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Biomedical subjects

J Menonna

Publications and source records attributed to J Menonna.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1977

Rapid detection of antibodies to cytomegalovirus by counterimmunoelectrophoresis.

A new method for the detection of precipitating antibody to cytomegalovirus by counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) is described. Fourteen of 15 adult sera (95%) with IgM-specific antibodies (as detected by immunofluorescence) and complement-fixing antibodies to cytomegalovirus in high titers gave positive reactions by this method. Control sera from 156 patients and 40 normal subjects were negative by CIEP. One of 32 individuals acutely infected with other members of the herpesvirus group gave a positive reaction (3%). False-positive reactions were restricted to a group of sera containing rheumatoid factor (10 of 31), but this activity could be eliminated by preliminary absorption of the sera with aggregated gamma-globulin. The present findings demonstrate that CIEP is useful for the detection of precipitating antibodies to cytomegalovirus in sera from acutely infected patients and promises to be a rapid, inexpensive screening procedure of diagnostic value.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Herpes simplex virus-IgM specific antibodies in Guillain-Barré syndrome and encephalitis.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) has veen associated with a variety of inflammatory neurologic disorders. Recently we studied a patient with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) following acute herpes vaginalis infection. Since IgM virus-specific antibody is thought to be a reliable indicator of acute viral infection, we employed a 2-h serologic assay for serum IgM antibodies to HSV using an indirect immunofluorescent technique. This patient demonstrated high serum IgM titers to HSV type 2 during the acute phase of her neurologic syndrome. The titer dropped substantially as convalescence progressed. A search for similar elevations in HSV-IgM specific antibody was made on sera from more than 70 other GBS patients. No other significant IgM antibody titers to either HSV type 1 or type 2 were found in this GBS series and a large number of neurologic controls. However, sera from two patients with a presumptive diagnosis of acute herpes encephalitis based on clinical and cerebrospinal fluid findings were positive, showing high titers in our test. The results of this study suggest that associated acute HSV infection is uncommon in GBS and an immunofluorescent seroassay of the type reported here may be a valuable noninvasive technique enabling the clinical laboratory to rapid confirm a diagnosis of herpes encephalitis.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Precipitating antibodies in mycoplasma infection.

The effectiveness of counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) for detecting human precipitating antibodies to mcyoplasma antigen was compared with the conventional complement fixation (CF) method in a double-blind experiment. Fifty-one sera from patients suspected of having acute mycoplasma infection were tested by both techniques. Dense precipitin lines to mycoplasma antigen developed in 28 sera with CIEP. Twenty-six of 28 had elevated CF titers to this antigen. No precipitin bands were observed in sera with low antibody titers to mycoplasma. These findings indicate that the CIEP test is a specific method for reliably detecting elevated serum CF antibody levels in patients with acute or recent mycoplasma infection.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1977

Cytomegalovirus complement fixation antibody in Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Cytomegalovirus, measles, and adenovirus antibodies were measured in the sera of 92 Guillain-Barré patients and 120 controls. Thirty patients (33 percent) had markedly elevated levels of complement-fixing antibody to cytomegalovirus and in 21, a fourfold or more alteration in titer was demonstrated. Diagnostic falls in titer were seen in most instances and no significant elevation to the other viral agents was found. The serologic findings reported here suggest that cytomegalovirus may be a common agent involved in the pathogenesis of the Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Adenoviridae↗
PubMed1977

Rapid fluorometric assay for cerebrospinal fluid immunoglobulin G.

Using a new quantitative immunofluorometric procedure, we measured cerebrospinal fluid immunoglobulin G levels in 59 patients and compared the results with values obtained by the most precise currently available method--the immunoprecipitin method of Kabat--and a radial immunodiffusion technique. The absolute immunoglobulin G values determined by the fluorometric assay correlated closely with the other methods. This technique offers several advantages over most conventional techniques for measuring low levels of immunoglobulin G: (1) Small, drop-sized (5 to 10 micronl) samp les of cerebrospinal fluid are used, (2) a large number of samples can be tested, (3) the range of sensitivity is sufficiently wide that cerebrospinal fluid and serum levels can be determined simultaneously, and (4) the technique is fast, requiring 3.5 hours to perform. The fluorometric method is rapid, reproducible, and easy. It suitability for laboratories engaged in the measurement of cerebrospinal fluid immunoglobulin G appears promising.

Fluorometry↗