BACKGROUND: eHealth was widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic. Much attention was given to the technical aspects of eHealth, such as infrastructure and cost, while the soft skill of compassion remained underexplored. The wide belief in compassionate care is more compatible with in-person interactions but difficult to deliver via e-platforms where personal and environmental clues were lacking urges studying this topic. PURPOSE: to explore the experience of delivering compassionate care via an eHealth platform among healthcare professionals working to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A qualitative study design with an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach was used. Twenty healthcare professionals (fifteen nurses and five physicians) who provided care using technology platforms, such as telephone hotlines, mobile apps, and social media, were interviewed individually. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: Permission to conduct the study was obtained from the Institutional Review Board. RESULTS: Participants stated that "eHealth enabled compassionate care during the pandemic" by ensuring patient care availability and accessibility. They shared experiences of "communicating compassionate care via eHealth" with suggestions of addressing patients' needs with empathy, adopting a structured protocol to guide eHealth communication, and using more advanced visual-media methods to promote human-to-human interaction. They recommended "setting realistic mutual expectations" considering the limitations of eHealth in handling complex health situations and staffing shortages. Participants considered "low eHealth literacy hinders compassion." Additionally, they recommended the need for "institutional/system-level support to foster compassionate care." CONCLUSION: Participants recognized the importance of integrating compassion into eHealth services. Promotion of compassionate care requires standardization of eHealth services with institutional and system-level support. This also includes preparing adequate staffing who can communicate compassionate care via eHealth, set realistic expectation, and adjust communication to eHealth literacy level while meeting the needs of their patients.
- MeSH
- COVID-19 * MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- empatie * MeSH
- kvalitativní výzkum * MeSH
- lidé středního věku MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- pandemie MeSH
- SARS-CoV-2 MeSH
- telemedicína * etika MeSH
- zdravotnický personál psychologie MeSH
- Check Tag
- dospělí MeSH
- lidé středního věku MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Antibodies of non-human mammals are glycosylated with carbohydrate antigens, such as galactose-α-1-3-galactose (α-Gal) and N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc). These non-human carbohydrate antigens are highly immunogenic in humans due to loss-of-function mutations of the key genes involved in their synthesis. Such immunogenic carbohydrates are expressed on therapeutic polyclonal rabbit anti-human T-cell IgGs (anti-thymocyte globulin; ATG), the most popular induction treatment in allograft recipients. To decipher the quantitative and qualitative response against these antigens in immunosuppressed patients, particularly against Neu5Gc, which may induce endothelial inflammation in both the graft and the host. We report a prospective study of the antibody response against α-Gal and Neu5Gc-containing glycans following rabbit ATG induction compared to controls. We show a drop in the overall levels of anti-Neu5Gc antibodies at 6 and 12 months post-graft compared to the pre-existing levels due to the major early immunosuppression. However, in contrast, in a cross-sectional study there was a highly significant increase in anti-Neu5Gc IgGs levels at 6 months post-graft in the ATG-treated compared to non-treated patients(P = 0.007), with a clear hierarchy favouring anti-Neu5Gc over anti-Gal response. A sialoglycan microarray analysis revealed that the increased anti-Neu5Gc IgG response was still highly diverse against multiple different Neu5Gc-containing glycans. Furthermore, some of the ATG-treated patients developed a shift in their anti-Neu5Gc IgG repertoire compared with the baseline, recognizing different patterns of Neu5Gc-glycans. In contrast to Gal, Neu5Gc epitopes remain antigenic in severely immunosuppressed patients, who also develop an anti-Neu5Gc repertoire shift. The clinical implications of these observations are discussed.
- MeSH
- buněčná imunita fyziologie MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- homologní transplantace MeSH
- imunoglobulin G farmakologie MeSH
- imunologické faktory farmakologie MeSH
- kyseliny neuraminové imunologie MeSH
- lidé středního věku MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- prospektivní studie MeSH
- protilátky imunologie metabolismus MeSH
- průřezové studie MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- studie případů a kontrol MeSH
- thymocyty imunologie MeSH
- transplantace ledvin metody MeSH
- transplantační imunologie fyziologie MeSH
- Check Tag
- dospělí MeSH
- lidé středního věku MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
BACKGROUND: The aim of our experiments was to investigate the anti-inflammatory properties of casticin and chrysosplenol D, two flavonoids present in Artemisia annua L. METHODS: Topical inflammation was induced in ICR mice using croton oil. Mice were then treated with casticin or chrysosplenol D. Cutaneous histological changes and edema were assessed. ICR mice were intragastrically administrated with casticin or chrysosplenol D followed by intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Mouse Raw264.7 macrophage cells were incubated with casticin or chrysosplenol D. Intracellular phosphorylation was detected, and migration was assessed by trans-well assay. HT-29/NFκB-luc cells were incubated with casticin or chrysosplenol D in the presence or absence of LPS, and NF-κB activation was quantified. RESULTS: In mice, administration of casticin (0.5, 1 and 1.5μmol/cm(2)) and chrysosplenol D (1 and 1.5μmol/cm(2)) inhibited croton oil-induced ear edema (casticin: 29.39-64.95%; chrysosplenol D: 37.76-65.89%, all P<0.05) in a manner similar to indomethacin (0.5, 1 and 1.5μmol/cm(2); 55.63-84.58%). Casticin (0.07, 0.13 and 0.27mmol/kg) and chrysosplenol D (0.07, 0.14 and 0.28mmol/kg) protected against LPS-induced systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) in mice (all P<0.05), in a manner similar to dexamethasone (0.03mmol/kg). Casticin and chrysosplenol D suppressed LPS-induced release of IL-1 beta, IL-6 and MCP-1, inhibited cell migration, and reduced LPS-induced IκB and c-JUN phosphorylation in Raw264.7 cells. JNK inhibitor SP600125 blocked the inhibitory effect of chrysosplenol D on cytokine release. CONCLUSIONS: The flavonoids casticin and chrysosplenol D from A. annua L. inhibited inflammation in vitro and in vivo.
- MeSH
- Artemisia annua * MeSH
- buňky HT-29 MeSH
- dermatitida farmakoterapie patologie MeSH
- edém farmakoterapie patologie MeSH
- endoteliální buňky pupečníkové žíly (lidské) MeSH
- flavonoidy izolace a purifikace terapeutické užití MeSH
- flavony izolace a purifikace terapeutické užití MeSH
- léky rostlinné čínské izolace a purifikace terapeutické užití MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- myši inbrední ICR MeSH
- myši MeSH
- vztah mezi dávkou a účinkem léčiva MeSH
- zánět farmakoterapie patologie MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- myši MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
BACKGROUND: Changes in the methylation status of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-associated genes could significantly alter levels of gene expression, thereby contributing to disease onset and progression. We previously identified seven disease-associated DNA methylation loci from intestinal tissues of IBD patients using the Illumina GoldenGate BeadArray assay. AIMS: In this study, we extended this approach to identify IBD-associated changes in DNA methylation in B cells from 18 IBD patients [9 Crohn's disease (CD) and 9 ulcerative colitis (UC)]. B cell DNA methylation markers are particularly favorable for diagnosis due to the convenient access to peripheral blood. METHODS: We examined DNA methylation profiles of B cell lines using the Illumina GoldenGate BeadArray assay. Disease-associated CpGs/genes with changes in DNA methylation were identified by comparison of methylation profiles between B cell lines from IBD patients and their siblings without IBD. BeadArray data were validated using a bisulfite polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method. To verify that observed changes in DNA methylation were not due to virus transformation, we compared specific CpG DNA methylation levels of GADD45A and POMC between B cell lines and matching peripheral blood B lymphocytes from five individuals. RESULTS: Using this approach with strict statistical analysis, we identified 11 IBD-associated CpG sites, 14 CD-specific CpG sites, and 24 UC-specific CpG sites with methylation changes in B cells. CONCLUSIONS: IBD- and subtype-specific changes in DNA methylation were identified in B cells from IBD patients. Many of these genes have important immune and inflammatory response functions including several loci within the interleukin (IL)-12/IL-23 pathway.
- MeSH
- B-lymfocyty fyziologie MeSH
- buněčné linie MeSH
- Crohnova nemoc metabolismus MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- interleukin-2 genetika metabolismus MeSH
- interleukin-23 - podjednotka p19 genetika metabolismus MeSH
- lidé středního věku MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- metylace DNA fyziologie MeSH
- regulace genové exprese fyziologie MeSH
- ulcerózní kolitida metabolismus MeSH
- Check Tag
- dospělí MeSH
- lidé středního věku MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH