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Biomedical subjects

G Bjune

Publications and source records attributed to G Bjune.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Characteristics of serogroup A Neisseria meningitidis responsible for an epidemic in Ethiopia, 1988-89.

In September 1988, an epidemic of meningococcal disease started in Ethiopia. 21 Neisseria meningitidis isolates recovered from patients in Addis Ababa and towns 200 km south of the capital were characterized by serogrouping, serotyping, testing of susceptibility to antibiotics, restriction endonuclease fingerprinting, and multilocus enzyme electrophoresis. The 21 isolates were essentially homogeneous for all properties tested and belonged to clone III-1 of serogroup A N. meningitidis, which was also responsible for the epidemics in Saudi Arabia in 1987 and in Sudan and Chad in 1988.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

HLA antigens and neural reversal reactions in Ethiopian borderline tuberculoid leprosy patients.

Reversal reactions (RR) or acute neuritis episodes are frequently observed in borderline tuberculoid (BT) leprosy patients during the first year of treatment, and are associated with a rapid increase in cell-mediated immunity. Because HLA-linked genes have been shown to be an important factor in determining the type of leprosy that develops in susceptible individuals and because HLA molecules regulate cellular interactions in the immune system, we have investigated whether RR are associated with HLA antigens in Ethiopian patients. The data reported here indicate that this is not the case: no significant differences in the distribution of HLA class I and class II antigens were observed among three groups: 28 BT patients with a history of RR, 27 BT patients with no history of RR, and 33 healthy individuals. In contrast to these negative results, we observed that HLA-DR3 was associated with high skin-test responsiveness against Mycobacterium leprae antigens among RR patients. Since DR3 was not associated with RR per se, the observed DR3-associated high responsiveness to M. leprae may not be primarily related to the development of RR.

Ethiopia↗
PubMed1986

Natural killer (NK) cell activity and reversal reaction in leprosy.

Two studies were conducted to assess natural killer (NK) cell activity in leprosy patients and healthy Ethiopian controls. The first study tested 26 untreated leprosy patients across the spectrum of the disease. It was found that lepromatous leprosy and all untreated, nonreactional patients had lower NK activity than healthy controls. However, patients presenting with reversal reaction (RR) had NK activity within the normal range. Heterogeneity was particularly marked in the NK activity of borderline patients. In the second study, NK cell activity was assessed in treated borderline tuberculoid leprosy (BT) patients. There were 30 patients with a history of RR and 27 BT patients without such a history (NR). All patients had had at least 3 years of dapsone treatment and 6 months of multidrug therapy. There were 26 control subjects. NK activity was higher in controls than in patients only at one effector:target (E:T) ratio tested, but NK cells from the BT patient group appeared to be more "aggressive" in that there was significantly (p less than 0.001) less reduction of activity with dilution of effector cells. There were no significant differences in NK activity between RR and NR patients. The NK activity of NR patients was positively correlated with the size of induration of the lepromin response. We conclude that higher NK activity in acute RR would appear to be a consequence rather than a cause of reversal reactions.

Cytotoxicity, Immunologic↗
PubMed1985

The role of interleukin-2 (IL-2) in the specific unresponsiveness of lepromatous leprosy to Mycobacterium leprae: studies in vitro and in vivo.

The role of IL-2 in the immunological deficiency of lepromatous leprosy patients towards Mycobacterium leprae have been studied further. After initial stimulation with M. leprae + IL-2, lepromatous lymphocytes could be restimulated with M. leprae alone. The specificity of the responses obtained varied. Some patients gave a stronger response to BCG as compared to M. leprae, while in others a stronger response to M. leprae as compared to BCG was obtained. Studies of the composition of lymphocytes in dermal infiltrates subsequent to injection of killed M. leprae revealed that in both tuberculoid and lepromatous patients, early accumulation of cell staining for both IL-2 receptor and IL-2 were seen. However, with time IL-2 receptor and IL-2 staining lymphocytes diminished in lepromatous infiltrates, while these were maintained in tuberculoid lesions.

Humans↗
PubMed1984

Bacterial shock due to transfusion with Yersinia enterocolitica infected blood.

A fatal case (a 55-yr-old man) of bacterial shock and sepsis following a transfusion with erythrocytes infected with Yersinia enterocolitica serotype 03, is reported. The blood donor had slight diarrhea 6 days before the blood donation. A serum sample from the donor showed high titre of both IgG and IgM antibodies against Y. enterocolitica 03, indicating a recent infection. Y. enterocolitica 03 was isolated from blood cultures from the patient. The remaining portion of the transfused erythrocyte concentrate also yielded abundant growth of the same organism on direct plating of the material on blood agar indicating that profuse multiplication of the organism had occurred within the transfusion bag during storage at 4 degrees C.

Blood Donors↗
PubMed1983

Reactions in leprosy.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Antigen-Antibody Complex↗
PubMed1982

Pregnancy and leprosy: the consequences of alterations of cell-mediated and humoral immunity during pregnancy and lactation.

One hundred fourteen Ethiopian women with leprosy and 33 healthy women without leprosy were studied prospectively throughout 119 and 37 pregnancies, respectively, and followed up during lactation. Fifty-five women showed worsening of their leprosy status; in 31 (56%) this was observed during the third trimester of pregnancy. Forty women were diagnosed as having Type 1 lepra reaction; in 20 (50%) the first occurrence was during the first six months of lactation. Twenty-eight women had Type 2 lepra reaction, which in 19 (68%) first occurred during the third trimester of pregnancy or the first six months of lactation. These adverse effects of pregnancy on leprosy are thought to be associated with suppression of maternal cell-mediated immunity during gestation and recovery postpartum. Implications for the obstetrician, physician and leprosy health worker are discussed.

Antibody Formation↗
PubMed1980

Antibodies against Mycobacterium leprae antigen 7 from birth to 18 months of age: an indicator of intra-uterine infection in leprosy.

All babies of three non-leprosy mothers and ten tuberculoid leprosy mothers and four of five babies of mothers with inactive lepromatous leprosy showed a decline in serum concentration of antibodies against M. leprae antigen 7 during the first 4 months of life, as expected from catabolism of maternal IgG. By contrast, ten of twenty babies of mothers with active lepromatous leprosy showed a decline in concentration of anti-M. leprae 7 antibodies considerably less than expected. This indicates that these babies have been stimulated by M. leprae antigen 7, either as free antigen or by viable M. leprae before birth, and thus that leprosy may occur as a congenital infection. Studies of anti-M. leprae antibodies in repeated serum samples obtained during the first 18 months of life indicated that children of mothers with bacilliferous leprosy are frequently exposed to M. leprae to a sufficient extent to stimulate the immune system of the baby to production of anti-M. leprae antibodies during this period. The consequences of this exposure to M. leprae should be ascertained by careful clinical studies.

Aging↗
PubMed1979

Lymphocyte transformation test in healthy contacts of patients with leprosy. I. Influence of exposure to leprosy within a household.

Fifty-three household contacts of lepromatous patients, 37 household contacts of tuberculoid patients, and 91 control persons were examined with the lymphocyte transformation test (LTT) for their responses to whole and sonicated antigen preparations from M. leprae, to BCG, M. avium, M. gordonae, and phytohemagglutinin (PHA). The study was carried out in the Gurage area of Ethiopia in 15 households with a leprosy patient and 15 matched control households. Household contacts of lepromatous patients showed significantly greater LTT responses to antigens from M. leprae than the controls, whereas household contacts of tuberculoid patients did not respond differently from controls. Household contacts of lepromatous patients had significantly greater responses to M. leprae antigens when the index patients were "active," i.e., highly bacilliferous, than when they were "inactive," i.e., having a low bacillary load. The degree of sensitization, as indicated by the LTT response, in different exposure groups paralleled the degree of probable infectivity of the index patient. A preparation of antigen from whole M. leprae proved to be more sensitive and more specific in the LTT than did a sonicated preparation. A significant degree of cross-reactivity was found among the various mycobacteria in their LTT responses.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Lymphocyte transformation test in healthy contacts of patients with leprosy. II. Influence of consanguinity with the patient, sex, and age.

The study was carried out in the Gurage area of Ethiopia, where 53 household contacts of lepromatous patients, 37 household contacts of tuberculoid patients, and 91 control persons were examined with the lymphocyte transformation test (LTT) for their responses to whole and sonicated antigen preparation from M. leprae to BCG, M. avium, M. gordonae and phytohemagglutinin. The potential influence of host factors, namely the state of consanguinity with the leprosy patient, sex and age on the LTT responses was evaluated. In the 35 household contacts of "active," i.e., highly bacilliferous, lepromatous patients, consanguinity with a lepromatous patient was not associated with a significant depression of the LTT responses to M. leprae antigens. Male household contacts of active lepromatous patients showed significantly greater LTT responses to M. leprae antigens than female household contacts. Possible confounding factors for this finding are discussed. Sensitization of M. leprae antigens was present already in a high proportion of the 6 to 14 year old household contacts of active lepromatous patients, which was the youngest age group examined in our study. No significant results were found in any of the other patient contact groups with regard to the host factors examined.

Adolescent↗