Evaluation of allergy and eosinophilia level in peripheral blood of patients with cardiovascular diseases

Background: cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of deaths in Iran and other developing countries. The risk factors for cardiovascular diseases are divided into two categories; the variable risk factors and the non-variable risk factors. Many recent studies evaluated the relationship between higher eosinophilia and allergy levels with the incidence, progress and severity of cardiovascular diseases, but the exact correlation between these two still remains unknown. The current study was designed to assess the relationship between allergic responses and eosinophilia amongst patients with cardiovascular diseases in Ilam province, in comparison with healthy individuals

Materials and Methods: in this case-control study, we enrolled 59 cardiovascular patients and 55 healthy individuals without any history of allergy and parasitic infections. A questionnaire including questions about demographic data, family history of heart disease, history of diabetes, hyperlipidemia, physical activity, smoking, stress, dietary fat consumption, salt intake, allergies to certain substances, history of parasitic disease and history of hypertension was completed. The blood was taken from each participant and CBC and IgE titer were measured

Results: there was a significant relationship for the variables such as the family history of cardiovascular disease [P<0.001], diabetes [P<0.003], hyperlipidemia [P<0.0001], high blood pressure [P<0.0001] and physical activity [P<0.0001] between the case and the control groups. The mean IgE titer in case group was 95.3+/-71 and 62.44+/-49 in control group. The mean eosinophilia level in peripheral blood was 3.95+/-1.057 in case and 1.53+/-0.57 in control group. The difference between the IgE and eosinophilia levels in the case and the control groups was statistically significant [P<0.0001]

Conclusion: based on our results, it can be concluded the increase in levels of IgE and eosinophilia can be considered by cardiologists as a reliable diagnostic tool for predicting cardiovascular diseases

Antibody profiling for the prognosis and diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in patients, compared with healthy subjects

Background: multiple sclerosis is considered as an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that is the main cause of disability in young adults around the world. The purpose of this study was to determine changes in antibodies in the prognosis of multiple sclerosis, and the use of antibody against aquaporin 4 for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis

Materials and Methods: in this case - control study, 21 patients with a definite diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and 21 healthy subjects were selected as the study population. Blood and urine samples were collected, and nephelometry technique was used to assess the presence or absence of IgG, IgM and IgA in serum and urine samples. ELISA method for measuring of antibodies against aquaporin 4 was used

Results: there was no major difference in the mean of the total IgM in the case and control groups, but the mean IgA and IgG levels in the control group were evidently higher than in the case group. It was releaved that IgA, RBC and Hb mean differences between the two groups are statistically significant. Parallel with an increase in IgG, the probability of disease exacerbation was increased by 0.22, whereas with increasing ages, the probability of disease exacerbation was 15.0. There was also a positive and significant relationship between the average level of antibodies, IgG and IgM with the degree of illness However, the relationship between the mean serum IgA level and the degree of illness was inverse. It also became clear that antibodies against AQP-4 in serum and urine of patients with different degrees of illness showed no significant difference. The difference between the mean of antibodies against AQP in the serum of patients with mild and moderate MS was 54.1, but in mild and severe MS it was 53.3

Conclusion: the findings of this research suggest that serum antibody levels are directly related to the disease levels and can be used as a prognostic factor. Accordingly, it appears that the use of antibodies against aquaporin-4 in serum and urine for the diagnosis of this disease can be considered as a reliable approach

Comparison of 16S rDNA-PCR amplification and culture of cerebrospinal fluid for diagnosis of bacterial meningitis

Early and accurate diagnosis of bacterial meningitis is of critical concern. Optimum and rapid laboratory facilities are not routinely available for detecting the etiologic agents of meningitis. The objective of this study was to compare polymerase chain reaction [PCR] assay with culture for detection of bacteria in central nervous system [CNS] samples from patients suspected to have meningitis. One-hundred CSF samples were obtained and divided into two parts. One part of samples was used for standard bacterial culture and gram staining. The remaining was used for DNA extraction. PCR assay was performed with universal primers for 16S rDNA gene of bacteria. Performance characteristics of the test were determined. The PCR method was able to detect bacteria in all 36 culture-positive and in 38 of 64 culture-negative cases showing sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 40.6% respectively. Positive predictive value was 48.6% and negative predictive value 100%, however, Kappa coefficient showed the correlation of the 2 methods to be at 0.33. There are advantages and disadvantages in performance characteristics of the conventional CSF culture and universal CSF 16S rDNA PCR. Therefore, it is recommended to use both methods in clinical practice, particularly in suspicious contaminated samples, with presumable presence of fastidious or slow growing bacteria because of antibiotic consumption

[Comparison of 16S rDNA-PCR amplification and culture of cerebrospinal fluid for diagnosis of bacterial meningitis]

Early and accurate diagnosis of bacterial meningitis is critical concern. Optimum and rapid laboratory facilities are not routinely available for detecting the etiologic agents of meningitis. The objective of this study was the comparison of polymerase chain reaction [PCR] assay with culture, for the detection of bacteria in CSF samples from patients suspected of meningitis in Hospitals of Qazvin. 100 CSF samples were obtained and divided in two parts. One part of samples was used for standard bacterial culture and gram staining. The remaining was used for DNA extraction. A PCR assay was performed with universal primers for 16S rDNA gene of bacteria. Performance characteristics of the test were determined. The PCR method was able to detect bacteria in 36 cultures [..] positive and in 38 of 64 cultures were negative cases, showing sensitivity, Specificity of 100% and 40.6% respectively. Positive predictive value [PPV] was 48.6% and its negative predictive value [NPV] was 100%, however, Kappa coefficient showed the correlation of 2 methods to be at 0.33. There are advantages and disadvantages in performance characteristics of the conventional CSF culture and universal CSF 16S rDNA PCR. Therefore, it is recommended to use both methods in clinical practices, particularly in suspicious contaminated samples, with presumable presence of fastidious or slow growing bacteria and antibiotic consumption