Evaluation of anti-DS DNA antibodies in anti-nuclear antibody positive Omani patients

To study the correlation between enzyme linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA] and immunofluoresencent [IF] anti-dsDNA antibody measurement in different diseases. One hundred and forty sera from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE, n=40], rheumatoid arthritis [RA, n=30], disease control [n=40] and from healthy control subjects [n=30] were included. Using the ELISA, serum anti-dsDNA was detected in 24/40 [60%] SLE, 5/30 [16.6%] RA, 9/40 [22.5%] disease controls and 1/30 [3.3%] of normal healthy controls. When IF assay was employed, anti-dsDNA antibodies were detected in 16/40 [40%] SLE, 3/30 [10%] RA, 5/40 [12.5%] disease controls but none in the normal subjects. These results suggest that both ELISA and IF techniques can be used for the measurement of anti-dsDNA antibodies in clinical laboratories and, these antibodies are not unique to SLE

Evidence of occult hepatitis B virus infection among omani blood donors: a premliminary study

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg], hepatitis B core antibodies [anti-HBc] and hepatitis B virus [HBV] DNA among a selected group of Omani blood donors. Two hundred HBsAg-negative donors were screened for anti-HBc. Those found to be positive were investigated for HBV DNA by polymerase chain reaction. HBsAg was retested on these sera following an immune complex dissociation technique. HBsAg was present in 2.8% of the donors. Forty-one out of 200 [20.5%] HBsAg-negative donors were positive for anti-HBc. Eleven were positive for HBsAg after dissociation, whereas 8 gave readings just over the cutoff. HBV DNA was not detected in this group. Findings indicate that testing donors for HBsAg alone is not sufficient to eliminate HBV from the blood supply in Oman

Antimitochondrial autoantibodies in Omani patient with liver disease

Anti-mitochondrial autoantibodies [AMA] are important as a diagnostic marker in distinguishing primary biliary cirrhosis [PBC] from other liver problems. We performed a comparative study between enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay [ELISA] and immunofluorscence techniques [IF] for the detection of AMA in 40 Omani patients with liver diseases and 27 normal control subjects. Results showed that AMA in the patient's sera, detected by ELISA or IF, were significantly [p.<0.0001] higher than that found in normal control subjects. A significant difference [P

Comparison of thyroid microsomal and thyroperoxidase antibody levels in sera from Omani patients with thyroid disorders

Recent literatures suggested that using anti-thyroperoxidase is a more sensitive marker of autoimmune thyroid diseases than anti-thyroid microsomal [ATMA]. We compared serum values of thyroperoxidase [TPO] and ATMA in Omani patients with thyroid disorders. Material and Anti-TPO antibodies and ATMA were assayed on sera from 111 Omani patients with thyroid disorders. Sera from patients with systemic Lupus erythematosus [SLE] and 50 healthy normal subjects were also included as control A significant positive correlation was observed between TPO and ATMA antibody levels [r=0.914, p<0.00001]. There was a significant difference [p< 0.001] between the percentages of positive sera for both TPO [72%] and ATMA [64%] in patients with thyroid disorders when compared to those from SLE [15% and17.5%] and normal controls [6% and 8%] respectively. We conclude that there is a positive correlation between the two assays [TPO and ATMA]. Therefore, TPO can be used as a strong indicator for autoimmune thyroid disorders in Omani patients