Aims: Heart failure (HF) is an impending complication to myocardial infarction. We hypothesized that the degree of complement activation reflects severity of HF following acute myocardial infarction. <br> <br> Methods and results: The LEAF trial (LEvosimendan in Acute heart Failure following myocardial infarction) evaluating 61 patients developing HF within 48 h after percutaneous coronary ...

Despite recent medical advances, atherosclerosis is a global burden accounting for numerous deaths and hospital admissions. Immune-mediated inflammation is a major component of the atherosclerotic process, but earlier research focus on adaptive immunity has gradually switched towards the role of innate immunity. The complement system and toll-like receptors (TLRs), and the crosstalk between them, ...

<p><i>Background</i>: Elevated interleukin-6 (IL-6) and complement activation are associated with detrimental effects of inflammation in coronary artery disease (CAD). The complement anaphylatoxins C5a and C3a interact with their receptors; the highly inflammatory C5aR1, and the C5aR2 and C3aR. We evaluated the effect of the IL-6 receptor (IL-6R)-antagonist tocilizumab on the expression of the ...

Inflammation is involved in initiation and progression of aortic stenosis (AS). However, the role of the complement system, a crucial component of innate immunity in AS, is unclear. We hypothesized that circulating levels of complement factor B (FB), an important component of the alternative pathway, are upregulated and could predict outcome in patients with severe symptomatic AS. Therefore, plasma ...

The innate immune system is rapidly activated during myocardial infarction and blockade of extracellular complement system reduces infarct size. Intracellular complement, however, appears to be closely linked to metabolic pathways and its role in ischemia-reperfusion injury is unknown and may be different from complement activation in the circulation. The purpose of the present study was to investigate ...

<i>Background</i> - The immune response during falciparum malaria mediates both harmful and protective effects on the host; however the participating molecules have not been fully defined. Interleukin (IL)-27 is a pleiotropic cytokine exerting both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects, but data on IL-27 in malaria patients are scarce.<p><p> <i>Methods</i> - Clinical data and blood samples ...

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) patients have reduced gut microbial diversity compared to healthy controls. The reduced diversity is associated with gut leakage, increased systemic inflammation and ten “key” bacteria that capture the gut dysbiosis (dysbiosis index) in CVID. Rifaximin is a broad-spectrum non-absorbable antibiotic known to reduce gut leakage (lipopolysaccharides, LPS) in liver ...

Background We have previously demonstrated an association between increased sFRP3 expression and adverse outcome in a population of HF irrespective of cause and left ventricular ejection fraction. In this study we evaluated the prognostic value of sFRP3 in older patients with chronic systolic HF of ischemic origin. <p>Methods We evaluated sFRP3, by tertiles, as a risk factor for the primary ...

Angiogenesis is necessary for tumor growth and has been targeted in breast cancer; however, it is unclear which patients will respond and benefit from antiangiogenic therapy. We report noninvasive monitoring of patient response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy given alone or in combination with anti‐vascular endothelial growth factor (bevacizumab) in a randomized clinical trial. At four time points during ...

<p><i>Objective</i>: It is unclear if activation of inflammatory pathways regulates proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9 (PCSK9) levels.</p> <p><i>Approach</i>: We evaluated (1) the temporal course of serum PCSK9 during hospitalisation following acute coronary syndrome and associations with markers of inflammation (leucocyte counts, interleukin (IL)-6, C-reactive protein) and lipid levels ...