The aim of this study was to compare ELISA, immunodiffusion and immunoblot for the detection of anti-Jo-1 antibodies, and to investigate the association of the results with clinical manifestations. In two medical centres for rheumatology and one for pulmonology, all patients with suspected connective tissue disease were screened over a ...

OBJECTIVE: Serum autoantibodies to fibrillin 1, the major component of microfibrils in the extracellular matrix, recently have been reported to occur in the tight skin mouse and in patients with systemic sclerosis, but not in patients with other connective tissue diseases. This study was undertaken to determine whether antifibrillin 1 ...

Serum IgG subclass concentrations were determined in patients visiting, the pulmonology out-patient clinic with chronic respiratory tract problems. A total of 24 patients with a serum IgG1 concentration < 4.9 g/l (i.e. below the reference range) and normal values for IgG2, IgM and IgA were included. Patients with a selective ...

We studied clinical and immunological characteristics of 15 patients with chronic cold agglutinin disease (CAD). Mean age at disease debut was 68 years for female and 67 years for male patients. The patients had no signs of other autoimmune diseases. All patients had V(H)4-34 encoded IgM kappa cold agglutinins (CA) ...

Enhanced erythrocyte sequestration is one of the very few major adverse effects of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). IVIg contains high molecular weight IgG complexes ( approximately 300 kDa) which, in the presence of serum, mimic immune complexes by activating complement, binding to CR1 of red blood cells (RBC) (CD35) and mediating ...

BACKGROUND: Autoimmune vasculitides cannot always be controlled by steroids and immunosuppressive drugs. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) treatment was found beneficial in several vasculitides including systemic and organ-specific diseases. In this article we tested whether the beneficial clinical response of IVIg treatment in vasculitides was accompanied by a decrease in vasculitis-associated autoantibody ...

Coeliac disease has been reported to occur in 2-5 per cent of insulin-dependent diabetic patients (IDDM). Suitable non-invasive screening tests would allow identification of these patients. The aim of this study was to determine the value of the red cell distribution width (RDW) in detecting unrecognised coeliac disease in insulin-dependent ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prognosis of patients with sicca symptoms and to identify the clinical and immunological factors that most sensitively predict the later development of primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) or other connective tissue diseases. METHODS: Eighty seven patients (72 female, 15 male) with sicca symptoms were re-evaluated after a ...

Detection of antimyosin antibodies in non-inflammatory cardiac disease undermines their disease specificity as a sensitive marker of damage in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) patients. Antibody subclass specificity could provide a more sensitive marker of disease and possibly discriminate the humoral autoimmune responses in different cardiac diseases. Frequency and reactivity of autoantibodies ...

Lysinuric protein intolerance (LPI) is characterized by defective cellular transport of the dibasic amino acids, secondary dysfunction of the urea cycle, aversion to dietary protein, failure to thrive, hepatosplenomegaly and osteoporosis. Because several patients have suffered from recurrent respiratory infections and/or severe generalized varicella, and a few have developed systemic ...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to explore the frequency of clinical and serological manifestations of gastrointestinal immune reactivity in a large group of Swedish patients with sarcoidosis. DESIGN: In patients with documented sarcoidosis, the presence of pernicious anaemia and coeliac disease was examined. Antibodies to H+/K+ ATPase, ...

Zinc is an essential trace element for immune function that plays a role in immune response against parasites. To determine a possible relationship between zinc level and disease status in alveolar echinococcosis (AE), we investigated serum concentrations of zinc, immunoglobulin (Ig)E, IgG, and C-reactive protein (CRP) in 40 AE patients ...

We report the results of a prospective study of the complement system in a cohort of 22 multiple myeloma patients: 11 women and 11 men, median age 66 years. There were 10 IgG, 8 IgA, 2 IgM and 2 light chain myeloma patients. Seven were in stage 1, 3 in ...

Alglucerase, a macrophage-targeted enzyme replacement therapy for Gaucher disease, has been successfully used for several years to improve clinical symptoms and reverse disease progression. As part of an immunosurveillance program, 1,122 Gaucher patients were monitored for antibody response to glucocerebrosidase, the active component of alglucerase. Seroconversion was detected in 142 ...

PURPOSE: To investigate the immunoglobulin classes associated with the intraocular anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibody response during clinical ocular toxoplasmosis and to determine which immunoglobulin class is most helpful in the diagnosis of this disease. METHODS: Paired serum and intraocular fluid samples from 155 patients who had uveitis were tested for intraocular ...

Sensory or sensorimotor demyelinating polyneuropathies may be associated with monoclonal immunoglobulins (paraproteins). Our prior experience suggests that "off-line" Prosorba(R) column treatments may be effective therapy for patients with polyneuropathies associated with paraproteins of the IgG class. We report herein the treatment, using Prosorba(R), of 2 patients with peripheral neuropathies and ...

We performed Western blot analysis to detect anticerebellar antibodies in the serum of patients with Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS). We studied 7 MFS patients, 6 Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) patients and 10 normal healthy persons as controls. Six MFS patients (86%) had IgG antibodies against mouse cerebellar protein, whereas 3 GBS ...

The frequency of complement deficiency in 176 of 7,732 patients with meningococcal disease in the Netherlands from 1959 through 1992 was assessed. Complement deficiency was found in six patients (3%): 3 (7%) of the patients with Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C disease, 1 (2%) of the patients with N. meningitidis serogroup ...

The objectives of our study were to examine the sera of rheumatic chorea (RhCh) patients (those with acute or chronic RhCh or with a past history of RhCh) for the presence of antineuronal antibodies (ANeurA) and to correlate the results with disease activity, chronicity, and the number and durations of ...

Ten patients of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were studied for changes in ultrastructure of the glomeruli, serum immunoglobulin and complement levels. The glomeruli showed proliferation in the mesangium in 90% patients and electron dense deposits in the mesangium in 30% patients. IgA and IgG were usually elevated whereas complements were ...

We determined the levels of antineurofilament antibodies in 29 patients with postpolio syndrome (PPS), 26 stable postpolio (PP) patients, 22 patients with ALS, and 20 normal controls (NCs). Patients with PPS had higher antibody levels to cholinergic neurofilaments than did all other groups. PP patients and those with ALS had ...

We describe the clinical course, complement components, and pathological findings of 10 infants with autosomal recessive hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). All patients were members of one extended highly inbred Bedouin kindred. The median age of presentation was 2 weeks (range 1-20 weeks). Eight patients died, 2 patients are alive, on ...

Contact of blood with artificial surfaces activates pro-inflammatory responses and the complement cascade. This may have broad implications on the post implantation fate of patients needing mechanical circulatory support. Therefore, we investigated the course and prognostic value of complement factors C3a and C5a in 66 patients supported with pulsatile ventricular ...

Galactose-free immunoglobulin G (IgG), which is known to be higher in the sera of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, was prepared from IgG of healthy volunteers using enzymes. Its reactivity to lectins was analyzed. The galactose-free IgG showed no reactivity to Ricinus communis agglutinin 120 but displayed greater reactivity to concanavalin ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a relation exists between previous exposure to Chlamydia trachomatis and impaired ovarian response to gonadotropin stimulation. DESIGN: Controlled clinical study. SETTING: Two university IVF centers. PATIENT(S): Two hundred forty-two patients receiving IVF treatment and 81 control patients. Ninety-four patients with a poor response to IVF, defined ...

There are approximately 2,000 cases of cryoglobulinemia reported each year in the United States. The number of cases has been and is expected to continue growing exponentially since the advent of its association with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Cryofiltration apheresis is a specific therapy for the treatment of cryoprotein ...

The complement system is one of the important factors involved in the hyperacute rejection of xenografts. This report deals with the activation of the complement system in a clinical trial where pig kidneys were extracorporeally connected to two volunteer dialysis patients who were pretreated with plasmapheresis in order to substantially ...

A total of 85 urine samples from 63 patients with neurogenic bladder, were subjected for pus cell counting and culture. Fifty nine (69.4%) samples showing significant bacterial growth were tested for the presence of antibody coated bacteria (ACB). One serum sample per patient was collected for the estimation of C-reactive ...

Anaphylactoid purpura is a small-vessel, vasculitic disease of unknown etiology, but it is thought to be caused by an immunoglobulin-mediated inflammatory process. To study the immunological profiles of local anaphylactoid purpura patients, during the period from October 1996 to October 1997 with 17 patients, (6 boys and 11 girls), (aged ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of IgG antiendothelial cell antibodies (AECA) in patients with scleroderma (systemic sclerosis, SSc) and to correlate it with clinical spectrum and autoantibody profile. METHODS: Seventy-six patients with SSc and 50 matched healthy controls were studied. Immunological variables were antinuclear antibody (ANA), rheumatoid factor (RF), and ...

BACKGROUND: The normal levels of immunoglobulin and IgG subclasses in African American and Hispanic populations are uncertain. To determine immunoglobulin and IgG subclass levels in this community, we measured serum IgG, IgM, and IgA levels along with IgG subclasses in 303 African American and Hispanic patients in a general medical ...

BACKGROUND: The association between diabetes mellitus and coeliac disease has been known for many years. In a random group of 175 insulin dependent diabetes mellitus patients of varying ages the following tests have been carried out: serum antigliadin antibodies (AGA) of IgA and IgG class, antireticulin antibodies (ARA) and antiendomisyum ...

The aim of this paper was to investigate the frequency of increased ACLA titer in patients with ischemic brain disease (IBD) and to define their clinical profile. The group consisted of 162 IBD patients of both sexes, aged 39-81 years, with 50 healthy volunteers and 23 patients with other neurological ...

BACKGROUND: Lupus anticoagulant (LA) and anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) are autoantibodies that can be detected in plasma or serum of patients with autoimmune-related diseases. The presence of these autoantibodies has been associated with recurrent arterial and/or venous thromboembolism as well as with recurrent fetal loss and thrombocytopenia. In recent years, other ...

So far, the pathogenic significance and use for diagnosis of antiganglioside GM1 antibodies (anti-GM1) are unclear. We therefore compared serum IgM and IgG antimonosialo ganglioside GM1 levels of 33 patients with presumed immune-mediated neuropathies, 100 patients with various other central or peripheral neurological disorders, and 110 controls by ELISA. We ...

OBJECTIVE: To search for a possible relationship between the presence of IgA class anti-beta2-glycoprotein I antibody (abeta2-GPI) and clinical manifestations, including thrombotic episodes, in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: Serum IgA abeta2-GPI levels in 124 Japanese patients with SLE were measured using a phospholipid independent enzyme immunoassay. Relationships ...

The hepatosplenic form of schistosomiasis mansoni sometimes induces bleeding in oesophageal varices that requires surgical treatment. Although splenectomy is often necessary these patients rarely present with septic events, a finding that may be related to changes in the immunological system. To investigate the immunological profiles of patients with schistosomiasis, we ...

We evaluated the frequency of serum antineuronal antibodies in a cohort of 39 neuroblastoma patients and related their presence to clinical features. Twelve patients displayed antineuronal antibodies at immunocytochemistry. Only one of these 12 patients suffered from a clinically overt paraneoplastic syndrome. No significant differences emerged between autoantibody-positive and autoantibody-negative ...

We report a patient with multiple myeloma and a prolonged history of hypophosphatemia who had remained asymptomatic. Extensive evaluation for a cause, including the search for a renal tubular disorder, oncogenous osteomalacia, or a parathyroid hormone (PTH)-related protein was unproductive. Renal biopsy showed no evidence of myeloma kidney. Subsequent mixing ...

Eleven patients (10 boys, one girl) with Evans' syndrome with a median follow up time of 8.0 years were evaluated retrospectively. Six patients had either persistent hepatosplenomegaly or generalised lymphadenopathy, or both. In five patients, an increase in lymph node and/or spleen size was observed during the exacerbations of cytopenias. ...

BACKGROUND: Our aim was to determine the seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori antibodies in historical sera from a large group of patients with Crohn's disease and to compare the findings with those of a control group of healthy blood transfusion donors. METHODS: The historical sera from 386 patients with Crohn's disease ...

The concentration of serum immunoglobulins in individuals with IgA deficiency (IgAD) and CVID can vary with age to have practical implications for evaluation, therapy, and genetic analysis. Most IgAD and CVID patients in our clinic population in the Southeastern United States have inherited part or all of two extended MHC ...

In the present study we investigated the influence of methotrexate (MTX) and azathioprine (AZA) on the serum levels of the IgA-alpha 1-antitrypsin (IgA-AT) complex in patients with the systemic form of juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA). Fifty-six JCA patients (22 treated with MTX, 18 treated with AZA, and 16 not treated ...

BACKGROUND: Patients with selective immunoglobulin A (IgA) deficiency and coeliac disease, an established association, lack serum IgA class antigliadin and endomysial antibodies (AGA, EmA). Diagnostic protocols relying on AGA and EmA to select patients for small bowel biopsies will not identify these patients. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether total IgA should ...

A group of patients with long-surviving mismatched kidney allografts were investigated for complement function using haemolytic assays in agarose gels. One patient was found to have no alternative pathway activity but a low normal classical pathway. Surprisingly, investigation revealed that the patient's complement was normal for all components except C9, ...

This study examined the development and persistence of immunity in humans presenting defined states of Onchocerca volvulus infection, i.e. in exposed endemic control individuals without microfilaridermia and clinical disease, in patients with patent or post-patent onchocerciasis, and in patients concurrently infected with Mansonella perstans. Onchocerca volvulus antigen (OvAg)-specific cellular reactivity ...

BACKGROUND: There is evidence of an increased prevalence of coeliac disease in Down's syndrome. AIMS: To investigate the association, patients with Down's syndrome and matched controls were examined. METHODS: Fifty nine patients with Down's syndrome residing in government institutions in the Hunter region of New South Wales were studied. Four ...

BACKGROUND: Although IgE has been shown to play a role in the expulsion of intestinal parasites in experimental animals, its overall contribution to host defense in humans remains a subject of controversy. In order to clarify the potential role of IgE in host defense, we have studied the clinical characteristics ...

OBJECTIVE: A high seroprevalence of HTLV-I in female Sjögren's syndrome (SS) patients has been reported in Nagasaki, Japan, an area that is heavily endemic for HTLV-I infection. Salivary IgA class antibodies to HTLV-I were common among HTLV-I seropositive patients with SS. This study was undertaken to elucidate the pathogenesis of ...

Chronic large granular lymphocytosis is a relatively common condition and comprises a clinically heterogenous group of patients. Phenotypically these can be divided into CD3+ (T cell) and CD3-(NK cell) expansions. They are characterized by a benign clinical course and a mild lymphocytosis, though a specific subgroup have a history of ...