tailieunhanh - Báo cáo y học: "Macrophage migration inhibitory factor, infection, the brain, and corticosteroids"

Tuyển tập các báo cáo nghiên cứu về y học được đăng trên tạp chí y học Critical Care giúp cho các bạn có thêm kiến thức về ngành y học đề tài: Macrophage migration inhibitory factor, infection, the brain, and corticosteroids. | Available online http content 13 4 170 Commentary Macrophage migration inhibitory factor infection the brain and corticosteroids Madelijn Geldhoff Barry B Mook-Kanamori and Diederik van de Beek Department of Neurology Center of Infection and Immunity Amsterdam CINIMA Academic Medical Center University of Amsterdam PO Box 22660 1100DD Amsterdam The Netherlands Corresponding author Diederik van de Beek Published 27 July 2009 This article is online at http content 13 4 170 2009 BioMed Central Ltd Critical Care 2009 13 170 doi cc7970 See related research by Ostergaard and Benfield http content 13 3 R101 Abstract Bacterial meningitis is a complex disorder in which injury is caused in part by the causative organism and in part by the host s own inflammatory response. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor MIF is a pro-inflammatory cytokine and a neuro-endocrine mediator that might play a role in pneumococcal meningitis. Here we discuss the role of MIF in infection the brain and corticosteroids and conclude that experimental meningitis studies have to determine whether MIF is a potential target for adjunctive therapy in pneumococcal meningitis. In the previous issue of Critical Care Ostergaard and Benfield 1 described cerebrospinal fluid macrophage migration inhibitory factor MIF levels in 171 patients with clinically suspected meningitis at time of admission. Elevated MIF levels were observed in patients with purulent meningitis with known bacterial aetiology versus patients with viral infection no known aetiology or no meningitis. Cerebrospinal fluid MIF levels had limited predictive value in distinguishing between life-threatening bacterial meningitis and other aetiologies when evaluating a patient suspected of having meningitis and therefore cannot be used for diagnostic purposes. This study did however present several interesting findings among the patients with purulent meningitis elevated .