Exercise-Induced Inguinal Hydrocele: An Unconventional Presentation of a Common Problem.

Inguinal hernias are very common. Well-established diagnostic criteria including examination and imaging are available. Ultrasound, herniography, CT, and MR imaging can provide additional diagnostic information when examination alone is not deemed sufficient. However, decision making should not be overly dependent on imaging but must factor in all relevant information. Described here is a case that would have been a missed diagnosis and an example of unconventional documentation that facilitated the patient getting their care.

Recurrent Blister Formation in Setting of Poorly Managed Diabetes Mellitus.

Bullous diabeticorum is a condition of unknown etiology with abrupt blister formation and spontaneous resolution. While commonly thought as rare, it is likely underdiagnosed resulting in mismanaged care and increased morbidity for individual patients. A shift in focus from empiric treatment to appropriate diagnostic workup is critical for this condition in the diabetic population.

Lumbar Herniation of Kidney following Iliac Crest Bone Harvest.

The iliac crest is a popular source for autogenous bone harvesting, but the process is rife with complications. This case report presents a patient that experienced incisional lumbar herniation of her kidney following an iliac crest bone harvesting procedure. A discussion is included on the underappreciated complications of this procedure and recommendations for improving outcomes with more thorough evaluation and documentation.

A novel strategy to reduce the immunogenicity of biological therapies.

Biological therapies, even humanized mAbs, may induce antiglobulin responses that impair efficacy. We tested a novel strategy to induce tolerance to a therapeutic mAb. Twenty patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis received an initial cycle of alemtuzumab (Campath-1H), up to 120 mg over 5 d, preceded by 500 mg SM3. This Ab differs from alemtuzumab by a single point mutation and is designed not to bind to cells. Twelve months later, they received a second cycle of alemtuzumab, up to 72 mg over 3 d. One month after that, 4 of 19 (21%) patients had detectable serum anti-alemtuzumab Abs compared with 145 of 197 (74%) patients who received two cycles of alemtuzumab without SM3 in the phase 2 CAMMS223 trial (p < 0.001). The efficacy and safety profile of alemtuzumab was unaffected by SM3 pretreatment. Long-lasting "high-zone" tolerance to a biological therapy may be induced by pretreatment with a high i.v. dose of a drug variant, altered to reduce target-binding.