A large number of changes, distant from the site or sites of inflammation and involving many organ systems, may accompany inflammation. In 1930 interest was focused on these changes by the discovery of C-reactive protein (so named because it reacted with the pneumococcal C-polysaccharide) in the plasma of patients during the acute phase of pneumococcal pneumonia.1 Accordingly, these systemic changes have since been referred to as the acute-phase response,2 even though they accompany both acute and chronic inflammatory disorders. New acute-phase phenomena continue to be recognized, and the mechanisms mediating them are becoming better understood. This review summarizes much of . . .

Acute-Phase Proteins and Other Systemic Responses to Inflammation

This report updates the 2002 recommendations by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on the use of influenza vaccine and antiviral agents (CDC. Prevention and Control of Influenza: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices [ACIP]. MMWR 2002;51 [No. RR-3]:1-31). The 2003 recommendations include new or updated information regarding 1) the timing of influenza vaccination by age and risk group; 2) influenza vaccine for children aged 6-23 months; 3) the 2003-2004 trivalent inactivated vaccine virus strains: A/Moscow/10/99 (H3N2)-like, A/New Caledonia/20/99 (H1N1)-like, and B/Hong Kong/330/2001-like antigens (for the A/Moscow/10/99 [H3N2]-like antigen, manufacturers will use the antigenically equivalent A/Panama/2007/99 [H3N2] virus, and for the B/Hong Kong/330/2001-like antigen, manufacturers will use either B/Hong Kong/330/2001 or the antigenically equivalent B/Hong Kong/1434/2002); 4) availability of certain influenza vaccine doses with reduced thimerosal content, including single 0.25 mL-dose syringes; and 5) manufacturers of influenza vaccine for the U.S. market. Although the optimal time to vaccinate against influenza is October and November, vaccination in December and later continues to be strongly recommended A link to this report and other information regarding influenza can be accessed at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/flu/fluvirus.htm.

https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/6625/cdc_6625_DS1.pdf

Prevention and control of influenza : recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)

2019 ESC/EAS Guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemias: lipid modification to reduce cardiovascular riskThe Task Force for the management of dyslipidaemias of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS)

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(05)71142-9.pdf

Acquired mutation of the tyrosine kinase JAK2 in human myeloproliferative disorders.

https://air.unimi.it/bitstream/2434/689390/2/main.pdf

2019 ESC/EAS Guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemias: lipid modification to reduce cardiovascular risk

1. Sera from individuals acutely ill with lobar pneumonia possess the capacity to precipitate in high titre a non-protein somatic fraction derived from pneumococci (Fraction C). Following crisis the reaction is no longer demonstrable. 2. Sera obtained from cases of pneumococcus pneumonia during illness and convalescence have been tested for antibodies specifically reactive with three chemically distinct constituents of Pneumococcus. The results, when correlated with the course of disease, demonstrate differences in the occurrence of each qualitatively distinct antibody. 3. The precipitation of pneumococcus Fraction C is not limited to the sera of individuals ill with pneumococcus infection. But in the few other cases available for comparative tests, definite reactions have been obtained only in streptococcus and staphylococcus infections and in acute rheumatic fever.

/pdf/serological-reactions-in-pneumonia-with-a-non-protein-2ugmto1ojl.pdf

Serological reactions in pneumonia with a non-protein somatic fraction of pneumococcus

The effects on the antibody content of the population which result from repeated exposure to antigenic variants of influenza viruses have been studied by measuring, with many strains, the antibody content of lots of gamma globulin prepared in different years and the patterns of antibody found in sera collected in 1 year from various age groups. In all samples of gamma globulin collected from 1943 through 1951, high levels of antibody were found with strains of Type A and Type B influenza viruses isolated prior to 1941. The highest levels were found in the more recent collections of gamma globulin. Antibodies to A-prime, and to B strains of 1945 and 1952, were present at low levels in gamma globulin collected prior to the isolation of these viruses. A moderate increase in antibody was observed in the gamma globulin of recent years. The pattern of distribution of antibody by age found with most A-prime strains in serum pools exhibited high levels in infancy and childhood, but after the age of 20, little or no antibody was detected. With Type A strains antibody was usually not observed until the 11th year of age. Thereafter, high levels were present until age 20, when the amount of antibody declines to a moderate and relatively constant level which persists throughout life. Antibody against swine influenza virus did not become detectable until the 29th year. The intermediate antigenic character of a few A-prime isolates was reflected in the antibody pattern obtained with them. Antibody was not found until age 13 with the Lee (1940) strain of Type B influenza virus, but thereafter the level was high. With the type B isolates of 1945 and 1952, antibody became measurable at earlier ages. The present data clearly demonstrate that in the early years of life the range of the antibody spectrum is narrow, and that it becomes progressively broader in later life. A striking correlation was found between what is known of the periods of prevalence of certain strains of influenza viruses and the age of the people in whom strain-specific antibodies are currently found. It has been observed that the age at which antibodies to certain strains are first detectable has progressively advanced with the passage of time. From these data the following immunologic thesis is formulated. The antibody which is acquired during the initial infections of childhood is of limited scope and reflects the dominant antigens of the prevailing strains. The immunity conferred by the initial experiences with influenza is also limited. Successive experiences later in life with viruses of related but differing antigenic make-up result in a composite of antibody which is oriented toward a larger number of the common antigens which comprise influenza virus. These experiences confer a broader immunity which limits infection with, and antibody response to, the more recently encountered strains. The antibody-forming mechanisms appear to be oriented by the initial infections of childhood so that exposures later in life to antigenically related strains result in a progressive reinforcement of the primary antibody. The highest cumulative antibody levels detectable in a particular age group tend, therefore, to reflect the dominant antigens of the virus responsible for the childhood infections of that group. Hence the pattern of antibody distribution determined currently in different age groups provides a serologic recapitulation of past infection with antigenic variants of influenza viruses.

https://rupress.org/jem/article-pdf/98/6/641/1185265/641.pdf

Epidemiologic and immunologic significance of age distribution of antibody to antigenic variants of influenza virus.

Annual vaccination against influenza has been recommended primarily for the chronically ill and the elderly because excess numbers of deaths occur regularly in these groups during outbreaks [1, 2]. However, vaccination of the elderly, while affording them needed protection, cannot be expected to change the course of an epidemic markedly, since this group represents but a small segment of the total population and have a relatively low attack rate [3]. In contrast, school-age children comprise a large, susceptible segment of the population and regularly have a high attack rate [4]. The schoolchildren also appear to be responsible for bringing influenza into the home, a transmission similar to the way in which they introduce the common respiratory illnesses [5]. These children are, therefore, one of the most important factors in the dissemination of influenza viruses.

Modification of an Outbreak of Influenza in Tecumseh, Michigan by Vaccination of Schoolchildren

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/92/2392/405.full.pdf

A new type of virus from epidemic influenza.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/124/3212/119.full.pdf

Thomas Francis

Papers

Serological reactions in pneumonia with a non-protein somatic fraction of pneumococcus

Epidemiologic and immunologic significance of age distribution of antibody to antigenic variants of influenza virus.

Modification of an Outbreak of Influenza in Tecumseh, Michigan by Vaccination of Schoolchildren

A new type of virus from epidemic influenza.

"Adenoviruses": Group Name Proposed for New Respiratory-Tract Viruses