Use of Research in the Nursing Practice: from Statistical Significance to Clinical Significance / Uso de la investigación en la práctica de enfermería: de la significancia estadística a la significancia clínica / Utilização da pesquisa na prática de enfermagem: da significância estatística à significância clínica

Objective. Within the context of evidence-based practice, this article exposes the reflection on the understanding and usefulness of the information provided by the research findings shared in reports and research publications, exposing differences based on the interpretation of statistical significance and clinical significance. Content synthesis. Basic aspects of the meaning and use of the information reported by research on p value (statistical significance) and the value and usefulness of these results are analyzed and exemplified, contrasting the value for the practice of an additional judgment on clinical significance. In addition to establishing conceptual differences, the need is highlighted for nurses to have the competencies to differentiate and apply each of them according to the clinical contexts of their potential implementation. Conclusion. The real usefulness of research about interventions within the context of nursing care is given by its real application and reach for the practice and benefit for patients. For this to occur, nurses must interpret adequately the information provided by scientific publications and other research reports.

Objetivo. En el contexto de una práctica basada en evidencia, este artículo expone la reflexión sobre la comprensión y utilidad de la información que proveen los hallazgos de investigación reportados en informes y publicaciones de investigación, exponiendo las diferencias a partir de la interpretación de la significancia estadística y significancia clínica. Síntesis del contenido. Se analizan y ejemplifican aspectos básicos sobre el significado y uso de la información que reportan las investigaciones sobre valor p (significancia estadística) y el valor y utilidad de estos resultados contrastando el valor para la práctica de un juicio adicional sobre significancia clínica. Además de establecer diferencias conceptuales, se resalta la necesidad de que las enfermeras tengan las competencias para diferenciar y aplicar cada uno de ellos según los contextos clínicos de su potencial implementación. Conclusión. La real utilidad de la investigación sobre intervenciones en el contexto del cuidado de enfermería está dada por su real aplicación y alcance para la práctica y el beneficio para los pacientes. Para que ello ocurra, las enfermeras deben interpretar adecuadamente la información que proveen las publicaciones científicas y otros reportes de investigación.

Objetivo. No contexto de uma prática baseada em evidências, este artigo apresenta a reflexão sobre a compreensão e utilidade da informação fornecida pelos resultados da investigação relatados em relatórios de investigação e publicações, expondo as diferenças com base na interpretação da significância estatística e da significância clínica. Síntese de conteúdo. Aspectos básicos sobre o significado e uso das informações relatadas pelas pesquisas sobre valor p (significância estatística) e o valor e utilidade desses resultados são analisados e exemplificados, contrastando o valor para a prática de um julgamento adicional sobre significância clínica. Além de estabelecer diferenças conceituais, destaca-se a necessidade de o enfermeiro ter competências para diferenciar e aplicar cada uma delas de acordo com os contextos clínicos de seu potencial implementação. Conclusão. A real utilidade da investigação sobre intervenções no contexto dos cuidados de enfermagem é dada pela sua real aplicação e âmbito de prática e benefício para os pacientes. Para que isso ocorra, os enfermeiros devem interpretar adequadamente as informações fornecidas pelas publicações científicas e outros relatórios de pesquisa.

Systemic investigations in dry eye disease

The incidence of dry eye disease has increased manifold in the past few years with more patients presenting with these complaints to our clinics every day. In the more severe forms of disease, it is important to evaluate for any systemic association which could be driving the disease such as in Sjogren’s syndrome. Understanding the possible varied etiopathogenesis and knowing when to evaluate, form an important part of treating this condition effectively. In addition, it is sometimes confusing as to which investigations to order and how to prognosticate the disease in these situations. This article simplifies this into an algorithmic approach with insights from the ocular and systemic point of view

Assessment of renal function in chronic hepatitis C patients / Монголын Анагаах Ухаан

Background@#The association between hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and chronic kidney disease (CKD) still remains controversial. We aimed to investigate whether HCV really affects renal function, and to analyze the association between clinical effects of CHC and decreased kidney function (assessed by glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) level).@*Aim@#Study of renal dysfunction in chronic hepatitis C virus infection@*Materials and Methods@#An estimated 222 patients with HCV infection and 222 age- and sex-matched community-based control individuals without HCV were enrolled (1:1, case and control ratio) in this study between from June 2022 to March 2023. We used the modification of diet in renal diseases to calculate eGFR. This study was approved by the review board of the Ethics Subcommittee of Ach Medical University and followed the Declaration of Helsinki. All statistical analysis was performed with SPSS version 26.0 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA), and a P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Continuous variebles were presented as mean ± standard deviation, while categorical data was represented as numbers and percentages. Independent t-tests were used to compare the differences in parametric variables. The Mann-Whitney U test was performed to compare the follow-up period. Pearson’s chi-squared and Fisher’s exact tests were used to compare categorical variables. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the risk factors associated with recurrence. @*Results@#The median age of the respondents was 40 (range 21-70). In the case group, the speed of hanging judgment was 105.3±24.5, and in the control group, it was 118.7±18.5, which was a statistically significant difference (p<0.05, p<0.05). It was observed that the rate of filtration of the renal is below 90 or the loss of renal function increases with age (47.50±9.3 vs 40.21±11.1; p<0.01). In order to reduce the effect of age, when evaluating the renal function of participants over 45 years of age in the case-control group, the HCV was 99.69 in the case group and 111.05 in the control group, although there was an age effect on the decline in HCV in both groups, but it decreased more in the HCV-infected group. When comparing two groups (<3.25, >3.25) with liver fibrosis degree above and below 3.25, the higher degree of fibrosis affects the decrease in the rate of hepatic filtration (112.92±19.8 vs 105.23±27.1; p<0.01). The proportion of cryoglobulinemia was high when renal dysfunction was beginning or when the GFR was below 90 (<90). Logistic regression analysis showed that cryoglobulinemia had the greatest influence on the decrease in glomerular filtration rate (OR 4.22, 95% CI 1.97-9.00, p<0.05). The relationship between age and the decline in hanging judgment speed was statistically significant and directly moderate (r=0.95, p=0.009). On the other hand, there is a statistical relationship between gender and the decrease in the speed of hanging judgment, with a probable and weak correlation (r=0.07, p=0.01).@*Conclusion@#Our study found that the patients with HCV infection are associated with a low eGFR compared with non-HCV–infected patients. This association is consistent in age, gender, cryoglobulinemia and liver fibrosis patients.

Biochemical relationship between leiomyosarcoma and peroxiredoxin-6 expression level: Clinical implications

Uterine leiomyosarcomas are tumors with a heterogeneous genetic profiles that respond very poorly to cytotoxic chemotherapy with aggressive progression. We aimed to show the status of peroxiredoxin 6 as a biomarker in leiomyosarcoma progression.Study included 12 patients diagnosed with "leiomyosarcoma" and 13 patients diagnosed with "myoma" (as control) after histopathological examinations of clinical samples. Peroxiredoxin-6 gene expression and protein levels were evaluated on the tumor preparations (blocks) utilizing ELISA and PCR methods.Peroxiredoxin-6 protein was mainly localized in the cytoplasm of leiomyosarcoma cells, and the expression of peroxiredoxin-6 was significantly increased in cancerous tissues compared to normal myoma tissues (3.33±1.7 vs. 2.03±1.07fold change; P= 0.031). Peroxiredoxin-6 tissue protein levels were also significantly higher in leiomyosarcoma cases (100.54±66.86 vs. 183.72±64.54 pg/µg protein; P= 0.005). Our findings demonstrate that peroxiredoxin-6 plays a vital role in the emergence and development of leiomyosarcoma and that peroxiredoxin-6 level assessments can be used as a biomarker in guiding better prognosis andtreatment plans while managing leiomyosarcoma.

Associated factors to lower renal glomerular filtration rate in chronic hepatitis C patients / Монголын Анагаах Ухаан

Introduction@#Studies have shown that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection not only causes hepatitis, but also pathological changes in other organ systems. Therefore, it is necessary to study the relationship between chronic HCV and chronic kidney disease.@*Objective @#To determine the factors influencing renal glomerular function in chronic hepatitis C patients@*Materials and methods@#Patients with chronic hepatitis C virus were referred to Third Central Hospital, Tegsh Huslen Medical Center, two regional 2020 from August to October. Data on morbidity of patients with chronic hepatitis C were analyzed. The results were processed using SPSS-23 software. Statistical probabilities were determined by checking whether there were statistically significant differences between the groups, using logistic regression analysis and chi-square methods.@*Results @#There were 54 (46.9%) individuals whose renal glomerular filtration rate was reduced to less than 90 ml/min. In a linear regression analysis, a decrease in renal glomerular filtration rate with age was a significant correlation. Renal glomerular filtration rate is decreased in 37% patients by age-related manner (r2 = 0.37). To determine other causes, no significant correlations were observed when grouped by diabetes, cirrhosis, BMI, and hepatic steatosis (p>0.005). The older age of the patient and the high blood pressure were at 6.4 times higher risk to decrease the glomerular filtration rate in patients with chronic hepatitis C (OR 6.4 (95% CI 1.3-31.4), p=0.021) than the patients who have young age and normal blood pressure by multiple logistic regression analysis.@*Conclusion@#The age of the patient and high blood pressure are contributing factors to the decline in the incidence of low glomerular filtration rate in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Recent advances of long noncoding RNAs involved in the development of multiple sclerosis / 中国天然药物

Given the rapid increase of patients with autoimmune diseases and the lack of satisfactory therapies, the discovery of novel and effective therapeutic targets have been in an urgent demand. Recent studies have revealed that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play crucial roles in the development of multiple sclerosis (MS), which provides a new opportunity of uncovering novel mechanism associated with the progression of MS. This review highlights the dysregulation of lncRNAs in the development of MS in patients and animal models. Additionally, the potential clinical relevance of lncRNAs severed as therapeutic targets and diagnostic markers are discussed.

Mutation screening of CTRC gene and related clinical study in Han population of Sichuan / 医学研究生学报

ObjectiveChronic pancreatitis (CP) is an irreversible pancreatic parenchymal disease with complicated etiology. Chymotrypsin C (CTRC) gene variation may be related to CP occurrence. The article analyzed the mutation of CTRC gene in Han population with CP in Sichuan, and discussed its clinical relevance.MethodsPeripheral blood samples were collected from 106 patients with CP and 148 healthy controls and DNA was extracted for whole exon sequencing of CTRC gene and analysis of clinical correlation.ResultsOne case of c.611G>A heterozygous missense mutation and three cases of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) site variation were found which included one new SNP c.40+133G>A and two known SNPs: rs6679763 and rs555015. The variation of c.40 +133G> A and rs6679763 showed a significant difference between case group and control group (P=0.029, P=0.011). Clinical baseline data showed significant differences between two groups on smoking (P=0.042), biliary disease (P=0.013), and blood glucose(P=0.017). When the confounding factors were eliminated, we found that smoking and rs6679763 variant site were significantly associated with CP risk (OR=2.817, 95%CI: 1.016-7.811, P=0.047;OR = 4.893, 95%CI: 1.152-20.781, P=0.031, respectively). There was no multiplicative interaction between gene mutation and environment or clinical data.ConclusionSmoking, biliary disease, blood glucose, c.611G>A mutation, rs6679763 and c.40+133G>A variation may be related to the occurrence of CP. Smoking and rs6679763 locus variation are independent risk factors for CP, and the CTRC gene SNP locus rs6679763 and c.40+133G>A and the point mutation site c.611G>A are predisposing loci in Chinese Han population of Sichuan province.

Clinical significance of nontuberculous mycobacteria isolated from respiratory specimens / 中华传染病杂志

Objective@#To determine the clinical significance of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) isolated from respiratory specimens. @*Methods@#Clinical data of patients with NTM strains isolated from the respiratory tract between January 2014 and February 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical significance of NTM isolated strains was evaluated based on diagnostic criteria of NTM pulmonary diseases from American Thoracic Society (ATS). Quantitative data of two groups were analyzed by independent t test. Categorical data were analyzed by Pearson χ2 test or Fisher exact test. @*Results@#Totally 352 NTM strains from 257 patients had been isolated between January 2014 and February 2017. Among 15 identified NTM species, M. intracellular (51.7%, 182/352), M. abscessus (25.6%, 90/352), and M. avium (10.8%, 38/352) were predominant. Of the 157 patients with full clinical data involved in the analysis, 58 (36.9%) patients were determined to have definite disease, and 34 patients (21.7%) were designated as probable disease candidates, and 16 (10.2%) patients were regarded as uncertain disease, and 49(31.2%) patients were diagnosed as unlikely disease. The age of 58 patients with definite disease was (63.9±12.7) years, and 48.3% (28/58) were female. M. intracellulare (55.2%, 32/58) was the main cause of pulmonary NTM disease, followed by M. abscessus (25.9%, 15/58) and M. avium (12.1%, 7/58), while other NTM species only accounted for 6.8% (4/58). Definite cases with M. intracellulare, M. abscessus, M. avium, M. kansasii, M. marseillense, and M. columbia accounted for 35.2% (32/91), 57.7% (15/26), 7/15, 2/3, 1/3 and 1/2, respectively, among patients with corresponding isolations, while patients with other species of isolation did not meet the diagnostic criteria. Patients with clinical significant isolation of NTM were older than those without clinical significance (χ2=3.603, P=0.000), and proportion of anti-acid staining positivity of patients with clinical significance was higher than that of patients without clinical significance (χ2=18.815, P=0.000). The proportion of M. abscessus in patients with clinical significance was higher than that in patients without clinical significance (χ2=6.313, P=0.012). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the isolation of M. Gordon (Fisher exact test, P=0.028). The proportion of M. abscessus lung disease in women was 11/15, which was higher than that of M. intracellulare lung disease (41.5%, 17/41), and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (χ2=4.462, P=0.035). There was no significant difference of clinical symptoms and underlying diseases in NTM lung disease among different groups (all P>0.05). In these patients with definite disease, 39.7% (23/58) of them manifested the upper lobe cavitary form, 53.4% (31/58) exhibited nodular bronchiectatic form, and only 6.9% (4/58) exhibited unclassified form. The upper lobe cavitary form (43.8%, 14/32) and the nodular bronchiectatic form (53.1%, 17/32) dominated in patients with M. intracellulare lung disease. M. abscessus lung disease was dominated by the nodular bronchiectatic form (11/15) while the upper lobe cavitary form only accounts for 3/15. There was no significant difference of image characteristics between NTM lung disease and other different groups (all P>0.05). @*Conclusions@#36.9% of the patients with NTM isolates met the ATS diagnostic criteria for NTM lung disease. Different species have different clinical significance. M. intracellulare and M. abscessus are the most predominant NTM isolated species that cause NTM lung disease. Majority of patients manifest as the upper lobe cavitary form, followed by the nodular bronchiectatic form.

Clinical and Neurobiological Relevance of Current Animal Models of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social and communication impairments, as well as repetitive and restrictive behaviors. The phenotypic heterogeneity of ASD has made it overwhelmingly difficult to determine the exact etiology and pathophysiology underlying the core symptoms, which are often accompanied by comorbidities such as hyperactivity, seizures, and sensorimotor abnormalities. To our benefit, the advent of animal models has allowed us to assess and test diverse risk factors of ASD, both genetic and environmental, and measure their contribution to the manifestation of autistic symptoms. At a broader scale, rodent models have helped consolidate molecular pathways and unify the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying each one of the various etiologies. This approach will potentially enable the stratification of ASD into clinical, molecular, and neurophenotypic subgroups, further proving their translational utility. It is henceforth paramount to establish a common ground of mechanistic theories from complementing results in preclinical research. In this review, we cluster the ASD animal models into lesion and genetic models and further classify them based on the corresponding environmental, epigenetic and genetic factors. Finally, we summarize the symptoms and neuropathological highlights for each model and make critical comparisons that elucidate their clinical and neurobiological relevance.

Atresia pulmonar con septum interventricular intacto, relevancia clínica del tratamiento paliativo aplicado en nuestro medio / Pulmonary atresia with intact interventricular septum- the clinical relevance of the palliative treatment in our context

Introducción: la atresia pulmonar con septum interventricular intacto es una cardiopatía congénita poseedora de complejidad a la hora de tomar decisiones terapéuticas ante cada paciente; por esa razón el enfrentamiento exitoso de la entidad constituye una asignatura pendiente para la Cardiología Pediátrica. Objetivo: determinar el grado de relevancia clínica existente en las modalidades terapéuticas paliativas aplicadas ante la enfermedad en nuestro medio. Métodos: se evaluaron 43 niños con diagnóstico confirmado de la entidad remitidos al Cardiocentro Pediátrico William Soler, y sometidos a tratamiento paliativo inicial en el período comprendido entre enero de 1992 y noviembre de 2011. Para determinar la relevancia clínica del proceder aplicado se llevó a cabo un estudio de efectividad que comprendió el análisis de la incidencia/prevalencia de eventos bien definidos (mortalidad precoz y presencia de causa letal principal) en cada variante de tratamiento impuesta. Resultados: la realización de fístula quirúrgica asociada a atrioseptostomía revistió altos índices de relevancia clínica. Conclusiones: se documentó escasa incidencia/prevalencia de mortalidad precoz y reducida ocurrencia de insuficiencia respiratoria como complicación letal al ser aplicado este proceder híbrido, en comparación al resto de las modalidades terapéuticas estudiadas

Introduction: pulmonary atresia with intact interventricular septum is a complex congenital cardiopathy at the time of making therapeutic decisions in each case; this is the reason why the successful management of this disease is a problem to be solved by the pediatric cardiology. Objective: to determine the existing level of clinical relevance of palliative therapies applied in our context. Methods: evaluation of 43 children with confirmed diagnosis of the disease, who had been referred to William Soler pediatric cardiological center and had undergone initial palliative treatment in the period of January 1992 through November, 2011. With the objective of determining the clinical relevance of this procedure, an effectiveness study including the analysis of incidence/prevalence of well-defined events (early mortality and main lethality causes) in each therapeutic variant used in patients was conducted. Results: performance of surgical fistula associated with atrioseptostomy showed high indexes of clinical relevance. Conclusions: there were low incidences and prevalence indexes of early mortality and also reduced occurrence of respiratory failures as lethal complication from this combined procedure, compared with the rest of the therapeutic modalities under study

Neuronal Apoptosis Inhibitory Protein is Overexpressed in Patients with Unfavorable Prognostic Factors in Breast Cancer

Neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP) is a recently identified inhibitor of apoptosis protein. However, the clinical relevance of NAIP expression is not completely understood. In an attempt to determine the clinical relevance of NAIP expression in breast cancer, the levels of NAIP and survivin expression were measured in 117 breast cancer samples and 10 normal breast tissues using quantitative reversetranscriptase-polymerase chain reaction. While there was no evidence of NAIP expression in the normal breast tissue, NAIP was expressed in all breast cancer samples. The level of NAIP expression in breast cancer was significantly higher (257 times) than in the universal tumor control. There was a strong correlation between the level of NAIP expression and the level of survivin expression (p=0.001). The level of NAIP expression in patients with a large tumor (> or =T2) and patients with an unfavorable histology (nuclear grade III) was significantly higher than in those patients with a small tumor (T1) and patients with a favorable histology (nuclear grade I, II) (p=0.026 and p=0.050, respectively). Although the level of NAIP expression was higher in patients with other unfavorable prognostic factors, it was not significant. The three-year relapse-free survival rate was not significantly the patients showing high NAIP expression and patients showing low NAIP expression (86.47+/-4.79% vs. 78.74+/-6.57%). Further studies should include the expressions of NAIP in a larger number of patients and for a longer period of follow-up to evaluate correlation with metastasis and treatment outcome. In conclusion, NAIP is overexpressed in breast cancer patients with unfavorable clinical features such as stage and tumor size, suggesting that NAIP would play a role in the disease manifestation.

Phospholipase A2 in Herniated Lumbar Discs: Its Relevance to Pain / 대한척추외과학회지

STUDY DESIGN: A prospective study. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether phospholipase A2(PLA2) activity in herniated lumbar disc is correlated with clinical, radiographic and anatomic signs of the patients with herniated nucleus pulposus. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: Several studies have suggested inflammation around nerve root as a mechanism of sciatica and PLA2 emerges as a key enzyme of the inflammation. However, consensus about association between PLA2 and sciatica has been lacking. In addition, there has been no report that investigated the relationship between cytosolic and membrane PLA2 in herniated disc and patient's symptoms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Human intervertebral disc materials were obtained from 33 patients who underwent discectomy for HNP. The information was noted about smoking history, medication of NSAID, symptom duration, pain score on a visual analog scale(VAS), positive angle of straight leg raising test (SLR), neurologic deficits, Thompson grade of herniated disc, volume of herniation shown by the MRI and type of herniation based on the operative record. These data were matched to the PLA2 a ctivity in herniated disc measured using Western blotting analysis. PLA2 activity was expressed as the relative percentage compared to that of a 33-year-old female disc obtained during an operation for spinal fracture. The analysis was carried out using Mann-Whitney test, Pearson correlation analysis, simple linear regression analysis. A value of p<0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Cytosolic and membrane PLA2 activity showed no statistical relationship to clinical, radiographic and anatomic characteristics of herniated disc. However, membrane PLA2(active form) activity was correlated with the pain score on VAS(p=0.013, r=0.481), while cytosolic PLA2(latent form) showed no statistically significant correlation with the pain score. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that membrane PLA2 activity is correlated with the pain score. It also suggests that selective PLA2 inhibitors could be used for the alternative treatment modality of HNP.

Clinical Usefulness of Primary Broth Cultures / 대한임상미생물학회지

BACKGROUND: Although enriched broth cultures have been recommended as an adjuvant to the direct plating of tissue and body fluid specimens, the cost-effectiveness of broth cultures has been questioned in regard with the clinical significance of "broth only isolates(BOI)". The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of thioglycollate broth(THIO) cultures. METHODS: We reviewed retrospectively results in the culture specimens of body fluids, tissue biopsies, and puses received during the month of July 1997. All specimens were inoculated into THIO in addition to agar plates. We reviewed the medical records of culture-positive patients to determine the clinical significance and relevance of their isolates. Clinically significant isolates were defined as those for which an appropriate antimicrobial therapy was done except one judged as contaminants by clinicians and clinically relevant isolates as the clinically significant one isolated first. RESULT: Of 2,008 specimens, 512(25.4%) from 365 patients grow 561 isolates 464 plate isolates and 97 BOI. Two hundred eighty nine(62.3%) of the 464 isolates from plate cultures were clinically significant, compared to only 12(12.4%) of 97 BOI (P<0.05). Only four (4.1%) BOI were clinically relevant, including one Pseudomonas aerugiosa from ascites. one Klebsiella pneumoniae and two Staphylococcus aureus from tissue specimens. CONCLUSION: A routine use of enriched broth culture rarely recover clinically relevant isolates. Considering the laboratory and medical costs of the recovery of contaminants and clinically irrelevant isolates, the enrichment broth cultures should be used more selectively.

Frequencies of Serum IgA Autoantibodies and IgA-associated Clinical Features in Pemphigus, Bullous Pemphigoid and Epidermolysis Bullosa Acquisita / 대한피부과학회지

BACKGROUND: Pemphigus (P; pemphigus vulgaris, PV; pemphigus foliaceus, PF), bullous pemphigoid (BP) and epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) are autoimmune blistering skin diseases induced by IgG autoantibodies. In some cases of these diseases IgA autoantibodies can be detected at the lesional skin as well as in the sera. OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to examine the frequencies of circulating disease-specific IgA autoantibodies in addition to IgG, in P, BP and EBA; possible clinical relevancies in connection with the presence of IgA autoantibodies in the sera were also reviewed with the patients in each disease. PATIENTS/METHODS: Twenty new patients of the individual diseases who showed positive indirect immunofluorescence findings of IgG were selected. Immunoblotting and multi-step immunostaining were performed ('amplified alkaline phosphatase immunoblot' preparations [Bio-Rad BRL]) with patients' sera using tissue antigens of A431 cell culture-extracts. RESULTS: Among the above 20-patient groups in P, 7 cases (PV 3, PF 4) were positive for serum IgA autoantibodies. In BP and EBA, 4 cases and 16 cases were positive for circulating IgA autoantibodies, respectively. Between the positivity-rate found in each category, patients with EBA showed a significant high positive frequency of 80% as compared with others having P or BP (p>0.045). There were no statistically significant clinical correlations between the serologic findings of IgA-positivities and the clinical expressions of the diseases including mucous membrane involvements in each disease (p>0.3). CONCLUSIONS: The frequency-rates of dual expressions of autoantibodies, IgG and IgA, were relatively lower in patients with P (35%) and BP (20%) than those patients with EBA showing a significant high rate (80%). Clinical relevancies with the presence of serum IgA autoantibodies were not seen in this study, perhaps indicating further immunopathological and clinical evaluations might be necessary to define the role of IgA autoantibodies in each disease.

Clinical significance of the immunological tests in rheumatoid arthritis

Of the many theoretical causes of rheumatoid arthritis(RA), the most widely held theory is the autoimmune mechanism. In order to clarify the clinical significance of the immunological tests in RA, we studied immunoglobulin and complement levels in sera and synovial fluids of 118 RA patients and the following results were obtained. 1) The levels of immunoglobulins were elevated in both serum and synovial fluid and this was more prominent in the seropositive cases than the seronegative ones. 2) The levels of C3 component were decreased in both serum and synovial fluid, while those of C4 were decreased only in synovial fluid. Serum C3 and C4 component levels were more decreased in the seropositive cases than the seronegative ones. 3) The immunoglobulin levels in serum (IgG, IgM and IgA) and synovial fluid (IgG and IgA) and the levels of C3, C4 component in serum were well correlated with the clinical forms of rheumatoid arthritis. 4) The IgA level in serum and IgM level in synovial fluid were more increased in the exacerbated cases than the chronic ones. 5) Serum IgG level was decreased after steroid medication over one month.