1,720,983 research outputs found
Clinical utility of anti-lipoarabinomannan antibodies testing for the diagnosis of tuberculous arthritis.
No full textDiagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is often challenging. In this work we discuss the utility of an assay for Lipoarabinomannan (LAM) antibody detection in synovial fluid. LAM is one of the three major groups of lipopolysaccharides within the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) cell wall. An ELISA based test was used to investigate the presence of antibodies against LAM in an immunocompetent patient with knee arthritis. The symptoms resolved after isoniazid treatment. LAM positivity has been used as a diagnostic tool for TB in different settings, including veterinary field. The test could be of some value to diagnose tuberculous arthritis in selected patients when gold standard test returned negative although further investigations are welcome
Effect of rituximab on clinical and laboratory features of antiphospholipid syndrome: a case report and a review of literature
No full textPlasma L-ergothioneine measurement by high-performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis after a pre-column derivatization with 5-iodoacetamidofluorescein (5-IAF) and fluorescence detection
No full textTwo sensitive and reproducible capillary electrophoresis and high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence procedures were established for quantitative determination of L-egothioneine in plasma. After derivatization of L-ergothioneine with 5-iodoacetamidofluorescein, the separation was carried out by HPLC on an ODS-2 C-18 sperisorb column by using a linear gradient elution and by HPCE on an uncoated fused silica capillary, 50 µm id, and 60 cm length. The methods were validated and found to be linear in the range of 0.3 to 10 µmol/l. The limit of quantification was 0.27 µmol/l for HPCE and 0.15 µmol/l for HPLC. The variations for intra- and inter-assay precision were around 6 RSD%, and the mean recovery accuracy close to 100% (96.11%)
Iloprost therapy acutely decreases oxidative stress in patients affected by systemic sclerosis
No full textBackground. Oxidative stress has
been considered a leading factor in
the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis
(SSc). Consistently with this hypothesis
the determination of urinary isoprostanes,
a reliable method for evaluation
of oxidative stress, has recently
showed increased levels of isoprostanes
in SSc patients. Data about the
effect on oxidative stress of accepted
therapies for SSc such as iloprost therapy
are lacking.
Objective. The aim of this prospective
study was to verify whether iloprost
therapy in patients with SSc acutely reduces
oxidative stress assessed by determination
of 8-Iso PGF2α urinary levels.
Methods: urine samples were obtained
before and after a five-day cycle of iloprost
infusion and urinary 8-Iso PGF2α levels were determined using a commercially
available enzyme immunoassay.
Results. Consistent with previous reports,
we found an increased level of
oxidative stress in SSc patients with
respect to healthy controls. Basal urinary
8-iso PGF2α levels in SSc patients
were significantly higher than those in
healthy controls [2002(1122-3575) pg/
mg creatinine vs. 334(225.7-441) pg/mg
creatinine, p<0.001]. Moreover, as expected,
urinary 8-iso PGF2α levels after
iloprost therapy were significantly lower
than basal levels [1277.5 pg/mg creatinine
(742.7-2017.3) vs. 2002 pg/mg creatinine
(1122-3575), p=0.001] but persisted
significantly elevated respect to
the levels of healthy controls (p<0.001).
The effect of iloprost on oxidative stress
appeared significant in patients with
early and limited form of disease.
Conclusions. This prospective openlabel
explorative study suggests that
standard course of iloprost therapy
may acutely reduce oxidative stress in
SSc patients. This effect appears to be
more consistent in the early phases and
in the limited subset of disease. Further
larger trials are needed to confirm our
results and to explain the pathway of
such reduction, its clinical significance
and potential therapeutic implications
Exposure of human pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells to sera from patients with systemic sclerosis increases intracellular reactive oxygen species levels
No full textPlasma asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels and atherosclerotic disease in ankylosing spondylitis: a cross-sectional study
No full text"\"Conclusive data about the prevalence of endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerotic process in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients with respect to the general population are lacking. Elevated plasma levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, have been reported in clinical conditions associated with endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerotic disease. We performed a cross-sectional study to evaluate plasma ADMA levels and atherosclerotic disease in AS patients. Seventeen consecutive AS patients free of any cardiovascular disease and 17 healthy controls [strictly matched for sex, age (+\\\/- 5 years) and atherosclerotic risk factors] were recruited. Plasma ADMA levels were assessed by capillary electrophoresis. Common carotid artery intima media thickness (CCA-IMT), flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) and arterial stiffness (aS) were registered as surrogate markers of atherosclerotic disease. Plasma ADMA levels appeared significantly (p=0.001) higher in AS patients (0.65 +\\\/- 0.10 mu moli\\\/L) than in the control subjects (0.54 +\\\/- 0.07 mu moli\\\/L) while no statistically significant differences between AS and controls were demonstrated in CCA-IMT, FMD, and aS. AS patients showed increased plasma ADMA levels with respect to control subjects. On the contrary, we were not able to document a significant difference in atherosclerotic process between patients and controls.\"
Increased Epstein-Barr Virus DNA Load and Antibodies Against EBNA1 and EA in Sardinian Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
No full textInterferon regulatory factor 5 is a potential target of autoimmune response triggered by Epstein-barr virus and Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in rheumatoid arthritis: investigating a mechanism of molecular mimicry
No full text- …
