Recent trends in management of noctural enuresis

There are many different treatment modalities for nocturnal enuresis options of treatment include behavior modification and Pharmacotherapy. The latter include a scope of drugs like 1-deamino-8-D arginine vasopressin [DDAVP], tricyclic antidepressants anticholinergics and other drugs. Is to study the efficacy of sympathomimetics [e.g. ephedrine] in the treatment of nocturnal enuresis. Two hundred patients selected after complete history, examination, laboratory, radiological and urodynamic study, those patients were given ephedrine HCL according to their age for 2 months and followed for 6 months. Complete dry bed: 172 patients [86%] within the first 2 weeks of treatment and the number increased to reach 189 patients [92%] after 2 months of treatment. Eight patients [4%] complained of relapse after 3 months of stoppage of treatment and the number increased after 6 months of stoppage of treatment to 13 patients [6.5%]. Alpha sympathomimetics [ephedrine HCL] is a cheap, simple, easy, effective and safe method for nocturnal enuresis treatment

Study of lymphocyte phenotyping of peripheral blood in HCV-infected patients and its relation to autoimmunity

Hepatitis C virus [HCV] infection is associated with immune mediated abnormalities and B- cell lymphoproliferation. CD81 was identified as an HCV receptor on B-lymphocytes. The antigen CD19 is associated with CD81 B-cells at different stages of maturation. Expression of CD5 lymphocytes was associated with non- HCV related autoimmune disorders. Therefore we try to evaluate the clinical significance of B-lymphocyte phenotyping of peripheral blood [PB] in HCV- infected patients [age range 10-16 Years] with and without the autoimmune markers rheumatoid factor [RF], antinuclear antibody [ANA], and anti-double stranded DNA [Anti ds DNA], where PBCD5, CD19 and CD81 expression were determined in 20 EDTA blood samples of healthy persons [group I] and 40 blood samples of HCV- infected persons [25 with negative autoimmune markers [group IIa] and 15 with positive autoimmune markers [group IIb]]. Age [10-16 years]. Flow cytometry was used to estimate percentage of antigen expression of CD5, CD19 and CD81 over B-lymphocytes. Indicated that CD5 expression was significantly increased in group IIb than group IIa and group I [28 +/- 3.2%, 25 +/- 4.2% and 13.3 +/- 5.8% respectively p < 0.0001]. The same increase occurs in the mean values for CD19 [group I 3.5 +/- 1.6%, group IIa 14 +/- 2.5% and group IIb 23 +/- 3.1% p< 0.0001], while CD81 mean values were group I 50 +/- 28%, group IIa 78 +/- 16% and group IIb 92 +/- 12%. Increased expression of CD5, CD19 and CD81 on B-lymphocytes in HCV- infected patients with higher values with positive autoimmune markers, suggests the high clinical significance of peripheral blood B-lymphocyte phenotyping as a predictive and diagnostic tool for autoimmune serconversion in HCV-infected patients. Also it can be a prognostic guide for successful treatment or highlight for new antiviral and autoimmune treatment

Study of some cytokines in active and inactive tuberculosis

This study included 10 patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis, 10 patients with inactive disease and 20 healthy individuals as controls. T cell proliferation assay with PPD antigen showed higher stimulation index [SI] in the inactive compared with the active tuberculous patients [9.53 +/- 2.75 vs. 4.61 +/- 1.67, respectively] reflecting the good status of the immune system towards mycobacterial antigen. Gamma interferon [IFN] level [pg/ml] was significantly higher in the inactive than the active tuberculous patients and controls [210.24 +/- 58.57, 79.20 +/- 21.79 and 32.89 +/- 33.58, respectively]. Similar results were shown for IL-2, where its level [pg/ml] in the inactive patients was significantly higher than the active tuberculous patients [234.92 +/- 51.47 vs. 99.26 +/- 19.20, respectively]. On the other hand, IL-10 was significantly higher in the active than the inactive patients [435.23 +/- 78.22 vs. 235.98 +/- 50.74 pg/ml, respectively] indicating a dominant Th2 type response during the course of TB infection. Tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF- alpha] was significantly higher in the active than the inactive tuberculous patients [402.46 +/- 57.44 vs. 188.64 +/- 59.82 pg/ml, respectively]. The tuberculostatic effects of INF-alpha and TNF-alpha in the active stage of the disease were discussed

Some immunological abnormalities in bronchiectatic children

This study was conducted on - twenty patients with bronchiectasis and 20 apparently healthy children. Their ages ranged from 6-12 years. This article examined the immunoglobulins level [IgG, IgM. IgA] alpha-1 antitrypsin and auto-antibodies on 20 bronchiectatic children as well as 20 control Children The studied group showed a significant [P<0.05] higher mean lgG and IgA as compared to the control group. As regard IgM and alpha-1- antitrypsin there was increased mean levels of IgM and alpha-1- antitrypsin among bronchiectatic children but this was statistically insignificant. Auto-antibodies showed highly significant value [P<0.01] when compared to control. There was a positive significant correlation [P<0.05] between alpha-1 - antitrypsin and IgG while this correlation was insignificant [P>0.05] between alpha-1 -antitlypsin and gM as well as alpha-1 antitrypsin and IgA bronchiectatic children