Showing papers by "Matija Tomšič published in 2010"
TL;DR: It is suggested that for anakinra refractive AOSD patients with arthritis, tocilizumab could be the drug of choice.
Abstract: Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is an uncommon systemic inflammatory disease of unknown aetiology. Up to 80% of AOSD cases can be controlled with corticosteroids; however, reports on those unresponsive to corticosteroids, conventional disease modifying drugs and biological agents, including anti-IL1 inhibitors, are emerging. We present a case of AOSD with severe poylarthritis unresponsive to corticosteroids, methotrexate, anakinra and etanercept, but successfully stabilised with a humanized monoclonal anti-IL-6 receptor antibody, tocilizumab, administered once monthly. Thereafter, we compare our case with case reports available in the literature and suggest that for anakinra refractive AOSD patients with arthritis, tocilizumab could be the drug of choice.
45 citations
TL;DR: Hyperprolactinaemia was associated with reproductive failure, including early and late pregnancy loss, as well as intrauterine growth retardation, and the data indirectly imply that prolactin may play a role in the pathogenesis of antiphospholipid syndrome-related reproductive failure.
Abstract: Increased levels of serum prolactin have been reported in patients with various autoimmune diseases and have been associated with lupus disease activity. Currently, there is a lack of data regarding hyperprolactinaemia in patients with the antiphospholipid syndrome. Hence, this study was carried out in order to evaluate the prevalence and clinical significance of hyperprolactinaemia in antiphospholipid syndrome. A total of 172 European patients with antiphospholipid syndrome and 100 geographically and sex-matched healthy controls were included in the study; none had obvious causes of hyperprolactinaemia. All patients underwent clinical assessment for disease manifestations, in addition to laboratory assessment for serum prolactin, antiphospholipid antibodies and some other biomarkers of autoimmune diseases. The tests were performed utilizing the LIAISON® Analyzer (DiaSorin, Sallugia Italy). Hyperprolactinaemia was detected in 21/172 patients with antiphospholipid syndrome and 0/100 controls (p < 0.001). This significant difference was present in both genders and was obvious even after subgrouping the patients into primary and secondary antiphospholipid syndrome. When clinical features were compared, hyperprolactinaemia was associated with reproductive failure, including early and late pregnancy loss (p < 0.05), as well as intrauterine growth retardation (p < 0.05). Hyperprolactinaemia was negatively related to arthralgias, venous thrombosis, pulmonary microthrombosis, pulmonary hypertension in both primary antiphospholipid syndrome and antiphospholipid syndrome secondary to other diseases, and to neurological manifestations in primary antiphospholipid syndrome (p<0.05). The data indirectly imply that prolactin may play a role in the pathogenesis of antiphospholipid syndrome, especially antiphospholipid syndrome-related reproductive failure.
26 citations
TL;DR: Results show that parallel application of x-ray and neutron diffraction data within an all-atom reverse Monte Carlo procedure is the most successful strategy towards attaining reliable, detailed, and well-structured molecular models, especially if the models are subsequently refined with the results of molecular dynamics simulations.
Abstract: An extensive study of liquid aliphatic alcohols methanol, ethanol, and propanol, applying reverse Monte Carlo modelling as a method of interpretation of diffraction data, is presented. The emphasis is on the evaluation of several computational strategies in view of their suitability to obtain high quality molecular models via the reverse Monte Carlo procedure. A consistent set of distances of closest approach and fixed neighbour constraints applicable to all three investigated systems was developed. An all-atom description is compared with a united-atom approach. The potentialities of employment of neutron diffraction data of completely deuterated and isotopically substituted samples, x-ray diffraction data, and results of either molecular dynamics or Monte Carlo calculations were investigated. Results show that parallel application of x-ray and neutron diffraction data, the latter being from completely deuterated samples, within an all-atom reverse Monte Carlo procedure is the most successful strategy towards attaining reliable, detailed, and well-structured molecular models, especially if the models are subsequently refined with the results of molecular dynamics simulations.
20 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a Rayleigh-Debye-Gans (RDEG) approximation was proposed to solve the problem of x-ray scattering of simulated model systems, which allows to operate directly on particle configurations without an intermediate step (e.g., calculation of pair distribution functions).
Abstract: In this paper, we review the main problem concerning the calculation of x-ray scattering of simulated model systems, namely, their finite size. A novel method based on the Rayleigh–Debye–Gans approximation was derived, which allows sidestepping this issue by complementing the missing surroundings of each particle with an average image of the system. The method was designed to operate directly on particle configurations without an intermediate step (e.g., calculation of pair distribution functions): in this way, all information contained in the configurations was preserved. A comparison of the results against those of other known methods showed that the new method combined several favorable properties: an arbitrary q-scale, scattering curves free of truncation artifacts, and good behavior down to the theoretical lower limit of the q-scale. A test of computational efficiency was also performed to establish a relative scale between the speeds of all known methods: the reciprocal lattice approach, the brute force method, the Fourier transform approach, and the newly presented complemented system approach.In this paper, we review the main problem concerning the calculation of x-ray scattering of simulated model systems, namely, their finite size. A novel method based on the Rayleigh–Debye–Gans approximation was derived, which allows sidestepping this issue by complementing the missing surroundings of each particle with an average image of the system. The method was designed to operate directly on particle configurations without an intermediate step (e.g., calculation of pair distribution functions): in this way, all information contained in the configurations was preserved. A comparison of the results against those of other known methods showed that the new method combined several favorable properties: an arbitrary q-scale, scattering curves free of truncation artifacts, and good behavior down to the theoretical lower limit of the q-scale. A test of computational efficiency was also performed to establish a relative scale between the speeds of all known methods: the reciprocal lattice approach, the brute f...
7 citations
TL;DR: A novel method based on the Rayleigh-Debye-Gans approximation was derived, which allows sidestepping the issue of finite size of x-ray scattering of simulated model systems by complementing the missing surroundings of each particle with an average image of the system.
Abstract: In this paper, we review the main problem concerning the calculation of X-ray scattering of simulated model systems, namely their finite size. A novel method based on the Rayleigh-Debye-Gans approximation was derived, which allows sidestepping this issue by complementing the missing surroundings of each particle with an average image of the system. The method was designed to operate directly on particle configurations without an intermediate step (e.g., calculation of pair distribution functions): in this way, all information contained in the configurations was preserved. A comparison of the results against those of other known methods showed that the new method combined several favourable properties: an arbitrary q-scale, scattering curves free of truncation artifacts and good behaviour down to the theoretical lower limit of the q-scale. A test of computational efficiency was also performed to establish a relative scale between the speeds of all known methods: the reciprocal lattice approach, the brute force method, the Fourier transform approach and the newly presented complemented system approach.
7 citations
TL;DR: The practical relevance of the systems presented in this chapter lies in the high functionality that arises from the large interfacial areas between local hydrophilic and lipophilic environments, which also renders these systems good hosts for hydphilic, hydrophobic, and/or amphiphilic guest molecules.
Abstract: Lipid structures appearing in bulk and dispersed monoglyceride aqueous systems have long attracted research interest—since the first fat-digestion studies several decades ago—and have remained an intriguing research topic ever since. In this chapter, we present the latest findings and summarize the contributions of our group and our collaborators in this broad and interesting field. After a short introduction into bulk lyotropic lipid systems, we focus on various inverted-type liquid–crystalline and microemulsion mesophases found in the stabilized monolinolein aqueous submicron-sized dispersions, on their hierarchically organized structures, and similar systems derived from them. We describe the diverse preparation techniques able to provide such stable dispersions, including Pickering emulsions, which utilize charged disk-like or spherical colloidal particles. We then discuss means of triggering and controlling phase transitions between self-assembled nanostructured lipid phases in these dispersed internally self-assembled particles. “ISAsomes” are considered, with emphasis on thermal behavior and effect of addition of oil. Transfer kinetics of mass transport between the dispersed particles provide insight into the dynamics and stability of these systems. Some attention is also given to the promotion of the hierarchical structure of aqueous dispersions by confining ISAsomes in thermo-reversible hydrogels and slowing down the dynamics in these systems. The practical relevance of the systems presented in this chapter lies in the high functionality that arises from the large interfacial areas between local hydrophilic and lipophilic environments, which also renders these systems good hosts for hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and/or amphiphilic guest molecules. Furthermore, these systems are largely food-grade.
4 citations