Serological monitoring of a Toxoplasma infection after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation / Monitoramento sorológico de uma infecção toxoplásmica após transplante de células progenitoras hematopoiéticas

We report a primary response to Toxoplasma gondii following a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in a patient with multiple myeloma. The primary response to T. gondii was supported by IgM, IgG and IgA seroconversion. The patient was promptly treated and there were no complications related to toxoplasmosis in the subsequent months.

Esse relato de caso descreve uma resposta primária ao Toxoplasma gondii após transplante de células progenitoras hematopoiéticas em paciente com mieloma múltiplo. A resposta primária para o T. gondii foi evidenciada pela soroconversão observada na resposta de anticorpos IgM, IgG e IgA. O paciente foi prontamente tratado e complicações relacionadas à toxoplasmose não foram observadas nos meses subseqüentes.

Evaluation of an in-house specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) avidity ELISA for distinguishing recent primary from long-term human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection

This article describes the standardization and evaluation of an in-house specific IgG avidity ELISA for distinguishing recent primary from long-term human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. The test was standardized with the commercial kit ETI-CYTOK G Plus (Sorin Biomedica, Italy) using 8 M urea in phosphate-buffered saline to dissociate low-avidity antibodies after the antigen-antibody interaction. The performance of the in-house assay was compared to that of the commercial automated VIDAS CMV IgG avidity test (bioMérieux, France). Forty-nine sera, 24 from patients with a recent primary HCMV infection and 25 from patients with a long-term HCMV infection and a sustained persistence of specific IgM antibodies, were tested. Similar results were obtained with the two avidity methods. All 24 sera from patients with recently acquired infection had avidity indices compatible with acute HCMV infection by the VIDAS method, whereas with the in-house method, one serum sample had an equivocal result. In the 25 sera from patients with long-term infection, identical results were obtained with the two methods, with only one serum sample having an incompatible value. These findings suggest that our in-house avidity test could be a potentially useful tool for the immunodiagnosis of HCMV infection.

A rapid latex agglutination test for the detection of anti-cysticercus antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)

Simple and rapid latex-based diagnostic tests have been used for detecting specific antigens or antibodies in several diseases. In this article, we present the preliminary results obtained with a latex agglutination test (LAT) for diagnosing neurocysticercosis by detection of antibodies in CSF. A total of 43 CSF samples were assayed by the LAT: 19 CSF samples from patients with neurocysticercosis and 24 CSF samples from patients with other neurologic disorders (neurosyphilis, n = 8; neurotoxoplasmosis, n = 3; viral meningitis, n = 4, chronic headache, n = 9). The LAT exhibited 89.5 percent sensitivity and 75 percent specificity. The use of LAT seems to be an additional approach for the screening of neurocysticercosis with advantage of simplicity and rapidity. Further studies could be performed using purified antigens and serum samples

Serological diagnosis of toxoplasmosis: usefulness of IgA detection and IgG avidity determination in a patient with a persistent IgM antibody response to Toxoplasma gondii

No presente trabalho, sao descritos os resultados da deteccao de anticorpos especificos da classe IgA e da determinacao da avidez dos anticorpos IgG em amostras sequenciais de soro de um paciente apresentando niveis significativos de anticorpos IgM anti-Toxoplasma gondii durante sete anos apos o inicio das manifestacoes clinicas da infeccao. Os anticorpos...

IgM and IgA antibody responses in 12 cases of human acquired toxoplasmosis

A persistencia, em alguns individuos, de anticorpos especificos IgM anti-Toxoplasma gondii por varios meses, apos a fase aguda da infeccao, tem complicado a interpretacao dos testes sorologicos para a toxoplasmose. Varios trabalhos tem enfatizado o valor da deteccao de anticorpos especificos IgA anti-T. gondii para o diagnostico da toxoplasmose aguda. No presente trabalho, sao apresentados os resultados da pesquisa de anticorpos especificos das classes IgM e IgA anti-T. gondii em amostras de soros de 12 pacientes, obtidas em diferentes intervalos de tempo, apos o inicio das manifestacoes clinicas da infeccao. Os anticorpos IgM foram detectados pelo teste de imunofluorescencia indireta (IFI)...

Total serum IgE and parasite-specific IgG and IgA antibodies in human strongyloidiasis

Total serum IgE, and Strongyloides-specific IgG and IgA antibodies were studied in 27 patients with parasitologically proven strongyloidiasis. Clinical manifestations in this case series were investigated by a retrospective study of the patient's records. Total serum IgE levels were elevated (greater than 250 IU/ml) in 59 of the patients (mean concentration = 1364 IU/ml). Parasite-specific IgG and IgA antibodies were detected by ELISA in the serum of 23 (85.2) and 21 (77.8) patients, respectively. Elevated serum IgE and clinical manifestations were not useful indexes of the presence of strongyloidiasis. On the other hand, our results support the view that serologic tests, particularly ELISA for detecting Strongyloides-specific IgG antibodies, can be usefully exploited for diagnostic purposes in strongyloidiasis.