National Institute of Preventive Medicine (NIPM) has succeeded in the development of an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) kit for detection of hepatitis B surface antigen. The sandwich principle was used for the test. Guinea pig anti-HBs IgG was used for coating microtiter plates and Horseradish peroxidase was conjugated with goat specific anti-HBs. Its stability is longer than 4 months. The lowest detectable dose is 0.7 ng/ml or better for subtype ad of HBsAg tested with Hepatitis Sensitivity Panel, Bureau of Drug and Food, Department of Health. The regression curve was determined by testing 66 samples with Auszyme II (EIA Kit. Abbott Lab.) and NIPM Kit, while Auszyme II used as a reference kit. The two EIA kits correlated well with a coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.86. Evaluation on 1,157 patients' and officers' serum samples in Tri-Service General Hospital showed that the positive rate was 24.7% (286/1,157) by RIA (Clinical Assays, Travenol Lab., USA) and that of NIPM EIA Kit was 24.4% (282/1,157). There was no statistical significance in terms of positive rate (p greater than 0.05). The positive rates of 534 blood donors are 22.1% (118/534) and 21.9% (117/534) respectively. Another evaluation on 974 serum samples in National Taiwan University Hospital showed that the positive rate was 27.2% (265/974) by Ausria II-125 (RIA. Abbott Lab.) and that of NIPM EIA Kit was 27.4% (267/974). The undetectable rate and false positive rate of NIPM EIA Kit were 0.41% (4/974) and 0.62% (6/974) respectively. In comparison with four other kind of commercial EIA Kits, the results of NIPM EIA Kit were satisfactory also. We have scaled up the reagent preparations for the kit, except the antibody coated microtiter plate preparation. At the end of March 1985 we will supply 850 EIA kits for the Development Center for Biotechnology for their hepatitis B vaccine production program.

Hepatitis B Surface Antigens↗

PubMed1985

Enzyme immunoassay for detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae antigens.

An enzyme immunoassay (EIA; Gonozyme, Abbott Laboratories) for the detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae antigens was assessed. Clinical isolates of N. gonorrhoeae or specimens obtained from male urethra or female cervix were tested by EIA. EIA results were compared with results of conventional culture identification for N. gonorrhoeae. Fifty clinical isolates of gonococci reacted positively with Gonozyme. Five strains of E. coli showed negative reaction to Gonozyme. Five strains of nonpathogenic Neisseria reacted differently with Gonozyme depending upon the viable number of the test organisms. The sensitivity and specificity of EIA for specimens form both sex were 72.4% and 93.8%, respectively. The corresponding figures for the male specimens were 84.6% and 71.4%, and for the female specimens 62.5% and 95%, respectively.

Antigens, Bacterial↗

PubMed1985

Endolymphatic sac surgery for Meniere's disease: a composite study of 339 cases.

This paper analyzes 339 consecutively performed endolymphatic mastoid sac shunts. Regardless of the method used, vertigo was controlled and hearing either improved or stabilized in approximately 70% of the cases. Overall, vertigo was controlled in approximately 80% of the cases. Similar results were obtained in cases of Meniere's syndrome and vestibular Meniere's disease. It is suggested here that, regardless of the method employed, there remains a high likelihood that the symptoms will recur, and the question is raised as to whether sac surgery may merely induce a temporary remission of the disease process. Consequently, it is hereby proposed that there is a need to devise a method to permanently drain the endolymph in order to more effectively control the disease on a permanent basis. Until this is achieved, however, sac surgery would appear to be the most appropriate surgical treatment for Meniere's disease.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

Studies on hyperimmunoglobulinemia E syndrome in five children.

T cell subpopulations, lymphoproliferative response, autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction (AMLR), antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), natural killer (NK) activity and chemotaxis were studied in five hyperimmunoglobulinemia E (hyper IgE) syndrome patients. Both absolute OKT8 (suppressor T) cells and OKIa1 cells were decreased in number. The OKT4/OKT8 ratio increased. The lymphoproliferative response showed that the patients' lymphocytes cultured in medium containing autologous plasma proliferated much less vigorously, as expressed by transformation index, than those cultured in AB healthy control plasma. The peak proliferative response in AMLR in patients was significantly lower than that in the control group. The proliferative response of the fresh autologous mononuclear cells (MNC) exerted suppressor activity in the patients, while those from the normal controls exerted helper activity. Supernatant from AMLR and an isolated T cell culture of patients exerted suppressor activity, while those from the normal controls had none. In the ADCC reaction, patient's polymorphonuclears were significantly impaired in target cell lysis. The NK activity and Leu-11 cells in the patients also showed a significant decrease. In vitro neutrophil chemotaxis was consistently impaired in two out of five patients. Therefore, there is evidence of abnormal regulatory T cell functions and defect in PMN-ADCC activity and NK lysis assay in patients with hyper IgE syndrome.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1984

Outbreak of paralytic poliomyelitis, Taiwan.

Taiwan had been free of major poliomyelitis outbreaks since 1975, but from May 29 to Oct 26, 1982, 1031 cases of type 1 paralytic poliomyelitis were reported to the Taiwan health authorities. Before the outbreak approximately 80% of infants had received at least 2 doses of trivalent oral poliovaccine (OPV) by their first birthday. Of the 86% of poliomyelitis patients whose vaccination status was known 65% had not had poliovaccine, 19% had received one dose, 8% had received two doses, and 8% had received three or more doses. Vaccine efficacy was calculated to be 82% after one dose, 96% after two doses, and 98% after three or more doses. Failure to vaccinate rather than vaccine failure was the most important risk factor in this outbreak. A child who had not had any vaccine was 80 times more likely to become a case than one who had received three or more doses of poliovaccine, independent of sanitation facilities at home. A child was 5 times more likely to become a case if he received water from non-municipal rather than municipal sources. Furthermore, for children who received municipal water, the risk was doubled if the family shared a toilet with at least one other family. This outbreak shows that major epidemics can occur in areas that have high overall community vaccination levels. Identification and vaccination of subpopulations with low coverage is essential for the control of poliomyelitis.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1984

Coloboma of optic nerve associated with serous maculopathy. A clinicopathologic correlative study.

A rhesus monkey with a congenital coloboma of the optic nerve head associated with serous macular detachment underwent intravenous (IV), intrathecal, and retrobulbar fluorescein angiography. No fluorescein leaked beneath the serous detachment after IV or intrathecal injection, although the retrobulbar injection caused a bolus to extravasate from the margin of the optic nerve coloboma, drifting toward the macular region temporally. Histopathologically, glial tissue replaced optic nerve axonal bundles in the temporal coloboma. The intermediary tissue of Kuhnt was disrupted, and fluid from the retrobulbar space diffused into the subretinal space temporally, where a localized retinal detachment extended from the optic nerve to the macula. Subretinal fluid in the macula associated with optic nerve coloboma might derive from (1) fluid perfusing into the retrobulbar space from surrounding orbital tissue, (2) peripapillary choriocapillaris, or (3) CSF.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Purine, thymidylate and amino acid requirements for human lymphocyte transformation and fragile chromosome site expression.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Amino Acids↗

PubMed1984

A de novo case of trisomy 10p: gene dosage studies of hexokinase, inorganic pyrophosphatase and adenosine kinase.

A female infant with multiple congenital anomalies is presented. Cytogenetic study revealed the presence of a de novo, supernumerary, small telocentric chromosome exhibiting the banding pattern of the short arm of chromosome no. 10 [47,XX,+10p(pter----cen)]. Her clinical features were compatible with the 10p trisomy syndrome. Hexokinase (HK-1) activity was elevated in the patient's erythrocytes, which is consistent with an assignment of HK-1 to 10pter---cen10. The absence of a gene dosage effect for inorganic pyrophosphatase (PP) in this study indicates exclusion of PP from 10pter ----cen10, and therefore implies a regional assignment of cen10----10q24 for PP. Adenosine kinase (ADK) activity was within control limits, which is consistent with exclusion of ADK from 10pter----cen10.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

PubMed1984

Effects of chondroitin sulfate on metabolism of trabecular meshwork.

Glycosaminoglycans are believed to play a role in the physiological functions of trabecular meshwork. The effects of chondroitin sulfate on the metabolism of trabecular meshwork were studied by replacing the aqueous humor in the right eye (experimental eye) of 12 albino rabbits with 0.3 ml of chondroitin-4-sulfate solution (10 mg ml-1 in glucose-supplemented phosphate buffered saline). The aqueous humor in the left eye (control eye) was replaced with the phosphate buffered saline-glucose solution in the same manner. The intracameral procedures were performed twice a week for four weeks (initial injection period), and then discontinued for another four weeks (resting period). No significant or prolonged increase in the intraocular pressure was observed during either period in any eyes. Subsequent intracameral injections performed after the resting period, however, caused an intraocular pressure elevation in 10 of the 12 experimental eyes. During this second injection period, the injections were carried out whenever the intraocular pressure of experimental eyes dropped to the control value. The pressure generally remained 5-10 mmHg above that of the control eyes for periods ranging from two days to four weeks. In the eyes with elevated intraocular pressure, light microscopy showed that the trabecular beams were compact and sclerotic and the intertrabecular spaces were narrower. Chamber angle tissues obtained from the eyes with elevated intraocular pressure incorporated more radioactive precursors into glycosaminoglycans than those from the control eyes. The synthesis of glycosaminoglycans and the metabolism of trabecular meshwork seemed to be modified by the long-term chondroitin sulfate treatment.

Animals↗