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PubMed1986

Detection of serum antibody response in patients infected with one strain of Campylobacter jejuni with a DIG-ELISA method.

Paired sera from 10 patients and a convalescence sample from one patient suffering from campylobacteriosis were analysed for IgG, IgM and IgA antibodies against the infective organism (Campylobacter jejuni PEN 0:6,7) with a DIG-ELISA system. Either formalinized, ethanol-inactivated or heat-inactivated preparations of the infecting organism were used as antigens. Cross reactivity was tested with human sera having agglutinating antibodies against Yersinia enterocolitica (N = 6) or Salmonella typhi or S. parathyphi b (N = 7). All patients displayed IgA and IgM levels in the convalescence sample above that found in healthy blood donors (N = 55). Using the ethanol-inactivated or formalinized preparations more than 90% of the convalenscence sera showed IgG levels above that found in blood donors whereas the heat-inactivated preparation detected 73% IgG positives in the same group of sera. Serum from one patient infected with S. parathyphi b was positive in the test. This finding was interpreted as most likely due to a double infection. The study suggests that serum IgA may be a valuable marker for infection with this microorganism. Both the formalinized and the ethanol-inactivated preparations showed presence of flagella in contrast to the heat-inactivated preparation.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1981

Analysis of T lymphocyte subsets in cytomegalovirus mononucleosis.

Lymphocyte proliferative responses to mitogens and herpes virus antigens are diminished during cytomegalovirus (CMV) mononucleosis. We analyzed peripheral blood T lymphocytes from patients in the acute and convalescent phases of CMV mononucleosis using monoclonal antibodies directed against the T helper and the T cytotoxic-suppressor cell subsets. Acute CMV infection is associated with a reversal in the normal ratio of helper to suppressor T lymphocytes with relative and absolute decreases in T helper cells and corresponding increases in T suppressor cells. These alterations in T lymphocyte subsets are accompanied by diminished lymphocyte responses to the mitogen concanavalin A (Con A). During convalescence, helper T lymphocytes increase, suppressor T lymphocytes decrease, and Con A responses return to normal.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Changes in the indices of the immunogenic activity of influenza A/Hong Kong virus in the 1969-1980 epidemics].

The study of immunological changes in convalescents after influenza aged 7-12 months and 18-23 years was carried out in the period of circulation of influenza A/Hong Kong virus and its antigenic variants (1969-1980). A continuous decrease of the immunogenic activity of the causative agents of repeated epidemics and the intensity of the acquired immunity in adult convalescents was demonstrated in successive epidemics of influenza A/Hong Kong. This regularity was fully confirmed in groups of 7 - 12-month-old infants without previous exposure to influenza infection who experienced the disease. Marked differences in the incidence and clinical severity of earlier and later epidemics of influenza A/Hong Kong and changes in immunogenic activity suggest that they are associated with different virulence of the causative agents at different periods of a general pandemic cycle.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Phenotypical, functional and chromosomal studies of lymphocytes from patients with infectious mononucleosis.

The present study describes the T lymphocytosis in infectious mononucleosis (IM), using rosette techniques, lymphocyte transformation tests, Con A suppressor tests, and chromosomal analysis. Blood was drawn from twelve patients with IM during acute illness and during convalescence. We found a T lymphocytosis with a normal sheep erythrocyte receptor affinity of T cells, using three different E-rosette techniques. The percentage of T cells with Fc receptors for IgM (T mu) was reduced during acute illness, but normal in convalescence. The percentage of T cells with Fc receptors for IgC (T gamma) was normal during illness and slightly reduced afterwards. Owing to the T lymphocytosis the total number of T gamma lymphocytes was significantly increased during IM. The lymphocyte reactivity in vitro after mitogen stimulation (PHA, Con A, PWM) was in the lower end of the normal range. We found no evidence of increased suppressor-cell activity activity during IM, using a Con A suppressor cell assay. No chromosomaL defects were observed in lymphocytes from blood.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

[Disorder of the phagocytosis process in alveolar macrophages in thermal injury].

Bacteriological assay, cytochemical studies of succinate and malate dehydrogenases, acid phosphatase, glycogen and lipids, as well as electron microscopy were used in experiments on 75 rabbits to examine over time phagocytosis of alveolar macrophages and some mechanisms of its disturbance after burn trauma. It was established that the phagocytic function of alveolar macrophages gets disturbed shortly after trauma, remaining depressed up to the time of convalescence. It was demonstrated that the mechanism by which phagocytic function gets disturbed differs with time following trauma. Primary depression of phagocytosis occurs immediately after burn. At the height of burn disease the cells develop an energy deficient state, whereas the time of convalescence is marked by the emergence of poorly differentiated forms of macrophages having the reduced phagocyte capacity.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Purification of a major membrane protein of Toxoplasma gondii by immunoabsorption with a monoclonal antibody.

The principal iodinatable surface protein (P30) of our cloned RH strain of Toxoplasma gondii has an apparent molecular weight of 30,000, as measured by acrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate under reducing conditions. Monoclonal antibody B specifically immunoprecipitated protein P30 from a detergent extract of surface radioiodinated T. gondii. Monoclonal antibody B in the presence of complement was also parasiticidal for T. gondii, and this parasiticidal effect could be blocked by protein P30. Monoclonal antibody B was purified from mouse ascitic fluid and linked to cyanogen bromide-activated Sepharose. The resulting immunoabsorbent was used to purify 1.7 mg of protein P30 from a large number of parasites. The efficiency of recovery of protein P30 was measured by assays of radioactivity and of parasiticidal blocking activity. Protein P30 represented 3 to 5% of the total protein. It is also present in a recently isolated strain of T. gondii. A convalescent human antitoxoplasma serum immunoprecipitated radiolabeled protein P30. Three convalescent antisera when quantitated by an ELISA test had a high anti-protein P30 titer. Charge shift electrophoresis showed that protein P30 has an extensive hydrophobic region and thus is probably an integral membrane protein. Electrophoresis under nonreducing conditions showed no evidence that protein P30 exists as a disulfide linked homo- or heterodimer, although it probably has intramolecular disulfide bonds.

Absorption↗
PubMed1980

[Views of patients after open heart surgery].

Twenty patients, selected at random, were followed up by means of interviews and questionnaires before and after open-heart surgery. Nine were professional or business people, two were office clerks, four were manual labourers and five were unemployed. The operative procedures consisted of valve replacement in eight patients, aortocoronary bypass in nine and correction of congenital cardiopathy in three. Anxiety factors before the operation centred around the fear of death (55%), invalidity (15%) and convalescence (10%). No anxiety was found in 20%. The family proved to be a negative factor in 31%, especially in wives of professionals. In the intensive care unit, 47% of patients complained of the noise and 26% of the nursing during the night shift; only 21% complained of pain. More than 70% of the patients appreciated the support of the interviewer, and especially the continuity of the follow-up throughout the hospital and convalescence phases.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Reactions of immune sera against the nucleocapsid, envelope and whole herpes simplex virus type 1.

Antibodies against (a) naked particles, (b) virus envelope, and (c) whole herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 were investigated. Immune rabbit serum against naked particles (and formalized naked particles) contained virus neutralizing (VN) antibody in a low titre as compared to the titre of complement-fixing (CF) antibody. Immune rabbit serum against the viral envelope had similar titres of VN and CF antibodies. In gel double diffusion precipitation tests, whole HSV gave two precipitation zones with antibodies against naked particles two zones with antibodies against the virus envelope, several zones with antibodies against whole virus and two marked zones against human convalescent serum. Viral nucleocapsid reacted with two zones with antibodies against the nucleocapsid and a faint zone with antibodies against the virus envelope. The envelopes gave two zones with antibodies against whole virus and a faint zone with antibodies against naked particles. Human convalescent serum gave a single precipitation zone with viral nucleocapsid and two zones with virus envelope and whole virus.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The physicochemical properties of the mixed saliva and parotid secretion of patients with chronic parenchymatous parotitis and of persons who have a history of earlier acute parotitis].

Eighty-five patients with chronic parenchymatous parotitis and 73 convalescents after epidemic or acute nonepidemic parotitis were examined for their secretory function and some physicochemical characteristics of mixed saliva and parotid secretion (secretion rate, pH, viscosity, transparency, electrokinetic properties). A significant reduction of salivary secretion volume and rate were detected, as were pH shift to the acid direction and increased viscosity of both saliva and parotid secretion, reduced transparency and increased electric conductivity in the patients with chronic parenchymatous parotitis, more marked in those with an active course of the disease. Such changes were absent in convalescents after epidemic or acute nonepidemic parotitis. This permits a conclusion that none of these two conditions may be responsible for the development of a chronic inflammation of the parotid gland. The detected changes in physicochemical parameters of the saliva in chronic parenchymatous parotitis supplement the known data on the pathogenesis of this condition and may be used in the diagnosis and prediction of the course and outcome of sialadenitis. The authors emphasize the desirability of therapeutic and prophylactic measures during remissions of chronic parenchymatous parotitis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1995

[The functional activity of anti-endotoxin factors in viral hepatitis A and B].

Bacterial endotoxins (BE) that are lipopolysaccharide complexes (LPS) are a structural component of the external membrane of gram-negative bacteria. In normalcy, BE interact with many types of cells in the mammals. In terms of the concentration, BE may cause cell damage or stimulate the production of many biological mediators, such as interleukins, prostaglandinds, alpha-TNF. Many gastrointestinal bacteria in humans are gram-negative and BE constantly enter the blood. In health, the absence of a toxic response to BE is explained by the presence of natural humoral and cellular antiendotoxic systems and the hepatic absorption of LPS. In patients with hepatitis A and B, the following indices of the blood antiendotoxic systems were determined: the level of antiendotoxic antibodies to Re-chemotype glycolipids was assessed by the passive hemagglutination reaction in the "Antiendotox-1-test"; the count of polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMNL) fixating LPS on their own surface and endotoxin binding function of PMNL was in vitro measured by the strain ELISA and sandwich ELISA with Re-glycolipids, respectively (LPS-test); the endotoxin fixation function of serum high density lipoproteins (HDL) was also assessed. The humoral and cellular antiendotoxic systems in patients with mild advanced hepatitis A and B was studied when the disease was most clinically significant, at an early convalescence, and at convalescence itself. Finally, the findings indicate that there is a significant decrease in Re-antibody levels and there is a greater absorption ability of HDL than that in the control. Six different types of an antiendotoxic fixation reaction of PMNL were identified in patients with viral hepatitis in the different periods of the disease. The alterations observed may play an important role in the pathogenesis of toxemia in patients with viral hepatitis.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1996

[The function of the hypophyseal-adrenal and hypophyseal-thyroid systems in patients with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome].

Hypophyseo-adrenal and hypophyseo-thyroid systems were studied in 102 patients aged 16-55 (88 males and 14 females) who suffered from hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Measurements of serum levels of ACTH, hydrocortisone, TTH, T3 and T4 recorded supernormal concentrations of ACTH, hydrocortisone and TTH against subnormal concentrations of T3 and T4 in oliguric and polyuric periods of the disease. In convalescence TTH, T3 and T4 returned to normal levels, while ACTH and hydrocortisone were lower than in controls. It is inferred that in hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome the activity of the system hypophysis-adrenals in convalescence is declined, whereas hypophysis-thyroid interaction is disturbed at the height of the disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Elevated serum interferon levels in patients with Bell's palsy.

Serum interferon (IFN) levels were analyzed in patients with Bell's palsy to study the immune response in the disease. Serum samples from 91 patients were assayed for antiviral activity using a bioassay. The IFN levels in the serum were elevated in the acute and convalescent phases as compared with control subjects. The serum IFN-gamma levels were analyzed by radioimmunoassay in 32 of the patients: the IFN-gamma levels were alike in the acute and convalescent phases and the control subjects. Neutralization with specific antisera against IFN-alpha, -beta, and -gamma on 15 serum samples of 11 patients with elevated IFN activity showed a complex pattern that indicates that the antiviral activity was due to a mixture of IFNs and possibly also due to other factors. The elevated IFN levels indicate a low-grade antiviral response that may reflect the reactivation of a viral infection.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Transtympanic endoscopic findings in patients with otitis media with effusion.

Using a fine, rigid endoscope (Olympus, SES-1711K), we examined the middle ear, including the tympanic orifice of the eustachian tube, of children with otitis media with effusion (OME) in its active stage (26 ears), in the convalescent stage (13 ears), and during treatment with ventilation tubes for 10 days to 6 months (five ears) through myringotomy with the patients under general anesthesia. Several color photographs of representative ears are shown. In the active stage of OME, edema (73.1%) and hyperemia (23.1%) were characteristic features of the middle ear mucosa, and normal mucosa was seen in only one ear (3.1%). The tympanic orifice of the eustachian tube, which could be examined in 12 ears, were stenosed with edema in four ears (33.3%) or plugged with effusion in three ears (25.0%) in this group. In the convalescent stage of OME, dilated vessels were most often seen (69.2%), but the rest of the patients had normal mucosa (30.8%) in the middle ear, and none of them had edema nor hyperemia. The tympanic orifice of the eustachian tube, which could be examined in five ears, was clearly patent in all the patients in this group. One ear that was treated with a ventilation tube for 1 month showed dilated vessels and less severe inflammation than did ears that were in the active stage of OME, and three ears that were treated for more than 3 months showed almost normal middle ear mucosa.

Child↗
PubMed1985

Measles reimmunization in children immunized before 1 year of age.

An outbreak of measles presented an opportunity to examine the immune response of children initially immunized with measles vaccine before 1 year of age to reimmunization at 15 months of age with measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. Eighteen previously immunized children had higher acute and convalescent hemagglutination inhibition titers than 13 control children. None of the previously immunized children had measles-specific IgM appear in convalescent serum samples. These results indicate a brisk secondary immune response to measles reimmunization in children immunized before 1 year of age. They support the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics of reimmunization at 15 months of age for those children whose initial measles immunization was before 1 year of age.

Humans↗
PubMed1997

Effect of prednisolone on the systemic response and wound healing after colonic surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of preoperative treatment with a single high-dose glucocorticoid on the systemic and immunologic responses, wound healing, and convalescence after colonic surgery. DESIGN: Double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial. SETTING: Department of surgery in a university hospital. PATIENTS: Thirty patients scheduled for open colonic resection; 6 patients were excluded from the study (N = 24). INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomized to either of 2 treatment regimens: methylprednisolone sodium succinate 90 minutes before induction of anesthesia and epidural analgesia (group 1, n = 12), or placebo 90 minutes before anesthesia and epidural analgesia (group 2, n = 12). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Assessments of pain, pulmonary function, convalescence, and various injury and wound-healing factors were done several times until 10 days after surgery. RESULTS: Conventional reduction in pulmonary function and mobilization was improved in group 1. Interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein levels increased significantly less in group 1, as delayed-type hypersensitivity was abolished in group 1. Plasma cascade system activations were significantly less pronounced in group 1. Reduction of collagen turnover was observed in group 1, but without detrimental effects on collagen accumulation. CONCLUSION: Treatment with a single high-dose glucocorticoid before colonic surgery may improve postoperative pulmonary function and mobilization and reduce plasma cascade system activations, the inflammatory response, and immunofunction, but without detrimental effects on wound healing.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Epidemic non-A, non-B hepatitis in Nepal. Recovery of a possible etiologic agent and transmission studies in marmosets.

An epidemic of non-A, non-B hepatitis occurred in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, during 1981-1982, with approximately 7.6% of households and 1.4% of individuals affected. Cases occurred preponderantly in the 15- to 34-year-old age group (70%), with most cases (75%) occurring in males. A high mortality rate (21%) occurred in pregnant women admitted to the hospital. No single water source was implicated, but epidemic peaks occurred during monsoon rains, and multiple opportunities for enteric transmission existed. One of eight patient stools examined by immune electron microscopy revealed aggregated, antibody-coated, 27-nm viruslike particles when convalescent serum samples were used as sources of antibody. Inoculation of two chimpanzees and four marmosets with a suspension of this stool resulted in elevated liver enzyme activity in three marmosets. Fecal excretion of 27-nm particles during the acute phase of disease (with temporally coincident antigen activity by radioimmunoassay) was observed in one marmoset, which also developed convalescent antibody against the particles in the original inoculum.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Tick bites and Lyme disease in an endemic setting: problematic use of serologic testing and prophylactic antibiotic therapy.

CONTEXT: The use of serologic testing to diagnose Lyme disease (LD) is a source of controversy. Expert recommendations also discourage the routine use of antibiotic therapy for prophylaxis of LD following tick bites, but the extent to which physicians in endemic areas have adopted these recommendations is not known. OBJECTIVE: To assess the pattern of use of serologic testing and antibiotic therapy for tick bites and LD and associated charges for management in an endemic area. DESIGN: Active surveillance of patient-physician encounters for tick bites and LD. SETTING: Primary care practices on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. PATIENTS: Consecutive sample of 232 patients with tick bites, LD (defined by physician diagnosis in medical record), and suspected LD (physician notation of possible, but not definite LD) seen in 1995. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Serologic testing for LD, test results, antibiotic therapy, and direct costs of management. RESULTS: Surveillance identified 142 patients (61.2%) with diagnoses of tick bites, 40 patients (17.2%) with LD, and 50 patients (21.6%) with suspected LD. Of the 142 patients seen for tick bites, 95 (67%) underwent serologic testing for LD. Of these, 93 patients had initial negative or equivocal results; 24 (26%) of the 93 had convalescent testing, with 1 seroconversion. Seventy-eight patients (55%) with a diagnosis of tick bite received antibiotic therapy. No patients with tick bite developed clinical LD. Serologic testing for LD was performed for 36 patients (90%) with a diagnosis of LD and 46 patients (92%) with suspected LD. In most cases, antibiotics were prescribed before serologic test results became available. Convalescent testing was not performed for 37 (86%) of the 43 patients with suspected LD who had initial negative or equivocal results. Of these 37 patients, 25 (68%) did not receive antibiotic therapy. Direct charges for treatment of these 232 patients totaled $47 595, one third of which was attributable to serologic testing. A total of 32% of direct charges were for patients with tick bites, 48% were for patients with LD, and 20% were for patients with suspected LD. CONCLUSIONS: In this setting, most patients consulting physicians for tick bites received prophylactic antibiotic therapy of unproven efficacy and underwent unnecessary, costly serologic testing. Despite almost universal use in this study, serologic testing for LD did not appear to influence treatment of patients diagnosed as having LD.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Outbreaks of gastroenteritis in elderly nursing homes and retirement facilities associated with human caliciviruses.

Eleven outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis, eight of which were in nursing homes or retirement facilities, were reported in virginia during the winter of 1993-1994. Serum samples (four outbreaks) and stool samples (two outbreaks) from involved people were tested for human calicivirus (HuCV) infection by enzyme immune assays (EIAs) using recombinant Norwalk virus (rNV) and Mexico virus (rMX) capsid antigens and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Of the 31 pairs of acute and convalescent serum specimens tested, 24 had a fourfold or more titer increase to rMX and 4 responded to rNV. In all four outbreaks, the geometric mean titers (GMTs) against rMX were significantly higher than those against rNV in the convalescent, but not in the acute phase of illness. The antibody response to rMX among these patients was also higher than to rNV (summary mean 32-fold increase vs. 0.7-fold increase, respectively, P < .001). Antigen was detected in 5 of 21 stool specimens tested by the rMX EIA, RNA in 12 of 17 stool specimens tested by RT-PCR, and small round structured virus (SRSV) particles in 12 of 21 by electron microscopy (EM); none were positive by the rNV EIA. Sequence analysis of the RT-PCR-amplified products from the viral RNA polymerase region revealed 92-93% amino acid identity with Snow Mountain agent (SMA), 86% with MX, 58-59% with NV, and 31-32% with Sapporo HuCV, suggesting that these viruses belong to the SMA HuCV genogroup.

Aged↗