[Comparative analysis of methods of diagnosis of chlamydia infection]. / Sravnitel'nyi analiz metodov diagnostiki khlamidioza.

In case of a correct sampling, the diagnostic value of optic and electron microscopy for detecting Chlamydia infection is not inferior to that of direct microimmunofluorescence (DMIF) and higher than that of enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Optic microscopy showed that basal vaginal epithelium and buccal mucosa can be infected with Chlamydia. Provazek bodies were detected in the buccal mucosa of the overwhelming majority of patients with genital chlamydiasis. These results were confirmed by DMIF and EIA. Since none of the diagnostic methods is 100% reliable, we recommend using two methods: inexpensive optic microscopy and polymerase chain reaction or DMIF.

[Development of a two-site immunoassay using polyclonal antibodies for determination of lactoferrin in human blood]. / Razrabotka dvukhsaitnogo immunoanaliza s ispol'zovaniem poliklonal'nykh antitel dlia opredeleniia laktoferrina v syvorotke krovi cheloveka.

The two-site enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for lactoferrin using polyclonal antibodies to spatially distant epitopes has been developed. The assay sensitivity defined as minimal detectable lactoferrin concentration for p = 0.05 is 0.5 ng/ml. Accuracy of the assay (variance coefficient) is 7% within the clinical range of antigen concentrations. Human albumin, hemoglobin, and transferrin in concentrations up to 5 mg/ml practically do not interfere with the measurement. Sera of healthy donors and viral hepatitis patients were investigated using the two-site ELISA. The lactoferrin content in 44 donors' sera was 130 +/- 40 ng/ml (medium +/- standard deviation). A study of the serum specimens of 95 patients with hepatitis A, B, and C showed significant increase in serum lactoferrin concentration: 850 +/- 420, 780 +/- 580, and 680 +/- 500 ng/ml respectively. The assay showed good characteristics and may be recommended for lactoferrin measurement in patients' sera.

[The seroepidemiology of toxocariasis in an opisthorchiasis focus in the western Siberian region]. / Seroepidemiologiia toksokaroza v ochage opistorkhoza zapadno-sibirskogo regiona.

Seroprevalence to Toxocara antigens was studied among Novosibirsk inhabitants and a focus of toxocariasis was found in the southern regions of west Siberia. Analyzing the sera of opisthorchiasis patients revealed antibodies to Toxocara antigens, with high titers (1:800 or more) in 1.80% of cases. Immunoblotting of these sera and those from patients with toxocariasis and opisthorchiasis, which were seropositive in one of the above helminths showed that there were mixed human infections with Toxocara and Opisthorchis in this area.