[Evaluation of gamma-interferon in diagnosis of tuberculosis pleurisy]

Differential diagnosis between Tuberculosis pleurisy and Non Tuberculoses pleural effusion can be sometimes difficult and needs invasive diagnostic methods. In recent years, several biological markers have been found to be diagnostic markers of Tuberculosis pleurisy. The aim of this study was assessment of the value of Gamma-Interferon in the diagnosis of TB pleurisy. We studied 70 patients with pleural effusion who had been admitted to Ghaem hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Interferon gamma level was measured by "ELISA' method. The diagnosis of tuberculosis was based on microbiologic study of pleural fluid plus pleural biopsy. Altogether Twenty patients had tuberculosis pleurisy [44.44%], 21 patients had malignant pleural effusion [46.67%] and 4 patients had pleural effusion with various non TB non malignant etiologies [8.9%]. The sensitivity, specificity of Gamma-Interferon in TB pleurisy were 60% and 96% respectively. INF gamma is a valuable indicative marker for diagnosis of tuberculosis pleurisies' but we should consider situations with high level of INF gamma without any evidence of TB and also Tuberculosis pleurisy patients with INF gamma level lower than diagnostic threshold

Assessment of the immune system activity in Iranian patients with major depression disorder [MDD]

Major Depression Disorder [MDD] is a common disorder with prevalence of 15% among men and up to 25% among women. In recent years the association of immune system alterations and MDD has been investigated. Assessments of immunologic and inflammatory responses in these patients enhance our knowledge of the etiology and pathogenesis of this disease. To investigate the changes in immunoglobulin and cytokine serum levels and lymphocyte subsets in patients with MDD. We studied 37 adult patients with MDD, diagnosed based on DSM-IV diagnostic criteria, and 15 healthy controls matched with the patients. Plasma concentration of interleukin-4 [IL-4], IL-10, TNF alpha, and IFN gamma were measured by ELISA and serum immunoglobulins by SRID. Total number of NK cells [CD16 and CD56], B cells [CD19], and T cells [CD8, CD4, and CD3] were determined by flow cytometry. We found no significant differences in plasma concentration of IL-4, IL-10, TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, and immunoglobulins as well as total number of NK cells, B cells, and T cells between major depressed patients and healthy control subjects. We conclude that in our patients, there were no significant differences in immune system activity between MDD patients and controls