Anti-Giardia antibodies were studied in 88 sera of patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic giardiasis by using the indirect immunofluorescent test and Giardia intestinalis trophozoites from an axenic culture as antigen. The sera of 40 healthy subjects were used as a control group and of 28 patients with other intestinal parasites (14 with Sarcocystis sp. and 14 with symptomatic Entamoeba histolytica infection) have been investigated for determination of test specificity. 82% of sera from patients with giardiasis presented G. intestinalis antibodies at titers of 1:16 to 1:256. Titers of at least 1:32, accepted as diagnostic and indicative of the infection, were found in 66% of patients with giardiasis. All of 18 patients with acute course of giardiasis had titers of at least 1:32. Only 5 sera (7%) from healthy control subjects or from patients infected with other intestinal parasites reacted at dilutions of 1: greater than or equal to 32. The indirect immunofluorescence test proves to be useful in detecting antibodies to G. intestinalis in the serum. However, the negative results occurring rather frequently in persons with chronic infection indicate a need for a more critical evaluation of serological tests in giardiasis.

Antibodies↗

PubMed1984

Evaluation of jejunal mucosa biopsy in patients with giardiasis.

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Adult↗

PubMed1983

Increase of mucosal mast cells in the jejunum of patients infected with Trichinella spiralis.

The mast cell response in the mucosa and connective tissue of 36 jejunal biopsies of patients with clinically diagnosed trichinellosis, teniasis and lambliasis has been studied. Biopsy material was fixed in standard formalin or Carnoy's fixative, enabling differentiation between mucosal mast cells (MMC) and connective tissue mast cells (CTMC). With both fixatives CTMC could equally well be recognized. With Carnoy's fixative an additional population of mast cells (MMC) could be visualized both in the mucosa and the connective tissue. In the mucosa small mucosal mast cells were observed as well. Compared to the numbers of mast cells in the mucosa and the connective tissue of teniasis and lambliasis patients, the number of mast cells in trichinellosis patients only visualized using Carnoy's fixative was markedly higher. It was concluded that also in man trichinellosis is accompanied by an increase of cells with MMC characteristics. Further studies are needed to clarify the morphological and histochemical features of these cells and their possible role in this parasitic infection.

Biopsy↗

PubMed1981

The diagnostic value of enzymatic and immunological tests in human trichinellosis.

No correlation between the clinical course of trichinellosis and the level of positive titre in immunological tests and total activity of LDH was found. In severe courses of trichinellosis, however, the maxima of total LDH activity appeared earlier. In the described epidemics of trichinellosis the increase in iso-4 and iso-5 of LDH was followed by an increase in LDH activity in 50% of cases, but the maxima in both the biochemical tests appeared 1-6 weeks earlier than the maxima in the immunological tests. For this reason, the biochemical tests could be of diagnostic value in the first weeks of invasion.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1981