Assessment of the functional capacity for intracellular dearth and phagocytosis of polymorphonuclear cells in healthy neonates

The objective of this study was to assess the functional capacity for intracellular death (ID) and/or phagocytic index (PI) of polymorphonuclear cells of 24-h-old healthy newborns with respect to the PMN cells of adults using the same standard exogenous source of opsonins. The ID and PI techniques were standardized and 2-3 ml of blood were used. No differences were found in the percentages of ID, P, PI among the PMNs of the newborns and those of the adults: 43.95 ñ 15.70 vs. 44.56 ñ 8.43 for ID; 38.96 ñ 14.34 vs. 39.00 ñ 14.54 for P; 1.71 ñ 0.54 vs. 1.73 0.45 for PI, respectively. It was concluded that the PMNs of 24-h newborns have an ID, P, PI functionality comparable to adult PMNs; differences observed in PMN function in newborns may be due to humoral deficiencies (opsonins)

Infection of pregnant women with hepatitis B and C viruses and risks for vertical transmission

Pregnant women infected with hepatitis B and C viruses pose a risk for infecting their newborn infants by vertical transmission. We studied 6,253 pregnant women aged 12-49 years for infection with hepatitis b (HBV) and C (HCV) viruses. Infection was diagnosed by measuring IgC antibodies against HBC, HBs, HBe, as well as IgM-HBc and HCV viral antigens with commercially avalible immunoassay kits. HBV infection was detected in 113 cases (1.8 percent), and prevalence was signficantly higher (2.4 percent) in a group of women with a high-risk pregnancy who were attending a perinatology hospital than in healthy pregnant women (1.67 percent, p<0.05). Infection with HBV was significantly higher in women older than 30 years old (p<0.05). HBsAg was found in blood, colostrum and vaginal exudate of two pregnant women; HBsAg was detected in the gastric aspirate but not in the blood of the two newborn infants. HBeAg and IgM-HBc were not detected in any of the smples. DNA-HBV was detected in serum of seven women, and DNA-HBV was detected in the gastric aspiratwe of only one of the newborns. HCV infection was diagnosed in three out of 111 women with markers for HBV infection (2.7 percent), and in 6 out of 1,000 women without these markers (0.6 percent). Anti-HCV antibodies were found in the serum of six of their infants during up to six months of age. Infants were monitored for one year and none of them developed any sign of hepatic disease. These results ksuggest that special attention should be paid to women older than 30 years and with a high-risk pregnanacy, as they are at a higher risk of HBV and HCB infections

Aplicación de la nefelometría laser en inmunología y microbiología / Laser nefelometry immunology and microbiology

Objetivo: evaluar la utilidad de la nefelometría láser en los estudios inmunológicos y microbiológicos. Material y métodos: se realizaron cuantificaciones de diversas proteínas plasmáticas: IgG, IgA, IgM, C3 y C4 por nefelometría laser utilizando como controles los estándares proporcionados por una casa comercial. Para su análisis los datos se transformaron a escalas logarítmicas y se calcularon ecuaciones de regresión lineal. Para la evaluación microbiológica se realizaron concentraciones bacterianas decimales hasta 10 a la 6 de E. coli en caldo de Hinto-Muller. Todas las concentraciones se leyeron cada 5 o 10 minuto durante 70 minutos para determinar la cinética de crecimiento. También se midió inhibición de amikacina sobre E. coli. Resultados: las ecuaciones calculadas empíricamente mostraron una buena reproducibilidad y una vigencia aproximada de seis meses para las proteínas plasmáticas. Así mismo la nefelometría mostró que permite realizar un cálculo rápido de la concentración mínima inhibitoria de crecimiento bacteriano

Prevalencia de marcadores serológicos para los virus B y C de la hepatitis en una cohorte de mujeres embarazadas del Valle de México / Prevalence of serologic markers for virus B and C hepatitis in a cohort of pregnant women from the valley of Mexico

Introducción. Una de las vías de trasmisión de los virus B (HVB) y C (HVC) de la hepatitis es la vertical o perinatal a través de una madre portadora de estos agentes. Material y métodos. En este estudio se investigaron por ELISA marcadores serológicos para HVB y HVC en 6254 gestantes sanas del Valle de México, con edades de 12 a 54 años. Resultados. Se detectó infección previa por HVB (anti-HBc+) en 114 casos (1.82 por ciento), con una P= 0.01 (1.35 vs 2.50 por ciento) entre gestantes de Ciudad Netzahualcóyotl y las del Intituto Nacional de Perinatología. De 6254 muestras, 0.03 por ciento (dos casos) fueron portadores de HVB (HBsAg+). Encontramos 2.7 por ciento (tres casos) positivos para anti HVC en 111 gestantes positivas para anti-HBc. Solamente seis casos (0.6 por ciento de 1000 embarazadas negativas para HVB presentaron anticuerpos contra HVC. Conclusiones. Se observó transmisión transplacentaria de anticuerpos contra virus B o C sin evidencia de infección en nueve de diez recién nacidos estudiados. La transmisión vertical o perinatal no es el principal mecanismo de diseminación de HVB y/o HVC en los grupos familiares analizados