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Biomedical subjects

W Heizmann

Publications and source records attributed to W Heizmann.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

[In vitro erythrophagocytosis in detecting opsonizing antibodies in a patient with Malta fever. A hypothesis on the explanation of in vivo hemophagocytosis in other patients with Malta fever].

In vitro agglutination and phagocytosis of erythrocytes by homologous neutrophil granulocytes and monocytes could be observed using the blood of a healthy person (blood group A, Rh+) to detect opsonising antibodies in the serum of a patient with Malta fever (blood group O, Rh+). Agglutination and erythrophagocytosis were independent of complement or the presence of Brucella melitensis. In patients with Malta fever and blood groups O and B, respectively, antibodies could be detected on the surface of erythrocytes of blood group A when used as antigen with the help of an immunofluorescence test. The same happened with a serum of one patient with blood group A. In vivo erythrophagocytosis detected in the bone marrow of patients with Malta fever is, therefore, possibly due to common antigens of erythrocytes of blood group A and B. melitensis.

ABO Blood-Group System↗
PubMed1985

Brucellosis: serological methods compared.

At least 12 persons contracted clinical, and 4 persons subclinical Brucella melitensis infection during a brucellosis epidemic in the spring and summer of 1983 in Southern Germany, a region which had been free of this disease for the past 20 years. All cases of illness were traced to one infected herd of sheep. The presence of antibodies against B. melitensis was examined in 72 sera of infected patients using the following tests: agglutination, Coomb's test, two complement fixation tests with different antigen preparations (CFT 1 and 2), IgG and IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and opsonophagocytosis; and the occurrence of cross-reacting antibodies against Yersinia enterocolitica O 9 was investigated in the agglutination and complement fixation tests. Sera from 100 blood donors and 112 other people with close contact with sheep were also examined. The results revealed the need to consider an intermediate range in the interpretation of ELISA results--due to elevated values of persons in groups at risk but without clinical signs of illness. In all other tests, however, such persons revealed the same cut-off levels as the general population. Results from all initial sera of infected persons revealed titres of optical densities above the baseline levels determined in the present study, with the exception of the Coomb's and CFT2 tests. The agglutination test, but not brucella CFT2, revealed complete cross-reactivity between Y. enterocolitica O 9 and B. melitensis. ELISA stood out as the only test which is suited to diagnosis of both recent and past infection, since ELISA IgM determination permits conclusions about the time of the onset of illness, and determination of IgG may still yield values above the cut-off level up to 623 days after the onset of illness. In 2 of the 16 infected persons, IgG ELISA was the only test revealing previous infection 424 and 528 days after the onset of illness. A procedural scheme is presented which may help to simplify the diagnosis of brucellosis.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMed1985

[Demonstration of Clostridium difficile and toxin B in patients at a university clinic].

107 stool specimens from not hospitalized individuals and 69 stool specimens from 61 hospitalized patients (Internal Medicine) were examined for C. difficile and toxin B. Included were 42 specimens of 33 female patients of the department of maxillo-facial surgery, receiving prophylactic clindamycin and 7 samples from the ward staff. From the samples of the first group, C. difficile was isolated in one case (0.93%), whereas 8 out of 61 internal patients (13%) were positive for C. difficile by culture and/or toxin test. In 12 out of 33 surgical patients (36%), C. difficile and/or toxin could be detected in the stool. Examination of the ward staff was negative. Environmental samplings on the ward, comprehending 246 contact cultures, resulted in the isolation of C. difficile from 25 plates (10.1%). The majority of the patients showed no symptoms or slight diarrhea. Only 5 patients required vancomycin therapy. Frequency and clinical significance of C. difficile isolation is discussed under these aspects.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Multilaboratory evaluation of an agar diffusion disk susceptibility test for rapidly growing anaerobic bacteria.

A multilaboratory collaborative study was undertaken to determine whether the anaerobic disk diffusion test of Horn et al. could be performed reproducibly and accurately. Tests with nine different antimicrobial disks were evaluated. Reproducibility of the agar diffusion disk method was similar to that of the reference agar dilution test procedure. The anaerobic disk diffusion procedure was found to be a potentially useful method for testing some antimicrobial agents against rapidly growing anaerobes belonging to the Bacteroides fragilis group. These promising results warrant further investigations and validations.

Bacteria, Anaerobic↗