Search results for "serology"
showing 10 items of 189 documents
Can the serological status of anti-HBc alone be considered a sentinel marker for detection of occult HBV infection?
2008
Some individuals have “occult” infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV), defined as presence of HBV genome in the serum or liver tissue without HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) in the serum. The aim of this study was to investigate whether serum antibodies against HBV core antigen in isolation (“anti-HBc alone”) are a useful marker of “occult” HBV in patients with or without hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. “Anti-HBc alone” was detected in the sera of 119/6,544 (1.8%) asymptomatic outpatients referred to the diagnostic laboratory for routine testing for viral hepatitis, 62/607 (10.2%) drug users, and 42/195 (21.5%) patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Using three in-house nested-PCR amplifica…
Occult Hepatitis B Infection in the Immigrant Population of Sicily, Italy.
2012
In Italy, about 7 % of the resident population is represented by immigrants originating from geographic regions at high endemicity for hepatitis B virus infection. This study aims to assess the prevalence of occult HBV infection (OBI) including the identification of HBV-genotypes in a population of immigrants serologically negative for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Between May 2006 and May 2010, 339 immigrants were tested for markers of HBV, hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. HBV-DNA was tested by using nested-PCR assays on three different genetic region. HBV-DNA was detected in plasma samples of 11/339 (3.2 %) patients. Most of them had no ser…
Management and treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus infection in HIV positive and negative patients: The EPIB 2008 study
2010
To compare the management and the virological and serological efficacy of treatments for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in HIV positive and negative patients.Two hundred and forty-six HIV positive and 205 HIV negative consecutive patients with past or present CHB, seen in October 2008 in participating departments, were included in a multicenter study. All the data were retrospectively collected from the first visit to October 2008 through a standardized questionnaire.Compared to HIV negative patients, HIV positive patients more often presented positive HBeAg (46.4% vs. 32.8%, p=0.01), HBV genotype A (54.8% vs. 17.1%, p0.0001), co-infection with HCV (12.4% vs. 5.9%, p=0.0002) or HDV (12.6% vs. 2.…
IgM and IgG antibodies to hepatitis C virus in patients with mixed cryoglobulinaemia
1993
SUMMARY To assess the relationship between hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and essential mixed cryoglobulinaemia (EMC), sera from 23 patients with EMC were tested for IgG and IgM antibodies to HCV antigens and for HCV RNA. Quantitative HCV antibody studies were performed on scrum and purified cryoglobulin fractions. HCV antibodies of both IgG and IgM class were found in 22 (96%) patients. Ten of these were also HCV-RNA positives. Higher litres of anti-HCV IgM were present in the 11 patients with evidence of liver damage. Anti-HCV IgG antibodies were shown to be concentrated in the IgG fraction of cryoglobulins in all eight patients studied. These results strongly suggest a role for HCV in…
Complete Epstein-Barr virus seropositivity in a large cohort of patients with early multiple sclerosis
2020
ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence of antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in a large cohort of patients with early multiple sclerosis (MS).MethodsSerum samples were collected from 901 patients with a clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) or early relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) participating in the German National MS cohort, a prospective cohort of patients with early MS with stringent inclusion criteria. Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen (EBNA)-1 and viral capsid antigen (VCA) antibodies were measured in diluted sera by chemiluminescence immunoassays (CLIAs). Sera of EBNA-1 and VCA antibody-negative patients were retested undiluted by an EBV IgG immunoblot. For comparison, we re…
Antibody Response to Meningococcal Polysaccharides A and C in Patients with Complement Defects
1993
Patients with defects of terminal complement components are particularly exposed to the risk of developing neisserial infections and seem to respond poorly to meningococcal capsular polysaccharide (PS) C via natural immunization. The sole meningococcal PSC is. on the other hand, an excellent immunogen in normal people. Considering the great importance of vaccine prophylaxis for the prevention of meningococcal infections in patients with complement defects, it is crucial to study the antibody response to the sole meningococcal PS in these patients. We therefore analysed the levels of anti-PSA and PSC antibodies in the members of four families including patients with homozygous and heterozygo…
Vaccination Against Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) in HIV-1-Infected Patients With Isolated Anti-HBV Core Antibody: The ANRS HB EP03 CISOVAC Prospective Stu…
2016
International audience; Although an isolated anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) core antibody (anti-HBc) serological profile is frequent in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients, data on HBV vaccination in these patients are scarce. A prospective multicenter study was conducted to assess the immunogenicity of HBV vaccination in 54 patients with an isolated anti-HBc profile and undetectable HIV load. They were vaccinated with 1 dose (20 µg) of recombinant HBV vaccine. Those with an anti-HBV surface antibody (anti-HBs) level of 100 mIU/mL 4 weeks after a single recall dose of HBV vaccine should be further vaccinated with a reinforced triple double-dose scheme.
Third-generation hepatitis C virus tests in asymptomatic anti-HCV-positive blood donors
1994
This study evaluated the performance of third-generation anti-HCV assays in blood donors who were positive by second-generation anti-HCV, and assessed any possible relationship between antibody patterns, HCV replication and liver damage. Fifty-two second-generation enzyme immunoassay-positive asymptomatic Italian blood donors were retested for anti-HCV by third-generation enzyme immunoassay and recombinant immunoblot assay (Ortho third-generation enzyme immunoassay, third-generation recombinant immunoblot assay), utilising recombinant C33c and NS5 and synthetic peptide C100 and C22 antigens, and for HCV-RNA by "nested" polymerase chain reaction with 5' region primers. Alanine aminotransfera…
Human subcutaneous dirofilariasis, Russia
2007
We report 14 cases of human subcutaneous dirofilariasis caused by Dirofilaria repens, diagnosed from February 2003 through July 2004, in patients from Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Serologic analysis showed evidence of high risk of exposure to D. repens. Surveillance studies on prevalence and prevention effectiveness of canine infection are needed to control this emerging zoonosis.
Prevalence of Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection in a Cohort of HIV-Positive Patients Resident in Sicily, Italy
2013
Occult hepatitis B virus (OBI) in HIV-infected groups is still debated, as well as the associated risk-factors and clinical significance. In this paper, we examined a total of 405 HBsAg-negative/HIV-infected patients enrolled from January 2007 to December 2009. Overall, the prevalence of OBI was 5.9% (95% confidence interval (CI95%): 3.8–8.7%); it was more frequently associated with “anti-HBc alone” serological marker (11.3%; adjusted odds ratio = 3.7, CI95%: 1.4–9.8), although it was also detected in the absence of any HBV serological marker (4.9%; CI95%: 2.3–9.1%). A low prevalence of anti-HCV-positive patients with OBI was found (3.1%; CI95%: 0.6–8.7%). HIV RNA plasma levels or other imm…