ABSTRACT
Wegener's granulomatosis is a significant cause of end-stage renal disease requiring renal replacement therapy. Treatment of relapses is often difficult as immunosuppressive therapy can be limited by various factors including graft survival in renal transplantation. Rituximab is a novel therapeutic approach in those conditions. We present the case of a 42 year-old Caucasian woman who had been diagnosed with Wegener's granulomatosis 15 years ago. Predominantly affected organs were kidneys and pituitary gland. Five years later she reached end-stage renal failure and received a renal transplant soon after. She suffered from continuous relapses involving pulmonary hemorrhage and treatment became increasingly difficult. Symptoms resolved soon after single administration of low dose rituximab.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use , Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis/drug therapy , Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis/prevention & control , Kidney Transplantation , Adult , Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic/metabolism , Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived , Antigens, CD19/metabolism , Female , Humans , Recurrence , Rituximab , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
The enantiomeric composition of the chiral flavoring agent limonene was analyzed by means of a quartz-crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor. As chiral selectors three different modified beta-cyclodextrins were investigated. The selector molecules were applied as mixtures in different polysiloxane matrices. The chiral separation factors alpha for limonene obtained at 30 degrees C by gas chromatography and by use of the QCM sensor were comparable. Evaluation of sensor data was performed by use of an artificial neuronal network (ANN); this enabled prediction of the enantiomeric composition of the gas mixtures.
