ABSTRACT
Hemodialysis patients were screened and monitored for HBV markers and at renal unit (identification EDTA 13ND) Palermo. Eighty-five patients received the hepatitis B vaccine (Haevac B Pasteur); fifty-three were followed up for more than three years; they received one of the three following schedules: 5 micrograms at 0, 1, 2 and 14 months; 5 micrograms at 0, 1, 2, 3, and 14 or 10 micrograms at 0, 1, 2, and 14 months. The best result was obtained by third schedule with a sero-conversion to anti-HBs of 83% at one month after the booster doses; and with the same percentage of anti-HBs positivity two years after the booster dose. During the study time (January 1984, March 1989) no new HBV events in patients and in the hemodialysis staff, who was also on monitoring, were observed.
Subject(s)
Hepatitis B Vaccines/administration & dosage , Hepatitis B/prevention & control , Renal Dialysis , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Female , Hepatitis B Antibodies/blood , Hepatitis B Core Antigens/immunology , Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/blood , Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/immunology , Hepatitis B virus/immunology , Humans , Immunization Schedule , Male , Middle Aged , Prospective StudiesSubject(s)
Adjuvants, Immunologic , Hepatitis B Vaccines/therapeutic use , Hepatitis B/immunology , Hepatitis B/therapy , Thymopentin/therapeutic use , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Renal DialysisABSTRACT
Anti-islet cell cytoplasm antibodies (ICA) were noted in the serum of insulin-dependent diabetics, but not in subjects with insulin-independent forms. These antibodies seem to represent an immunological marker for two forms of the disease, one in which ICA appears shortly after onset and later disappears, and another ("autoimmune") form in which ICA is detectable for long periods and persists along with other signs of alteration of the immune system.