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Biomedical subjects

T E Feltkamp

Publications and source records attributed to T E Feltkamp.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Possible ankylosing spondylitis in acute anterior uveitis.

HLA-B27 typing of 103 acute anterior uveitis (AAU) patients showed that 49 (48%) were positive for this antigen. Of these HLA-B27 positive AAU patients, 27 (55%) had ankylosing spondylitis (AS) according to the New York criteria. The 22 HLA-B27 positive AAU patients without AS, however, also showed symptoms and signs of AS. Seventeen (77%) of these 22 HLA-B27 positive AS negative AAU patients fulfilled a set of criteria for classification as possible AS. In the group of 54 HLA-B27 negative AAU patients, only two patients (4%) had AS. Of the remaining 52 patients only seven (13%) had possible AS. Of the 21 patients having posterior uveitis (PU) none was HLA-B27 positive nor met the criteria for AS or possible AS. These findings indicate a strong relationship between AAU, AS or possible AS and HLA-B27 and suggest that HLA-B27 typing in AAU patients is important for early diagnosis of AS.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1983

Acute anterior uveitis (AAU) and HLA-B27.

A group of 30 consecutive HLA-B27 positive acute anterior uveitis (AAU) patients was compared to 30 consecutive HLA-B27 negative AAU patients. The B27 positive group was characterized by male preponderance, earlier age of onset, unilateral uveitis and favourable outcome with therapy. It is concluded that HLA-B27 typing is a useful diagnostic discriminant in AAU.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1983

Human fibroblasts, a convenient nuclear substrate for detection of anti-nuclear antibodies including anti-centromere antibodies.

Human fibroblast monolayers were applied as a nuclear substrate in indirect immunofluorescence for the detection of anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA). Comparison of the results obtained with this substrate and with conventional rat liver sections led to the conclusion that the application of human fibroblast monolayers as a substrate has the following advantages: 1) better recognition of the distinct nuclear staining patterns; 2) more convenient serum titrations, since a cryostat is not needed and twelve tests can be performed on one slide; 3) detection of significantly higher ANA titres in sera from patients with SLE and MCTD; 4) recognition of a type of ANA that was not detected on rat liver sections. These latter antibodies produced a discrete speckled pattern of fluorescence, which was completely lost after acid elution of the fibroblasts. Using HEp-2 cells in metaphase, it was shown that the antibodies were directed against the centromere regions of the chromosomes. These anti-centromere antibodies were detected in sera from patients with severe Raynaud's phenomenon. Underlying disorders were scleroderma (8 patients, 5 of them with CREST syndrome), Sjögren's syndrome (2 patients), and Raynaud's phenomenon in combination with a few symptoms of connective tissue diseases without fulfilling the criteria for a specific disease (5 patients).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Detection of anti-dsDNA as diagnostic tool.

The diagnostic significance of anti-dsDNA determinations was evaluated in 2 different groups of patients. When the immunofluorescence technique (IFT) with Crithidia luciliae and the Farr assay with 3H-labelled-PM2 DNA were applied to a selected panel of 536 sera from patients with various well-defined autoimmune diseases, positive results were obtained only with serum samples from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). On the other hand when we screened 4431 sera sent to our laboratory for diagnostic reasons, we observed a high incidence of antibodies to dsDNA in patients who did not fulfil the preliminary American Rheumatism Association's criteria for SLE and did not have the diagnosis SLE. Furthermore, a significant number of the positive sera showed peculiar behaviour in that they were positive only in the IFT on Crithidia luciliae and not in the Farr assay.

Antibodies, Antinuclear↗
PubMed1980

Is actin in eye lens a possible factor in visual accomodation?

Actin has been purified from varius non-muscle cells and characterized by its molecular weight and ability to polymerize into filaments. Although the occurrence of this protein has been postulated in the mammalian eye lens after observation of actin-like filaments in the electron microscope, definite (bio)chemical proof has been provided only recently. Amino acid analysis, peptide mapping and affinity chromatography revealed the identity of lens actin with the corresponding protein in other tissues. As the filaments could be obtained by co-isolation with highly purified lens plasma membranes, we were interested to know how the actin-containing structures wre located in situ. In the experimental approach reported here, the indirect immunofluorescence technique (IFT) was applied to unfixed cryostat sections of lens tissue. The distribution of actin in calf, rat and pigeon lens is described, and evidence from this for the role of actin in visual accommodation discussed.

Accommodation, Ocular↗
PubMed1980

The antiperinuclear factor: II. A light microscopical and immunofluorescence study on the antigenic substrate.

The antigenic substrate of the antiperinuclear factor (APF) in human buccal mucosa cells was studied by light microscopy, cytochemistry, and the immunofluorescence technique (IFT). The cytoplasmic granules against which the APF is directed stained basophilic in light-microscopical staining techniques. The granules did not show a positive reaction product by techniques in which special chemical components are stained, and no activity of lysosomal enzymes could be identified. The use of autoantibodies and other antisera directed to distinct tissues, components, or macromolecules did not resolve the character of the antigenic granules. In addition it was shown that human vaginal epithelial cells and cryostat sections of human and rabbit buccal and oesophageal mucosa incubated with APF-positive sera showed the same fluorescent granules in the IFT as human buccal mucosa cells. Cryostat sections of rabbit buccal and oesophageal mucosa were tested as an alternative substrate in the APF test. Since the specificity as well as the sensitivity decreased when these sections were used as a substrate, they are not suitable for diagnostic purposes.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Anti-dsDNA and complement profiles as prognostic guides in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Antibodies to dsDNA, tested with circular DNA in the Farr assay, are specific for systemic lupus erythematosus. A longitudinal study showed a clear relation between the clinical state, the anti-dsDNA titer (expressed in units), and the C1q and C3 levels: when anti-dsDNA levels remained high, no exacerbations were observed. A sharp drop in anti-dsDNA, usually preceded by a rise, was related to a serious exacerbation. Only during the exacerbation when both C1q and C3 were very low was renal involvement seen.

Antibodies, Antinuclear↗
PubMed1979

Incidence and significance of heartmuscle antibodies in patients with acute myocardial infarction and unstable angina.

The incidence of heartmuscle antibodies was studied prospectively in 136 patients consecutively admitted for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and in 95 patients with unstable angina. Heartmuscle antibodies were determined with the indirect immunofluorescence technique on days 1, 10, 20 and 30 in patients with AMI and on days 1 and 10 in patients with unstable angina. Heartmuscle antibodies were found in 16/136 AMI patients (12%) and in 3/95 (3%) with unstable angina. None of the AMI patients developed post-myocardial-infarction syndrome in the 2--4 weeks after infarction or during the one-year follow-up. The AMI patients with and without heartmuscle antibodies were comparable with respect to age, sex, site and size of infarction, incidence of early pericarditis and previous infarction.

Aged↗
PubMed1979

The antiperinuclear factor. 1. The diagnostic significance of the antiperinuclear factor for rheumatoid arthritis.

In 1964 Nienhuis and Mandema reported the presence of antibodies against cytoplasmic granules in buccal mucosal cells in the serum of 50% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Although they reported a good specificity for RA of these so-called antiperinuclear antibodies (APF), their results never threatened the monopoly of the rheumatoid factor as a serological tool for the diagnosis of RA. A re-evaluation with improved immunofluorescence methods showed a frequency of the APF of 78% in 103 patients with RA. The latex test and the Waaler-Rose test were positive in only 70% and 58% respectively of these patients. Only 15% of the RA patients were negative for all 3 tests. Thus, 40% of patients who were seronegative by the traditional methods gave a positive result on performance of the APF test. The high sensitivity of the APF test was combined with a good specificity, for the frequency in patients with other autoimmune diseases or degenerative joint disease and in healthy subjects was low. For the serodiagnosis of RA it seems best to combine the use of the APF test with one for rheumatoid factor.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1979

Antibodies to motor endplates demonstrated with the immunofluorescence technique.

Antibodies to acetylcholine receptors (AChR) are probably directly responsible for the pathogenesis of myasthenia gravis (MG). Methods for the demonstration of these antibodies are complicated. The present study shows that the antibodies can also be revealed by the use of the simple indirect immunofluorescence technique with rat diaphragm as substrate. Antibodies were demonstrated with FITC-labelled anti-human Ig. The location on the motor endplates was confirmed by using a TRITC-labelled anti-alpha-bungarotoxin system. Antibodies to motor endplates were only demonstrated in MG and not in either twenty-two patients with neuromuscular disorders or fifty normal subjects. Antibodies to motor endplates were found in only twelve out of fifty-seven MG patients. In fifteen of the other forty-five patients, antibodies were found of the classical anti-skeletal muscle type, 'overluminating' the anti-motor endplate antibodies.

Acetylcholine↗