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Biomedical subjects

P Hänninen

Publications and source records attributed to P Hänninen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

A new microvolume technique for bioaffinity assays using two-photon excitation.

Bioaffinity binding assays such as the immunoassay are widely used in life science research. In an immunoassay, specific antibodies are used to bind target molecules in the sample, and quantification of the binding reaction reveals the amount of the target molecules. Here we present a method to measure bioaffinity assays using the two-photon excitation of fluorescence. In this method, microparticles are used as solid phase in binding the target molecules. The degree of binding is then quantified from individual microparticles by use of two photon excitation of fluorescence. We demonstrated the effectiveness of the method using the human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) immunoassay, which is used to detect fetal disorders. The sensitivity and dynamic range we obtained with this assay indicate that this method can provide a cost-effective and simple way to measure various biomolecules in solution for research and clinical applications.

Fetal Diseases↗

Roxithromycin in the treatment of pneumonia.

An open multicentre study of the efficacy and side effects of roxithromycin, a new macrolide antibiotic, in the treatment of community acquired pneumonia was undertaken. The diagnosis was verified by transtracheal aspiration. Fifty-three patients were studied. In the 49 patients evaluable the clinical efficacy rate was 92% (95% confidence limits 84-100%). Only by measurement of the fall in serum C-reactive protein was it possible to detect a difference in response between pneumonia due to Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae. The drug was well tolerated clinically and laboratory abnormalities included transient eosinophilia and elevated liver enzymes in two patients.

Adult↗

Diagnosis of respiratory syncytial virus infection in children: comparison of viral antigen detection and serology.

Direct detection of viral antigen in nasopharyngeal secretion by radioimmunoassay was compared with serology by IgG antibody enzyme immunoassay for diagnostic efficacy in 77 children with clinically suspected respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections. Antigen detection gave a positive diagnosis in 26 of 33 (79%) children in whom RSV infection was diagnosed by any of the two methods. The diagnostic efficacy of antigen detection was dependent upon the interval after onset at which specimens were collected; 88% of specimens taken during the first 5 days and 50% of specimens taken 6-10 days after onset of illness were positive. It was also dependent on the age of the patients, the diagnostic efficacy being 88 and 76% in children under and over 6 months of age, respectively.

Antigens, Viral↗

Immunoglobulin class-specific antibody response in respiratory syncytial virus infection measured by enzyme immunoassay.

Immunoglobulin class-specific enzyme immunoassay (EIA) was used for determination of antibody responses in sera collected from 26 children with acute primary respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections. All 26 patients had IgG antibody responses with a significant titer increase in 24 (92%); an IgM antibody response was detected in 19 of the 26 (73%). From patients aged 6 months or less only 5 of 8 produced detectable IgM antibodies, whereas all patients aged 1-2 years did so. IgM antibodies appeared within 1 week after onset of illness and persisted from 20 days to 2-3 months. An IgA antibody response was observed in 20 of 26 (77%) patients with a significant titer increase detected in 17 of 26 (65%) patients. In some patients the persistence of IgA antibodies followed that of the IgM antibodies, but in others the IgA antibody titers remained stable up to the end of the follow-up. The most sensitive assay system for serological diagnosis of acute RSV infection in children was the determination of titer increases by IgG antibody.

Adult↗

Rapid diagnosis of adenoviral tonsillitis: a prospective clinical study.

Adenovirus antigen was detected by radioimmunoassay in the nasopharyngeal specimens of 30 of 74 children with febrile exudative tonsillitis. In the other 44 children, the cause of tonsillitis was identified in 16 (beta-hemolytic streptococci or Epstein-Barr, parainfluenza, or herpes simplex viruses). The clinical picture of adenoviral tonsillitis was difficult to differentiate from that of streptococcal disease; 20 of the patients had originally been given antibiotics. In 68% of patients without complications, the serum concentration of C-reactive protein was less than 20 mg/L, suggesting a viral disease. No other hematologic test was found helpful in identifying the adenoviral tonsillitis. The rapid detection of adenovirus antigen permitted withdrawal of unnecessary and ineffective antibiotic treatment in most patients.

Adenoviridae Infections↗

An outbreak of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis infection.

Nineteen patients were involved in an outbreak of infection caused by Yersinia pseudotuberculosis serotype 3. No epidemics attributable to this microorganism have been previously reported; the most extensive known cluster of cases involved four children in one family and their pet dog. The key finding in the outbreak described in the present study was the bacteriologic identification of serotype 3 in stool specimens from patients with clinically typical yersiniosis. Twelve cases were identified by isolation of Y pseudotuberculosis from stool specimens. An ELISA permitted serological diagnosis of the remaining seven cases. The antibody response was unusually slow in some patients. A noteworthy feature of the outbreak was the high incidence of postinfection complications, which developed in 10 of 19 patients. In spite of active screening of the respective families and environments of the patients, no transmitting factor was found, and the precise source of the infection remains unknown.

Adolescent↗

Viral etiology of parotitis.

Viral etiology of clinically typical parotitis was studied by virus isolation and serology in 100 consecutive patients presented at the Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Turku, during a period of over 2 years. Mumps etiology was confirmed in 95 cases and in one case a probable parainfluenza type 3 infection was diagnosed by IgM serology. In the remaining 4 patients no etiological evidence of any of the viruses studied was obtained. When different methods to diagnose an acute mumps infection were compared, the most sensitive was the assay for specific IgM antibodies.

Adolescent↗

Determination of IgG- and IgM-class antibodies to mumps virus by solid-phase enzyme immunoassay.

An indirect enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for the determination of IgG and IgM antibodies to mumps virus is described. Viral antigens and control antigens were adsorbed onto polystyrene microtiter plates, and antibodies attached to the antigens were detected by subsequent binding of commercial peroxidase-labeled antibodies to the heavy chains of human IgG and IgM immunoglobulins. A comparison of antibody titers obtained by the EIA and by indirect immunofluorescence test showed a close concordance between these two tests, with EIA, however, being more sensitive. Occasional cross-reactions between mumps and parainfluenza antibodies were detected in the IgG antibody test but not in the IgM antibody test. In sera from 84 patients with mumps infection, all cases were diagnosed by the EIA IgM antibody assay, 96% from the first serum specimen. Mumps was diagnosed by complement fixation (CF) in 71% of these cases: unclear or erroneous results with parainfluenza titer increases in 10% and no diagnosis in 18% of the cases. The EIA IgM antibody assay was thus better than the CF test for the diagnosis of acute mumps infection.

Adolescent↗