A case report on catamenial epilepsy / Philippine Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology

A case of a 17-year-old nulligravid with onset of seizure episodes since menarcheis reported. She was diagnosed with Seizure Disorder treated with Phenobarbital and was seizure free for 2 years. Two years prior to consult, seizure recurrences were noted to coincide with menstruation, hence, was diagnosed with Catamenial Epilepsy. Patient was shifted to Lamotrigine but seizure exacerbations were still observed, prompting referral to the Reproductive Medicine service for adjunctive hormonal therapy. Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate was added to the antiepileptic drug which provided seizure control. Adjunctive hormonal therapy proved to be helpful in the management of intractable seizures in this patient.The report aims to give a better understanding of the neuroactive properties of estrogen and progesterone and its role in the development of Catamenial Epilepsy. Gender-related and psychosocial issues in the treatment of Epilepsy in the child-bearing years up to the menopause are also discussed.

Profiles of Entamoeba histolytica-specific immunoglobulins in human sera

OBJECTIVE@#To determine the profiles of anti-Entamoeba histolytica (E. histolytica) IgA, IgG, and IgM in sera of diarrheic and non-diarrheic individuals and partially characterize target antigens.@*METHODS@#Serum samples from thirty diarrheic and thirty non-diarrheic individuals were subjected to IgA, IgG, and IgM profiling through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), flow cytometry, and immunoblot.@*RESULTS@#ELISA titer results showed that both diarrheic and non-diarrheic individuals possess high levels of E. histolytica-specific IgG compared to IgA and IgM. Flow cytometry data showed that diarrheic serum samples had higher mean reaction percentages against E. histolytica cells compared to non-diarrheic samples. Immunoreactive E. histolytica proteins with molecular weights ranging between 7 kDa and 292 kDa were recognized by diarrheic serum IgG, and 170 kDa and 250 kDa by non-diarrheic serum IgG.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Our findings suggest that serum anti-E. histolytica IgG, compared with serum anti-E. histolytica IgA and IgM responses, was generally high in both diarrheic and non-diarrheic sera, indicating a past exposure to the organism both in symptomatic patients as well as in asymptomatic carriers, respectively. In addition, serum IgG from diarrheic and non-diarrheic patients were able to detect immunogenic E. histolytica proteins.