multiple testing and randomly sampled time-, sex- and age-matched controls from the resident population to correct for uneven regional population shifts. We observed space-time clustering of childhood leukaemia at birth (Baker's Max p = 0.045) but not at diagnosis (p = 0.98). Clustering was strongest for a spatial lag of <1 km and a temporal lag of <2 years (Observed/expected close pairs: 124/98; p Knox test = 0.003). A similar clustering pattern was observed for ALL though overall evidence was weaker (Baker's Max p = 0.13). Little evidence of clustering was found for other diagnostic groups (p > 0.2). Our study suggests that childhood leukaemia tends to cluster in space-time due to an etiologic factor present in early life., (© 2015 UICC.)
- Published
- 2016
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
238. Alcohol consumption and binge drinking in young adult childhood cancer survivors.
- Author
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Rebholz CE, Kuehni CE, Strippoli MP, Rueegg CS, Michel G, Hengartner H, Bergstraesser E, and von der Weid NX
- Subjects
- Adult, Case-Control Studies, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Health Surveys, Humans, Male, Neoplasms epidemiology, Neoplasms mortality, Prevalence, Prognosis, Risk Factors, Survival Rate, Switzerland epidemiology, Young Adult, Alcohol Drinking epidemiology, Alcoholic Intoxication psychology, Neoplasms psychology, Survivors
- Abstract
Background: This study compared frequency of alcohol consumption and binge drinking between young adult childhood cancer survivors and the general population in Switzerland, and assessed its socio-demographic and clinical determinants., Procedure: Childhood cancer survivors aged <16 years when diagnosed 1976-2003, who had survived >5 years and were currently aged 20-40 years received a postal questionnaire. Reported frequency of alcohol use and of binge drinking were compared to the Swiss Health Survey, a representative general population survey. Determinants of frequent alcohol consumption and binge drinking were assessed in a multivariable logistic regression., Results: Of 1,697 eligible survivors, 1,447 could be contacted and 1,049 (73%) responded. Survivors reported more often than controls to consume alcohol frequently (OR = 1.7; 95%CI = 1.3-2.1) and to engage in binge drinking (OR = 2.9; 95%CI = 2.3-3.8). Peak frequency of binge drinking in males occurred at age 24-26 years in survivors, compared to age 18-20 in the general population. Socio-demographic factors (male gender, high educational attainment, French and Italian speaking, and migration background from Northern European countries) were most strongly associated with alcohol consumption patterns among both survivors and controls., Conclusions: The high frequency of alcohol consumption found in this study is a matter of concern. Our data suggest that survivors should be better informed on the health effects of alcohol consumption during routine follow-up, and that such counseling should be included in clinical guidelines. Future research should study motives of alcohol consumption among survivors to allow development of targeted health interventions for this vulnerable group., (Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)
- Published
- 2012
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239. X-ray structure of the arenavirus glycoprotein GP2 in its postfusion hairpin conformation.
- Author
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Igonet S, Vaney MC, Vonrhein C, Bricogne G, Stura EA, Hengartner H, Eschli B, and Rey FA
- Subjects
- Amino Acid Sequence, Crystallography, X-Ray, Models, Molecular, Molecular Sequence Data, Protein Multimerization, Protein Structure, Secondary, Salts, Sequence Alignment, Glycoproteins chemistry, Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus chemistry, Viral Fusion Proteins chemistry, Virus Internalization
- Abstract
Arenaviruses are important agents of zoonotic disease worldwide. The virions expose a tripartite envelope glycoprotein complex at their surface, formed by the glycoprotein subunits GP1, GP2 and the stable signal peptide. This complex is responsible for binding to target cells and for the subsequent fusion of viral and host-cell membranes for entry. During this process, the acidic environment of the endosome triggers a fusogenic conformational change in the transmembrane GP2 subunit of the complex. We report here the crystal structure of the recombinant GP2 ectodomain of the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, the arenavirus type species, at 1.8-Å resolution. The structure shows the characteristic trimeric coiled coil present in class I viral fusion proteins, with a central stutter that allows a close structural alignment with most of the available structures of class I and III viral fusion proteins. The structure further shows a number of intrachain salt bridges stabilizing the postfusion hairpin conformation, one of which involves an aspartic acid that appears released from a critical interaction with the stable signal peptide upon low pH activation.
- Published
- 2011
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- View/download PDF
240. A platelet-mediated system for shuttling blood-borne bacteria to CD8α+ dendritic cells depends on glycoprotein GPIb and complement C3.
- Author
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Verschoor A, Neuenhahn M, Navarini AA, Graef P, Plaumann A, Seidlmeier A, Nieswandt B, Massberg S, Zinkernagel RM, Hengartner H, and Busch DH
- Subjects
- Animals, Blood Platelets metabolism, CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes immunology, Dendritic Cells metabolism, Dendritic Cells microbiology, Listeriosis immunology, Listeriosis microbiology, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Knockout, Platelet Aggregation immunology, Spleen immunology, Spleen microbiology, Blood Platelets microbiology, CD8 Antigens metabolism, Complement C3 metabolism, Dendritic Cells immunology, Listeria monocytogenes immunology, Platelet Glycoprotein GPIb-IX Complex metabolism, Platelet Membrane Glycoproteins metabolism
- Abstract
The acquisition of pathogen-derived antigen by dendritic cells (DCs) is a key event in the generation of cytotoxic CD8(+) T cell responses. In mice, the intracellular bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is directed from the blood to splenic CD8α(+) DCs. We report that L. monocytogenes rapidly associated with platelets in the bloodstream in a manner dependent on GPIb and complement C3. Platelet association targeted a small but immunologically important portion of L. monocytogenes to splenic CD8α(+) DCs, diverting bacteria from swift clearance by other, less immunogenic phagocytes. Thus, an effective balance is established between maintaining sterility of the circulation and induction of antibacterial immunity by DCs. Other gram-positive bacteria also were rapidly tagged by platelets, revealing a broadly active shuttling mechanism for systemic bacteria.
- Published
- 2011
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
241. Childhood cancer and nuclear power plants in Switzerland: a census-based cohort study.
- Author
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Spycher BD, Feller M, Zwahlen M, Röösli M, von der Weid NX, Hengartner H, Egger M, and Kuehni CE
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Censuses, Child, Child, Preschool, Cohort Studies, Female, Geography, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Leukemia, Radiation-Induced epidemiology, Leukemia, Radiation-Induced etiology, Male, Radiation, Ionizing, Registries, Regression Analysis, Residence Characteristics, Risk Factors, Switzerland epidemiology, Air Pollutants, Radioactive adverse effects, Environmental Exposure adverse effects, Neoplasms chemically induced, Neoplasms epidemiology, Nuclear Power Plants
- Abstract
Background: Previous studies on childhood cancer and nuclear power plants (NPPs) produced conflicting results. We used a cohort approach to examine whether residence near NPPs was associated with leukaemia or any childhood cancer in Switzerland., Methods: We computed person-years at risk for children aged 0-15 years born in Switzerland from 1985 to 2009, based on the Swiss censuses 1990 and 2000 and identified cancer cases from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry. We geo-coded place of residence at birth and calculated incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) comparing the risk of cancer in children born <5 km, 5-10 km and 10-15 km from the nearest NPP with children born >15 km away, using Poisson regression models., Results: We included 2925 children diagnosed with cancer during 21 117 524 person-years of follow-up; 953 (32.6%) had leukaemia. Eight and 12 children diagnosed with leukaemia at ages 0-4 and 0-15 years, and 18 and 31 children diagnosed with any cancer were born <5 km from a NPP. Compared with children born >15 km away, the IRRs (95% CI) for leukaemia in 0-4 and 0-15 year olds were 1.20 (0.60-2.41) and 1.05 (0.60-1.86), respectively. For any cancer, corresponding IRRs were 0.97 (0.61-1.54) and 0.89 (0.63-1.27). There was no evidence of a dose-response relationship with distance (P > 0.30). Results were similar for residence at diagnosis and at birth, and when adjusted for potential confounders. Results from sensitivity analyses were consistent with main results., Conclusions: This nationwide cohort study found little evidence of an association between residence near NPPs and the risk of leukaemia or any childhood cancer.
- Published
- 2011
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
242. Tissue macrophages suppress viral replication and prevent severe immunopathology in an interferon-I-dependent manner in mice.
- Author
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Lang PA, Recher M, Honke N, Scheu S, Borkens S, Gailus N, Krings C, Meryk A, Kulawik A, Cervantes-Barragan L, Van Rooijen N, Kalinke U, Ludewig B, Hengartner H, Harris N, Häussinger D, Ohashi PS, Zinkernagel RM, and Lang KS
- Subjects
- Animals, CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes immunology, Disease Models, Animal, Hepatitis pathology, Hepatitis virology, Liver pathology, Liver virology, Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus physiology, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Virus Replication, Hepatitis immunology, Immune System Diseases immunology, Interferon Type I immunology, Kupffer Cells immunology, Liver immunology
- Abstract
Unlabelled: The innate immune response plays an essential role in the prevention of early viral dissemination. We used the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus model system to analyze the role of tissue macrophages/Kupffer cells in this process. Our findings demonstrated that Kupffer cells are essential for the efficient capture of infectious virus and for preventing viral replication. The latter process involved activation of Kupffer cells by interferon (IFN)-I and prevented viral spread to neighboring hepatocytes. In the absence of Kupffer cells, hepatocytes were not able to suppress virus replication, even in the presence of IFN-I, leading to prolonged viral replication and severe T cell-dependent immunopathology., Conclusion: Tissue-resident macrophages play a crucial role in early viral capture and represent the major liver cell type exhibiting responsiveness to IFN-I and providing control of viral replication.
- Published
- 2010
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
243. Long-lasting immunity by early infection of maternal-antibody-protected infants.
- Author
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Navarini AA, Krzyzowska M, Lang KS, Horvath E, Hengartner H, Niemialtowski MG, and Zinkernagel RM
- Subjects
- Animals, Animals, Newborn, Female, Male, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Survival Rate, Antibodies, Viral immunology, Ectromelia, Infectious immunology, Immunity, Maternally-Acquired
- Abstract
Newborn higher vertebrates are largely immuno-incompetent and generally survive infections--including poxviruses--by maternal antibody protection. Here, we show that mice survived epidemics as adults only if exposed to lethal orthopoxvirus infections during infancy under the umbrella of maternal protective antibodies. This implies that both the absence of exposure to infection during early infancy or of effective vaccination renders the population highly susceptible to new or old re-emerging pathogens.
- Published
- 2010
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
244. Innate immune-induced depletion of bone marrow neutrophils aggravates systemic bacterial infections.
- Author
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Navarini AA, Lang KS, Verschoor A, Recher M, Zinkernagel AS, Nizet V, Odermatt B, Hengartner H, and Zinkernagel RM
- Subjects
- Animals, Listeriosis immunology, Mice, Mice, Knockout, Staphylococcal Infections immunology, Streptococcal Infections immunology, Time Factors, Toll-Like Receptor 2 deficiency, Toll-Like Receptor 2 genetics, Toll-Like Receptor 2 immunology, Toll-Like Receptor 2 metabolism, Apoptosis immunology, Bone Marrow immunology, Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections immunology, Immunity, Innate immunology, Neutrophils cytology, Neutrophils immunology, Salmonella Infections, Animal immunology
- Abstract
Neutrophils are the most abundant leukocytes in circulation and provide a primary innate immune defense function against bacterial pathogens before development of a specific immune response. These specialized phagocytes are short lived (12-24 hours) and continuously replenished from bone marrow. We found that if the host is overwhelmed by a high inoculum of Listeria monocytogenes, neutrophils are depleted despite high granulocyte-colony stimulating factor induction. In contrast to a low-dose innocuous L. monocytogenes infection, high-dose Listeria challenge blocks neutrophil recruitment to infectious abscesses and bacterial proliferation is not controlled, resulting in lethal outcomes. Administering synthetic TLR2-ligand or heat-killed bacteria during the innocuous L. monocytogenes infection reproduced these effects, once again leading to overwhelming bacterial propagation. The same stimuli also severely aggravated Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pyogenes systemic infection. These data implicate systemic innate immune stimulation as a mechanism of bone marrow neutrophil exhaustion which negatively influences the outcome of bacterial infections.
- Published
- 2009
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
245. Non-classical karyotypic features in relapsed childhood B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
- Author
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Wehrli LA, Braun J, Buetti LN, Hagleitner N, Hengartner H, Kühne T, Lüer S, Ozsahin H, Popovic MB, Niggli FK, Betts DR, and Bourquin JP
- Subjects
- Acute Disease, Adolescent, Child, Child, Preschool, Chromosome Aberrations, Female, Humans, Infant, Karyotyping, Male, Precursor B-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma prevention & control, Recurrence, Translocation, Genetic, Treatment Outcome, Precursor B-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma genetics
- Abstract
Karyotype analysis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at diagnosis has provided valuable prognostic markers for treatment stratification. However, reports of cytogenetic studies of relapsed ALL samples are limited. We compared the karyotypes from 436 nonselected B-cell precursor ALL patients at initial diagnosis and of 76 patients at first relapse. We noticed a relative increase of karyotypes that did not fall into the classic ALL cytogenetic subgroups (high hyperdiploidy, t(12;21), t(9;22), 11q23, t(1;19), <45 chromosomes) in a group of 29 patients at relapse (38%) compared to 130 patients at presentation (30%). Non-classical cytogenetic aberrations in these 29 patients were mostly found on chromosomes 1, 2, 7, 9, 13, 14, and 17. We also describe six rare reciprocal translocations, three of which involved 14q32. The most frequent abnormalities were found in 9p (12/29 cases) and were associated with a marked decrease in the duration of the second remission, but not of the probability of 10-year event-free survival after relapse treatment. From 29 patients with non-classical cytogenetic aberrations, only 8 (28%) had been stratified to a high risk-arm on the first treatment protocol, suggesting that this subgroup might benefit from the identification of new prognostic markers in future studies.
- Published
- 2009
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
246. Recombination of retrotransposon and exogenous RNA virus results in nonretroviral cDNA integration.
- Author
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Geuking MB, Weber J, Dewannieux M, Gorelik E, Heidmann T, Hengartner H, Zinkernagel RM, and Hangartner L
- Subjects
- Animals, Arenaviridae Infections virology, Base Sequence, Cell Line, Glycoproteins genetics, Humans, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Molecular Sequence Data, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Transfection, Viral Proteins genetics, DNA, Complementary genetics, Genes, Intracisternal A-Particle genetics, Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus genetics, RNA, Viral genetics, Recombination, Genetic, Reverse Transcription, Virus Integration
- Abstract
Retroviruses have the potential to acquire host cell-derived genetic material during reverse transcription and can integrate into the genomes of larger, more complex DNA viruses. In contrast, RNA viruses were believed not to integrate into the host's genome under any circumstances. We found that illegitimate recombination between an exogenous nonretroviral RNA virus, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, and the endogenous intracisternal A-type particle (IAP) retrotransposon occurred and led to reverse transcription of exogenous viral RNA. The resulting complementary DNA was integrated into the host's genome with an IAP element. Thus, RNA viruses should be closely scrutinized for any capacity to interact with endogenous retroviral elements before their approval for therapeutic use in humans.
- Published
- 2009
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
247. Polyclonal and specific antibodies mediate protective immunity against enteric helminth infection.
- Author
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McCoy KD, Stoel M, Stettler R, Merky P, Fink K, Senn BM, Schaer C, Massacand J, Odermatt B, Oettgen HC, Zinkernagel RM, Bos NA, Hengartner H, Macpherson AJ, and Harris NL
- Subjects
- Animals, Immunoglobulin A immunology, Immunoglobulin G immunology, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Knockout, Parasite Egg Count, Antibodies, Helminth immunology, Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic immunology, Nematospiroides dubius immunology, Strongylida Infections immunology
- Abstract
Anti-helminth immunity involves CD4+ T cells, yet the precise effector mechanisms responsible for parasite killing or expulsion remain elusive. We now report an essential role for antibodies in mediating immunity against the enteric helminth Heligmosomoides polygyrus (Hp), a natural murine parasite that establishes chronic infection. Polyclonal IgG antibodies, present in naive mice and produced following Hp infection, functioned to limit egg production by adult parasites. Comparatively, affinity-matured parasite-specific IgG and IgA antibodies that developed only after multiple infections were required to prevent adult worm development. These data reveal complementary roles for polyclonal and affinity-matured parasite-specific antibodies in preventing enteric helminth infection by limiting parasite fecundity and providing immune protection against reinfection, respectively. We propose that parasite-induced polyclonal antibodies play a dual role, whereby the parasite is allowed to establish chronicity, while parasite load and spread are limited, likely reflecting the long coevolution of helminth parasites with their hosts.
- Published
- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
248. Aggravation of viral hepatitis by platelet-derived serotonin.
- Author
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Lang PA, Contaldo C, Georgiev P, El-Badry AM, Recher M, Kurrer M, Cervantes-Barragan L, Ludewig B, Calzascia T, Bolinger B, Merkler D, Odermatt B, Bader M, Graf R, Clavien PA, Hegazy AN, Löhning M, Harris NL, Ohashi PS, Hengartner H, Zinkernagel RM, and Lang KS
- Subjects
- Animals, CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes metabolism, Half-Life, Hepatitis, Viral, Animal immunology, Hepatitis, Viral, Animal virology, Liver blood supply, Liver immunology, Liver pathology, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Knockout, Microcirculation, Platelet Count, Serotonin genetics, Blood Platelets chemistry, Hepatitis, Viral, Animal pathology, Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis pathology, Serotonin deficiency, Serotonin metabolism
- Abstract
More than 500 million people worldwide are persistently infected with hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus. Although both viruses are poorly cytopathic, persistence of either virus carries a risk of chronic liver inflammation, potentially resulting in liver steatosis, liver cirrhosis, end-stage liver failure or hepatocellular carcinoma. Virus-specific T cells are a major determinant of the outcome of hepatitis, as they contribute to the early control of chronic hepatitis viruses, but they also mediate immunopathology during persistent virus infection. We have analyzed the role of platelet-derived vasoactive serotonin during virus-induced CD8(+) T cell-dependent immunopathological hepatitis in mice infected with the noncytopathic lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. After virus infection, platelets were recruited to the liver, and their activation correlated with severely reduced sinusoidal microcirculation, delayed virus elimination and increased immunopathological liver cell damage. Lack of platelet-derived serotonin in serotonin-deficient mice normalized hepatic microcirculatory dysfunction, accelerated virus clearance in the liver and reduced CD8(+) T cell-dependent liver cell damage. In keeping with these observations, serotonin treatment of infected mice delayed entry of activated CD8(+) T cells into the liver, delayed virus control and aggravated immunopathological hepatitis. Thus, vasoactive serotonin supports virus persistence in the liver and aggravates virus-induced immunopathology.
- Published
- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
249. Long-lived virus-reactive memory T cells generated from purified cytokine-secreting T helper type 1 and type 2 effectors.
- Author
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Löhning M, Hegazy AN, Pinschewer DD, Busse D, Lang KS, Höfer T, Radbruch A, Zinkernagel RM, and Hengartner H
- Subjects
- Animals, Cell Differentiation, Cytokines metabolism, Flow Cytometry, Interferon-gamma metabolism, Interleukin-10 metabolism, Interleukin-4 metabolism, Lymphocyte Activation, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Transgenic, Models, Biological, T-Lymphocytes virology, Th1 Cells virology, Th2 Cells virology, Immunologic Memory, T-Lymphocytes physiology, Th1 Cells physiology, Th2 Cells physiology
- Abstract
Many vaccination strategies and immune cell therapies aim at increasing the numbers of memory T cells reactive to protective antigens. However, the differentiation lineage and therefore the optimal generation conditions of CD4 memory cells remain controversial. Linear and divergent differentiation models have been proposed, suggesting CD4 memory T cell development from naive precursors either with or without an effector-stage intermediate, respectively. Here, we address this question by using newly available techniques for the identification and isolation of effector T cells secreting effector cytokines. In adoptive cell transfers into normal, nonlymphopenic mice, we show that long-lived virus-specific memory T cells can efficiently be generated from purified interferon gamma-secreting T helper (Th) type 1 and interleukin (IL)-4- or IL-10-secreting Th2 effectors primed in vitro or in vivo. Importantly, such effector-derived memory T cells were functional in viral challenge infections. They proliferated vigorously, rapidly modulated IL-7 receptor expression, exhibited partial stability and flexibility of their cytokine patterns, and exerted differential effects on virus-induced immunopathology. Thus, cytokine-secreting effectors can evade activation-induced cell death and develop into long-lived functional memory cells. These findings demonstrate the efficiency of linear memory T cell differentiation and encourage the design of vaccines and immune cell therapies based on differentiated effector T cells.
- Published
- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
250. Compound heterozygosity for Hb S [beta6(A3)GluVal, GAG-->GTG] and a new thalassemic mutation [beta132(H10)Lys-->term, AAA-->TAA] detected in a family from West Africa.
- Author
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Frischknecht H, Troxler H, Greiner J, Hengartner H, and Dutly F
- Subjects
- Africa, Western, Family, Female, Humans, Male, Codon genetics, Exons genetics, Hemoglobin, Sickle genetics, Heterozygote, Mutation genetics, beta-Thalassemia genetics
- Abstract
We describe a Hb S/beta-thalassemia (beta-thal) mutation involving an AT transition at codon 132 of the beta-globin gene. The mutation, in the heterozygous state, unlike several other mutations in exon 3, shows no signs of dominant thalassemia but those of a typical beta(0) carrier. Compound heterozygosity with Hb S [beta6(A3)GluVal, GAGGTG] showed a severe clinical picture.
- Published
- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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