ABSTRACT
The presence of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) and their specificity to myeloperoxidase, lactoferrin and elastase were studied in 27 patients with thromboangiitis obliterans (Buerger's disease), including nine in mild stage of the disease (group I) and 18 in active or severe stage (group II). Serum samples were investigated for ANCA prevalence by indirect immunofluorescent technique and fixed neutrophil ELISA; the reactivity to myeloperoxidase, lactoferrin and elastase was measured by ELISA. ANCA were found in 55.5% (15/27) of the patients by indirect immunofluorescence and in 59.25% (16/27) by fixed neutrophil ELISA. A highly significant positive association was observed between the values obtained by the two methods. Only six of 15 ANCA-positive sera reacted with myeloperoxidase and four of 15 with lactoferrin. One ANCA-negative serum reacted with elastase. Antimyeloperoxidase, antilactoferrin and antielastase autoantibodies were found only in the severe group. There was statistically significant difference in the frequency of ANCA in sera of patients with thromboangiitis obliterans versus control sera. ANCA were predominantly found in group II (66.7%; 12/18) compared to group I (33.3%; 3/9) and the levels of antimyeloperoxidase, antilactoferrin and antielastase antibodies correlated with disease severity. Therefore, detection of ANCA can be a helpful serological test for the diagnosis of thromboangiitis obliterans.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic/blood , Thromboangiitis Obliterans/immunology , Adult , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Female , Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect , Humans , Lactoferrin/immunology , Male , Middle Aged , Neutrophils/immunology , Pancreatic Elastase/immunology , Peroxidase/immunology , Thromboangiitis Obliterans/bloodSubject(s)
Sympathectomy , Thoracic Nerves/surgery , Adult , Angioedema/surgery , Female , Humans , Male , Raynaud Disease/surgery , RecurrenceABSTRACT
During 1969--1974, 66,000 argasid and ixodid ticks from bird colonies in different parts of the USSR were studied. 247 strains of 8 different viruses were isolated. West Nile, Baku and Caspiy viruses were found from argasid ticks in the Caucasus and Middle Asia whereas ixodid ticks from seabird colonies in the North of the Far East and in the European part of the country yielded Tyuleniy, Zaliv Terpenya, Okhotskiy, Sakhalin and Paramushir viruses. The implications of the findings in the ecology of arboviruses is discussed.
